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I got to play this one last weekend and will be running it myself this coming weekend. I got some really good ideas from the GM who ran it for me about some things to do to adapt it to PFS, but does anyone else have some good suggestions on how to bring in the players? Or just say Captain Dreng takes them in the middle of the night, ships them to Varisia and tells them to make friends with this circus?
Has anyone come up with good motivations they are willing to share to tie in the story to the pathfinder society?
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I played it recently, and my GM didn't even bother with a tie in story. He just told us we were staying in this village when stuff happened.
Given all the new scenarios in Varisia, you could just say that they've been given time off between adventures in the area, and were told that they might want to go check out the circus that will be visiting this village, before returning to Riddleport or Magnimar for the next adventure.
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I haven't given it any thought yet, but I am running this in two weeks. Perhaps the PCs have been sent to deliver or pick up an item in Ilsurian. When they arrive their contact isn't at home/in the office. A neighbor informs the PCs that Mr. Absentee has gone to the carnival outside of town and won't be back for hours. The PCs can choose to seek him out or wait around a one-horse town with nothing to do. Yes, the taverns aren't open yet. The players should get the hint. They can find Mr. Absentee and complete their original mission after the Uncaged Dragon encounter, opening them up to the offer from Mistress Delisen.
Author Jim Groves is familiar with PFS and will probably chip in a few suggestions of his own once he notices this thread.
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The details can be fleshed out better, but let's say that there was an outbreak of blackscour disease in Turtleback Ferry upriver from Ilsurian. The Society owes someone there a favor, and the PCs are rushing a delivery of ironbloom mushrooms to the area to help out. Turtleback Ferry's town herbalist will meet the PCs in Ilsurian to pick up the shipment. The herbalist has brought his 8 year old daughter with him to Ilsurian. The PCs meet the herbalist and hand off the reagents but there's a problem--his daughter is missing. He can't leave without her, and time is of the essence. Someone suggests she might have sneaked away to see the carnival outside of town. The PCs have to help the herbalist find his daughter and make sure he gets on his way. Sure enough, the daughter is at the carnival--right in the path of a "baby dragon" that broke out of its cage. One mission ends and another begins.
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Just as a suppliment since I've already run this and came up with it, I came up with some additional carnival games that I could share. I tried to incorporate some of the magical properties inherent to Pathfinder into some of these games. They are rather subjectively made, but I think fit the guidelines outlined in the module. I also tried to incorporate various skills, like giving the cleric a good wisdom game or the wizard a dexterity/intelligence game, so everyone can join in on the fun and succeed.
Archery game
Winning Condition: Score 250 points
Three arrows given and regular shortbow. Contestents must use the given bow. Small and medium size bows are provided.
AC less than 5 = Does not even hit the target
AC 5 = White Area - No points
AC 8 = Black Area - 10 points
AC 10 = Blue Area - 25 points
AC 12 = Red Area - 50 points
AC 14 = Yellow Area - 100 points
AC 16 = Bullseye - 150 points
Prize: Bow pendant, showing prowess. Gives the character +5 to indimidate while at the carnival.
Guided Maze
Winning conditions: Navigate the maze
Player given a Hand of the Mage while playing this game and must make Dexterity checks to move a small ball through a maze without having the ball touch the sides of the maze using mage hand. The maze changes every time the game is played (through a prestidigitation spell). Players with the mage hand spell may use their own spell if they wish. The Hand of the Mage is promptly taken back for others to use once a player is done playing the game.
Order of events:
First, keeping the ball steady: DC 12 Dexterity check.
Second, solving the maze: DC 10 Intelligence check - Must be repeated until a success occurs.
Finally, each failed Intelligence check gives another Dexterity check and Intelligence check until the maze is solved. The DC for the Dexterity check increases by 1 each time as the player continues to keep the ball steady, but the Intelligence check to solve the maze does not increase.
Failing any dexterity check immediately ends the game as the ball has touched the sides of the maze.
Prize: A small hand pendant, showing intelligence and skill. Given +5 to any check to gather information while at the carnival (doesn't stack with ribbon from Madame Masque).
Water Gun
Winning Condition: Be the first to have the boat reach the other side.
