Rappan Athuk - Starting, DM Set up, Questions, Advice and Stories / Run Through Experiences


Advice and Rules Questions

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brvheart, don't forget that the Dam-Thing is immune to weapon damage. Which confused my players they thought that magical weapons would harm it. A +x weapon wouldn't but the Flaming weapon would do fire damage is how I ran it. They managed to defeat it, but I have 7 PC's in my game, a 4 member party better run.

Scarab Sages

Pathfinder Maps Subscriber

Ah, the Dam-Thing. My group ran from it and never returned but still tell stories of it...


They got to the steam pillar and one (the Rogue) got hallucinations, and the Witch Doctor got invisible from the steam. Then they found the Wish Statue. The Magus got a level and the Theurge got swallowed. They had to destroy the statue to get their Healer out.

Scarab Sages

Pathfinder Maps Subscriber

I did think you could destroy that statue. My group lost someone to it also.


As with the Dam-Thing it has Hardness 10 so you have to do more than 10 points of damage to hurt it. The strange thing is it doesn't attack back. At least I didn't have it attack back.


It does have 5 magic missiles, 1 per round. One of my groups destroyed it also after it swallowed one of their group.

Scarab Sages

Pathfinder Maps Subscriber

Ah, maybe I did not realize because my group decided not to even mess with it after it swallowed the swashbuckler.

They were only in the room for about five minutes.


I let them get their party member out as it does not say it actually does damage, although I presume suffocation would apply quickly.

Scarab Sages

Pathfinder Maps Subscriber

I imagine suffocation would take place in your CON score x2 rounds, as drowning does.

My group never even tried.

They just took off.


I started it Sept of 2012 so the details are a tad fuzzy now.


One of my players had asked if I had any idea of how long our game would take. I told him with only playing twice a month probably 3 years at least.


Has anyone updated the maps from RA? Specifically removing the traps and the secret doors.


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Just finished a session in which the Magus and the Rogue both died. They are in the Gut at The Last One Inn. They took the suites and died.

Just certified my Killer GM status. Huzzah!


As my group had two PC's die last session they allowed Ulman Dark to attempt to raise one and he succeeded. But the other they chose to journey to Endhome to get the Magus raised and do some hiring of Mage's and other assorted miscellaneous things.

They have decided to journey by ship. We will see what happens next session.

Killer GM #0706


Also curious as .@silverhair2008 mentioned about player maps without traps and secret doors


I only have a few levels updated for secret doors and traps.


Hey, Guys, my group traveled to Endhome to get their Magus raised after he slept in one of the deluxe rooms at the Last One Inn. They heard about a couple of towers and have cleaned out one near Endhome but traveled a bit north to the Wizard's Library. The final treasure piece is the Ring of Rajick. It has a couple of functions but its main function is to cast Lesser Geas on the wearer to get him/her to search for the Book of Korbus. Now FGG has left it up to the GM to place the book. However, I don't do real well on off the cuff thinking. So I am asking if anyone has any ideas. I am using the Lost Lands campaign setting not Golarion.


Well i would place it some place where you would like your group to go! ...I know obvious answer, and not much help... but that's where i would start myself: asking, where would I as GM really love for my group to go? Personally I would probably put in somewhere interesting in Rappan Athuk!


They started in RA and intend to return as soon as they finish this tower.


They finished the Wizard's Tower, but it cost them. The top floor took their Rogue.


The Lost Lands and Pathfinder in general is tough on rogues period.


They made it back to ZK. Their Scarred Witch Dr decided to leave to pursue other opportunities. They acquired a Battle Scion and a Shaman. They are in the Gut and have just finished off the Plantation keepers.

Tonight they continue on toward the actual levels of RA. How many will survive to make it there?


They finally made it to the 2nd level of RA proper. They met and defeated Saracek. They have yet to meet Marthek or Ambros. They will probably meet them on January 8th in our next session. Where they go afterward is open for them to decide. RA makes a GM's job very hectic as we have to prepare for any change in direction. Oh I am preparing level 6B and 7B from RA Expansions and the KS exclusive from the RA KS.


