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For a five player group what changes should I look towards? As it stands the xp rewards are too low so keep the encounters as they are and use the faster xp track? Do I need to increase the challenge of some of the encounters or does it present a challenge as it stands?
I am pretty new to the GM side of things so all suggestions are appreciated.
I've been running Carrion Crown without XP. It's been quite successful, we are 1/2 way through the final adventure. The beginning of each adventure tells you what level the PCs should be at each point. It saves time on a lot of book keeping and keeps things running smooth.
Quick check, because I may just be skipping over it accidentally:
Does anyone have the month that the AP begins in? It's noted as the height of summer, and considering Snows of Summer's start follows a literal 'snowing in July' plot, I'm currently assuming mid-Erastus as the starting month of the AP. Figured I'd check to see if it's actually written down anywhere though.
Note *Missing the DC for finding the hidden loot in H16. I guess I will make it a DC20. Its a pretty big haul. Any suggestions?
What does Fawfein do the PCs *don't* detect his ruse?
I assume he'll trot off to warn Izoze and Teb Knotten, as it suggests, but after that? My PCs used fire right off the bat and scared off Pym, Shor, and Vosi and I'm worried about adding all four into a later encounter as that would start getting really dangerous.
I'm thinking perhaps that after they report to Izoze, she'll keep them around near the bridge and set them to attack, with Izoze retreating immediately (or merely watching the fight so she can report back with more details) before showing up for the ambush in encounter O.
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Some Thoughts For You:
The sprites and Fawfein don't necessarily have to interact (or even fight) the PCs in a later encounter. The goals Teb Knotten set for Izoze and the winter-touched fey was to fan out across the wintry pocket expanding over the Border Wood to continue securing a "beachhead" of sorts in Taldan territory for Radosek, Nazhena, and (ultimately) Queen Elvanna's Winter Guard. So, the quick-flying fey are there to speedily scout the woods, identify threats which might endanger their forces, raid the neighboring farms for food to feed themselves, and so on.
Are the PCs deemed to be a significant threat yet? Probably not until they wipe out Rohkar's Raiders or demonstrate an ability to kill one some of Teb Knotten's underlings. So, if Pym, Shor, Voci, and Fawfein all survive (even if scared away by fire), their primary purpose would certainly be to alert Izoze and then Teb Knotten to the PCs' presence. After that, it's up to Teb and Izoze to determine what to do about them. Izoze (who'll have the first chance at making that decision) would favor pitting Rohkar against them first. That's why they agreed to take on the bandits as allies. So, she'd make sure Rohkar proves himself by eliminating the trouble-makers, all without risking herslef or any of the winter-touched fey to the fire-wielders. Meanwhile, by the time Teb Knotten finds out about the PCs, it'll be after they've driven away the winter-touched sprites and killed off the bandits. That'll be enough for him to send Izoze (or Hommelstaub) with a wintry air elemental to raid their camp in the "Ambush!" encounter described in Part Two.
My two cents,
--Neil
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Exactly. But someone leveling by fiat and going naively by the Advancement Track would be likely to not level them until the portal, making those fights really hard.
If the track had said, "should be level 2 after exploring the Lodge", it would have been much clearer.
That's a good point. Maybe those blurbs could be fixed by simply changing "level 2 by the time X" or "level 2 before X" to "level 2 after X" every time. Or would that maybe cause other problems?
I run fiat leveling up too. I've never had the advancement track blurbs cause me problems yet, but I usually find that the adventures are designed so that big set-pieces or dungeon sections tend to signal natural leveling up points pretty well.
For example, I'd totally level up to 2 after the lodge, level up to 3 after the portal, and level up to 4 before the top of the ice tower, even without looking at the advancement track at all.
Quick question about some of the items being sold in Heldren. In the general store I noticed that Vivialla is selling a ring of force shield. Looking up the price on UE it states that it costs 8,500gp. Is that the price she is selling it or is she selling it at a fraction of the price?
Also for the +1 cold iron sling bullets. Does the bullets give a +1 to attack roll and damage for the sling?