In this game, there are 10 slots to play. The competitors must power a small boat to the other side of the attraction. (What is actually going on here is a trigger effect tied to a weak Hydraulic Push spell). This is a competition between 4-10 players. When a PC tries to play, roll 1d8 and add that many additional players to the competition (reroll if the # of players is too low. If over, have the maximum number of competitors allowed). Most competitors get a +2 bonus to their roll, except when a 1 is rolled on the 1d8 die where the 1 extra competitor gets a +8 to their roll. Really play up that this person is the "Champion of the Water Gun" when and if he/she arrives.
Winning the game: Each competitor rolls a Sleight of Hand or Dexterity (player's choice) two times and adds them together with their modifiers. Whoever has the highest combined total wins the game. In between each roll, say who's in the lead and really play up the suspense.
Prize: A small toy water boat (player can choose color). This provides no real mechanical benefit.
Card Matching Game
Winning Condition: Match all the cards.
This game is played by 1 player. The player is shown a 16 playing cards for a few seconds. Each playing card has a match with it (2 Aces, 2 Kings, 2 Queens, 2 Jacks, 2 Jokers, 2 Deuces, 2 Tens, 2 Threes). The cards are quickly turned face down (through use of mage hand). The player must then remember which cards were which and match them together while the cards are still face down. (If wanted, this can be done with the actual player with a deck of cards instead of a skill check.)
Winning the game: The player must have a perfect match of every card to win the game. It takes a DC 13 Wisdom check to remember which cards were which.
Prize: A playing card signed by the game's owner. This gives no real mechanical benefit.
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Those seem kind of neat, but remember, for PFS, you can't alter/add to scenarios/modules.
I personally like those extra games and might even consider using them myself, but giving prizes that provide game mechanics would have to be right out, methinks.
Consequently, those bonuses actually never came into play when I GMed it the second time (the first time, the players didn't even play the games, nor the ones written in the module *sad face*...since it is replayable, I'll say it was two entirely different groups of players).
Eh, you're probably right about the prizes. You can still give them just for fun without any mechanical benefit. They actually gave the toy boat to the kid who got last place, making her a very happy kid.
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I ran this on Saturday. The players enjoyed it, but felt it was a little railroady. At one point, after being told that evening was falling, they said, "Let's retire to the tavern and wait for the next murder to happen". I was concerned that they were going to head out into the wilderness to track down the skulk tribe, but the pace of events kept them busy. I was also surprised that, after determining the skulks were drug users, they didn't say "Let's gather information on who's selling drugs in this town". That could have led them right to the Gilded Hands.
The party included an Inquisitor of Asmodeus who saw through the Jherizhana ruse immediately, cast detect magic and made the Perception check to locate Ika hiding in the tent. Then, in a surprise move, the Inquisitor cast brand and touched the hooded figure's forehead. At that point I had the guards try and hustle the audience out of the tent which almost started a fight. Almara had to intervene to distract the Inquisitor from ringing the truth out of Ika.
The ambush at Braeton Manor didn't present much of a challenge. It wasn't obvious what Borvius's ploy was, no one understood until I explained it to them. It was fun to watch the confused looks when the Inquisitor came out of the bedroom, because the real Inquisitor was still outside of the mansion.
The battle at the warehouse was a perfect climax. The party split up, making things much more interesting. One of the PCs broke in through the night watchman's door and got shivved by a skulk. The other PCs went in through the office and into the warehouse proper, save for the Inquisitor who pursued the Gilded Rogue who went to warn Robella. Three of the PCs got entangled in the fight on the catwalk with almost nothing to throw at the alchemical swarm. The Inquisitor reached Robella just as she was finished buffing. I missed a chance for some classic villainous exposition :( The rest of the party united and got within earshot as the Inquisitor got cut to ribbons. It made it very exciting as the players knew she was bleeding out but the BBEG stood between them. Robella managed to drop two more PCs and took the barbarian to zero HP while raging. The barbarian's player knew it was all on the line and forwent healing to take a swing (true to barbarian nature). It was enough to put Robella down and the last Gilded Rogue surrendered.
This was the first time I have run it and I look forward to doing it again.
