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Please correct me if I've missed something, but if the adventure assumes the PCs are taking the riverboat from Tephu to the Parched Dunes, when/how does the 'outside of town' ambush go off? Just on that embankment between the city and the docks as seen on the map, with the risk of being seen from the city? Or do the PCs have to catch the riverboat someplace not clearly indicated?
Please correct me if I've missed something, but if the adventure assumes the PCs are taking the riverboat from Tephu to the Parched Dunes, when/how does the 'outside of town' ambush go off? Just on that embankment between the city and the docks as seen on the map, with the risk of being seen from the city? Or do the PCs have to catch the riverboat someplace not clearly indicated?
I just created a map of some docks and had the cultists jumping out at the party as they were attempting to board the river boat. Had my first party death here as the cultists surrounded one of the party members and hacked him into bits.
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Please correct me if I've missed something, but if the adventure assumes the PCs are taking the riverboat from Tephu to the Parched Dunes, when/how does the 'outside of town' ambush go off? Just on that embankment between the city and the docks as seen on the map, with the risk of being seen from the city? Or do the PCs have to catch the riverboat someplace not clearly indicated?
We just played this encounter. I based it on the riverboat scene from the Brendan Frasier Mummy movie, with the cultists rowing in under the cover of night and secretly boarding the boat after it had left Tephu earlier that day. The starsoul sorcerer flew upriver a short ways, hiding in the starry night sky. The charmed sphinx made several screeching flyovers to distract the party while the cultists boarded and got into place, and then they leapt to the attack to try and recover the Mask. The outdoors and nighttime setting made it particularly favorable for the sorcerer's call lightning storm ability. No one died, though it was close -- they did lose their prize racing camel in the aftermath of the inevitable fireball. Of course, because it was based on an action move, the boat caught fire, and people were diving into the river to escape the flames. Overall, it was a great capstone encounter after all of the role-playing and politicking in Tephu.
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It just makes it easier for the cult to track him, and probably makes Deku a bit more hostile toward the party. My group kept it in the pack until they got through the dark depository research and figured out the mask was harmless unless you ka pulsed. Then the oracle wore it until time to vanquish Hakotep's spirit.
Osirion, and Golarion as a whole, are weird. Wearing a funerary mask won't get you any more odd looks than being a blue and purple haired gnome or travelling around with an armored tiger.
Please correct me if I've missed something, but if the adventure assumes the PCs are taking the riverboat from Tephu to the Parched Dunes, when/how does the 'outside of town' ambush go off? Just on that embankment between the city and the docks as seen on the map, with the risk of being seen from the city? Or do the PCs have to catch the riverboat someplace not clearly indicated?We just played this encounter. I based it on the riverboat scene from the Brendan Frasier Mummy movie, with the cultists rowing in under the cover of night and secretly boarding the boat after it had left Tephu earlier that day. The starsoul sorcerer flew upriver a short ways, hiding in the starry night sky. The charmed sphinx made several screeching flyovers to distract the party while the cultists boarded and got into place, and then they leapt to the attack to try and recover the Mask. The outdoors and nighttime setting made it particularly favorable for the sorcerer's call lightning storm ability. No one died, though it was close -- they did lose their prize racing camel in the aftermath of the inevitable fireball. Of course, because it was based on an action move, the boat caught fire, and people were diving into the river to escape the flames. Overall, it was a great capstone encounter after all of the role-playing and politicking in Tephu.
I killed one PC in this encounter and the other 3 nearly died too... I wasn't expecting it to go that way!
My PCs include a paladin so they've been doing their best to stay within the law and have gone the route of getting permission before entering the libraries. Since they didn't break in at night, should they still get the xp for the library guards and traps and the tophet, since they got past them by following the rules?
Yes. They still completed that encounter.
Thanks!
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Please correct me if I've missed something, but if the adventure assumes the PCs are taking the riverboat from Tephu to the Parched Dunes, when/how does the 'outside of town' ambush go off? Just on that embankment between the city and the docks as seen on the map, with the risk of being seen from the city? Or do the PCs have to catch the riverboat someplace not clearly indicated?We just played this encounter. I based it on the riverboat scene from the Brendan Frasier Mummy movie, with the cultists rowing in under the cover of night and secretly boarding the boat after it had left Tephu earlier that day. The starsoul sorcerer flew upriver a short ways, hiding in the starry night sky. The charmed sphinx made several screeching flyovers to distract the party while the cultists boarded and got into place, and then they leapt to the attack to try and recover the Mask. The outdoors and nighttime setting made it particularly favorable for the sorcerer's call lightning storm ability. No one died, though it was close -- they did lose their prize racing camel in the aftermath of the inevitable fireball. Of course, because it was based on an action move, the boat caught fire, and people were diving into the river to escape the flames. Overall, it was a great capstone encounter after all of the role-playing and politicking in Tephu.
