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Less mythic!
More mythic (I think)!I can understand why someone might not be excited about seeing a dab of mythic peanut butter in his PFS chocolate. Whether or not we see another adventure that includes mythic rules depends in part on the feedback that #5–16 receives, but consider your preferences noted.
** spoiler omitted **
Believe me, that would be the furthest from my mind. I truly enjoyed the writing of this one, and the first part, as from what I can tell of reading through it, it is a top notch scenario. I think Matt did an excellent job with this.
I'm sure folks want more mythic, and adding in occasionally isn't going to kill me, I just won't play or run them in all likelihood...and that's fine. I understand you need to write for the overall body of players/GM's. I just wanted to make sure there was a notation of a counter point to all the love given from those less than pleased.
I think my main disappointment this time, was I was really looking forward to this arc as I love the Osirion background and flavor. Story arcs are a pain to schedule at a store, and throwing wrinkles like this at later parts really makes it just that much more difficult.
Just my 2 cp.
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I ran this and was profoundly disappointed that my party got the non-mythic Allip... Darnn between-tier party.We played high and got the mythic allip.
And then my brother blasted it with a flurry of three ghost salt arrows, two of which were crits.
Dual initiative never came into play.
Your poor GM must have been heartbroken.
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regarding reviews
So I had this pie, and here is my review. The crust was perfect and flaky, the topping was super delicious, but the cream in the middle was filled with sand. I give the pie 1 star based on one part I could not tolerate.
One part can make someone hate something else perfect. You should be proud of what they liked and adjust what they did not.
If you feel that one part is not enough to make them hate the whole thing, then that is a better question to ask.
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I just dislike mythic because
1) I have to learn pretty much an entire new rule set for the players and i don't want to buy/read the book and
2) Its a fantasy game. The sort of stuff you pull off in mythic is what the characters are supposed to be doing already.
I agree with this somewhat. Mythic has a lot to it and to properly dm it I will have to learn something new(a lot of it). if this is the start of something new ande bigger, then AWESOME! If it is a few questes to sell the mythic book, shame on paizo for selling out!
Mythic stuff does have a place. I am very disapointed with mythic stuff in Pathfinder. It feels liek they took normal rules and increased the variables and called it mythic. I wanna see people punching bad guys(or myself) through a wall mortal kombat style. I wanna see things that are unrealisticly mythic. Not just upping the stakes by raising the variables of stats, dice and whatnot.
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regarding reviewsSo I had this pie, and here is my review. The crust was perfect and flaky, the topping was super delicious, but the cream in the middle was filled with sand. I give the pie 1 star based on one part I could not tolerate.
One part can make someone hate something else perfect. You should be proud of what they liked and adjust what they did not.
If you feel that one part is not enough to make them hate the whole thing, then that is a better question to ask.
Fair enough. I can accept that there are different approaches to writing reviews.
May your pies be sand-free.
I am very disapointed with mythic stuff in Pathfinder. It feels liek they took normal rules and increased the variables and called it mythic. I wanna see people punching bad guys(or myself) through a wall mortal kombat style. I wanna see things that are unrealisticly mythic. Not just upping the stakes by raising the variables of stats, dice and whatnot.
Might I recommend the blowback, groundshaker, juggernaut, and (most specifically) the wall smasher champion path abilities?
(Added a link)
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Could someone explain the trap in B11 better? I'm a little confused as to where exactly the bypass switches are, and I'm especially confused as to why switching one of them in tier 1-2 turns the trap into the more potent version...it seems like a party who randomly flips one of the switches has a good chance of getting hit with an 8d6 fire blast. That seems really brutal for tier 1-2. Could you explain the thinking behind that?
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regarding reviewsSo I had this pie, and here is my review. The crust was perfect and flaky, the topping was super delicious, but the cream in the middle was filled with sand. I give the pie 1 star based on one part I could not tolerate.
One part can make someone hate something else perfect. You should be proud of what they liked and adjust what they did not.
If you feel that one part is not enough to make them hate the whole thing, then that is a better question to ask.
That's not exactly right, I'd say. It's more like "the crust was perfect, the topping was super delicious, but the filling was mixed berry, and I usually just like strawberry instead. I give the pie 1 star based upon my preference on the filling alone." Of course, this is all conjecture, and we won't know what the mod is like until it's released.
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Could someone explain the trap in B11 better? I'm a little confused as to where exactly the bypass switches are, and I'm especially confused as to why switching one of them in tier 1-2 turns the trap into the more potent version...it seems like a party who randomly flips one of the switches has a good chance of getting hit with an 8d6 fire blast. That seems really brutal for tier 1-2. Could you explain the thinking behind that?