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I ran this on Saturday. The players enjoyed it, but felt it was a little railroady. At one point, after being told that evening was falling, they said, "Let's retire to the tavern and wait for the next murder to happen". I was concerned that they were going to head out into the wilderness to track down the skulk tribe, but the pace of events kept them busy. I was also surprised that, after determining the skulks were drug users, they didn't say "Let's gather information on who's selling drugs in this town". That could have led them right to the Gilded Hands.
I enjoyed this module quite a bit, but I agree, a bit railroady. There were a couple points where I had to nudge the players in the right direction using conveniently place NPCs.
My PCs also wanted to tromp out into the woods looking for skulks! My basic response to them was: "You had enough trouble spotting a single skulk in a small room, do you really think you can find them hiding in the wilderness?"
I'll be running this again in the new year. I think it will be much better the second time, as I can better anticipate some of the player hijinks.
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The Umbra Carnival is also the starting point for the module 'The Harrowing'.
One of the times when I ran 'Murder's Mark', I had VC Heidmarch sending the PCs off to find the former bearer of the harrow deck, to ask her a few follow-up questions (all of my players had played the Harrowing, and were a little scared by this ;-)).
Other than that, I usually have the PCs simply stopping-off in Ilsurian, whilst they are taking the 'overland river route' to Magnimar, having heard that VC Heidmarch has put out the call for Pathfinder Society operatives to come to the region, in order to bolster the Society's presence in Varisia. Then, whilst they are relaxing in front of the fire enjoying dinner, I describe a commotion outside; a procession of jugglers, fire-eaters, clowns, musicians, and mimes, handing out leaflets - the carnival has come to town! The PCs usually take the bait :-)
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Looking over the module to run it next week. I'm still reading it all the way through, but right up front there's a big issue I wanted to bring up.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
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Grimcleaver:
That way, she would have large-sized claws with which to maul the first victim.
Of course, realistically, there is essentially no way for the PCs to determine that this is what happened...
I hope that helps!
Okay fantastic. I hadn't spotted that mutagen on the list--that makes it a lot easier to describe. Didn't even know that one existed. Thanks a ton.
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Yeah, I also found this is the hardest part of the module to have the players "connect the dots." All the other parts of the story are pretty clearly laid out.
The first time I GMed it, they spared one of the people they attacked and they got the information from her. The second time, the sheriff came and identified them. It was kind of cool, cause each party approached the building from a completely different perspective.
Other than that, I'm not sure how they are supposed to know.
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That's when you either end the game or you get creative. Authors can't write out every possibility. "What if..." possibilities can go on 500 posts. Don't worry about them getting arrested. That's the players' concern, not yours. You can't make their decisions for them. The players may actually enjoy getting arrested (and escaping) than the adventure written in the module. You just worry about making things entertaining.
Tips for Improvisation
Sometimes your players head down a completely random path
or approach an unnamed NPC for information. By remembering
a few pointers, you can present plausible, organic descriptions
and social encounters while still keeping your players pointed
in the right direction.Say “Yes, and...”
When you allow a player to pursue a creative solution, you
reward the player’s ingenuity and promote similar creativity in
other players. By adding your own insights, interpretation, or
inspiration, you can help to direct that creative solution so that
it remains within the bounds of the scenario and the rules.
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Jim, when you have a chance to comment, what kind of voices/accents do you imagine the key NPCs have?
- Jherizhana
- Almara
- Kyra Feldane
- Borvius Monchello
- Robella Monchello
It's often suggested that Varisians have a Eastern European accent which suits me fine, but do you think that Varisian townies and Sczarni carnies would sound different?
I guess what I'm reallly getting at is this: If the sheriff wants to arrest them and they have no way of discovering the warehouse, is this supposed to be a mission failure? What if they are actually arrested?
That depends on whether you're running this Society or not. If so, then I'd run the sheriff as really dubious that the PCs are at fault and give them one last chance to clear themselves and the circus--I mean there has been a lot of mindgames already.
If it's a home game you could have the Hands try to sneak into the prison to whack them so as to remove the PC threat permanently. The botched hit would give the sheriff a chance to re-evaluate her opinion of what's going on.
I'm having a hard time finding the last two maps for the module (Cs and Ds). I'm not seeing them anywhere in the module. PDF's can be a pain--help a guy out?
Ah okay. I may not have printed that far! Thanks all.
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4
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Hi Folks!