Just a suggestion, My group was on Level 2 going toward Marthek's lair. I changed the write up a bit. I added some enhanced Black Skeleton, and a couple of Amber Skeletons as Marthek's body guards. It created a challenging encounter that threatened death but wasn't over powering. The reason behind the change was they met Saracek when he was alone and it didn't take long to overcome him. If there had been some Black Skeletons or even a couple of Amber skeletons it might have been different.


I had a recent encounter with a group that also walked all over Marthek. He was dropped in a single round without harming any of the PCs. Saracek at least lasted a couple rounds and did a little something before he got trashed too. I think your suggestion for an upgrade to both encounters will work well since there is more of it in the closet of darkness.
Does anyone else have any suggested modifications?


If your players are anything like mine they will probably walk all over the unmodified creatures in the book. Here is a possible upgrade, adjust their stats by 2 points. That isn't enough to drastically change the encounter but may create a bit more of a challenge for your players.


On the 29th they will ascend to Level 1. Let's hope they survive. They are level 6/7 now and they had a request. They don't feel like wasting time going to levels below where they are now. Unless it pertains to the storyline. I can understand their feelings. I've taken to not even running encounters vs Dire Rats. I see no sense in it. The only way a Dire Rat can hit any of them is on a natural 20.


Anyone have any answers to these questions? I sent them to FGG so if I get an answer back I can post the answers here if anyone else is interested.

1. How high is the ground level to the sea level? Reference page 41, how high is that cliff?
2. I see the Mausoleum is about 30-50 feet lower than the surrounding ground. What is the surrounding area like is it rolling hills or fairly flat?
3. Did you ever establish how deep each level is? I recall level 2 has a rat tunnel that travels 80 feet to the surface so that puts it about 80 feet down but what about the other levels? How deep is level 15?
4. Does the river that runs through level 9 empty into the sea? Am I to presume that it is at sea level?


So for sharing sake, just wanted to add on here that my level 6 party just went to fight Saracek, when he had a Babau and several Darkness enhanced black skeletons with him. That was bad news.

I'm happy that we escaped with all of the PC bodies. Shared Unholy Smite is a serious damage dealer.


1. Up to I guess, but I would say 800-1000 ft
2. rolling hills
3. each are different, level 15 is 5 miles? I think below ground level if I recall reading right. Something insane like that!


The party went into Level 3 from Room 7 on Level 2. They got across the stream and found the "hill" on that side of the stream. Their Shaman discovered the hidden stairway and made it to the top. The Battle Scion went to the door and lifted it. That is when the Symbol of Insanity took out the Magus, the Cleric and the Theurge. The Spell-Less Ranger went in to check out the room and when he opened the casket the Fireball went off so he grabbed the Staff. It got passed around between the Shaman and the Theurge.

The Symbol happened because the Shaman neglected to check for traps.


Okay fellow GM's I have a question for you. My players just entered Level 3. They found the hidden stairway and got zapped by the Symbol of Insanity trap on the tomb door. The Spell-Less Ranger went in, opened the casket, got Fireballed, and grabbed the staff he saw inside before he left. Now he got hit with the Curse:

Curse of the Archmage
Type curse; Save none
Effect Anyone who leaves the room with any of these items will never able to touch treasure again. Coins and gems cause one point of damage per 5 gp value as they are transformed into lead and glass. This curse
can only be removed by a dispel magic followed by a limited wish, wish, or miracle, and then a remove curse. If the curse is removed, the accursed individual is subjected to a geas to destroy the evil temple on
Level 12 of Rappan Athuk, which must be completed within a year and a day or the individual begins to incurably lose 1 point of Constitution per month until the individual dies. A character killed by this curse
cannot be raised.

Now my question is if he passes the Staff to another character is that character hit with the same curse?


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

If I were the GM, I'd say no, it wouldn't, since the curse affects "anyone who leaves the room with any of these items". It's not the items themselves that are cursed, but the act of removing them.


Agreed

Scarab Sages

Third-ed


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After rereading the sidebar and thinking it over I tend to agree that it only affects the one who removes the item.


Does anyone have any advice for the numerous pit traps in hallways throughout 1c (mouth of doom) - I'm assuming these are standard 10 foot traps.


