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Make it against the law to go to the prison and need the towns OK to investigate
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My group has changed a bit since I first posted in this thread so I figured an update was an order.
The current party consists of:
Shadokiri "Mist" Hokousha - Elf male, Ranger 2/Druid 1/Magus 2 - he is looking to go Lantern Bearer and possibly Green Faith Acolyte.
Emmett Weaver - Human male, Ranger 5 - he despises undead with a passion.
Theodres - Human male, Cleric of Iomedae 2/Cavalier 3 - He is planning on going Low Templar.
Savien Haliax - Human male, Magus 4.
Ruby Aideron - Human female (Garundi), Witch (Hedge Witch) 5.
I also have a couple of players that are currently absentee due to life circumstances.
Roland Flagg - Human male (Varisian), Bard 1/Rouge 2/Oracle 1.
Grimfarr "Grim" Dumfallow - Dwarf male, Cleric of Pharasma 4.
The group is currently finishing up a tangent event in Clovers Crossing before continuing on to Lepidstat.
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I realized I had never posted the classes of my players in this thread. I used to have two groups but my online game has since ended. So here are my players who are currently in Wake of the Watcher.
Fabia - Human Female Rogue 6 / Shadowdancer 3
Avram - Aasimarr Male Paladin 9 <Archery Focused>
Anton - Half-Orc Male Alchemist (Vivisectionist) 9
Hale - Human Female Fighter 9
After this Point Regular Attendance Becomes Spotty
Anaisia - Tiefling Female Witch (Hedge Witch) 9
Utu - Elven Female Cleric of Pharasma 9
Those We've Lost
Tim 1 - Elven Male Ranger 1 / Wizard 3 (Eaten by Flesh Hound)
Dryden - Human Male Druid 4 (Eaten by Flesh Hound)
Garish - Half-Orc Cleric of Sarenrae 4 (Wandered off into the wilderness with Kendra's head in a box.)
Tim 2 - Half-Elven Male Bard 5 (Fought trolls in a confined space and realized that what spine he had was in fact jelly.)
Tim 3 - Human Male Cleric of Erastil (Evangelist) 5 (Found more worth in crying over his fellow guards from Schloss Caromarc than continuing the quest. Also, "I think this game is dying.")
Christopher - Human Male Cavalier 2 / Inquisitor of Pharasma 4 ("I wanna play a witch!")
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My group has changed a bit since I first posted in this thread so I figured an update was an order.
The current party consists of:
Shadokiri "Mist" Hokousha - Elf male, Ranger 2/Druid 1/Magus 2 - he is looking to go Lantern Bearer and possibly Green Faith Acolyte.
Emmett Weaver - Human male, Ranger 5 - he despises undead with a passion.
Theodres - Human male, Cleric of Iomedae 2/Cavalier 3 - He is planning on going Low Templar.
Savien Haliax - Human male, Magus 4.
Ruby Aideron - Human female (Garundi), Witch (Hedge Witch) 5.I also have a couple of players that are currently absentee due to life circumstances.
Roland Flagg - Human male (Varisian), Bard 1/Rouge 2/Oracle 1.
Grimfarr "Grim" Dumfallow - Dwarf male, Cleric of Pharasma 4.The group is currently finishing up a tangent event in Clovers Crossing before continuing on to Lepidstat.
So my group decided to grow and change just a bit. We have acquired a Half-Orc male, Paladin of Serenrae 4. Mist has decided to retrain his one level of Druid to a level of Magus. The group has also officially started the events of book 2.
I also saw up thread just a wee bit something that I liked, Party members lost, so I figured I would add that to my post as well.
Our Honored Dead:
Rhin - Hafling male Sorcerer 1. Got trapped under a fallen tree branch behind Kendra's home and was never checked on by the party. Died of a combination starvation, dehydration, and exposure to the elements.
Mikko Afrainto - Half-Elf male Summoner 1/Oracle 1. Mikko and his Eidelon were beheaded by the Lopper in Harrowstone Prison after separating from the party.
Those Seeking Greener/Happier Places in the World:
Bastian - Catfolk male Bard 3. This character caused a bit of grief from the rest of the PC's throughout his time with the party and was subsequently retired due to the conflicts. (This player left the group after a significant dispute with several players and also has moved out of the area.)
Arlondo Felsnip - Hafling male Sorcerer 2. This character had a brief (only a few sessions) yet intense couple of adventures with the group. Unfortunately for him he was called away on urgent matters in his homeland (the players schedule changed at work and he had to drop out).
Ferrous - Catfolk male ????. This character was a made by a player who wanted to sit in on a few sessions and thus became a hireling of the PC's. He left after only two sessions and was never seen or heard from again. I believe the unquiet dead scarred him away or maybe he is just not cut out for adventuring.
Erodel - Human male Monk 3. Erodel spent quite a long time with the party (one of the original members of the group) only leaving after he believed the Village of Ravengro to be safe. (The player left the group due to significant changes in his personal life.)
Vic Soth - Half Orc female Inquisitor of Pharasma 3. Vic spent much of her time disagreeing with the establishment of Ravengro and the other PC's. She was particularly distrusting of Father Grimburrow and believed him to be either behind the undead rising or totally incompetent at his job. She constantly got the rough side of his tongue and was eventually ordered to return to Gravechange in Lepidstat. (Player helps run our FLGS and became to busy to continue in the campaign.)