Stealing this set up, as finishing up the last library tonight.
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It just makes it easier for the cult to track him, and probably makes Deku a bit more hostile toward the party. My group kept it in the pack until they got through the dark depository research and figured out the mask was harmless unless you ka pulsed. Then the oracle wore it until time to vanquish Hakotep's spirit.
Osirion, and Golarion as a whole, are weird. Wearing a funerary mask won't get you any more odd looks than being a blue and purple haired gnome or travelling around with an armored tiger.
Walking around with a 50,000 gp mask is going to get you some attention.
Given that the player was taking no precautions, in spite of warnings from other players that he was risking unwanted attention, I eventually had him sapped in the middle of the night by a cat burgler. (Seriously, he was sleeping alone, in a separate room at the in, without even alarm cast on the door, even though he was a wizard and had the spell.)
The party spent some time having to chase down the mask and stealing it back.
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I built Chisisek's tomb in Sketchup, so I could figure out the dimenisons and have a visual reference. I had to do some adapting, since the bridges as described go from 20 feet to 40 feet, then jump up to a 100 foot platform, then go from 120 feet to 160 feet, then jump up again to a platform "nearly 200 feet high"
Picture with the part of the canyon wall behind the crawl cut away.
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I built Chisisek's tomb in Sketchup, so I could figure out the dimenisons and have a visual reference. I had to do some adapting, since the bridges as described go from 20 feet to 40 feet, then jump up to a 100 foot platform, then go from 120 feet to 160 feet, then jump up again to a platform "nearly 200 feet high"
Picture with the part of the canyon wall behind the crawl cut away.
This was my setup for the Tomb, I had the heights of the paths drawn on although you cant see it.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByK6dFaFFDfnX0s5d0tvMkNrNzg
What does the knowledge bonus for all the libraries (e.g., Knowledge Bonus +2) do?
Has anyone prepared party handouts that I could steal for when the party gains new information in the library?
Yep I've done some handouts. Will post links to them when I get home later
Small addition that went over well: the reward for returning the larvae as a choice of the Swarmbow, [insert needed item here], or 5 doses of
Spirit Honey Elixir: Caster Level 10; combination of false life[, lesser restoration, levitate, and[/i] spider climb.[/i]
What does the knowledge bonus for all the libraries (e.g., Knowledge Bonus +2) do?
Has anyone prepared party handouts that I could steal for when the party gains new information in the library?
1) Its bonus on knowledge checks to cause damage on the knowledge pool of each library. Each check (sucessful or not) increases that bonus by +1.
2) I have a few that I compiled from the background given by the adventure and handed them to my players every 4-5 points of damage on the knowledge pool. I compiled a bunch of egyptian papyrus images (sample), printed them, then I translated the information from the adventure and printed them in the back of each paper (translated version), which they could read once they passed the knowledge check. They are all in portuguese, so its of little help to you.
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The Shory should probably be considered ancient myths. Most folks probably only know about as much as them as the average person IRL knows about Atlantis. Some unknown past lost civilization that, rather than having a great city in the sea, had great cities that few across the skies. I would put the DC for any knowledge history beyond that at at-least 20, well out of the range of the typical layperson.
Although, depending on the status of your Golarion, Ulduvai may be a known ruin, depending on whether the module Crucible of Chaos has occurred. Which, like Xin-Shalast being rediscovered in Runelords 6, could make those more esoteric ancient civilizations a bit more mainstream.
More about the Shory can be revealed by other means. The library revealed what was written about it (which is quite a lot really).
Any other details they would have to use divination, necromancy or talk to knowledgeable NPCs and ask about the Shory.
Scholars could have read or heard something about it, but the average Tephu citizen wouldn't have a clue of what you are talking about. In the real world, we know so much about those lost civilations (even dinosaurs) because of books, the internet and overall because of the job of archeologists.
My group is finishing off Chisisek's tomb tomorrow, and then they'll head further north. They arranged their spells to handle all their provisions and travel issues: Bountiful Banquet + Phantom Chariot + Tiny Hut = travelling in style indefinitely.
I just realized that this means the party has no reason to return to civilization after they clear the tomb, which means they won't have any opportunity to exchange their loot for useful gear.
