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Once players are done with scrapwall and have a ton of stuff they'd like to pawn off, most probably consider going to Chessed. There's not a whole lot on Chessed, except what's in Numeria, Land of Fallen Stars. If you want some great descriptions of the city and/or want a short scenario to throw in to get the players some more GP/XP, the PFS scenario 6-20 Returned to Sky is is set in/around Chessed and fits pretty well into Iron Gods.
I thought it was a great way to pad their pockets (since they had to pay 50% more for everything a extra GP is good) and get them a little more XP as well. It reminds them that the League is still a threat and it let my players get back into their characters after about a 6 month break.
I'm totally going to check that out, thanks Eric :-)
I am interested in that, though my characters have moved on from Chesed they use it as their base and bought property there. What is PFS?
PFS stands for Pathfinder Society
Question: is Redtooth's plan to destroy the receiver array (and the quest she gives the PCs) detailed at any point? I've found it mentioned in three different places, but every one seems to be referencing a quest that I haven't found.
Details:
Page 30 ("Receiver Array") reads in part "If there PCs are sent here by Redtooth to destroy the receiver array..." and explains how to do that.
But page 61 notes two things separately:
In the descriptive text, Redtooth's initial plan was to use rust monsters to undermine the Arena; the Receiver is not mentioned, and it notes that she hasn't settled on a final plan now that this isn't possible (which is hard to reconcile with page 26, where she has a plan that involves no rust monsters *and* involves two locations instead of one).
In the "campaign role" heading, Redtooth is noted as potentially giving several quests, including, "She could just as easily suggest [that the PCs] explore the territory of the Thralls of Hellion, since she's heard rumors that the Lords of Rust recently disbanded the gang in a fit of rage." Which would get the PCs to the receiver, but doesn't discuss - and doesn't eleswhere, except pp. 26 & 30? -- *destroying* the receiver.
There's more than enough detail that I can easily fill in the missing information, so this isn't really a problem, per se, I'd just love to make sure I'm not overlooking some piece of text tying those areas together (and therefore also that I'm not missing anything else about them).
The plan seems to include recovering the cylex from the haunted canyon, which kind of implies that Redtooth knows about that. But how?
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So I'm gonna start runnning this book soon, and I've been trying to understand Scrapwall a bit better. Here are my thoughts:
What does it look like?
An enormous scrapheap. We're talking mind-bogglingly sprawling big. Surrounding the thing with a siege is not realistic.
Getting in isn't easy; it's half super-smooth space surfaces and surfaces fused into glass by the heat of the impact, and very sharp edges. Climbing isn't impossible, and there are various tunnels, so an individual can go in and out unseen, but an assault with heavily armored troops is implausible.
The size of the place is also key to its society: it's so vast that there's room for a lot of gangs and weird individuals to carve out their own territory. It's too big for any gang to completely claim and patrol. Too many hiding places. Parts of it are very unhealthy, too, so a desperate (or radiation-resistant) person might hide there where saner minds won't follow.
Who lives there?
Generally, not upstanding citizens.
- The Steel Hawks are one of the classic gangs here. I see them as relatively heavily armored, with various jury-rigged vehicles, Road Warrior style. They use speed and heavy weaponry to raid the countryside and commit river piracy. Chesed would like to put a stop to it but Scrapwall provides them with a fortress to hole up in. In addition, the Hawks levy a toll on people who want to use the main entrance. As gangs go, they're relatively reliable. They don't really prey on individuals in Scrapwall, but don't think they're good people. They've got a strict hierarchy and this has kept them strong in the past. Now however it's being used against them because one of their leaders has gone insane (Birdfood), behaving more and more like a Smiler. An attempt to oust him was sabotaged by pressure from the Lords of Rust who took out the ringleader of the internal coup.
- Smilers are the chaotic evil counterpart to the Hawks. You don't have to be mad to join them; they can make that happen for you. These are much more like a cult or the Reavers from Firefly. They occasionally raid other parts of Scrapwall and prey on denizens that come too close to their turf. They used to be kept in check by the Steel Hawks, but recently corrupted one Hawk lieutenant (Birdfood) helped him take over.
- Ratfolk aren't really like the human gangs; they're more like a tribe living in the tunnel systems criss-crossing Scrapwall. They're too skittish to openly attack other gangs. Conversely, they're almost impossible to defeat for the other gangs due to their tunnel systems. They're loosely organized and led by a council of tribal elders. There's cultural influences from alien ratfolk and Tien ratfolk at work here. The rats aren't raiders, they're thieves and scavengers, "finding" stuff in the bowels of Scrapwall and in the possessions of other denizens, and trading them for stuff from outside.