I meant to reply to this some time ago, but I have been super busy with Christmas and other writing projects. That being said, I love the PFS community and I want to chat give some feedback about some of this stuff.
Just a quick warning, I may not use spoiler tags, because this is a GM's thread.
Original Poster's Question about involving the PFS
Doug Miles has a fine suggestion, but let me just add some specifics to it. I would have the PCs in Ilsurian to pick up some antiquity or minor item of importance. It's been tracked down to the Locked Box. When the PCs arrive in town, Archivin Walder has closed early for the circus's opening night (after which he'll be murdered). Cooperating with the Circus folk gets them access to the Locked Box. Mrs. Walder may reward them with the item for the capture of the skulks. Alternately, you can have the widow give it to them at the end of the module when the true killers have been finally brought to justice, if you need a little leverage to keep them engaged. This segues to why they're in town and why they might go to the circus (because they're killing time till the next business day) without really adding any additional mechanics.
Doug's alternate "plague" idea also works quite well.
I ran this on Saturday. The players enjoyed it, but felt it was a little railroady. At one point, after being told that evening was falling, they said, "Let's retire to the tavern and wait for the next murder to happen".
That made me a little sad face, but its a legitimate critique. The structure of the scenario is somewhat reaction oriented, at least for the 2/3rds of the scenario. Nevertheless, it mirrors a television police procedural. Police officers and detectives have trouble preventing murders—rather they must react to them most of the time. I mean that is a sad statement on our own real world life, but that's how it goes. Events in the module really are ticking off on a literal but unseen timetable. And at first that timetable has nothing to do with the PCs and everything to do with Sheriff Feldane and the mood of the town. The Monchello's want the good Sheriff hopping from one foot to the other, and the mood of the town turned up to the boiling point.
And the PCs are the X-Factor that the bad guys never counted on. Incidentally, I didn't put a literal clock on events because I know from experience that will constrain imaginative GMs more than it will help other GMs. But my point is, it's not just Jim Groves keeping the pace going—the Gilded Hands are doing that for very real in character reasons. It might frustrate the PCs a little, but by the time the third murder happens—the Gilded hands are getting pretty frustrated by THEM.
So when I read that the PCs want to retire to the tavern and wait for the next murder, I think I know what's going on. They want to get ahead of the bad guys and thwart them. The problem is that the Monchello's should be organized, thorough, and detail oriented. They're not trying to leave clues (but they do). They're not trying to get caught. They don't want amateur detectives to "get ahead of them". In other words, they're supposed to be "smart" bad guys. That can be disenfranchising though. What is perhaps understated is that at the scene of every crime the PCs get the opportunity to present reasonable doubt and buy the circus more time. That doesn't sound meaningful perhaps, but it is. That's why they eventually become the targets.
To the degree that eventually the bad guys focus on the PCs instead and the get put at the center of the action.
I was also surprised that, after determining the skulks were drug users, they didn't say "Let's gather information on who's selling drugs in this town". That could have led them right to the Gilded Hands.
The Gilded Hands sell very little drugs in town for that reason. That fact might have been excised from the text, but the thought occurred to me and Filton Legg was an obvious exception. It used to be that a good beating and the threat of being cut off would bring Filton in line, but once he started to get clean things went wrong. He opened his mouth and started talking.
That's a storytelling technique I owe to Stephen King. The bad guys always make a few mistakes too. If the Monchellos had a time machine they would have never sold to local in the first place.
On the subject of illusions: I presented a more complex system of how the illusions worked, and it was simplified. It was felt that with a low level adventure, it should use low level magic. I appreciate that decision. Nevertheless, it is dicey to attribute silent image and ventriloquism to the effects described. I'm not going to argue that point. Then again, a magic item that permits major image, even if restricted in application and with sparse uses per day to cut the cost, could also be seen to be unfair (or too good of treasure if stolen by tricksy PCs). All told, we (the Team) were trying to save the sphinx from being removed from the adventure completely. Jherizhana was Crystal Frazier's original creation and I didn't want to lose her. I fought to preserve the character in some form. I came up with a way to save her, but I had to compromise too. If you start writing professionally, that's going to happen. In the end, I am satisfied the best decisions were made. In other words, the only one going under the bus is me.