Developer
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Quick question about some of the items being sold in Heldren. In the general store I noticed that Vivialla is selling a ring of force shield. Looking up the price on UE it states that it costs 8,500gp. Is that the price she is selling it or is she selling it at a fraction of the price?
All of the items for sale in Heldren are sold at their normal prices.
Also for the +1 cold iron sling bullets. Does the bullets give a +1 to attack roll and damage for the sling?
Yes, but only while using those bullets for ammunition. :)
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Quick question about some of the items being sold in Heldren. In the general store I noticed that Vivialla is selling a ring of force shield. Looking up the price on UE it states that it costs 8,500gp. Is that the price she is selling it or is she selling it at a fraction of the price?
Also for the +1 cold iron sling bullets. Does the bullets give a +1 to attack roll and damage for the sling?
For the ring: unless the adventure specifically says that the price is different somehow, then it's exactly the same as what's written in UE.
For the bullets: +1 ammo works just like a +1 weapon, so yes, it's +1 to both attack and damage. Keep in mind that if you also happen to have a +1 enchantment on the sling itself, they won't stack (but other enhancements, like flaming and [shocking], would apply from both the weapon and the ammo). Does that make sense?
Thank you Rob McCreary and Trinite for the information :) It helped with my campaign last night. I'm working on my GM notes for Part 2 of the adventure and I just had a quick question.
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Listing the ring, to me, feels kind of pointless. There is no way the characters can buy it before they are off and away and no matter how desperate the town is for aid I can't imagine someone in that community being crazy enough to part with something of that value "for the greater good." Haggling it down would also be pointless as there's no way to get the price down enough to afford it. That leaves stealing it. Is there a scenario here I'm missing?
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Thank you Rob McCreary and Trinite for the information :) It helped with my campaign last night. I'm working on my GM notes for Part 2 of the adventure and I just had a quick question.
** spoiler omitted **
(Just so ya know, you don't need to spoiler tag, since this is the GM Reference thread)
If it were me, I'd have the Rider pass his mantle to them in some creepy, very visible way. Perhaps some blood flows out of his eyes and into theirs. Or their ears begin ringing loudly as soon as he speaks his last words, then stop after a few seconds.
Then I'd tell them exactly what stat bonuses they're getting (or that they get to choose), since they'll need to keep track of them on their character sheets.
I might not tell them about the geas effect until the first time they actually do something unrelated to finding her. Before I started kicking in the ability score penalties, I'd give them a verbal warning like, "You feel as though there's something else that you really ought to be doing..." or, "You wake up in a cold sweat, from an unremembered nightmare. The only thing you recall is someone shouting at you, "Where is Baba Yaga!?" The geas is really just intended to be an in-story method to keep the PCs moving the plot forward. Use it for atmosphere; don't use it to punish them for minor stuff.
The geas is really just intended to be an in-story method to keep the PCs moving the plot forward. Use it for atmosphere; don't use it to punish them for minor stuff.
I'm not Rob or Neil, but I agree with Trinite here.
The mantle provides a motivation should one be lacking. It shouldn't be a tool to hinder the adventurers from being adventurers. They need a little latitude, especially with six chapters, to occasionally "take care of their business." As long as they stay reasonably focused on the goal, I would use it sparingly.
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Listing the ring, to me, feels kind of pointless. There is no way the characters can buy it before they are off and away and no matter how desperate the town is for aid I can't imagine someone in that community being crazy enough to part with something of that value "for the greater good." Haggling it down would also be pointless as there's no way to get the price down enough to afford it. That leaves stealing it. Is there a scenario here I'm missing?
I suspect it is there to round out the settlement stat block (link). Settlements are supposed to have a certain number of items worth more than the base value, the ring is just one of them.
Personally, I like having items the characters can't afford. It makes the village feel more realistic.
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Someone could always try to steal it. ^.^
Thank again for the helpful information :) Another question came to mind after I made notes for parts 3 and 4. If the PCs have Hatch come with them to the Pale tower, is it possible for him to suppress the ice walls and open the portcullis if the PCs distract the guards on the wall in area Q1?