There are a total of four switches in the area—two on either end of the archway so that someone could turn the trap on or off from either side. If both switches at one end are in the "on" position, the trap is very deadly (Subtier 4–5) when somebody walks in from that direction. If only one is on, the trap is less effective (Subtier 1–2). It's possible to make the trap very dangerous by accident, but by only having to find one switch, it's easier for a Subtier 1–2 group to bypass the trap entirely.
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That's not exactly right, I'd say. It's more like "the crust was perfect, the topping was super delicious, but the filling was mixed berry, and I usually just like strawberry instead. I give the pie 1 star based upon my preference on the filling alone." Of course, this is all conjecture, and we won't know what the mod is like until it's released.
I agree for the most part, but some people are going ot hate things for their own and reasons, and I view it immoral to say it is not right for someone to dislike something.
Honestly people very often do not know how to review things. They let emotional over the last part they encountered dominate before writing it and then there is there review. Also it is easy to get stuck on one part of a review when reading someelse review you. If you see the 1 star and let that decide everythign then, you failed in reading the review also. The words they place and what they did/did not like are even more important due to the mark above. If someone writes something positive you should feel flattered they took the effort to compliment you as well.
Might I recommend the blowback, groundshaker, juggernaut, and (most specifically) the wall smasher champion path abilities?
(Added a link)
I am sorry I did have not spent enough time readin this. You do have some great parts no doubt. I failed in that I looked at the largest fillers in the book. The feats and spells I was not impressed with the idea of them in the mythic and let that make a mark on the book.
I would love to fight against mythic NPC(s) wall smashing me and my party.
So, with Part 3 coming soon:
Using the mythic boon, giving a character 3 mythic tiers and choosing Legendary Item as one of the paths, can a character, during Part 3, use the Upgradeable legendary item ability to get a one time half-price upgrade on an item?
I imagine you could do that, but if your character's mythic tiers only lasted for one scenario (as indictated on the Chronicle sheet), the item would cease to be legendary and lose all of its mythic benefits--arguably including any subsidized enhancements gained through the upgradeable property. I doubt there would be any refund.
Let's avoid gaming the system in this way, please. I vacilated for a while on whether or not to exclude the legendary item path ability, and I decided to leave it in so that folks could have a talking hat or a mythic Gamin the Misforged for an adventure.
The Legendary Item path ability states, "You gain a legendary item".
Does this mean you buy a normal version of the item and then apply the Legendary bits, or do you get the base item for free?
The book isn't clear.
-j
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So, with Part 3 coming soon:
Using the mythic boon, giving a character 3 mythic tiers and choosing Legendary Item as one of the paths, can a character, during Part 3, use the Upgradeable legendary item ability to get a one time half-price upgrade on an item?
I imagine you could do that, but if your character's mythic tiers only lasted for one scenario (as indictated on the Chronicle sheet), the item would cease to be legendary and lose all of its mythic benefits--arguably including any subsidized enhancements gained through the upgradeable property. I doubt there would be any refund.
Let's avoid gaming the system in this way, please. I vacilated for a while on whether or not to exclude the legendary item path ability, and I decided to leave it in so that folks could have a talking hat or a mythic Gamin the Misforged for an adventure.
The Legendary Item path ability states, "You gain a legendary item".
Does this mean you buy a normal version of the item and then apply the Legendary bits, or do you get the base item for free?
The book isn't clear.
-j
For the purposes of PFS, apply it to an existing item. If you were to get the base item for free, we would need guidelines about that item could be. A free ring of wizardry III?? A free staff of power? Ah, no thanks.
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Could someone explain the trap in B11 better? I'm a little confused as to where exactly the bypass switches are, and I'm especially confused as to why switching one of them in tier 1-2 turns the trap into the more potent version...it seems like a party who randomly flips one of the switches has a good chance of getting hit with an 8d6 fire blast. That seems really brutal for tier 1-2. Could you explain the thinking behind that?There are a total of four switches in the area—two on either end of the archway so that someone could turn the trap on or off from either side. If both switches at one end are in the "on" position, the trap is very deadly (Subtier 4–5) when somebody walks in from that direction. If only one is on, the trap is less effective (Subtier 1–2). It's possible to make the trap very dangerous by accident, but by only having to find one switch, it's easier for a Subtier 1–2 group to bypass the trap entirely.
But if they only find one switch, wouldn't they have a 50% chance of finding the wrong one, and thus make the trap harder?
