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Well, my group is further along the way through the Carrion Crown path, having just completed Tim Hitchcock's adventure Broken Moon. Here's some group statistics and then what we thought of the module itself, what I thought were good encounters or bad encounters, and of course the changes I made. It should be noted that while this adventure started with five players, one of the players could no longer play and retired her character after the Stairs of the Moon, sort of the halfway point of the module. Up to that point, I had made minor changes for five players, which I'll note below. Also, to encourage the usage of more MAD classes, the group I run is given a 20 point build. This allows me to retroactively adjust for some of the weaknesses that this module's main adversaries feature, which I'll get to.
The PCS:
-Willem, Human Fighter 7--> 9 (He started as a farmer. Now, he specializes in the Scythe, taking Improved Critical: Scythe at 8th level, so he has a 1 in 10 chance every round to basically cut something in half)
-Aella, Human Barbarian 7--.8 (PC who ended up leaving the game, two weapon fighter, superstistious, of old Kellid bloodline)
-Gwynnis, Human Bard 7-->9 (A replacement PC for this player's rogue, who died in the Schloss. Soundstriker and Dirgesinger archetypes give her lots of utility)
-Calcifer, Human Oracle (life) 7-->9 (A primary healer, able to do so as a quickened ability and the main means of healing for the Dhampir (Life link ability))
-Alucard, Dhampir Magus 7-->9 ( Specializes in Bastard Sword, has ties to NPCs in fifth module)
1)Personalities of the Lodge are Well Written. It was fun to roleplay and for my group to interact with the varying personalities within the lodge. While slightly 'red herring' in their pertinence to the overall plot-line, they can be used to detail the history of the countryside around the Shudderwood (specifically Ardis) as well as the political statements that the nobility of the country embodies. The Margrave and Corvin were particularly fun to detail in their attitudes.
2)Estovian is Ben Linus Nothing like an evil genius to throw off a group's guesswork. I played him as a sympathetic, if condescending person who's just trying to keep everyone in the lodge safe, despite his hidden agendas. When he does finally confront the party, its in the blood haze of emerging Lycanthropy, making him slightly sympathetic. I raised his villainy by having him arrange the murder one of the PC's parents, who came to the Shudderwood seeking a way to reincarnate his wife (via the Druid, Cybrissa). When this parent began learning the secret that Estovian possessed (control of the Vilkicis), Estovian made arrangements to have him silenced by Mathus's tribe. This created a side investigation for the PC that let me play up Estovian even further. When the PC went to confront Mathus and Estovian at the stairs (upon learning the truth) it made the fight for her personal. If you've watched Lost, you know what I mean when I say play him like Ben Linus.
3)Good new Monsters The Vilkicis, The Weaverworm, and the host of Zombie enemies are all awesome new additions. Great Bestiary, I wish there was like.. a 6 page spread on zombie enemies; I can see myself using the few given here in other games besides this. Keep doing this for monsters: Take classic monsters and give us a whole bunch of variant stat blocks.
4)Great Locales: Oh, the places you go in this module. From the darkest, most primeval forest to ancient Stairs of the Moon, to the civilized comfort of Ascanor Lodge, to the atrocity laden landscape of Feldgrau, this module has great detail on some memorable sights, giving resonance with the Horror element present within the campaign. The sights that are detailed are awesome, providing a rich history to link PCs to Ustalav itself. If anything, this module covers the largest geographic expanse of all the other ones, making this a walking tour of old, horror-hiding Ustalav. This is a bonus but also a drawback, which I'll get to below.
5)The Five Tribes are Cool: Maybe it's because I'm a huge fan of the old Werewolf: The Apocalypse game, but I instantly picked up on the five tribes and what seperetes them from each other. I loved the fact that one group of humanoids (werewolves) could be presented with so many different variations of motivation and lifestyle. In a way, I tied the underlying themes of each tribe with a concept the PCs could easily identify with, which as written in the module is easy to do. Silverhides were elitist pure-bloods wanting to keep the status quo and cull the ranks of lesser blood, keeping Lycanthropy only in the hands of nobility. The Prince's Wolves kept their charge from the old days and served as wandering scouts, representing the alliance of the Werewolves against the Whispering Way. The Broken Ones represented the natural order of the forest and the werewolves place within it. The Primals represented just that, the primal, hunter aspect of the werewolves that lead them to hunt and kill all other prey in the forest, setting their dominance above all others. Finally the Jezeldens represented the dark side of the Werewolves, the horrible tales of rampant Lycanthropy come to life as every encounter with them resulted with someone being bitten.
1)Need better motivation than 'We're pursuing after the Whispering Way'. I get that part of the module is investigating the reason for the Whispering Way's involvement in the woods, but up to this point, there's no stake for the PCs to do so other than, "They're bad". Why should be the PCs pursue a death cult through one of the darkest forests of Golarion for just this reason? If the extent of the Way's plans aren't hinted at or the stakes aren't personal (as I made them for one PC), there's little motivation for the players to go after these guys, other than the sympathy created by the NPCs that the WW has hurt (Vesorianna and Caromarc).
