I played this on Wednesday and will be running it next week. I really enjoyed the scenario, but had a few questions. I'm sure I'll have a few more once I've taken the time to read it instead of just playing it.
First, though, should the chronicle contain checkboxes for the two unique items like the other two Everwar scenarios? There's nothing to show whether PCs successfully retrieve the sword, for example.
I'll post more questions after I read the whole thing.
I ran this tonight and found quite a few problems
First, the exact same vampire spawn statblock appears twice in the adventure, while neither of the vampires (who both have the same stats? bummer) have stats in the document itself. Seems like that space could have been better used. The stats also list the spawn's energy resistance as Cold and energy 10 which is a copy paste error from the Bestiary itself, I believe, and should be cold and electricity 10 as per the vampire statblock.
Additionally, PCs tonight did the same thing in tier 10-11 that my group did when I played it last week: the tried to follow the gaseous form of the first vampire in the town square. Where does it go? Can they actually kill it? And if not, are they really saving Whistledown by killing the final BBEG? I was almost tempted to reward the PCs for not resting after the town square fight and trying to follow the vampire to it's lair by having it head to the island (and them using the undead's boat and skipping the smuggler altogether) and then reward them further by having it be the same vampire. I think the PCs should get something for pushing on through without resetting the 15 min adventuring day and find the final battle easier because the vampire is still regenerating when they show up at his crib.
It was also disappointing throwing the same three monsters at the PCs multiple times. I would have loved to see a bit more variety in the encounter design.
I think this plot arc has some awesome backstory, and I can't wait to see where it goes in the final installment, but none of the rich history comes into play or is revealed to the Pathfinders at all in this one, and that too is a bit of a letdown.
Has anyone else done anything to breathe more life into this one at the table?
|
Thanks for the heads up for the scenario. I'll be running this next week for our 10-11 group.
While I agree that having Kamilah reanimate a Mohrg makes a lot of sense because of what she did in her life (slaughter, slavery, mayhem), could it make sense for her to be a ghost? I suppose I can't make this change without making the scenario illegal for reporting, but here goes:
When the PCs arrive, she is unfriendly towards them and treats them as potential slave buyers, hoping to catch them off guard, subdue them, and sell them as slaves. If the PCs try to capitalize on this, she explains that her stock is limited at the moment, and that the party should return another day, as more acquisitions should be arriving soon. She reveals nothing of Zuberi, and any questions relating to him, even to a "previous employer" quickly make her hostile.
If the party does not try to appear as a group of buyers, she gets ready to attack unless the party succeeds in identifying her(silver ring on the finger, Osirion clothing) and changing her attitude to indifferent via diplomacy (or bluff) checks, convincing her that they want to return her sword to her body and give her body a proper burial in Osirion (the only conditions she will accept for letting the party pass unharmed). She laughs off attempts at intimidation. For tier 10-11, the Mohrg is still there with her, but instead of attacking immediately, it waits for Kamilah's signal. Treat Kamilah as a human ghost fighter 7 to keep the CR at the same level.
If the PCs fight and defeat Kamilah without adjusting her attitude towards the party, her incorporeal form returns during the return trip to Sothis. She demands to know where they are taking her, and now that they are actually on a ship returning to Osirion, the diplomacy (or bluff) checks are much easier, even if they do not necessarily reflect the truth of what Balentiir is going to do with the body once it is returned. Depending on the item procured from her corpse by Osirion Faction members, she may or may not demand its return. Continued failure to appease Kamilah or respect her requests causes Kamilah to haunt the ship throughout the remainder of the journey to Sothis. As sailors tend toward superstition, it is not long before the PCs are thrown off the ship (at port or not) and their "horrible corpse" goes in the water with them.
Unfortunately, this would pretty much require a pretty full re-write of the scenario. Maybe I'll just submit similar ideas as a proposal of my own.
It was also disappointing throwing the same three monsters at the PCs multiple times. I would have loved to see a bit more variety in the encounter design.
Alas, that was a development decision, and out of my hands (I originally had some different critters). Storywise, the change makes sense for him to have vampire spawn, but it's not as tactically interesting (I like variety, too). Likewise, I can't answer your vampire question, because there were no vampires in the market fight in the original draft (only 1 vampire in the entire scenario, BBEG).
...I can't wait to see where it goes in the final installment...
Me too! ;-)
|
|
Alas, that was a development decision, and out of my hands (I originally had some different critters). Storywise, the change makes sense for him to have vampire spawn, but it's not as tactically interesting (I like variety, too). Likewise, I can't answer your vampire question, because there were no vampires in the market fight in the original draft (only 1 vampire in the entire scenario, BBEG).
It was also disappointing throwing the same three monsters at the PCs multiple times. I would have loved to see a bit more variety in the encounter design.
Thanks for the clarification, Hank. Overall, it's pretty great. Thanks for putting it together for us!
|
|
I'm thinking I'll have there be fog and a very light during the first encounter in the marketplace, cutting down on visibility. If the vampires go gaseous, I'll treat them as invisible when making stealth checks to move around.
For the island hideout, maybe make it a cold environment? It's below the water level of a lake that's less than 40* farenheit, so it would probably be pretty chilly down there.
|
|
Is it correct that it's a DC21 Perception Check to notice the Optional Giant Constrictor Snakes for Tier 7-8 and Tier 9-11 it's DC19?
Correct. Since the tier 9-11 snakes are Huge size instead of Large size, they get -4 to their Stealth check, but their Dex and skill point advancement make up part of the difference.