If so, how did it fit in? And where did you put it?
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Yes, I used it.
I should mention that I GM a very heavily modified campaign-mix of Rise of the runelords and Second Darkness and that it is a solo campaign for a half-elf half-drow gestalt character. (don't ask)
After the PC cleared choppers isle and demanded it for herself (haha) she used the old house there as her home, inviting friends from Sandpoint regulary, even gave them access when she's not around.
But too bad that the Devil visited the chopper isle regulary as well and so finally killed one of her friends whe she wasn't around. Thanks to the ranger spell "Residual Tracking" she knew what was going on. After some research she went to kill the sandpoint devil himself somewhere in the mountains.
With her were some loyal friends, Ameiko, Shalelu, Father Zantus and her Tiefling pupil, which she has adopted in Riddleport.
She knew where he was supposed to be found and after some random bugbear encounters and stuff, she arrived at his hideout with her group.
I roughly used the idea somebody posted here on the boards for the hideout.
The fight was spectacular! The group level was about 5-6 and the devil was an CR 8. Shalelu was knocked unconcious and father Zantus almost killed, but with some really unexpected crits they won the fight.
Well, now the stuffed Sandpoint devil is a big attraction at the sandpoint market place =D
It was a lot of fun including the devil, the horror on my players face when I showed him the picture of the monster was priceless, hahaha!
~Gwen
If so, how did it fit in? And where did you put it?
With all the modifications I've made, looking for things to include and really round out my RotRL campaign, the Sandpoint Devil never really 'spoke' to me, and I elected not to include it. I'm actually not going to be using very much at all from the Hinterlands - I think there is an entire campaign worth of source material there, but since I've put together this 10 volume AP storyline mixing elements of RotRL and Shattered Star, too many side quests can become a distraction.
Yes, though it was so pathetic, I wish I hadn't. My player's were rushing back to Sandpoint from Hook Mountain, and decided to cut across the Hinterlands instead of sticking to the roads. I had a bad storm pop up, and they sought shelter in a cave near Devil's Platter. It turned out to be the things' den. It wound up in the middle of initiative, and one of the PCs before it wound up critting. We use the critical hit/fumble decks. Drew the card and it came up decapitation. No more Sandpoint Devil.
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One of my players (an archery focused ranger) took the campaign trait that says he came to Sandpoint specifically to hunt the Sandpoint Devil. Since they're level 8 now, just leaving Sandpoint to head east to Hook Mountain, I'm thinking it would be about right for a random encounter in the wilderness at this level.
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One of my players (an archery focused ranger) took the campaign trait that says he came to Sandpoint specifically to hunt the Sandpoint Devil. Since they're level 8 now, just leaving Sandpoint to head east to Hook Mountain, I'm thinking it would be about right for a random encounter in the wilderness at this level.
So... funny story. I decided to just go with it tonight. They were in Sandpoint for just one night on their way east from Magnimar to Turtleback Ferry, so I had a farmer report spotting the Sandpoint Devil, and they went out hunting. With two rangers in the group now that Shalelu joined, they were easily able to track it to the Devil's Platter and confront it.
First round, Shalelu wins initiative, rapid shots, and only one arrow hits, for 4 points of damage after DR.
Next comes the devil, and it howls at them (its bay ability). EVERY SINGLE PARTY MEMBER, including horses and an animal companion, misses the save, except for the paladin, who ironically rolled high enough but would have been immune regardless.
So they and their horses run away in a panic. I decided the devil had just eaten a cow that night, so it wasn't particularly hungry, and didn't bother chasing them down. They decided not to try again immediately (the paladin and ranger who really wanted to hunt it got voted down), but they promised to come back and try again after they're higher level.
There's also a homebrew adventure/side trek called The Pit floating around somewhere where the Sandpoint Devil's lair is involved if memory serves correctly.
I will use it for my campaign when the PCs have reached lvl 7-9.
Ruyan.
One of my players (an archery focused ranger) took the campaign trait that says he came to Sandpoint specifically to hunt the Sandpoint Devil. Since they're level 8 now, just leaving Sandpoint to head east to Hook Mountain, I'm thinking it would be about right for a random encounter in the wilderness at this level.
