So as always my players did the unthinkable. After successfully retrieving Gerrol and Khonnir Baine, they used the resurrection scroll from the reward to resurrect Gerrol. I wanted to reward my players with some exp for this. Initially I thought 1600 since that was the amount for khonnir. But with more thought this was a very selfless act and with them using a 7th level spell scroll.
Do you guys think this is enough exp or not enough? Or should I add in an extra different reward?
Ah, in my campaign, the players were mosty residents of Torch, and they returned the scroll of resurrection to the town. I forgot to mention that in my belatedly-written chronicles (Iron Gods among Scientists, comment #30), but I did mention:
Councilor Bazlundi Otterbie paid Boffin for the recovery of Khonnir. Boffin was startled, for she had misheard the reward as 400 gp, not the full 4000 gp. Boffin and Val donated their shares, 800 gp each, to Councilor Otterbie's niece, Emelia, to help Gerrol's resurrection.
I had changed Gerrol Sonder to a gunslinger. In their backstories, Gerrol was the friend who had taught Boffin and Val to shoot. Emelia Otterbie was gathering donations from friends and family to pay for a Raise Dead for Gerrol. The local clerics were donating Gentle Repose spells for free to give her time to take the body to a big city with high-level clerics.
I didn't give my players any reward for that, except that they became extra lucky in Torch. Everyone liked them, no-one was suspicious of them, because they were such good people. Their reputation was ironclad. The party liked to return to Torch for downtime and do their crafting there.
My players don't care about loot or XP for their characters. They like narrative control, the ability to shape their characters' stories in their own way.
That’s interesting I’m working on a set of 6 games for the card house in my future campaign I’ll have to share it here once I’m done.
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I'm a first time GM and have chosen Iron Gods to be my first game. I made a mistake and trapped myself and am now having problems coming up with a solution to undo it. It isn't big but I would like the fix to feel organic.
Basically, when the group got through the cavern one of the members started going through the doors heading into the habitat while the others were still fighting off the Gremlins. The AP mentioned the group getting the Silverdisk Hall invite before heading into the habitat so I tried pushing hints at the 6hr time limit but really they had been rushing through the cavern so the time limit wasn't a real issue. So, I did this dumb thing and said the second door into the habitat was closed. Now I don't know how to give them incentive to go back and fix the closed door issue.
Thoughts?
I'm a first time GM and have chosen Iron Gods to be my first game. I made a mistake and trapped myself and am now having problems coming up with a solution to undo it. It isn't big but I would like the fix to feel organic.
My own party took the events in Fires of Creation heavily out of written order themselves. Though I am an experienced GM, I had to call a break to read ahead when they jumped ahead in the first game session. See Iron Gods among Scientists. My players are so creative that they routinely derail campaigns with clever solutions: they were even more surprising in the second game session.
Basically, when the group got through the cavern one of the members started going through the doors heading into the habitat while the others were still fighting off the Gremlins. The AP mentioned the group getting the Silverdisk Hall invite before heading into the habitat so I tried pushing hints at the 6hr time limit but really they had been rushing through the cavern so the time limit wasn't a real issue. So, I did this dumb thing and said the second door into the habitat was closed. Now I don't know how to give them incentive to go back and fix the closed door issue.
Thoughts?
I am not 100% clear on "the second door into the habitat." We have a doorway at A8, The Metal Wall, that goes into section B, Habitat Dome, and a doorway at A11, Jazvit’s Lair, that goes to a long hallway to section D, Engineering Deck. I guess that the second door into the habitat is the one between B1, Rubble-Choked Hall, and B2, Guardian on Standby.
You have several options.
1) You could have the party find an e-pick. You could easily add one to Jazvit’s Lair (A11), perhaps hidden inside other loot to explain why they didn't see it immediately. Finding one in the rubble in the Rubble-Choked Hall (B1) is also barely plausible. Then if someone in your party can pick locks, he or she can open the door.
2) A black market technology dealer in Torch could sell the party an e-pick or an access card.
3) Val Baine could give them an access card from her father's secret stash of technology.
4) Someone who speaks Androffan could talk to the Repair Drone in B2 through the door and ask it to open the door.
5) The door is unlocked but stuck. A Strength check designed to be within the Strength of the strongest party member can open it.
6) I switched the reward for retrieving Gerrol Sonder's body from masterwork weapons to an adamantine pickaxe. That can cut through the door.
