The PCs in my game just finished going through the Catacombs. Next stop for them should be Thistletop, but for some reason they're itching to visit the Old Light and Chopper's Isle first, convinced that the "lower chambers" mentioned in Tsuto's journal are as likely to be there as anywhere.
I can let them do that, though I may have to steal from Denek's campaign journal for the purpose, but I haven't read very far ahead in the AP and I want to be sure that a visit to those sites now won't compromise any encounters or discoveries scheduled for later.
I'll start reading ahead tonight or tomorrow, but if anyone can save me a little time and point me to any relevant future sections of the adventure, it would be much appreciated.
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The PCs in my game just finished going through the Catacombs. Next stop for them should be Thistletop, but for some reason they're itching to visit the Old Light and Chopper's Isle first, convinced that the "lower chambers" mentioned in Tsuto's journal are as likely to be there as anywhere.
I can let them do that, though I may have to steal from Denek's campaign journal for the purpose, but I haven't read very far ahead in the AP and I want to be sure that a visit to those sites now won't compromise any encounters or discoveries scheduled for later.
I'll start reading ahead tonight or tomorrow, but if anyone can save me a little time and point me to any relevant future sections of the adventure, it would be much appreciated.
I've read through #4, and there are no conflicts thus far.
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I'll start reading ahead tonight or tomorrow, but if anyone can save me a little time and point me to any relevant future sections of the adventure, it would be much appreciated.
I don't have access to my books at the moment, but
There are no connections in any of the books. I played up chopper isle as very creepy and tossed in a couple of haunts but not much else. The old light house would have mostly signs of Broterick (sp?) has been excavating it.
Thanks, everyone. I did scans of the PDFs -- duh! why did I not think of that yesterday? -- and determined that Chopper's Isle is strictly backstory, and in fact is only accessible these days via skilled climbing or flight.
The Old Light isn't much more than an historical site, though PCs may eventually confirm its ancient use, and that it once connected to the Catacombs of Wrath.
Apparently it's just the Catacombs themselves that crop up again in AP #5.
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Thanks, everyone. I did scans of the PDFs -- duh! why did I not think of that yesterday? -- and determined that Chopper's Isle is strictly backstory, and in fact is only accessible these days via skilled climbing or flight.
The Old Light isn't much more than an historical site, though PCs may eventually confirm its ancient use, and that it once connected to the Catacombs of Wrath.
Apparently it's just the Catacombs themselves that crop up again in AP #5.
Yes, that's exactly right. I think some part of the catacombs are below the Old Light, I don't remember exactly which part, though.
In adventure 5, one of the stairs of the Catacombs of Wrath that was blocked in adventure 1 becomes un-blocked, and the adventurers can then go down into a previously unexplored level of that dungeon.So if they really investigate deeply into the Old Light, digging in the stone there, maybe they can just find another way into the first dungeon level of the Catacombs of Wrath.
Chopper's Island is indeed just mentioned as part of the backstory in the campaign, so it's up to the DM to flesh it out if need be. :)
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The half-orc druid in my game who grew up in the Turandurock Academy as an orphan, lives on Chopper's Island with his bear companion. He was instrumental in Deputy Hemlock (now Sheriff) catching Chopper when the druid was a 0-level child. Because of this, both Shalelu and Hemlock allow him to stay there, with the understanding that he build no structures (the town doesn't want to deal with anyone wondering if Chopper part II is coming), and guards it against goblins and other town enemies. He lives in a cave because of this, but has seen the goblins in the trash pile nearby and caught sight of the bunyip. In my game, the only creatures that live on the island are small cats and tons and tons of seabirds, who nest there.
As far as Old Light goes, I implied to my party that there may be interesting areas to explore and see, but they would basically need a Fly spell to get to them, explaining that the walls were very smooth and vertical, etc, etc. I fully expect them to explore it more in detail later, when I may perhaps add some content there.
Last night I printed out the page from AP #1 that describes how when Chopper was discovered, the guards collapsed the tunnels to the underground chambers, burned the house and tore down the stairs, and no one has been atop the cliffs for years now, because you have to be a skilled skilber or able to fly to get there.
My wife's character has been the most keen to get up there and I'd hoped the highlighted passages would dissuade her. Nope. She read this and said "Underground chambers! Gotta check those out!" So her plan now is to borrow a boat and row around the seaward side of the Isle at low tide, looking for anything that could be a sea cave large enough to get a small boat into; poke around the base of the cliffs on the landward side at low tide, looking for secret doors; and try to find a couple of skilled climbers in town who can help her get up there.
Fine. She won't find anything related to the adventure, but I may plant some stuff there relevant to her character: her backstory is that Jervas Stoot was her uncle, and she never believed he was capable of all those killings on his own. Clearly he must have been possessed by some kind of evil spirit.
