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I had a request for some advice.
My players have finished the Witchtower dungeon, and were able to get by the clockwork servant leaving it intact. My players are now hooked on the idea of modifying the Clockwork Servant to work for the party.
The group only has three players, so I don't think the Clockwork Servant will be overpowering. I am now considering how I could make this work (I told the group their knowledge of clockworks was insufficient to do anything with the thing at the moment).
Using Craft Construct seems the most obvious, but the requirements are a little high for this particular module. I was thinking of requiring both Craft Wondrous Items and Knowledge: Engineering to be able to attempt to reprogram the Clockwork Servant.
Once the Clockwork Servant is reprogrammed, I was thinking of treating it like an animal companion. The Clockwork Servant would have 4 tricks the players could program into it, and a Knowledge: Engineering roll would be used to control the clockwork in place of Handle Animal.
So do you think this would work ok? I'm fairly sure a CR 2 clockwork won't wreck the module, but I thought I'd ask on the side of caution.
Are there any other considerations on this idea?
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Are there any other considerations on this idea?
I forget his name, but there is a tinker in town. The PCs could take the clockwork to him and have him construct a key for it that they can use to modify its programming. He would require a fee, plus time to do the work. From there, the PCs can use it to serve the party.
There are a couple things to keep in mind if they use it though:
First, I don't remember what the adventure says regarding the clockwork's current programming. It may be unwilling to leave the crypt.
Second, the clockwork can heal itself for 1d10 HP as a standard action and it has fast healing 2. This means that it will be completely "healed" in 3-5 rounds (give or take) after each encounter, so there are no real resources for it to deplete.
Third, it isn't "awakened," so it won't level with the party. It might be awesome for them at levels 1-3, but it's value will diminish without further modifications.
It's a cool idea though. If I were running a 3 PC party, I would definitely allow this.
-Skeld
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I've got a mage in the party I'm running this for. Long-term player, knows to get scrolls, etc. He was wondering if there was a local mage he could buy items/scrolls/various and sundry from.
With Hunclay's death, is there anyone else who fits this bill?
If not, it's no big shakes.. the PC wizard has already figured 'well, if there isn't a resident wizard now, I'll take the spot.'
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I've got a mage in the party I'm running this for. Long-term player, knows to get scrolls, etc. He was wondering if there was a local mage he could buy items/scrolls/various and sundry from.
With Hunclay's death, is there anyone else who fits this bill?
If not, it's no big shakes.. the PC wizard has already figured 'well, if there isn't a resident wizard now, I'll take the spot.'
Here is how I am dealing with that.
There is one level 5 caster in town, the alchemist Xemne of Degazi. I gave item creation feats to her.
Also if you look on page 59 on the city summary, there is info about some places with magic items for sale.
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Question to more experienced GMs than I:
My party, now level 3, has just finished chapter 1. They have a merfolk barbarian 3, a ratfolk hunter 3, vanara shaman 3, and merfolk oracle 2/wizard 1.
They've also spoken with Bassy a lot, and she's dropped that Aeteperax is buried near Lady Tula's tomb. They want to verify that the Aeteperax that is currently being whispered around town in hush tones is still dead. I have no problem with this.
My question is: Should I have the party encounter the baddie there? It'd be CR = APL + 2; most likely the only fight they'd have that day. I can just as easily table it until they come back with a key (which Bassy of course hasn't mentioned) to look through the crypt.
Suggestions?
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Suggestions?
I'd say, let them. If they party goes off on a tangent and finds themselves in over their heads than they will learn that is a risk of adventuring. If they dig in and overcome the obstacle, think of how rewarding that will feel to them.
Mostly, this module is a solid piece of writing from experienced developers so it you don't have to follow the predicted path through the contents. You can come at things however you and your group choose and it still works.
I was wondering. In regard to PFS credit, if a player missed a part of the module does he still get credit or partial credit for it. Note that this is being run in home game mode.
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I was wondering. In regard to PFS credit, if a player missed a part of the module does he still get credit or partial credit for it. Note that this is being run in home game mode.
I'm running it in 'campaign mode' for my group but my players all enjoy PFS as well. I am going with the general idea that as long as they show up for the majority of the sanctioned sections I'm going to give them the chronicle sheets.