Bram Droomer - Human male Fighter 2. Bram was never very good at following directions and became lost on his way to Ravengro. So much so that he still has yet to be found. (The player was going to participate in the campaign but backed out at the last minute.) I still plan on have my PC's stumble across him staring a map with compass in hand asking for directions to Ravengro.
Aramil Moonweather of Clann Cral'Nora - Elf male Paladin of Pharasma 2. Aramil choose to become Kendra's bodyguard during his time in Ravengro. To this day he still maintains that position despite the fact that Kendra has chosen to begin traveling to further her studies and to meet with friends of her late father. The current PC's are bound to run into Aramil sometime in the future as Kendra still has a role to play in this campaign. (Player is our FLGS owner and got to busy running the store to continue in the campaign.)
Marycella Dragamire - Helf-Elf female Cleric of Sarenrae 2. Marycella came to bear witness to the interment of her her friend and instead was drug along into Harrowstone Prison. Driven mostly mad by what she witnessed within its walls she ran screaming for the hills never to be seen or heard from again. (Player got a new job and had to leave the group.)
My party is 3/4ths of the way through wake of the watcher. Due to player attendance being somewhat of an issue, they all have taken leadership at 7th level (they are 10th now). The cohorts are more like sidekicks/important npcs.
My group consists of
- Vachenda cleric of Iomedae and her cohort, her brother kenstato paladin of Iomedae.
- Sergei Steeljaw, Ulfen dual wielding mercenary and his companion kassandra the tiefiling rogue
- Variel the elven wizard and his bodyguard the elven archer yolandara
- Argus the sly, burglar extraordinaire and his adopted sister Amelia the fiend blooded sorcerer.
On average we have one missing player every other session, so the cohorts pick up the slack. I think they would have tpkd without them. Even still I have killed a few of them.
Book 6 is starting and my party has changed a bit in the last few games (all level 13):
Monk of the Four Winds - Original character
Inquisitor of Saranae - Original character
Swashbuckler - Replaced the bard
Invulnerable Rager Barbarian - Replaced the wizard
Undecided Magus - Replaced the druid
I have little confidence in their ability to handle Renchurch's non-combat aspects, but each of them can drop a solid 150+ damage on a full attack so their term in the fallen city will be bight, if short.
Third session completed in Haunting of Harrowstone. The party consists of:
-Balroth Canaan: 1/2 Orc TWFing Ranger
-Ezekiel J. Ezekiel: Human Archer Inquisitor of Pharasma
-Abe: Gnome Summoner w/ clockwork Eidolon and summons
-Pelltetnia: 1/2 Elf Archer Paladin of Erastil
-Rim Bana: Human STR based Ninja(Highly trained rogue *wink wink*)
No full caster classes! No cleric! challenge galore!
Highlight of tonight's session was the party discovering the stirge's weakness to music and the lighthearted gnome and noble born paladin sing to cause confusion.
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at the moment (end of Broken moon)
NN human female cleric of pharasma lv6 / inquisitor of pharasma lv 2 (bastard daughter of the deceased Professor Lorrimor, half sister of Kendra Lorrimor)
LG human male fighter lvl 8 (gymnasium sword trainer)
CN human female oracle (occult) lvl 8 (orphaned survivor girl)
LN dhampyr male alchemist lvl 8 (son of still not know vampyr, but a powerful one and the only daughter of a Varso baronial house)
NG human male bard lvl 7 / fighter lvl 1 (baron first son, spoiled)
CE human male sorcerer lvl 6 / rogue lvl 2 (sczarni)
NG human female wizard lvl 8 (kendra lorrimor, started as npc, then a friend of mine joined the party and kept her...)
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Just Completed Trial of the Beast
Human Level 1 Rogue, Level 5 Paladin of Iomedae, Level 1 Sentinel
Human Level 7 Paladin of Erastil (Divine Hunter, aka archer, Archetype)
Halfling Level 5 PaladinBard (Celebrity Archetype, aka diplomacy whore specialist), Level 2 Rogue
Human Level 7 Monk (Martial Artist Archetype)
Changeling Level 7 Necromancer (Yes there is a necro in the party with 2 paladins)
Lastly - Human Level 5 Cleric of Iomedae (she's a cohort of the Paladin of Iomedae)
For the longest time (all of Harrowstone and most of the Trial) the top paladin was the "party Rogue." He just didn't stealth. Then the bard wanted to "be more useful" since the celebrity archetype removed the useful tidbits of bard (you know the bardic performance stuff) for bonuses on diplomacy.
The second paladin is a walking turret. Walks around not paying attention and has to be nudged (twice) when he has to roll for anything.
We Just started HoHS. At the moment we have:
Efreeti Bloodline Ifrit Sorcerer (m). Worships Cayden Cailean and is from the Shackles. Previous gamer but first time playing Pathfinder.
Human Cleric of Pharasma from (undecided at the moment but probably somewhere else in Ustalav) (f). Major Zealot and wants to purge all undead. Only player with previous Pathfinder experience.
Peri-blooded Aasimar immolator inquisitor (given the fiery nature of emberkin, I allowed the archtype) of Sarenrae (f). Abandoned on the doorsteps of a temple to Sarenrae in Absolom as a child and raised by it. Had some more violent tendencies but wanted to do good. Wants to purge evil with holy fire. Player has never played a table top RPG before.
