Both groups of charmed guards are pretty stalwart specimens. They're higher level fighters than are the commanders of Caliphas’s various fortresses, after all, and about as tough individually as Count Galdana or Mathus Modrinacht (remember the would-be packlord?) To me it makes sense to have these not be faceless goons, but storied warriors.
So in my game, the ones in the tailor’s shop are Halloran’s veteran cadre turned to Radvir’s service, and the ones at the abbey will be hard men who used to partol Virlych’s border with Amaans. If any border guards survive, they’ll have a tale or two to tell forwarning of the blood knight and of the dangers the party can expect in chapter 6.
Another bonus to giving these men identities is that any who are killed will be animated for the revenant squads in chapter 6. I’d like the players to remember them.
Since the "vampire murders" and the pact with the vampires will not fly with my group (LG cleric of Iomedae, LG pro Pharasma Monk and CG Ranger who hates the undead - favored enemy undead), I will have to rewrite the Caliphas part a bit.
There are no vampire murders, but vampires kill the living. Giovanni gave the bloodbrew to a few specific vampires who are free now from their masters (and quite a bit stronger), but in exchange, they have to collect blood for the whispering way (in my version, the witches work for the whispering way). The blood is needed for aritual as Adivion Adrissant's failsave to compensate for the lack of Raven's Head.
Luvick does not like that vampires show their actions so openly and uses the PCs for his own needs. A letter or agent will give the PCs hints, where these rogue vampires hunt.
Now there is still a problem. I wanted to let every vampire to hunt in a different part of town, but the info on this is a bit perplexing. In Ashes at Dawn it says there are seven districts, each made distinct by its geography, population, or trade. This is great, but is there anything more specific? Another thing is, there are ten names for seven districts: Ashtown, Blackwood, North Cushing, West Cushing, Dowell, Eskcourt, Hawthorne Rows, Laurelight Hill, Leland, and Valpole.
Laurelight Hill seems to be the place where the countess has her castle, so, a very high class victorian environment I would assume. Ashtown I would place at the borders. Its name suggests, it is where the ash from the brass and iron works comes down. Seems to me like a many common workers. Blackwood seems similarly at these outskirts. The name invokes in me the picture of trees black with coal and ash. Lumbering should be the trade of this district.
Any other suggestions or references to the districts? Some of the vampires will remain the same, and to mix the hunt up, I will stat some new ones to make their hunting style different.
I got the Silent Shadow, a halfling rogue vampire who preys silently in the mists of the harbour for foreign labourers, and I got an Idea for the Rat King, a half-orc vampire ranger with a taste for elven blood who stalks through the sewers, accompanied by his swarms of rats under his control.
There are more ideas, but I want to have the theme of the districts down before I place the specific vampire there and flesh out his methods and how the PC can get hints and means to destroy them.
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I found this page which has a more detailed description of the city plus a map with specific areas called out in more detail than I recall being in Ashes at Dawn itself.
That page mixes stuff from Ashes at Dawn and Rule of Fear with someone's homebrew. For example, it says that Prince Aduard Ordranti has died; in Ashes to Ashes, he is alive.
McBaine, I would suggest putting your energy into creating distincitive groups of vampire rebels rather than powerful individual rebel vampires. High-level fights against single opponents tend to be anticlimactic. Also, give some thought to how each group conceals and protects their coffins--this can add some investigation, puzzle-solving, intrigue and/or diverse fights to your campaign, depending on what you want more of.
I would suggest a caravan of vampiric Varisian nomads, a small guild of vampiric Sczarni ruffians, a cabal of foreign vampiric mummy dust smugglers from Geb, a vampiric noble cult of Alchino, an underground vampire fight club, a vampiric schism of the Esoteric Order of the Palantine Eye, and a collection of insane vampires hiding in the deepest dark.
If you come up with any interesting vampire types, post ‘em here!
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I made a rough overview for the vampires. I wanted the vampires to be distinct creatures, not whole groups. throwing dozens of vampire spawn at my players diminishes the vampire theme in my opinion. They complained about fighting werewolves all the time in broken moon and that it got old after a while because it was to many of the same over a short time and I agree to apoint. So I want to make them the select few who are memorable.
