Hey,
I'm getting ready to start running the Shackled City adventure path and am looking for any helpful advice from DM's who've taken this path on before. I have already ordered the hardcover and can't wait for it to arrive, though I don't think it will be here before my first game session.
I'm situating Cauldron and environs somewhere in the Sargava/the Shackles region of Golarion, still deciding on some of the details though I don't think it will immediately impact the characters.
Currently, my party consists of five PC's; A human cleric to Cayden Cailean, an elven rogue, a dwarven fighter, a human (Ulfen) witch, and a tiefling gunslinger.
I'm particularly concerned about how to bring a group of PC's who probably don't know each other together in a believable manner, and how to handle the change in gnomes in Golarion and how it affects Jzadirune.
Any and all help is appreciated, thanks!
I'm particularly concerned about how to bring a group of PC's who probably don't know each other together in a believable manner, and how to handle the change in gnomes in Golarion and how it affects Jzadirune.
Any and all help is appreciated, thanks!
The last time I ran this I had each character receive a letter asking them to meet at a tavern in Cauldron at a particular time with all their expenses to get there paid for (handled off scene). They all show up and the bar keep directs them to a table if they ask.
They waited and waited and no one showed up. The barkeep orders them out at the end of the night and that leads to the first encounter with the thugs and the priest (it is the first encounter in the adventure).
So the characters where all pondering the significance of their letters all simply signed with a letter C.
The C can be tied to a particular NPC later in the campaign or not that can be up to you.
The last time I ran this I had each character receive a letter asking them to meet at a tavern in Cauldron at a particular time with all their expenses to get there paid for (handled off scene). They all show up and the bar keep directs them to a table if they ask.
They waited and waited and no one showed up. The barkeep orders them out at the end of the night and that leads to the first encounter with the thugs and the priest (it is the first encounter in the adventure).
So the characters where all pondering the significance of their letters all simply signed with a letter C.
The C can be tied to a particular NPC later in the campaign or not that can be up to you.
Wow. This is beautiful! Thank you so much for the help, I think I'll definitely have to strongly consider something like this.
Apparently I was really excited. Sorry about that. I had a follow up question - did your PC's get sidetracked from the main adventure by trying to find out who "C" was?
This will probably sound like a boring suggestion, but I honestly don't like Jzadirune very much; it's too big, and it has little or nothing to do with the main story. The first time I ran "Life's Bazaar", my players bypassed it altogether (the dwarf rogue's secret door Spidey-sense went off) and I think that was a good thing.
I'd recommend merging the best bits of Jzadirune with the Malachite Fortress instead, but maybe that's not what you're looking for.
I'm thinking the letter should be from "O", as in Orbius, because one of a PC's is a Shackleborn?
Apparently I was really excited. Sorry about that. I had a follow up question - did your PC's get sidetracked from the main adventure by trying to find out who "C" was?
I was concerned about that but with so little to go on, and an adventure there waiting for them they opted for the gold. But They did keep an eye out for the furhter letters and any NPC with a name that started with a "C".
This will probably sound like a boring suggestion, but I honestly don't like Jzadirune very much; it's too big, and it has little or nothing to do with the main story. The first time I ran "Life's Bazaar", my players bypassed it altogether (the dwarf rogue's secret door Spidey-sense went off) and I think that was a good thing.
I'd recommend merging the best bits of Jzadirune with the Malachite Fortress instead, but maybe that's not what you're looking for.
I have ran the opening chapter several times and in all most of my players enjoyed Jzadirune, only one group did the by pass but then went back to the upper ruins. During the victory lap I used the "NPC Party" wanting to beat them to the treasure as motivation to not dawdle.
I'm thinking the letter should be from "O", as in Orbius, because one of a PC's is a Shackleborn?
When I used the letter, the idea I was going with is that a certain NPC in the later chapters name begins with "C" and is on the side on the PCs. But Yes Orbius would work to, though why send letter to the non-Shackled Born.
I had sort of a prelude when I ran this.