@TheInnsmouthLooker:
It isn't a Pathfinder module, but I am considering adapting The Red Hand of Doom as the follow up. Might need to alter some of Dragon's Demand, for what I have in mind, but I can see them going together.
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@TheInnsmouthLooker:
It isn't a Pathfinder module, but I am considering adapting The Red Hand of Doom as the follow up. Might need to alter some of Dragon's Demand, for what I have in mind, but I can see them going together.
Xorial, I just finished playing in Red Hand of Doom that was adapted for Pathfinder. That module was AMAZING and it's what introduced me to Pathfinder. I think you could easily adapt it as a follow-up to Dragon's Demand, or change some things in Dragon's Demand for Red Hand. Good luck!
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Anyone have any advice on running
The yangethe or Brain Ooze encounters?
I'm not very experienced in the ways of spells like demand/dominate person/dominate animal. Without Protection from Evil is there a way for my group to even have recourse against it? It's the same party from above (now level 6)- -if the Barbarian gets dominated, I'd expect a TPK. To have to fight their only real damage dealer WHILE an enemy is pounding on them seems a huge challenge.
What happens if the whole party gets dominated? Can more than one person even be dominated?
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Here's a warning that if the party is level 5 and they face the Mummy-Monk, it will most likely end bad.
I had my first ever TPK. the 'deflect arrows' prevented the archer ranger with the keen longbow and favored enemy undead from doing much of anything.
Also 26 AC is pretty high, then add in 5 rounds worth of +4AC for ki-points to bump it to 30.
(the party also had the 'good-hope' from the crypt still active too)
They never got to face any of the other cool stuff at the monastery, which I spent many hours prepping.
Anyhow, This was a very fun adventure to run. But it gets very dangerous at the end depending on the order of exploration at the monastery.
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Here's a warning that if the party is level 5 and they face the Mummy-Monk, it will most likely end bad.
I had my first ever TPK. the 'deflect arrows' prevented the archer ranger with the keen longbow and favored enemy undead from doing much of anything.
Also 26 AC is pretty high, then add in 5 rounds worth of +4AC for ki-points to bump it to 30.
(the party also had the 'good-hope' from the crypt still active too)They never got to face any of the other cool stuff at the monastery, which I spent many hours prepping.
Anyhow, This was a very fun adventure to run. But it gets very dangerous at the end depending on the order of exploration at the monastery.
Bummer.
Although, as a counterpoint, my level-5 party didn't have too much trouble with him. That said, I have 6 players and he lasted much longer than a typical many-on-one encounter should last.
-Skeld
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Bummer.
Although, as a counterpoint, my level-5 party didn't have too much trouble with him. That said, I have 6 players and he lasted much longer than a typical many-on-one encounter should last.
-Skeld
My party only had 4 pcs, 3 veterans and 1 newbie. 24 point-buy. The best hit was using the scorching ray from the flametongue. Also when we went over what went wrong, there were quite a few tactical blunders.
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My party only had 4 pcs, 3 veterans and 1 newbie. 24 point-buy. The best hit was using the scorching ray from the flametongue. Also when we went over what went wrong, there were quite a few tactical blunders.Bummer.
Although, as a counterpoint, my level-5 party didn't have too much trouble with him. That said, I have 6 players and he lasted much longer than a typical many-on-one encounter should last.
-Skeld
Ignotus (see board-name) was one of those 4 PCs in the TPK and now haunts the mummy's chamber whispering woulda coulda shoulda.
Even though he met his end at the hands and feet of the monk-mummy, as a player I still had a blast. The chance of failing or dying is what makes the game fun and exciting for me. If success was guaranteed, I'd lose interest for sure. So, the TPK event has increased my overall enjoyment of Pathfinder, even though it was a bitter pill to swallow. Grumpus ran it well and I would definitely recommend the module.
Using 20/20 hindsight, I can see many of the tactical and planning errors we made. Aside from those tactical errors, I noticed and learned something about threat assessment that may help in future adventures—don't take it for granted that you're facing something easily manageable. I underestimated the level of danger at first, and only realized that we were in trouble when it was already too late.
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My party opted to create characters that are all Small races.
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My party opted to create characters that are all Small races.