I will keep Merrik Sais and her lair, but replace her vampire spawn with more plant creatures. There is also no entrance to the vampire underground there, but she acts on her own.
These are the Vampires I have come up with:
Shukuris - The Rat King (male half-orc vampire ranger 6/rogue 4)
Theme:
Vampire as beastlike predator with power over lesser animals
Location:
The sewers under [district? North and/or West Cushing?]
Coffin:
In a destroyed sewer tunnel under lots of debris.
Hunting style:
Shukuris hates elves and hunts them exclusivly for their blood. He stalks through the underground tunnels and grabs elves that are in close proximity, drags them into the sewers and feeds on them.
Hunting the hunter:
stories of numerous rat swarms go through the district and in the morning, there was a blood trail leading into the sewers. The characters can explore the tunnels until they find Shukuris and the
rats he feeds with vampiric blood to keep as his pets.
Cave-ins, close quarter fights in the tunnels and lots and lots of distracting, clawing and biting ratswarms are obstacles.
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Shukuris CR 11
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XP 12,800
Male half-orc vampire ranger 6 / rogue 4
LE Medium undead (augmented humanoid)
Init +11; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +26
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Defense
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AC 23, touch 16, flat-footed 17 (+1 armor, +5 dex, +1 dodge, +6 natural)
hp 109 (6d10+4d8+40); fast healing 5
Fort +9, Ref +16, Will +6
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4; DR 10/magic and silver;
DR 3/- against piercing; Immune undead traits; Resist cold 10,
electricity 10
Weaknesses: vampire weaknesses
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee slam +16/+11 (1d4+9 plus energy drain) or
unarmed +14/+14/+9/+9 (1d4+6 plus energy drain) or
mithral longsword +16/+11 (1d8+6, 19-20)
Special Attacks blood drain, children of the night, create spawn,
dominate (DC 18), energy drain (2 levels, DC 18), sneak attack (2d6)
Favored enemy (elves +4, humans +2)
Favored terrain (urban +2)
Rogue Talents: Bleeding Attack (bleed 2), Weapon Focus (unarmed)
Ranger Spells prepared (CL 3rd, concentration +6)
1st (DC 14)—charm animal, magic fang, speak with animals (2)
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Statistics
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Str 22, Dex 20, Con —, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 16
Base Atk +9/+4; CMB +15; CMD 30
Feats
AlertnessB, Combat ReflexesB, Deflect Arrows, DodgeB, Double SliceB,
EnduranceB, EvasionB, Improved InitiativeB, Improved Two Weapon
Fighting, Improved Unarmed Strike, Intimidating Prowress, Lightning
ReflexesB, Mobility, ToughnessB, Two Weapon FightingB, Uncanny DodgeB
Skills
Acrobatics +12, Bluff +18, Climb +14, Escape Artist +12, Handle Animal
+16, Intimidate +24, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +14, Perform (Wind
Instruments) +11, Perception +24, Sense Motive +11, Stealth +26,
Survival +16 Racial Modifiers +8 Bluff, +8 Perception, +8 Sense Motive,
+8 Stealth, +2 Intimidate
Languages Common, Orc
SQ change shape (dire bat or wolf, beast shape II), gaseous
form, shadowless, spider climb, trapfinding, trap sense +1,
wild empathy (+9)
gear:
- mithral longsword (2015gp)
- quilted cloth armor (100gp)
- cloak of elvenkind (2500gp),
- pipes of the sewers (1150gp),
- 87gp
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Blood-infused Rat Swarm CR 5
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XP 1,600
N Tiny animal (swarm)
Init +7; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +9
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Defense
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AC 19, touch 16, flat-footed 15 (+3 Dex, +1 dodge, +2 size, +3 natural)
hp 38 (7d8+7)
Fort +7, Ref +9, Will +5
Defensive Abilities swarm traits
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Offense
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Speed 15 ft., climb 15 ft., swim 15 ft.
