|
I keep having issues over how the boon for this retirement scenario works. Here's my latest problem:
Seekers (previously known as retired characters) are offered the opportunity to accomplish one last major mission for the Pathfinder Society: participating in a Seeker story arc (previously known as a retirement arc).
To play a Seeker (Tier 12) story arc, the character must start it with exactly 33 XP. If a character is used to play an 11th-level module starting at 31 or 32 XP or a Tier 12+ special scenario at 12th level, thus ending the module or special scenario with more than 33 XP, the character receives full credit for the module or special scenario, but may not play any part of a Seeker story arc (except for a few grandfathered exceptions—see the Pathfinder Society FAQ).So my Lantern Lodge character is level 12. I am crazy eager to apply this chronicle to him - he's been with Amara and her gang for two years, he has never changed faction, he has never accepted pregen credit.
But because of this paragraph from the Guide to Organised Play, he can either wait to take on Eyes of the Ten, or the character can retire forever with the Triumph boon. He can't do both. I can understand this ruling for someone who took on The Ruby Phoenix Tournament at level 12, but for someone with +3k gold and +2pp? Really?
...
Just because you would not be able to play the Eyes of Ten arc, you could always continue to play high level modules with this character.
|
|
What type of vegetation is on the island? I'm running a Play-by-Forum of this Scenario and a character is asking. I told him since the island is made mostly of igneous rock and basalt, not much vegetation could grow; only a few small brushes that managed to cling to life in the dirt that collected in between the rocks or in small depressions. However, is this accurate?
Thanks!
|
|
Unknown, that sounds pretty accurate to how I read it too.
TriOmegaZero rather succinctly summed this up, but I want to point out that at no tier does this scenario have "4 conscripts". At Subtier 3-4, there are 7 conscripts, which is reduced if the players were pro-active and whittled down enemy numbers first using the catapult or area effect spells. The next encounter is similarly scaled down.
In my run at Origins, they did wonderfully. The Valeros pregen player used up his potion of enlarge person, and the party was mostly positioned to the fore when the saboteurs busted in the back windows and started chucking bombs.
Developer
|
What type of vegetation is on the island? I'm running a Play-by-Forum of this Scenario and a character is asking. I told him since the island is made mostly of igneous rock and basalt, not much vegetation could grow; only a few small brushes that managed to cling to life in the dirt that collected in between the rocks or in small depressions. However, is this accurate?
Thanks!
That is accurate; the island is not the kindest habitat for Plant domain druids.
|
|
That is accurate; the island is not the kindest habitat for Plant domain druids.What type of vegetation is on the island? I'm running a Play-by-Forum of this Scenario and a character is asking. I told him since the island is made mostly of igneous rock and basalt, not much vegetation could grow; only a few small brushes that managed to cling to life in the dirt that collected in between the rocks or in small depressions. However, is this accurate?
Thanks!
Thank you for the quick response!
|
|
That is accurate; the island is not the kindest habitat for Plant domain druids.What type of vegetation is on the island? I'm running a Play-by-Forum of this Scenario and a character is asking. I told him since the island is made mostly of igneous rock and basalt, not much vegetation could grow; only a few small brushes that managed to cling to life in the dirt that collected in between the rocks or in small depressions. However, is this accurate?
Thanks!
Yeah, that's how I described it, and it seemed to fit well the overall feel of the island between the rocky terrain and the clinging mist.
|
|
That wasn't reported as PFS or chronicles given, right? ...considering that is illegal. Not in the scenario, not available. Unless very specifically stated (or a PC cleric with breath of life/raise dead in higher levels), dead means dead and costs gp or PA to come back.
In the final battle, one PC died as a result of a critical hit from the BBEG. Luckily, the kirin have wish once per week and he was deemed worthy of resurrection given Amara Li's explanation of his sacrifice for the lodge. So I had my first PC death, but everyone was all smiles at the end.
Luckily we had a good group and after conferring with my VC, a collection was taken up by the players who were at the table and they were able to pitch in enough gp to get him raised. This seemed a reasonable fix since it is what would have likely happened right at the table if I hadn't made that error. So the kirin saving him was just a near-death hallucination, I guess. Suffice it to say I have Bestiary 3 coming in the mail tomorrow so I won't have this issue in the future. ;)
|
|
Quick bit of pointless trivia.
When I was writing this, I was listening to Swords Against Wizardry and tried to channel a little bit of Fritz Leiber while writing. No easter eggs or anything, just thinking about his style when I was writing descriptive text.