- Dinvaya is one of several individuals that's earned some respect in Scrapwall. A cleric that can heal serious injuries is someone to stay on good terms with after all. Especially one that's not too sanctimonious. In addition to the stuff already in the book, I plan to work on the angle that the church of Brigh is a subtle but definite player in the metaplot; as a machine deity, Brigh is much more interested in the events in Numeria, perhaps also more aware of just how far things are getting. On the other hand, she also may feel some kinship for the (mad) Iron Godlings.
What's With The Arena?
The games in the arena started out as a way of settling disputes between the gangs, rather than all-out gang wars. A duel between champions is often a more "civilized" (such as it is) solution. This tradition is shifting though after the Lords of Rust formed as basically a superstar band backed by a godling. They win almost every fight, so the other gangs are less willing to "take their chances" that way.
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My idea is that Scrapwall may have been relatively continuous for decades, but Hellion's driving it to escalation. Either he takes over completely (and probably runs the place into the ground) or someone defeats him.
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Anyway, the point I was trying to get at is, I wanted an answer to the question "why is anyone here at all". My answers were:
- Scavenging; nowadays you have to dig pretty deep but there's still stuff to find. Ratfolk for example.
- Hiding place: mostly for individuals like Dinvaya and Hellion, but also whole populations of Chokers.
- Raider stronghold: if you assume the Steel Hawks have all-terrain vehicles (this AP is weirdly lacking in those) it's a good base of operations for raiders preying on Chesed traffic. It protects them against retaliation.
- Religion: every place gets the cultists it deserves
- Service sector: healers, prostitutes, traders and whatnot; there's enough customers.
if you assume the Steel Hawks have all-terrain vehicles (this AP is weirdly lacking in those)
James Jacobs said something about not wanting to have them because they'd change the world too much and there aren't rules for them. (What happens when you ram a grounded dragon with your spike encrusted vehicle? What's the penalty to hit the gunner on the laser turret with a ranged attack when the truck is doing 80 mph over slightly rough terrain?)
I'd also add that if Gearsman can have power sources that last 9,000 years and the Androffans have mastered gravity tech then something like a hoversled with infinite mileage is what you'd get if the Androffans had ground vehicles. It wouldn't stay in Numeria and it probably wouldn't stay out of conflict, either, you'd constantly have people trying to jack or destroy your ride. Better to assume they just flew shuttles, all of which are now destroyed.
I can't seem to find how the grenade launcher works with attack rolls. In the Technology guide it doesn't list anything like touch like most guns use, or does it use splash weapon rules like a regular grenade?
I can't seem to find how the grenade launcher works with attack rolls. In the Technology guide it doesn't list anything like touch like most guns use, or does it use splash weapon rules like a regular grenade?
If I remember correctly they work as regular grenades, but with the benefit that they explode on the round they are fired.
Who lives there?
What I have been wondering is: what do they eat?
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Who lives there?What I have been wondering is: what do they eat?
Good question. Off the top of my head;
- goo tubes (if there's a goo tube machine, that would be a strategic target)
- human flesh
- spoils from raiding
- weird stuff they grow on farms, growing on polluted soil and/or in greenhouses kept warm with radiation
- animals hunted
I'm.. I'm making my smilers more like Psychos from Borderlands..
;)
I'm.. I'm making my smilers more like Psychos from Borderlands..
;)
The perfect fit.
I even rebuilt Ehwar Vress as Krieg. With a Timeworn Filtermask :D
Gonna rebuild Gunshy as a Mutant Human - with a tiny arm and stunted legs.. lots of hit points and the rugged mutation (DR 5/-).
Hu hu hu
Nice :)
So uh, what happens re: Hellion if they destroy the arachnid robot (and scrapyard robots), but completely forget that the central processor exists?
This may have just happened.
So uh, what happens re: Hellion if they destroy the arachnid robot (and scrapyard robots), but completely forget that the central processor exists?
This may have just happened.
While Hellion will be in a pickle, he won't be finished. (Any remaining servitors he has will still receive spells.)
And once he gets back in action, he may have an issue or two with the heroes.
Did they install the inhibitor facet before they forgot? Because if they did, Hellion pulled himself out of the excavators systems. (iirc)So uh, what happens re: Hellion if they destroy the arachnid robot (and scrapyard robots), but completely forget that the central processor exists?
This may have just happened.
They did not. They failed to unlock it the first time, shrugged and moved onwards to deal with the Lords of Rust, and then completely missed the darkfolk caves when they went on to fight the arachnid robot. After taking heavy damage from it, with two people unconscious and the rest nearly so, they pulled out and made a run for it.
This may be moot, as I think they're planning to head back into the excavator next session to check if they left anything alive there, but thanks to everyone for the notes.