Melee swarm (2d6 plus disease)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks disease, distraction (DC 14)
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Statistics
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Str 2, Dex 16, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 2
Base Atk +4; CMB —; CMD —
Feats
Dodge, Improved Initiative, Skill Focus (Perception), Step up
Skills
Balance +6, Climb +12, Perception +9, Stealth +16, Swim
+12; Racial Modifiers uses Dex to modify Climb and Swim
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Special Abilities
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Disease (Ex) Filth fever: Swarm—injury; save Fort DC 14; onset 1d3
days; frequency 1/day; effect 1d3 Dex damage and 1d3 Con damage; cure
2 consecutive saves. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Lady Evgenya Zunaida - The Charming Killer (female human vampire aristocrat 1/sorcerer 10)
- keeping her stats from the book with a few spell changes, may change her name
Theme:
Vampire as enchanting seducer, posing as mortal noblewoman
Location:
The Mansion of the Lady on Laurelight Hill
Coffin:
Behind a secret door in her room
Hunting style:
The Lady keeps many servants, and sometimes, one of them vanishes. No one seems to mind. To many of her household are already under her spell.
Hunting the hunter:
A tip from Luvicks agent or the tale of a former escaped servant who saw to much can bring the PCs on her trail. The PCs may have to get an official invitation for an audience or her party to get close
enough to her (which is possible with OotPE contacts). When investigating by day, the PCs can be brought before her for an audience, but PCs can make checks to deduce that the windows aren't real (a combination of a silent image and a sunlight spell with permanancy). [If the PC go to the high society party, they may encounter Adivion Adrissant. Interesting if they have Raven's Head. Time for a chat with the bad guy and some Whispering Way assasins later. Not Adivion though, he has to leave for Renchurch]
Problems are her high status and her many dominated mortal servants. How to get near enough to slay her without harming the innocent mortals?
Liek - The Silent Shadow (male halfling vampire rogue 8)
Theme:
Vampire as mysterious creature of the night
Location:
The at night always misty harbour district
Coffin:
Hunting style:
People go into the fog at night, but do not always emerge from it alive. As a rogue, Liek is already stealthy. This is turned up to eleven with his ability to turn into mist. When a lone victim passes by
he turns back and silently kills his mark.
Hunting the hunter:
The trouble is not fighting him but finding him. PCs could dress as sailors to play bait or try to snuff him out another way. When discovered, turning into mist in sight is to dangerous (slow and the PCs
have magic weapons), so it will probably be a chase through the foggy harbour streets. (wanted to try out the cards for some time). Liek will only fight when cornered.
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Liek CR 9
_______________________________________________________________________
XP
Male halfling vampire rogue 8
NE Medium undead (augmented humanoid)
Init +9; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +22
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Defense
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AC 24, touch 18 (+5 dex, +1 size, +1 deflection, +1 dodge, +6 natural)
hp 84 (8d8+40); fast healing 5
Fort +7, Ref +14, Will +3, +2 against fear
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4; DR 10/magic and silver;
Immune undead traits; Resist cold 10, electricity 10
Weaknesses: vampire weaknesses
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Offense
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Speed 20 ft.
Melee slam +12/+7 (1d3+4 plus energy drain) or
+1 short sword +14/+9 (1d4+5 19-20/x2)
Ranged mwk Dagger +12 (1d3+3 19-20/x2)
Special Attacks blood drain, children of the night, create spawn,
dominate (DC 18), energy drain (2 levels, DC 18), sneak attack (4d6)
Rogue Talents: Fast Stealth, Finesse Rogue, Minor Magic (Mage Hand 3/day),
Major Magic (Sleep 2/day Will DC 14 negates)
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Statistics
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Str 17, Dex 21, Con —, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 18
Base Atk +6/+1; CMB +8; CMD 23
Feats
AlertnessB, Combat Expertise, Combat ReflexesB, DodgeB, EnduranceB,
EvasionB, Improved InitiativeB, Improved Uncanny DodgeB, Improved Feint,
Lightning ReflexesB, Skill Focus (Stealth), ToughnessB, Uncanny DodgeB,
Weapon Focus (Short Sword)
Skills
Acrobatics +15, Appraise +11, Bluff +21, Climb +13, Disable Device +13,
Escape Artist +13, Perception +22, Sense Motive +20, Sleight of Hand +13,
Stealth +28,
Racial Modifiers +8 Bluff, +8 Perception, +8 Sense Motive, +8 Stealth, +4
size bonus to stealth checks, +2 racial bonus to Acrobatics, Climb and
Perception
Languages Common, Halfling, Elven, Gnome,
SQ change shape (dire bat or wolf, beast shape II), gaseous form, shadowless,
spider climb, trapfinding, trap sense +2, wild empathy (+9)
gear:
+1 short sword, Ring of Protection +1, Googles of Minute Seeing, Potion of
Invisibility (2), mwk daggers (2), mwk thieves tools,
Florian Lamorath - The Song of Blood (human vampire bard 8)
- keep his stats from the book, change motivation and background
Theme:
Vampire as trickster
Location:
The taverns of Caliphas and the campfires of the nomads and immigrants out of town
Coffin:
He has a coffin with some of his dominated Varisian Nomads in a wagon
Hunting style:
He uses his hat of disguise to take on different forms (but always a musician with a fiddle). He then charms, seduces or tricks a victim to a place where they can be alone and kills them.