So... funny story. I decided to just go with it tonight. They were in Sandpoint for just one night on their way east from Magnimar to Turtleback Ferry, so I had a farmer report spotting the Sandpoint Devil, and they went out hunting. With two rangers in the group now that Shalelu joined, they were easily able to track it to the Devil's Platter and confront it.
First round, Shalelu wins initiative, rapid shots, and only one arrow hits, for 4 points of damage after DR.
Next comes the devil, and it howls at them (its bay ability). EVERY SINGLE PARTY MEMBER, including horses and an animal companion, misses the save, except for the paladin, who ironically rolled high enough but would have been immune regardless.
So they and their horses run away in a panic. I decided the devil had just eaten a cow that night, so it wasn't particularly hungry, and didn't bother chasing them down. They decided not to try again immediately (the paladin and ranger who really wanted to hunt it got voted down), but they promised to come back and try again after they're higher level.
That is... awesome!
I'm just thinking Ghostbusters. "Get it!!!!"
"That was your plan? Get it?!?!?!"
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While I have not run RotRL yet, I have every intention of using the Sandpoint Devil whilst I do.
I'm from (live in) Southern New Jersey, and based on the Sandpoint Devil's creative origins, I kind of feel obligated.
"Hey, did anybody else hear that...?"
I had it show up once while they were boar hunting, they had gotten their boar, but saw another larger one through some trees, before they had a chance to get it, it was charred black, and then eaten by the Sandpoint Devil.
I rolled it once as a random encounter while they were camping on their way to Magnimar. I was really afraid it would just kill them, so I had it attack a nearby caravan instead.
It wasn't until book 4 that they wanted to go hunt it down. Everyone except Shelelu, and the party barbarian failed both saves to panic and run. Shelelu did her best to kill it, but it got her with fire, and a good full attack.
The barbarian got cursed, but was still doing good ranged damage, so I had it run, on the way out I decided to phantasmal killer the party fighter(who was now running back to the fight) He died, but it cost me, the barbarian just managed to hit, even with range penalties, and the sandpoint devil was dead.
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I used it once as a tool to get the party on track (ish). I had two guys that were going to scout out Thistletop on their own during Burnt Offerings, leaving 3 other party members in town with nothing to do. I could already see the other three guys getting bored, so I had the Sandpoint Devil attack the two scouts on the road, mess them up, and make off with a horse. They were a little more careful about wandering outside of town without the full group after that.
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Finally got around to it; I threw it in my session last night. Party had 5 members at level 6. Worked out pretty well. The monster gave the party a good scare despite going down pretty fast.
I swapped out the phantasmal killer SLA though. Having a DC 17 will save or die in a party that cannot yet cast raise dead seemed overly harsh and potentially could lead to a TPK. The Paladin in our party would be immune but the rest of the party has only mediocre or poor will saves. I have an oracle and a sorcerer but neither has a good wisdom.
So I gave it a call lightning SLA instead of the phantasmal killer SLA. It made sense to me since it already gets fog cloud and gust of wind so another weather-themed effect seemed like a good idea. I had it attack during a storm so the lightning did 3d10.
In the end the barbarian and the paladin both scored a crit in the same round, between those two hits they scored 65 damage and the devil had only 45 left before that. That was round three or four.
Peet
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Like the real Jersey Devil, I think the Sandpoint Devil works better as a legend than as a monster. Monsters are killable and, therefore, not something to be whispered about on cold nights when the wind is howling and the fire is crackling. There should be fleeting glimpses, mutilated or stolen livestock and perhaps a midnight encounter that leaves the party shaken before the Devil leaps up and flies away.
There's room for creatures of mystery and legend. True cryptids. Even in a world of dragons.
Like the real Jersey Devil, I think the Sandpoint Devil works better as a legend than as a monster. Monsters are killable and, therefore, not something to be whispered about on cold nights when the wind is howling and the fire is crackling. There should be fleeting glimpses, mutilated or stolen livestock and perhaps a midnight encounter that leaves the party shaken before the Devil leaps up and flies away.
