I would *highly* recommend Kingmaker if your group is inclined to 'sandbox' style game play - I have a few months before my group hits it though, whereas yours would be playing through it as the issues are sent to you. Getting a subscription (and the attendant 'life time' PDF - basically, you get the print copy for $3.50 over the cost of the PDF plus a 15% discount on nearly everything Paizo offers) would help keep you on deck as well.
I already have significant home brew material intended to be incorporated into the post-CoT Kingmaker campaign. ^_^
No Pressure....right its only the beginning of doomsday :)wow.
just, wow.
can't wait to see what they do now!
-t
ps: Go Twin!
^_^ The Twin appreciates the huzzahs, eager to returning to the Nine Hells and settling long outstanding debts, then plotting gruesome and horrific vengeance upon House Thrune at a point YTBD.
The fun part will be to see their decision process(es) as they come to grips with the logistics of attempting to shelter hundreds of people within the abandoned Chapel of Aroden. Even using the lyre of building - should any one they know even be able to play it worth a spit, which is currently not the case that I know of - they are going to be stressed beyond their current resource capabilities to shelter, sustain and keep healthy that many people.
Their best bet in the short term is to act immediately, the next morning in game time, to strike at the cause of the Critters of Shadow. Fortunately, the AP presents an opportunity to do just that in the beginning of Chapter 5 Mother of Flies...
^_^ Some times lighting a fire under the characters' rear ends is just the thing to break up any onset of tedium.
That and waking up dead ... but that's a story for another time. :)
Have you created any nasty, named-type baddies, for the later adventures yet?
-t
Send me an e-mail as to What Evils Lurk ahead of them ... such as for the "optional" baddie at the end of the Infernal Syndrome. Were you close enough, I'd even 'guest run' that one at your table. ^_^
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Just a few questions Turin... are there a few houserules you play with I haven't seen? Love the story so far, but my mind has been nitpicking details.
Dispelling a Fly spell ends the spell as if the duration ran out, meaning Xanesha would have 1d6 rounds to basically feather fall before she plummeted to the ground
Do you allow Tanglefoot bags to stack? I didn't think conditions could be applied more than once.
And I have truly enjoyed watching you tweak monsters... in PF have you been comparing your new monstrosities to the Monster Stats by CR table or just guesstimating them. I'm guessing the latter as you assign your PC's High or Epic fantasy point buy...
--Vrock the House!
Just a few questions Turin... are there a few houserules you play with I haven't seen? Love the story so far, but my mind has been nitpicking details.
Dispelling a Fly spell ends the spell as if the duration ran out, meaning Xanesha would have 1d6 rounds to basically feather fall before she plummeted to the ground
Do you allow Tanglefoot bags to stack? I didn't think conditions could be applied more than once.
And I have truly enjoyed watching you tweak monsters... in PF have you been comparing your new monstrosities to the Monster Stats by CR table or just guesstimating them. I'm guessing the latter as you assign your PC's High or Epic fantasy point buy...
--Vrock the House!
I do not recall the Xanesha encounter too clearly - but it suited my tastes to plummet Xanesha. Call it that her spell was almost out of gas at the time that the dispel hit.
Tanglefoot bags - as two groups I GM/play with concur - correctly inflict the entangled condition only once - the penalties from them stack, however, as they are not attached to the entangled condition in the item's write up.
I allocated the 25 point buy to the PCs - 20 point buy is for PF Society, and that just doesn't quite hit the 'high fantasy' mark in my experience.
When assigning CRs, I have assembled a rough chart of what PCs are roughly capable of at a given level range or band. The "Monster Stats by CR" table is, more often than not, conservative. When there is only 1 or 2 critters, the critters tend to get pounded into sand PDQ - in larger groups, however, players tend to have mental meltdowns...
Glad you are perusing the thread! Don't be a stranger. :)
Sir Turin:
I'm curious, what (rulebook) source is the book of cults from (which if I understand correctly is the source of the miracle scroll)?
It is (loosely) based on the item by the same name from the "Gods and Magic" Pathfinder Chronicles supplement. No "written" item can do that.
It is (loosely) based on the item by the same name from the "Gods and Magic" Pathfinder Chronicles supplement. No "written" item can do that.Sir Turin:
I'm curious, what (rulebook) source is the book of cults from (which if I understand correctly is the source of the miracle scroll)?
Ahh, a homebrewed minor artifact of some sort. That explains why I haven't seen it before.
Think of it as a book version of an NPC I used in a GURPS campaign a few years back. Da Fighter would recognize it then ...
Completely off-topic from the CoT/KM campaign...
I had an NPC that was a particularly lazy, demon/fiend from the time of Babylon or Sumeria - can't remember which - that was several thousand years old by the time of the modern day GURPS campaign.
It was very fond of taking the form of a house cat. All it had to do to be taken care of was look cute-ish. And of course, getting fed and affection was easy enough as a general rule. Oddly, dogs avoided him for some reason ... ^_^
Being that old 'modern' religions hold no power over it at all. It was very fond of fish of course ... and could grant a wish if the mood struck it.
Naturally, being an Ancient Demon, it was very literal in the granting of a wish - and its catch phrase for doing so was "Would you like to make a deal?" (in a very specific voice) - often being the wisher's soul as that price. A truly humanitarian wish, utterly selfless and clearly sincere, would be granted gratis. Ironically, this never once seemed to occur to any of the players. It doesn't help any that an Ancient Demon's definitions of selflessness and sincerity are rather ... narrow.
They first became aware of some of the demon-cat's true power when a live-in mini-onion made such a wish - to be beautiful and immortal. Granting that wish, the mini-onion was *poufed* into a magnificent crystal salt shaker depicting the wisher in miniature , her soul consigned to Him as a result of the deal. Until such time as the lead crystal shaker was destroyed , she felt every grain that went through her head. Thus she was likely to become utterly, permanently insane ...
Years later I still receive requests to run that campaign, comments - good and bad - about that NPC and the random "GURPS? GURPS?" e-mail and text. Good times, good campaign.
At long last, on the horizon for this coming Sunday, the Council of Thieves campaign resumes with Chapter 5 [b]Mother of Flies[/i].
I expect a body count this go 'round. It should be awesome!
Can't wait, I've got my gameday spread all layed out (nachos, beef jerky, hotdogs, chips ahoy, the works)and my favorit chair all ready to go....