Hunting the hunter:
The PCs can ask around the communities and will sooner or later discover that the victims where last seen with a bard. Although the description varies (sometimes a Varisian, sometimes a Chelaxian or even elven),
the distinct masterwork fiddle is always the same.
Focus is on the role playing and finding out who he is and which of the nomad caravans protects his coffin.
Radvir Giovanni and his lair will stay the same, vampire spawn will be replaced. Also, I don't like the bladed scarf as a weapon... it seems so silly.
Any suggestions? Something I missed (first time I statted some creatures, so my math could be slightly off...)?
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Okay, this is cool enough that I absolutely have to report it. During the fight against Hetna Dublesse which began with the charmed guards, combined with the invisible stalkers and ended with the joining of the Glabrezu (which got off two Vrock summonings), Hetna used every trick she had to try and put down the party. Their saves were really well rolled, and eventually the Dhampir Magus managed to corner her inside the bell tower. Using the spell Arcana Theft, he successfully targeted her and stole her Cloak of Dreams. She then rolled her save against the spell and fell asleep. Since the fight was in midair, she fell off her broom, plummeting to the ground, ending her turn prone on the ground but awake from the falling damage. The dhampir then flew up to the bell, which he theorized has heavy and easy to cut. It is, and the giant bell fell on Hetna for about a third of her hit points (10d6, which she failed the save on). Fortunately, she escaped to her sister's side, but as per the module, Aisa's gonna drain her dry. A heck of a fight, but its gonna be a warm-up for the mythic version of Aisa and Konas Esprillion in the catacombs...
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Awesome. Should have had the bell kill her, then her shoes pop off and her feet curl up. Then a young girl and her little dog too could have walked out of the abbey looking more confused than usual.
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I had a pair of Ustalavan lords leave a scroll of plane shift behind the mirror of life trapping in Renchurch for 'themselves' a couple of weeks ago.
Viscount William S. Preston
Duke Theodore Logan
Their post script:
Respect to All
Festival Forever
None of my players got it (except one). That one hit me in the 'olds'.
Ah well, happy ending it is.
The most surprising twist of them all!
I'm a bit late posting this now because I'm running my game tonight, but any reason why I shouldn't omit the cave entrance to the Abbey? My party went directly to the basement in Radvir's shop and had a heck of a hard time. I think they might do the same thing here -- go into the basement through the cave -- and get slaughtered in a massive battle royale, as the foes from elsewhere in the abbey all gather to aid in the fight in the basement. Plus, the PCs would potentially miss out on some interesting roleplaying up above, such as with the witchfires...
Any thoughts?
Thanks. I'm also thinking of not putting too much pressure on them to finish things off in one go. They have a tendency to approach things like Keep on the Borderlands -- pop in, kill a few monsters, go home and rest. When they were in Illmarsh I made it pretty clear they needed to finish the underground caves in one go, and I felt like that was the right thing, even though (or perhaps because) a couple of them got killed in the end (those were the first deaths in the AP). But another (and almost two) got killed in the tailor shop. It doesn't seem like there's as much urgency to take down the Abbey all in one sweep -- the witches are going to be on alert anyways and aren't going anywhere without Oothi's skull. And I don't want my PCs to feel like they are going to get killed in every chapter, and we can't afford the wait for class levels to recover from raisings...