Can you write a PFS scenario based upon Leiber's 'Conjure Wife'?
|
|
Okay, so I ran this on Thursday, and I'll be running it again tomorrow. I've filled in a few of my gaps, but I have a few questions remaining.
- The pier arrival point is approximately 2 miles from the house (11000 ft) as the crow flies.
- Visibility is stated as being 100 ft
- Yet, the initial boxed text refers to seeing the house and lighthouse, describing the overall island's appearance.
- How far would the torch-bearing invaders be before the PCs can see them? Have the drizzle and mist cleared enough that it's not an issue at this point?
The biggest: How does one really handle the environment here?
- How far can a PC typically see in clear weather?
It's possible that I'm overlooking some basic rules, which could help me figure out what this all means. For example:
- In the interests of sharing, here are some relevant details I drummed up from my experience that others might find handy:
- For the metric-minded folks, a mile is equivalent to 5280 feet.
- Humans can walk about 300 ft/minute; 3 miles/hour (combat movement is hustling -- double; difficult terrain halves distances)
- Based on the dropping damage at high subtier, the cliffs behind the house are 80 ft high.
- 1 pint of oil will cover a 5-ft square. Lighting it on fire will burn 2 rounds for 1d3 damage. The 20-gallons of whale oil are equivalent to 160 pints of oil. (It will burn longer in a lantern -- so in the lighthouse it should burn for approximately 40 days before running out.)
I'll post more later about our adventure -- it was quite fun in spite of how much we had to cut (we took a long time every step of the way and had to cut both the optional encounter AND Wave 2).
|
|
Super-late follow-up, but can anyone help me figure out the windows?
The windows have no screens... but do they have glass? Does that change how difficult it is to break in? Are acrobatics checks needed to leap through a window on the ground floor? What sort of DC would be typical? It's probably a 3-foot vertical jump, but anything beyond that?
If this is in a reference book somewhere, can someone give me approximate directions?
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16, Contributor
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The visibility is sort of penciled in. There is no visibility rules around the idea that light sources are more visible from a distance in the dark or fog. That is essentially what the PCs are seeing is a blurry reddish glow in the distance. It was sketched out as an approximation and meant to be simple. The party could see the army coming up the hill for most of the distance, but they wouldn't be able to target individuals.
Just assume the windows can be broken as a standard action, you don't need to deal with hardness and hit points. When I ran it, the PCs broke out several of the windows to fire weapons out of so it was relatively easy. There is not acrobatics check to get in through ground floor windows.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Fabulous -- thanks so much for those clarifications!
I made a TON of mistakes the other night, but everyone had a good time all the same. And today's will run all that much more smoothly. :)
Well, I had a fantastic time playing today. Assuming that it was you (I admit to not recognizing the clovercanuck name) you did a great job, I
|
I got to play this last night, and had a blast doing it. We did lose one character, and mine almost died as well.
But, I do have a question of mechanics... having to do with the Xun stranglers.
From what I understand (not having read the scenario yet, though I am running it this coming Saturday), they will
- Grapple a target
- Next round, Pin the target
- Next round, tie up the target
- Next round, fly the target out of the building, dropping him into the sea
So, here's the couple of questions in regards to this. Some are rules related, some are intent.
- (rules)Does tying someone up provoke an AoP? We figured that it did not, since it is "just a grapple attempt".
- (rules)If it does not, should retrieving the rope draw an AoP?
- When a target is dropped in the water, are they supposed to be able to make a swim check to stay on the surface? I ask, because our interpretation ended up being that when pinned, all you can do is try and escape the pin (which, in this case, if you don't have a high enough escape artist or CMB, you can't even attempt).
- With the above, it didn't sound like there was any description of how deep the water was, or how you were supposed to find people that had been dropped into the drink. It seems like, unless you get lucky (and/or have a kind GM), being dropped into the water is just a very slow, unavoidable death
I am asking these questions because I want to have figured out the answers to them before I run. The spot interpretation we had at the table (which included a new 4-star GM, a former V-C, and a current V-L) seemed a bit harsh, but if that's the way it is supposed to be, I have no problem going with it.
Thank you.
|
|
style, fly forward, and hide outside of the line of fire so
that they can strike the following round. In the following
rounds, they fly through any open window or door and
grapple the smallest or weakest targets. After that they
grapple to pin and deal damage, hog-tying their targets
if there are other enemies nearby. If attacked in melee,
the stranglers instead fly over the cliff with their targets
and allow their victims to fall into the ocean below (such
victims take 2d3 points of nonlethal damage and 4d6
points of lethal damage).