There's room for creatures of mystery and legend. True cryptids. Even in a world of dragons.
That's more or less how I used it. I ran a side-quest during Burnt Offerings about some farmers reporting mutilated farm animals, and suspected it was the Sandpoint Devil. When the PCs investigated (at night, of course!), it was really goblins, but one of the PCs glimpsed a horse-like thing flying overhead.
Later, when the PCs were investivating Thistletop, they asked some fishermen about the waters around there, possibly thinking that a water approach would be a good idea. The sailors all agreed that this was a terrible idea-- one of them saw the Sandpoint Devil in the water near there!
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Yes. I had a player take the campaign trait about the Sandpoint Devil, so I wanted to oblige him. I bought the Pathfinder pre-painted mini, and used it as a random encounter before the Misgivings, party was level 6. Probably should have waited, the goal was to make him deadly and dangerous, but not unkillable. My newbie group rushed in when I gave them the surprise round, didn't buff, failed the knowledge check, and the fighter got flattened. The rest of the group fled. They used hero points to resurrect the fighter.
Later on, the fighter died permanently to TPK, and his brother + step-brother were in the new team. They waited until during some downtime after Hook Mountain Massacre, so at level 10 they went out looking for him. The ranger/arcane archer tracked him down, and this time the Sandpoint Devil was flattened. They had him stuffed, used a Sihedron Medallion to keep his corpse from rotting, and displayed it in front of the church in Sandpoint.
I have a player considering using the beast as a mount. I am considering having the devil mount eat the player for hubris. What I need would be rules that make the player engaged, enabled, and empowered to have his desire, but damn well earn it. I really don't mind letting him have the mount, as such. He is a cleric of Pharasma. But I insist the cost and effort equal the bragging rights. Perhaps even a Phyrric victory. Ideas?
I have a player considering using the beast as a mount. I am considering having the devil mount eat the player for hubris. What I need would be rules that make the player engaged, enabled, and empowered to have his desire, but damn well earn it. I really don't mind letting him have the mount, as such. He is a cleric of Pharasma. But I insist the cost and effort equal the bragging rights. Perhaps even a Phyrric victory. Ideas?
Here may be some inspiration for you, allow the player to think they've tamed the beast, then have it fly away with them, very high, fast, and far away (High enough that they cant jump and survive), perhaps to a nest, full of waiting, Hungry baby devils.
Well... I dun wanna kill the player, I very much dun wanna make the Sandpoint Devil a "gimme". I want the neutral character Cleric of Pharasma either sell his soul at too high a price, or risk his soul to redeem the beast.
I want to engage, enable, and empower my players in the game. I am not sure how to do that this instance.
Sandpoint Devil as a mount? Tricky.
Using Leadership to get a monstrous mount is a possibility, but a cohort like that would be pretty high level. Maybe 15th? The alignment mismatch is a bit wild though.
I'd be more inclined to custom design a Pharasmic mount if he was willing to spend the leadership feat to get it.
Well... I dun wanna kill the player, I very much dun wanna make the Sandpoint Devil a "gimme". I want the neutral character Cleric of Pharasma either sell his soul at too high a price, or risk his soul to redeem the beast.
I want to engage, enable, and empower my players in the game. I am not sure how to do that this instance.
Perhaps bring in a contract devil, then?
I've actually introduced the Sandpoint Devil into one of my campaigns, after being inspired by this thread.
I like making changes to the story, in unexpected ways, and I have come up with an idea for the Devil when the party arrives at Thistletop. I'll be setting up Thistletop (To the best of my abilities), as a siege, The Sandpoint town guard (Lead by Belor Hemlock, after returning from Magnimar with reinforcements) guards Sandpoint, while the reinforcements from Magnimar come to attack Thistletop in a full blown naval assault.
The party will be encouraged to attack by land, through the forest, thinking they'll be sneaking into the Goblin stronghold while it is distracted.
However, they will arrive to find Thistletop in flames, all the Magnimar ships burning in the water, and the few survivors struggling to fend off the Bunyip.(maybe two or three?)