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"I loved the narrative, the NPCs, the setting, the encounters, and everything about the story; however, I don't like mythic rules. Therefore, I give this scenario 1 star."
This actually pretty much sums up how I feel about this adventure. I stepped in to GM at the last minute, and didn't realize that it had mythic rules in it.
It's a sand pie.
As a novice GM it was a nightmare to run, as it uses almost every mechanic in the game. As we had fewer people turn up than signed up, the Allip at the end wasn't Mythic, which was probably a good thing as the party wasn't able to beat the non-Mythic version. However, I still ended up reading the mythic rules for about an hour, which was a complete waste of time. I still don't understand exactly how Mythic Rules work, and I have no interest in learning how they work so I can GM the occasional mythic scenario. I also suspect the success or failure of the party when they play Sands III will be highly influenced by how well each player understands the Mythic Rules. Also, if you haven't played Sands II, will you have Mythic tiers in Sands III?
I don't see how adding Mythic Rules improves the scenario in any way. In fact, I think I could have run the scenario better if I didn't waste my time trying to work out how to run the Mythic Allip. I also feel that there should have been more explanation in the scenario about how the Mythic Rules work.
I included the optional encounter even though it made the game run overtime as there was an Undine Warpriest of Besmara in the party. I would agree that this encounter shouldn't be the optional encounter as it was one of the best in the scenario. (I understand there are good reasons for it to be the optional encounter, however I think the gnolls or zombies should have been left out - if they couldn't be made optional, they should have been cut as they don't really add much.) Even without the optional encounter, it seems that the scenario is very long.
However, on the positive side, I think the scenario otherwise is great. I really liked the setting, and the story. I thought the sarcophagus was extremely innovative, but sadly the party failed to work out how to use it. I enjoyed reading about the background of Torch. It was nice to see a Hieroglyphic puzzle. I liked the rival party NPCs. The lightning shooting from the gems in the final encounter is a nice touch. The rest of the scenario is 5/5 stars.
There are a ton of options when building a mythic character. This is true.
However, if running a pregenerated mythic creature, it's just a handful of extra abilities. Not terribly different than running any other new monster or template. It has extra stuff for initiative, a few extra powers, etc.
It is not like they went and altered base game mechanics like switching to a d10 dice pool mechanic or something.
-j
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There's really not much mythic at all in this scenario, just the allip at the end of 4-5 tier. And even then he's got exactly 3 abilities tacked on. Mythic surge (found in the beginning of the book), Dual Initiative (searching the PRD takes no time), and Mythic Lightning Reflexes (again searching takes no time).
I'm excited for the third part, I want to see how crazy it is and if it accounts for the fact that it is likely not everyone at the table has the second and third chronicle sheets from this part. That being said you don't need to dig SUPER deep into mythic stuff. 3 tiers is tough, but its nowhere near as crazy as it gets. And if a player is doing all sorts of crazy stuff then its easy to ask them to show you where they're pulling it from as this is most definitely a "What source do you have for that?" type of question.
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Normally I wait until I've ran a scenario to voice my opinion, but with as much negative on this forum about Mythic, I feel like I need to jump in.
I'm actually excited to see how you work in the Mythic Rules into part 3 and what the future of Mythic is in PFS. I did notice the mythic Allip for the high tier group (which I'm going to guess most people are going to be fighting since part 3 is a 3-7 scenario) and I think it would have been helpful to explain his mythic abilities, but I know word count sometimes gets in the way. Yes, I know you can just look the stuff up in the Mythic book or on the PRD, but I think it would have been helpful for some people who didn't have enough time to double check those rules.
Honestly, I'm starting to feel like the mythic rules are falling into the "Not in my Fantasy" category that a few other things fall into, such as Gunslingers, Androids, traveling to other worlds, etc. etc. etc., but sometimes those rules make for some interesting sessions, even if we don't like them.
I'll give more feedback once I run through this and also once I get a chance to read part 3 and see how the full trilogy plays out.
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I have the book though I've not used it yet. I was just looking through the Mythic path abilities and considering what to choose for my Magus and there are plenty of option available. Once you start adding in Mythic versions of the spells, the time required for most people to get through this scenario is going to increase substantially, just with looking up everything.
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bugleyman isn't enamored of Mythic either, so I like to think we did him a favor. :)
'Tis true, I'm not a huge fan. Like Epic in D&D, it feels like a wholly unnecessary bolt-on. It didn't help that I spent too much time trying to cram Mythic that I neglected to review some of the other mechanics...only to have it not matter! Alas, things would have gone rather differently if not for the ghost salt.