We're over halfway through Lords of Rust. I recorded the message stored on the envoy's mouthpiece that the PCs will find in the haunted wreck on my iPod and will play it when they find it. I used my best Zap Brannigan imitation. They've skipped the location so far for fear of possible undead and will tackle it after they deal with Hellion. I'm looking forward to hearing their reaction. :D
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We're over halfway through Lords of Rust. I recorded the message stored on the envoy's mouthpiece that the PCs will find in the haunted wreck on my iPod and will play it when they find it. I used my best Zap Brannigan imitation. They've skipped the location so far for fear of possible undead and will tackle it after they deal with Hellion. I'm looking forward to hearing their reaction. :D
Well at least your PC's are going to investigate the area...
My PC's were like... Undead? Yeah screw that... :-)
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Hey all. I'm currently running some friends through Iron Gods, and I just got done letting the advanced wraith in Scrapwall's haunted wreck have at them. Three out of the five PCs have con drain on them. After the fact, they mentioned "yeah, we have no way to actually deal with con drain." It's true - the writers put an *advanced* wraith in the game before there's any way for the party to deal with ability score drain, and so far there have been no tools available whatsoever in the story to deal with it. And that's not cool. The wizard is down 4 points, the cavalier is down 4 points, and the rogue is down 8 points (from 12 to 4 Constitution). Yes, it was a nasty fight, and they got unlucky more than a few times.
Through some personal finagling with the story, I've got them set to go visit the manticore lair next. They still haven't encountered Dinvaya, because I rearranged the story a bit to make more sense of some things for which I didn't like the flow.
So my question is this: what do y'all think is the best way to give them the tools with which to rid themselves of the con drain? I have some possible thoughts:
-I make Dinvaya high enough level that she can cast Restoration, and does so as a token of goodwill for letting her know it's safe to go to Torch.
-I ditch some of the loot in the manticore lair and instead they find three Restoration scrolls. Either Dinvaya or the party's Warpriest can use the scrolls.
-In the manticore lair, they find a unique Timeworn Gray Nanite Hypogun with three charges that does Restoration instead of Neutralize Poison.
Thoughts? Alternate suggestions?
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As a priest of Brigh, I changed the material components of her spells requiring diamond dust to an equal amount of scrap, machine components, etc. it still cost the party 1000gp for Restoration, but in a place like Scrapwall, in an adventure called Lords of Rust, in an AP called Iron Gods, I just felt the flavor so much better.
I may borrow that. My players just ran into that wraith as well and the barbarian is 8 Con lighter. I expect them to run crying to mommy soon :P
I managed to guide my players through Scrapwall more or less in the default encounter order. They interrogated Marrow and found out about the undead in the mists. They were not sure what kind of undead they were encountering, so they went in with hide from undead active. The poltergeists blew their saves, and I had the party notice them as glimpses of skulls and weird shimmerings in the mists (to increase tension and let them know the spell was good for something).
One poltergeist in the wreck made its save, and all went south immediately. They were telekinetically tossing grenades at everyone, only the mage (with see invisibility) could see them, and the will-'o-wisp got involved after the mage retreated to the engine room and reacted badly to it. Fortunately the quarters were so tight they could guess where the enemy might be, and dispatched them with magic weapons, channeled energy, magic missiles, and lots of yelling and panicking about the grenades (none detonated).
After hacking through the skeletal technicans, they congratulated themselves, opened the bridge door, and that was when all the spooky setup paid off. Panic levels went up to eleven since they were out of magic missiles. They couldn't go out (more poltergeists), they couldn't fight properly (too little room), and they couldn't pull back to regroup (the wraith was too close). But they had a hit everyone with a wand of mage armor. Despite more yelling and panicking the wraith got one hit and drained 2 Con.
They looted the shuttle, cast another hide from undead, and went out to see the sun was beginning to shine through. I had Dinvaya restore the Con drain (diamond dust got handwaved as something she had lying around in a jar after cleaning her workshop), and then it was exposition time with the envoy's mouthpiece.
TL;DR. They picked up the clues, were prepared against incorporeal undead (since they figured Marrow wasn't scared of ordinary shambling cadavers), and had a cleric with positive channeling. It was scary and tense, but they were so pleased when all that planning worked out. I liked the encounter. It was a nice change of pace.
TL;DR. They picked up the clues, were prepared against incorporeal undead (since they figured Marrow wasn't scared of ordinary shambling cadavers), and had a cleric with positive channeling. It was scary and tense, but they were so pleased when all that planning worked out. I liked the encounter. It was a nice change of pace.
Advance information also worked for my party. They made several friends in Scrapwall while pretending to be a party of archaeologists hiding from the Technic League. They learned that the haunted valley had mostly been cleared of corporeal undead 80 years ago when crusader paladins cleared the area of bandits, but poltergeists remained and few people survived the back of the valley. They went in prepared.