** spoiler omitted **
I strongly recommend adjusting the gear. The dragon is a VERY tough fight and the characters will need all the help they can get. When I ran it half of the party was killed and they still didn't manage to destroy the dragon, just drop him to 3hp and force him to flee.
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Is Maffei statted somewhere, when fully healed (all 3 negative levels removed)?
Bestiary 3, page 242 is a Shae with no negative levels.
Each negative level removed is going to be +1 to CMD, ability checks, attack rolls, combat maneuver checks, saving throws, and skill checks;; +5 HP, and +1 to caster level for spell-like abilities.
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So my party of grippli has an Iroran monk. They finished Part II and understood that they had a month to kill before the auction. Some of them were happy to go around town like a band of overly cheerful migrant workers desperate for any odd job - not for money, but to make people like them more. But the monk had heard about that old haunted temple and wanted to give it a visit.
Of course, the titular dragon has not made the titular demands yet. They decide to stealth in - I roll for the kobold archers and see them. My thoughts at this point are: the alarm goes up and everything in the monastery basically collapses on this random group of murder-hobo frogmen. I'm thinking that there's some leveling they're supposed to have done in the crypts before coming here, so stuff should quickly start to seem above their pay grade. They stomped the kobolds. They stomped the Grioths. I though about what happens to the story if they actually manage to clear this area now and pulled the plug, going into story mode where they get to realize that things here are harder than they are ready for (mentioning the call lightning bring brought down on them was good for convincing them of that).
Now they are back in town being helpful again and I need some advice as to how the world should shift in reaction to their actions. Should the dragon ask for the heads of these foul villains who attacked his men unprovoked? Should the auction time-table be moved up, now that this wasp-nest has been kicked - and if so, how to deal with the other parties who originally needed a month to travel there? If you were a dragon, and you got word of a band of delicious frog folks attacking you out of the blue, what measures would you take to deal with them or prepare for their inevitable arrival?
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I don't think Ateperax would really care if a group of wandering frogmen attacked the monastery. He's kind of obsessed about getting the books and finishing his studies. He has already begun to leave the kobolds behind as things of interest so now it's mostly just he, his lieutenants and Kell. A counter-attack or whatnot seems unnecessary, especially if the party withdrew without causing major damage. I recommend to continue as normal.
That being said, the folks at the monastery should be ready for a second attack, especially considering the party will be identified by Kell at the auction. I would up the alertness of the guards at the monastery and make getting in and around a little more difficult. If anything, the previous attack, plus how they act during the auction, may entice Kell to seek them out for aid in rescuing his wife and putting down the dragon.
Also though, from a GM perspective, don't wail on them too hard during the monastery because the fight with the dragon is pretty brutal. In my game, he killed two of the four characters, one with a dive bomb claw attack and the other by tossing them into the vacuum of space. In the end, they knocked him down to three HP then took their time getting to him over in the corner so he killed Kell's wife and escaped with a large part of his treasure. Technically, the party won but it was a bit of a Pyrrhic victory.
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Maffei is a Shae and a 2 level rogue. These 3 negative levels, are they Shae levels or a combination of Shae and rogue levels? Or does it matter? I´m trying to stat her up in Hero Lab, but I´m not sure how to do it right.
You're right, it's more complicated than I initially realized - she's swapped out some feats and skills from the standard shae, so it took some tweaking.
MAFFEI CR 5
XP 1,600
Female Shae Rogue 2
N Medium outsider (extraplanar)
Init +11; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +12
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Defense
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AC 19, touch 16, flat-footed 13 (+2 armor, +1 shield, +6 Dex)
hp 57 (4d10+2d8+26)
Fort +8, Ref +11, Will +7
Defensive Abilities amorphous, blur, evasion; Immune cold
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 scimitar +10 (1d6+6/18-20 plus 1d6 cold) and
. . +1 shortsword +9 (1d6+3/19-20 plus 1d6 cold)
Special Attacks sneak attack +1d6
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 4th; concentration +8)
. . Constant—blur
. . At will—lesser shadow evocation (DC 20)
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TACTICS
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During Combat Maffei prefers to fight in melee, flanking with foes in order to make sneak attacks as often as she can. She uses lesser shadow evocations to hurl magic missiles or scorching rays against distant foes.
