Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
|
I've actually been doing some of this as well.
To wit:
1. The Foxglove Manor and Shadow Clock from "Skinsaw Murders" being placed on the isle of Candlemere.
2. Placing the giant dam at the Storval Deep from "Hook Mountain Massacre" into the Tors of Levenies in the Varnhold area - reflavoring it as a cyclopean ruin.
3. As for the mysteriously vanished "fourth colony" far to the west in the Glenebon Uplands that never shows up again in the AP, I made that be Fort Rannick at the eastern end of the Branthlend Mountains (drawing in some extra rivers on the map to place Turtleback Ferry), and Hook Mountain itself replacing Mount Branthlend 2 hexes to the west.
The ongoing metaplot isn't really relevant or necessary to address. You could weave them in as being connected to the ultimate BBEG of the Kingmaker AP, but I think it works just fine as them being completely unrelated bad guys. After all, why must every villain in the campaign zone be part of the same conspiracy?
I think those bits have been a natural fit for the campaign.
|
I've actually been doing some of this as well.
To wit:
1. The Foxglove Manor and Shadow Clock from "Skinsaw Murders" being placed on the isle of Candlemere.
2. Placing the giant dam at the Storval Deep from "Hook Mountain Massacre" into the Tors of Levenies in the Varnhold area - reflavoring it as a cyclopean ruin.
3. As for the mysteriously vanished "fourth colony" far to the west in the Glenebon Uplands that never shows up again in the AP, I made that be Fort Rannick at the eastern end of the Branthlend Mountains (drawing in some extra rivers on the map to place Turtleback Ferry), and Hook Mountain itself replacing Mount Branthlend 2 hexes to the west.
The ongoing metaplot isn't really relevant or necessary to address. You could weave them in as being connected to the ultimate BBEG of the Kingmaker AP, but I think it works just fine as them being completely unrelated bad guys. After all, why must every villain in the campaign zone be part of the same conspiracy?
I think those bits have been a natural fit for the campaign.
It sounds like you are doing the inverse of what I am up to - putting RotR into KM, where I am putting KM into RotR.
I have already hexed out a map of Varisia and placed the choice and level-appropriate encounters from KM1-3 (with a few from 4) to the area surrounding Turtleback Ferry (because the kingdom building portion will start after the end of Hook Mountain Massacre). The PCs' original charter will be for everything north of Ilsurian that is in the Skull River Basin (i.e. streams that feed the Skull River) and the "Varnhold" charter will be the Lampback River Basin north of Wolf' Ear. They will start with 5 hexes near Turtleback ferry including the established town, Fort Rannick and three "farmed" lakeside hexes.
The cyclops baddie will be located on the north slope of the Malgorian mountains and the role of the centaurs will be played by the Shoanti who live in the Curchain hills. Pitax's role will be played either by a splinter group from Korvosa, Ilsurian or most likely Roderick's cove. I'll leave that part in flux a bit because it may depend on who the PCs annoy while they are expanding their realm.
As far as the 6th KM adventure (which I love and couldn't live without), I imagine that as happening after the PCs deal with Karzoug. In this version, Karzoug imprisoned old what's her name in her realm when he settled the Varisian lowlands from her back in early Thassilon days (this may replace the Leng Device business from the end of SoXS). When the PCs get him, he opens up the flood gates and destroys that which was keeping her from opening a full portal to Varisia. I guess that I'll be bumping this part up in level but we'll see. With all the modifications I'm making, I imagine that lots of these planned encounters won't be happening at the levels they were originally planned.
|
|
I updated the story in the other thread.
As far as Kingmaker material, the PCs have addressed the Mite Lair (rebranded as Licktoad Goblins in the Brinestump Marsh) in a single multiple room spanning battle that ended in negotiation. They are ready to take the statue to confront Tartuk at the Kobold Lair (rebranded as the Birdcruncher Goblins).
I've decided to change Tartuk from a reincarnated Gnome with a desire to waste Kobolds into a Faceless Stalker with one level of Sorcerer (silent image, color spray) who was sent to help Nualia stir up the Goblins to attack Sandpoint. I think having one of these guys make an appearance early on will make their return that much more salient when they appear as mooks in Skinsaw.
I've actually been doing some of this as well.