You are correct. All of them are not labeled but I ran that all of them were standard 10 foot deep pits.


brvheart wrote:
It does have 5 magic missiles, 1 per round. One of my groups destroyed it also after it swallowed one of their group.

You and I are reading that entry very differently - I read it as one magic missile per round - 5 missiles per attack. O.o slightly different lethality there.


Okay, I need some suggestions. There are three specially marked Daggers that are needed to enter Level 3B. They are conceivably hidden somewhere in RA.

Has anyone used the Daggers or have you planned out where you will put them so they can be found?


silverhair2008 wrote:

Okay, I need some suggestions. There are three specially marked Daggers that are needed to enter Level 3B. They are conceivably hidden somewhere in RA.

Has anyone used the Daggers or have you planned out where you will put them so they can be found?

Well the oracle should 'know' where they are - I would say my response is based upon how you plan to use them?

If you want them to be 'found' naturally I'd put one early on in a random horde. If you want them to be searched for I'd hide them down in the lower levels and let the players research/legend lore/etc. to figure out where to go. Some of it would depend on how deep into the dungeon they've already gone. If you want to use them as a source for adventure I'd put one in the Tsar, one in the pyramid tomb where the sword of air resides, and one down with one of the liches in RA.

Given the danger that's below that I'd keep the things well hidden. Then again if you are trying to get your players into the 'don't go down unknown holes unless you are really ready for them' angle you could put them in minor areas and let them see how bad things can get. Are your planning to run this section as it's own dungeon - or are you just wanting your players to find the daggers as they go and perhaps find the secret area?


I am trying to plan ahead a bit. My players' are level 8 at present but I don't want to wait til the last minute. They have met the Oracle but didn't ask him anything. I was thinking of letting them find the daggers in their exploration when the are able to survive the level 15 difficulty areas.


I would make at the very least the last one in one of those areas.... it wouldn't hurt to have the other two earlier and give them something to mull over/research/investigate/wonder about.


Last session the party decided to use the river flowing through the Purple Wurm level and to take the left fork. That will take them to the bottom of The Well. So let's see who survives the trip to the bottom of the well.


The party is going into Level 7A. So does anyone have a suggestion on how to lay out the Mazes?


I've always found mazes a great idea conceptually that plays out terribly at the table.

My preference (as a player) is to either have it totally run as a narrative, or to have a very abstract system (a few intelligence checks or something) - failure resulting in a long time in the maze and a few wandering encounters, success being quick and/or no encounters and spectacular success being an opportunity for something good (whether treasure/place to rest/secret knowledge).

Doing it "in real time" always starts interesting and moody but ends up being tedious, in my experience.


I am looking at this from the GM's point of view.


I would never want to run those particular mazes - it would be ridiculously boring. I like Steve's idea - maybe use the chase mechanics from the GMG? Set up the maze as a series of checks and challenges - failing enough checks or not moving through the challenges fast enough triggers encounters.


We sort of used a narrative, I said which way and approximately how far each stretch of hallway went and when there was a choice they told me which way they turned. I would ask for d20 rolls sporadically against the random encounter chart.One of the players was trying to map where they were. But the funniest thing that happened was during an encounter with a Mustard Jelly.

I have a house rule that if you confirm a critical with a second 20, then you roll again. If you hit on the third roll it is an automatic kill of the target. Well last night the Magus rolled two 1's in a row. He rolled a third time for another 1, so in keeping with standards he killed himself. They had purchased a Breath of Life scroll and used it. But I still got credit for certifying my Killer GM status.


Ok, looking for some rules/advice here. Our party is currently holding the lower temple of orcus and expect to actually finish out the 24 hour camp needed to hallow the temple.

We found out through our scouting that the Priests of Orcus are using level 10 as a staging area to move enemies up to level 9 and potentially gather forces to attack.

Once our camp of the lower temple is over, we'd like to move and clear level 10.

Does anyone know what would happen if brown mold encountered the lava on level 10? Would the instantaneous growth be enough to harden the lava on the surface into a crust, and eliminating the extreme temperatures on the level?

Any ideas on the impact of brown mold vs. lava/environmental heat?

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