My PCs also wanted to tromp out into the woods looking for skulks
That's a toughie, but I think your answer was a good one. If they ever capture one of the skulks alive (from the Locked Box), they know very little about the Gilded Hands. The Monchello's are too smart to trust skulks with any knowledge about their operations. There is little honor between thieves, but skulks? They got negative honor. They'd sell out their own mothers, kidnap them, and sell them again. The tribe communicates with the Guild on neutral ground, and the first sign of trouble the Gilded Hands cuts off their supply of drugs. That's how they're kept compliant and ignorant. The skulks that work for the Gilded Hands are exceptions, whose loyalty has been tested and proven.
I have a question. Maybe I'm just dense, but I am not sure how the PCs know to go to the warehouse after Breton Manor. Can somebody clarify this for me, please?
The Sheriff always arrives to investigate. In one sense, the bad guys are counting on it. From the perspective of the Gilded Hands, they want to defeat the PCs and exploit the children to be the witnesses who identify a PC as being a kidnapper. That's why Borvius used alchemy to steal the form of one of the PCs (while making it a point to say he was working with the circus in front of the children). Sheriff Feldane is going to be hard pressed to disbelieve a frightened orphan. That is also why Borvius returns with the Sheriff, if he escapes—then it will be his word and that of the children's against the PCs.
Now that sounds like a really tough problem, but also consider its strictly hypothetical. How many times do fleeing villains actually escape PCs? My experience is that it happens rarely. Yet, we have a contingency for it.
And if the sheriff wants to arrest them?
Then the PCs need to be creative. They need to escape and clear their name, or get arrested and put on trial (or suffer mission failure). How do they clear their name if they don't know where to go? Well, Borvius is going to HAVE to explain the presence his own dead men at the murder scene to the sheriff (this is explained on page 18, left column, last paragraph from the bottom). Word should get out around town that several members of Ilsurian Storage and Hauling were killed. PCs in hiding around town might overhear this information, or get it from an ally that is still talking to them. When the PCs stand accused by the employees of a local business who "just happened to be in the area when they allegedly committed a massacre" that should point a pretty big red arrow at the Ilsurian Storage and Hauling for further investigation.
Again, I appreciate the concern, but personally I am betting that the baddies get killed and Borvius does not escape MOST of the time. But look at the page reference I made above, and think it through. From the PCs point of view there are only four parties involved at that massacre. The kids, the sheriff, the PCs themselves, and the employees of Ilsurian Storage and Hauling. They should be able to rule out the kids, Sheriff Feldane, and themselves. So who does that leave? If they run away from the Sheriff, just don't make it impossible to learn about the other deaths. Let them hide out around town and discover who the other principals were in the conflict.
Other than that, I'm not sure how they are supposed to know.
Its the Sheriff. Remember, this isn't just a manipulation to steal Braeton's business from his heirs, its a frame job on the PCs. To frame someone for a crime they didn't commit that crime must be discovered. Hence the Sheriff is intended to always show up sooner or later.
That depends on whether you're running this Society or not. If so, then I'd run the sheriff as really dubious that the PCs are at fault and give them one last chance to clear themselves and the circus--I mean there has been a lot of mindgames already.
This is a good point. They've spent the entire scenario demonstrating to the Sheriff that nothing has been quite what it seemed. Its not unreasonable to set up an opposed Bluff/Diplomacy situation between the PCs and Borvius to see who can convince the Sheriff to believe them.
***************
Doug Miles, I'll get back to you shortly on those voices!
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I ran this as a PFS table yesterday for a party of five - A bard, a battle cleric (and king of the carnival), a tank monk, a zen archer and a witch. They had a great time, though the hideout battles were a bit more epic than they may have needed to be. I made the sheriff a bit too accessible, so the PCs fetched for her every time something seemed wrong - and it worked for them until they reached the manor.
We had a great time and everyone made it through the meat grinder. Thanks, Jim!
Also, we were curious: the chronicle sheets say subtier 1-2, so does that mean that this module is not replayable at all as it isn't just a tier 1?
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Also, we were curious: the chronicle sheets say subtier 1-2, so does that mean that this module is not replayable at all as it isn't just a tier 1?
There is one exception to these rules: All Tier 1 scenarios and Tier 1–2 sanctioned modules are available for unlimited replay with a 1st-level character for credit.