Plus, Radvir escaped the tailor shop, so if he decided to join the witches things will be even tougher -- but I'm open to other ideas about where Radvir went...
We didn't get very far last night (my PCs are VERY cautious in approaching lairs). But, predictably, they found the sea cave and they are now poised to make very easy work of the Nagas (protection from evil is OVERPOWERED! -- a first level spell easily put on a cheap wand that confers immunity from charm person?!?).
Anyhow, I'd love any further thoughts on the advantages or disadvantages of leaving in the cave entrance to the Abbey, since I have time to decide whether to leave it in or not...
One advantage to leaving the entrance there is the opportunity to interact with that charmed paladin. Plus, as usual, the PCs are unloading some heavy spells right away -- if they have to approach from above it is almost guaranteed they will seek to return to Caliphas to rest up. So what do you all think? A Battle Royal in the basement of the Abbey for my PCs? (Technically a Battle Royal is factionless, but you know what I mean!)
My party came in from the well (after dealing with the glabrezu and the witchfires), but the battle royal is exactly what happened - they managed to recruit the ex-paladin vampire, and then would up pulling the entire monastery as they engaged the the vampire witch and her bloodknight bodyguard.
(Though the sorceress used a couple walls of force to split up the field and funnel the enemies.)
But yeah, Battle Royal SHOULD be the result of doing the basement first. The upper levels will reinforce the basement, but the basement won't reinforce the upper levels.
Thanks. I guess the swarm in the cave will warn the witches of the party's approach. Any thoughts on how the witches would prepare? I guess they would start drawing down the forces from upstairs to the downstairs. I guess the party will need to face both witches at the same time, since in this scenario Aisa might not feed on Hetna? For what it is worth, the PCs are showing a pretty overwhelming amount of force on the nagas -- a summoned and hasted dire tiger chewing one to bits, a hasted barbarian with pounce and massively destructive blows.
Thanks for your thoughts! It is very helpful for me to toss this stuff back and forth -- most of you are more experienced as GMs than I!
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One option you could take is to have Aisa leave the basement to join Hetna upstairs just as the PCs are starting their assault. That way, as your PCs are allying with the ex-paladin and defeating the bloodknight, it alerts both witches to their presence. Then, once the PCs make their way upstairs and confront the charmed guards and Hetna, you could make it so that Aisa brings in the demon to serve as her bodyguard, rather than the bloodknight. The same scenario of Hetna fleeing to rejoin her sister could still play out, leading Aisa feeding on her prior to the PCs' arrival for the final battle...wherever that might take place.
My two cents,
--Neil
Thanks, Neil. It is a good thought that, just because the PCs are coming in from downstairs, it doesn't mean the big battle NEEDS to take place there, if somewhere else is more advantageous for Aisa or more interesting. The witches have already been alerted to the PCs presence, because one of the Oothi spider swarms is in the cave, and the witches are telepathically connected to her/it.
But it may be that Aisa sees some advantage to moving upstairs before the PCs come, perhaps to fully alert and organize the upstairs troops. Perhaps she thinks the bloodknight and ex-paladin will soften up the PCs (assuming the PCs don't ally with the ex-paladin). I suppose I could also imagine her wanting to have Hetna take on the PCs first. (I still can't imagine why she would think it would be advantageous to feed on Hetna rather than having Hetna as an ally in the final fight -- unless I guess she just views it as an easy opportunity to get rid of her sister).
Anyhow, it is interesting to consider that it can be a re-arranged sequence rather than a battle royal, although a battle royal is probably the bad guys' smartest move.
Any thoughts, building on Neil's idea, of how Aisa might want to throw foes at the PCs, or where would be most interesting to stage the battles?
I made an imgur gallery of all the characters in Ashes at Dawn my PC's have met thus far, with their basic first descriptions.
Images snagged from google, but I put them all into Roll20 and was a lot of work. Thought others may be interested. I named them all...
