I really recommend the Player's Guide although I used it differently... I used it as a GM tool, to help me flesh out my descriptions of Zelkor's Ferry, in gameplay ;)
I used the Players' Guide to give my players' more information about RA and the surrounding area. Also, I posted it as part of the Adventure Log on Obsidian Portal. My players' commented that it helped them make decisions on what equipment to get and to create backstories of why their PC's were in Zelkor's Ferry.
Luckily I had it as part of the original Kickstarter.
Thanks for the replies all. I have physical and pdf copies of the big book and the player's guide.
Sorry to keep rehashing the same question, but I am not 100% sure I understand your answer Bill. To prevent any confusion could someone answer the following;
Pregenerated Characters: Is the separate product the same pregens in the big book Appendix E: Pregens - Sinnoth, Cassandra, Ulmo, Mythandyr, Hithfaeron, Retgak, Cerendelil and Kit?
Battle Maps: Are these the battle maps in Appendix F: Battle Maps?
Bestiary: Is this Appendix A: New Monsters and Appendix B: New Classes?
Do any of these add more content than already presented in the listed appendices?
Thanks for the clarification, Shem!
Great work on the encounter table Aux! I copied it all to a Word doc for future use. I am sure I will run RA again.
Dotting for interest.
I'm currently in the process of adding the Kingdom Building rules on top of RA, not sure how its going to turn out, but should be entertaining.
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Great work on the encounter table Aux! I copied it all to a Word doc for future use. I am sure I will run RA again.
Thanks brvheart - going to update it and re-post it here along with the Frogemoth lands. Just have been hammering away on writing a Gamma World module (and rules update) - should put out the new tables later this week.
I wonder how anyone else convinced their players that there was just one level to the Mouth of Doom without coming right out and telling them.
Hello, anyone out there?
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I wonder how anyone else convinced their players that there was just one level to the Mouth of Doom without coming right out and telling them.
Not getting it.
Are you asking "How do I convince my players that MoD is only one level and not tied to RA proper"? Or that the MoD is just single level, low level dungeon that won't hurt you too much?
What are you trying to do here silverhair?
My players are wondering if MoD is more than one level. They know it ties to Ra but not whether it is multilevel itself or just one level with connections to RA.
I don't really want to come right out and say,"MoD is just one level," so I was wondering how others handled passing that information on "in game".
Does that help?
BTW it has already claimed 2 PC's. One from the Centipedes and one from the Fire Cobra.
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Well, technically (at least according to RA) the 2nd level of MoD is the Demon's Gullet (2B) which is easily accessible via MoD.
The thing is (and this may help you), both of them are probably lower level/higher traffic dungeons that frequently get restocked by denizens - so the survival rate is higher than normal. Higher survival rate - means you can use rumors, survivor stories, etc, to communicate what you need to the players.
Of course it doesn't all need to be true.
Example (Info, plus rumor plus potential encounter)
The Mouth leads to the Gullet, the Demons Gullet - naturally of course. Though there's nothing natural about that place.
I can say that even on the first floor of the place it marks you (looks down at his mangled leg), not just your body...the place...it leaves a stain on your soul.
Yes the vermin, the little things....they sort of have a mind for the place - like it calls to them.
Nothing natural about it.
I remember the bastard monster who took my leg - the local tribes called him Druhgin Bloodjaw, a local villain with a massive war hammer who controlled the Mouth of Doom- don't know what he was - maybe a very large orc, a half-breed or even an Ogre. Normally I am good at figuring out things like that - awfully hard when you can't see for the blood in your eyes.
He kept the tribals and humans who threw in with his lot in check. Yes, he took my leg - nearly my life if it wasn't for Otto and Renark who drug me away while he was distracted. Mouth of Doom indeed."
Of course Drughin was murdered by his own men a few years back - and being an evil bastard he was reanimated as a zombie by the dark forces that fuel that place. Maybe an Ogre zombie that matches the description of Drughin in room 1C-24 (Empty room).