Vetala-Born (Ajibachana) Dhampir Knife Master rogue from somewhere in Ustalav (f). Cleric doesn't know that she's a Dhampir and would probably fail to differentiate between a dhampir and a vampire at the moment. Rogue is being very good about race her nature from the cleric. Player has never played a table top RPG before.
Half-elf two weapon fighter from Mwangi Expanse (f) (can't remember the name for the half elves from there) who left with her elven father to travel to the Half-Elf city of Erages in Kyonin. She never really got there and just kept traveling around Avistan. She tends toward medium armor and fights primarily with her quarterstaff or star-knives she picked up passing through Varisia. She worships Desna. Player has never played a table top RPG before.
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Middle of Broken Moon
Dhampir Blade Bound magus(m), sprung more traps than the two trapfinders have disabled. Dex based staying in light armor. Died once got raised.
Sylph Greensting Avenger Hexcrafter(f) raised in Kyonin in Erages has the trapfinder trait. Has droped some major foes at critical points quickly becoming our groups slayer. Dex based light armor.
Unique half dead race alchemist(m), trapfinder trait as well, has done all our tracking. Was slow to start against the haunts but once we got solid foes he has been doing some serious damage.
Batkin skinwalker lunar oracle(m), diplomat, tank, healer, and scout. Has a dire bat animal companion that is a master of bull rush. He also took the bat shape feats.
aasimar Cleric of Kelemvor (Heroism, Sun)
wild elf Fighter greataxe (bonus to Str, Dex, penalty to Int)
Elf Wizard (Invoker)
One NPC goblin Rogue (Knife fighter)
So far we are in the latter half of the first adventure, Haunting of Harrowstone.
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We completed the AP some time ago but here is what I had.
Book 1
Human wizard necromancer
Human cleric of gorum
Human rogue
half-elf magus
Halfling Bard
Book 2
(human wiz dropped group but added player who made an elf sorc)
Elf sorc
Human rogue
Human cleric
half-elf magus
Hafling Bard/alchemsit
Book3
Elf sorc
Human rogue
Human cleric
half-elf magus
Hafling Bard/alchemsit
Book 4
Elf sorc
Human rogue
Human cleric
half-elf magus
Hafling Bard/alchemsit
Book 5
(human rogue bit the dust and had no her points left rolled a pally)
Human pally
Elf sorc
half-elf magus
human cleric
halfling bard/alchemist
Book 6
Human pally
Elf sorc
half-elf magus
human cleric (Cleric died fighting BBEG)
halfling bard/alchemist
My current party with me as the GM is:
LG Anger-Blooded Aasimar Paladin of Ragathiel - Level 3
NG Dhampir Sin Eater Inquisitor of Pharasma - Level 3
CG Dwarven Titan Mauler Barbarian - Level 3
LN Human Foresight Wizard - Level 3
N Half-Elf Infiltrator Ranger - Level 3
?? Ratfolk Mind Chemist Alchemist - Level 3 (Can't Remember Alignment)They have mostly finished exploring the first floor of Harrowstone, and are about to move on to the second floor.
I got a wild bunch here though, all different races, and mostly all a different allignment.
Given how wildly varied the alignments of your PC's, why not try a different way of viewing alignments in the first place? Instead of players choosing their alignment, have that alignment assigned by the DM as a function of how each PC treats NPC's. The only exception would be the Paladin, and he'd be held to the strictures of being LG.
In my campaigns...
Neutral characters are warned that they should treat other PC's as if they were LG and NPC's as whatever they want. See, in my campaigns alignment is a reflection on how NPC's view the PC in question. It also affects alignment magic as well (Detect Good, Protection from Evil etc). Thus, if you want a Good alignment/reputation for your PC, *act* like it around NPC's.
As of the time we left Feldgrau in Book 3:
Aasimar Cleric 9 of Ragathiel (Rage/Leadership)
cohort: Human Sorceress (Shaitan bloodline);
Human Cleric 9 of Pharasma (Knowledge/Repose)
Ratfolk Ranger 9 (Beastmaster)
upcoming animal companions: a pair of wolves
Ratfolk Rogue 8/Monk (Martial Artist) 1
Elf Wizard 9;
Half-orc Fighter 9;
My players are at the end of book 2 and will be facing the Guardian of the Tower and the Promethean next.
Athenriel: female half elf rogue 6 (two weapon fighting with daggers, minor and major magic rogue talent)
Brianni Goldheart: female dwarf cleric of Iomedae 6
Thrinia: female elf druid 6 (hawk animal companion)
Variel: male elf ranger 6 (ranged built, will take a level in bard next, "aims" to be an arcane archer)
Xanben: male human monk 6
Our Honored Dead:
Rhin - Hafling male Sorcerer 1. Got trapped under a fallen tree branch behind Kendra's home and was never checked on by the party. Died of a combination starvation, dehydration, and exposure to the elements.
Ouch, harsh!
Almost done with the Haunting of Harrowstone with my group, and they're having a blast. Even with the rampant racism and being this close to being thrown out of town most of the time. Anywho, without further ado, I present Team "Oh, it's these Weirdos again." Thankfully, the group is dead-serious when it comes to Harrowstone, and I know for a fact that they will all love the Trial when that comes up.
