So I've started seven days to the grave with my group. The party consists of a Soulknife/Psychic warrior, a Sorcerer (Blue dragon bloodline), a Swashbuckler and a Cleric/Wizard. They were all level four as I started this session. We play with the Pathfinder beta rules.
The soulknife barely witnessed the Direpton sinking, but come morning the players had all heard of it. The next day Grau visited them asking for help with Brienna. None of the players knew how to cast remove disease and so they cast a few lesser restorations on her but otherwise left her to her fate.
They did question her though and learned about the box and the silver coins. It didn't take long for the players to figure out something was going on. They contacted Cressida and told her that they suspected a biological attack. She told them she hoped they were wrong but would look into the matter.
The next day the players escorted Trinia out of the City and took the Abadar Cleric to see Cressida where the pc's met the doctors and the Gray maidens for the first time. Cressida had little time to spare for the pc's at this moment and told them she would contact them when they were needed.
Meanwhile the players took matters into their own hands and decided to search the sunken ship. After gathering some info (including a rather drawn out and pointless search for the crew of the trebuchet that sank the ship), the party hired a boat with a crane to take them to the location of the wreck the next morning.
The player's planned to use the crane to lower them to the wreck inside a cage in case of sharks and other predators. They had bought a Scroll of water breathing which gave them plenty of time.
They spent about twenty minutes searching for the wreck continuously casting light spells to guide their way. Finally they found the ship and decided to enter through the windows leading into the Captain's quarters. They soon found the Doctor and his unholy symbol.
After they had searched the Captain's quarters they entered the cargo hold and was soon ambushed by Yvicca and her shark companion. This battle was brutal. The party spent about four or five rounds combating the shark while Yvicca buffed herself with spells. The party sorcerer managed to hit her with a shocking grasp spell for near 30 points of damage, she responded with a resist elements electricity spell (the sorcerer is based on electricity spells). She full attacked the party soulknife and swashbuckler for several rounds dropping both below zero twice. She managed to incapacitate the part sorcerer with evil eye dazing him for three days.
Only because the soulknife had a potion of cure moderate wounds and the Diehard feat, did the party survive. As the party Cleric/Wizard got knocked out by two attacks from Yvicca's spear. The cleric/wizard used almost every charge from his wand of cure light wounds, all his cleric spells and every single turning attempt to keep the party on their feet. The party also spent the majority of their harrow points.
In the end the party was well below half hit points and had almost no spells or healing left part from the incapacitated sorcerer's healing belt. The (remaining) party still decided to search the rest of the ship having a nasty, but luckily non-fatal encounter with the silt eel's. They found the incriminating papers against Dr. Daedalus(Spelling?). So now after one session the party has pretty much figured out the entire disease thing.
I am somewhat concerned about how Cressida should react to this as I am certain the player's will take their information straight to her. I think it would be a shame to pull the plug on the doctor so soon. I am also concerned about the wererat bit, since the only real purpose of that part is to introduce the pc's to the death's head coffers and the Direpton.
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My group also headed for the Direption early as well.
To make sure they didn't miss some of the other stuff in the adventure I had them have a conference with Cressida. They basically agreed that they would take action to keep a watch on the Doctors and to unearth more evidence as they did not yet have enough proof to properly convict anyone. They know where they need to go which is the Hospice - however Cressida should be advocating that they go when they have the best chance to get in and get the info without endangering innocents. She kept the party busy for a bit sending them off on the other missions whilst the Hospice was kept under watch.
I think it's important they do the other missions - a) to understand exactly what the various forces set against Korvosa are up to; and b) to get enough experience to cope with the Hospice as they will get slaughtered in there if they go in to early.
The Wererats mission is the hardest to marry up. One way is that the party could end up doing something fairly public that gets them some wererat attention and they decide to follow their watcher back to the source. I'd remove the information it gives them as it is superfluous.
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The Wererats mission is the hardest to marry up. One way is that the party could end up doing something fairly public that gets them some wererat attention and they decide to follow their watcher back to the source. I'd remove the information it gives them as it is superfluous.
The watcher from the wererat group is scoping out those surface dwellers likely to pose the most threat to Girrigz's plans. That explains why the watcher was even there, keeping an eye on them.
Even with the boat discovered, the Perfumery may still be usable ("Someone has a cure? I wonder what it is..").
Racker's Alley is probably also still usable, since the dead still need to be gathered up and the corpses burned/buried.
Since the Carowyn's haven't been seen in days, perhaps a visit there is worthwhile as well? If necessary, Tayce Soldado's job as a washerwoman for some of the Houses could include Carowyn and she could inform the party that the place was locked up tight when she got there that morning.
If you don't incorporate the existing encounters you'll need to add others, since the PCs won't be of the appropriate level later on. (In fact, 5th level for the spellcasters is an important one.)
If you don't incorporate the existing encounters you'll need to add others, since the PCs won't be of the appropriate level later on. (In fact, 5th level for the spellcasters is an important one.)
Well my main Arcane caster is a sorcerer so he doesn't get 3rd level spells before level 6, and then just one.
My main divine caster is a multiclass cleric/wizard going mystic theurge so no 3rd level spells for him in a long time.
I think I'll just create another hook for the wererat scenario, I really want to use all of the adventure.
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Well my main Arcane caster is a sorcerer so he doesn't get 3rd level spells before level 6, and then just one.
My main divine caster is a multiclass cleric/wizard going mystic theurge so no 3rd level spells for him in a long time.
I'm glad I'm not the only DM whose players seem allergic to full-progression spellcasting, particularly arcane. In my AoW game, they had a Sorcerer/Dragonheart Mage for arcane, and briefly just a Druid for divine. Crimson Throne's got a cleric and a duskblade. Runelords has a cleric, a warmage/wizard/ultimate magus (plus a level of bard for flavor) and a swashbuckler that splashed a couple caster levels.
Needless to say, the Runelords players are lunatics.
Well my main Arcane caster is a sorcerer so he doesn't get 3rd level spells before level 6, and then just one.
My main divine caster is a multiclass cleric/wizard going mystic theurge so no 3rd level spells for him in a long time.
I'm glad I'm not the only DM whose players seem allergic to full-progression spellcasting, particularly arcane. In my AoW game, they had a Sorcerer/Dragonheart Mage for arcane, and briefly just a Druid for divine. Crimson Throne's got a cleric and a duskblade. Runelords has a cleric, a warmage/wizard/ultimate magus (plus a level of bard for flavor) and a swashbuckler that splashed a couple caster levels.
Needless to say, the Runelords players are lunatics.
My player really wanted to try out the new Pathfinder sorcerer,and so far it has worked out great. Actually he is the best melee fighter in the group with draconic bloodline and some buff spells.
I've personally played a mystic theurge and they are quite powerful and versatile at higher level, but multiclass wizards and clerics suck at lower levels even with the practiced spellcaster feat from complete divine.
I've always wanted to try out the duskblade but his extremly limited spell list has kept me from trying it.
Warmage/wizard? that sounds pretty rad. How's that working out?
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Warmage/wizard? that sounds pretty rad. How's that working out?
Well, he's 8th level, and I'm not sure that he's got 3rd level spells yet. Maybe a couple wizard slots. He can do decent damage, and unlike most wizards he can do it for ages, but they're reaching the point where the monsters are giant sacks of hp, and I think the effectiveness is going to fall off pretty quick.
Remains to be seen though. Runelords is my occasional weekend game, and people's schedules are hell. We last played in late January, and before that, November.
My fingers are crossed for March 21 :)