An excuse for the door being closed despite Khonnir Baine's second expedition going through it is that the repair drone could have closed it.
I don't understand the "incentive to go back" part. Don't the players want to finish the quest? Some might want to save Torch. Some might want the reward. Some might want to rescue poor Khonnir Baine, especially if cute, helpful Val Baine begs them. Some might want to see more alien technology.
The time limit on the Water Breathing spell turns out to not be serious. Once the underwater caves are mapped out, returning to the surface of the Weeping Pond is an easy swim check. My players calculaed the difficulty when they had to get unconscious Khonnir Baine through the water.
My party ended up skipping the Silverdisk Hall invitation altogether - they were already at war with Garmen and the Ropefists halfway through the second session, so it never came up.
Out of curiosit, has anyone created a rogue-ish NPC for AP 1? I'm looking for something around level 2 or 3 that could potentially be a NPC the group could ask for help. I'm sure I could find something in the codex but was curious if anyone built something more specific for this AP.
TIA!
Its not an NPC, but one of the PCs in my game is a human Numerian scavenger rogue. I can ask the player if he is Ok with me sharing his character for use as an NPC. The group is 9th level, but writing up his second level stats shouldn't be difficult.
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Its not an NPC, but one of the PCs in my game is a human Numerian scavenger rogue. I can ask the player if he is Ok with me sharing his character for use as an NPC. The group is 9th level, but writing up his second level stats shouldn't be difficult.Out of curiosit, has anyone created a rogue-ish NPC for AP 1? I'm looking for something around level 2 or 3 that could potentially be a NPC the group could ask for help. I'm sure I could find something in the codex but was curious if anyone built something more specific for this AP.
TIA!
That would be awesome if he is ok with that. Thanks!
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Just wanted to share this little bit of flavor I added in my game.
Fortunately, another player was able to administer cure light potions and save him. However, during his unconscious near death experience he took a ride through the eyes of Hetuath. It ends when Hetuath is confronted by Kohnir and his team. Check this out:
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While Unconscious-Dream
While unconscious and nearing permanent death, you experienced a kind of out-of-body moment. However, this wasn't an experience that felt like it was the present day or even on the same planet you have come to know.
It begins with you waking up in your hut as the chieftain of your tribe. As you get up you prepare yourself for an important speech. Then you exit your hut to face the people waiting for you eagerly outside, however, they look different. These four armed alien race with large heads hold their friends, family, and children close as you begin to address them.
The scene then appears to fast forward and as you wake up lying on the ground you (or the new you) realize you are in an unrecognizable place. As you emerge from the cave, the land you are at is similar to your home but somehow you are unable to travel as far as you once could as if you are a fish caught in a bowl. You look up and you see the red sun from "your" home world.
The time fast forwards once again and while sitting down having a casual conversation with a few of your tribe members, the small world around you you have come to know begins to shake and tremble. The sky oddly flickers and eventually goes out as if it wasn't even there to begin with. You all embrace each other and pray to your God as you all fear the end of times has finally come.
Fast forward again and you are with your tribe in the large desert room as the "real you" found it when you first arrived. You are passing out rations to the few survivors of your tribe of the event you have come to call The World's End. These seemingly edible items were found in the areas with the large glowing table and the room with 4 large pillars. Days later, you and the last of your tribe begin to slowly die from some unknown sickness. In a fit of anger you shake your 4 fists and yell out towards the sky in some language you have never heard before.
Fast forward one last time. You are sitting in the room with 4 pillars brooding over the fate that has been bestowed upon you and the last of your tribe. A fate to live a never ending undead life, however, while the few of your tribe get to live mindlessly, you are tormented by the knowledge that all of this is somehow your fault. You then look up as the door opens and see this man.
-Insert picture of Khonir-
You smile as you rise from your seat and prepare to kill this stranger. You raise your arms to strike then...you wake up seeing your friend holding an empty vial and the recognizable taste of cure light potion rests on your lips.
So, I know it's easy to give a player a magical item that evolves over time (i.e. staff with spells the caster gains access to as they level up) but is there a way to do this same concept with tech? Anyone done this or have ideas of how this might work?
TIA!
While the concept of a "level" doesn't work directly, you could tie it to ranks in a skill say "Knowledge (engineering)". The idea being that someone can get more use out of an item the better they understand it.
For example: anyone can use a computer. But someone with skill in programming can get more out of a computer.