-FiX: I utilized a fair amount of historical descriptions as well as dreams to give motivation to the players. If the players feel that they learning about a conspiracy that will bring about something horrible, they will fell compelled to stop it. The dreams were especially important; each player received about three to four of them, detailing things in the past or things to come (and in the case of one, the sheltering influence of Desna against Things from Beyond). This helped to foster a connection to Desna which helped tie the PCs to The Stairs of the Moon later in the module. Desna's connection with the Outer Void also helped me preview some of the themes in the next module.
2)Module is too geographically ambitious: From Schloss Caromarc to Feldgrau, this module encompasses hundreds of miles of traveling, all of which the PCs must accomplish. I stated this in my review of 'Trial of the Beast', but if one is traveling through Ustalav, one should be encountering a few horrifying and terrible things every so often. What is presented is awesome, but for the hundreds of miles of journey in between, DMs are left to fend for themselves. Random encounter tables are all well and good, but I like be given the occasional set encounter to define the journey (The ettercaps and Weaverworm were a great example of this!) Of all the modules, I feel that this one most requires Rule of Fear to run correctly. Of course if you're going to run the whole AP, you really should have this book anyways.
-FIX: Fortunately, dozens of DMs like myself have left their notes on this Forum for reading and adding into your campaign. Specifically, I wrote a whole bunch of stuff detailing the journey from Ardis to Feldgrau, the links for which are beneath.
3)Werewolves are too weak: I'll get more into this below under the Encounters section, but I think almost everyone's groups chew through the werewolves. This is for a few reasons.
-FIX: Well, I guess one should just let the PCs feel powerful for half a module. They deserve it after probably getting their butts handed to them in the Schloss.
4) Your group has Lycanthropy? Good luck!!!: In a module with a high probability of having PCs infected with Lycanthropy and few ways to deal with it, surprisingly little advice is given for this scenario. As written, there's enough cures for the curse that each PC could deal with it once, but not twice. This can be problematic, especially if combat breaks at and some but not all of the PCs change. No one wants to sit and watch while one player goes through multiple combats by them-self, and I also didn't want the infected PCs to just 'split'. I felt that if a Lycanthropic version of themselves went off and then came back alone, they might feel that the Shudderwood wasn't a dangerous place, while killing them for being infected and encountering something beyond them (like a lone PC versus a Witchfire) seemed dirty.
-FIX: Since in my game 4 out of 5 PCs were infected, I created a couple of in game fixes, which I detail in This thread.
5) Werewolf Politics.. or not. Just a side quip, but I wish more could have been given about the nature of the werewolves with each other. Getting information about where each tribe primarily resides within the Shudderwood, their relationship with Ascanor Lodge, and their relationship with each other would have been valuable for when my PCs were role-playing with some of them. Saying, "You know nothing of wolf affairs," over and over felt like being a jerk, so had to come up with stuff on the fly. Mostly, this is the nature of my PCs as they usually want to know the How and Why of things, but again more information to connect the PCs to the NPCs would have been better.
Ettercaps: In this instance, I had two waves of Ettercaps attack, with the first group comprised of four normal ones while the second group contained an Advanced ettercap riding an Ogre Spider (Bestiary 2) and a Giant Ettercap. The second group helped lure them within range of the Weaverworm's song, which everyone failed against. Overall, a dynamic encounter if the DM uses web terrain, trees, and the ettercap's traps and abilities in the combat.
Weaverworm: Despite the statistic misprint (See the Broken Moon GM thread), and its feat selections (which I changed), this monster makes for a good singular foe .I ran this monster as is except changed Weapon Finesse (which it doesn't need or benefit from) to Weapon Focus: Claw Its ability to slightly equalize the action economy with its Song ability can make for a dicey fight. In fact, three of the five PCs failed their saves against the song, and if not for the Bard being one of the few who did make it, the fight might have resulted in a dead PC. New forms of Lamia are always cool and welcome additions to other games.
Hail of Bolts: While traps in general are kind of annoying and easy to foil, this one stands out because its unexpected while also helping to foreshadow Duristan and his crazed hunt against the Werewolves. Furthermore, giving the PCs Wolfsbane was invaluable given the sheer number of enemies with Lycanthropy around the lodge.
Giant Tarantula: This creature is another good singular foe that is a an applicable barometer of the party's capabilities. Its immunity to mind affects and ease of which it delivers massive, poisoned blows makes fighting this thing a ticking timer on the party's healing capabilities. 2 to 3 hits from this thing will down most PCs of 7th level. My PCs were successful due to the Hex-Magus's Misfortune Hex, which gave the party a couple of lucky rounds against it.
Vilkacis: This thing is just awesome-sauce. The fact that it has rejuvenation makes it good as a recurring foe, and its ability to possess throws an interesting wrinkle into the mix of combat. It should be noted that I changed the Mathus encounter at Highthrone into a one-on one-combat; the Vilkicis aided the PC participating by possessing it if they agreed to destroy its stone, which was held in the cataombs beneath by the then-fugitive Estovian.