Has anyone else run into this issue? If so, how did you handle it?
I built Chisisek's tomb in Sketchup, so I could figure out the dimenisons and have a visual reference. I had to do some adapting, since the bridges as described go from 20 feet to 40 feet, then jump up to a 100 foot platform, then go from 120 feet to 160 feet, then jump up again to a platform "nearly 200 feet high"
Picture with the part of the canyon wall behind the crawl cut away.
This was my setup for the Tomb, I had the heights of the paths drawn on although you cant see it.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByK6dFaFFDfnX0s5d0tvMkNrNzg
I did a flattened/unfolded version of the map so I could track where the players were.
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My group only returned to civilization after book 4. Dropping a few hundred thousand in loot across the Wati-Tephu-An area and at Ipeq satiated them for a while during their planning phase for finding the Khepsutanem. Note, my group didn't have the attack on Wati because they captured and meticulously tortured her so that she remained in an unconscious state with ring of sustenance stuck in a portable hole.
For reference:
1. Beat to unconsciousness with a nonlethal weapon / spells
2. Bind and gag
3. Inflicted the following curses:
a) -4 to saves
b) -6 to WIS
c) -6 to the other 5 stats
d) Alternative Curse to never heal naturally
4. Make both Blind and Deaf via Blindness/Deafness
5. Attach Clear Spindle Ioun Stone
6. Toss into Portable Hole with Bottle of Air
7. Wait a day
8. Perform the following closely monitored "medical" procedures, healing as necessary to retain life
a) Tongue removal
b) Hand removal
9. Beat to unconsciousness
10. Return to Port-hole
11. Remove in book 6 for killing of the Hakotep
BONUS ROUND: Petrify on the statue making platform in book 5
A very vindictive Neutral party that was hoping to somehow leverage FP into bringing the Tephu government down after the Haty-a was an ass about everything. Original plans fell through when they learned about the Khepsutanem, replaced with figuring out how to get Hakotep out of the girl. They did raise her and cast a Miracle on her to restore her sanity post book 6, (and after they slit her throat to release the Ib) though.
Okay, can someone make sense of Jamirah's tactics for me?
1) "Once in melee combat, she uses her
Stand Still feat to prevent opponents from getting within
her longspear’s reach." Does this mean that she tries to keep the beatsticks from getting adjacent to her by keeping them in her spear's threatened squares? If so, then...
2) How? From Stand Still: "When a foe provokes an attack of opportunity due to moving through your adjacent squares..." She can only use it with adjacent squares, WHICH SHE DOESN'T THREATEN!
FYI this is my first time GMing an ongoing AP, campaign, or whatever, and I'm running it for people who are very experienced with the game (a 5 star in PFS and a 2 star who's also a VA), so I'm looking over tactics and combats entire books in advance.
The Vault of Hidden Wisdom seems to be at street level. I find it strange that there would be a whole building on the streets of Tephu, which includes a chamber with a large dome, and no one knows what it does.
I recommend having the PCs descend a ladder 50-100 feet after finding the Vault before doing the first room. I'm still not sure why the builders would build a dome shaped building completely underground, but I find that possibility more plausible then an entire complex at street level and no one's gone in for a long time. Perhaps the vault is built into a large natural limestone cave under Tephu, and so the dome makes sense as it is contained entirely within this cave.
I did the same and had my placers descend a long shaft before getting to the first room.
Okay, can someone make sense of Jamirah's tactics for me?
1) "Once in melee combat, she uses her
Stand Still feat to prevent opponents from getting within
her longspear’s reach." Does this mean that she tries to keep the beatsticks from getting adjacent to her by keeping them in her spear's threatened squares? If so, then...
2) How? From Stand Still: "When a foe provokes an attack of opportunity due to moving through your adjacent squares..." She can only use it with adjacent squares, WHICH SHE DOESN'T THREATEN!FYI this is my first time GMing an ongoing AP, campaign, or whatever, and I'm running it for people who are very experienced with the game (a 5 star in PFS and a 2 star who's also a VA), so I'm looking over tactics and combats entire books in advance.
I'm in a very similar situation as you, 1st time GM and very experienced group.
From what I've been able to gather is the character was designed with 3.5e 'Stand Still' in mind; which contains different wording of:
"Benefit: When a foe’s movement out of a square you threaten grants you an attack of opportunity, you can give up that attack and instead attempt to stop your foe in his tracks."I think I might just give her the 3.5e feat and when the inevitable 'that's now how that works' happens I'll explain I wanted to keep the core of the character.