What? gratuitous violence makes me hungry.
At long last, on the horizon for this coming Sunday, the Council of Thieves campaign resumes with Chapter 5 Mother of Flies.
I expect a body count this go 'round. It should be awesome!
Oh dear... I hope I don't end up changing bodies again. I feel I will have my work cut out for me this time.
Oh dear... I hope I don't end up changing bodies again. I feel I will have my work cut out for me this time.At long last, on the horizon for this coming Sunday, the Council of Thieves campaign resumes with Chapter 5 Mother of Flies.
I expect a body count this go 'round. It should be awesome!
We shall see.
Can't wait, I've got my gameday spread all layed out (nachos, beef jerky, hotdogs, chips ahoy, the works)and my favorit chair all ready to go....
What? gratuitous violence makes me hungry.
Pull up a chair, light a stogey and watch the carnage with me.
Just don't put on that spiffy magical belt on the chair there, and you'll be fine.
Really.
~weg~
None succeeded on the coup de gras saves save Da Cultist, although given that The Thing from beyond Time dealt enough damage to outright slay the poor cleric, not even that natural 20 saved his neck - literally as the beast gnawed his head off of his shoulders. Gate devices are wonderful things.
Da Pimp's paladin/diviner/arcane archer was swiftly decapitated in his sleep - death in absentia, but a legitimate death nonetheless. Which is ok, as you will see.
Zin Sernn's monk 9 was slain via coup de gras from an empowered maximized fire-damage shocking grasp at a caster level of 11. Or, in other words, over 150 points of fire damage with the campaign's house rule removing the damage cap. Yes, that's (11d6, maximized +50% of 11d6 - total using averaged damage of 85, x2) for the coup de gras for a staggering 170 points of fire damage.
Jade II's fighter 1 / elemental water sorcerer 7 / eldritch knight 1 was slain via coup de gras from an empowered maximized shocking grasp at a caster level of 11 resulting in a 170 hp electrical coup de gras.
Torsin's paladin 6 / diviner 3 (aspiring to become an eldritch knight) was decapitated by a brief return to the material plane by Labdaga the Twin, courtesy of a gate device used by the antagonist.
Max was on guard duty along with the five dolls - he was patrolling, but against that vicious Stealth DC of 50, he didn't stand a chance. Luckily, he was not on the Council's hit list. The dolls were having themselves a tea party in the cellar.
All five character deaths were dealt courtesy of Cassandra Slayn, a homebrewed antagonist. As she departed, she dropped a simulacrum device, creating a CR 10 simulacrum of herself. This much lesser version of herself was tasked to sneak around and set the cathedral's wooden interior on fire, then wait to ambush any heroes attempting to leave the upper floor.
The messy deaths of Our Heroes - all via the proscribed methods required to activate their signature items - resulted in their first true resurrections of the campaign by those items.
Our Heroes awaken to the smell of smoke and - excepting Da Cultist - the sounds of several hundred persons in screaming confusion downstairs inside the crude but effective lyre of building-improvised barracks-with-indoor-plumbing quickly installed in the immediate aftermath of Leibdaga the Twin's 24 hour fireball bombardment of a sizable swath of Westcrown. Da Cultist awoke in utter silence with a 300 pound slab of masonry pinning him in his bed. All of the player characters awoke with a crude ceramic mask upon their face.
Dressing, armoring and equipping as fast as possible, they group up in the hallway, moving towards where they can start seeing smoke coming up the spiral stairs leading to the floors below them. Two - Da Cultist and Zin Serrn - make the DC 30 Perception check to note the stealthy, cloaked form of a very tall woman wearing a magnificent porcelain mask depicting a beautiful woman lurking in the stair well ahead of them.
Initiative is rolled and the mysterious figure gets the initiative, firing two light crossbows fitted with screaming bolts that she whips out from beneath her voluminous cloak - tipped with purple worm poison - that bounce harmlessly off of the cloistered cleric's body armor - before dropping them and quick drawing her scimitar and kukri. The characters ignore the DC 14 Will saves against fear imparted by the bolts.
Da Monk rushes forward, attempting to bull rush the woman, failing to budge her at all - to him, it felt almost like running into a wall rather than a living creature.
Da Cultist, throwing a staggering 30+ Knowledge (religion) check, realizes that the woman ahead is no woman - she is a true mummy. Rare compared to more normal mummies, a true mummy retains the intellect of the one so mummified while gaining much of the strengths of their less intellectual brethren. Most importantly, they are impervious to cold, electricity and polymorph, are extraordinarily resistant to damage, are not vulnerable to fire ... and until destroyed rapidly repair damage dealt to them. Luckily, should she choose to slam one of them there is no risk of mummy rot. Also luckily, this one chose not to use her gaze of despair in order to remain unnoticed and unseen.
Jade II considered fireballing the mummy, then reconsidered when she realized that the wood-and-tar structure within the cathedral would likely go up like a bonfire. Instead, she lit the mummy up with a ray of enfeeblement to no effect. The undead don't care about rays of enfeeblement.
The fight unfolded rapidly, the first significant damage dealt to her was by Torsin II's +2 holy mithral longsword - her signature item, courtesy of a smite evil and a critical hit that failed to confirm against the mummy's 29 AC. Torsin's initial volley of 3 magic missiles dealt less damage than the mummy's fast healing 9. Oops...
The second major damage dealt was a 33 point channeled positive energy burst from Da Cultist, getting the mummy's attention in a hurry.
Jade hollered for Max, the party holding there own as my normally trusty Cthulhu d20s betrayed my antagonist - out of EIGHT attack rolls against Da Monk over the first two rounds, she connected twice, dealing a paltry 20 hit points for each blow.
Da Monk delivered two tanglefoot bags to the Cassandra Slayn simulacrum, greatly slowing her down - and more importantly, greatly reducing her AC.
When Max came up the stairs behind her, he whipped out a massive flask and smashed it over the back of the mummy's head. Within that flask was 10 vials' worth of holy water - the subsequent 45 points of holy water damage dissolved the 113 hit point mummy into component sand. Da Cultist's very high Knowledge (arcana) check informed him - and thus, the party - that the sand of this creature's dissolution represented a variant of the standard simulacrum spell.
Out there somewhere is the 'original' true mummy...