The crowning moment of the scene will be when they notice the Sandpoint Devil, Standing atop the burning fortress, glaring at the party.
I may add Nualia to the scene, with the Lamashtu connections, the Sandpoint Devil may seem to serve as a suitable mount, for an empowered Nualia.
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Use the Devil as a red herring. Those ghoul murders at the beginning of book 2? Some drunk swears he saw the devil flying over the saw-mill.
Or if a villain/monster manages to escape a battle, the players later see it hanging from it's guts in the upper branches of a tree.
If your players get lucky and kill it, have it pull a Michael Myers. The body disappears, and then it comes back bigger and stronger. Finding the true death for ol' Sandy should be an adventure in itself.
I had an idea for a summoner who thought his eidolon WAS the Sandpoint devil, matching it's appearance as closely as possible, but actually just formed that way from the character's own fears.
In talking with the player, the interest was more a "whim" and not anything he was willing to invest ranks/ riding, handle animal in. And he didn't realize how high level it was. But it is there, and it is nasty, and I look forward to showing the player first-hand why this would not be a particularly useful mount until *way* too late in the campaign for it to matter.
So now I'm muddling through "The Very Last Book About Mounted Combat" by Robert Kendzie, and while the Sandpoint Devil is "Not Going To Be A Mount Until Too Late To Matter", I'm considering ideas on what might be good enough to lure him into having "a" mount of some sort. :) Maybe he won't, but since this is "fantasy", as a GM I think it is important to have both carrots *AND* sticks in the goody bag for players. >:)
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There's also a homebrew adventure/side trek called The Pit floating around somewhere where the Sandpoint Devil's lair is involved if memory serves correctly.
I will use it for my campaign when the PCs have reached lvl 7-9.Ruyan.
My players were very interested in checking out the Pit in book 4. They wanted to make sure the were no giants in the hinterlands before they headed for Jorgenfist. I had to come up with something to be in the pit, and went with the Sandpoint Devil. They had a fun flying combat encounter.
I used the Devil when the group was on the way home from the misgivings. They were a bit hurt, but not drained. They were behind on experience, and we had some time left in the session, but nothing much else to do storywise, so I had the devil approach and bay. It scattered most of the characters, but the druid and his companion as well as the bard saved. Instead of following their terrified companions, they held their ground and the Druid sent his animal companion (homebrew dire raccoon based on bear stats) in to tank the thing. This spelled the death of the dire raccoon. It was a sad sad day.
There's also the possibility of confusion with dragons (the one on beginner box in particular). Did anybody use that?
I always assumed that the Devil was supposed to be the dragon from the Beginner's Box. They have very similar descriptions and the idea that it is just a misinterpreted dragon makes more sense than the idea that this is some previously unknown creature that just happens to live in Sandpoint.
My PC (a tiefling blood-arcanist with the protean bloodline) referred to herself as 'the Sandpoint Devil' for irony's sake and thinking the Sandpoint Devil was just local folklore.
Well she and one other PC eventually ended up running across the real thing and fighting it in something of a random encounter for a short session in a week when we had some other players absent. She fared horribly and the other PC, a magus, did most of the damage.
She later recounted the fight to the whole party after the fact, telling a completely self-absorbed and self-promiting story. The story wasn't remotely close to factual and was written up as if it was a WWE professional wrestling cage match between herself and the Sandpoint Devil as told by a pair of keketar proteans, one of whom acted and sounded remarkably like Mean Jean Okerlund. The party mostly presumed that she was high on pesh, which she was, but that's besides the point.
Yep, just did.
The party had a pretty underwhelming experiece with the ghoul infested farm, using ranged, spells, and reach to bring down the ghouls withut much difficulty. I even added Roger the Ghast to the swarm in the barn, but barely added an extra round to the fight. Afterward, I noticed the party was feeling pretty tough, and was 1100 xp away from the next level, so I asked if they were up to a challenge...
They were able to beat the Sandpoint Devil, and they earned that level up before venturing to the Misgivings, but the divine caster had to take Remove Curse as her new 3rd level spell, or else she and the Slayer would have been at quite a penalty for the next 18 days. :P