Esotivian Its all about the spells you use and how you use them. In my game he held the Poker face all the way until the moment that he unleashed the Vilkicis attacks on them, then dimensional stepped away when they finally went to confront him. He Charmed Delgros on the way out of town, having him guard the road and prevent any guests from 'facing the dangers of the forest due to the dangers of the wereolves', including my PCs. Finally, I swapped out a few spells when they encountered him underneath the Stairs of the Moon, including a few of the Pit spells. This, coupled with Black Tentacles and Stinking Cloud made a nasty fight, ending ironically with a Rage spell cast on him. Oh, and I had him accompanied by Belik, who I made into a 7th level rogue.
Admiraius Ionacu A badass. I made two minor changes, swapping Cleave for Furious Focus and Great Cleave for Dodge to let him deliver the big hit while surviving a little longer against the +18 to attack, Scythe-wielding Fighter with improved critical. It made for a really good fight, especially since we used both floors of the mill to make the fight dynamic. Make sure he doesn't fight alone; give him his two lieutenants as the module suggests, even joining in with the fight with the other werewolves below if need be. Way to make Anti-paladins scary (especially coupled with the Fiendish template).
The Ghost Even using the stock Ghost from the Bestiary, the innkeeper's spirit made for a memorable role-playing encounter and subsequent fight. It's a shame, because as written, a lot of PCs might just skip over the Inn, going straight for Vrood.
Mendoran Festrog I love Festrogs in general as ghoul variants (kind of like ghoul dogs), and the giant version of these things made for a decent brute to occupy the PCs while the cultists and clerics did their thing. While the attacks bonuses aren't high, given buffs like Bull's Strength, Prayer and some of the Cleric Domain/Arcane School abilites and they can be a good threat, especially with their ability to stay in the fight with Feed.
Auren Vrood My fight went pretty well, but I made a few minor changes to him. See below.
PF Werewolves in General: I just don't think that the template gives enough bang for the buck, and when a template is defined by the class levels of the creature taking it, the class levels need to stand out for the adjusted CR to make sense. Part of the problem is the issue with Damage Reduction; I believe it is an over-CR'd ability in terms of what it actually brings to the monster. While at low level DR can be significant, most PCs have the means to overcome it pretty quickly simply by expending resources to have the appropriate weapon. Even without the resources, there are enough ways around it at mid-level for a martial character to use (such as Power Attack, Sneak Attack, Smite, and Bane) that the ability becomes negligible. Further compounding this issue is the fact that most PCs know what they are getting into if they spend even a moment researching or asking about the Shudderwood, meanning that most PCs that venture into the woods will have a variety of Silver Weapons. The biggest problem here is that most of the werewolves not only fall easily in melee as a result, but are classed out as Fighters, Rangers, and Barbarians, making them highly susceptible to multiple Will save-or-suck effects. Heck, even a guy throwing around Color Spray can do pretty well against almost all of the werewolves in the module. This makes one encounter (The Vollensag) extremely problematic.
Vollensag As written, these guys aren't going to have much chance against a group of 7th level PCs, which is a shame; the idea of Dire Werewolves is friggin cool and allows a number of other Dire animals to be used in this capacity as giant threats. While Superstitious helps get their saves up there, their ACs are too low, as are their melee attacks (due to using medium-sized weapons in large size). The idea that one of them is a singular threat can quickly be lost on a group if they are taken down in two rounds, and only by creating the possibility of a dozen joining in the fight can the DM actually give a group of PCs pause. Their feat choices are a bit strange as well, so I made the following changes: Change Improved Unarmed Strike to Dodge, Improved Initiative to Extra Rage Power: Reckless Abandon, change Powerful Blows to Guarded Stance, and give them the Savage Barbarian Archetype. This let them get their AC up there while occasionally dropping their defenses to drop a powerful blow via reckless abandon.
Mathus (and Cybrisa): Again Mathus doesn't have what it takes to contend with a party of 7th-8th level PCs. Action economy and the weakness of his saves are going to let most parties mop him, even if Cybrisa is aiding him. To make this fight somewhat memorable, I implemented some changes, which I'll describe below.
Hangman Tree: Maybe its just my group's nature, but this thing's illusion immediately evoked suspicion (expecting some sort of undead, werewolf hybrid to drop down from the nooses), and the fact that if part of your group makes the saves and the others don't, more suspicion ensues. What results is a monster that can't get surprise and can't reasonably hit an 8th level party with only a +11 to attack. I did get one round on the Magus and strangled him, until the rest of the PCs dog-piled on the thing. The vine attacks should have the option of just doing touch attacks to initiate a noose grapple. Definitely a fight that looked cooler on paper, I recommend giving the thing the Advanced template. At least it wasn't vulnerable to fire..