Although never addressed, the only divine guidance to be found about the mummy that the simulacrum was drawn upon goes as follows :
"Listen, and understand. That murderer is out there. She can't be bargained with. She can't be reasoned with. She doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And she absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are all dead."
Later that same morning Our Heroes are approached by the information broker Jarvis Alebrecht. Seems the old boy has a contact that perhaps was incinerated in the conflagration, although he doubted that. In a nutshell, some choad named Goren One-Ear has vital information about the Council of Thieves, information he was willing to barter for safe passage out of both Westcrown and Cheliax. It's been 2 days - since shortly after Leibdaga bombarded the city - or so, and Jarvis wants Our Heroes to go to One-Ear's hooka den that fronts for a pesh parlor located in the Dusk Market - and bring him (or his information) back to Jarvis.
Our Heroes set out immediately, arriving at the far end of an alley comprised primarily of old brick buildings. A half-dozen ruffians - clearly Up to No Good, smoking hand rolled cigarettes and guffawing about the fun of torturing the shopkeeper to death - ate a fireball flung by Jade II to 'ring the bell'.
All six blew their saving throws, flopping about on the ground, unconscious and doomed to burn (slowly) to death without intervention, setting the wagon in front of the shop merrily ablaze.
As they moved 'round to where they go see into the shop, Our Heroes espied a corpse 'stapled' upon the wall at the back of the shop. They also saw a hideously deformed man of substantial stature. Torsin was the first into position, so she attempted to perforate the mutant with an arrow after sheathing her sword - singularly failing at anything other than attracting the mutant's attention.
Jade II moved adjacent to Torsin II, with Zin Sernn, Da Cultist and Max trailing away from them. Kruthe the Hammer roared out a challenge, charging out and nat-20'ing a critical hit backed by a Power Attack with his enchanted warhammer. The critical hit dealt a staggering 62 or so points of damage. Sadly, with a nat 3 die roll and a +11 Fortitude saving throw bonus, Torsin II died on the spot, her bow clattering to the ground from nerveless fingers.
Da Cultist immediately moved adjacent to her while out of Kruthe's reach, administering a breath of life upon the splattered paladin of Iomedae. Torsin II quickly crawled away (via the withdrawal action) from the menace of Kruthe the Hammer.
I don't remember all of the details of the encounter after this, but what I do recall ...
The superbly well-hidden Maglin dealt a sneak attack light crossbow shot on Jade II, who failed her save against the blue whinnis on the bolt's tip, suffering a point of CON damage, a bleeding wound (that was patched up in short order by a channel energy from Da Cultist the subsequent round or so) and 32 points of damage.
In response, Jade II coldballed Maglin - who blew his Reflex save.
Max I believe scored the killing blow on Kruthe via a critical blow from a Power Attack while using an Improvised Mastery two-handed 30' length of mithral chain to the brain pan.
Jade II also failed her second save against the blue whinnis, promptly taking a nap. Maglin attempted to take her hostage against the group. This did him no good at all, after getting a volley of magic missiles from Torsin II, Da Monk power-glomped (Greater Grapple - ew) the sorry bastich before Max came up and confirmed yet another critical. 2d8+12 unarmed strike saw the bugger's head twisted around on his next stump.
" No one molests my woman. I molest my woman. "
Our Heroes, after investigating the very frozen, mutilated corpse of One-Ear, pry his carcass off of the wall, gather up his jaw and tongue, extricate the quieting needles and return (corpse in tow) to the cathedral. That evening, after Da Cultist prepares a raise dead, uses most of the recently looted diamonds to cast that spell. Shockingly, the choad refuses to return from Pharasma's Boneyard, fearing another horrific death at the hands of the mini-onions of the Council of Thieves.
As an aside, they encountered Dog's Tongue the redcap, agreeing to rendezvous with him on the other side of the eastern river to entertain an audience with the Mother of Flies about "matters of mutual concern".
Doing so, they escape the city, make their way to the Bloody Tarn. Challenging Da Monk, Madjaw cuts an impressive figure. One powerglomp later, the sorry satyr is throttled to death, gleefully entertaining the 10 redcaps quite thoroughly.
They then venture to Trollclaw Cleft, where the find a dozen dead gremlins and stir Fmugwa the Deathgorger to life. Max's Handle Animal skill bonus, being most impressive, proved sufficient to wrangle the gargantuan acid-vomiting bombardier beetle with the old "carcass and stick" routine. Well, not old, but Max now has a new pet...
At the Maggot Tree, Our Heroes set up a signal in advance for Max to bring Fmugwa onto the scene against the besieger's supply train, then gaseous form potions were employed to get into the tree for audience with the Mother of Flies. Amused at their antics, she imparted the VERY important information she had to give - along with a hefty pile of swag - before returning to the treeline where the 10 redcaps awaited them.
Electing to jackhammer the northwestern quadrant of the council's encampment, things that at first seemed grim for Our Heroes quickly turned into utter annihilation of the Council's forces.
Using fireballs, a flame strike and a summoned air elemental in vortex form, the bonfires were extinguished in very short order, as were most of the mini-onions of the besieging forces arrayed about the Maggot Tree. Max, astride Fmugwa, goaded him forward while the bombardier beetle vomiting massive sprays of acid that dissolved thieves, warhounds and ogres with equal efficacy. Jade II deployed four fireballs in consecutive rounds. The Mother of Flies as the smoke rapidly dissipated in the wake of rapidly extinguished bonfires sent forth a few swarms and her dozen gryphs before teleporting unseen into the camp of the leaders of the besieging force. Then she unlimbered a scroll of wierd that annihilated the leadership roster of the aforementioned hostiles in a single casting. The 10 redcaps themselves annihilated very nearly a third of the mini-onions of the Council's forces, swarming over thieves, ogres and a hill giant in bloody scythe swipes and with the occasional stomping of metal-shot boots. None of the redcaps came below half hit points for more than a round or two before the group's generally well-focused firepower brought down foe after foe.
Our Heroes conclude the session at 10th level, preparing to sack Walcourt. Their signature items are 'awakened', unlocking their initial and 10th level 'tiers' of powers.
