RPG Superstar 2015 Top 4, RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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I'm glad to hear that most people seem to be enjoying the scenario! Getting both positive and critical feedback from players and GMs helps authors learn what to do again or do differently next time around, so I appreciate everybody taking the time to share their thoughts and experiences!
From the looks of things, the chase is the biggest sticking point, mainly that it's too easy and the phrasing of the rules is confusing. My objective was to build upon Mike Kimmel's success in "Kaava Quarry" by creating an equally cinematic chase, but restructuring the rules so that everybody could participate rather than each round being a massive Aid Another fest. Given the high stakes of the chase (potential damage every card, secondary success condition qualification, and need to resolve what could potentially amount to a fourth or fifth combat encounter depending on how things play out in the prison), I intentionally used lower card DCs, but I think that became overbalanced in the PCs' favor by including actions that catered to multiple different character builds in each card. It seems that raising the DCs should alleviate some of this problem.
I agree with Bongo that the guards might seem more threatening if they automatically move into a card where they had been stopped by delays without costing them a move, meaning the PCs need 3 delays per card rather than 2 to keep them at bay and they can only dodge the final fight if they meet all the necessary lead conditions from the prison. That was my original design, but during development I changed it to give the PCs more wiggle room in the event they rolled poorly or otherwise didn't optimize their performance in the chase (wiggle room that, all things considered, the PCs really didn't need). I also need to find a way to streamline the rules to make everything flow better: I like the visual and dynamic nature of two active parties in a chase, but I think just presenting the chase itself and tallying successes to determine outcome like Mike did in Kaava Quarry might prove simpler to understand and communicate.
Thanks again for the feedback! Happy gaming!
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Venture-Lieutenant, Minnesota—Minneapolis
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From the looks of things, the chase is the biggest sticking point, mainly that it's too easy and the phrasing of the rules is confusing.
I think that a change to the text format of the rules and slight change to organization would make them a lot clearer. Break it into phases.
1. Players move forward 1 card
2. Players create delays. Each player can either try to create another delay on their own, or try to Aid Another players' attempt. If the players create less than 2 delays, the guards will catch up with them.
3. Guards move. (Give exact details of how guards move)
4. If guards attempted to move on to a card but were blocked by delays, all remaining delays on that card are removed.
Repeat steps 1-4 until the players have reached the final card.
As for the chase being too easy, I would say that it is too easy for some groups. At my table of six, there was one card with only a single delay and another that only got two delays. I would have to check with some of my own characters, see how many of the challenges they could complete. It would be interesting to run the various pre-generated characters through that, figure out how they would do.
One thing I did notice is that on the cards where non-casters only had two choices there was a little bit of grumbling. If I were to adjust something, it would be to add an option of other skill that the GM deems appropriate at a +3 DC.
Venture-Lieutenant, Netherlands—Leiden
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So, ran it last Sunday for a crowd of five;
- Wizard 5 (conjurer build, high skills, played by Auke)
- Psychic 5, with some blasting and a lot of skills; played by TheDegraded.
- Inquisitor 5 (Iomedae, infiltrator/sanctified slayer, melee-capable)
- Medium 2 (I should read up on that class someday; PC seemed quite potent for his level, no clue how it works)
The fifth player was gonna be late and playing a pregen, so once I started the mission briefing the rest of the players asked the later player to pick a Disable Device-capable pregen like Merisiel; I pointed out Quinn was also an option for that and spoken highly of, and he was chosen.
All players had participated in part 1 or 2 although not everyone had played in both. When the late arrival got there I read him the mission briefing again; I got the impression the other players also appreciated a second reading. It's quite a lengthy briefing.
They didn't ask many questions; I was a bit disappointed that nobody even asked about Tamrin's Aspis ties. The players were surprised there were no Knowledge checks. I allowed them to roll Geography/Local to get the info about Ostenso in the ISWG.
After part I, there were some questions about how to get into the city with weapons, but I told them Tamrin would smuggle them in and that'd be no problem. After all, they're posing as Aspis mercs.
Into The Prison
In the prison, they got the tour, then poisoned the stew and arranged to take detail in the main hall so the maximum number of NPCs would be exposed to it. Miraculously 7 our of 9 made their save; dice on fire. Since the PCs had used Sleight of Hand and never openly handled the stew, they managed to avoid blame. However, the player of the medium also took a taste of the stew to prove their innocence, and promptly failed his save and I rolled 3 hours nap time. The player was quite gracious about it, but I was worried he was going to have to sit out the remainder of the session twiddling his thumbs.
