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OK I have the opposite problem from most people that run this, looking at the forums. I have 5 PCs of level 3, two Animal Companions (dinosaurs with barding - they took the feats to allow armor, and they are from Realms of the Mammoth Lord to account for the dinos) and one PC also will summon (Occultist Arcanist). So that's 8 actions they will get. They are also good tactically and unconventional.
I know I will have the following problems:
- They won't believe anything the mayor says and will probably go on the offensive early. I understand this can make the module a lot easier since they are not in all those combats using resources and debuffs.
- The cultists can't even hit the players. All have 18 AC even the pets (only the Arcanist has a measly 12)
- they avoid combat when possible. I don't mean they like to role play, they like the combat, but they won't engage if there is nothing in it for them. So if they stealth and use perception they may just skip whole sections. (again making the final fight easier)
- They'll have 7-8 actions per turn, definitely 8 for the end bosses due to summoning
- The last boss cannot get away for a few rounds. It will be a sitting duck and die.
So far i have made the following changes. If you agree or disagree with any, or if you have other ideas, let me know. thanks.
- Gave the farmers +2 STR and normal sickles. This gives them +2, or +4 if I can get them into flanking position. Vs 18 AC they have a 65% chance to miss when flanking. I guess that is acceptable since they are only supposed to be an annoyance with a chance of CON debuff.
- Maybe have some cultists hiding so they can surround players. Instead of 4 standing around waiting, have 3-4, and 3-4 hiding in bushes/corn who jump out behind party. Just to make sure the party doesn't have an easy escape route. Also give 1 out of 4 cultists a light crossbow or shortbow. Have them flank if possible, and go for the one squishy guy.
- More stirges, more and make them more like angry bees than lethargic domesticated pets.
- Improve Areana's and the scarecrow's hearing so they buff up if fighting is even 100 feet away and outside.
- I changed Leonard's feats to give him power attack, stealthy, and gave him a little extra STR to get to an even number. This is mainly to make sure he gets that first sneak attack, and is able to do enough damage to scare them. He will probably use the sickle 2-handed as well.
- Changed Andretti's feats to add improved initiative and combat casting. That's really all I did for him since I figure he is not meant to least terribly long.
- Definitely have some cultists attack when Andretti attacks.
- To give the blightspawn a chance I think when if first pops out and splatters everyone with gore, I should make everyone within 20' give a DC 14 Fort save or be nauseated 1d3 rounds, just like the stagnation aura if you drink.
Otherwise the strategy would be this:
Then during those first rounds of nausea: if someone is still tied up, sting that person, mainly for RP reasons, so there are repercussions if they did not save the person. Also, their ride (a barge captain) will be a victim, so they will be motivated to save him.
If players are still nauseated, now would be the best time to use Contagion and Bestow Curse. Then fly ASAP.
Before making any attacks cast blur on itself, then begin to make flyby sting attacks.
If any player drinks a potion and gets nauseated, attack that player with a touch spell if he has any left.
If the players run, use Diminish Plant to keep them from being able to hide in the corn, and to enable it to swoop in with easier fly checks.
If the players hide, then maybe even use grapple to pick up a helpless person, stinging them and draining them and dropping them. Just for fun. Maybe it can go rampaging through the village too until it gets bored and leaves. This also is for RP, since the PCs are neutral bordering on evil, but trying to make a show of being good.
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I am prepping this now and all of these sound great and would seem to fit in with the flow of the encounters and make sense overall.
Just two thoughts that may be of help or not.
One mechanic that wasn't available to me (that I'd later introduce in Rasputin Must Die) when I penned this adventure (but that I'd really, really wanted to use) was the troop subtype, and you might look at modifying the Russian Rifle Troop and substituting it for the cultists. It might be a matter of just reflavoring the mechanics: the fusillade becomes crossbow or thrown dagger attacks, and the grenade volley could be alchemical bombs or negative channelings or something. It's CR 11, so you'll need to significantly restructure and drop the damage and one of the attack modes way down.
Either way, low-level cultists are exactly the sort of encounter the troop mechanic was designed for (and keep an eye out for my House on Hook Street for similar uses), so I'd put it to use!
And btw--your changes sound awesome!
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So far my players did what I thought and did not wait for the end of the module.
Like I thought the grunts only got a couple hits in , and really did not have much effect. And I even had to skip the "to arms!" portion since they attacked in front of the whole town, there were no little pockets of grunts searching, it was an all-out rumble.
So after 2 attacks the mayor is down to 1/3 of his hp. He immediately casts gaseous form to try to get away. Since he was at the feast he did not have Magic Vestment or any buffs.
Well attacking the mayor started the whole town after them, the town guards plus the cultists, while everyone else ran screaming. Since they were at the feast I figured everyone was there. I also gave the cultists tanglefoot bags and some had crossbows. But really they were just cannon fodder, and only one PC has a -1 to CON from the poison, it barely had any effect. They couldn't even get in to flank, they died too fast (and at least one PC has combat reflexes and reach with a glaive so he was AoOing a lot).
The Arcanist summons an air elemental who uses whirlwind form to attack the mayor while he's in gaseous form. Which is just about the perfect attack in that situation. I probably should have cast sanctuary instead like it says, but I was hoping in gaseous form he could get away and heal up, while hiding his true nature.
By round 4 (including the 1 for the cythnigot) mayor is dead. And the Blightspawn bursts out on his turn. Not wanting it to die right away luckily I remembered to use the nausea for the gore flying on everyone, and the slow aura. Of course, only one player missed the save. I have never seen such lucky rolls.
So I am flying in my backup- about 30 angry stirges I decided to just throw in there since the fight was so easy for them (some stirges attacked townsfolk as well, since these were "less domesticated" than Applesauce) and Alizna and Leonard are on their way. Honestly I kind of forgot about them since I wasn't expecting the attack during the festival. Being out in the open also kind of hurts Leonard's ability to stealth up and get in a sneak attack.
Luckily for the players the blightspawn burst out of the mayor in front of the entire town, so at least they won't be hunted down as outlaws and murderers.
Next week we will finish the combat. And I was worried I would TPK them by accident. Hardly. It is really hard when players have 8 actions per round.
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House on Hook Street looks really good! My players now assume every town is run by some secret cabal of cultists. :)
Unfortunately I didn't see your post until just after I ran it. It would have helped since getting the cultists in to flank was too hard. At least giving out crossbows and tanglefoot bags to the cultists really did help a lot.
thanks.