Morale Maffei flees combat if reduced to fewer than 10 hp, unless she’s forged a strong bond of friendship with any PCs who are still in the battle, in which case she fights to the death to defend them.
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Statistics
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Str 20, Dex 24, Con 18, Int 19, Wis 17, Cha 19
Base Atk +5; CMB +10; CMD 27
Feats Improved Initiative, Two-Weapon Defense, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (scimitar)
Skills Acrobatics +16, Climb +12, Disable Device +16, Disguise +13, Intimidate +13, Knowledge (arcana) +13, Knowledge (planes) +13, Perception +12 (+13 to locate traps), Sense Motive +12, Sleight of Hand +16, Stealth +16 (+26 in regions of low light or darkness); Racial Modifiers +10 Stealth in regions of low light or darkness
Languages Aklo, Common, Shae
SQ rogue talents (combat trick), trapfinding +1
Other Gear leather armor, +1 scimitar, +1 shortsword, thieves' tools
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Special Abilities
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Amorphous (Ex) Body is malleable and shapeless.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white vision only).
Energy Damage () (Ex) The creature's attack or attacks deal the specified amount of energy damage in addition to their normal damage.
Evasion (Ex) If you succeed at a Reflex save for half damage, you take none instead.
Immunity to Cold You are immune to cold damage.
Immunity to Critical Hits You are immune to Critical Hits
Immunity to Precision Damage You are immune to Precision Damage
Lesser Shadow Evocation (At will) (Sp) As shadow evocation, but can only create 2nd level or less evocation spells.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in low light, distinguishing color and detail.
Sneak Attack +1d6 Attacks deal extra dam if flank foe or if foe is flat-footed.
Trapfinding +1 Gain a bonus to find or disable traps, including magical ones.
Two-Weapon Defense +1 to AC while wielding 2 weapons. +2 when doing so defensively.
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I'm thinking about writing a homebrew followup for my players once they finish this module, but I'm grappling with how to balance future CRs with the obscene amounts of treasure the PCs get over the course of this module. Any thoughts on how to balance those numbers?
Are there any specific modules that would follow Dragon's Demand well? My players have already expressed interest in continuing the characters that they have after the module's conclusion.
My group also wanted to continue our characters after Dragon's Demand. We ended up playing No Response from Deepmar after rotating GMs. I can't say there are any specific ties, but it was a fun module, certainly!
Are there any specific modules that would follow Dragon's Demand well? My players have already expressed interest in continuing the characters that they have after the module's conclusion.My group also wanted to continue our characters after Dragon's Demand. We ended up playing No Response from Deepmar after rotating GMs. I can't say there are any specific ties, but it was a fun module, certainly!
I plan on running the Treasure of Chimera Cove for my players once they finish. One of my players just happens to have his character from the basic area where Chimera Cove is near. I plan on leaving the "note" in the dragon's horde for them to find with a freshly severed hand still clutching it. Got to like the classics...
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Are there any specific modules that would follow Dragon's Demand well? My players have already expressed interest in continuing the characters that they have after the module's conclusion.
I am running Bitter Manor after Dragon's Demand..I set it up so that My Players are scheduled to Replace the Retiring Pathfinder Society Members in the Module.....I have introduced several NPCs from Happy Hallow already and started painting an Image of the Gloom and Despair in the Town.
Laying the Ground Work to reintroduce Dragons in the Region...my Current Timeline is 2400 years after the Dragon Plague. They have found Among The Books in Hunclay's Manor Several Books on Dragon's and Some Maps from the Era of the Dragon Plague.. one of the Player's seems to think She knows several "Dragon Lairs" on several Spots on the Maps that Seem Vaguely Familiar.. Research may Confirm that..
Rumors of Flying Creatures are Spreading already....
So Far My PCs have done the Tower and Hunclay's Manor House and just started the Koldbold's Lair
If the PCs want to break into the manor through the windows, there's not a lot stopping them other than perhaps the fact that the manor itself is intended to go on the auction, and that the PCs are supposed to do as little damage to the manor as they can.
Looking at the map, I don't see any windows. Nor do I remember seeing any mention of them in the text. There are several fireplaces, though. Am I missing something?