The sanctioned modules can also be played with a 2nd-level character once for credit. You may continue to replay the sanctioned modules with 1st-level characters after playing through them with a 2nd-level character.
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I've ran this in 6 hours and 8 hours, and when I played it, it was 12+ hours (that was a convention, though). How you pace it determines a lot, actually. I did my games more as a fast "against the clock" adventure, which my players liked, where when I played it, it was more open and investigative.
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I'm running this again tomorrow and hope to keep building on it. I'll add this to GM Shared Prep, but I am sure that it can be expanded:
Knowledge Local or Diplomacy: Ilsurian
DC 15 – Ilsurian is a trading town in central Varisia, situated on the bank of Lake Syrantula next to the mouth of Skull River.
Knowledge Local or Diplomacy: Ilsurian
DC 20 – Ilsurian is a trading town in central Varisia, situated on the bank of Lake Syrantula next to the mouth of Skull River. Many of the inhabitants of the town descended from ethnic Chelaxians, and most of them have the strong features, pale skin, and dark hair of that group. Most also harbor prejudice against the native Varisians, and believe the stereotypes that Varisians are thieves and layabouts.
Knowledge Local or Diplomacy: Ilsurian
DC 25 – Ilsurian is a trading town in central Varisia, situated on the bank of Lake Syrantula next to the mouth of Skull River. Many of the inhabitants of the town descended from ethnic Chelaxians, and most of them have the strong features, pale skin, and dark hair of that group. Most also harbor prejudice against the native Varisians, and believe the stereotypes that Varisians are thieves and layabouts.
The town was named for its founder Ilsur, a Knight of Aroden from the city of Korvosa. With the crumbling of the Chelish Empire, Ilsur wanted a militant-leaning meritocracy to replace noble rule in Korvosa, but had to eventually concede defeat roughly 80 years ago. He marched his troops to the west bank of the Skull River where it empties into Lake Syrantula, and awaited a chance to return and seize Korvosa by military force. He died waiting for the opportunity, and his army gradually transformed into a strong community of independent fishers and foresters.
*****************************************************************
The DC 5 and 10 checks are deliberately contrary to reflect the uninformed/biased source. Hand them out to players who lack Knowledge (Local) to help form their own bias!
Knowledge Local or Diplomacy: The Umbra Carnival
DC 5 – “A traveling carnival? Beware my friend! These things are just a front for criminal activity. The games are rigged, the sideshows are farcical and the food is filthy. Sure the women are comely, but their welcome smiles and scant costumes are a distraction for the menfolk to cut your purse. My cousin got lured behind a wagon by a likely wench and got his head cracked open for his trouble. Blasted dancers! Now he’s dumb and broke. Trust me, keep your distance!”
Knowledge Local or Diplomacy: The Umbra Carnival
DC 10 – “Traveling carnivals are wicked fun! Even if you don’t have much coin, there’s always something to see. Harrowers, savage beasts, all manner of freaks and the dancing ladies—oh my! The smell of perfume, roasting meat and pipeweed makes me delightfully dizzy. There’s usually a good fight to watch, too. My uncle told me about this time he won 10 gold Sails wrestling Khoshut the Backbreaker, an exiled Shoanti warchief. I only wish they came more often.”
Knowledge Local or Diplomacy: The Umbra Carnival
DC 15 – The Umbra Carnival is one of the many traveling shows that circulate around Varisian towns and cities providing entertainment in exchange for a bit of coin. Some believe these troupes are a front for Sczarni crime families who fleece as many locals as they can before hitting the road ahead of an angry mob. They feature freakshows, games of skill and chance, a menagerie of exotic or dangerous creatures, acrobats, musicians and fortune-tellers. The workers are often all part of an extended family, but there are always a few collected castoffs of society.
Knowledge Local or Diplomacy: The Umbra Carnival
DC 20 – The Umbra Carnival began over ten years ago. It grew gradually into the size of a small village, with a diverse array of attractions and amusements from all over Avistan. The sincere intent of the carnival is to provide much-needed entertainment at a price communities can afford. One of the center-stage attractions is Jherizhana, a sphinx captured in Thuvia and bought by the carnival.