Dramatis Personae
- Zin Sernn, now female Monk 10 (Irori) & bearer of the Ring that grants resist fire 20 & unlimited use of burning hands at the bearer's character level, with 'drawbacks' changing his gender from male to female permanently, among others
- Torsin II, Paladin 6 (Iomedae) / Diviner (wizard specialist) 4 - signature item is currently a +3 holy mithral longsword that deals double damage against Negative Energy and undead creatures
- Jade II, Fighter 1 / Elemental Water Sorcerer 7 / Eldritch Knight 2 & bearer of the Ring that grants feather fall, resist electricity 20, with 'drawbacks' adjusting Strength by +8, Dexterity by -4, Wisdom by -1 and prohibiting the use of Verbal spell components by way of Silent metamagic (indeed, she must YELL her the verbal spell component)
- Da Pimp's paladin/wizard/arcane trickster wields the Singing Bow - a distance oathbow that adapts to its wielder's Strength modifier, granting good fortune 1/day and the 'drawbacks' of a loss of interest in sex ... and that the bow itself has no power against the undead, animals, good outsiders and non-evil lawful outsiders
- Da Cultist, Cloistered Cleric 10 (Great Old Ones) & bearer of The Book that acts as a metamagic rod: extend for the bearer's conjuration (calling) and (summoning) spells - as well as that it draws power from the user, requiring that Da Cultist take in six times as much water and food as a normal person. A ring of sustenance only reduces this need to five times normal.
They are not yet positioned to 'acquire' the bonds with the five soulbound dolls encountered in the bowels of Delvehaven not too long ago.
now this has gotten me REALLY HUNGRY; what did I do with those donuts....
Seriously though I hope my player commit to this much carnage, I'd never go hungry.
I like what you did with Cassandra Slayn, just brilliant. That should teach them that paranoid is better than dead.
Seriously though I hope my player commit to this much carnage, I'd never go hungry.
I like what you did with Cassandra Slayn, just brilliant. That should teach them that paranoid is better than dead.
^^ Wait until you see her stat block. My players - far as I can tell - believe that the mysterious cloaked mummy snuck into their rooms, placed the 'death mask' upon their faces and left - with the addition of pinning Da Cultist in place with a magically silenced 300 pound stone upon his chest. Given the circumstances, their perceptions are currently correct.
Oh, and to clarify, the total forces besieging the Maggot Tree were:
42 4th level thieves (rogues for the young 'uns)
24 warhounds (combat-trained riding dawgs)
16 ogres
4 hill giants
All slaughtered in a glorious festival of evocation spells, 40' cones of spraying acid and redcaps mowing down foes like wheat before ... well, scythes ... by the player characters and the 10 redcaps. The players were very, very happy that the psychopathic little bastiches were on their side given the small hill of criticals the little buggers threw down.
12 dark creeper footpads
3 dark stalker guildsmen
and 1 "named bad guy" by the name of Stiglor. Stiggie and the dark folk were the ones snuffed by the Mother of Flies' wierd scroll.
Fmughwa the Deathgorger, being named and all - and having racked up a pile of XP in its own right - has earned itself the Advanced Simple template - and of course has a new 'feeder' with a +29 Handle Animal check. Max is a happy man now. It's not often one gets a really COOL pet! ^^
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In roughly 36 hours there will officially be a Mrs. Turin - HUZZAH!
In 2 or 3 or maybe 4 weeks after that, character deaths will resume, barring my ever-creative players thwarting the villains' dastardly plans.
And given that they have to deal with Walcourt next, those are very dastardly plans indeed.
MAXIMUM CONGRADULATIONS good sir. We pray for a wonderful future for you and the missus and any possible future Turin jr’s ;)
In roughly 36 hours there will officially be a Mrs. Turin - HUZZAH!
In 2 or 3 or maybe 4 weeks after that, character deaths will resume, barring my ever-creative players thwarting the villains' dastardly plans.
And given that they have to deal with Walcourt next, those are very dastardly plans indeed.
Congratulations.
No surprise objections, several groomsmen short, but the wedding and reception went off with minimal fuss and bother. There is now officially a Missus Turin and I'm now getting used to the gold ring thingie. Too bad it's not something awesome like ... a ring of sustenance ... ^_^
I expect another session some time in the middle-to-end of May time frame at a guess.
Da Fighter stepped in as the best man, and rocked it on such short notice. Kudos my friend! Enjoy the tankard! :)
Back (more or less) on topic:
The combined CoT / Kingmaker campaign should resume fairly soonTM, Real Life Monster permitting passage of course.
Our Heroes are requesting - well, more accurately, one player is and Missus Turin is quite amenable to the suggestion - that they be permitted to 'buy' the Advanced Simple template as their 11th level of advancement.
Since that is a MAJOR level - 50,000 xp just to go from 10th to 11th at Medium Advancement - I do not have a problem with it. Between the size of the party and that template, at 11th level they'll count as 13th for what they should be able to handle, which will largely take them through the remainder of CoT altogether, with them hitting 11th (12th actual) probably part-way through Chapter 6. I doubt that they will hit 13th until after CoT proper has concluded and it is time for them to make their way to ...
cues dramatic music
The Frontier!
dramatic music fanfare
That having been said, they still have to survive Walcourt first. Depending upon how that goes ...
Currently, I am expecting them to walk in and stomp a mudhole in the bad guys provided that they are rather liberal in their preparations and S.W.A.T.-like in their termination of anything in their path for as long as their 'buffs' can hold out.
We shall see how they actually go about doing things. The events in the 'safe house' are as nothing as compared to what the baddies in Walcourt will do to them if the players continue to be as reckless as they have in the past.
Was wondering what pray-tell is the template you are talking about please.
Was wondering what pray-tell is the template you are talking about please.
Advanced Simple.
Was wondering what pray-tell is the template you are talking about please.Advanced Simple.
Ah thanks.
What/where is the Advanced Simple, please? Congs, by the way!
Bestiary, in the back.
What/where is the Advanced Simple, please? Congs, by the way!Bestiary, in the back.
She says thanks.
*Thread Bump*
Sir Turin?
Or have you been busy writing thank-you cards and the like to run another session?
Basically :) - multiple tiltings against the Real Life Monster have been required since mid-April.
We're slated to resume Chapter 5 of CoT on the 13th my good Sir Charles. Let us hope that Our Heroes have not forgotten too much ...
Episode 2: Entering Walcourt or " How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the GM. "
Cast of Chuckleheads
- Zin Sernn, now female Monk 10 (Irori) & bearer of the Ring that grants resist fire 20 & unlimited use of burning hands at the bearer's character level, with 'drawbacks' changing his gender from male to female permanently, among others.