They by default try to tie up their enemy. If they're surrounded and it doesn't look like it's possible without being killed, they fly out with their victim instead. 'Instead' is the key word.
|
|
** spoiler omitted **
They by default try to tie up their enemy. If they're surrounded and it doesn't look like it's possible without being killed, they fly out with their victim instead. 'Instead' is the key word.
Thank you.
Makes a lot more sense that way. Of course, our GM was working at a disadvantage, having been without power for several days due to the storms around the Twin Cities. He did his best, and I commend him for it. I can see how this could have slipped through the cracks given this situation!
Makes a lot more sense. :D
|
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16, Contributor
|
Actually, the stranglers can make two grapple attempts in a round, or even grapple as an attack of opportunity (assuming they aren't grappling someone already). They don't provoke when grappling (including while tying someone up), and can make attacks of opportunity while grappling.
|
|
Also, how do you get multiple grapple attempts in a round?
As a standard action, you can attempt to grapple a foe, hindering his combat options.
Ah... could it be this?
Greater Grapple (Combat)
Maintaining a grapple is second nature to you.
Prerequisites: Improved Grapple, Improved Unarmed Strike, base attack bonus +6, Dex 13.
Benefit: You receive a +2 bonus on checks made to grapple a foe. This bonus stacks with the bonus granted by Improved Grapple. Once you have grappled a creature, maintaining the grapple is a move action. This feat allows you to make two grapple checks each round (to move, harm, or pin your opponent), but you are not required to make two checks. You only need to succeed at one of these checks to maintain the grapple.
Normal: Maintaining a grapple is a standard action.
However, I don't see where they get the AoP when grappling. The Snapping Turtle Clutch is technically not an AoP, but an immediate action.
I apologize if I am sounding argumentative... just trying to figure this all out.
Thanks, again!
*EDIT - removed question caused by my misreading.
|
|
Ah... that I did not know... Guess I didn't check every piece of the puzzle.
Clever Wrestler (Ex): At 7th level, an unarmed fighter takes no penalties to Dexterity or on attack rolls while grappled, and retains his Dexterity bonus to AC while pinning an opponent. The unarmed fighter can make attacks of opportunity even when grappled and even against creatures attempting to grapple him if the opponent has the Improved Grapple feat or the grab ability. This ability replaces armor training 2.
Now it makes sense. However, as Grapple is a standard action, not an Attack Action, I am still not understanding how he can AoP with the Grapple. I know you can Trip, Sunder, etc., but unless this is errata, I don't see the ability to Grapple.
But, I now get the AoP part (which means, when I tried using my Bucker Gun, I would have provoked. Not that it really mattered).
|
|
Well, I had a fantastic time playing today. Assuming that it was you (I admit to not recognizing the clovercanuck name) you did a great job, IFabulous -- thanks so much for those clarifications!
I made a TON of mistakes the other night, but everyone had a good time all the same. And today's will run all that much more smoothly. :)
It was indeed me who ran your table (I go under a different name on our local forums). Glad to hear you had a great time! I did too. :D
|
I'm getting ready to DM this in a few days and have just one point which is not clear. On page 4 in the 2nd-to-last paragraph of the Summary it clearly says
This indicates to me that if the PCs lose the last fight then at least Tsuneo and perhaps Amara, are killed before the Kirin show up. However at the end of the module it appears to assume they both survive, so long as the PCs make it to the last fight.
Is the Summary wrong or is the Conclusion incomplete? (or am I just missing something?)
|
Developer
|
I'm getting ready to DM this in a few days and have just one point which is not clear. On page 4 in the 2nd-to-last paragraph of the Summary it clearly says
** spoiler omitted **
This indicates to me that if the PCs lose the last fight then at least Tsuneo and perhaps Amara, are killed before the Kirin show up. However at the end of the module it appears to assume they both survive, so long as the PCs make it to the last fight.
Is the Summary wrong or is the Conclusion incomplete? (or am I just missing something?)
In a manner of speaking, it is right for the assumed PC actions: the PCs win the fight. If the PCs don't win the fight, either as a result of dying or running away, the GM will likely have to modify the Conclusion a bit on the fly.
Not all of our scenarios have Conclusion notes for what happens in the case of the PCs failing. Rather, the Conclusion more often addresses what happens in the much more likely event of success.
|
|
The 'canon' ending is that the Pathfinders win.
If the party fails, they should be made to feel bad. Don't just wave a magic wand to make them think their actions don't matter.