To wit:
1. The Foxglove Manor and Shadow Clock from "Skinsaw Murders" being placed on the isle of Candlemere.
2. Placing the giant dam at the Storval Deep from "Hook Mountain Massacre" into the Tors of Levenies in the Varnhold area - reflavoring it as a cyclopean ruin.
3. As for the mysteriously vanished "fourth colony" far to the west in the Glenebon Uplands that never shows up again in the AP, I made that be Fort Rannick at the eastern end of the Branthlend Mountains (drawing in some extra rivers on the map to place Turtleback Ferry), and Hook Mountain itself replacing Mount Branthlend 2 hexes to the west.
The ongoing metaplot isn't really relevant or necessary to address. You could weave them in as being connected to the ultimate BBEG of the Kingmaker AP, but I think it works just fine as them being completely unrelated bad guys. After all, why must every villain in the campaign zone be part of the same conspiracy?
I think those bits have been a natural fit for the campaign.
Hey Jason,
I really like the idea of adding some RotRL elements to KM, especially to help play up the cyclops-ruins aspect. Have you made any other additions, or have you tweaked your initial ideas?
-NB
|
|
Hey Jason,
I really like the idea of adding some RotRL elements to KM, especially to help play up the cyclops-ruins aspect. Have you made any other additions, or have you tweaked your initial ideas?
-NB
What levels did you have in mind?
The other Thassilonian ruins are:
The catacombs of wrath (both parts), Thistletop and Runeforge. I don't think that any of these particularly work in an ersatz KM campaign.
Sites that would work easily would be the Graul Homestead, Fort Rannick, the Giant Fortress and the miner's camp from the final runelords adventure.
Hey Jason,
I really like the idea of adding some RotRL elements to KM, especially to help play up the cyclops-ruins aspect. Have you made any other additions, or have you tweaked your initial ideas?
-NB
What levels did you have in mind?
The other Thassilonian ruins are:
The catacombs of wrath (both parts), Thistletop and Runeforge. I don't think that any of these particularly work in an ersatz KM campaign.Sites that would work easily would be the Graul Homestead, Fort Rannick, the Giant Fortress and the miner's camp from the final runelords adventure.
My goal is to dial-up the evidence of the cyclops empire, so I'm looking for items and sites to add throughout the AP. It seems that the tower on the island in the Candlemere is a good spot, and I like the idea of adding the dam from RotRL to the mountains.
I'm more then happy to steal locations from other sources (Paizo or otherwise). In fact I'm considering using the Moathouse from Village of Hommlet as the Stag Lord's Keep. However I'm fairly new to Pathfinder so I'm not familiar with the various AP modules or other Paizo products which have locations that would make great cyclopean ruins.
-NB
-NB
|
|
My goal is to dial-up the evidence of the cyclops empire, so I'm looking for items and sites to add throughout the AP. It seems that the tower on the island in the Candlemere is a good spot, and I like the idea of adding the dam from RotRL to the mountains.
I'm more then happy to steal locations from other sources (Paizo or otherwise). In fact I'm considering using the Moathouse from Village of Hommlet as the Stag Lord's Keep. However I'm fairly new to Pathfinder so I'm not familiar with the various AP modules or other Paizo products which have locations that would make great cyclopean ruins.
-NB
If overgrown ruins is what you want, there are tons in Serpent's Skull that could be peppered around the Kingmaker map. The locations and traps and whatnot would work well with what I think you're going for. You would just need to repopulate those maps with undead and temperate baddies instead of Jungle baddies (do an encounter substitution).
Alternatively, one of the suggestions from the Game Mastery Guide that I really liked (and have tried) is taking an encounter/location/whatever and running it as printed (i.e. if the encounter has lizard men in a jungle) but describe it as however you like.
(i.e. in this case instead of lizard men in a jungle, you tell the PCs that they encounter cyclops thrall in a forest or something like that). You use the encounter as written, use the monster stats as written (or sub out same-CR baddies) and just adjust your descriptions as needed.
My PCs never knew that when they were fighting the Licktoad goblins south of Sandpoint in my Rise of the Runelords campaign that they were really fighting the Mites from Kingmaker, just with new monster descriptions and a couple of on-the-fly monster stat conversions.
|
|
Update:
I have been keeping a journal here that has the day-today happenings and a bunch of other discussion:
Link to main journal
My PCs have finished RotR-1 with the two Kingmaker themed side-quests detailed above (the Licktoad {Mite} and Birdcruncher Goblin {Kobold} tribes).