Dethnell Andasia, Female CN Half-Elf Witch: There's no social skills, and then there's Dethnell. The actual efficient production part of the two-person con team of Rattigan's Sundry Traveling Goods, Dethnell seems to know the exact worst thing to say or do in any situation in Ravengro, ranging from talking about the high points of necromancy and the cheap labor it could potentially provide, to spending most of her speech time during the professor's funeral talking about how cool the bear skull attached to her staff was. Currently really wants to start a family, but has the slight social blockade of being at good at conversation as she is.
Professor/Sir Montisque Rattigan, Male CN Ratfolk Alchemist: Part-time Junior Professor of Alchemy at Leipstadt University, part-time con-artist, full-time mad scientist. Always dressed in an impeccable tuxedo, and addicted to cheese. Also a horrible liar, which makes his job as a con-man... difficult at times. Also is a literal packrat most of the time, and much prefers to trade his "potions" for knick-knacks over gold and the like.
Mereenah, Female CN Tiefling Bard (): Succubus in the family tree, likes to dance, standing in at Charisma score of ridiculous due to a lucky roll. One of two members of the party that Ravengro is completely weirded out by, and the party face/leader.
Krystyna "The Rock" Janeson, Female N Oread Barbarian: AKA the Barbarian who doesn't Rage. Relatively cool, calm, and collected, and is in things purely for the money. Professional bodyguard, is in an agreement with Mereenah to be her standing protection.
Cian Threefeathers, Female Aasimar Paladin: Hailing from Lastwall is the moral center of the party. Is surprisingly good at herding cats in terms of the party, and is able to convince them to help people most of the time. He is still fighting a loosing battle against Rattigan's 'deceitful' nature.
Well, here's my loadout. I'm the GM of the party, and since this was the first time ever for all the players with any sort of tabletop game, I gave each one of them a free reroll for their characters, provided I was allowed to send off their previous character as I saw fit.
Players had the choice of going 4d6d1 for attributes or taking a stat array (16, 14, 14, 12, 10, 8).
Another important note: None of the players knew Petros Lorrimor. They were all related to a crimelord who did, however, and is collecting a favor from each one of them to go and ensure the safety of Kendra. I use that crimelord to create sidequests for the party -- his minions getting bought off by the Whispering Way to take Petros' books from them; paying the party to track down another stolen object from Leipstadt, etc.
Here's the party:
Farad Meadbeard, Dwarf Cleric of the Potato God (custom deity), moral guiding compass of the party, keeps the rest from going full murder hobo.
Rune Darkling, Half-Elf Arcane Duelist Bard, lord of crits, wooer of Kendra.
☠ Rogath Meadbeard, Dwarf Titan Fighter, primary damage dealer and tank. Went insane and murdered Gibs Hephenus during the night -my party really hated him-, sloppily attempted to cover the murder by burning the shack down (but did not account for Gibs' having died with armor on, which also showed the marks of their battle), proceeded to turn on the party when confronted and was knocked unconscious and taken by the authorities.
REROLL: Zeref, Drow Magus, recently introduced.
☠ Sathrael, Human Wizard, an envoy of a family of pyromancers. Split from the party. Attempted to kill Gibs along with the Sorcerer out of spite, and his body was found torn open, his blood used to write a bloody letter.
REROLL: Chung Sun, Human Ninja, a quiet man who hides in shadows and strikes hard with his katana. He's the guy with most system mastery, but still hasn't had a battle where he's shined more than anyone, mostly because of the amount of incorporeal and skeletons they've faced.
☠ Zanroar, Human Shadow Bloodline Sorcerer, short-lived party face. Split from the party. Split from the party. Attempted to kill Gibs along with the Sorcerer out of spite, and his body was found torn open, his blood used to write a bloody letter.
REROLL: Fuzzy Mcbushytail, Kitsune Dual Cursed Lunar Oracle, specially hired to deal with the supernatural activities in Harrowstone. Party face and source of much, much rerolling of dice.
Potato God? Sounds like a small fry in the boiling pot of gods. I wonder what domains the potato god would have--if it had the Good domain, I guess you could call it a sweet potato. If it had the fire domain, it would definately be a hot potato. And if the potato god had the evil domain, I suppose you could call it a... dicktator.
Fuzzy McBushytail... yeah, had plenty of those names before with new players. Hakkin Slash the fighter, Dude-a-mon McMonklin the (you guessed it) monk, Morinki Dinkydoo the human bard raised by gnomes, a bloodrager named Thoridius that was modeled after Thor... even had a guy play a cleric named David Sunflowerseed. It took me two sessions to realize that was the brand of sunflower seeds he was eating.
This game my players chose an interesting group (but no dedicated arcane caster--gonna feel that later on). I forget their last names:
Ausprie, Elven Cleric of Pharasma
Eliza, Elven Cleric of Desna
Senna, Human Fighter
Kai, Half-Orc Brawler (going Barbarian after 1st level)
Jace, Human Investigator (going to multiclass with Magus [Kensai])
Genna, Human Rogue
Now, all of these players have quite a bit of experience, but some of them are kind of hung-up on old 2.0 ideas (even though they've been playing 3.0/3.5/Pathfinder for many, many years). The player playing Senna decided to wield a longsword in two hands instead of a greatsword and NOT take Power Attack. Her reasoning? It's just too much damage.
...what.
