I'm planning to start the SCAP soon after my current campaign ends. I've read through the book and, as a bonus, I've even played through part of the AP. Now when I was a PC in the game we did 28 point buy for stats and even then I remember the adventure being pretty tough. What did you use for stats in your run of the AP? Would 32 point buy or 4d6 with re-roll ones be game breaking?
Also, I'm okay with the adventure as written except for the last chapter. I personally feel that ending the AP after the destruction of the Thirteen would be a better place to stop and just leave Adrimarchus locked away. Has anyone else done this? How did it work out?
Thanks!
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I ran the campaign as written with high rolled stats with little problem. The players were inexperienced, so the high scores helped them survive their mistakes (mostly). I agree with Patman, if you have a cohesive group that knows how to work together, lower scores should not be a problem.
I was also forced to call the game at the end of Thirteen Cages due to real life concerns, which worked out for the best. Since Adimarchus is not mentioned for the majority of the adventures, removing the references in Thirteen Cages is an easy fix. It is regarded as the best place to end the campaign if you do not want to use Adimarchus, and possibly makes for a better story.
If you do want to go all the way, you might look up the community material at the RPGenius for adjustments you can make that will better foreshadow the Cagewrights and Adimarchus. I'm currently running it a second time, and the differences are amazing in their improvement of the story. (This is also helped by my experience in running it from the first campaign.)
From a players perspective I would recommend either 4d6 or a 32 point buy.
My group refuses point buy so we roll 4d6.
My DM realised that this would be an incedibly tough adventure even for 6 players so he allowed 4d6 drop the lowest and roll 5 stats you get to add +2 to any one stat as your 6th.
So far as of chapeter 1 we have all been near death alot. We have 2 clerics-Kord and Wee jas(me) plus a druid.
We have a sorceress and a theif-the fighter will be back when work schedule allows.
In the first fight the dwarven fighter ownd the theives( he got the last laugh) and now the theif is the shining star because of the traps and such. I took cloistered cleric from unearthed arcanna and the knowledge domain plus magic and spell domains and the bardic ability fills in our skill list nicely.
In this AP you NEED the core 4 of fighter,theif,cleric and mage. all other classes are filler but those you HAVE to have in order to have any chance(as we are finding out)
I also recommend checking out the online resources here at paizo and RPG.net for some amazing online resources. Printable player maps and handouts so you don't have to cut up you book as well as ideas on non-combat stuff like agriculture(a pineapple is worth 2 freakin s.p.)
Everyone iin my group has at least an 18 in their primary stat and we are not cake walking through this adventure at all. My detect secret doors spell from the knowledge domain makes it a little easier but the theif still has to do the work of disableing any traps so it's a tough AP even when we work together.