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we're just getting ready to play Chapter 2; While doing prep etc and reading through Chapter 4, I was wondering 2 things.
Does it ever explain who the contact in Diamond Lake is that tips Raknian off that the PCs are headed for the Free City?
Any suggestions on what Allustan needs to do in Diamond Lake to call his attention to stay there and send the PCs as his proxy to see Eligos? Just looking for some filler info to explain this hole.
Thanks
Robert
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Any suggestions on what Allustan needs to do in Diamond Lake to call his attention to stay there and send the PCs as his proxy to see Eligos? Just looking for some filler info to explain this hole.
Thanks
Robert
My PCs will be escorting Melinde to Greyhawk City, to get her eyes regenerated (see pic of Grallak Kur for more details)....
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My PCs will be escorting Melinde to Greyhawk City, to get her eyes regenerated (see pic of Grallak Kur for more details)....Any suggestions on what Allustan needs to do in Diamond Lake to call his attention to stay there and send the PCs as his proxy to see Eligos? Just looking for some filler info to explain this hole.
Thanks
Robert
Hey Snorter. Just curious: did I miss something? What's wrong with Melinde's eyes?
And I don't know who Grallak Kur is either.
As the email indicated that I sent you last week - we're starting Chapter 2 on the 28th.
Robert
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I filled in the blanks my own way.
In my campaign, the party had a lot of issues with Balabar Smenk (he was blackmailing them over the death of Filge). Smenk ran a-foul of the Ebon Triad (the spoiled food shipments) before the party could clean them out.
The Faceless One had his kenku kidnap Smenk and bring him to the Labyrinth of Vecna.
He used the power of the columns (the ones with the trapped souls) to infuse Smenk with Corruption and Depravity (see taint rules in the Heroes of Horror supplement). He was given the Tainted Minion template.
Smenk was then "released" to hunt the party.
Corrupted Smenk used his wide network of contacts to alert Raknian of their arrival, as well as their "blasphemous" assault of the Ebon Triad's temple.
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Hey Snorter. Just curious: did I miss something? What's wrong with Melinde's eyes?
Nothing, in the stats as written (you have downloaded the Overload, haven't you?). But she fell into the clutches of Dourstone, when she and Father Jieran went to challenge him about the safety record of his mine.
I was worried that the PCs would kill Filge without him being able to pass on his clue, so I foreshadowed chapter 2, in the first session, by having a stream of sick miners turn up at the church of St Cuthbert, affected by the toxic exhalations of the black pool. They recovered, with no explanation found, and went on their way. A few days later, one of Dourstone's foremen came to the church, to tell the PC cleric that they'd traced the sickness to a moonshine still, it had all been dismantled, so there was no need for him to ask questions.
Needless to say, this just made him more suspicious, so before going back to clear out the rest of the cairn, the PCs passed on their misgivings to their mentors, who went to get to the bottom of the matter...
Melinde spent several days acting as 'training practice' for the Hextorians, until the PCs barge in, when she is dragged from her cell as a hostage, for Theldrick to parade before the injured and trapped party, to prove how Heironeous is weak, and unable to protect his flock. I made this belief the reason for Theldrick's fall to the dark side, being consumed by revenge for his wife, carried off by raiders (thanks to another poster, whose ID I can't recall right now).
The paladin's player rolled a nat 20 Spot, so I told him he recognised Theldrick's portrait from the Garrison chapel, as 'a faithful Heironean, missing in the line of duty'. Needless to say, having lit a candle for this guy on numerous occasions, he was not pleased to find him alive and well, and running a temple of Hextor, beneath his adopted town.
This all made the fight in the Hextor Temple a real grudge match, to say the least!
And I don't know who Grallak Kur is either.
Check out the art in chapter 2. That should answer your first question as well....(bwa-ha-haaaa!)
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I would seriously advise you to read ahead of the PCs.
There have been many threads, regarding the links between the chapters not being as strong as they could be. I don't know if that gripe is justified, but it's a natural consequence of having twelve writers on board, and I intend to cover myself by having multiple plot threads, to act as a safety net, in case the players don't like a particular hook.
Eg, the PCs have already heard the name Eligos, as the person Allustan used to fence their cairn treasure, and buy them cure wands with the proceeds. Therefore, they will have reason to trust him, and visit him, rather than it being a name out of nowhere.
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I would seriously advise you to read ahead of the PCs.
