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My group just completed Greg A. Vaughan's excellent module, Wake of the Watcher. With the last three modules, I had ran with five players, and so had to make minor adjustments to the encounters in order to present an accurate depiction of the difficulty the author intended. With this module, I am only running with four players, and so decided that I would run it 'as is', and see how it played out. This philosophy changed halfway through the module when certain encounters demanded that things outside the text occur in order to keep the mood horrific and engaging. Here's the PCs as they are now:
Alucard, Dhampir Magus- Magus 9--> Magus 11, Archmage Tier 1 (Currently still infected with Lycanthropy from Broken Moon and the subject of the Paranoia madness after witnessing the disembodied brains in the Mi-Go caverns)
Willem, Human Fighter- Fighter 9 -->Fighter 11, Champion Tier 1 (Currently suffering from Multiple Personality Disorder, embodies personalities of slain PCs Nethys (cleric), Foxglove (rogue), Aella (Barbarian). Specializes in Scythe, with Furious Focus, Power Attack, Weapon Foucs/Spec/Training, and Improved Critical. In short, he has a 10% chance every swing of just outright killing most monsters (doing about 100 damage on a crit).
Gwynnis, Human Bard -Bard 9 --> Bard 11, Marshal Tier 1 (Made every sanity check, but also a member of the Esoteric Order of the Palantine Eye, so that's not surprising. Also possesses the Soundstriker and Dirgesinger archetypes, the former of which is using SKR's updated rules on the archetype to great effect.
Calcifer, Human Oracle - Oracle 9 --Oracle 11, Hierophant Tier 1 (Oracle of Life, Worshipper of Pharasma, currently carries Raven's Head. The party's healer and the a big part of the group's synergy. Lifelink and channeling give the Fighter and Magus much needed healing while they cut things to pieces. Now that Inflict Light-Serious potions don't reliably cure combat damage for the Dhampir, sometimes its only the Oracle who is keeping him alive.
Now. here's what we liked:
1) Excellent treatment of Mythos and mythos monsters: Most of the Mythos monsters used in this module excel at what they do, frightening and unnerving the players. The Dimensional Shamblers, Slugspawn, Spawning Cancre, Dark Young, and the rest are handled respectfully and have enough strange abilities that they aren't taken for granted as just another monster. What's better is that the effects of these menaces on the environment are shown in all their horror, whether its the color bleaching and insanity brought on by The Colour out of Space or the Brain Cannisters. Everything has a subtly creepy air about it that pushes over the top at just the right moments.
2) Great encounter diversity While the majority of the AP has been like this (further disenfranchising the notion that this is the 'Undead AP'), this module has a great diversity of opponents to challenge the party, from humans and humanoids (skum and giant) to outer-space plant monsters and incorporeal oozes. Fantastic array across the board to challenge PCs.
3) Atmospherically the creepiest of all 6 modules Most of my players are familiar with the Mythos, so having their characters encounter aspects of this type of horror while keeping it fresh seemed like it might be difficult. in fact, some stuff (such as the Fostering) was taken for granted, but once they came across stuff like the after-effects of the Colour out of Space, the Brain jars, and the Spawning cancre, the horror of the module seeped in to great effect. Good job, Mr Vaughan, of keeping it subtly creepy and then delivering the horror at just the right moments. The potential escalation of a Slugspawn outbreak taking over part of Golarion was not lost on the PCs and raised the stakes for them.
4) A small but memorable cast of NPCs Horace Croon, Early Greedle, The Deputy, the non-native shopkeeper (name escapes me), and even the criminal on the rock all had good personalities to run with, and most of the role-playing interactions were high points, allowing me to portray the different facets of the creepy town that is Illmarsh. I particularly enjoyed playing Horace Croon and want to use him again at some point to give them some sort of technological boon to use in the final module. I believe they genuinely felt bad about the fate of Greedle, more so than the other townsfolk. Even the deluded couple who give up their baby were fun to play out, giving the PCs a sense of being a tiny nettle brushing against the thick hide of tradition.