I try to tell her that being an effective fighter generally requires good damage output. She still thinks 2d6+9 is just too much damage for a 1st level character. I remind her she is a hero, not a commoner, and that the monsters aren't going to hold back because "their claws are just too sharp." She still insists. :-P
The rogue player typically plays... rather unoptimized rogue builds. For example, in prior games where she was the only rogue, she didn't put a lot of points into Perception. We have to push her to use her sneak attack effectively, and instead of getting several sneak attacks while flanking, she tends to seek out ways to become invisibile and waste rounds using a ring of invisibility and a crossbow (typically without Rapid Reload) or wasting time moving up to attack and withdrawing.
Now, I don't expect or enforce min-maxing, but I figure some optimization is crucial to being effective. *shrug*
I do ability scores rather differently than anyone I've met. I have the players make their backstory first, and then we simply assign their scores. Sure, they tend to be more powerful than a 15 or 20 point buy, but 90% of the time we agree on what the stats should be and they aren't crazily overpowered. I think the backstory should be more important, and that the scores should match their idea of the character. Plus, in every game I've run, characters die regardless of their stats because, eventually, someone fails a save and gets toasted. I play each monster like they are fighting to live.
Henric Xantian, the LN Samsaran Investigator//Slayer
Rosalind Levitainn, the CG Human Oracle//Sorcerer
They're looking pretty good, but I'm hoping they make sure to farm some xp and treasure before they run headlong into harrowstone. That'd be pretty awkward.
We're just rebooting the campaing after almost 3 years, at the start of Broken Moon. Of the original party composition only two characters survived the battle at Schloss Caromarc.
LG Human Paladin of Iomedae
CG Human Evoker
The new members are:
LN Human Fighter
NG Human Ranger
NG Human Inquisitor of Pharasma
Let's hope they have a better chance than the original party (although I don't think so..)
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Contributor
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My campaign is well into Book 6, almost into those nasty catacombs. So, maybe a bit late in the game to be posting here. Ah, well. :)
The party:
Bordana "The Wild One" (CG female aasimar cleric of Desna, domains Whimsy & Luck, into harrower) Wild, free, and fun-loving. Leaves behind butterfly graffiti.
Lyra "The Secretive One" (LG female human staff magus, houseruled to use a scythe) Avoiding glory for personal reasons. Specialized in Shocking Grasp; casts obscure spells instead.
Tessara "The Quiet One" (N female elf hedge witch) New player, doesn't say much (besides "What do I roll?"). Character has strange memories; turns out to be cloning accident (by now-lich elf princess)
Ileosa "The Naive One" (LG female changeling oathsworn paladin, retrained into bard) Orphan found with fey mark by Knights of Ozem. Not terribly competent on offense (by design, NPC shouldn't overshadow party).
Thanos "The - wait, what?" (N male, now female, dhampir cleric of Urgathoa, domains Blood and Undead, into Unholy Vindicator) Sent from Geb by vampire mother to investigate Way activity. Diplomacy machine and melee cleric.
Lots of interesting stories and in-character drama out of this group, to be sure. :D
I'm just starting Book 6 myself, after some winter delays-of-game. Please do share how that chapter has been going: This forum has more material on the early parts of the AP than the late parts, and I've appreciated your contributions to date.
My campaign is well into Book 6, almost into those nasty catacombs. So, maybe a bit late in the game to be posting here. Ah, well. :)...
Lots of interesting stories and in-character drama out of this group, to be sure. :D
Our group just completed the AP this past weekend. All six of us finished with our original characters. We did have some deaths, but they weren't permanent.
Human cleric 8/holy vindicator 7 (I think?)
Human bard 11/fighter 4 (focus on archery)
Human wizard (generalist) 15
Human oracle of life 15
Human barbarian (invulnerable rager) 15
Half-orc rogue (scout) 15
We more or less smashed through the books like a sledgehammer (not much subtlety was used). Many fights were touch and go, and we made liberal use of the Harrow cards that we earned.
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Contributor
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Spoilered for intense derailing. And spoilers, I suppose. :)
If you want more on any of this, including statblocks or clarification, just ask - here, PM, new thread, w/e. I've done a lot of custom work on this stuff, and I'm glad to offer help. :)
Virlych Wilds
On the witchgates: I added a use for the moribund key, whereby each 'gate has a "combination" that can be used to teleport directly to it - a back door for the Tyrant and his minions.
The party used wind walk where possible, although I had it draw strange weather. They skipped the first witchgate encounter entirely as a result. After meteorological interference, they switched to Lyra's phantom steeds for a while.
I added a "random" encounter - a Coach of the Silent (from B2's dullahan entry). As they rode along a cliffside trail, this black coach (and its greatsword-wielding coachman) pulled alongside for a running fight. It was great, and very cinematic. Highlights include characters leaping from steeds to swordfight on the coach, the entire affair crashing into a deep valley, and Thanos leaping down 20d6-style to cast breath of life on a cohort.
I changed up Hagmouth's encounter, making him a gare linnorm and putting the witchgate at the bottom of a wide river in a deep valley. The river was sludgy and gray with necromantic runoff and Hagmouth's pus, so they didn't see him until he steamed the party. They offered him tribute, though, and once they learned more about the situation, they bartered treasure and a remove disease/regenerate combo for a night's rest in his lair and directions to Renchurch. Good times. :)
I had a custom party of Knights of Ozem, using the Inner Sea Gods PrCs. Given the party makeup, things were a bit tense at first (between the Urgathoan and the ex-paladin). However, Lyra maxed Linguistics, so I've tried to give her opportunities to use it. She (barely) determined their most recent orders to be one of Adrissant's forgeries. The Knights continued on their way back to Lastwall, and the party headed onward. The possessor lingered, waiting for easier prey...
