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Are the level 3 pregens of ACG classes that are included in the module legal to be played in this scenario if it is run for PFS credit?
I can't speak for Paizo but every previous Free RPG day release has included - and allowed - pregens that were outside PFS rules. Including Goblins.
Heck, you were required to play a goblin in two of them.
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The Free RPG Day mod from 2 years ago allowed the use of the pregens for that module only. This should apply this year as well since they will want to tempt players to get the ACG.
Now, do we have any word yet on if it will be sanctioned? I've been watching the thread on the product page, but nothing yet as far as I know.
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It will be sanctioned, as all Free RPG Day modules have been.
Dawn of the Scarlet Sun is the closest comparable release, so it is likely that the guidelines for Risen from the Sands will be similar.
I recommend that everyone be patient. Free RPG Day is over 3 weeks away. The Chronicle is still being developed. Until it's ready all we can do is speculate which serves little purpose.
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The four pre-gens are fully stated out and have descriptions of their abilities (I'm running this so I got mine today to start prep since I'll be out of town the week before free RPG day). The impression I get from reading it is that these characters were built with this module specifically in mind - if they allow normal PFS characters to go -or- the pregens, and I was playing? I'd still prefer the pregens, I think :)
We'll have to wait and see - they've never *not* given GMs info on how to adjust these for PFS before, though, so I wouldn't worry.
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As a note, I added a subforum for this free rpg day module to the pfs prep site.
Nothing useful has been uploaded yet, but I'm sure that'll change eventually.
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Mike, can I ask how you were able to get a copy ahead of time? I haven't checked in with the store where I am running, but when I asked my VC, he indicated they would not be available before that day. I had just planned on heading to the store a couple of hours before and doing some prep there, but i prefer a bit more lead time.
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Mike, can I ask how you were able to get a copy ahead of time? I haven't checked in with the store where I am running, but when I asked my VC, he indicated they would not be available before that day. I had just planned on heading to the store a couple of hours before and doing some prep there, but i prefer a bit more lead time.
Talk to the store. They are the only ones (besides Paizo), who would have access to them at this time, as most stores should have their bundle (or be getting it very soon). I was able to get a copy to look over to get ready for our local day on Friday.
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Mike, can I ask how you were able to get a copy ahead of time? I haven't checked in with the store where I am running, but when I asked my VC, he indicated they would not be available before that day. I had just planned on heading to the store a couple of hours before and doing some prep there, but i prefer a bit more lead time.
It seems I was late answering, but I think everyone above me pretty much covered it :)
I am new to GMing Paizo stuff, but that Prep site is quite the resource for running adventures! I'm quite excited to get started with Risen From The Sands.
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Is the scale on the map correct?
It appears to be. The scale is 1 square is 10 feet. Reading through the scenario, the rooms would be awfully cramped if they were 5 foot squares with all the stuff that is supposed to be in them. It makes it hard trying to print out the maps when they are 1 sq = 10 ft.
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Looking at the Anubis guardian statues on page 10, they have spent a CP on an additional attack but their melee attacks are listed as mwk khopesh or slam. I think it should be khopesh and slam. Also, the 'haunted flaw' it has seems pointless. How are the PC supposed to guess "Hey, these statues might be harmed by positive energy, let's try it and see what happens!"? The GM needs to drop some hints with their appearance to provoke some questions on this, else it was just silly to write them up that way. Thoughts?
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So, I ran a slot zero for some of our GMs that are running it on Free RPG Day.
Ho-lee crap.
A table of four using only the pre-gens is in for a world of hurt, which is what we had. It's savage. That first fight against the animated pyramid is perhaps the most lethal of the entire module, second only to the final fight.
Also, if players are set on clearing every single room, this is a long adventure. Expect about 5 hours for everything, though it's fairly likely they'll stumble into the burial chamber before clearing every room.
Speaking of the burial chamber, a mummy against level 3 characters is brutally difficult. 11-18 damage with a very high percentage to hit will likely knock out anyone playing a 2nd level character in one slam. 4th level PCs will do fine.
Venture-Captain, California—San Francisco Bay Area South & West
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That's good information (and confirms what Wendy-Ann and I had feared might be the case when we read through the scenario).
I'm a bit worried that we're going to get a repeat of what happened two years age with "Dawn of the Scarlet Sun". A party with the wrong makeup of characters, especially if run by players not really familiar with the rules of PFS, can easily find themselves up against something they can't handle.
I though the intent of Free RPG Day was to provide a fun introduction to a game that you don't usually play. I'm not sure that a four (or five) hour game (especially one that it can be tricky to complete successfully) is the best way to achieve that goal.
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The slot 0 info is really useful...I also looked at that animated pyramid fight and wondered if I would finally have my first TPK with this thing...
Also, thanks for the map uploads, Wendy-Ann and Lucas. Since space is at a *major* premium here, I did a test-draw on a 44x32 game mat (about the size of the game space I'll have when I run this on the 21st), and here is the result: Best I could do.... Not the best, to be sure, but I kept the rooms 99% intact size-wise and just tweaked the hallways a bit. I'm not going to upload this to the gm prep site, but wanted to share in case it happens to help anyone else.
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Yeah, if there's no strength-based heavy hitters in the party, the rolling pyrmaid fight might kill them. The trample without any way to actually avoid it is just rough.