What was not liked:
1)Beginning of high level math disparity. Well, they're 11th level, so its to be expected. Still, there were a number of encounters where the enemies (specifically, the Mi-Go) would need to roll a 17 or higher to hit either the Magus or Fighter, and still at least a 13 for the Oracle or Bard. To be fair, a lot of the DCs on the main bad guys' abilities (such as the Dark Young) could only be made on a 15+ if the save was one of the PCs bad ones. It is also getting to the point that with the backing of the bard, there are few enemies that aren't outright hit on either the Fighter or Magus's primary attack (typically coming at a +22 with the bard boosting) on any roll but a 1. This is true of any of the lesser, unnamed bad guys (including the Mi-Go unfortunately), but since almost every unnamed enemy is at least moderately intelligent, I did a few things to make them a challenge other than just throwing themselves at the fighter.
2)Link to overall Whispering Way plot is weak. This is the biggest criticism of the module that most people voice, and it is a valid one. As written, there's no clear reason why the WW needs Raven's Head, so other than the note saying, 'Go to Caliphas' there's very little linking everything that's happened to everything that will happen. That aside, the module is cool enough that I didn't mind, and since I had just ran Carrion Hill as a side-quest involving the WW's plot to disrupt the leylines ,I used this as a further link to the overall plot, with the appearances of the Spawn of YS and the Dark Young weakening the ley lines enough to allow the Tyrant's mind to wander further as well as his dreams. The repercussions of this (along with the PC's insanity) will be dealt with at the beginning of the next module.
3) Variable amounts of listed monsters lead to mass escalation. "There are a toal of 14 skum sentries in these chambers; any given room has a 50% chance of containing 3d4 skum" and "There are a total of 10 mi-go in these chambers; each of the compartments has a 50% chance of containing 2d3 Mi-go..." are problematic if one just runs them as written, except what is written is slightly contradictory. Do I: ( A) place X monsters in the chamber before the PCs reach the area as listed (14 skum spread throughout the different rooms listed), (B) roll the 50% and XdX number of monsters, potentially getting either way under or way over the listed amount, or (C, what I chose), use creative pacing tricks to use the listed amount without it turning into a monster-free-for-all? As listed, 14 Skum Sentries (CR 5) is almost an EL 13, and while it suggests they don't all act at once, their placement makes this illogical. Same with the Mi Go, except much more dangerous. 10 Mi-Go is a EL 13, but add in the proximity of the Cerebric Fungus and the Gug and you have the making of a EL 14+, winnable but someone's probably going to die. Also, the Mi-Go have an intelligence of 25, so there is no reason why they wouldn't use the most bloody efficient tactics for neutralizing threats to their livelihood. Why wouldn't they all attack at once? As written, I made their doors absorb sound better than a normal barrier of its size, so I had different groupings enter at different times of the fight in that chamber. Keep in mind that your PCs will must likely be looking to accomplish the entire complex in one sitting, and going from an EL 10 to an EL 13, to an EL 14, plus 3 other encounters is going to annihilate most 10th level partys. DMs, be careful about how you pace the fights in the last dungeon!
4)Sanity mechanic is okay, needs fine tuning. DC 15 WIll save is a little clumsy. I get that for the sake of space and cohesiveness the mechanic needs to be simple, but for 9th-11th level PCs, DC 15 is almost laughable but when you do fail, the limited amount of sanity points PCs have versus the amount of damage suggested turns every alien encounter into an almost 'Save or Suck, but don't roll a 1' situation. I foresaw this and changed the mechanic slightly. While this might not work in a group running a straight Wisdom based character (such as a spellcasting dedicated Cleric with a 20 and up Wisdom), it worked perfect for my group. I'll detail this beneath.
5)Freedom of Movement Ruins This Module Not completely, since the PC Oracle has it as one of her spells and I obviously like this module. Still if anyone has this buff up, they are immune to 75% of the module's monsters and their special attacks. It stops The Dark Young, Mi Go, Dimensional Shambler, Spawning Cancre, Shantak, The Fiendish Devilfish, and the Lake Octopus. While only one or two PCs in my group typically had it up at once, I felt like it took away from some of the horrific aspects that should have been occurring during combat. This spell alone was my entire impetus for introducing Mythic at the module's last fight, though I and the players are glad that I did. Still, get ready to be ready to say about a dozen times "If it had grabbed you" to your PCs. Stupid overpowered spell.
Good encounters:
Clantus the Assassin Fun to run, unexpected, and it almost got the Fighter. Judging by the Obits, he's gotten at least 5 other people too.
Church of Gozreh/ Recondite Order... The "Church of Gozreh" is well written because of the way its encounter site is designed; there are enough intervening walls and doorways that the DM can pace the encounter by having other cultists, the Vicar, or the Scion joining in at the appropriate times.