I added a lot of NPCs to give some more depth to the scenes. Hope you enjoy and can use!
http://imgur.com/a/DC3wq
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I've decided to take my own spin/approach to this chapter in the adventure path. The vampires of Caliphas are a secretive society who, ahem, masquerade as regular folk. They cling to this secret in order to maintain the symbiotic relationship with the living which they've managed to uphold for centuries. As such, the players are not going to be made immediately aware of the fact they are working with vampires. Instead, I'm going to approach this as "There is a serial killer at large who is targeting influential members of the Caliphas aristocracy. They possess valuable information as to the whereabouts of the Whispering Way cult leaders, and will happily share that information with the party... but only after they track down the killer." The "unlikely ally" is going to be less obvious and play a more subtle role. The Esoteric Order is going to be far less knowledgeable as to the presence of the vampires. Generally, I'm tweaking the adventure to actually be a horror mystery, rather than shoving a bunch of cattle prods up the players' posteriors.
Guys, my PCs are just in the Vault at the Esoteric Order doing very well in their research.
Up until this point my players know essentially who Tar-Baphon is/was but not the circumstances of his defeat and where his remains are imprisoned. It is only at this point that they are asking these questions and I am a little concerned that if they find these answers, they will just try and rush off to Gallowspire.
Has anyone encountered this and have you waited to reveal all of this until the final module?
Contributor
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In mine, the PCs were knowledgeable enough to be aware pretty early.
I suggest playing up not just how horrifyingly powerful Tar-Baphon is, but the danger of Virlych itself. In my game, the Esoteric Order's vault was one of the only places they could even learn about the dangers of Virlych, and then it was mostly rumor and tale. Not enough people had gotten out for there to be solid reports of the dangers within - mountain-sized dragons of pure darkness, endless whispers that work the Tyrant's will, black coaches that steal souls, and more left unguessed. Make it clear that actually going in there is a method of last resort... which will make having to actually travel into Virlych in Book 6 far more ominous.
On top of all that, the Shining Crusade's seals have been secure for centuries despite the constant, futile efforts of the Whispering Way. The fact that Adrissant has the potential to succeed - by skipping the Seal entirely - is pretty much unprecedented. The learned and erudite probably don't find the Tyrant's escape too likely, and you can have the Esoteric Order make this clear to the PCs.
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So I just had a terribly evil idea...
The PCs have infiltrated Radvir Giovanni's store via the basement, during the day. They originally thought they were going to find drug evidence, but were pleasantly surprised (after 4 vampires drained them about 6 levels apiece) to discover that R.G. was behind it all.
They haven't exactly been quiet about things. And they haven't found R.G.'s sarcophagus yet. So while the vampire is still dormant, he is fully aware of what has been going on. And he knows them from earlier questioning, and knows they are Luvick Siervage's minions.
Here's the evil part.
He has a hat of disguise, Disguise +25, and Bluff +34. I'm thinking of having him go gaseous, seep into the basement through the secret door, in the guise of Luvick Siervage. He'll congratulate the PCs, confiscate the bloodbrew elixir and journal (and his signet), and tell them "Radvir will be dealt with." When they ask (which they undoubtedly will) about Rakmosa Arkminos (the imprisoned nosferatu who promised to tell them where the Whispering Way had gone), "Siervage" will agree to release Arkminos, adding the caveat that the nosferatu may not decide to keep his promise.
Later that night... "Arkminos" (again a disguised Radvir) will appear, and send the party on a wild goose chase to... oh, I dunno, Carrion Hill or some other such place. Thus assured his problem is dealt with, Radvir will go back to business as usual after a few days, once the PCs are good and gone from town. Meanwhile, he stalls them for the Whispering Way, reports to Advion Adrissant, and gets to keep his sweet drug merchant gig.
Too evil? Suggestions? Places other than Carrion Hill I could send the PCs?
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One place that I always wanted to send people to is the Saffron House. There's something very 1408-ish about it...
I like it! Very Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
Another idea was to send them to Kalexcourt. Maybe a brush with the Conclave of the Ancients will make them a bit less cocky about figuring out the plot...
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Contributor
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One place that I always wanted to send people to is the Saffron House. There's something very 1408-ish about it...I like it! Very Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
Another idea was to send them to Kalexcourt. Maybe a brush with the Conclave of the Ancients will make them a bit less cocky about figuring out the plot...