There have been many threads, regarding the links between the chapters not being as strong as they could be. I don't know if that gripe is justified, but it's a natural consequence of having twelve writers on board, and I intend to cover myself by having multiple plot threads, to act as a safety net, in case the players don't like a particular hook.
Eg, the PCs have already heard the name Eligos, as the person Allustan used to fence their cairn treasure, and buy them cure wands with the proceeds. Therefore, they will have reason to trust him, and visit him, rather than it being a name out of nowhere.
I would seriously advise you to read ahead of the PCs.
There have been many threads, regarding the links between the chapters not being as strong as they could be. I don't know if that gripe is justified, but it's a natural consequence of having twelve writers on board, and I intend to cover myself by having multiple plot threads, to act as a safety net, in case the players don't like a particular hook.
Eg, the PCs have already heard the name Eligos, as the person Allustan used to fence their cairn treasure, and buy them cure wands with the proceeds. Therefore, they will have reason to trust him, and visit him, rather than it being a name out of nowhere.
Good points - all of them. Yes, foreshadowing is indeed a powerful tool and needs to be implemented in a copious amount.
This is something I learned running the Shackled City. There was no foreshadowing at all for later chapters, and would have made most of the enemies and encounters hollow how I not (and thanks in part to much of the threads, posters, and discussions on the SCAP board) foreshadowed so many of the foes and situations.
PCs are starting Chapter 2 next weekend - and I'm currently just starting Chapter 5. I am reading ahead of the PCs, but just haven't read everything yet.
Before I ran SCPA - I had the hardcover 6 months before I ever ran it, and had plenty of time to read and plan. Unfortunately I didn't have that kind of time with AoW.
Although I have had the Dungeon Mags all along since they were released 4 years ago, I never read them, because it was agreed that I would run SCAP and another DM would run AoW after. Then we played Chapter 1 under that DM - who decided that he needed to give up D&D for family/work etc. I decided I would then run AoW instead. So I had to a) finish running SCAP which took a lot of planning at the 15+ levels. b) playtesting and learning PF rules and c) learn Golarion Since I was intending to use PF and Golarion for AoW, and had to figure out how to transition the story of AoW to Golarion cannon and history.
Thus i didn't have the prep and reading time with AoW that I had with SCAP. I had 2 weeks instead of 6 months.
Robert
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Hey Snorter. Just curious: did I miss something? What's wrong with Melinde's eyes? And I don't know who Grallak Kur is either.Nothing, in the stats as written (you have downloaded the Overload, haven't you?).
Check out the art in chapter 2. That should answer your first question as well....(bwa-ha-haaaa!).
I remember now who Grallak Kur is - I just didn't recognize him by name off the bat - I knew the name sounded familiar though.
Are you saying that Grallak's eyes are Melinde's? (instead of a beholder?) :::Shudders::: That's horrible! But brilliant!
I may have to think of who might be a good "donor" for such a gift to Grallak.
In my campaign so far:
Melinde' is not a candidate for this. I replaced Filge with a female cultist of Orcus (actually her and her mother who was holed up in the Cairn) doing nefarious orcus cult like things in the Diamond Lake area. One of which was the murder of the male high-cleric of the Wee-Jas / Pharasma cult who disappeared mysteriously two years ago) - The PCs ruined their plans; Melinde' is charged with accompanying Captain Tolliver Trask to the Free City to take the two cultist women for imprisonment and proper trial.
But she fell into the clutches of Dourstone, when she and Father Jieran went to challenge him about the safety record of his mine....
That's an interesting story arc you used. I like that - with the moonshine distillery etc. Very good use of the NPCs.
I was worried that the PCs would kill Filge without him being able to pass on his clue, so I foreshadowed chapter 2, in the first session, by having a stream of sick miners turn up at the church of St Cuthbert, affected by the toxic exhalations of the black pool.
Excellent! I had the necromancer have a journal with the important info. That plust the letter signed "S" was enough to get the PCs on the right path.
The paladin's player rolled a nat 20 Spot, so I told him he recognised Theldrick's portrait from the Garrison chapel, as 'a faithful Heironean, missing in the line of duty'. Needless to say, having lit a candle for this guy on numerous occasions, he was not pleased to find him alive and well, and running a temple of Hextor, beneath his adopted town.
This all made the fight in the Hextor Temple a real grudge match, to say the least!
How interesting! I'm using a similar tactic; with the following tactics and changes.....
The way it's being written for my campaign...