.. and the Scion of the Sea I like monsters with lots of tool-kit abilites that interact with the battlefield, and this thing's damage output combined with its ability to lock down passages with Hold Portal and Arcane Lock let me control how the fight was taking place. I realize its just a Chuul with the Divine Guardian template, but its abilities combined with the environment make it a good opponent.
Spawning Cancre Yeah, that's just creepy. Anyone else reminded of Resident Evil 4 when describing this and showing the picture? Anyways, the sheer horror of the encounter makes it quite memorable for our PCs. Also, the state of its host's armor and spell effects let me adjust its AC up to a challenging task of hitting it, making the lack of danger the FoM-enchanted players faced offset by its eventual success in hitting non-enchanted characters
Marsh Giant and Cultists The ground floor of Undiomede house in my opinion should run like a big, dynamic encounter. I knew that the Marsh Giant would probably get about 3 rounds off unless everyone botched their roll against its Confusion, but they didn't, so I had the cultist, the Vicar, and the Vizier all join in at alternating rounds. This let me escalate the fight appropriately and give the cultists and cleric the space they need to fight, which they wouldn't have found in the rooms where they are.
Insane Broodchief/ SKum/ Fetid Shambler The main thing here is to not let the PCs bottleneck the monsters, which I didn't by having the Skum Bull-Rush through one passage and then flank from the side passage, goading the Mound into the fight. While essentially a massive melee brawl, the Shambler's abilities combined (the compression and spores, not the Grab which got nerfed again by FoM) with the Insane Broodchief's antics made the fight memorable. The Broodchief, for his part, consistently chose some of the weirdest tactics I could think of, but crazily enough, everytime he swung with his greataxe, he rolled a 20. He crit over 3 times in that fight, forcing the Oracle to use up every resource to keep the fighter alive.
Colour out of Space This thing rocks. Perfect monster, my only regret is that during the fight against it, I messed up as a DM. (The fighter used Stand-Still with a Ghost-Touch weapon to keep it from moving away. We discovered later that Incorporeal creatures are immune to any effect that causes them to be moved or prevented from moving, though what caused us to question this in the first place are Ghost Touch Nets and how they work.) Whoever got to design the stats on this one, perfect job capturing everything about this monster that I imagined it having. Out of all the Mythos monsters present, this one rings truest to bringing the horror of that type into the Pathfinder world.
Cerebric Fungus/Gug/ Mi-Go Another dynamic, escalating encounter that walked the fine line between excitingly challenging to unnwinnably hard. The Cerebric Fungus has an array of interesting abilites and spells that complement the Mi-Go's blindsight and sneak attack well. Throw the brute force of the Gug in, and you have a perfect fight. My players like dissecting encounters like a puzzle, so dealing the spellcaster, brute, and flying harriers made this setup interesting for everyone. To keep the encounter properly paced, I made the DC to hear through the doors into the Mi-Go chambers exceedingly difficult (30), so the Mi-Go that entered the fight at different points did so only when I felt appropriate for keeping the difficulty steady. Worked pretty well.
Encounters I would have changed or did alter:
Lake Octopus This was an encounter that was hard to setup without arousing suspicion and hard to force characters not to just run from once it began. Since all the PCs really have to do is get away from the water to end the fight, I raised the stakes by having Horace Croon arguing with the dockworkers about his right to moor there, having him be an innocent bystander in need of rescue. The monster itself looks good on paper; its in the water so gets all the AC benefits and damage reduction to non piercing weapons as well as having 8 attacks. Surprisingly, it wasn't Freedom of Movement that ruined this encounter but the grapple rules themselves. As written, there's no way for the Octopus to either grab multiple PCs or grab one with multiple tentacles since it always has to spend the Standard action to maintain the grapple. I felt like cinemtaticly, the thing should have been going for everyone but instead just grabbed the Magus for a few rounds, despite everyone being within its reach the entire fight.
Hounds of Tindalos My biggest problem here was their location. They seem to just be.. hanging out(?) in a room with a shut door, despite the fact that they are not bound to the area. For dimensional shifting horrors able to teleport to dozens of right angles all over the house, it seemed weird that they would just sit there, especially if a fight broke out just beyond the other side of the doorway. I made their appearance linked to anyone using teleportation effects in the area since that's sort of what their M.O. is. (Almost like a spider sensing its web, they could feel dimensional travel). As soon as the Magus utilized a Dimension Door to tactically withdraw, I had the two of them 'ride' along' with him, attacking both the PCs and the Cultists they were engaging. Not only did my players LOVE the Hounds 'riding along' but it made they whole fight over the top.