And I claimed that Dinvaya had acquired a gigantic stash of diamonds, magical reagents, etc. over the decades, so she had any material components she needed for her spells, so long as the party paid for them.
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I treated it as regular control undead channel.
I did soup up the encounter a lot by explicitly combining the rust-risen and marrow encounters, using both the rust-risen and the zombies as a screen for Marrow. That was a tough fight for the party particularly since the rust-risen are just fine with Marrow's lightning bolts. I very much don't believe in cult leaders just waiting in their rooms for people to come slaughter them.
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As a priest of Brigh, I changed the material components of her spells requiring diamond dust to an equal amount of scrap, machine components, etc. it still cost the party 1000gp for Restoration, but in a place like Scrapwall, in an adventure called Lords of Rust, in an AP called Iron Gods, I just felt the flavor so much better.
Now THAT is a good idea. I love it. All right, I think that'll be a good time for her to be introduced into the campaign. With her able to use the scrap as material components, it'd be a good way to combine the mechanical effects with the NPCs and events of the story. Thanks for this suggestion!
Also, Ascalaphus, good point! I'd not looked at her part of the stat block. Don't know how I missed that. Haha, so much derp.
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By the way, anyone else think that incorporeal invisible poltergeists, followed by an incorporeal advanced wraith, followed by a naturally invisible will-'o-wisp (which you kind of need magic missile to hit, but you probably just used those on the wraith) is a bit much?
I was getting ready to run the Wisp as a bit standoffish combatant, willing to let the PCs go at first (and then follow them, feeding off all of the bloodshed the PCs will cause when they go up against the Lords of Rust) but the players managed to kill it. One good sneak attack hit by the unchained rogue with elven curve blade, and another lucky one after the wisp went invisible. They were sweating quite a bit though.
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Okay so my party just hit 2 Scrapworth and triggered Dinvaya sending out her silver raven to invite the PC's. Should the invitation allow them to bypass Dinvaya's junk golem or should she have it ready to fight so she can size them up?
Your choice. If your group doesn't have antiswarm weapons or has been fighting enough already, feel free to skip straight to discussions. I had them fight it. It wasn't that she wanted to size them up. She was just completely focused on her work and forgot to alter the golem's orders. When the fighting died down, she peeked out of the workshop with a hammer, goggles and an oily apron, and the conversation went roughly like this.
Din: "I though I heard something."
PC1: "Your guardian tried to kill us!"
Din: "Not kill, actually. Not you, specifically. It was built to repel unwanted visitors. Here that requires lethal force. Usually the intruders run away."
PC2: "But you summoned us, here, lady."
Din: "Thank you for coming. I have many questions for you."
PC2: "Wha- Why didn't you command it to let us pass?"
PC3: "Or turn that thing off?"
Din: "It could not differentiate between you and regular unwanted visitors. I was planning to change its orders in the evening. It was a golem, not a robot, and golems cannot be turned off."
PC2: "It is evening."
PC3: "You know what I mean!"
Din: "Apparently I lost track of time. I cannot read your mind."
PC2: "How did you lose track of time if you were expecting us?"
PC3: "Are you daft? Do you know what that thing almost did to us?"
PC1: "Shh!"
Din: "I was disassembling the primary gearbox of a skydrone propulsor. My mental state is stable, and I would like to know how it fared, if you do not mind telling. Most people run away from a golem, and interviewing someone who has first-hand experience in defeating it should be educational."
PC1: "You don't mind that we destroyed it?"
Din: "Its loss was to be expected at some point. I can build a new one."
Dinvaya did not intentionally make the PCs fight the golem. But I certainly did.
Okay so my party just hit 2 Scrapworth and triggered Dinvaya sending out her silver raven to invite the PC's. Should the invitation allow them to bypass Dinvaya's junk golem or should she have it ready to fight so she can size them up?
Inviting them to visit and leaving her junk golem under anti-trespasser orders to attack them would let the party size up Dinvaya, too. Anyone who would deliberately do that is an untrustworthy villain! Is that what you want them to conclude?
On the other hand, I played Dinvaya as obsessed with her crafting. (She got along great with the Brigh-worshiping dwarf in the party who was also obsessed with crafting.) In that case, you could have the party arrive at Dinvaya's place, bypass the gear wall, go in, and be attacked by the junk golem. If they knock on the door of her workshop, she comes out and halts the golem, exclaiming, "I told you to come by at noon. Is it noon already? Oh, I am so sorry, I lost track of the time!" or "Didn't I tell you to come by at noon? I forgot that part of the message, didn't I?"
My party had visited without an invitation, because Joram Kyte had told them about Dinvaya, so they fought the golem until Dinvaya noticed.