I really liked the scenario as a whole, though.
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The notes are written in code, so they'd still have to make the check.I have a question: when looking around the library and finding the notes, do you need to make a linguistics check if you know ancient Osiriani? Or do you just read it?
Also, if you still have to make the check would you get the +10 bonus?
And would they get the bonus?
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Stupid Zen Archers. ;-)
Zen Archers can full attack and bring down fun from any range.
We all know the classic Butthurt One Star Reviews make up 25 per cent of all PFS reviews now. So many entitled whiplash reactions.
I played this today and had a great time. The cursed items brought a *lot* of hilarity and the bodies of the Scarab Seekers had a lot of mystery to them. Adding the carving on Nethys, the burnt man, was a nice touch as well.
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QUESTION! My good-hearted Ifrit blacksmith put on a certain ring, and now finds himself under a certain magical compulsion...
However, in his roundabout way, he sees that having this magical compulsion will make him a more honest and truthful person in the long-run, and he doesn't actually want the ring removed.
Is he able to keep on adventuring with his Jim Carrey themed ring?
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Just trying to get a good handle on the trapped hallway. In low-tier, the trap is partially "on" and if they walk through, it deals the low-tier damamge.
The DC to notice there is a trap is the 20 listed, as well as the DD check of 20 to completely bypass. Got it. No problem there.
However, if the party searches for a bypass (with the given clues should they find it, otherwise, they wouldn't search for said bypass as there is no motivation), it requires a DC25 to find 1 of the 2 switches. A 30, they find both switches.
Scenario A: a party finds only 1 switch. If they choose not to flip it, the trap deals regular amount of damage for low-tier. Should they choose to flip it, am I correct in assuming that this would turn off the trap? Or would the switch they found make it deadly? I would run this as they've bypassed the trap.
Scenario B: a party finds 2 bypass switches. Assume low-tier. One switch is in position (A), the other in position (B). This is where I figure it would get dicey, since now there are many choices to be made. Which is the correct position to leave the swithces, or which switch do you throw? It almost seems worse for a low-tier party to find both switches.
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I just ran this last night. I liked the overall setup, but I do not think the scenario did a good job explaining to the GM what the situation was with all the sages. For example it is mentioned the emerald sage got 'corrupted' or some such, and then the sage of plagues shows up. I did not (at first) get that these are the same.
I did like the cursed items. After two the party didn't dare put on the ring they found (wise!). :)
I also read the 'tavern wench' henchwoman of our linnorm barbarian as a tavern wench. Which was a lotta fun. :)
Keep it up! A little more words on explaining stuff would be nice though. Like with the scarab pathfinders... I know they were there, I just don't find what exactly happened. I know the sidebar, but that didn't really clue me in on everything.
Regardless, good job.
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The allip is incorporeal and thus immune to crits. The poisonous blood activates if critically hit with a P or S weapon. So a crit on a greatsword does not do the extra damage but initiates the poisonous blood special thingy. Am I reading this right?
Also, what does simple divine spellcasting do on tier 4-5?
P.S. Whoever let that zen archer crit the allip, shame on you! ;)
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Yes, to the immune ti crits. Yes to the greatsword/poisonous blood bit. (Please let us know character reactions! I didn't get to see a crit at my table.)
Simple Divine Spellcasting gives the Allip the spells you see in his stat block.
Mythic Adventures, pg 228:
Simple Divine Spellcasting: The creature gains the
ability to cast spells from the cleric or druid spell list. Select
a number of spells with total spell levels equal to twice the
creature’s CR. No spell for this ability should have a level
higher than 1 + 1/2 the creature’s CR. A 0-level spell counts
as 1/2 spell level toward this total. The creature can cast
each of these spells once per day. Its caster level is equal to
its Hit Dice. It uses its Wisdom or Charisma (whichever is
higher) to determine its spell DCs.
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P.S. Whoever let that zen archer crit the allip, shame on you! ;)Guess what ghost salt does. ;)
I'm going to disagree with you on ghost salt letting you crit an incorporeal creature, at least the extra damage.
powder is made from exotic minerals mixed with an
infusion crafted from the ectoplasmic remains of
destroyed incorporeal undead. When rubbed onto a
weapon that is then placed over a hot f lame for a full
round, ghost salt melts and forms a temporary coating on
the weapon. The blanching gives the weapon the ability
to do full damage to incorporeal creatures, even if the
weapon itself is nonmagical. An application of ghost salt
remains effective until the weapon makes a successful
attack. Each dose of weapon blanch can coat one weapon or
up to 10 pieces of ammunition. Only one kind of weapon
blanch can be on a weapon at one time (see the Advanced
Player’s Guide for other forms of weapon blanch).