Shantak I wanted this to be cooler, but it wasted a few of its grab attempts on PCs with Freedom of Movement and got cut to pieces by Flying PCs. This encounter was probably the most disappointing in the module, definitely not due to design but simple mechanics.
Spectres Maybe its the amount of incorporeal hate via ghost-touch weapons, channeling, cure spells, or the Dirgesinger's ability to completely screw them up , but these guys lasted two rounds, inflicting 4 levels before dying (two on the Dhampir), which were quickly remedied. Also, for such intelligent undead, where you encounter them doesn't make a lot of sense (since its exposed to the outside/ sunlight). It was day when my group encountered them, so I had to be creative with where the sunlight was in the room, which still limited them greatly.
Tick Swarm I felt like there were about to be dice chucked at my head after running this thing. This has to be one of the worst swarms in the game, and while I appreciate the fact that its near insta-kill factor reinforces the horror setting, it was one of those things that chewed up so many resources to kill it that it almost destroyed the pacing of the exploration, nearly making the players abandon the house after exploring and fighting in it for about ten minutes. Its goes without saying that if you know your players don't have a lot of area of effect abilites, you may want to omit this monster rather than killing off a PC in a very anti-climatic way.
Dhuggatoa Just not enough here to threaten my group. At this point between the Helm of Underwate Action, Elixers of Swimming, Trident of Warning, and other supplies found throughout the module, my PCs were decked out for underwater combat. That took away most of the Devilfish's advantages, turning him into a 7th level Sorcerer with a grab attack versus a group of 10th level PCs enchanted with Freedom of Movement and elemental resistances. His summoned sharks had absolutely no chance of hitting or doing meaningful damage to my group. Were I to redesign him, I would make him into an Inquisitor of Dagon instead of a Sorcerer...
Dimensional Shamblers These guys are actually pretty awesome and well designed. In the interest of making them mechanically unusual from other teleporting monsters, I made their Dimension Door ability usable as a Move action, with actions allowed after the 'port. It made them uniquely challenging to lock down, and the threat of abducting someone to another plane made them highly dangerous. In hindsight, the one other detail I would have changed would be to switch their DR/Lawful for Regeneration / Lawful. This way, they could play more hit and run tactics instead of having to try to get their rocks off all in one fight.
Mi-Go I really want to like the Mi-Go, but most of the encounters where they didn't have some sort of technology helping them were disappointing. For CR 6s, the numbers are right, but without tactical positioning and other ways to raise their attack, they are going to be hard pressed to hit most front-line fighters. To be fair, the main place you encounter them has the Cerebric Fungus and Gug present, but once these are gone, the Mi-Go need something beyond themselves to give the players pause. For my part, I gave the Mi-Go three other pieces of technology to give them some sorely needed range capabilities and to keep a group of 25 intelligence monsters from devolving into a swarming melee mass. See below.
Dark Young I knew Freedom of Movement was going to ruin this fight as well as the 10% chance that the Scythe fighter critically hit the thing. For the pinnacle of the module, I didn't want the encounter against the Monster from Beyond turning into an anti-climatic after-thought. To this degree I decided to utilize the Mythic rules to give some extra abilities to the Dark Young, as well as a Tier to the PCs so it wouldn't be overwhelming for them.See below.
Other Changes I made
Sanity: As stated above, I changed the sanity mechanic as follows. Players roll a d20 every time they encounter a 'madness-inducing situation'. Players want to roll a number equal to or less than their Wisdom score. Players have a number of sanity points equal to their character level plus their wisdom modifier, and lose half the number of sanity points listed in the module whenever they fail (by rolling above their Wisdom Score). It made it more feasible for my players to eventually go mad from what they were facing. Of course, I took extra care in describing every situation that required a check so the horror wasn't lost on them, as well as noting which characters failed against which checks.
Mi-Go Technology: Beyond what was listed, I gave them the following:
Slot none; Price 21,060gp Weight 4 lbs
"This crystalline rod resembles a twisted branch carved into a squared off tip. Upon activation, the wielder makes a Ranged Touch attack at any other creature. Any creature struck by the ray must succeed at a DC 17 Will save or be affected as if by a Hold Monster spell. A Mi-Go Stun Gun normally contains 13 charges."
