[Spoilers] Occult Adventures and CoT


Council of Thieves


So I'll be running CoT here in about a month. Outside of the general threads on switching things up or plugging in more foreshadowing, I was wondering if there were any ideas or suggestions to incorporate Occult Adventures into the AP, and whether the classes in it (outside of Psychic, which nobody has any interest in playing) would be a good fit for the overall theme and mechanics of the AP.

Additionally, would there be any plot points in the AP that would be totally ruined by, say, Object Reading from the Occultist or a Spiritualist's phantom incorporeally scouting through a few doors?

Spoilers or specific encounter suggestions are great.

Silver Crusade Contributor

I don't think anything will be ruined. Stuff like Object Reading might make Delvehaven even more interesting.

I'll get back to you when I can with more.


An idea would be to redesign the hag coven and give an occult character a hook there.

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Kalindlara wrote:

I don't think anything will be ruined. Stuff like Object Reading might make Delvehaven even more interesting.

I'll get back to you when I can with more.

Not only Delvehaven, but the Nessian(sp?) Spiral also.

Silver Crusade Contributor

Lord Fyre wrote:
Kalindlara wrote:

I don't think anything will be ruined. Stuff like Object Reading might make Delvehaven even more interesting.

I'll get back to you when I can with more.

Not only Delvehaven, but the Nessian(sp?) Spiral also.

To say nothing of the Asmodean Knot. It's a cool and thematic way to fill the PCs in on the meaning of the various soul fragments.


Cool, good to hear. I'll know probably tomorrow what my players are planning on playing. There does seem to be plenty of Occult-type stuff that could be included, and I really hope someone picks the Occultist so they can do some stuff with the binding circles. I think that'd be really cool for any AP in Cheliax.

Since I'd be 1000% on-board with this and probably have a whole list of cool ones for Curse of the Crimson Throne (since I've just started another group on it to run it for the sixth time), do any of you long-time CoT DMs or players have any ideas for cool Medium spirits in Westcrown? I'm still prepping, but it seems like the city has a lot of cool places to channel spirits and some interesting backstories to make them come alive. I'm trying to incorporate a few of the new classes as I'm remaking enemies so that there are some fun encounters. That actor guy (can't remember the name, and I'm at work) looks like a good candidate for a Mesmerist, especially if he becomes a villain for the party. I like to think of them as Anti-Bards.

Designer

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The whole city of Westcrown has this vibe of clinging to a faded prophecy of greatness that make it a great match for things like the occultist's object reading and the medium. A medium could, for instance, be channeling spirits from the days of Aroden-worship, in the hopes of making Westcrown a jewel once again. In terms of AP content, a medium or other occult character could potentially help the spirit of the Pathfinder in charge of Delvehaven and perhaps find a way to redeem the poor soulbound dolls that used to be good-aligned (our group did this anyway well before OA was out, but generally used GM discretion-y stuff to do so).


Mark Seifter wrote:
The whole city of Westcrown has this vibe of clinging to a faded prophecy of greatness that make it a great match for things like the occultist's object reading and the medium. A medium could, for instance, be channeling spirits from the days of Aroden-worship, in the hopes of making Westcrown a jewel once again. In terms of AP content, a medium or other occult character could potentially help the spirit of the Pathfinder in charge of Delvehaven and perhaps find a way to redeem the poor soulbound dolls that used to be good-aligned (our group did this anyway well before OA was out, but generally used GM discretion-y stuff to do so).

Awesome! And I'm correct to assume that a majority of the adventure takes place in the city, so there'd be some consistency for a Medium when they go to do their seance? I have been planning for a while to put more haunts into my campaigns, so I'll probably throw a few more in here. The Reign of Winter campaign that I'm finishing up was 5/6 ACG classes, and we started right after that came out, so I'm looking forward to see what I get this time. I already for sure have a Kineticist, since the player is stoked to be a blaster and do bending, but I'm hopeful I'll get another character or two that like interacting with the theme.

Delvehaven does look like a toy store for the classes, I'm excited to get into that and the Asmodean Knot. I might actually fiddle with that one, and make it a Dreamscape that the characters have to get into somehow; a psychedelic vault, and only finding out where the mayor might keep his potions/shrooms/bong/whatever that gets him in there will let them explore it. It'll also help explain the craziness of the mirror staircases and stuff, I think, and give the players a real reason to do the play and get in good with the mayor.

Silver Crusade Contributor

I'm working off memory here, so this might be off, but the perfect idea came to me for Medium spirits. In the Westcrown Gazetteer, look up the semi-mythical historical figures called the Founders.

There's even six of them!

Silver Crusade Contributor

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Also, I like the idea of the Knot as a dreamscape. Great idea. Well done to Mr. Seifter as well. Making Thesing a mesmerist is great too.

I'd also recommend, if possible, trying to get a (green widow) changeling into the Path - if you can't (or don't want to) get one into the party via hints and such, Calseinica is a perfect candidate.

RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32

Puna'chong wrote:
Awesome! And I'm correct to assume that a majority of the adventure takes place in the city, so there'd be some consistency for a Medium when they go to do their seance?

Yes. Only one adventure leaves the city, Mother of Flies, but even then it doesn't go beyond the "Greater Westcrown" environs.


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Kalindlara wrote:

Also, I like the idea of the Knot as a dreamscape. Great idea. Well done to Mr. Seifter as well. Making Thesing a mesmerist is great too.

I'd also recommend, if possible, trying to get a (green widow) changeling into the Path - if you can't (or don't want to) get one into the party via hints and such, Calseinica is a perfect candidate.

Ooooh, Calseinica as a green widow is pretty good. My players have had a [safe] love interest every time, so maybe one of them will go for Calseinica...

The Founders are an excellent idea for Medium spirits, I'll definitely have to use that. I'm thinking of adding in some more haunts to the city, especially in the Old City, to make it feel a little more like a sandbox: between shadow creatures at night and haunts, parts of the city might just be blocked off for the lower level party that they can revisit later when they have the capabilities. Or they can hire an NPC. Gives a pretty good reason for Tuornos and his guards to be sort of like the Night's Watch, manning their Wall. There's some crazy stuff beyond, and if the characters really want to clean up the city they could get in there...

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