How is Teb supposed to behave? Unlike Hommelstaub he doesn't have any sort of vision that helps with the heavy snow. Is he supposed to just stumble around blind stabbing?
How is Teb supposed to behave? Unlike Hommelstaub he doesn't have any sort of vision that helps with the heavy snow. Is he supposed to just stumble around blind stabbing?
Is there something that says it's always snowing heavily? did I miss something?
How do you think the PCs are going to behave? do they have snow sight?
Entry P. The Winter Portal last sentence of 3rd paragraph:
Heavy snow blows from the portal as well, obscuring all sight (including darkvision) beyond 5 feet, and granting concealment to creatures 5 feet away.
Then to further the assumption that this indeed affects the whole map...
P3 False Igloo:
If alerted by Hommelstaub’s thunderstone (see area P1), the sprites fly out to join him in the campsite, though the heavy falling snow affects their vision
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Correct. The pertinent information for fighting in heavy snow is outlined in the introductory paragraphs for area P on the overland map...
Due to the presence of the winter portal, the snow in this clearing reaches depths of 2 to 4 feet. It costs 4 squares of movement to enter a square covered with heavy snow, and overland travel rates are reduced by 75%. These penalties are reduced for those wearing snowshoes. Heavy snow blows from the portal as well, obscuring all sight (including darkvision) beyond 5 feet, and granting concealment to creatures 5 feet away.
Thus, sight-based combat takes a serious hit in the snow, even for Teb Knotten.
However, the encounter location for the moss troll (at area P5) also indicates...
...the heavy falling snow affects Teb’s vision, though the troll’s scent ability can help him pinpoint foes in the snow.
Pinpoint, just means he can locate their 5-foot squares and move in on them once he catches wind of them. The PCs will still have concealment against him (50% miss chance), but his ability to find them in the heavy snow probably outclasses their ability to find him. Hommelstaub, of course, can further guide (and support) his efforts. And that's assuming the moss troll responds to the thunderstone thrown by the atomie to alert him to the PCs' presence at the igloos.
Otherwise, if Teb remains at the winter portal itself (i.e., area P5), that location states...
...Despite the winter weather stirred up by the portal, the swirling vortex hurls the falling snow out of the ring of icicles to pile elsewhere throughout the camp. As a result, the terrain within the ring of icicles—though sprinkled with a dusting of snow—imposes no movement penalties like the deeper drifts in the rest of the clearing.
You could also take this to mean that the snow is hurled away from the portal fast enough that it provides clearer vision for Teb Knotten, as well as the PCs. That's how I'd play it, because the moss troll needs a clearer area to maintain his watch over the portal and to ambush any creatures trying to pass through it (from either side). In fact, if the combat in the heavy snow goes poorly for him, Teb Knotten would likely retreat here or the natural cave (at area P4).
That actually sounds pretty cool, hopefully I can lead my players to play it out like a high tension hunt instead of letting it turn into a slugfest
Any thoughts on what kind of check/DC (Perception, but I figure possibly also Survival?) to note the shaved ice on Wishbone Creek?
I'm thinking probably a DC 15 would make sense; give the players a good chance to discover it without making it an auto-correct.
Since the ice was shaved from below (i.e., the elementals can do so from underwater), I don't think there'd be any visual evidence for them to really notice it.
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we already had a barbarian go swimming! It's good fun, and a quick way to take the yearly bath!
Has anybody extracted maps for VTT use yet?
Has anybody extracted maps for VTT use yet?
Yes, no issues there using SomePDF Image Extract (the free version 1.5 from before they started charging for it).
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The biggest issue's I have found are the maps are too tight (small?). There's hardly any room to move around on the fringes. When I place my players tokens on a map I have to stack them all up in a corner until they decide whats next.
The other thing is that on the frozen crossing map, the dark blue ice patches aren't removable and very difficult to edit out in a photo editor. My party just avoided them thinking there was something wrong with the ice in those places. It makes that part of the encounter unusable.
Just my 2 cents...