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, Hold Monster; Cost 10,530
Slot none; Price 9,000 Weight 3 lbs
"This metallic cube contains multiple indentations a facets, with one end containing a glowing hole. Using a Podiatric Disabler requires 3 appendages to use. Upon activation, it fires a single blast of force at any target within 100', functioning as a Magic Missle spell. A creature that takes damage from the Disabler is subjected to a Trip attempt, with the CMB equal to the damage dealt. A Podriatic Disabler normally has 3 charges and then must be recharged."
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, Magic Missle, Toppling Spell; Cost 4,500 gp
Slot none; Price 14,580 Weight 10 lbs
"This metallic, rifle-like object's tip ends in a seemingly jagged array of clear gems. Upon activation, the gems focus their energy to deliver a ranged touch attack to any creature within 60 feet. Any creature struck by the rifle takes 4d6 points of force damage. Mi-go rifles require a verbal trigger to activate that is usually only able to be duplicated by Mi-Go speech, though can be simulated with a DC 30 Use magic Device check, with a failure of 5 or more damaging the wielder. A Mi-Go Force Rifle has enough energy for 9 shots, and recharges itself it at a rate of one shot per hour.
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, Force Punch; Cost 7,290gp
Making it Mythic As described above I wanted the final encounter to be memorable and so decided to use the Mythic rules to give the fight more weight. In the two fights preceding the underwater dome, I had a spectral butterfly began meaningfully fly towards their next destination. When they got in the dome and the Dark Young appeared, I allowed it to have a full round with its new found Mythic powers before the PCs got their moment of ascension. I gave it the following:
-Mythic Tier 3 (Surge, DR 15/ Epic and Slashing, +3 Nat Armor, +24 HP)
-Dual Initative special ability
-Block Attacks special ability
-Inescapable Grasp (as the 11th level Tetori Monk power, with Mythic points powering the ability instead of Ki). This ability alone made the fight memorable.
-Summoning (2 Evil Treants that formed off of its body)
After fighting it out for the round, I had time itself seem to stop and the presence of Desna appeared before them. She spoke: 'She has weakened the barrier. She has come forth to propagate unto your world. She will devour you and rebirth you, and she cares nothing for the dreams of mortals. But she has weakened the barrier, and as she seeks to come through, so can I. Would you like some help against her?'
After a resounding 'Yes!', I read this (near bottom of thread) for their moment of ascension and then handed each of my players a sheet of paper with their new Mythic abilities. From there, it was on, and seven rounds later, the Dark Young was defeated. Adding Mythic gave the fight a sense of importance that heightened the tension of the encounter.
Overall, we loved this module, and felt the author did a great job offering a variety of interesting encounters while capturing the Mythos feel. I am also excited about the incorporation of Mythic rules into the campaign, and look forward to seeing how they play out in the next two. Now, on to Ashes at Dawn!
This is an amazingly good breakdown of the module. Thank you. You have motivated me to finish my one incomplete for my MA so I can get a group together to run this AP.
So what were leyline changes you put in both here and Carrion Hill
Well, the overall effect is a weakening of the spiritual prison that contains Tar Baphon's thoughts and dreams. If you've read Shadows at Gallowspire, this is sort of what sets up the Tyrant's Whisper Haunt that marauds the PCs throughout Virlych. This lets me sort of have a reason for this as well as having an impetus for the conflicts that come within the next two modules. When the moment of weakening occurs (allowing Shub Niggurath and Desna to manifest) it allows the Tyrant's dreaming mind to contact his followers indirectly (through dreams and whispers on the wind). While we didn't get too far after the fight against the Dark Young concluded, there was time for me to show them some of the effects of the weakening. I had time slow again and Desna's voice speak:
"You have done well and stopped her from entering and changing your world, at least for now. She will of course try again, as is her nature, but that will not occur within the children of your children's lifetimes. For now though, she has weakened the barrier enough that a greater danger threatens you, the powerful dreams of the vilest mortal your world has known. His mind is locked away, his body imprisoned, but his spirit ever plots and dreams, and these dreams have now become visible to those who serve him. Dark things are rising at his call. Your entire realm is in danger." 'The Vision of the dome grows black as pitch, revealing a mist-like landsape that you simultaneously see up close and at a great distance.'
