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Are there any paizo or mappacks used? if so which ones?No map packs or flipmats accompany the Godsmouth Heresy. The good news is that the dungeon is easy to draw on your standard flipmat. The bad news is there's a LOT of dungeon to draw.
lol this was the exact thing I was thinking when I built a portable gaming table using a 32" tv this week.
I also have a question about the doors in this module.
This is the 2nd adventure I have run. When I ran the Fallen Fortress for my group, there were several keyed doors they ran into that they simply bashed open with their weapons. These were generally wood doors and a quick consult of the rules made it sound like while it may take them some time, they would eventually get through.
Bashing through the doors in the Fallen Fortress may not have been a big deal, but in Godsmouth it seems like it was intended that the players have to make a judgement call about when to use their precious charges on the Chime of Opening. If they can chop down the doors it takes away that whole dynamic.
It looks to me that we are now dealing with hewn stone doors with Arcane Lock. Hardness of 8, HP of 540. (There are three doors of this type in the very first chamber.) After consulting the rules it seems like they might be able to chip through these doors again, at least one of them has a weapon that does 1D8 damage (plus a strength bonus).
Right now I'm contemplating an equation to determine how long on average it would take them to chop through the stone door, with fatigue and exhaustion checks. Is there anything I am missing that would make this an impossible task?
After preping to run this I noticed that there are two secret doors (6f to 9b & 29 to 27) that start on one level and end 30' higher or lower. To fix this I created a 5' shaft with a ladder. Is there a more efficient method to handle this or have I misinterpreted the map in some way?
I know this thread is almost two years old now but I'm going to run this module tomorrow and I just noticed that glaring map error. Any chance you remember how your fix went over. Does anyone have another solution? Creating an incline throws the scale of the dungeon way off. As the dungeon is drawn now it would have to be a 45 degree incline. Yowzers! Though that could be interesting too...
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I am working on an intro to stick in the GM Shared Resources folder. I'm looking for feedback and a fresh eye for inconsistencies:
It is past dusk as you approach the imposing structure of the Godsmouth Cathedral in the Bottoms District of Kaer Maga. Dozens of mature rowan trees line the walkway to the southern façade, where your contact instructed you to knock as darkness fell. The vocalizations of whippoorwills among the trees are deafening. The birds are sacred to Pharasma, said to be psychopomps who guide departed souls to the Boneyard. A few heartbeats after you rap on the cathedral door the portal opens and a stone-faced guard asks you your business.
“They are here to see me, Ravi” says a Varisian woman. She is middle-aged, her hair pulled back into a stern bun, dressed in simple purple vestments. “I am Valanthe Narissia, Cryptsmistress of the Godsmouth Ossuary. Please follow me.” She beacons you to enter the nave and follow her down an aisle way.
The inside of the cathedral is cavernous. There are a dozen worshipers scattered around, praying and making offerings. A large hourglass containing red sand stands atop the cathedral’s stone altar. Behind the altar, a large rose window depicts Pharasma in her three aspects, flanked by smaller stained glass windows illustrating the judgment of souls in the Boneyard. Suddenly, a muffled shriek followed by maniacal laughter causes you to reflexively stop and turn toward the source. At the back of the nave guards are closing a pair of stout wooden doors, hastily dropping a bar into place.
[Knowledge (Religion) or Knowledge (Local) DC 20 identifies that the Pharasmin priests who probe too deeply into prophesy, the Fate aspect of their goddess, tend to go insane. These unfortunates are cared for and protected from harming themselves or others in asylums housed within major temples such as Godsmouth Cathedral. If asked, Valanthe patiently explains this.]
Valanthe stops within the southern transept before a smaller altar and mural depicting Pharasma in her death aspect. The Cryptsmistress details guards to see that your gathering is not disturbed.
“Before I reveal secrets of this Cathedral to outsiders, I must ask that you swear an oath of secrecy upon the altar of my goddess. In turn, I will swear that you will not be asked to do anything that violates your faith or allegiance to another master. What I want is absolute discretion on a sensitive subject. If you cannot agree to this, then you may leave now.”
[She faces each PC in turn, willing to answer a few questions. In short the players either agree to her terms or they can pull out a new character that is more cooperative. If anyone asks what will happen if they violate the oath, she simply quotes “All who live must face her judgment.” –Carrion Crown AP, “Trial of the Beast”, page 68. The precise wording of the oath is not important, the players should understand if they want to continue they need to agree to the conditions.]
You are each asked to place your hand upon the altar and repeat the oath. Valanthe intones “The Lady shall keep it.” Then she grimly nods and begins:
“Below our feet lays the Godsmouth Ossuary, a vast catacomb that pre-dates any written history of Kaer Maga. For ages the residents of this city have been interred there, their sacred remains entrusted to our order. Three weeks ago bodies began to…disappear…from the Ossuary. This is no simple grave robbery. We tightly control entrance to the Ossuary, and our graveguards patrol the catacombs nightly. They know its passageways better than a minotaur knows his labyrinth. These men and women are sworn to Pharasma and find the matter as distressing as I do. Believe me, we have vetted everyone who has access to the Ossuary and if one of them were lying, we would know. The inquisitors spent a week’s time coming to this conclusion, and yet the bodies continued to disappear.
“If you don’t understand the need for secrecy, then let me explain. For millennia our faith has watched over the dead. They are our sacred trust. In a practical sense, they are also a means of steady income. If families were to discover that the remains of their loved ones were missing, perhaps consumed or worse, they would cease utilizing our services. Our vaunted security would be called into question, perhaps emboldening other would-be robbers to plunder the dead. No. Not this year, not yet. [She makes the Pharasman spiral symbol in the air]
“Our divinations have been vague. To the best of our abilities we have determined the missing bodies lie beyond the Ossuary, or rather beyond the complex that sees use in this day and age. The great rocky shelf that Kaer Maga is built upon is riddled with tunnels and caverns. There are places that even the boldest Duskwarden has yet to tread. At the bottom level of the Ossuary there is a great door that seals the catacombs off from what lies even further below. That door has never been opened in my lifetime. That is about to change. In order to find what has gone missing, we require you to search beyond that ancient door.
“I wouldn’t have made you this offer if I didn’t think you were capable. Your group has a mix of skills that simply isn’t known to our order. I can offer you 500 gold each if you can recover the missing bodies and put an end to whoever—or whatever—is responsible. Any possessions belonging to the missing dead must be returned as well.
“There is another secret that I will share with you now that I have your oaths. The Godsmouth Ossuary is almost full. Sometime in the next two years we will run out of room to house the dead. We have to expand. I make you this offer; should you find suitable space beyond the great door, clear it of danger so that we might secure a place for those who have yet to pass. If you do this, I can reward you with an additional 250 gold each.
“The favor of my order is also not insignificant, although I understand you may not risk your life for goodwill alone.”
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Questions never answered in the module often roll around my head:
How is Svilennius Tripe able to enter the catacombs, steal a body and leave without leaving tracks to his secret door?
No one ever went through the catacombs with detect secret doors up?
How did Svilennius get his glass vats and other equipment to his lair past the graveguards?
How many bodies are actually missing?
Has anyone concocted answers to questions like these?