A couple of other observations based on the included pregens:
- Certain abilities from the last playtest document are left off the pregen, such as the Swashbuckler's derring-do and kip-up. I understand space limiations on the character sheet for all of those deeds, but derring-do in particular is one of the best abilities that class has and it's too bad to see it excluded.
- If no one shows up with a strength-based melee character, consider suggesting someone check out the warpriest or bloodrager.
- Speaking of those classes, running a table of only the new pregens leaves a lot of holes that would normally be covered in a party, making the adventure harder than it normally would be I think. For example, a cleric of the same level would have access to 2nd level spells as well as channeled energy, making healing more viable and long-lasting than it is. Having only Cure Light Wounds is rough when a handful of enemies hit for well over the maximum that CLW can heal at level 3.
- If someone's playing the investigator pregen, make sure they are familiar with the chosen spells, especially Stone Fist. That single spell can turn the investigator from a useless character against the rolling pyramind to the MVP if no one else is hurting it.
- Don't forget the mummy's aura. That's the single most important part of that fight, and can easily turn the encounter into an insta-TPK if everyone fails their save.
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Does anyone disagree with the idea that there is no time constraint for the adventure, so the PCs can rest after every encounter if they want to? I wouldn't allow them to leave the site of the adventure and travel back to a city, but once they are on location there's no ticking clock.
I wish there was one final encounter; an ambush by a team of rival tomb raiders when the PCs leave the pyramid. Kind of like when Belloq was waiting for Indiana Jones outside the Incan tomb.
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I agree, Doug - there's no reason not to rest whenever they need to. The intro states that other people are eager to explore the pyramid, but it doesn't say they all know where it is... I can't see many new people surviving otherwise.
I plan to run this with the level 4 pregens instead (and so appreciate it's a level 3 instead of the level 5 last year) - methinks those extra hit points and cure spells will make a world of difference. Plus, running hybrid classes as a new player don't not work so well with the last batch of APG playtest pregens in my experience. (Yes, yes, Kyra-hate away... if someone is new to Pathfinder, I think it is both easier and more useful to learn to be a fighter instead of a sorcbarian, and a rogue instead of a rogizabard...)
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The pyramid lies approximately 90 miles west-southwest of the city of Eto in the inhospitable region known as the Parched Dunes, a journey of over a week on foot through trackless desert.
None of the pre-gens can prepare so much as a lesser restoration. Can we just assume that if anyone contracts Mummy Rot they are dead? ;)
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OK, I posted a Monster Lore doc on the GM Shared Prep drive. Enjoy! (or not)
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Aura A mummified creature gains a frightful presenceaura with a range of 30 feet and a duration of 1d6 rounds.
Burst of Vengeance (Su):
Twice per day as a swift action, a mummified creature may act as if affected by a haste spell for one round.
Dust Stroke (Su)
A creature killed by a mummified creature's natural attack or slam attack is disintegrated into a cloud of dust and ash, completely destroying the victim's body (as disintegrate).
That's the stuff that the stat block in the module didn't address.
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OK, one more gripe about the encounters.
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None of the pre-gens can prepare so much as a lesser restoration. Can we just assume that if anyone contracts Mummy Rot they are dead? ;)
The pyramid lies approximately 90 miles west-southwest of the city of Eto in the inhospitable region known as the Parched Dunes, a journey of over a week on foot through trackless desert.
Has anyone ever seen a PC that failed their Fort save on multiple diseases? It occurred to me that we are going to see Filth Fever (Scarab Swarm), Ubashki Fever (Ubashki Leopard) and Mummy Rot (Mummy) in this adventure. As I mentioned earlier, it is over a week of travel to reach Eto. I can't find any rule for diseases stacking like poisons can, but I'm wondering if, in the event of multiple afflictions, if I should allow more than one heal check vs disease per day. Oloch the Warpriest has a decent Heal check and a Healer's Kit, but it'll be interesting to see how many of them make it home even if they can defeat the mummy.
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OK, one more gripe about the encounters. ** spoiler omitted **
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I seem to remember (please correct me if I am mistaken) that two years ago when Dawn of the Scarlet Sun was released, you had to use the pre-gens provided on Free RPG Day (Saturday). However, like a month later when the module was released to the general public on PDF it was sanctioned for PFS and you could use your own character (of appropriate level). Am I right guys?
So if my memory serves, you can play it on Saturday with one of the included pre-gens and apply the Chronicle to a PFS character OR you can wait a month and play it with your actual PFS character. You can't do both, unless you have a GM Reward star to burn.
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Venture-Captain, Michigan—Mt. Pleasant
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AFAIK the only Free RPG Day modules where you can't play your own characters are the We Be Goblins ones (though I have heard some of the goblin PCs have played WBGs but those are very rare). The others are like any module where you can play within one level of the module. So in this case 2nd-4th level characters should be eligible for play.
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I think we can't play it for credit at all until it is sanctioned. Once it is sanctioned (hopefully before Free RPG Day!) it is legal for play the same as any other module - i.e. with your own PCs or pregens or whatever. I was going to run this with the level 4 pregens because of the survivabiltiy issue of the ACG pre-gens.
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AFAIK the only Free RPG Day modules where you can't play your own characters are the We Be Goblins ones (though I have heard some of the goblin PCs have played WBGs but those are very rare). The others are like any module where you can play within one level of the module. So in this case 2nd-4th level characters should be eligible for play.
This.