So with the above rumor/story I am:
- Letting them know that there is one level (Mouth of Doom)
- Letting them know that there is a level below that is more dangerous (The Demons Gullet)
- Detailing some potential encounters there that fit the told story: Giant Rats and Ants (vermin), Bandits
- Hinting at a potential foe (which is altered - but still rewards players for research). How our Ogre villain ended up also tells a story about the violent and evil nature of Rappan Athuk.
A saying I use in Gamma World which also applies to RA:
The Ancients used to have a saying - "Only the strong survive, ...but in Rappan Athuk even the strong die".
Silverhair, I wrote out the above details in bullet points as point of record for others not because I think you don't understand. I would like this to serve as a one-stop shop for RA DMs.
Thanks, Auxmaulous. The other information you have provided has been useful. I agree that there is a need for a central source for GM's of RA to share information. BTW I have picked up the first 2 expansions for RA and Cyclopean Deeps. The RA one is very good. My players are having trouble trying to decide where to go next. There is so much stuff to explore.
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Thanks, Auxmaulous. The other information you have provided has been useful. I agree that there is a need for a central source for GM's of RA to share information. BTW I have picked up the first 2 expansions for RA and Cyclopean Deeps. The RA one is very good. My players are having trouble trying to decide where to go next. There is so much stuff to explore.
Yeah, the way I am going to run it is probably not as one campaign but a series of adventures with a few different sets of PC (same playing group) exploring different areas. Just by volume of xp and gear I will need to break this down for different parties at different levels.
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In the next week I will also be updating the Zelkor's Ferry (Western Environs) encounter table from earlier in the thread and adding in an "Area 1" Swampland encounter table (based around what is at Wilderness Encounter Location 1) focused on low to mid level encounters w/some foreshadowing on the big bad.
Swamplands Encounters so far (keeping in mind that these will be for 1st-5th level)
Boggards vs. Tsathar - yes, I run both similar creatures in my world as genetic variants off of a progenitor frog race. And of course these demon worshiping savages hate each other. So plenty of mixed combat encounters as the brutes fight and all out war for the attention of the Herald of the Frog God (the Frogemoth). May even sneak in a low CR demon or two on the re-write.
Diseased and dying cultist from the Cloister march to offer themselves to Frog God of the swamp as living sacrifices. Of course, these suicidal loons would love to sacrifice themselves stopping interlopers who trespass on the Herald's unholy land.
Need to also write up a debilitating disease that deforms the body over time, while slowly changing the victim into hunched, amphibious freak.
Multiple write of up cannibalistic Frogemoth Tadpoles! Favorite prey - each other, after that - anything else alive. Of course the Frogemoth hunts these, so an encounter with a Phase II or III tadpole means the mutant monstrosity may not be far behind.
I'm thinking about also putting in a lone, serial killer type swamp Ogre or Bugbear - Ranger/Assassin . An homage to Creepy/Eerie comic books - a big murderous yet stealthy and silent brute with a belt of scalps that kills anyone that crosses his path in the swamp - cultist or not! Could also be a good ranger vs. ranger contest - either the PC ranger is tracking him or they know that they are being tracked by someone who is very, very bad and they need to throw him of their trail or they are going to die.
Plus I am thinking about adding in a neutral NPC group of traders called the Bagmen (something from my Gamma World game). Basically mid-level and up NPC guild who are well armed, who travel and trade throughout the forest and swamp areas. Their caravans can serve as a source to trade, get info, be attacked (by evil PCs) or other scenario tie-ins. Of course they do trade with local humanoids and are even tolerated by a few of the cults in the region - as long as they don't take sides. They do not carry a magic mart around with them, but if items are requested they will "try an fill the order" and will make an effort to meet up with the party at a future time and a set location.
If anyone has any other suggestions for the Swamplands or Zelkor's Ferry encounter tables I will try and incorporate them in.
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I have a player running a Magus, a Tiefling no less. Well, to get him his Black Blade I have a Sacred Killer tracking him and the party that they will encounter soon. Also, this PC has amnesia. He doesn't recall anything prior to becoming conscious outside of Zelkor's Ferry. The Sacred Killer was sent by the Architect of RA to ensure this PC never remembers anything about his previous life in RA.