I replaced the listed coven with an all-changeling coven: a cartomancer witch, an accursed sorcerer, and a hexcrafter. The PCs talked, of course. The sorcerer turned out to be Thanos's daughter... surprising no-one. Between the coven and their veiled zombie brigade, it would have been rough - any of my PCs die to finger of death, and they're low on +8 Harrow cards...
Renchurch Cathedral
On Renchurch: I added a silence spell to the unhallow, keyed to omit neutral evil individuals. Also, don't forget - anything living that dies at Renchurch leaves a high-CR haunt, including enemies. The spiritualist class is thematically great for Renchurch, by the way. :)
The courtyard was a huge fight. Instead of the quickwoods, the PCs had to deal with a batch of scythe-wielding spiritualists, on top of the Gate Tender (I added the rogue class template), Caelandlara, the bog mummies, a nabasu ranger (replacing the barbed devil), and Yrasa Nine-Eyes (statted up as a tiefling souldrinker). The PCs had to burn a lot of resources, but didn't lose anyone; after the fight, they retreated to get some rest in secure shelters.
Yrasa got polymorphed. Lyra and Thanos dimension doored into the belfry, where Lyra was silenced - Thanos was (suspiciously) unaffected. They accidentally set off the haunt, and the nabasu died from a unique combination of teleporting via witchgate and breaking its binding, resulting in it getting smeared across the witchgate tower. The mummies and Caelandlara took a few rounds to arrive - the mummies got flurried with snowballs, while the banshee's wail got countersonged. Two of the spiritualists fled via dimension door, while the other two got cut down beside the Gate Tender.
Upon awakening, they found that one of their number had been targeted by a vision of Lamashtu. When they returned to the Cathedral, they encountered the nabasu's haunt (a "gate" that summoned a bebilith) and the spiritualists' haunts (energy drain). Restorations were cast, and the party headed in. After some argument on how to deal with the silence, the party dispelled it - the Grey Friar's caster level isn't that high. They quickly dealt with the Tyrant's Whispers here.
There was another huge fight in the Nave. They encountered the fast zombie of the Gate Tender... although they did notice that he had left no haunt. I added the advanced and cleric templates to Vallabal, but he didn't do a ton of damage - the caster level on his horrid wilting is pretty sad. The ghouls were all 7th-level slayers... with Old As Dust. They'll be back. >:)
I threw them a bone by letting holy word paralyze the ghouls, who they cleaned up after the remaining enemies were dealt with. Thanos used Command Undead on the zombie - turns out, unhallow works for him too. They dumped deadly damage on the daemon deacon. (Whee!) They blew away the Whispers here with heal - Lyra picked up words like "feed" in the Whispers, and they decided it had to be stopped. I almost got her with the Taxidermy, though...
I shook up the next two rooms as well. I replaced the vampire with the Handmaiden - a vetala lashunta psychic, related to Princess Misoyvel (the elf lich from Tessara's backstory) - she started telepathically whispering to Tessara as soon as she could. The Chamberlain and the spectres were replaced by brainwashed elf swordsmen in her service. The novices in the Ghoul Stone room got a rebuild and a spiritualist splash, and an ally - a tiefling spirit binder wizard with a mauler quasit familiar. (I set that up for my Wrath of the Righteous campaign. The quasit will reappear there.) I also put in an illusionary ceiling for the novices to hide above, so they could drop on people and start strangling.
The two rooms ended up being one fight. The party went into the Ghoul Stone room, and Tessara immediately saw the wizard and his familiar. See invisibility has been huge for her. They ended up polymorphing him, and his own familiar crit him to death with her naginata. She was then sent to the Abyss... just as planned. Then five crazy girls dropped out of the ceiling and started strangling folk.
Meanwhile, the psychic across the hall started sending her elves out. The party ended up in a very chaotic flank. Another holy word from Bordana spread some conditions around, and they dealt with most of the monks. Meanwhile, Tessara and Thanos were dealing with the Handmaiden, a lunatic with a child's mind and an ugly Dark Half. They were mean to her. :) After things started going wrong, she dropped a mass suggestion ("GO AWAY!"), fled, returned under silence... and got Commanded. My most recent session ended there. :)
Questions welcome, as always. Sorry for the epic length. I don't know how useful this will be to anyone who successfully reads it, as my design method is a bit party-specific and complicated. But if I can help, I will. :)
Thanos "The - wait, what?" (N male, now female, dhampir cleric of Urgathoa, domains Blood and Undead, into Unholy Vindicator) Sent from Geb by vampire mother to investigate Way activity. Diplomacy machine and melee cleric.
Wait, how did he become a girl?
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Contributor
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Wait, how did he become a girl?
Thanos "The - wait, what?" (N male, now female, dhampir cleric of Urgathoa, domains Blood and Undead, into Unholy Vindicator) Sent from Geb by vampire mother to investigate Way activity. Diplomacy machine and melee cleric.