FAILURE BOX TEXT:
With the disastrous defeat of your team at the Minatan Peninsula, many senior Pathfinder agents were forced to pull out of existing artifact recovery operations and gather across dock cities across Tian Xia. The financial cost alone of this withdrawal was staggering.
One month later, when the hostages Iko Tsuneo and Amara Li were eventually discovered by Pathfinder agents operating out of Goka, a large-scale assault had to be organised. This assault plan was rushed, hasty and disorganised. Junior Pathfinders, unyet ready to be tested against the powerful tactics of the Golden League fell quickly in the chaotic urban battle. Luckily, Tsuneo and Li were recovered alive, but the League had already moved the majority of their assets from their base. You demanded to lead the front line of this assault, but Ambrus Valsin declined.
Many Pathfinders now regard you with underlying scorn for your failure on the island. Some refuse to speak to you and Ambrus has let you know that there's been calls to drop you from the Society. "Please do not let this happen again," he told you, a look of pure regret etching his haggard face.
Maybe Dennis can fix something up that delivers an even greater emotional gut punch XD
Venture-Captain, California—San Francisco Bay Area North & East
|
So, we finally got around to running it last night. Only one of the regulars could make it, but we had 3 new people to the shop. One of them was on his second or third session, the others were brand new to society play. But, 4 people, good enough...
We got a late start, and had to explain some of Society play as we went. Ended up using Ezran, Kyra, Hayato, and the regular's ranger. They tried really hard to do the shadow lodge mission in town, but a series of bad rolls from everyone and it just wasn't happening.
None of them had the skills to make the catapult, but after a lot of hints and directive questions, they got the first floor windows boarded up and the murder-holes drilled. They found the beartraps, but only managed the strength check to open one of them.
What they did find right off was the secret passage. They sent Hayato down to explore it, he found the other end and posted his horse to guard that one (it died off screen). They put the beartrap right inside the cave, expecting the attack to come from that direction.
The Tea party went great. Most of the questions went to the regular player, as the others didn't have any campaign experience, but they new enough about the world to still contribute.
They fought off the first wave easily enough, but were already a bit skiddish. When the fire arrows came, they all booked it down the secret passage, and skipped the rest of the house fight.
We were already over our 4 hour mark, so we skipped the oni too. Got to the last fight, and every attack roll I came up with a "2". So BBEG dropped in the second round without landing anything.
My question is about them leaving the house early. I kept feeling that there was some reason they should stay topside, but couldn't find any. Why are the PC's supposed to defend the house anyways? Why not just fortify the entrance to the tunnel to begin with?
To keep things simple for the new players, they all just went with lantern lodge as their factions. They'll hold these chronicles till 3rd level to apply them. Next week, back to First Steps 2. As I take it, the held chronicle counts as being "after" the applied chronicles, so they will have Debt of the Kirin by the time it's applied. Does that work for getting the boon?
|
|
To keep things simple for the new players, they all just went with lantern lodge as their factions. They'll hold these chronicles till 3rd level to apply them. Next week, back to First Steps 2. As I take it, the held chronicle counts as being "after" the applied chronicles, so they will have Debt of the Kirin by the time it's applied. Does that work for getting the boon?
Per the guide to organized play, all pregens are Grand Lodge. None could have been Lantern Lodge without a non-pregen PC.
None of your players are eligible for the boon.
|
|
I believe the characters they are applying the chronicle to are all Lantern Lodge. In which case, the Lantern Lodge boon would apply.To keep things simple for the new players, they all just went with lantern lodge as their factions. They'll hold these chronicles till 3rd level to apply them. Next week, back to First Steps 2. As I take it, the held chronicle counts as being "after" the applied chronicles, so they will have Debt of the Kirin by the time it's applied. Does that work for getting the boon?Per the guide to organized play, all pregens are Grand Lodge. None could have been Lantern Lodge without a non-pregen PC.
None of your players are eligible for the boon.
In one of the many threads about this scenario, situation, the last wording from on high was that pregens played through this would count as Grand Lodge for the purpose of the boons/faction mission of this scenario. You can't hold credit to apply the LL boon to someone outside of tier when you play unfortunately. It only works for the GM credit, if the GM's credit character reaches 3rd level by August 14th.
|
|
The PCs have been instructed to hold the house until reinforcements arrive. If the PCs do not hold it until the casters just start blowing it up it is quite likely that other foes would follow them down the passageway and perhaps create a very tough combat as they attack the party from behind as or just after they fight Shimazi. (or the Oni)
|
Venture-Captain, California—San Francisco Bay Area North & East
|
Mission-wise, Shimazi still got beat, so Grand Lodge would be happy too. But Will's got it. They all made new PC's who will be Lantern Lodgers. I was wrong though about when they get their pay. It's not the starting tier for the mod (lvl 3), but the lvl of the pregen (4). I'll bring it up next week and see if any want to shift to credit now.
