Venture-Captain, Michigan—Mt. Pleasant
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Ran level three last night ended up skipping the allips because of time. As it was we finished in 4 hours, if it wasn't so late and the weather so nasty last night, the Allips wouldn't have lasted that long against them I don't think.
Party:
Half-orc Barbarian 3
Human Paladin 3
Human Bard (Archeologist) 3
Aasimar Oracle (life) 3
Tiefling Rogue (knife master) 3
Tiefling Magus 3/Fighter (unarmed) 1
They did really well until they encountered the Mi-go. Two of the players went down under his onslaught (bard and oracle), and it was beginning to look grim. Then the paladin stepped up he had an AC 30 vs the Mi-go, since he used Smite Evil the first round. He tries to keep Detect Evil going, and as soon as they entered the room, he sensed the first evil creature since the undead at the beginning.
I really think it would have been a TPK if barbarian hadn't rage power-attack criticaled with his greataxe not once but twice for 3d12+36. It was pretty nasty to say the least.
RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16
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Hey Everyone,
I am running Accursed Halls tomorrow and just wanted to make sure I was clear on one point.
The Wight's energy drain attack allows the Fortitude Save (DC 14) before applying the negative level, correct? Not just after 24 hours to see if the negative level becomes permanent.
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The Wight's energy drain attack allows the Fortitude Save (DC 14) before applying the negative level, correct? Not just after 24 hours to see if the negative level becomes permanent.
Incorrect. The fort save is just to see if it becomes permanent. See here
Yes, it does mean a level 1 character is getting one-shotted if hit by a wight.
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16
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The Wight's energy drain attack allows the Fortitude Save (DC 14) before applying the negative level, correct? Not just after 24 hours to see if the negative level becomes permanent.Incorrect. The fort save is just to see if it becomes permanent. See here
Yes, it does mean a level 1 character is getting one-shotted if hit by a wight.
Thanks I did read that. What I was unsure about is that when it says "successful energy drain" that just means that the attack hit, not that the character failed a save. From your response I think that is clear, I just wanted to be sure before running tomorrow.
Although it seems like most of the players will be bringing 2nd level characters - will just have to hit them twice. :)
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 16
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During last Saturday's session into the Accursed Halls, the players decided to visit the "civilized" local goblin tribe, hoping to find information about the goblin warlord that had once ruled there. This improvised scene worked well. Allow me to offer the following suggestions for interactions with the goblin tribe:
1.) The chief's title grows longer and more absurdly grandiose each time it is used.
2.) He requires gifts from any non-goblin who enters his august presence. My players brough pieces of scrap metal, making up absurd stories about the items.
3.) No one entering his "court" is allowed to have their head higher than the chief's. Fortunately, his throne places his head 3 feet from the ground.
4.) Every time Zog's name is mentioned, all the goblins present go to one knee, shouting "Kneel before Zog!"
5.) The chief wants a famous item of Zog's (his sword), but will not tell non-goblins what this mighty item might be.
6.) All those requesting permission to enter the Accursed Halls (or do anything else) must first prove their worth... in a yodeling contest.
7.) Goblins cheat any way they can think of in such a contest. Intimidation and Sleight of Hand are just as important as actual Perform (yodel) skills.
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 16
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After seeing several parties explore the Accursed Halls, I can confidently report that the shadow is the meanest encounter in the place. I have yet to hear of a party that wasn't reduced to feeble, shambling wrecks by its assault. So far, all the groups were fortunate enough to avoid having party members killed and "shadowfied".
Characters exploring that level will need some information from the town if they're going to get the most enjoyment out of it. Steer them toward the magical scholars of Goldenfire Tower, who may share some of the area's background. I've also let the party meet local goblins eager to impress visitors with fanciful tales of "Zog, the mighty goblin hero".
When running the Forgotten Laboratories, Pathfinder Society characters can be sent in search of the arcanolembic and its scarred owner. Explain that the ill-tempered alchemist attacked a scholarly ally of the Society, stealing his research notes about the item. The party's assignment is to explore the Laboratories and dish out a little payback.
That level's toughest encounter is the three goblin rogues. If they manage to ambush the PCs andf have a high initiative, they can easily drop the party's point man before they get to react.
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In my experience Krenar is far more powerful than the goblin rogues.
But that may be because I set their tactics to 'insane suicide bombers with oversized knives' rather than 'assassin' tactics.
They lure the team into the lab room to fight them, the overconfident PCs advance in, and then the alchemist fire turns the laboratory equipment into an alchemical inferno.