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Aux: for the "hunted" abouve I put in my vote for something using the bugbear feat where it smells fear. I think there's another feat where you can intimidate w/out needing to be seen.
Couple that with traps that deal Bleed damage or Ability damage, namely Con. Finally traps that cripple movement. Force the PCs to get maimed, lose blood or slowly get weaker, all the while have them making saves against fear or at least being demoralized through Intimidate.
This is how I ran a bogeyman type in an old game. The bugbear was blind, ONLY beng able to track by scent. He had poisoned gas to deal Con damage and another for halucinations; he had a couple areas with caltrops or bear traps; he took unarmed, a couple levels of rogue and Bleeding Attack so he'd dart out, slam from behind and deliver a brutal, bleeding punch but then fade away leaving you to waste heling skills/powers on the bleed or just keep bleeding.
There were also signs all over. Kids he'd tortured and removed their eyes replacing them with mirror shards. There was grafiti in blood "Old Pogolo Peeps, he crawls and he creeps..." and even a creepy little nursery rhyme the kids in town sang.
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Good stuff Hoover, I may poach bits for the new tables if thats ok for you.
Ive made enough headway in my Gamma World robot rules and adventure writing that I can hopefully update the tables in the next few days.
I did have another idea though, using random tables to generate bounties, tasks, missing persons, wanted criminals, etc, to be placed throughout the Zelkor Ferry area - with actual posters placed in town. Some would be random red herring leads, others can be tied to the expanded random encounter table while the rest is tied to existing keyed encounters and of course, the evil that is Rappan Athuk.
Thoughts?
EDIT: One good thing about a tool like this is that can be a very good way to steer players to specific locations within RA, and may pull together some of those random elements to cohesiveness.
Keeping in mind that cultist of the Frog God and Hecate may utilize bounties to compel actions against the predominatly Orcus cult controlled territory. A proxy war with the pcs being used to unknowingly bring the fight to the enemy.
Just some ideas I wanted to get out there.
While using your random tables it has caused my players to mention that they have an excess of leads and rumors to try to follow. I know they don't have to follow every lead but they don't know that. To me having all of those rumors floating around and having NPC's drop hints of places they could explore just makes the area more real and come alive. It makes it a place that they could explore for years in real time and decades in game time.
RA has been updated to the Pathfinder rules set. It has also been expanded to go from level 1 to level 20+. There is a RA Expansion that has some lower level encounters that is separate from the main book. Retail wise the main book is about $100 with the Expansion at $34.99.
Here is the link to the FGG website that covers RA.
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I don't believe that the downloadable codes work, but I do believe that much of that content has been added to the re-issues of the material as they get updated to PF (I may be wrong on this).
Between RA Reloaded and the RA from the kickstarter we are talking several new levels of content. I don't have RA reloaded in front of me, but I can tell you off the top of my head that I can count several new levels and environs.
Two large (and dangerous) environs - not just encounter listings but full scenarios
at least 10 new levels (a few low level)
I may be off a level or two, but the new level content is impressive over RA Reloaded - I will have to check the page count vs. the two get home.
While the RA Expansion book has:
Two full standalone scenarios (Castle Calaelen and Face in the Frost)
A new community (Hell's Hamlet)
3 part low-middle level dungeon (Tunnels of Terror)
New Level (Dead Bury the Dead)
Dotting for interest.
Friend just bought the PDF so I could run it. Was thinking of having them gen stats by rolling 18d6 assign 3 dice per stat. We normally do point buy but I'm thinking of something different for this, haven't delved into this thread yet but I will so any other suggestions for stat gen?
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Aux, I actually did a count of the levels of the PF RA. There are 15 numbered levels, but if you count all the lettered levels there are a total of 52 levels. That's without the addins from the Expansion.
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For me (at least) I think stat gen decisions come from where you got into gaming. I come in from back in the day so we do 4d6 (as softer version of 3d6) and I let the players pick where they want to assign their stats. 18d6 an letting players align is considerably more generous than roll 3d6, in order.
