getting an army up the storval plateau


Curse of the Crimson Throne


So I'm running a curse of the crimson throne campaign that I'm adjusting for Pathfinder rules. I like that the conversion leaves a lot of room for side quests with the XP difference. Accordingly I have a player with a Shoanti character whose long-term goal is to lead the sklar quah. I was thinking of having Illeosa wage a war on the shoanti (I already have her committing genocide within the city since it helped get the Shoanti interested in city politics.) the question being how do i get her army of grey maidens up the storval plateau without going hannibal and going all the way to the storval stairs or sacking kaer maga and potentially throwing future adventures thier out of wack. I figured she has near limitless finances. This would allow me to have my player unite the tribes after scarwall and drive her army from the plateau. Thanks in advance.


Think magic more than conventional means. Teleportation circles and flying come to mind.


Flying and teleportation for thousands of soldiers seems unrealistic. Maybe not i can read more about it though.


Also an army needs a large baggage train


Then Wall of Stone is probably the way to go.


You might want to check this thread.


A permanent Teleportation Circle is relatively cheap and easy. It will allow you to teleport to wherever you want.

Assuming you plan for the battle to be over in one day, you don't really need a baggage train and supplies can be brought in after the fighting is over. Pathfinder level of magic eliminates the need changes how things like baggage trains would be used, assuming you have access to such powerful magic.


Thanks for the help guys also the other thread James Jacobs chimed in which is then canon i guess. I think in going to have her build a ramp at one of the lower parts similar to the Romans at massda but with academe magic and wall of stone spells and chelaxian architects. And since we just finished Runelords she will want to build a road to xin shalast in the race for its riches to fuel her rise to power.


Lictor Pat wrote:
I have a player with a Shoanti character whose long-term goal is to lead the sklar quah. I was thinking of having Illeosa wage a war on the shoanti (I already have her committing genocide within the city since it helped get the Shoanti interested in city politics.) ... This would allow me to have my player unite the tribes after scarwall and drive her army from the plateau. Thanks in advance.

Of course, there is nothing for Ileosa on the Storval Plateau: the land is barren, the Shoanti have no cities, they are nomads who can move around easily in a seemingly endless wasteland. It is also hot and dry on the plateau, which would make traveling and fighting in full plate very difficult. So I guess sending her army to the Cinderlands can only end in disaster for the queen. This would also leave her vulnerable in Korvosa. She might be mad, but she's not stupid, so this is not the way I'd have her go.

If you want your player to unite the Shoanti tribes, I'd turn these war plans around. Although the AP as written does not elaborate on the theme, it does suggest that the Shoanti are gathering for war. I'll be using this element myself in my campaign, but in my case the PCs will have to convince the Shoanti to delay their war plans to give them the opportunity to take out the queen and retrieve the evil artifact before descending into a bloodbath. Depending on how well the PCs do that, the Shoanti will give them some extra time to end the AP before they lay waste to Korvosa (of course the 'defenseless' countryside will be the first to go, which will make a lot of innocent victims). This could be a motive for your PC to unite the tribes; you could also have the PC lead the tribes into Korvosa and to the gates of the city to threaten Ileosa. Your party could still choose to go in and follow the sixth installment of the AP, moving into the castle to take care of Ileosa without their army joining them. It is better to just cut off the head of the snake instead of sending hundreds or even thousands to their graves in an open war.


These links might give you some inspiration if you decide to have the Shoanti go to war: Plans to wage war on Korvosa and The Shoanti going to war.


Sweet thanks man that gives me some stuff to think about.

Community / Forums / Pathfinder / Pathfinder Adventure Path / Curse of the Crimson Throne / getting an army up the storval plateau All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.
Recent threads in Curse of the Crimson Throne