Also, with a bit of luck on the black widow, and you may have a party all taking massive con damage from some nasty poison - that's an encounter not to be forgotten!
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I have a question regarding the RAW of underwater combat and how they apply to chamber E6 of The Dark Menagerie.
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Which rules, exactly, are you referencing, graypark?
Sorry, Chris; I should have quoted them in my original query.
Attacks from Land: Characters swimming, floating, or treading water on the surface, or wading in water at least chest deep, have improved cover (+8 bonus to AC, +4 bonus on Reflex saves) from opponents on land. Land-bound opponents who have freedom of movement effects ignore this cover when making melee attacks against targets in the water. A completely submerged creature has total cover against opponents on land unless those opponents have freedom of movement effects. Magical effects are unaffected except for those that require attack rolls (which are treated like any other effects) and fire effects.
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Before I go give this thing a 1 star review, could someone explain why the hell there's a monster in there that auto kills level 1s ?
Because it is a challenge, and it hits like crap.
Really, if you have a low AC and you are in the front ranks, in an area where you can ID the monster before going in, and still rush up to it, you deserve your fate.
Now, those darned fungal crickets are another matter. A CR 5 encounter for a 1st level party of newbies? Yuck!
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Really, if you have a low AC and you are in the front ranks, in an area where you can ID the monster before going in, and still rush up to it, you deserve your fate.
It has a +4 to hit, its really not that hard for it to hit any reasonable ac you can have at level 1.
There's no challenge in "i hit you, you die". Its not difficult its just deadly, a difference i don't think the author got in a few occasions.
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Really, if you have a low AC and you are in the front ranks, in an area where you can ID the monster before going in, and still rush up to it, you deserve your fate.
It has a +4 to hit, its really not that hard for it to hit any reasonable ac you can have at level 1.
There's no challenge in "i hit you, you die". Its not difficult its just deadly, a difference i don't think the author got in a few occasions.
So, you think having less than a 50% chance to hit is "not that hard"?
14 AC is not hard for a new martial type to exceed, easily.
Heck, that isn't even very hard for a Sorcerer or Wizard to beat.
And note that it isn't a touch attack, it is against normal AC.
And it has a good chance of being a one-hit wonder against many 1st level martials.
And, of course, positive channeling can be done from outside its activation zone, although it should react to that after the first channle hurts it. And many other spells can be cast at it before it gets to go.
Now, if a party just walks in, which they should know better than to do by this point, they can be in trouble. But that ios just an extension of why would someone with a low AC be in the front ranks?
Naked Barbarian, Raging, with Dex as a dump stat. Bad Init, bad AC, presumably just a sack of hit points that can do massive damage. But that is moving into one-trick pony territory...
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they can be in trouble. But that ios just an extension of why would someone with a low AC be in the front ranks?
What ac are you expecting on a first level martial, or are you expecting no dm's to roll above a 12? Scale mail and a +1 dex= ac of 16. That's a 40% chance of death.
Thats assuming your party drops it in one round. The way cumulative odds work it goes up sharply from there if the thing doesn't die quickly.
Now, if a party just walks in, which they should know better than to do by this point
Not much else you can do. Even if you're sneaking the stealth rules get you auto spotted in that room because there's no cover.
You can't run or charge up to it while its prone, it has friends in the way and the dais is difficult terrain- it has a +4 ac against ranged attacks, not a -4.
Specific responses please, not just some vague handwave of "better tactics"
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16
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I have run the accursed halls twice. Every fighter in each group (4 total) has had an AC of 20 or 21. Describe the wight as very dangerous looking compared to the two zombies and it will probably go down in about 2 rounds. The wight as not killed anyone in the groups I have run for.
The fungal crawlers however, have almost TPKed the party both times. Also the shadow had one character down to 2 str. Luckily the sorcerer had a wand of magic missile.
Edit - given what I said above, I kind of agree with BNW - I just don't think the wight is the biggest threat. I let players know up front that this is an extraordinarily dangerous module.
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16
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So I am running Enigma Vaults this weekend. I have a question about the Visitant's Evisceration ability.
Is that once per round or on every successful grapple check? If it is on every check, then on a full attack, with 4 claw attacks with grab that is that is potentially 4 extra doses of sneak attack damage and 4 saves for ability damage if all the grapple checks (at +15) succeed. It that correct?
If he is in a flanking position he would get sneak attack damage on initial attacks as well! Ouch!
Also what choices did you all pick for his summon monster III and IV scrolls? I was thinking Owlbear and either 1d3 Wolves or 1d3 Small Fire Elementals.