The faceless one is the missing Heironeous cleric. Hextor is replaced by Zon-Kuthon. In the write-up for Zon-Kuthon in Gods and Magic, it talks about the cult uses the flesh of other creatures to be worn as a mask or body suit to "mask their identity" I am having Theldrik wearing the "face" flesh of the missing high-priest (who is/was a Keleshite cleric).
Hence the Faceless one of Vecna - who once was the cleric of Vecna - and now wished to change his identity.
So the PCs will first encounter Theldrik - see the recognized face of the cleric (this was foreshadowed by a large portrait of the man in the church / garrison that the PCs have gone to for info/healing/etc. The portrait also shows a missing finger on the left hand.
They'll think Theldrik is him until they kill him and see it's just a face-mask. Assume the guy was murdered by the followers of Zon-Kuthon there and think they've solved it. Then later when in the Vecna area - they'll fight the faceless one with a mask on. They'll remove it to see no face........but he's wearing gloves that make it seem he has all 10 fingers.....but one of the glove fingers is stuffed with a fake-finger so during the fight - they'll have no way to connect those two dots yet. Afterwards the missing face, and the missing finger will explain who he is, and realize he wasn't actually murdered by Zon-Kuthonites. Just why he turned to Vecna is all that is left.....
So as you can see - I've done quite a bit of foreshadowing already.
Robert
My PCs will be escorting Melinde to Greyhawk City, to get her eyes regenerated (see pic of Grallak Kur for more details)....
You sir, are awesome. I did the same thing. Man was the Palladin of my party (the son of the chaotic warlock from the previous Shackled City game) pissed about that. Was good times all around.
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The PCs have had another surprise last session.
There was an extra masked 'wizard' in the Vecna temple, dressed in the best robes, waving a wand, and mumbling, with no visible effect, although a Fiendish Ape did appear soon after...'Get the bastard!').
After getting caught in the melee, and taking a massive hit from our Dwarf Fighter/Cleric, she spotted that the 'wand' was a stick/bolt, strapped into his fist, and ignored him, much to the puzzlement of the others.
After more of his aimless running around, and getting in the way, the other Dwarf Cleric (enlarged) clotheslined him, pinned him, and pulled off his mask, to reveal his own mentor, Father Jieran of Cuthbert, gagged and vacant-eyed. NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The cultists had dressed him in the best robes, as a decoy, after having the allip drain his Wis to 1 (the allip by this time having fled to lick its wounds). The Faceless One had mingled with the acolytes, leading to several cries of '****ing Hell, these minions are tough!'). ROFL
The acolytes and Kenku sorcerer legged it back through the maze after blowing every spell they had. The PCs retreated to cure themselves after a particularly vicious lightning bolt (DC, HOW MUCH?).
The Faceless One ran back to his lab...
<sniff>
<sniff>
"Can you smell...smoke?"
Foreshadowing is indeed a powerful tool and needs to be implemented in a copious amount.This is something I learned running the Shackled City. There was no foreshadowing at all for later chapters, and would have made most of the enemies and encounters hollow how I not (and thanks in part to much of the threads, posters, and discussions on the SCAP board) foreshadowed so many of the foes and situations.
It is true that foreshadowing adds immensely to the story. That being said, Age of Worms suffers far less from the foreshadowing issues than Shackled City. I ran both APs, and SCAP was far more work than AoW.
Read all the adventures as fast as you can and consult these boards on useful tips. There are quite some (nice) tips for the earlier adventures, not so many for the later ones, since they require little modification to run smoothly.
There was an extra masked 'wizard' in the Vecna temple, dressed in the best robes, waving a wand, and mumbling, with no visible effect, although a Fiendish Ape did appear soon after...'Get the bastard!').
After getting caught in the melee, and taking a massive hit from our Dwarf Fighter/Cleric, she spotted that the 'wand' was a stick/bolt, strapped into his fist, and ignored him, much to the puzzlement of the others.
After more of his aimless running around, and getting in the way, the other Dwarf Cleric (enlarged) clotheslined him, pinned him, and pulled off his mask, to reveal his own mentor, Father Jieran of Cuthbert, gagged and vacant-eyed. NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The cultists had dressed him in the best robes, as a decoy, after having the allip drain his Wis to 1 (the allip by this time having fled to lick its wounds). The Faceless One had mingled with the acolytes, leading to several cries of '****ing Hell, these minions are tough!').
Oh, that is positively wicked! I'll have to remember that possibility if I run the campaign again. : )