- Torsin II, Paladin 6 (Iomedae) / Diviner (wizard specialist) 4 - signature item is currently a +3 holy mithral longsword that deals double damage against Negative Energy and undead creatures.
- Jade II, Fighter 1 / Elemental Water Sorcerer 7 / Eldritch Knight 2 & bearer of the Ring that grants feather fall, resist electricity 20, with 'drawbacks' adjusting Strength by +8, Dexterity by -4, Wisdom by -1 and prohibiting the use of Verbal spell components by way of Silent metamagic (indeed, she must YELL her the verbal spell component).
- Da Pimpette, paladin 5 / fighter 1 / sorcerer 1 (celestial) / arcane archer 3 wields the Singing Bow - a distance oathbow that adapts to its wielder's Strength modifier, granting good fortune 1/day and the 'drawbacks' of a loss of interest in sex ... and that the bow itself has no power against the undead, animals, good outsiders and non-evil lawful outsiders.
- Da Cultist, Cloistered Cleric 10 (Great Old Ones) & bearer of The Book that acts as a metamagic rod: extend for the bearer's conjuration (calling) and (summoning) spells - as well as that it draws power from the user, requiring that Da Cultist take in six times as much water and food as a normal person. A ring of sustenance only reduces this need to five times normal.
Our Heroes, having sat on their butts for six months tasking Zin Sern's Bard cohort with crafting items, finally got their act together and went on the offensive.
Reconnoitering from the relative safety of a fairly busy street tavern across from Walcourt, Our Heroes elected to hire ten "deranged lunatics" to provide a distraction with a blank key at the front gate whilst they snuck around to the rear wall at the southeast corner, nearest the dilapidated caretaker's house.
At first the distraction worked fine, enabling Our Heroes to note several heads bobbing up from behind the walkway atop the roof of the main building. As they approached the corner, they could hear the cacophonous gibbering of most of the lunatics milling about the front gate. Da Cultist's domain ability to clairvoyance/clairaudience lets him view one guard toss a secured rope down the front slope of the roof whilst two more persons scale down the rope and disappear from line of sight.
Moving to capitalize on the distraction, Zin Sern clambers up the crumbling river stone masonry wall ... and the dice Gawds show their first fickle hand of the day as the dice are well below 50%, collapsing the outer part of the wall the monk was attempting to clamber up so stealthily in a shower of long-dried mortar dust and largish round river stones. Da Cultists' "remote viewing" sees the guard's head turn to the not-subtle, new development.
In short order, Max produced a wooden ladder from his robe of useful items that enabled Da Pimpette to scale up atop of the wall. She attempted to diplomacize the guard atop the roof into coming down to wear she is on the top of the wall "to have a bit of fun".
Needless to say, with the ladder, a large man laden with bags, packs and a heavy shield and several other allies of clearly hostile intent so conveniently attempting to gain entry into Walcourt, the guard was not so daft as to accept the (probably insincere) offer for a quicky in public. Instead, shaking his head as he raised the signal whistle to his lips, the guard wisely and loudly sounded the alarm.
Not deterred by so minor a concern as having placed the entire place on full alert, Our Heroes boil over the wall and onto, then quickly into, the caretaker's house. Da Pimpette drilled the lone roof guard into a perforated bleeding meat bag with a couple of well-placed arrows.
A creaky old lady's voice drifted down the hall way from the kitchen. " How many may I expect for tea ? " " I just finished making some lovely tea to go with my krimpets. " " Make yourself comfortable in the dining room. "
Torsin and Zin Sern had made themselves as comfortable as they could in the so-called dining room when Da Cultist, Zin Sern, Da Pimpette and Max bring up the rear further down the hallway towards the front door. Da Cultist elected to administer some mushroom-infused eyedrops, casting a true seeing spell after noting a not very tea-like smell underlying the smell of the strong-brewed tea from the four cups in the old lady's tray.
Needless to say, he was most surprised to perceive a 9 foot tall female oni crammed inside the skin of an old crone of a woman in front of him. Da Cultist shouted " Oni! That's a shapechanging demon!!"
Ophal was a bit offended at being so rudely called out, so she morphed out of human form ... Hundreds of rats boiled out of the haggard wall on the other side of the dining room from Jade and Zin Sern, failing utterly to distract them while nibbling on their toes for a few points of damage.
Torsin attempted to fry the rats with a burning hands, the monk royally stomped a mud hole in a great many rodentia and the other characters moved into position.
Quickly enough a well-placed coldball put out the burning wall of the house while simultaneously snuffing the rat swarms. Zin Sern powerglomped the poor ogre mage - who had done her level best to gut Da Cultist with her fancy great sword.
Finding herself unable to do a thing, she agreed to the terms of surrender. She informed them of the secret door accessing the main building from her house's second floor, then fled via gaseous form.
Having spent several minutes negotiating with Ophal, Zin Sern's parting gesture to was to brand the oni's forehead. Ophal has a new hobby once she gains significantly in her CR ...
After thoroughly searching the ground floor of the caretaker's house, Our Heroes with their Very High Perception bonuses hear "Let's fire the place and smoke 'em out," from outside. Max is carefully peeking out the main door while Our Heroes once more spring into action. The monk was the only one to notice an "eye" floating above Max's noodle. Popping it on his way to the main door, he noticed another couple of these "eyes" about the front of the house.
The jig was up - the party quickly realized the bad guys have some serious scrying mojo, so it was time to kill things.
Zin Sern moves to the corner of the main building where a gaggle of a dozen or so dirty red tunic-wearing thieves were approaching the caretaker's house. Jade positioned herself just outside the front door under cover of greater invisibility. Da Pimpette, Torsin and Da Cultist noticed that at least another half-dozen shadowy thiefly types are approaching the house from cover of the shrubbery on that side of the house. They were relieved to note that they didn't reek of the cesspit they've been able to smell since before they came over the wall.
No wonder Walcourt doesn't have any neighbors - that cesspit is nasty.
A bloodbath ensues as the thieves ringing the flimsier side of the house fire the place with a volley of flasks of alchemists' fire. The monk incinerates half of the red tunics in a single flash of burning hands from his ring while Torsin walks through the papier-machie wall and starts stabbing thieves. Itching to stab something with her sword of wonder, Jade moves into support position while Da Cultist and Da Pimpette head upstairs, Max still in position at the bottom of the stairs, lit torch in hand.