This adventure is difficult. There are parts where everything is not level appropriate and the players will curb stomp the threats. And then there are parts that are not level appropriate where the players will die horribly.
I state the above because you know your players better than anyone else. So if they are used to living be more generous with the rolls or allow a higher PB (maybe 20 PB). If they are willing to have high turnover and think that's part of the fun - then I would reign in either PB or stat dice array.
For my group we used 20 PB. We have already had 2 PC deaths and they haven't finished Mouth of Doom which is not actually part of RA, just a lead-in to it.
See that's the thing my group is generally a "high" power group so I was trying to think of a different way to do stats this way around. We usually use rather high point buys while also batting above our grade so we have a little more creative room for characters. Me and a friend did a couple of sample 18d6 rolls to see how I'd turn out. Now understand that while I have rolled using the 4d6 method in the past I utterly hate rolling for stats because I have horrid dice luck. Yet I'm intrigued by the choice of stacking for balance or stacking for stats.
The other is going for some kind of stat array such as 15,14,13,12,11,10. This limits both upper stats and lower stats.
Ieshea, you may want to contact Skeeter Green at FGG just to find out if the download codes are invalid. His email is: skeetyrbug@gmail.com.
He can also help with any other questions you might have. Just realize he doesn't sit at his computer waiting on emails.
BTW the PDF of the updated RA is about $60.
This adventure is difficult. There are parts where everything is not level appropriate and the players will curb stomp the threats. And then there are parts that are not level appropriate where the players will die horribly.
Aux I hope the players aren't dying horribly at your table. Their characters, sure, but otherwise there might be something else at play here.
For serious though this is a tough megadungeon, even for veteran players. I stole a couple levels merging them whole hog into a megadungeon I was running turning my campaign into a modified RA. In that instance I gave 4d6, re-roll 1's and starting gold of 150 GP/person. I had 2 PC deaths early on, and these were players confident in taking on CR+3 fights even AFTER a couple fights in the day.
I would urge all GMs to warn your players: build your characters well, understand all of the rules of fight AND flight in whatever system you're running, and most of all keep track of all the exits, even if one's a rat's tunnel.
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I do remember there is a mirror site out there somewhere that you can still use those codes and get the downloads. I used it as recently as last year after I got a grab bag and went looking for the site with my new goodies. I remember it had something to do with archive pages or something like that. RPG archives, maybe? Please post for all if you find it...
You can download the old product support stuff via the Wayback Machine
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This adventure is difficult. There are parts where everything is not level appropriate and the players will curb stomp the threats. And then there are parts that are not level appropriate where the players will die horribly.Aux I hope the players aren't dying horribly at your table. Their characters, sure, but otherwise there might be something else at play here.
They die at my table, if only in their hearts.
No really, my gang of players are ruthless jerks (Gamma was a blast last night) and they love the challenge. When I mentioned I would be running RA soon (so I will have a ton of content to post, just need a way to get links up for maps) they said they would love a good dungeon bash. I need some downtime from Gamma World since that is a work in progress and I need a break to develop the game more... RA will be the best solution.
I would urge all GMs to warn your players: build your characters well, understand all of the rules of fight AND flight in whatever system you're running, and most of all keep track of all the exits, even if one's a rat's tunnel.
This has been something that I have wanted to address (mechanically) for a very long time. Running PF old school style, I think there should be better rules for fleeing. As it stands it really isn't an option. I like the chase rules but something needs to be fleshed out for creative combat breakoffs which can then lead to a chase (and thus, the chase rules).
I need to really look at this.
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While using your random tables it has caused my players to mention that they have an excess of leads and rumors to try to follow. I know they don't have to follow every lead but they don't know that. To me having all of those rumors floating around and having NPC's drop hints of places they could explore just makes the area more real and come alive. It makes it a place that they could explore for years in real time and decades in game time.
Thanks silverhair I really do appreciate the positive feedback.
