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This is in regards to a scenario I ran yesterday, The City of Strangers Part 1: The Shadow Gambit. One of the players had a rather unfortunate death, but looking back on things I am not entirely sure that it was fully justified or even legal as far as PFS rules go. It's a bit complicated, so let me elaborate:
The scenario states that the human entrance guards had the assistance of several CR 13 Iron Golems in order to dissuade the PC's from barging in. Naturally, the PC's tried fitfully to talk and bribe them into allow entrance to see Ardoc. The guards refuse and even get belligerent with the PC's, as was written. They eventually decide to walk away and come up with another plan.
Now, I had originally described The Kiln (as I had not found any other description) as a small factory-like building with 25 foot walls around it to keep out anyone nosey enough to try to get in. This did not discourage the PC's, two of whom decide to scale the wall with a grappling hook and rope. They succeed getting it up there, latch it on, then start to climb up, at which point (because they emphasize that Besel has many guardians to protect him and his interests) they encounter an Iron Golem at the top of the wall. The golem grabs the grappling hook and simply lets go so the pair fall to the ground. I figured that this might be enough to get them looking elsewhere for Ardoc.
That's when the magus decided to fire an Acid Splash at the golem. While not new to Pathfinder, he didn't really understand just how powerful these constructs were. I had the golem leap down to the street and glare menacingly at the pair. The Fighter shot a bow at it and the magus tried another Acid Splash. I figured, after such blatant hostility, that the golem would attack. He smeared the magus with a 33 damage hit. The fighter ran off to tell the rest of the group of the magus' untimely demise.
So I guess the question is, was his death appropriate? While he may have been stupid to attack the golem in the first place, he may not have been put in that situation if I hadn't added the extra stuff involving the Kiln, which was mostly brought on by the PC's idea that this was the right path. Was there another way to handle this without outright telling them out-of-game that they needed to look elsewhere?
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I think you'd have to go look and see what they were programmed to do to see if that was appropriate or not. That's really all they've got to go on and without that it's hard to say as an outsider if it were justified. Like if they don't pursue people out of the area, etc.
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I think you'd have to go look and see what they were programmed to do to see if that was appropriate or not. That's really all they've got to go on and without that it's hard to say as an outsider if it were justified. Like if they don't pursue people out of the area, etc.
** spoiler omitted **
I pretty much read it as a "don't mess with these guys" kind of situation. I just wasn't quite sure if I had added anything that may have lead them astray. Mind you, one of the PC's sat twenty feet away from the guards outside the Kiln until one of the golems chucked him away down the street so he would get lost. I figured that they might have got the hint after that.
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Okay, just curious is all. It has come up a few times in the past.
** spoiler omitted **
I can definitely see that. It's one of those things that kind of breaks the experience when you have to be like:
This part was meant to be a fun roleplaying section where you meet interesting characters and I tried to treat it as such.
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Not critizing in the least, but that seems like a terrible way to kill a level one character.
Possible ways to handle it if you ever run it again:
1 - Have all three golems near the entrance, make it very obvious that they could easily stomp a low-level party, make sure that the party realizes that violence is not a viable option here.
2 - Figure out a way for the golems to deal non-lethal damage. I'm sure there is a rule for this, but I don't have access to them currently.
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RCW,
33 damage to a level one, even non-lethally is death...
Since it wasn't a new player, he should have had some sort of knowledge that these types of creatures were well above what he could handle, let alone hurt with acid splash. Golems will defend themselves unless "programmed" not to. I would probably have asked the magus for a DC 12 INT check when he said he wanted to attack it. Failure means he goes ahead, but success tells him that there is no way he could compete with this construct. Even a Knowledge: Arcana check at level one, i believe maxes out at 30ish, which gets 1 question about the monster at CR13. That should probably tell them something meta wise...If they still insist on attacking, don't hold back as they have been warned that these are not something to mess with.
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(speaking in a thick Brevic accent)
Yes...Ardoc. I remember him as it wasn't too long ago. He tried his little shakedown routine in front of me and my companions recently. He's quite the "big" man walking around with his two golem bodyguards. This upstart tried ordering ME around while parading about in front of his golems. Push eventually came to shove and my companions attacked him.
Sadly...for him I reacted faster than his bodyguards. Normally, I would just launch a Fireball at him, burn him to ashes, and be done with it. Then, I thought of his bodyguards and their immunities and changed my mind. The look on his face was priceless when he saw the Wall of Force I erected in the middle of the street between him and his bodyguards.
We had more than enough time to dispatch him and help ourselves to whatever he had on him and make our escape. All the while his idiot golems impotently pounded away at my wall. I later heard that he was a "Battle Mage", given his stupidity I doubt he could use a Fireball without catching himself on fire.
Good times.
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Thanks for all the wonderful feedback! I definitely have a few new ideas to use now should something like this happen again, especially as I may have another possible character death coming up in The City of Strangers Part 2...
Venture-Captain, California—Sacramento
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Mike Brock has sanctioned adding town guards to scenarios if PC willfully and blatantly violate the law.
The rule is: add guards from the Game Mastery guide unless the scenario describes town guards, in the later case use the guards defined by the scenario. In this case, the scenario describes CR 13 Iron Golems.
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I don't know. Brock's example was in a town that was pretty much occupied behind enemy lines. Kaer Maga is basically like the Wild West when it comes to law and order.
The locale in question is a golem factory and Iron Golems are used as guards for the family in the scenario itself. If PC's try to break in, I think it's logical to have some of those guards keeping violent intruders out...
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I don't know. Brock's example was in a town that was pretty much occupied behind enemy lines. Kaer Maga is basically like the Wild West when it comes to law and order.
Which is exactly why the "hired guards" of the local "boss" are appropriate for fitting that role. In this case, those guards happen to be golems.