Oh, this story. It's longer than it needs to be, as always. :D
Per his lack of representation in the printed Path, I started having him show up for this and that, from delivering a scroll of resurrection for Ellsa in Lepidstadt, to appearing in Chastel for a celebration in the PCs' honor (as slayers of the Devil in Gray). Lyra pegged him as suspicious from the beginning. In any case, he helped them out from time to time, guiding them even as they opposed him.
The party had been using the Pathfinder Lodge at Havenguard Lunatic Asylum to acquire supplies and advice, and Drs. Trice and Davaulus had been nothing but helpful. So when they saw smoke rising, they headed there. The Asylum had been attacked by Princess Misoyvel (looking for Kendra Lorrimor, the Tyrant's Heir, already hidden by the PCs). The PCs arrived just in time to see her dispatched by Adrissant (setting up her rising as the rejuvenating lich in Renchurch). In the discussion of events, Adivion invited them to his estate for a meal and to hear their tales.
After the meal there, Adivion revealed his true identity as the mastermind, using a contingencied renovation spell to transform his estate house into a series of rooms, each ready to administer a "test". From offering Tessara Misoyvel's place as a princess of Sovyrian, to revealing that a horde of ghouls had been dispatched to wipe out Bordana's family caravan in Varisia, the tests were meant to prove that the willingness to sacrifice anything would be required to stop him - they could turn from the path to save what they loved, or they could sacrifice for the greater good. I've said a lot without answering the question, though. :)
Thanos was a hard nut to crack. He had no vulnerable family members, and viewed even his cohort as worthy of sacrifice in service of Urgathoa. So, Adivion went to the source, brandishing an Urgathoan scroll of miracle, which he would use to strip Thanos of his greatest treasure if Thanos did not turn from the path of opposition. He (and Thanos) both assumed this to be the Bleak Scythe, an Urgathoan artifact that had been granted him for destroying the Raven's Head in Illmarsh. Thanos took this assumption in stride, and told the scholar to fire away.
When the smoke cleared, Thanos had been transformed into a curvaceous beauty, a goddess's gift to the male gaze. "Her" armor had been altered to include stiletto heels and form-fitting plating, especially in the backside. Given how much effort had been made to leave the chest unarmored, Urgathoa graciously made sure that modification remained intact. Thanos has been praying for the Pallid Princess to reconsider her miracle, thus far to no avail. Ileosa has been supportive.
I've been poking around these forums for a while as I've been running my game. We are about a year into the game, and have reached the mid-point in Book 3. The core group has remained throughout with slight variations.
Goldes: Elf Ranger - She hates undead, and ever since she got that Bane vs Undead bow, it's been a problem. She is developing some interesting ideas on how to deal with a certain condition that has developed here in Book 3 that may lead to some interesting situations.
Ophelia: Human Oracle (Bones\Wasting) - Awakened as an Oracle after her drowning death. She still looks like a corpse and has made it her mission to destroy undeath. Became a devoted follower of Pharasma after meeting Father Grimburrow.
Nuo: Halfling Summoner - Uses his high Charisma to try to constantly tell the rest of the party to follow his commands just like all the creatures he summons do. Is accompanied by "Yella", his angelic-looking majestic golden retriever with a people-face and hands (and newly grown horns). Say what you want, he's a good boy.
Tom Wade: Half-elf Inquisitor - A self-styled monster hunter and follower of Abadar. Tom started out multi-classing as a split even Ranger/Inquisitor, but after 5-6 levels he asked really nicely to not be that way anymore.
Anya Caliphvaso: Human Archaeologist Bard - Anya began as a straight Rogue, after making it into the later half of Book 2 having only landed a handful of sneak-attacks, and sinking several feats into sub-par archery when compared to Goldes, agreed that a change might be for the best. This new class combo seems to be more enjoyable.
Clio: Human Fighter - Clio was study-buddies with Kendra before she dropped out of school to transfer into fighter school and study sword-theory. Clio stayed with Kendra when she moved to Lepistadt (when the player went on hiatus to study abroad).
Greg Stolvich: Human Alchemist - Greg joined with the party after the fire in Book 1, though has been infrequent due to real-life work issues. During times he has been unavailable, Greg has taken over duties at a certain business in Lepistadt.
Oddel: Human Evoker Wizard - Joined the party in between Books 2 & 3 as a representative from an interested Order. Has added a lot of punch to the party power level.
Well we started this about a year ago but we put it on ice because we started CoT. We finished the path and now we decided to "unfreeze" it. We have just stared the Trial of the Beast.
Anyway the party:
Ingrid Grimhammer: Female Dwarf Slayer 2/ Inquisitor of Pharasma 2 (Sanctified Slayer). Ingrid was in a clan that lived in a mine in Ustalav. While digging aberrations came out of the depths. After a long battle they sealed the mine but she was one of the few survivors. Petros Lorrimor was the one who helped her recover from the tragedy.
Former Professor Rupert Vonstriker (Me): Male Human Alchemist (Ragechemist) 3/ Barbarian 1. Rupert was a professor of botanology in the university of Lepistad. When he was a student there he took part in a secret research that was held by a genius professor. The purpose was to create the ultimate human being. The methods to this research were a bit questionable and finally the head of the research disappeared and the rest of the team disbanded. Rupert stayed as a professor and continued his research in secret, expirementing on himself. He knew Lorrimor from the University and was recently fired because he spent too much time in Ravengro.
Zandou: Male Human Oracle 4 (Bones). Zandou is a mysterious figure. He seems to be under the curse the makes him look sick but that is false. He claims to be a follower of Pharasma but some of his actions seem weird. Him and Lorrimor were old friends according to him.