The PCs decided to leave Sandpoint for the time being to pursue some of the rumours of bandit activity south of the Yondabakari River. Their do-gooder activities have gained them notice by the authorities in Magnimar and have received an exploration charter for what is called the Western Mushfens, an area of hills, moors and forest east of the Mushfens proper and north of a band of coastal swamp, marsh and mangroves.
I have made up a couple of maps, one a blank map for the PCs to fill in as they explore and one that is populated with encounters from KM-1 and KM-2 (because my group is straddling level 3-4 right now and could use some of the more challenging encounters from Rivers Run Red).
Simultaneously, I have started the Skinsaw Murders but the PCs won't be aware of this until they return to Sandpoint next time, whenever that is.
Anyway, my maps are here (the encounter code on the GM map is S* for Stolen Lands and R* for Rivers Run Red):
Player's Map
GM's Map
My group just had a portion in the KM part of the world but has already met the undead Nettles fellow, has begun being pranked by the Fey (horse leads tied into knots, saddle loosened, dog's tail painted pink) and have met the crazy hermit Bokken, who warned them about a beast in the Forest (the Forest Drake) and requested Fangberries if they come across any.
|
|
Giant bump!
My Rise of the Runelords and Kingmaker mashup campaign continues and I thought I'd share here. My main journal and musings are here:
Link to main journal
To recap, what I'm doing is running Rise of the Runelords as an overarching metaplot and interfingering major elements of the Kingmaker adventure path as side quests for the first couple of RotR adventures and once the PCs liberated Fort Rannick, they were granted stewardship and an exploration and settlement charter.
I've taken all the unused hex encounters from KM 1-4 and put them out there in Varisia. Fort Drelev and all its major encounters are situated around the Varisian town of Ravenmoor and Varnhold is replaced by Ilsurian.
Since liberating Fort Rannick and being granted a small town (Turtleback Ferry) and 5-hex starter kingdom, my PCs have been contacted by the founder of (Tatzlford) to make a town called Sanos Pass in the Sanos Forest between Ravenmoor and Turtleback Ferry and made friends with the powers that be in Ilsurian.
They spent a few months doing some hexploration and have ventured towards Drelev when they picked up a rumour about a splinter group of Shoanti Barbarians (Tiger lords). They investigated that a bit but without the initial attack on their town, they didn't have much reason to press things too far, though they did find the Tiger Lord camp and dungeon which they abandoned. They managed to have a rather undiplomatic first meeting with Drelev so those seeds for KM4, should I choose to run it are planted deep.
They returned back to find Grigori in town stirring up trouble and were about to head out for more hexploration when they got wind that something was wrong in Ilsurian (the ferry traffic was several days late with no warning). This led them to find the town "Vanished", which led to the Nomen Centaurs in the Sanos Grass between the Sanos Forest and the Shimmerglens swamp, which led them to the Valley of the Dead in the east slopes of the Malgorian Mountains. They are currently fighting their way through Vordakai's island at late 9th level. In my version, Vordakai was allied with Runelord Karzoug and abetted the enslaving of the lesser giant races.
It's been a lot of fun doing this transition and one of the best parts is that many of the KM1-3 encounters work even with PCs at a much higher level because they involve a lot of Roleplay. I've had my world be pretty dynamic and because I have to manage my random encounters carefully (to pace XP), I'll often have an "encounter" be discovering a trail for one of the various groups that are moving around in the wilderness (Northropple, loggers, fey etc.) rather than a combat encounter. It's been refreshing and challenging at the same time because there is a lot of ad libbing on my part because I never know what my PCs are going to be up to next.
My intermediate-term plan is after they are done with Vordakai, I'll have a fairly long hiatus for kingdom building (maybe a year) before I start the events of RotR4 (Fortress of the Stone Giants) either by my PCs investigating the source of continued worrying reports of Giant activity to the north, by having the giants attack their town or by tracking giants that take a piece of the Skull River Dam and move through their kingdom on their way to Sandpoint. This is all provided they don't stir things up with Drelev and initiate the events in KM4.