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Also what choices did you all pick for his summon monster III and IV scrolls? I was thinking Owlbear and either 1d3 Wolves or 1d3 Small Fire Elementals.
I chose a giant scorpion and constrictor snake. I decided that a grab/constrict theme sounded interesting for this fight. If I were to do it again, I'd probably replace the snake with another big insect so the fight had a very "attack of the giant bugs" feeling.
Keep in mind that the Visitant wants minions, not corpses. 4d4 Charisma damage, not Constitution.
Agreed! I had him target people's best stat (based on what he observed during the fight with the summoned creatures and what was affecting him). This will slow the PCs down without killing them, and is the most effective way of taking down combat effectiveness. Once a PC didn't seem like a threat, he switched to Charisma damage to make them easy to manipulate.
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16
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Keep in mind that the Visitant wants minions, not corpses. 4d4 Charisma damage, not Constitution.
Right I didn't do con damage on anyone. Usually str or dex. I did wisdom damage on the cleric after it became apparent he was a healer. I also had it stop attacking a target when it when down to avoid outright kills but one character still died.
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Characters will still die... 1d4+2d6+4 is a lot for one hit at that level, and can kill someone outright on accident. Since the Visitant is intelligent and wants prisoners, he'll stop after someone drops and either forgo his other attacks or switch targets. Keep this in mind if you like rolling everything at once to freak out your players (dropping 4d20 and 4d4 the first full-attack action is very entertaining).
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Characters will still die... 1d4+2d6+4 is a lot for one hit at that level, and can kill someone outright on accident. Since the Visitant is intelligent and wants prisoners, he'll stop after someone drops and either forgo his other attacks or switch targets. Keep this in mind if you like rolling everything at once to freak out your players (dropping 4d20 and 4d4 the first full-attack action is very entertaining).
I dont the module handy but I thought the Visitant's attack 2d4+...
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Melee 4 claws +14 (1d4+4 plus grab)
Special Attacks ... evisceration, sneak attack +2d6 ...
CMB +11 (+15 grapple)
Evisceration (Ex) A mi-go’s claws are capable of swiftly and painfully
performing surgical operations upon helpless creatures or creatures it
has grappled. When a mi-go succeeds at a grapple check (in addition
to any other effects caused by a successful check), it deals its sneak
attack damage to the victim. A creature that takes this damage
must succeed at a DC 18 Fortitude save or take an additional 1d4
points of ability damage from the invasive surgery (the type
of ability damage dealt is chosen by the mi-go at the time
the evisceration occurs). The save DC is Dexterity-based.
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This is an average of 6.5 damage per claw and an additional 7 sneak attack. If it hits and grapples with each attack (fairly likely at this level) then it does an average of 54 damage in a single round. If it has a flanking solution, then that damage increases to 82.
The Visitant is not interested in bodies, though it finds them interesting to dissect; it prefers servants. For the sake of time, I would roll the attacks all at once, but move to a new target when one has dropped. Unless the final attack is enough to out-right kill a character, then the worst that will happen is they are captured and need to be retrieved (5pp).
Is he a terror? Absolutely. Is he "too hard?" Maybe...
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16
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Is he a terror? Absolutely. Is he "too hard?" Maybe...
I agree. Very scary but not necessary too hard if you follow his tactics. Only one player was complaining about the encounter. Interestingly, it was not one whose character died, but the one with the character that I consider the most "cheesy" - legal but definitely built to squeeze every advantage he can find from the rule books.
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16
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Isn't that always the case? :-POnly one player was complaining about the encounter. Interestingly, it was not one whose character died, but the one with the character that I consider the most "cheesy" - legal but definitely built to squeeze every advantage he can find from the rule books.
It seems to be a recurring theme, yes. :)
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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i've had difficulties with the Dark Menagerie: not that it's too easy or too hard, but that it's too mysterious.
The firt time I ran this, the party just didn't know what to do, except stumble around, room-to-room, and break stuff. And then, no climax. A ten thousand year old sphinx. Fight it or free it.
I wanted a level that was a little happier, to come between the Visitant and the overpowering fights of level 5. A change-up in character.
So, this weekend, here's what I did:
When the party arrives in the fore-chamber, the lights come up and the stasis fields drop, as written. The incorporeal helmet animates, as written, but then addresses the party, in a feminine voice:
- In Draconic, it welcomes visitors to the humble menagerie of Nhur Athemon, using the register of the language reserved for non-dragons addressing dragons.
In a pre-cataclysmic dialect of Elven, it welcomes visitors to experience the breadth of Golarion, through the tableaus of the mage Nhur Athemon.