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So, I know it's easy to give a player a magical item that evolves over time (i.e. staff with spells the caster gains access to as they level up) but is there a way to do this same concept with tech? Anyone done this or have ideas of how this might work?
TIA!
While the concept of a "level" doesn't work directly, you could tie it to ranks in a skill say "Knowledge (engineering)". The idea being that someone can get more use out of an item the better they understand it.
For example: anyone can use a computer. But someone with skill in programming can get more out of a computer.
Interesting. So maybe make a device like a "tablet" which grants them access to other functions as they add knowledge (engineering) ranks?
Would need to figure out how to limit it's uses. Hmmm. Oh! Maybe make it solar powered. Takes 8 hours to charge in direct sunlight? This gives it so many charges (times it can be used) before it needs to be recharged.
So, I know it's easy to give a player a magical item that evolves over time (i.e. staff with spells the caster gains access to as they level up) but is there a way to do this same concept with tech? Anyone done this or have ideas of how this might work?
TIA!
While the concept of a "level" doesn't work directly, you could tie it to ranks in a skill say "Knowledge (engineering)". The idea being that someone can get more use out of an item the better they understand it.
For example: anyone can use a computer. But someone with skill in programming can get more out of a computer.
Interesting. So maybe make a device like a "tablet" which grants them access to other functions as they add knowledge (engineering) ranks?
Would need to figure out how to limit it's uses. Hmmm. Oh! Maybe make it solar powered. Takes 8 hours to charge in direct sunlight? This gives it so many charges (times it can be used) before it needs to be recharged.
Or, make it use batteries. A limited resource.
Also, since Starfinder does use levels for restricting equipment, there is president for treating the item just like magic.
When I played and then ran Iron Gods, I felt that it dropped plenty of loot and had several characters that wound up with more tech gear than their wealth by level. If you feel like your players are below the WBL guidelines, you can drop loot wherever you feel the need.
One thing to remember is that Sanvill Trett is an informant for the Technic League. If they trust him, then that is great. You can continue to leave him as a confidant, but once they gather a significant amount of technology or after they shut off the power converter/projector whatever it is called, you may want to have Trett try to steal it from them or confront them.
If your players have rescued Khonnir, then they should be ready to hunt down the power transmitter. Start playing up the headaches in town if you haven't already. Trett wants the players to find good technology, so if they aren't picking up on the clues to find the transmitter in town, you can use Trett to encourage them to track down Garmen's warehouse.
My advice through all of this is to keep Sanvill Trett in the background as an ally, doing as little as possible, if he ever accompanies the PCs. Once the PCs find the warehouse (follow the information on page 42 of the adventure), Trett can continue to encourage them to find the "purple-haired woman/android".
I had Trett offer to help the PCs during the end of the module to get them to go back into the ship beneath the city. Keep in mind, he is a full encounter on his own, so I had to have him ambush the players once they got beneath the town again and before they had an encounter with anything too dangerous below to avoid a potential party wipeout.
They should fight Trett and then want to push on to discover the "purple-haired woman/android". If they don't know about her, then you need to start dropping hints about people having seen her at the warehouse or by the lake or something to that effect.
If your party decides for whatever reason that they have no motivation or reason to go back beneath the city, then you can have Mayanda and her remaining thugs emerge from the ship and seek them out to recover the power transmitter.
Here is a piece of dialogue I used in her final encounter, "My master Hellion is one of the Lords of Rust. They are what you fleshlings might call deities or demigods. Think of them as. . . Iron Gods. . . for a new age."
If you've made it this far, keep pushing! You're almost there.
My PCs just beat the repair drone and I had it self destruct because it had been an easy first fight. The kobold bard now wants to gather the scrap and take it to the techno fence Sanvill Trett to sell.
How much would the very destroyed remains of a droid be worth?
How would you take advantage of the party interacting with Trett for the first time?
Personally I would not give them much money for the scrap. Scavenging can fund a life but shouldn't make you rich.
I would play Sanvil as helpful, maybe paying a slight bonus on top of anyone else, but making it clear he is a businessman not a charity. That makes him believerable but also encourages the party to return to him.
Seems like, as with many APs, the players quickly outgrow the purple gem of the plains Torch. As usual I over think these things, and the way the last session ended leaves me several directions to go. Sanvil was captured by the party after a failed ambush in the Black Hill Caves. Turned over to the Torch Guard he now sets in a cell. His future in currently unknown.