(Individual desciptions of monsters given:
-A Cabals of Liches arriving at some point on a mountain road before a rotting church.
-A host of flying skulls, some with gems in their eyes, rising from dusty chambers and gathering in the middle of ruins.
-A Nightwalker arriving before Gallowspire.
-Adivion Assembling the components in Caliphas.
-Marrogarth
-Vampires fighting in the sewers and on rooftops (which mirrors an ancestor dream the Dhampir had at the Stairs of the Moon.
The Voice continues, "These dreams have already begun to pass, yet lend themselves to a darker future, a future where only one dream subsides. You must not let this pass, and thus my power shall remain with you until the dreams are quieted."
So, essentially by weakening the and altering the leylines, the WW has allowed the Tyrants dreams and mind to drift further, to the point that many of his old minions begin to stir at his call. Not all initially respond, but those that do will be in the last two modules, so of which are mentioned above.
Finally, I plan on involving Conte Ristomir Tiriac in the politics of the next module. I am going to have his most powerful servants (besides Ramoska) save the PCs when the Whispering Tyrant directs a number of his killers to destroy them (Besides the Dullahan, I plan on using a Nightskitter from the Undead Revisited and a couple other as yet to be decided threats). If I can somehow get the servants to get the PCs indebted to the Conte (via high powered magic items to protect the PCs if necessary) I'm going to get them to Castle Corvischor and run their madness curing session almost like Dracula meets Inception, with some of the hostile monsters being dream critters from the later Bestiaries and Tome of Horros. Thematically should be cool, and will give the PCs a stronger link to Ramoska.
Good breakdown. This is what it was like for us. Freedom of movement made this module far too easy. Fortunately it wasn't used very often. That Tick Swarm drove my players from the house until they could adjust their spell lists.
I cant wait to read the write ups for that stuff
Why does everyone hate on the Tick Swarm so much its a great threat for high level characters?
What Helaman said plus:
-The Swarm has a lot of HP, so PCs may not have enough AoE to deal with it quickly enough. Alchemist Fire, Acid, and Oil are too slow to hinder it; its gonna kill a PC before 3 rounds of that.
-Depending on when it's encountered, PCs may have already used up a lot of resources.
-The Cling Ability: If a PC doesn't move away quick enough, its possible to get hit with Swarm damage twice in a turn, once from the cling and once when the swarm re-enters the PCs square.
-Blood drain: Coupled with the cling ability, getting hit with potentially 2d4 con dmg a round with no save is rough, and if you fail the save against distraction, you're doing nothing but taking more consitiution damage.
-Where its encountered is a small room that is seemingly empty. Only by searching does it come out, meaning PCs have likely let down their guards when it appears. Also, the small size of the room means if it wins initiative, its going to cover everyone.
It took 3 Harrow Points to keep everyone alive in our group. No other monster in the module except the Dark Young did this.
Some other things:
No Knowledge Checks for Outer Horrors I just didn't allow checks for most of the outer space horrors that they were dealing with. It made it a lot more scary than saying, "It's a Mi-Go, it's got plant traits, its immune to x..". Keeping the monsters mysterious is part of the horror as well as not knowing what its capable of or what will stop it. I did make an exception for the bard because she had read parts of the Pnakotic Manuscript (and made Sanity checks) from Carrion Hill and read some of the Book of Abstruse Geometries from the module, but those were done with a +8 difficulty to the DC.
Slugspawn My group was lucky because there was a bard. But seriously, if not for the fact that Inspire Courage is mind-affecting (morale), they would not have known anything was wrong until someone's head exploded. DC 31 Perception was impossible for my group. I will say that seeing the exploded-head bodies and then realizing something was inside the PCs was a good moment of horror. I played this to describe the faint sound they heard overriding the bardic music. Try to give some clue to your players of what's happening if they can't make that Perception check, otherwise its like saying "rocks fall, everyone dies".
Everything must be sold! I really like the books and the idol, but let's face it: its all going to be sold. After this module, the advantages the books give against outer horrors versus their disadvantages as well as the potential bad effects of the Idol make them undesirable treasure. While this lets me set up some sort of 'trade this esoteric treasure for this one' with the Order of the Palantine Eye in the next module, I like stuff that carries over for from module to module, rather than selling everything and going Magic-Mart in Caliphas.
No problem, glad this is still helpful!