I've got another player whose character keeps wanting to go look for his sister; his backstory is that he grew up in Magnimar and came to Sandpoint fairly recently because his sister ran off with some guy and this was believed to be her last known location. Sandpoint's not a big town, and he hasn't found anyone who knows anything about her, but until I produce his sister or her corpse, he will probably keep bringing this side trek up. I believe she is supposed to have left Magnimar too recently to have been one of Stoot's victims, and I don't know if I want to try and concoct a story that finds her body, or other evidence of her death, atop the Isle for some other reason.
I've started a spreadsheet to track the multiple timelines for various NPCs and locations in the adventure, tell when certain places were relevant and in what way. A good deal of Nualia's time is, so far, unaccounted for. More reading is required...
I think some part of the catacombs are below the Old Light, I don't remember exactly which part, though.
In adventure 5, one of the stairs of the Catacombs of Wrath that was blocked in adventure 1 becomes un-blocked, and the adventurers can then go down into a previously unexplored level of that dungeon.
I'm not at all sure my mapping is going to hold up once we get to this point. Maybe the players won't notice. The blocked "upward" staircase in the Catacombs (B5?) once came out in a spot that is now the alley amid a cluster of buildings just north of the Garrison. The blocked "downward" staircase (B10) would be the one that opens up in AP #5 to reveal a lower level.
IIRC a sinkhole opens up in the middle of Tower Street very near the Garrison, and dropping into either B12 or B13 (Lamashtu's Altar, and Cathdreal of Wrath) but I don't think that's going to line up. We'll see.
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Chopper Island was a trigger left unused as a curiosity for players and GMs, so you can do what you want of it and it won't mess the adventure, rest assured.
Precisely I did just that on my late sessions, except I connected it with chapter 5 with just a dash of express-expanded dungeon (thanks to Donjon's instant dungeon generator).
It all started with Hemlock being jailed for brutally murdering Chopper's mom, and he was caught in-fraganti. After talking to Helmock, our cleric heroine finds out that he went to seek the missing Brodent Quint, whom no one has seen for days since he went to poke around the Old Light. The last thing the sheriff remembers is walking to Chopper Isle.
...Where he got possessed by Chopper's Ghost, when he finally got back to his senses, he had a bloody knife in his hands, a corpse at his feet, and guards pointing pikes at him. Also, while this happened, Chopper (invisibly) switched bodies to one of the guards, whom he'd use later to create a hostage situation while he was talking with the cleric. Good old Jarvis used his hostage to lure Hemlock again to Chopper Isle, where the ghost plans to exact his final revenge.
The latter parts got a bit messy as silly me forgot about Pazuzu's existance completely and went for something else entirely involving a Vrock, also our heroic cleric wasn't able to figure out what issues still fetter Chopper, so the ghost will still be around to haunt some more. All in all it was a good time or so I hope.
Yeah that wasn't the one I was looking for. Someone did a really long one about it. They did the house, haunts etc it was really nice. Wish i would have bookmarked it now.
Might it have been -- Denek's campaign journal?
Yeah that wasn't the one I was looking for. Someone did a really long one about it. They did the house, haunts etc it was really nice. Wish i would have bookmarked it now.Might it have been -- Denek's campaign journal?
I am getting ready to run a RotRL game and have already decided to use this link to Moonbeams adventure as inspiration for my own game if the Party wants to check out Choppers Isle. I like the use of the Atic Whisperer and the strange totem under the ground.
Yeah i think that was the chopper island one I was thinking of. Still can't find the resource thread though. :)
Here's a few more:
Burnt Offerings Clarifications
Crunching the numbers for Fort Rannick
Don't forget that the Old Light comes up later in AP #4. The more important you make the Old Light now, the better that hook will be later.
Due to having an odd group of players - opps I mean characters, I decided to switch a bunch of things around. At choppers Isle I created an underground cavern connected to the sea (very similar to under the manor house), and plopped an aboleth in there to mess with the players. Tons of illusions, a handful of disguised Skum and the dominate ability worked really well in explaining some of the past and current unpleasantness going on at Sandpoint. Once the players get it down to half hp, it escapes, and from then on players don't know if something is an illusion, or if an NPC is dominated. Makes for a great recurring mastermind type monster. Also the aboleths are against the runelords, but think of all humans as being servants of the runelords.
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My players headed there without warning one evening, so I had to quickly wing an instant dungeon featuring a collapsed tunnel, a simple underground dwelling with ruined furniture, and an access to a (previously) sealed grotto upon which, years ago, Stoot stumbled, and where he found a very old altar to (your pick) Norgorber/Zon-Kuthon/Calistria/Lamashtu, partially explaining why he became Chopper. In there, through columns and rubble, the party had to fight a pesky attic whisperer. After, they destroyed the altar, triggering (of course) the traditional cavern collapse that left a big hole on the surface of Chopper's Isle.