Da Cultist douses a couple of squares with a well-placed create water a round before Jade coldballs the entire exterior of the house - "dialing" the caster level down to 2nd so as to extinguish the once-again-burning dilapidated house quickly.
With Da Cultist and Da Pimpette entering the 2nd floor hallway, Max at the main entrance, Zin Sern outside, Jade just inside and Torsin the only visible target, the stage was set for Sandor the Strange to enter Stage Top.
An actinic green beam shot out of the sky, kissing Torsin square in the face before reducing her utterly to glowing ash. 7 of the thieves still stood outside of the very bad wall, leaving Jade suddenly in a dire situation. The 7 thieves cheered. After a few more seconds and a high-damage output coldball, they too joined the ranks of the recently deceased.
Zin Sern moved into the house, moving upon through the hallway and made his way to the door outside of D1d. Da Cultist and Da Pimp were outside of the doors to D1b and D1c respectively. Below, Jade and Max were side by side in C4c. A glowing red bead sailed into C4c, erupting in a massive blast of fire to the tune of 44 points of damage. That much-traumatized side of the house promptly collapsed in a curved two-floor cutout, exposing the hallway that Da Pimpette and Da Cultist were standing in. Zin Sern, Jade and Max were promptly buried in that collapsed part of the house, suffering 29 points for their trouble.
QMF'ing started about this point, especially when Da Pimpette whiffed with her first attempt to shoot down the flying invisible mage. Da Cultist scored first blood upon him with a flame strike that scored a very poor damage total against Sandor. A forceful hand slammed Da Cultist up against the far wall of D1c - having shoved him straight through the open door. Da Cultist had cast freedom of movement to facilitate escape the big hand. Da Pimpette continued to whiff the mage. Max, followed by Zin Serrn, dug themselves out of the rubble.
Sandor flew into position then let fly with a cone of cold, attempting to obliterate all four of the player characters. Due to the poor damage, no one was obliterated. A shame really ...
Da Cultist wisely chose to restore his surviving comrades with a well-placed blast of channeled positive energy. Da Pimpette then - after proclaiming the invisible guy the recipient of her oathbow and a smite evil, let fly with 3 arrows that all hit. The poor mage, now down to a mere 23 hit points, unfurled his scroll of shadow walk and fled Chapter 5 of Council of Thieves.
^_^ This makes two villains to tangle with again by the party's own hand. They're the best kind in many ways...
After shoveling out the space necessary for Torsin's sword to reconstitute her body, they waited for her to reform, change into her spare outfit and re-equip before making their way up to the secret door leading from D1f into D15.
After many successful Evasion-improved Reflex saving throws, Zin Sern figures out the timing and trigger. Our Heroes proceed to thoroughly loot the artwork and tinder box before beating a hasty retreat out the eastern door into the hallway. They wind their way from D15 to D14, D8, D9, D10/D10a and D11.
Our Heroes conclude the session in media res in D11. The next session is slated for 27th June.
Will Our Heroes manage to persevere through both main floors and the basement / dungeon complex of Walcourt in a single day of game time? Will they be turned into shadowed husks, enslaved and ever-craving brains, vital fluids or worse?
Will Max finally grapple with his Evil Spock and finally unlock a truth?
Will Our Heroes finally set to rest the source of the Night Time Flying Purple People Eaters devouring Wiscrani foolish enough to prowl light less streets at night?
Will Our Heroes even be able to accomplish all of this in one session?
Stay tuned, same hack channel, same hack time!
nice...Sandor strikes again!
I'm surprised they let so many bad guys get away, but I suppose there wasn't much they could do about it, eh?
^_^
Yep, my first nat-20 of the session delivered that lovely critical hit with Sandor's disintegrate. Combined with the failed Fortitude saving throw and you have a pile of d6s being rolled.
I suspect that I will pore over this journal to see how many others have been "let go after branding / maiming" to place into the final encounter(s) of CoT.
And then see if Our Heroes can layeth the smacketh down ... or not. Sandor was about to use his Arcane Bond to light up the other paladin with a second disintegrate. I would have loved another nat-20 at that time!
Let me add my long overdue and belated congratulations on your nuptials, Turin!
And may I say...what a fine looking and interesting campaign you have going here...expect my presence, PC mocking and undying support of your quest to ensure as many messy and shameful deaths as you could possibly wish.
See you again soon.
Let me add my long overdue and belated congratulations on your nuptials, Turin!
And may I say...what a fine looking and interesting campaign you have going here...expect my presence, PC mocking and undying support of your quest to ensure as many messy and shameful deaths as you could possibly wish.
See you again soon.
Glad to hear / see / read from you once more Sir Yasha! It has been a while. I was perusing the STAP CJ thread just yesterday, wondering where all the regulars from that thread had wandered off to ... :)
Glad to see you return once more.
Bottom line: even if Paizo did update their earlier adventures, it would be a poor substitute for any conversion a good GM could do. Turin the Mad and his version of Savage Tide are a prime example of how to run a campaign. If you're dealing with players who expect close calls and deadly foes, it's up to the GM to provide them, not Paizo. It's up to Paizo to deliver quality stories with some meaty stat blocks and they continue to do that in spades.
I want to thank the Constructed Tamer of Shrubbery for his kind praise.
bows respectfully
^_^
Just watch out for errant "knights" with coconut mounts wielding herring.
Chapter 5 "Mother of Flies" was, alas, successfully concluded this past Sunday.
Poor Max took yet another dirt nap, absorbing two full-round attacks' worth of punishment from the Augmented Antagonist (PF version) of the guardian of the . This guy hit like a ton of bricks - unfortunately for Max, he chose the wrong moment to critically hit the aforementioned guardian, garnering its undivided attentions...
Ilnerik, as expected, was "owned" by the party, although it took 2 dodged sunbeams - including one delivered on a surprise round -, a desperately grappling Monk and a third sunbeam before the Evasion-buffed former Chronicler finally met obliteration. They were most grateful that the vampire did not use his magical boots. They are less useful to him than one might think because of the absolute nature of the barrier that running water presents to leeches...
All the goodies that mattered - save for a certain play book and a few other items from the upper floors - were looted and carted off.