For example the Cleric of Pelor PC was sent by his superiors to find out why they lost contact with Kristof Jurgens (a cleric of Pelor in Cauldron, hope I spelled his name right).
On the boat ride across the sea to Sasserine, I had them run afoul of a small group of Sahaugin on patrol. They boarded and killed most of the crew (most of this I described in the background as they battled a few of them personally). In the end they needed to become temporary crewmen (help with sails, rigging, etc) to help the boat finish the trip and limp into port. IIRC, besides the feisty femme Captain NPC, the first mate and and cowardly lookout survived. PCs became deckhands and a cook. :)
I kept Sasserine very short because I didnt want the players to stay in Sasserine long (or detail it too much) when Cauldron was waiting for them. They bought a rough map of the area and walked to Cauldron with a brief encounter of Kobolds fleeing the area (which they befriended btw :) ). On the way to Cauldron I foreshadowed the beginning of part 2 a little. I had them rest for the night at the Inn on the road (forgot the name) and meet the drow druid/monk NPC (forgot her name too) beforehand, etc...
Good Times.
My group and I had a blast with Jzadirune, though I recall there may have been too many of the Dark Creepers. I gave them more of a hit and run style and reduced their numbers a tad.
We semi-TPK'ed in the beginning of Demonskar iirc. A large Fire Elemental sacking part of the city if memory serves. This was still one of our favorite campaigns to this day.
When I used the letter, the idea I was going with is that a certain NPC in the later chapters name begins with "C" and is on the side on the PCs. But Yes Orbius would work to, though why send letter to the non-Shackled Born.
Ah, I know the "C" you mean now.
Good question about the other PC's. Maybe the party were all young, up and coming adventurers in Sasserine, and inviting them all seemed less suspicious?
Hey Sunderstone, do you you remember what your source was for a brief version of Sasserine? I don't want to read the whole STAP, but it might be fun to have an interlude in Sasserine at some point.
Hey Sunderstone, do you you remember what your source was for a brief version of Sasserine? I don't want to read the whole STAP, but it might be fun to have an interlude in Sasserine at some point.
You wouldn't have to read the whole adventure path; it's described in the Player's Guide which you can download for free.
You wouldn't have to read the whole adventure path; it's described in the Player's Guide which you can download for free.
Correct. Actually if memory serves, when I started the SCAP, I dont think I even had the ST player's guide yet. I made up my own shops and ran it real loose, etc. :)
Cool, thanks Hogarth.
Interesting to the Taskerhill and Knowlern families are also in Sasserine's nobility. That and the Scarlet Brotherhood embassy might be of use someday in SCAP.
Well, first session went well. I used Pravus's method of introduction (with my own NPC lettering). My players pretty much assumed that they were being summoned by the unnamed "N" to deal with the disappearing citizens, once they found out about them.
It was a somewhat short session, but we're playing again this Friday. I am still running Jzadirune, though I'm going to try and run it a little faster than I usually do dungeon crawls. I think I'm keeping it as a Gnomish settlement, a conclave of the little buggers dedicated to Brigh, the clockwork goddess. I'm also using someone's suggestion of making the Vanishing a variant on the Bleaching so my PC's (no gnomes in the party) won't have to worry about it.
My only major worry is that I wanted to put together a Player's Guide for my PC's, but my copy of the Shackled City hardcover is still MIA :( I ordered it half off after Thanksgiving and it still hasn't arrived.
Oh, I loved having the vanishing! The game I'm running is currently at almost to the end of Chapter 1, and the party had 3 people get infected all within a day of each other (one even used the Ioun Stone). This really freaked them out, and caused them to head back up to the city to try to figure out what was going on.
It was tense at one point... they were convinced that Charisma Damage wouldn't kill them if they got to 0, so they almost kept going. I was wondering if I was going to have to replace half the party in the first chapter!
I really like the intro ideas here, though. As a possible way to start the tension with the Stormblades, you could have had them recruited in a similar manner, to which they get offended that they didn't get exclusive treatment.