Acretia Not necessarily a bad encounter, but one that needs a rewrite. She worked very well in my game, but I used the Flowing Monk rewrite for her featured in the 'Broken Moon GM Thread', giving her and the Wights a chance, especially once she started tripping people and attacking them prone. Flowing Dodge, Vicious stomp, and the other tricks made her shine for a few rounds, taking 5 levels from the 8th level fighter before dying to channeled Positive Energy and magic missles. As she is, she is again going to have problems hitting most 8th level PCs and her hp aren't high enough for her to survive a few dedicatted attacks. Giving her the trip route helps her mitigate some of the action economy against her, even with the assistance of the Wights, as grappling simply lowers her AC against everyone else.
Curators If you run these guys as written, they are going to get smoked, even by a non-optimized party. As with Estovian, sometimes its about spell choices, and there are a number that the Clerics can take instead of the ones that they have. For starters, I recommend giving them the Undeath sub-domain, granting them access to Enervation as a domain spell as well as a number of others. Besides this, their spell choices should reflect their purpose. One going directly after the PCs would probably buff themselves to the gills (Prayer, Spell Immunity, Shield of Faith, Bull's Strength, etc.) while another that aims at support might pack attack spells (Hold person, Sound Burst, Blindness/Deafness) coupled with Air Walk. I would certainly have them change their spell lists after the PC's first encounter with the WW forces in Feldgrau.
Cultists The main problem with these guys is similar to the Curators; their spells and items should be varied enough to make them believable enemies. As CR 5s against 8th level PCs, they have their work cut out for them. Most save or suck spells are going to end them and their AC and hp are low enough to die to two attacks from a front-line fighter. Once I varied a few of their spells (with Create Pit, Grease, and Magic Missle), they became a little more effective. I also gave each one a different wand, including a Wand of Darkness, Invisibility, and Darkvision, so the PCs wouldn't be running around with 6-7 identical wands with identical charges. Still, these guys are going to be speed bumps to most PCs, but with the exception of Adimarius, the Ghost, and Vrood, none of the encounters in Feldgrau are very difficult, more there to make the PCs feel like 'Hey, we're finally fighting the Whispering Way and even though there are a bunch of wizards and clerics, we're kicking their butts!', at least until Vrood shows up. One thing of note: These cultists (as well as the Curators) do not possess Darkvision, so if you're going for the whole 'ghost town at night' ambiance, give them access to scrolls or potions of Darkvision so they can still pull off their sneak attacks.
CHANGES I MADE FOR 5 PLAYERS or FOR GIVING MORE DETAIL TO THE JOURNEY
Troll's Tail : The main thing I did with this town is to note the passing of the Whispering Way and its agents. Besides attacking them with one of the cultists from Feldgrau, I had the town a somber place due to the loss of its priest. A cleric of Erastil, the man was killed when facing down a group of dark clad figures making their way through town with undead creatures. (Vrood and his crew). While his body was never recovered, the PCs encountered him as a Baykok later in the Shudderwood.
Dullahan You encounter one in part 5, but I wanted to feature one as they entered the big, scary, dark woods. To further tie it to the campaign and the PCs, I made it into a nephew of Count Neska by the name of Armitage. I had him be the one responsible for the carnage in Feldgrau but now a Whispering Way agent. I also had him execute the mob that was approaching the Schloss in the last adventure, partly because I didn't want to run another mob encounter but also because I wanted to freak out the players with a "What could cut the heads off of fifty men?" moment. It proved even more disconcerting when they brought they town guard from Lepistadt to investigate, only to find that the bodies had been animated and moved at some point. Freaked them out, and let me use it as an impetus for another bit of horror later in the woods. Also, this Dullahan wielded a scythe as his primary weapon, mainly so the Fighter (who specializes in Scythes) could have an awesome trophy. They learned the Dullahan's identity later when Lucimar taunted them "So you're the ones who killed Neska?"
Ettercaps and Weaverworm As noted above, I increased their numbers.
Witchfire and Atomies Well, the random encounter chart has one listed in the upper tier of percentages.. Here's the deal: This thing will eat 7th and 8th level PCs for breakfast, even ones equipped to deal with incorporeal undead. I personally love the monster but feel that its a bit overpowered, so wanted to feature the monster without having the PCs fight it. I've always liked the idea of creatures more powerful than the PCs occasionally making appearances to let them know that they don't adventure in a self-created vacuum completely (i.e.. things that can't be fought and killed will never be encountered). In this regard, a had an Atomie (Bestiary 3) burial site off of the side of the path, representing a battle between the faeries and the Whispering Way recently, with a strung up body covered in dozens of tiny cuts representing a small victory for them while tiny mounds with sticks poking out of them representing losses. I had the Atomies interact with the PCs as being distrustful of any humanoids, going as far as to attack a couple times. When talked down with diplomacy, I had them reveal what had happened. By successfully making relations with the Fae, I had them serve as a delaying mechanism for the arrival of the Witchfire. As it arrived, the Fae grew scared and encouraged them to run. A bit headstrong at the time, the PCs remained until the Witchfire came into view. One of the players, another DM, recognized the monster and immediately told everyone that they should have listened to the fae. I then had the Atomies engage the thing, buying the PCs time so they were able to run away from it.