Our Heroes are now fantastically wealthy - but they have to be creative, as they have but 2 weeks' down time before Chapter 6 firmly plants itself up their backsides.
Will Our Heroes triumph over the Drovenges ? Will they be butchered horribly ? Will they simply elect to make a bee-line for the sinister siblings in an attempt to simply annihilate the lot of them ? Will they succeed, only to be blamed for the events that have wracked Westcrown ?
How many will elect to take "their" Soulbound Doll as a cohort ? Max will certainly be doing so, as is Jade II (making Fluff Gugg a Cleric of Lamashtu ... ).
Stay tuned mid-July for the assuredly gory details, gentlecritters. This is sure to be a bumpy ride for them ...
Our Heroes are indeed slated for a good time this coming Sunday. :)
This should be good!
And for those of us that don't have (and aren't reading CoT), any preview of whats to come Turin? Or do your players haunt this thread?
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Hints of a non-spoiler-ish manner...barring any personal creations of sir "The Mad" of course.
Lots of fighting in the city.
Tragedies involving tapestries, upholstery, and the good china.
Travelling from one end of Westcrown to another.
Sneaksy, tricksy, evil bastiges of NPC's.
A surprising lack of Wizardly opposition.
And, of course, Devils.
Hints of a non-spoiler-ish manner...barring any personal creations of sir "The Mad" of course.
Lots of fighting in the city.
Tragedies involving tapestries, upholstery, and the good china.
Travelling from one end of Westcrown to another.
Sneaksy, tricksy, evil bastiges of NPC's.
A surprising lack of Wizardly opposition.
And, of course, Devils.
Well, one or two of my players are known to traverse the thread from time to time.
While my cowardly players won't be facing anything "unscripted", their own actions dictate a different flow of events than the default. The loss of all but one of the NPC Children of Westcrown / Disciples of Starfall (not counting the two semi-important folks from the 1st chapter) was a Bad Thing.
There will be appearances of a few foes that had previously escaped or been completely skipped over by Our Heroes - namely a certain strange man and a veil-wearing infernally-tainted sorceress.
They are also likely to take the fight to the Drovenges themselves.
It should be interesting!
Yeah...
I truely regret some things that has happened. Things have not been going well and we have fallen into some bad luck.
My fellow party members seemed determined to kill the former mare. We were charged with keeping him alive and we failed to do so. It was our responsibility. This, I feel, led to the escape of the fiend from the maze. Perhaps he would have been able to give us some more information on the matter at hand, and we would have never had taken as long as we did, but that we will never know.
As anything, we will reap what we have sown and our fate has been written in The Book. If our story shall come to an end, then it is our destiny.
All Praise the Book!
And so Our Heroes conclude the Council of Thieves.
Having heard the news from Arael, Janiven and Da Monk's bard cohort that the city has descended into anarchy over the two weeks that they were making yet more swag, Our Heroes gather the following information:
- The dead walk in the Old Town, near where Max's house once stood.
- Rumor has it that fiends prowl the streets of the nobles' district. Entire noble families have been decimated or annihilated - according to rumor.
- The dottori and Hellknights are overworked attempting to deal with the forces disrupting Westcrown.
Initially Da Cultist proposed that they split up to tackle several 'leads' at once. After much laughter - and protestation by Max that splitting up the party is well proven in getting Death to come calling - they told Da Cultist that he could go right on ahead and purge the city of the walking dead. Mr Straw, now Da Cultists' Rogue 9 cohort, was more than a bit non-plussed at the prospect.
They also recalled that they have in their possession a certain infernal contract directly pertaining to the destination of Chammady Drovenge. They know that the contract spells out that should Eccardian ascend to triumph in assuming rulership of the city, her soul is immediately forfeit.
Our Heroes had previously looted a suitable scrying mirror from Walcourt, so they dusted off the scroll of scrying that they had been hauling around for a while and tasked Da Cultist with locating Miss Drovenge.
Having possession of an infernal contract detailing the probable fate of your soul seems to fall under the -10 penalty connection clause of the spell. Since they had previously encountered her twice, they have first-hand knowledge of her. Notwithstanding the -10 penalty, she still failed her Will save and Our Heroes were able to locate her in the basement. Moving the scrying sensor around, the invisible Sandor the Strange handily picked up on the sensor moving through the house and outside. During their viewing of Chammady, Jade send several messages through the scrying mirror, setting up an appointment with her as soon as they could arrive.
While it took an hour or so to make their way through the streets to the nearest intact boat large enough to haul them, Da Cultist summoned a sizeable water elemental - and tasked it with pushing them through the water at top speed. What would have been an hour or two trip was done and gone in the time that the extended summon monster spell lasted - about 2 minutes.
During Our Heroes' trip to the Ghivel Townhouse, Sandor the Strange calls the other three members of the Drovenge's intended "hit squad" to rid them and the city of the threat posed by Our Heroes. Present in the dining room of the Ghivel Townhouse (area T4) are:
- Sandor "Sh*tbag" the Strange, Diviner 12, who had previously disintegrated Torsin;
- Vuiper "Voop" Ghivel, heretical Cleric 12 of Abadar, dupe of Chammady's, sole surviving scion of House Ghivel;
- Thesing "Pansy-chicken" Umbero Ulvauno, recently liberated vampire schooled in the art of cheap shots from dark places; and
- Zovarue "Zovie", advanced medusa Infernal Sorceress 8.
The "nicknames" are those bestowed by the players during the fight.
Our Heroes threw two ginormous Perception checks in their approach of the townhouse, so Da Cultist popped a silence on a brick, set it between themselves and the townhouse - and Our Heroes set to buffing themselves to a fair thee well. While this was going on, Our Villains set about preparing their own "long term buffs" while discussing tactics as to best rid the world of the Disciples of Starfall.
Thesing wants to sneak in and blood drain the lesser members, then use the corpses as meat shields. Vuiper wants Sandor to passwall an opening in a back wall, then call them out as the currs they are. Sandor wants to employ the time-honored tactics of invisible flight to obliterate the shrine with lightning bolts, picking off the survivors as they extricate themselves from the rubble. Proper divinations should easily ferret out Our Heroes' location within the shrine, permitting Our Villains to deploy for maximum shock value. Zovarue - having been cured of her madness by Vuiper at Chammady's behest - was loyal first to Chammady, then to herself. She wore her veil of course - it would not do to petrify her meat shields after all, at least until doing so was warranted. She had yet to contribute much to the discussion, as she was attempting to puzzle out a method of dealing with a vampire that did not involve being any closer than absolutely necessary. None of this mattered a wit...