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For the fringes you could just expand the canvas to make more room?
Re patches: You could replace the texture for the whole river, thereby removing the patches. Alternatively careful use of the clone tool combined with a blur afterwards should also be able to hide them too.
Hmm, looking at the map images again from the main PDFs. The grid is fixed to the image, whereas the interactive map versions allows them to be removed. Will make a post in the product thread about that.
For the fringes you could just expand the canvas to make more room?
Re patches: You could replace the texture for the whole river, thereby removing the patches. Alternatively careful use of the clone tool combined with a blur afterwards should also be able to hide them too.
Hmm, looking at the map images again from the main PDFs. The grid is fixed to the image, whereas the interactive map versions allows them to be removed. Will make a post in the product thread about that.
I asked about this because using the Interactive Maps was not letting me take a snap shot that didn't include the labels. For whatever reason, I am able to do that now. I used Gimp to edit out the dark spots as described. I am also disabling the grids on the pic so that I can just use grids on Roll20 without too much tweaking.
I will be making custom maps using Dundjinni for both printable to scale for miniatures and ones for use with the VT. I will begin on these next week and will post them as they become ready similar to the ones I did for the RotRL Hook Mountain Book.
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pjic?Hook-Mountain-Massacre-PrintableVT-Battle maps
On maps. we have simply not used them, no counters or minis. I have described the areas about three times as big as they are (outside) and the same or 50% larger (inside). The upstairs in the lodge and the stables were a wee...cramped.
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The other thing is that on the frozen crossing map, the dark blue ice patches aren't removable and very difficult to edit out in a photo editor. My party just avoided them thinking there was something wrong with the ice in those places. It makes that part of the encounter unusable.
Just my 2 cents...
Agreed. Maybe next time use a letter or other marker that can be toggled off and on for the places where the ice is weak. Those suspicious looking shadow spots on the ice make it unusable as is, unless you want the party to simply tiptoe around the weak spots in the ice. And where is the fun in that?
Any chance of getting a corrected release of that one little map as a bmp or some something equally helpful?
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I have begun the work in progress thread for the custom maps. The massacre site is up and should have the ice crossing done soon.
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pksf?Printable-battlemaps-and-VT-maps-for-Reig n-of#1
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For the fringes you could just expand the canvas to make more room?
Re patches: You could replace the texture for the whole river, thereby removing the patches. Alternatively careful use of the clone tool combined with a blur afterwards should also be able to hide them too.
Hmm, looking at the map images again from the main PDFs. The grid is fixed to the image, whereas the interactive map versions allows them to be removed. Will make a post in the product thread about that.
Yea I understand what your saying but after paying 16 bucks for a PDF I really shouldn't have to. I am not saying that they aren't worth it I am just saying that I hope some of the money I am paying for the AP is going to an artist (cartographer) so that I don't have to pretend I am one.
Mac
For the fringes you could just expand the canvas to make more room?
Re patches: You could replace the texture for the whole river, thereby removing the patches. Alternatively careful use of the clone tool combined with a blur afterwards should also be able to hide them too.
Hmm, looking at the map images again from the main PDFs. The grid is fixed to the image, whereas the interactive map versions allows them to be removed. Will make a post in the product thread about that.
Yea I understand what your saying but after paying 16 bucks for a PDF I really shouldn't have to. I am not saying that they aren't worth it I am just saying that I hope some of the money I am paying for the AP is going to an artist (cartographer) so that I don't have to pretend I am one.
Mac
Oh definitely, but until it's fixed that's a solution. :)
Looking at the image it seems they used a darken tool on those spots (since you can see the texture underneath) and might not have been done by the artist. If that's the case it should be simple for Paizo to fix.
What should I change to make the adventure work for 3 PCs (Two are completely min/maxed and one is not). Would it be easier to just use a DMPC?
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Where is the next daughter to be put on the throne? Do these daughters already reside in Irrisen, and no one knows who they really are? Or does Baba Yaga keep giving birth to bebbies while she's away for 100 years and bring one back with her?