Manaanagal I featured a hut with a Manaanagal (Bestiary 3) dwelling in it, disguised as a harmless old woman who collected herbs from the forest. I had her attempt to serve the PCs stew poisoned with concentrated Oil of Taggit(DC 17 fortitude or lights out and cooked into stew). When this didn't work, they attacked and she revealed her true form.
Relentless Brain Eating Dire Bear Zombies (and Cybrisa) I knew that I wanted Cybrisa as a potential ally before the Stairs of the Moon and also wanted to use her as a thematic symbol of the natural order of the Shudderwood. To this degree, I had her make an appearance as an ally along the path before Ascanor. I had the Whispering Way leave two guardians on the trail, a pair of Relentless, Brain-Eating, Dire Bear Zombies that proved tough opponents. Having decided Cybrisa would be 9th level, (So she is capable of casting Reincarnation, which is a story reason for one of the PCs to venture into the Shudderwood) I had her appear in wolf form on the outskirts of the fight and deliver a Flamestrike to the zombies. After the fight, she told the PCs to leave the forest and stay out of wolf affairs, that the balance of the forest had been upset. She then disappeared, but made one other appearance before the Stairs of the Moon. I feel that even with minor NPCs, sometimes getting the most out of them requires using them before their scheduled appearance, either through rumor or actual interaction.
Demonwolves and a Horror from Beyond! I also knew that I needed a werewolf encounter before the PCs arrived at Ascanor. Afterall, if they are going to trek through that much of the forest (dozens of miles) that is known for the things, it wouldn't make sense to not have them make one appearance. I threw a pack of 'lesser' Demon Wolves at the party, a group of eight Fiendish Werewolves (straight from the Bestiary) accompanied by the Cleric of Jezelda from Classic Horrors Revisited. I had the fight take place on the outskirts of a set of old Kellid runes composed of standing stones on a rise. Since some of the original Kellids worshipped 'things from beyond', I helped to punctuate this fact by the arrival of a horrible monster, a Giant, Advanced, Neh-Thelgu (Bestiary 2) that appeared through the 'thinness' present at the apex of the ruins. Responding to the fight, the thing appeared and telepathically taunted everyone about consuming their delicious thoughts, forcing both sides to stop and turn on the thing before resuming their fight.
Hunting something for Lodge membership: I wanted to make the most out of interacting with the lodge's guests, so I knew I needed something to keep the PCs occupied while they mentally mulled over the new personalities they had just met. They immediately suspected Estovian offhand, so I knew I would need a way to throw them off his tracks, if only for a little bit. Since Alpon Caromarc is no longer a member of the Palantine council, I wanted to also emphasize some of the politics present in Ustalav; their invitation into the lodge was rejected, but Delgros the Ranger (who believed their tales of werewolves and other things) told them that they could gain membership by bringing a 'trophy' back. They were allowed to stay for one night in the guest lodges, but had to leave until they had the credentials to be members. This included one of the following monsters that were geographically within a couple miles of the lodge, all in different directions:
1)Gorgon (the activities of which were seen by the PCs on the way to the lodge)
2)River Behir (Behir with Swim instead of Climb speed)
3) Moonflower (a fallen meteorite that the PCs witnessed during their journey, it also contained 6 Akata (Bestiary 2) and a small trove of skymetal in its crater)
4) Titan Centipede
5) Alpha Peryton (Leader of a peryton pack that plagued the southern trail out of Ascanor)
Estovian Not a lot of changes here except I utilized his Dimensional Steps ability to move around silently when needed and utilized his Charm spells to their fullest extent. The idea is to let him play his hand without giving it away, at least until the last possible moment. Also, since at the time I had five players, I gave him a Lesser Rod of Quicken Spell to help mitigate the action economy against him, besides giving him the aid of Belik.
Belik Here's the best way to give Estovian time: give him a scapegoat. When the activities of the Tarantula took place, I had Estovian tell Belik to go out and hide himself on the grounds for a few days. This let Estovian shift the blame on the halfling and gave a chance for the Vilkicis attack to occur later. Later, when Estovian re-appeared under the Stairs of the Moon, I had Belik accompany him to give him much needed action economy, giving him the statistics of a 7th level rogue.
The Boar Hunt and The Vollensag I increased the number of Vollensag by one to account for a fifth player. This worked since with the re-worked stats, they hit like tanks and could take a beating in turn. When the woods errupted with howls, it had the effect that was needed.