Yessssssss
My only issue with that place is that I always envisioned the Conclave as being more of a spiritual thing, and less the giant flesh-hulk it turned out to be. Still awesome, though. ^_^
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One place that I always wanted to send people to is the Saffron House. There's something very 1408-ish about it...I like it! Very Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
Another idea was to send them to Kalexcourt. Maybe a brush with the Conclave of the Ancients will make them a bit less cocky about figuring out the plot...
Yessssssss
My only issue with that place is that I always envisioned the Conclave as being more of a spiritual thing, and less the giant flesh-hulk it turned out to be. Still awesome, though. ^_^
I think a CR 19 will probably wipe them out. What I'll do instead is have them spend a lot of time researching, traveling to Lepidstadt, that kind of thing. While that is going on, I will send portents (dreams of Sante Lymirin to the paladin of Iomedae, NPCs saying things like "do not disturb that place" and, failing all that, a brief vision of the Steward of the Skein on the road to Kalexcourt, telling them to turn back.)
If they ignore ALL those warnings and insist on proceeding, then I'll cry havoc and let slip a colossal mass of angry undead Kellids. They brought it on themselves...
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I am pleased to report that this strategy worked brilliantly. Radvir fooled everyone in the party with ease, even coming back later to appear as Arkminos and send them to Kalexcourt.
However, they had already made arrangements to do the ambush for Evgenya. When they failed to show (because they figured "Luvick" had taken care of the problem), she was somewhat put out. She sent one of her thralls to track them down. It took a couple days (days wasted while the Whispering Way continued to elude them), but she found them. Once they realized that they had been played, they were suitably chastened and paranoid (not to mention enraged and ready to storm the Abbey of Sante-Lymirin).
I've not had that much fun in a long, long time. And the players saw some measure of the deceptiveness of which their GM is capable.
Muhahahaha...
Four years without a post, wow!
So my party is... halfway? Done with book 4, so now I need to start thinking about what to do here.
I'm definitely going to introduce Ailson Kindler as a major ally, but I'm not sure if I should replace Quinley with her or not. Further, I've had Adivion as a major ally through the whole campaign (or at least, by mail, since he left for Caliphas with Kendra and a former party member... who will return with Sey'lok in Book 6...). I'm definitely going to play it up as he's using the witch sisters not just to distract the vampires, but also the PCs as he readies to squirrel away both Kendra and Count Galdana (who here is Kendra's real father, having given Kendra to Lorrimor for safekeeping).
Any advice on including Golarion's favorite old woman? Definitely she probably has a relationship of (unfriendly) respect with Luvick...
I guess, any advice from those who have run this adventure in the four years since posts were last made?
I'm also here nearly a year after the last post... someone is still playing the campaign?
My party attacked the Nobleman's Stitch in the last session, but retreated after Radvir (Tetori Monk version) showed up, but not before finding the stacked vampire in the basement (and after freeing one of them).
They went directly to Luvick's lair, and cleared (somehow) Ramoska's name, but Radvir is escaped now and Luvick isn't quite "happy" about it... any advice on how pointing them to the Witches of Barstoi? They met the addicted vampire spawns, but never found clues of their drug.
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Two potential choices off the top of my head:
1) Have Radvir join the witches and seek their assistance in enacting revenge upon the PCs. While the witches may not be his strongest allies, they have been working together. In the course of moving against the PCs, you'll have opportunities to drop additional clues that lead them back to the witches themselves. And you can add Radvir to the final location as another defender/obstacle.
2) Have Radvir ramp up the drug trade, continuing to addict more vampire spawn, leveraging a new army to create disarray among the vampire nobility. Then, look for ways where he can somehow implicate the PCs (or Ramoska) in the creation and distribution of the drug itself, implying they duped Luvick in order to free Ramoska as part of a complete takeover of the ruling vampires.
Oh my Desna, Neil! I could never have imagined that someone would respond so fast, even less you! Thank you so much!
Storywise, the second option is maybe the more "in-character" solution... but the spawns are not really a threat for the party, while Luvick's wrath is something they fear deeply...
The first option, on the other hand, is strictly simpler, and is likely the best way to not worse further the relationship with Luvick and the Vampire Underground (I don't want to punish too harshly my players after a tactical reatreat).
I'll have to think about it, maybe a little mix of both of your ideas could work perfectly for me...
Thank you again for the support!