Emilio Cogsworth : Male Gnome Summoner 4. Emilio is a graduate from the University of Lepistad. A fun personality and friend of Kendra Lorrimor he seems a bit odd to fit in the company. His charismatic personality helps to cheer up the rest of the group and adds a fun taste to the noir atmosphere.
Alexander Dragoon (Iomedae undead scourge paladin, human)
Nicoli Dragoon ( Grave Warden Slayer, human)
Gilliam (Spiritualist Investigator, gnome)
Kalendrel (Occultist Arcanist Elf)
Syd and Junaco (Summoner human and Eidolon)
Sorina Dragomiri (Grenadier Alchemist, Tiefling)
We are incorporating the innate bonuses from Unchained into our campaign to make magic items more rare and interesting.
We are pretty hard up on heals My Alchemist will be going for infusion right away and all the cure and removes she can find, but it might be pretty deadly without a true healer. Although this is the 4th AP for most of the group so its a challenge we are excited for.
Just dipped our feet in last night, first full session will be the 28th!
Sol Arodane (cleric of Iomedae, Human, LG)Subject of Study
Tessalara (investigator, forlorn Elf, NG)Teacher's Pet
Ygor of Graidmere (superstitious barbarian, Human, CG)Chance Savior
Griselda (witch Spirits patron, Human, CN)Inspired by Greatness
Flappy (albino bat familiar)
My players have just started the back half of book 3.
Kyndja - Half Elf Paladin of Iomedae
Denislav - Dhampir Kinslayer Inquisitor of Iomedae
Creeping Gromwell - Human Rogue
Clara - Human Cleric of Pharasma
Tim - Human Sorcerer (Stormborn)
No deaths yet, but a number of close calls. The dhampir was just one point away from death when he was stabilized. The next chance he got, he invested in an Inflict Light Wounds wand with Reach and gave it to the Cleric. :)
Well, my players have just made their characters, thus most of them don't have names just yet, but their PC's are otherwise finished. Oddly, there's not a single human in the lot, and all of them have darkvision.
Elf Wizard evoker
Aasimar Cleric of Pharasma named Sir Burps A Lot, domains Healing and Undead
Goblin Rogue named Scorpio
Aasimar (angel blooded) Paladin of Iomedae
Aasimar (peri blooded) Sorcerer Undead bloodline
They haven't started adventuring yet. I gave the Goblin Rogue 2 extra traits because they don't get a boost to their attributes (net change +2) like all the other races do.
Stats were rolled up 4d6 best 3, and I gave them max starting gold along with a nice masterwork weapon or 300gp.
After a hefty number of deaths in books 1 and 2, we seem to have settled on a winning party composition. RIP to Cassiel, Shoukichi, Jules, Azrin Ezekiel, Bulldozer, and Steef, but long live:
Jones Shei'Lac, Half-Elf Investigator 9. The brains and heart of the group.
Samuel Sledge, Human Monk (MoMS) 2/Brawler 7. The brawn of the crew, and crazy survivalist.
Darius Ral'Algul, Half-Elf Inquisitor 7/Alchemist (Grenadier) 2. A Belmont-esque monster (especially werewolf) hunter. Fights with his inner beast (and was, for a brief time, afflicted by lycanthropy) and channels it to productive ends.
Zin'Retatarianna Mor, Human Oracle (Flame, Blackened) 8/Sorcerer (Red Draconic) 1. The hothead of the crew, in more ways than one. Quick to anger, and obsessed with ending the torment of her curse. Sharing the pain with others will do in a pinch. Has belligerent sexual tension with Darius, who in keeping with Sarenrae's teachings has tried to be patient and kind with her and keep her on the right path, even if that path involves scenes like this:
Darius sighs as she unleashes the first wave of fire... almost allowing it as a way to vent before he decides to act. He activates his Judgement of Resistance and is bathed in Fire protection before wrapping his Whip and himself around her to stop the casting
Z grits her teeth before yelling as fire washes out from her across the ground for several moments before dying down and receding back to her arms.
Seeming to have found a release for her anger, her odd features disappear.
Before she seems to regain her composure and notice Darius pinning her to the ground.
She looks up at him with an arched brow, "Having fun?"
"Get off me."
-Posted with Wayfinder
I'll be running this AP as a GM, starting the end of December. So far, my PCs have the following planned; a Elven Fighter, a Human Inquisitor of Pharasma, a Changeling Witch with the Healing Patron and a Tiefling Alchemist.
I suspect that either the Fighter or the Witch will act as leader and the other one as 'lieutenant'. For the Alchemist, it's her first Pathfinder campaign (and P&P RPG), and know the player's character, I fully expect her to test things and be a bit of a hellion. Lastly, I hope/expect the Inquisitor to be the moral compass, or at least the main driving force, remind the party to move on and whatnot.
Thök- Orc Mage 1 / Unchained Barbarian 8
Lorrimor's aprentice.
Bôor Silvermug- Dwarf Mutagenic Brawler 9
Proud owner of the Silvermug tavern on Lepistad.
Nandro- Half-elf cleric (Pharasma) 9
Twin sister became Vrood's personal vampire cohort =|
My first session has taken place in the mean time :-) It's fun for me to note that my predictions about their behaviour were more or less accurate ;-)