To the point, that is my intention with all the extra stuff - immersion. I am a strong proponent of sandbox games and campaigns, again going back to my Gamma World game (2nd game I learned after AD&D) it is all about sandbox exploration. Unfortunately sandbox games get a bad rap around here - unfocused, no plot, etc. I don't buy it. I've run sandbox style games for years, if you have compelling npcs with motivation - a sandbox game can be the best kind of game. The npcs are the foil, the plot, the movers - and all taking place in an open world can be incredibly rewarding experience.A well designed sandbox environs map - supplemented with events, omens, site based encounters, detailed "semi-random" encounters, detailed NPCs, rumors and plenty of good encounter tables makes the best type of game (IMO). You can still have mini-linear adventures in a sandbox campaign, and with the proper lead-ins it happens very naturally and without feeling forced.
My opinion at least.
Our last session of Iron Gods was after a session of RA. We got to talking about the encounter they had with some Black Skeletons (which I ran incorrectly I might add). I happened to mention that I always give the targets max HP. That seemed to upset that nights GM as he said he didn't do that. I do it so the encounters last more than a round or two.
So in short order I'm about to begin this as per an earlier post. My question now is has anyone done this over a VTT? It seems to be a daunting task to get the material online. I'm having a bit of trouble deciding between roll20 and fantasy grounds, I'm just not sure which one would make the easiest transition to the VTT? Any opinions on the matter would be most helpful.
The Frog stuff is available to buy if using d20Pro via their Marketplace
Well now thanks, guess I have another choice in the mix.
I did have another idea though, using random tables to generate bounties, tasks, missing persons, wanted criminals, etc, to be placed throughout the Zelkor Ferry area - with actual posters placed in town. Some would be random red herring leads, others can be tied to the expanded random encounter table while the rest is tied to existing keyed encounters and of course, the evil that is Rappan Athuk.
Thoughts?EDIT: One good thing about a tool like this is that can be a very good way to steer players to specific locations within RA, and may pull together some of those random elements to cohesiveness.
Keeping in mind that cultist of the Frog God and Hecate may utilize bounties to compel actions against the predominatly Orcus cult controlled territory. A proxy war with the pcs being used to unknowingly bring the fight to the enemy.Just some ideas I wanted to get out there.
Would love to see this.
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In RA they don't mention appropriate party levels. They call it Difficulty levels. Basically means the same though.
Rappan Athuk Listing of Difficulty level
Ground Level - 7
Level 0A - 9/15
Level 0B - 8
Level 1 - 8
Level 1A - 10
Level 1B - 4-6
Level 1C - 1-2
Level 2 - 6
Level 2B - 1-3
Level 3 - 8
Level 3A - 9
Level 3B - 20+
Level 3C - 3-5
Level 4 - 7/10
Level 4A - 5/11
Level 4B - 6-7
Level 5 - 9
Level 5A - 9
Level 5B - 7
Level 6 - 8
Level 6A - 10
Level 7 - 12
Level 7A - 10
Level 8 - 9
Level 8A - 10
Level 8B - 7-10
Level 9 - 12
Level 9A - 12
Level 9B - 10
Level 9C - 12
Level 9D - 10
Level 10 - 12
Level 10A - 12
Level 10B - 12
Level 10C - 12
Level 11 - 9
Level 11A - 15
Level 12 - 13
Level 12A - 12
Level 12B - 10
Level 12C - 7
Level 13 - 15
Level 13A - 12
Level 13B - 9
Level 13C - 11
Level 14 - 15
Level 14A - 15
Level 14B - 17
Level 14C - 18+
Level 15 - 20+
Here is a listing of the Difficulty levels of RA. I don't know if it will make any sense if you don't have access to the map that shows where the levels are in relation to each other.Couldn't figure out how to hide the list.
Thank you very much. I have the sideview of the whole thing. I'm gonna try and figute out a more or less linear way through it. I Kinda want that my players experience every area somehow ;)
Are you running this in person or over the Internet? I've begun converting the levels into roll20's 70 px, so that it matches up perfectly. Whoever made the maps at 10 squares really made it hard to directly import, despite how well the maps are done.
Onyxlion, I have a request. Could you send me any of the maps that you converted please? Trying to draw the maps from what's in the book is very frustrating and they don't always match up. My email is in my profile page.