normally against incorporeal creatures, regardless of
its bonus. An incorporeal creature’s 50% reduction in
damage from corporeal sources does not apply to attacks
made against it with ghost touch weapons. The weapon can
be picked up and moved by an incorporeal creature at any
time. A manifesting ghost can wield the weapon against
corporeal foes. Essentially, a ghost touch weapon counts as
both corporeal or incorporeal.
against the allip with a piercing or slashing melee weapon
breaks off a piece of its mad essence. Melee weapons with
reach don’t endanger their users in this way. The attacker
briefly becomes enveloped by a cloud of insanity mist
(inhaled; save Fort DC 15; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds;
effect 1d3 Wis; cure 1 save).
The description of ghost salt says nothing about allowing crits to occur, and neither does ghost touch. For the sake of this discussion, I'd allow the Allips ability to trigger, but not take the extra crit damage.
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So my question is: Does completing Part2 give your character any permanent bonuses? I played both Part1 and Part2, Part1 was pretty easy and Part2 I was stuck with a table full of kids which decided to go down the long passage below the bridge...the Gunslinger and I refused to go and told them to just check it out and see if there was anything nearby down there, which the GM asked them how long they'd like to walk and they replied "Oh a couple hours." The gunslinger and I had a standoff with the opposing party that was coming for the item and they dropped us both but didn't kill us, and thankfull we both saved on our con checks.
So, now I've been pretty disinterested in playing Part3 as I didn't get any of this "Mythic" junk and I've heard conflicting stories that players get temporary benefits with successfully completing the 3 part scenarios and others have mentioned that completing the 3 part scenarios grants permanent benefits. Pretty confused here, but it really sucks that failing the 2nd part screws you in the whole 3part scenario chain.
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Probably should have discussed then reviewed but... oh well
I really really liked this one. I can't recall pathfinder, the gentleman adventurer archeologists, had last done any well... archeology. It was nice to get them into a must old tomb and get their hands dirty on some real history.
The Thing that makes this scenario good rather than amazing is its too busy. There are simply too many things that have happened in the tomb and none of them are all that connected to the crunch.
Four things have happened in the tomb
1) This was where the sages died.
2) This is where grandmaster torch got torched- a seminial event in pathfinder history that has driven the metaplot for multiple seasons.
3) Nefti and Kafar where here last week and swiped the sage jewels.
and There's an old dead librarian waiting for an interview in a coffin.
So you have an Egyptian tomb, where grandmaster torch was torched... and a Viking shows up and wants to fight you for the right to loot the place. With all of the history to draw on THATS an encounter? I mean you wouldn't even need to change the Vikings' stats, just asign each Viking to be a dead pathfinder.
1 and 2 in particular could easily be tied into the adventure's combat a bit more. The party could have fought the Scarab seekers ghosts/spirits rather than some random dead travelers. Instead of an otherwise really good and thematic haunt, The party could have relived the last days of the sages.
Its the culmination of three seasons of grandmaster torches backstory AND a pivotal moment for the osirion faction and they're background to a viking and some random undead.
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Venture-Captain, California—Sacramento
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So, in part one, the party had the chance to befriend Mahu, which gives them +2 to Gather Information in Eto. This scenario starts with a gather info check in Eto.
I assume since there is no boon, this bonus does not carry across scenarios, but it feels like it really should.
1. Can we please get a boon added to part 1, so that people can use this bonus?
2. The GM has discression to apply situational modifiers to skill checks based on things the PCs have done. (I.E. if the pcs are exceptionally rude when roleplaying a diplomacy check it will usually make it harder) Does carrying this bonus across fall within the GM's discretion?
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So, in part one, the party had the chance to befriend Mahu, which gives them +2 to Gather Information in Eto. This scenario starts with a gather info check in Eto.
I assume since there is no boon, this bonus does not carry across scenarios, but it feels like it really should.
1. Can we please get a boon added to part 1, so that people can use this bonus?
2. The GM has discression to apply situational modifiers to skill checks based on things the PCs have done. (I.E. if the pcs are exceptionally rude when roleplaying a diplomacy check it will usually make it harder) Does carrying this bonus across fall within the GM's discretion?
That's a brilliant idea FLite and I wish I would have thought about that when I was running this scenario. The boon of befriending Mahu would have been a nice everyone boon, but I would allow that bonus to travel across the scenarios since there are some things that travel between the 1st and 2nd parts, especially the plus to diplomacy to help on gather information.