Prince's Wolves in Peril As the PCs researched the 5 tribes, they came to learn that the Prince's Wolves were ancient enemies of the Whispering Way. This let me set them up early as potential allies, and through the use of spells and investigations, learned that they had not answered Highthrone's call for their tribe to stand before the new Packlord. Seeking insight into the werewolf affairs and figuring that enemies of the Whispering Way might be willing to help them, they went to seek them out. I designed an encampment they were using, an ancient ring of broken-down carriages that had become make-shift shelters for them. I had them being sieged by a Lesser Charnel Colossus. Basically, I had the Way utilize all the animated bodies from the mob killed by the Dullahan to perform the ritual, fusing their essence into an uncontrollable undead abomination. I took the stats of the CR 19 Charnel Colossus from the Inner Sea Bestiary and devolved them into a CR 10, huge monstrosity (using the CR guidelines from the Bestiary). The thing was besieging their camp, killing any who attempted to leave. Killing it gave the Prince's wolves reason to trust the PCs and let me set up lots of role-playing and lore-giving with them. (The document that had the stats got eaten unfortunately)
Battle up the Stairs The Moon turned full the night that this took place, and all of the PCs had Lycanthropy except one. I utilized a couple of methods to deal with this. I had a few minor changes, having over two dozen werewolves positioned at Highthrone awaiting the other tribe's arrival (the Prince's Wolves finally show up with the PCs but are rejected because of the PCs). Resembling a moot, I forced the PCs to fight up the stairs against both the Silverhide Rangers (E7) and the Dorzhanev Archers (E5) to compensate for five players, with the goal to arrive at the top of the stairs.
Highthrone and Mathus If the 'honorable way' of becoming Packlord is challenging the current Packlord to single combat, I wanted to give the PCs this option to gain face with the Werewolves, so once they reached the top level of Highthrone, I allowed the place's properties as a former church to Desna take place: each PC could act normally while under the Full Moon at the top of the Stairs. I also knew that while Mathus didn't stand a chance against five PCs, a fight against one could result in a player death. To mitigate this, I utilized the Vilkicis, having it offer the dueling PC in question its aid if it would release them from the control of one below them. I portrayed it as a weary ancestor spirit that was chafing at being controlled by one who had nothing to do with them (Estovian), and while it possessed the PC to give them huge stat bumps, it also gave them control so they could fight it out. Also, since Rhakis was present, I had him consume Mathus's heart and detail some the information presented in the above link. This worked exceptionally well. While I did skip the final encounter with the Vilkicis, its presence in the aforementioned fight help me convey some of its history.
1) Limiting visibility: I didn't want the PCs to just look at the Tower and think, 'That must be it. Let's go there first.'. I also wanted to control the pacing and number of encounters the PC faced with each day they were within the town. To this degree, I had mist encompassing the entire town at all hours, making it so that PCs couldn't see further than 60 feet from them. This let me make it so that encounters wouldn't just escalate where every enemy within viewing distance of a battle joining in. It also let me add the occasional strange sounds of skeletal marching, chanting, or battle, some of them real, some of them produced by the town's ghosts.
2)Unhallowed ground: Something I did was to give the entire town a Desecration effect. This lets the Skeletons, Skeletal Warriors, and Festrogs all have a chance against 8th level PCs and survive more than just one channel or fireball. The effect can't be lifted until the townsfolk in the mass grave are given a proper burial. If I had 5 players at this point still, I would have made it double-strength, and in hindsight, probably should have done that anyways.
3)Utilizing Rhakis and the Prince's Wolves: Having an ally with a name and face the PCs remembered helps give them a sense of direction. I had Rhakis and his mates fortifying one of the buildings as detailed for The Prince's Wolves in the module. I had the PCs first encounter one of them on the outskirts of town (F1), injured from an encounter with a Giant Zombie that patrolled the field between the farmhouse and the town (page 90 of the module, this giant will later be found by the WW , whereupon they will severe its hands and utilize them for Vrood's guardians.). The Prince's Wolf directs the PCs to Rhakis's stronghold, which I allowed the PCs to utilize as a place to rest while they engaged in strikes on the cultists. I had the werewolves assuming a defensive posture since they had encountered Acretia and had suffered multiple level losses to her attacks (i.e. no shape to fight or aid, just trying to last long enough for the Demon Wolves and WW to destroy each other). They provided the PCs with a map of the town and its hotspots, which let me direct them to the Mill (Demon Wolves), Town Square (Cultist Leaders) and the Armory/Tower (Acretia, The Packlord's Heart, and Vrood). It also let me warn them about the potential for escalation and being flanked by two hostile forces if they didn't systematically take them out. Thus, my party didn't just head straight to the tower, even when its location was revealed.
4)Getting the PCs to meet the Innkeeper: Unless the DM directs it so, there is little chance that the PCs will encounter the inn , deal with the ghost, and use it to get the information from Vrood. To make this a place necessary to investigate, I had the Prince's Wolves tell the PCs that they've seen the Whispring Way to go out of their way to avoid the place, so perhaps it is haunted. After the PCs foray against Adimarius and the rest of the Jezeldens (which escalated with a couple patrols converging on the fight immediately after it finished), they returned to find the Prince's Wolves outside of their hiding place; the Whispering Way had discovered the place and launched a strike against them. While there were casualties primarily on the cultists side (and a couple for the Prince's Wolves), one of them escaped, compromising the place as a safe place to rest. I had them urge the PCs to take control of the inn since the cultists seemed to avoid the place. They both brokered a deal with the ghost and then dispatched him when he turned hostile, freeing the place of his presence for the couple days required to deal with the rest of the WW and Vrood.