Our Heroes dismiss the silence, using the cover of walls and closed doors to mask their approach. Mister Straw declares the doors clear as the characters stealthily enter the townhouse, while Da Dancer makes his way to the window looking into the kitchen.
As soon as Mister Straw gave the "all clear" on the door, Jade - benefiting from greater invisibility - opened the door as Da Dancer (arcane archer/paladin/diviner) plowed through the window, +1 large disruption morning star in hand in a shower of splintered glass and wood. Fluff Gugg - now an 8th level Cleric of Lamashtu with the Madness and Trickery domains - uses his Trickery domain to make the entire group appear in their costumes from The Sixfold Trial of Larazod, deliberately to agitate Thesing, whose voice they recognized inside the townhouse.
Sandor, packing a +13 initiative bonus due to some slight revisions by Yours Truly, trumped everyone else on the initiative count. The only target initially visible was poor Mister Straw, who ate Sandor's opening disintegrate. Luckily for Mister Straw Sandor rolled cruddy damage despite the doll failing its Fortitude saving throw, taking "only" 64 points of damage.
During the ensuing melee Sandor was blinded, grappled briefly before "Voop" released him from that particular annoyance by a freedom of movement spell, then slaughtered by focused fire from Da Monk, Jade and Torsin.
Thesing was eventually dispatched permanently by Da Dancer's disruption weapon - ironically, as a result of failing his Will save while in gaseous form.
Voop, in dire straights and starting to take damage, poorly aimed his flame strike in an attempt to drive off Our Heroes, toasting himself and Zovarue. While only irritated by the damage - she made her saving throw, resisting all but a trifle of the fire damage and thus only somewhat zorched by the profane energy - she was tired of Chammady's plaything - and being surrounded is generally a Bad Thing, even for an infernally gifted bad arse medusa such as herself.
Free action - off comes the veil. Jade - still invisible petrifies on the spot. As the nimble medusa's extended displacement time after time saves her from numerous attempts to disembowel her - some three or four dozen attacks in all failed to connect due to this one spell - combined with her chill fire shield - to make her a very unpleasant foe in melee. Da Cultist entered the room while Max had finally drug his wife a square down the hallway, desperately attempting to find her pouch of unguents. Sadly, Da Cultist is also petrified, as was Voop on his second round of action within the medusa's view.
Our Heroes had pummeled her to within 25% of her starting hit point total when she had the decision to withdraw into the hallway, placing her adjacent to Max's petrified wife. Max - throwing a natural 19 - ignored her petrifying gaze and proceeded to brain her with his solid stone wife, confirming a critical hit on his third attack roll of his full attack sequence, having whiffed on his first two attempted swings.
The dolls Mwangi and Missy finished the medusa off.
After shattering Voop's stone noggin, Our Heroes dust off the stone salve they've been toting around since 5th level, slather it as needed, then use a third jar to loot Voop's carcass.
Once everyone was patched back up and the loot tallied, Our Heroes persuade Chammady - by way of having the infernal contract in question - to attempt to persuade Eccardian to give up his goal, or at least assist them in taking the bastard down.
They get a great deal of information from her - including the details of the Grand Plan to cement control of Westcrown into the Council's - and thus, Eccardian's - hands at the next sunset. They also, upon realizing that the medusa sorceress is Chammady's ally, use their lone scroll of resurrection on the medusa, pop off a restoration charge to remove the negative level and arrange for everyone to rest the night.
Early the next afternoon - the last before General Vourne and the Imperial Navy is due to arrive - Max and Zovarue are tasked to provide "firepower on call" as a back up plan should Our Heroes meet a grisly fate during this day. Our Heroes use sendings to inform the General of what they are doing, among other arrangements before quietly approaching The Vacant Throne. There is an access from beneath the hollowed out stone book that permits access into the 90' statue of the fallen Gawd, Aroden.
Mister Straw is tasked with levitating up to that entrance, rope in tow, before Da Monk goes on point and quietly accesses the entry point. While quiet and perceptive, Eccardian handily beat him on both checks, so he got ready whilst Our Heroes crammed themselves into W7, Chammady at the fore.
In her doomed bid to persuade her brother from his course. Tears streaming down his face, he clasped the back of his sister's head, touching his forehead to hers, whispering " I can no more halt this plan than will myself to stop breathing, dear-heart. And for this, I am sorry. " Then he plunged his rapier into her breast, gutting her like a fish, blood and guts pouring onto the floor in a steaming heap. Arterial spray pulsed blood up the wall.
The first significant attack that I remember was a coldball tossed by Jade that finished off Chammady Drovenge.
Eccardian, benefiting from slightly increased stats and an increased attack bonus, was doomed the moment his sister died. Melavangian bought him an extra round of existence or two, but it was insufficient. Eventually he was brought down as was the barbed devil, although Our Heroes' mettle was sorely tested, none were in danger of imminent demise. Much looting ensued of course.
That sunset, Our Heroes poured forth the burning oil - "Aroden's Burning Tears" - then slaughtered the Council of Thieves' minions with a combination of summoned celestial critters, Fmughwa the Deathgorger, their remaining firepower for the day and Zovarue's brutally effective petrifying gaze.
At daybreak the next day General Vourne did his bit and Our Heroes made their only Fame Check of the campaign, burning most of their rerolls in the process before achieving "Independance". Da Dancer and perhaps Da Cultist are remaining behind to assume the reigns of leadership in Westcrown.
The rest of Our Heroes - Da Monk, Torsin, Jade and Max - with Draggy, Fluff Gugg and Mistah Mwangi tagging along - have been graced with a lead about a charter to explore the frontier in some grubastic "nation" on the northeastern edge of the world. Along the way, their travels will take them through some interesting places - such as humble Hook Mountain, a lonely tower and a little complex known only as The House of the Beast - before they arrive in southern Brevoy to pick up their charter.
It will be interesting to see what Da Pimp and Sir Ineptus elect to bring to the table in two weeks. Da Pimp I understand is to bring in a mystic theurge (cleric/wizard) "summoner" with Leadership and a druid cohort. I have no clue what character will take Da Cultist's place.
Good times loom ahead!