Knowledge Local or Diplomacy: The Umbra Carnival
DC 25 – The former adventurer Almara Delisen founded the Umbra Carnival over a decade ago. She uses her illusion magic as the centerpiece of a traveling show that passes through small towns starved for entertainment and a glimpse of life beyond their borders. With time, other performers, acts, and attractions joined her circus—lost souls and lonely hearts, eager to see the world or leave some part of it behind.
Venture-Captain, California—San Francisco Bay Area North & East
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I haven't played or read this yet, and so, didn't even read the thread. But! I've seen this played at conventions now. Although it's a module, and thus, get's scheduled for 12 hours, tables were easily wrapping it in 4-5 hours. You might want to plan and schedule accordingly.
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My home group really hammed it up and went way over time on the roleplaying, so we had to finish it up the next time we met. I'd say we put almost 9 hours into it, over the course of two sessions.
At one point, we even tried to arrest the sheriff. He was determined to arrest someone from the carnival, despite all the conflicting evidence, just so he could be seen doing something. It was a nice touch by the DM, but he wasn't expecting the rest of the group to react so... vehemently. Eventually he backed down and gave us one more last chance. :)
Jim, when you have a chance to comment, what kind of voices/accents do you imagine the key NPCs have?
- Jherizhana
- Almara
- Kyra Feldane
- Borvius Monchello
- Robella Monchello
It's often suggested that Varisians have a Eastern European accent which suits me fine, but do you think that Varisian townies and Sczarni carnies would sound different?
I think the thug ringleaders are sczarnis and the carnival folk are varisians. The local townies would have a chelish accent because they are like the Galatians a remnant settled army.
RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32
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Wish i had found this thread before i ran the first part of the module. It would have been a great help. Anyhow, I also added a few games...
Hoop Toss
This game consists of a narrow, deep booth with numerous barrels of different sizes, from thin ones to thick ones, at one end. The barker entreats you to toss a hoop towards the barrels, succeed in "hooping" a barrel to win the game.
Cost to play the game is 2 cp.
There are four different sizes of barrels. The thinnest barrels require a ranged to hit roll against AC 13. The next largest are AC 15, the third largest AC 17, and the largest barrel is AC 19. Alternatively, one can try to hoop two barrels together, though the barrels have been placed so that this is much harder than it looks (AC 24).
Egg Shuffle
The barker shows the player a blue quartz marble and places it under an wooden half-egg and shuffles the five half-eggs around. The goal of the player to guess which egg has the stone underneath it. This requires a DC 18 Perception check. If the player succeeds he gets 2 cp back. The cost to play the game is 1 cp.
Prizes
average worth 1 cp
1 Copper necklace
2 Wooden whistle
3 Carved wooden soldier
4 Piece of hard candy
average worth 2 cp
1 Copper necklace with a small flawed gem (d6: 1 agate; 2 blue quartz; 3 malachite; 4 obsidian; 5 tiger eye; 6 turquoise)
2 Varisian Matryoshka dolls (3)
3 Headband of brightly colored feathers
4 Wooden holy symbol of Erastil
average worth 5 cp
1 Wooden flute
2 Stuffed firepelt cougar
3 Copper ear jewelry with gems (d6: 1 agate; 2 blue quartz; 3 malachite; 4 obsidian; 5 tiger eye; 6 turquoise)
4 Copper bracelet
average worth 1 sp
1 Pan pipes
2 Song bird in a small cage
3 Wooden dancing shoes
4 Set of 5 wooden animal figures
average worth 2 sp
1 Porcelain statue of a dragon
2 Pouch of pepper
3 Free admission to next day's show (not available on last day of the carnival)
4 Cloak with the Umbra Carnival's Logo sewn into the back
Also as i prepare i am finding mistakes in the stat blocks. Basically Weapon Focus with people that don't have a BAB of +1 yet. But Borvius Monchello has too many feats. Again, not again deal, but annoying to my OCD-ness. :)
Lastly, I'm looking for the GM Shared prep... looking, but can't find it. Any anyone direct me? Edit: nevermind Found it!
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On page 25 Robella's statblock has an asterisk next to her Intelligence score. The note says, "Robella took 2 points of Intelligence damage for making the infused extract for Borvius. The penalty to her Intelligence-based skill checks is already reflected in her statistics."
I looked at the infusion discovery and it doesn't mention anything about taking Intelligence damage for making an infusion. Am I missing something?