5)Stacking encounters Utilizing the mist element, I was able to group encounters together so that the PCs had to deal with the town in portions. To this degree, I broke the town up into different sections. The entry (Giant Zombie, Duristan, the Haunt, a Patrol composed of Cleric, two Cultists and a chained Mendador Festrog and finding the Prince's Wolves), the Jezledens (The Mill, a joining patrol of four cultists and Two Festrogs and the further joining of one of the Clerics) and the Way Itself (Town Square, Armory, then the Tower)
6)Dust of Sneezing Be nice and get rid of this thing. Chances are that your PCs will use it against Vrood or some other high-end monster, which can result in an instant TPK. If they discover that its cursed, they can use it offensively to nullify even the toughest enemy. I don't usually shy away from cursed items, but this one is horrible, a throwback to 2nd edition where everything killed you, and sometimes without a save. In this case, our Oracle used it in the second round against Vrood, failed her save, and took 13 constitution damage, dropping her HP to the teens. Without the Oracle to cast Remove Fear, the Fighter who failed his save against Eyebite would have fled, letting Vrood annihilate the two remaining PCs. Before this chain of unforseeable events occured, I mitigated the damage by allowing the Oracle to cast Remove Curse against the Caster Level of the Dust to restore her constitution damage. A horrible magic item, for the love of your bad guys and your players, don't include it.
7)Auren Vrood My biggest change for Vrood was the inclusion of the last two levels of Agent of the Grave, raising his Caster Level to 12, offsetting the stat-block error present between his prestige class spell progression and his printed stats. All it really did was give him a few bonuses, and against a 20 point build, seemed to make the fight long yet climatic. Overall, doing this changed the following:
+11 Perception (8 ranks), 9 Extra HP, +1 to all saves, a bonus 6th and 5th level spell slot, a bonus feat (Eschew Material Components) and most importantly, the ability to heal himself via Lich's Touch and Negative Energy Affinity. Most important were his new spells, and while I figured Create Undead would be his new 6th level slot, I played with his 5th level slots a little. I took away Telekinesis and Waves of Fatigue and substituted them for two castings of Suffocation. For his new 5th level slot, I gave him Magic Jar, which let me do a lot of awesome things with him before they actually even got close. For one, I had him possess one of the Skeletal Champions, having it fall from the tower, only to rise up and cast spells at them (a couple lower level ones, but also one of the Suffocation spells). At first, they thought it a special form of undead (an unknown general), but when they easily dispatched it and then felt Vrood's life-force trying to steal their bodies, they ran in fear. In fact, they steered clear of the whole area until they thought the spells had run its course, which let me stage the final fight inside the tower at sunset.
With Vrood, I had him cast Alarm on the tower door, which let me get his buffs off. Due to dreams and the discovered aftermath left by Vrood, the party had a pretty good idea that he would be slinging a Circle of Death at some point. I love the fact that Death Ward doesn't provide complete immunity, as it made for the diciest round of the fight (Harrow Points and a couple of awesome Bard's reroll-your-save spells barely kept everyone alive). I had Vrood turn Invisible the first round of combat, knowing what my PCs would do if they got up close to him. From there, he flew around, raining spells and avoiding that DC 20 Perception check to pinpoint him. When he did get nailed with a Glitterdust, he used the Dispel he'd been saving to remove it and continue on. The fight lasted 11 rounds, with every spell of 3rd level or higher of his being spent. I thought it was an awesomely climatic fight for the end of the module, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. My advice for DMs: don't fear the Circle of Death, as long as you give your players warning of its existence and likely use as a Necromancer's attack spell.
Anyways, a huge thanks to Tim Hitchcock for tackling and detailing such an ambitious module, as well as F. Wes Schneider for helping to make the countryside of Ustalav come alive. My players really dug the module, even if they slaughtered lots of bad guys. Now, onto Carrion Hill and Wake of the Watcher!!!
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Interesting review - I'll have to reread it later for certain points, for when I start where my group and I left off in this part, and use some tips.
I had some of the problems that you did - granted, I allowed my PC's to roll 4d6 (drop the lowest, reroll 1's), so they probably had something close to a 25ish point build.
Werewolves - some of the wolves, namely the ones sitting on the promade were a bunch of CR 2's - I gave them max hp, but the PC's chewed through them withou too much hassle. The party's rogue might disagree about the Vollensag, as she was hit pretty hard by one, but most of the group wasn't too bothered (poor rolls on my part).
As to the history...I get what your saying, but my group didn't pay too much attention to this part, so maybe I elaborated too much on their history.
Chasing WW Definitely this; a few of my players asked me point blank "Why are we here, again?". I feel more should have been made with the Palantine Eye prompting the PC's to go after
As to WW encoutners - I'm thinking of throwing in some daemons to back up their forces. I can totally see one of the Four taking interest in the blasted wasteland of the Furrows (namely War).