In Azlanti, it welcomes visitors to the magnificent menagerie of the mighty Nhur Athemon, and warns them not to touch anything.
Whichever character addresses the helmet, in whichever of those three languages, that's the character the helmet drifts beside. But it will answer any character's questions, in one of those languages.
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In any other chamber, the helmet provides running commentary on the areas of pre-cataclysm Golarion which the room represents (bearing in mind that kingdoms have risen and fallen in the interim) and the monsters that the party fights. It doesn't so much provide the results of a knowledge check, but rather explains some of that information from the monster explanations, about the mating habits of the decapus or the relationship pugwampis have with gnolls.
The guide's knowledge of magic is limited, but it remembers that Nhur Athemon had designed each room to serve as a illusory representation of an actual place, and had rigged them not to decay by "looping the threads of each illusion around a living (or otherwise stable) part of the display. So long as the "heart" creature or object continued, the illusion would continue along as well.
The helmet identifies itself as "Melebdara" but does not know much more about itself. "That ... that subject of reflection is denied me in my current state. Please choose another topic." But I play Melebdara as a living mind, not an AI. She doesn't know what's in the Waterworks or the Pressing Room, because those aren't on the tour. (Although she can still identify the gibbering mouther and the deathtrap ooze.) She knows that she has just recently awakened, probably at the same time the menagerie stasis field dropped.
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At the end of the dungeon, the party turns the corner and finds the sphinx, chained up, with its head bowed in meditation. Melebdara enters and moves across the room, fading into the sphinx, which awakes and speaks in the same voice. "So, this is where I have been. Welcome,my friends, to my chambers here." Her chains rattle as she attempts to stand. "Forgive my lack of hospitality."
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I feel this provides some structure to the level, some explanation as to what's going on (it's the first time the party hears the name Nhur Athemon) and provides a satisfying end to the adventure. (And it doesn't change any of the encounters, obviously.)
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Chris, I really love this change. I'm stealing it.
I kind of also like the idea of the skull giving a tour while the fight breaks out, then once per round of combat explaining the mating habits of giant scorpions or some such fact:
Kyra: It's got me!
Valeros: Let me chop it's claw off, see if can hold you without a claw...
*CRACK* *SQUISH*
Merisiel: Obviously not.
Magic Skull: Sexual reproduction is accomplished by the transfer of a spermatophore from the male to the female; scorpions possess a complex courtship and mating ritual to effect this transfer.
Ezren: Informative!
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Chris: I'm totally stealing that for when I run the Dark Menagerie later. I'll just need to write up some generic lines so that I have some backup in case I blank on making up something off the top of my head. I played the Dark Menagerie, and even though the GM was trying to make it interesting, it was the one layer of Thornkeep so far that seemed to really fall flat.
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Chris, I hope you don't mind, but I edited your post and stuck it as RPing advice in the GM Shared Prep folder for Thornkeep. If you want me to delete or edit it, just send me a pm.
I really love the idea of the helmet politely telling the players about the mating habits of giant scorpions as PCs are being grapple-killed.
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So... has anyone seen a player actually build anything out of Noqual? From my reading, the material seems kind of crazy overpriced.
The 5000 gp cost to make any Noqual equipment magical shoots down any chances of anyone wearing awesome green crystal armour. Which is a shame, because I'd love a way to remove the mandatory Cloak of Resistance from the game and start having fun with the Cape of the Mountebank instead.
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 16
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I wish that I had read this before running a "slot-zero" game for the Dark Menagerie. In our post-mortem, we hit upon several of the same ideas that were detailed here. We also had a few of our own twists:
* The floating helm should play "tour guide" in Ancient Azlanti. I'd keep it silent and mysterious to start out, but then it starts to provide unhelpful commentary as the party is attacked by the dungeon's various inhabitants. "Many visitors ask how Nhur Athemon keeps the creatures in his exhibits so docile. It's no mystery, really: They are bound with enchantments designed to last for centuries! You can even go up to these scorpions and pet them if you wish."
* My players immediately slammed the door and started buffing when they reached the scorpion room. One of the scorpions promptly ripped it off its hinges and tried to drag a PC into the room.
* The decapus should have an illusion up since it just heard the PCs massacring the scorpions. I'd recommend an illusionary floor with a robed, skeletal figure standing in front of an altar. The skeleton is holding a pitcher, which it raises dramatically and begins to slowly pour its contents onto the altar. That vignette will get one of the fighter-types in almost any party to charge, only to fall through the floor and end up prone in front of the beetle.