What happens if the party wants to help every one that wants to, migrate to Heldren through the portal? Just a few questions I've been pondering while prepping to run this.
Okay. In "The Talking Stag" it states that Fawfein will use sneak attack on players by flanking them with the elk ally. The problem is that the rules state that tiny and smaller critters cannot flank.
Are tiny-sized critters able to flank someone if they have a small or larger-sized ally on the other side of their foe (and thus get the +2 to attack for flanking)? Or was this an oops? Mind you, our Diminutive combatant can use invisibility twice to get sneak attacks in anyway (and use the third time to escape) but I thought it would be good to get verification on this.
(BTW, even with using Reduce Person, that only reduces by one level; thus unless a Small size character is Reduced, flanking still couldn't occur.)
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Okay. In "The Talking Stag" it states that Fawfein will use sneak attack on players by flanking them with the elk ally. The problem is that the rules state that tiny and smaller critters cannot flank.
Are tiny-sized critters able to flank someone if they have a small or larger-sized ally on the other side of their foe (and thus get the +2 to attack for flanking)? Or was this an oops? Mind you, our Diminutive combatant can use invisibility twice to get sneak attacks in anyway (and use the third time to escape) but I thought it would be good to get verification on this.
(BTW, even with using Reduce Person, that only reduces by one level; thus unless a Small size character is Reduced, flanking still couldn't occur.)
Yes, that's a mistake, since Diminutive creatures can't flank. But as you said, Fawfein still has two uses of invisibility to make sneak attacks.
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Our Sorcerer dropped the stag with a crossbow critical in one shot the minute it appeared....
"you see a huge white stag approaching..."
"what's that?"
"it's an elk"
"what's an elk?" (we live in alaska...no elk)
"It's like a caribou"
"OH! I shoot it!" (typical alaskan....lol)
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Yes. See the "Traveling Conditions" section on page 10. No one said going to stop an magical winter from taking over the globe would be easy! :)
That said, you could certainly rule that the snow stops for certain important encounters, if you feel it would hinder the PCs too much.
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I see the first book being the only real time to hit the players with the frigid weather. By the time they reach 4th level and the second book, most parties should have managed to eliminate all but the most serious of threats from weather conditions. That being said, I plan to play up the cold as much as I can. I may even go so far as to include tactics that will nullify their precautions/protections similar to the river crossing in the Border Woods. The winter-touched fey are smart enough to know that normal humans/demi-humans will not do well if their cold weather gear is somehow taken out of the equation...
like getting it WET?
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I see the first book being the only real time to hit the players with the frigid weather. By the time they reach 4th level and the second book, most parties should have managed to eliminate all but the most serious of threats from weather conditions. That being said, I plan to play up the cold as much as I can.
This is not an "answer" but just an editorial opinion as a GM, not a writer.
I think this is a very valid approach. The nature of the game is such that certain hazards do become more (but not totally) obsolete as the PCs gain levels. This includes weather hazards.
The lower levels of this AP remind me of the lower levels of Serpent Skull in that the GM has an opportunity to utilize the environment has a challenge and hazard. Eventually the PCs somewhat "outgrow" that challenge through higher level skill ratings, magic, and gear. Nevertheless you have that early opportunity to make a lasting impact with it and alter your players perspectives on the environment.
Its not bad that they eventually overcome the worst of those challenges either! That becomes one of the unspoken and implied ways the players can measure their PCs are becoming more competent and powerful—the side effect of becoming experienced.
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Our Sorcerer dropped the stag with a crossbow critical in one shot the minute it appeared....
"you see a huge white stag approaching..."
"what's that?"
"it's an elk"
"what's an elk?" (we live in alaska...no elk)
"It's like a caribou"
"OH! I shoot it!" (typical alaskan....lol)
My players had the stag's backstraps harvested before they dealt with the fey!
Gotta have yer priorities straight!
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All you need is for one of them to be a gunslinger, then it would have been absolutely perfect.
Of course, then you have the one surviving Ranger appear and say "Excuse me, but can I see your hunting permit for that elk?" =^-^=