Hope some of what's above help other DMs, specifically for Feldgrau. Like I said, Vrood lasted 11 rounds, which is unusual for any of my bad guys. A couple other things I failed to mention:
-I introduced Lucimar after the hut encounter in the Shudderwood, having him taunt them and then throw a Baykok at the group before disappearing.
-The PCs faced the Primals and the Demon Wolves in the Shudderwood once again before they got to the Stairs. During these encounters, the weaknesses of the Lycanthropes became more obvious to me.
-I realized I contradicted myself slightly on who failed their saves vs the Weaverworm. Everyone initially failed, then the bard used a spell that let her reroll a save while another PC used a Harrow card to reroll the save.
-I had them encounter The Devil in Grey as they were leaving the Shudderwood, using the 'Beta' Mythic rules that were being tested. Details of that can be found in the same thread as my methods for detailing Lycanthropy.
-I had them barely stay a moment in Chastel since I wanted to give the sense of urgency and already had so much detailed for the rest of the journey. I couldn't see a viable reason for detailing it too much, so used it as a way-station and little else.
-For Ardis, I tried to show the poverty by displaying abandoned mansions, squatters in other homes, and the occasional noble selling his heirlooms (which function as my equivalent of a 'magic shop' for a couple purchases). I also had a teahouse meeting with Kendra Lorimor, Adivion Adrissant, and a high Priest and Inquisitor of Pharasmna. Obviously, Adivion is using Magic to hide his auras from the clergy, but at the same time is entreating them to aid the PCs. Since our fifth player kept most of her player's wealth, the party's overall wealth had diminished below level. To make this up, I had the Church, at Adivion's assistance, hand over a number of scrolls for stopping the WW. Of course, Adivion merely wants to see Vrood dead for his murder of the Professor, realizing that by the time the PCs get to him, he will have already sent the components onward. For now, he is playing the angle of "I infiltrated their order to learn their secrets from within. That way, we can learn how to stop them." I plan on revealing his treachery in Book 5.
There is some great stuff in here I cant wait to get all your notes put togther
Very helpful indeed, thanks mate!
Man, this stuff is pure gold, Rakshaka! The more I read, the more excited I get about running this game. Combined with some of the other tips on these forums, my players are in for an awesome time. (I hope.)
What's a stronger way to tie part 2 to 3 together for the WW angle. It has me stumped...
This will sound lame, but by Role-Playing the personalities the Whispering Way has crossed paths with as extremely sympathetic. Kendra, Vesorianna, The Count, and The Beast are all victims of the group, and for the most part are undeserving of their fates. Even neutral-minded characters might balk at allowing an unchecked death-cult to wander the countryside killing with impunity. My players felt a moral imperative to right the wrongs the cult had performed, which began as simple as going after the Warden's soul, but has escalated into hunting down and killing the cult wherever they may be. If your players are not good aligned, consider raising the stakes and having the WW kill off family members, associates, and other acquaintances of the PCs, whether by happen-stance or deliberation.
Besides that, there's thing I did with the second mob that trails the PCs to the Schloss, killing them off with a Dullahan to gather the first of a growing mass of undead moving towards Feldgrau. I had there actually be a trail that the PCs were following left by the WW all the way through the Shudderwood to the lodge. If the PCs made any friends with anyone as morally ambiguous as the players of a non-good group might be, consider having these friends be part of the mob that moves on the Schloss.Hope that helps some.
Man, this stuff is pure gold, Rakshaka! The more I read, the more excited I get about running this game. Combined with some of the other tips on these forums, my players are in for an awesome time. (I hope.)
Glad people can still see how the module went for me; that's kind of the beauty of these boards! Right now, we're still at the beginning of part 5, and since its Mardi-Gras down here, it might be a bit before we play again, but once that's done, I'll have something up for 'Ashes at Dawn'. I'm already writing up a bunch of expanded stuff for Caliphas: stuff like fake vampire clubs, superstitions about witches, which noble houses actually might like to see all the vampires burn (an investigation needs the occasional red herring), and so forth...
Rak,
Again, thank you so much for sharing. I am about to start BM, and this has helped my prep immensely.
I know this is going to seem silly, but who is Lucimar?
The Lich wolf from the sixth module, Shadows of Gallowspire, one of the secondary villains.
The Lich wolf from the sixth module, Shadows of Gallowspire, one of the secondary villains.
Ahhh yes! Thank you!
Hey, Rak, how did you add so many encounters (both social and combat) without breaking the XP progression? I've got 5 players too but it seeks like you've got more extra stuff than I added to books 1 and 2 combined...
Yeah, we stopped with experience points right after the Ascanor Lodge part for a few reasons:
1) We had a player leave, which made recalculating everything and what was needed for leveling a bit confusing.
2) I really wanted to include Carrion Hill between modules 3 and 4, which would throw experience points out the window- Do I adjust the last three modules because I simply wanted to add a part that fit the narrative?
3)I have never liked using experience points since I began running Pathfinder, it fosters a certain type of game-style that makes the narrative of secondary importance.