|
Venture-Captain, California—San Francisco Bay Area North & East
|
In one of the many threads about this scenario, situation, the last wording from on high was that pregens played through this would count as Grand Lodge for the purpose of the boons/faction mission of this scenario. You can't hold credit to apply the LL boon to someone outside of tier when you play unfortunately. It only works for the GM credit, if the GM's credit character reaches 3rd level by August 14th.I believe the characters they are applying the chronicle to are all Lantern Lodge. In which case, the Lantern Lodge boon would apply.To keep things simple for the new players, they all just went with lantern lodge as their factions. They'll hold these chronicles till 3rd level to apply them. Next week, back to First Steps 2. As I take it, the held chronicle counts as being "after" the applied chronicles, so they will have Debt of the Kirin by the time it's applied. Does that work for getting the boon?Per the guide to organized play, all pregens are Grand Lodge. None could have been Lantern Lodge without a non-pregen PC.
None of your players are eligible for the boon.
Well, that's disappointing. Understandable, but rather harsh on the new players.
|
|
Well, that's disappointing. Understandable, but rather harsh on the new players.In one of the many threads about this scenario, situation, the last wording from on high was that pregens played through this would count as Grand Lodge for the purpose of the boons/faction mission of this scenario. You can't hold credit to apply the LL boon to someone outside of tier when you play unfortunately. It only works for the GM credit, if the GM's credit character reaches 3rd level by August 14th.I believe the characters they are applying the chronicle to are all Lantern Lodge. In which case, the Lantern Lodge boon would apply.To keep things simple for the new players, they all just went with lantern lodge as their factions. They'll hold these chronicles till 3rd level to apply them. Next week, back to First Steps 2. As I take it, the held chronicle counts as being "after" the applied chronicles, so they will have Debt of the Kirin by the time it's applied. Does that work for getting the boon?Per the guide to organized play, all pregens are Grand Lodge. None could have been Lantern Lodge without a non-pregen PC.
None of your players are eligible for the boon.
Yeah. I think it was to keep from having a bunch of old characters whip up a new character simply for the boon and then run them up to 4th to claim it. I actually finally found the reference. Blog from June 10th
|
|
None of them had the skills to make the catapult, but after a lot of hints and directive questions, they got the first floor windows boarded up and the murder-holes drilled. They found the beartraps, but only managed the strength check to open one of them.
Remember that Craft skill checks can be made untrained. It was only a DC15, so it is still possible that they could pull it off, if they chose to.
We had 2 guys with Know: Engineering, but no Carpentry. However, the untrained (INT) check was good enough to succeed.
|
|
That's two GMs who have skipped Wave 2 (which is considerably more difficult than Wave 1). I don't recall anything in the mod that allows you to do so. You're just going to end up with the invading army entering the house, finding the secret passage, and then tearing after the PCs in the secret passage.
If they do not find the secret passage (their numbers alone suggest that they will find it, and easily) they will likely spread out and find the exit to the secret passage, in which case they are in a perfect position to capture Amara Li and Iko Tsuneo.
The PCs are defending Li and Tsuneo, but they're also providing a distraction to allow them to escape. No distraction, and all that Golden League attention goes straight to Tsuneo & Li.
|
Venture-Captain, California—San Francisco Bay Area North & East
|
Also Thistledown your players are also ineligible for the Debt of the Kirin boon as when you filled out the chronicle sheets they did not possess the qualifying boon, you are required to cross it off the sheet, if they later obtain the boon its not retroactive as each chronicle sheet should be completely filled out by the GM on the day it is issued.
Also the Debt of the Kirin boon in FS2 is actually extremely hard to get as written (the boss almost always escapes).
The only boon the new players are eligible for is the standard all factions but lantern lodge boon.
Also they might not be eligible for an EXP point for the scenario as from what I can tell they only completed 2 encounters (wave 1 and Shimazi), you skipped Wave 2 and the optional, so unless there is another encounter listed the players do not actually meet the 3 encounter minimum for EXP.
There was the encounter at the alchemist shop in town, the Tea Ceremony encounter with the Kirin guy, and setting up the house for the siege. The Tea ceremony alone should count as an encounter, but the others would also contribute.
So even if the chronicle is held, it wouldn't count Debt of the Kirin? Gah, most annoying chronicle ever.