The Council doesn't know what to do with him for one reason, The Black Sovereign. Still ruled and heavily taxed by the palace 200 miles away put Torch in a tricky place. They were just interesting enough to tax but not enough for anything else. The habitat module and Sanvil put all that in play. If The Black Sovereign (Technic League) learns there is a large artifact under Torch they would surely level the town just to access it. How does the community access this boon of resources without alerting those that would take it from them?
With Sanvil his fate can also complicate this. If he is just put to death it could be seen as the cover up it is. If they hold a trial evidence would be shown to the Numerian judges who would tell their leader. Letting him go may eventual expose the artifacts existence as well.
The Habitat Module could be a great addition to Torch with it's secured protected space could be useful but would need to be kept a local secret.
Any ideas on how this could play out?
How would you take advantage of the party interacting with Trett for the first time?
Trust is the best advantage Sanvil has. Give him wants but have him respect the PCs. That way when you do betray them it will be totally unexpected.
My PCs just beat the repair drone and I had it self destruct because it had been an easy first fight. The kobold bard now wants to gather the scrap and take it to the techno fence Sanvill Trett to sell.
How much would the very destroyed remains of a droid be worth?
How would you take advantage of the party interacting with Trett for the first time?
Nothing. In pathfinder, bots and constructs are slagged unless it says something different in the creature entry.
How does the community access this boon of resources without alerting those that would take it from them?
The torch itself is an exceptional hot burning forge, the description says lots of starmetal smiths come there to do their work, so do smiths that work for Technic League. With plenty of decks of the main debris of the Divinity to explore and the taxes they grab from Torch Technic League does actually see no reason to change this status quo at all. Additionally Divinity should be full of habitat module size reactors and even bigger reactors up to the drive that creates wormholes.
i have a player that has decided to play a staff magus, i know there are some effective staves to add in, but i want to create a staff that has some of the spells from the technology guide that also acts as adamantine, any suggestions
Check out page 13.
When the gearsman weapon says plus resonance is it the weapons ability or is it the ability from the gearsman himself, basically I'm asking if the gearsman is using the charges in the neural inhibitor
I think "plus resonance" is referring to the gearsman's Charge Weapon ability. So the neural inhibitor deals the 1d6 bludgeoning plus the additional 1d6 electricity damage.
My staff magus player has a kasatha character, and we're about to enter the habitat dome, I had the idea of having her trigger some serious rage in Hetuath, but would love some ideas of what he would say to her
Maybe something about the PC being a traitor to their kind since Hetuath and the skeletons were experiments of a sort, while the PC is obviously not.
Is the Gearsman in area D7 shut down when the robot command core reboots, because it doesn't say it
To save on having to reread the module, where is the robot command core?
Is the Gearsman in area D7 shut down when the robot command core reboots, because it doesn't say itTo save on having to reread the module, where is the robot command core?
Found it. It's in D6 Robotics Lab. It says only drones and collector robots deactivate.
I've searched without success. Sorry if I missed answers to what I'm going to ask.
The Otterbies are a succeful family in Torch. Presumably there is a bunch of them, but we don't have a lot of details.
We have Bazlundie Otterbie, granddaughter of one of the founders, Orm Otterbie. She's one of the five town council members. N Female Human, aristocrat 3/expert 2.
Then we have Emelia Otterbie, a woman who was engaged to ill-fated Gerrol, whose remains can be found in the Black Hills Caves. Emelia's father is an unnamed weaponsmith who might reward the party if they bring back Gerrol's body.
Do we know:
- How Emelia and Bazlundie are related?
- Anything about the (even approximate) ages of these npcs?
- Emelia's father's name?
I can create my own answers; I just enjoy following the presented material when possible.
Thanks in advance for any help.
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Hi, Ben...the short answer is no. As authors for these adventures, we often paint in broad brush strokes, particularly with side NPC references. Only a small part of our word count goes towards that kind of stuff, and we intentionally leave a lot of it undefined so that GMs are free to adapt and adjust that extra material however they want as their campaigns progress. Many such NPCs never get used in any meaningful way (for some GMs and their players), whereas others become very meaningful due to PC interaction with them...and there's no way for us to anticipate how anyone's campaign will necessarily play out in that regard. So, we leave it undefined...and that's really just gray area where you can create your own answers to enhance and react to the story your game table is experiencing.
Hope that helps,
--Neil
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It super helps because I can stop searching :)
I totally appreciate the approach you're describing. I do have a plan.
Still, I wonder how you interpreted it in your game! (Or anyone else, in yours).