If you want to keep things within the rules of PF only, I'd suggest looking at a different feat instead, since 'Stand Still' won't trigger as often as the character build was intending, IMO.
Yeah, that's what I did, since I also found the exact same situation for an enemy in Hell's Rebels. I've informed my players about that interpretation of the rules (far in advance so that they don't know when it will happen) so that it won't come as a complete surprise to them.
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I'm reading through the Adventure Background in Shifting Sands, and I'm confused whether the Sacrosanct Order of the Blue Feather is working for the Great Library to keep Hakotep's secrets.
2nd paragraph suggests the Sacrosanct Order is the group of Nethysians that desecrated Hakotep's tomb, causing Djederet to lock away its records. Yet the 3rd paragraph states this same order has been assigned the task of keeping those secrets safe in the Great Library.
What am I missing?
Djederet could have been extremely embarrassed if any word of what the Order did got out into general knowledge. Certainly the Order would have been even worse off in the same circumstance. So it makes sense to give the task of keeping that information secret to the one group with as much, if not more, of a vested interest in keeping it quashed than the Pharaoh did.
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Djederet could have been extremely embarrassed if any word of what the Order did got out into general knowledge. Certainly the Order would have been even worse off in the same circumstance. So it makes sense to give the task of keeping that information secret to the one group with as much, if not more, of a vested interest in keeping it quashed than the Pharaoh did.
This is a very good point of view, and it explains it well. Thank you.
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There is a Thriae Seer, 2 Thriae Soldiers (both MED) and 1 Thriae Queen (Huge) in the Bestiary 3 Pawn Box.
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There is a Thriae Seer, 2 Thriae Soldiers (both MED) and 1 Thriae Queen (Huge) in the Bestiary 3 Pawn Box.
Thanks, I saw those. Was hoping to use plastic pre-painted miniatures. I know those specific models don't exist. Maybe something similar?
After reading the full library part, I do have a slight concern. After they discover the Handout, what's the motivation to go after the Architect?
The library hunt has so far a good arc, but after the handout I fail to see (except that the library points are still not 0) the motivation to dug on. Then they get the last piese from the dark library that would lead to the last one....however why bother. they now have a location of the heart. Even if they later can get the info that someone discovered something, I miss the point why the architect is important.
I would love any takes on this as well. My players are about to start the Vault of Hidden Wisdom, and I'm struggling to understand why they would feel motivated to go after the architect's tomb.
At this point, the players/PCs feel like their goal is to research the Mask with the hope of discovering how to destroy it. If they were to figure out the destruction method (which I believe begins with combining it with the other two parts), that would just be further motivation to go after the heart.
My understanding is that the purpose of going after the architect's tomb is to get information about Hakotep's tomb, but at this point that's nothing more than a historical curiosity for them. They don't know that it might be a threat (and if they did, they might still reasonably think that finding the heart is part of the solution).
So, if anyone can think of some information I can plant in the final library wing that will motivate them to actually seek out the architect's tomb, I would be very appreciative.
I took a (relatively) quick look, and here's my thoughts, and the single rule I found to base it off of.
I'd leave the price the same.
Not all Item Slots Have Equal Value: This is true, even though it isn’t expressed monetarily in the rules.
Some item slots are very common and are shared by many useful items (boots, belts, rings, and amulets in particular), while some slots are used by only a few items (such as body, chest, and eyes). Allowing a character to alter or craft an item for one of these underused slots is allowing the character to bypass built-in choices between popular items.
Of particular note, is that this specific item is EXACTLY the type of thing they reference .... in reverse, and there are no suggested multipliers to use.
Any suggestions for the clearly-contemplated-but-not-detailed scenario of the party breaking into the library and getting caught?
The adventure says Deka will place a mark of justice on the adventurers. Mechanically, from there the party needs to find a high-level caster to remove the marks, which isn't too hard (High Priestess Sebti can do it). But I'm struggling with the story implications.
Would Sebti even be willing to remove the mark, when Deka is higher ranked on the power-org-chart of Osirion politics? Muminofrah could order Deka to remove the marks and even still give permission to enter the library, but does that make sense when the party has already broken into the library? It seems like she might expect much more than simply being "entertained" if she's going to give obvious, direct aid to bumbling criminals. And that's assuming the party thinks to/attempts to contact Muminofrah to go over Deka's head; in this case they knew that was an option and decided to break in without even trying.
I may have to throw out the Muminofrah content entirely. Any ideas for other things that could happen at the players in Tephu to break up the library diving?