After that they took Galvar back to the archives to "research ingredient shipments to see what could've gone wrong with the stew", and arranged for Krima to take over chaperone duties. They made their way to the office and Quinn buzzed them in.
Found the coded prayer and figured out the gimmick in a minute. Took them a few more to complete the decoding but no problems. Compared to for example the cipher in The Disappeared, I was very happy with how this worked. The puzzle made perfect sense in its location and didn't bring play to a halt. It was easy, but it made sense to be easy; it's basically someone's post-it with password on it.
On to the vault; players were getting quite paranoid about traps by now. Some ooooh-ing and aaah-ing about the handouts. After having seen the Silence system earlier on, also asked Krima where to find the missing crystals, and repaired them. Set it up and opened up the Maximum Fun Chamber.
As I described it, players immediately went searching for traps. Then I realized how important distance modifiers are; if a player scores enough to notice one trap, and not others, he might think that was the only one. But my players were careful and found two; and then they made sure to search everything.
So, traps found, but how to disable? The scenario describes the barbwire hanging like streamers through the room, and that you need to get to a statue to disable it. This is a bit different from what I'm used to: normally you can disable a trap from outside its effect area. I ruled that by crawling across the floor, Quinn could get to a statue to make his Disable Device attempt. At this point Auke (my VC) advised the Quinn player that as long as the DD attempt didn't fail by 5, he'd at least not trigger the trap, so that (with Heroism), Take 10 for 24 should be safe.
Well, this particular trap breaks those rules. Which would have been a rude surprise. But Quinn's Disable Device was sufficient, so he crawled around the room and made it safe. Afterwards I revealed the trap's mechanics, what it could've done to the prisoners; and there was much wincing :D
After that the question was how to get out. Added complication: a halfling PC sleeping off a bout of Oil of Taggit in the guard barracks. They decided to first send Quinn out with the halfling for medical treatment ("his condition has worsened") and made that Bluff stick. Once outside, the Quinn player noticed the pregen was carrying Twitch Tonic and the halfling medium succeeded at a new saving throw. Kudos for such a well-prepared pregen. I was quite relieved that the player would get to participate in the chase scene as well; it's no fun being out of action that long.
Interestingly, formulating the escape plan caused a change of pace. The start of the adventure is pretty straightforward; how to get in, get the lay of the land, ditch your chaperone; and then suddenly you need to come up with your own solution for smuggling out the guards.
Their solution was neat; the psychic cast Silence on himself in the east side of the hall, then the wizard summoned a Mount and got it to gallop down towards the west side. When the cards stepped through the door in the bars to confront the horse, the Invisible inquisitor manacled the door closed behind them. The guard at the door was ran past by a Hasted group of escaping prisoners.
The Chase
The chase went nicely. This highly skilled party had no problems with it; I think the average amount of delays got close to 4. In the beginning people agonized over choices, but as the players realized they were good at this they eased up and played more impulsively.
One player grumbled a bit that the +4 DC hike for high tier was harsh on ability checks; I disagreed. At high tier PCs have had more opportunities to access class skills so the balance swings towards relying on skills instead.
All in all the chase was fun and fast. I didn't find it confusing, but then I expect every chase scene to have new rules so I was ready to study it thoroughly during prep. I think it succeeded in giving everyone first-class participation, so in that respect it's better than Kaava Quarry. It was a bit easy, but it's also an experiment, and it's probably better to softball these things until you figure out the sweet spot, than to make some meatgrinder that will poison people against chases (again).
The Last Stand
I was a bit disappointed with this bit. As my players cleared the chase with two spaces distance, they got 1d3+1 = 3 rounds to prepare. Since they hadn't really fought the guards in the prison, and hadn't been attacked in the chase, they were completely fresh. So by the time the inquisitor got there, Quinn had sampled everything in the medicine cabinet, Haste had already been cast, a wand of Shield had been passed around etcetera.
Meanwhile, the inquisitor's build was very flavorful, but he's just not that powerful. He has to cross a lot of ground to the PCs, and since they're the ones escaping, he can't just wait for them to come to him. Not ideal, given the focus on AoOs in Vasenti and the guards' build.
His spell selection makes perfect sense for an interrogator, but his wisdom isn't high enough to make the saving throw DCs scary. So he's down to a physical fight with a few buffs. But he's not got any really powerful gear, his stats are only middling, and he's just one level ahead of the PCs. He also doesn't have any kind of tactical positioning advantage going for him.
So the fight was disappointingly easy. I'm not sure how to change it though; the PCs got into it under ideal circumstances. They were a few hairs away from avoiding it altogether. They really didn't need any rounds to prepare.
But then imagine a party that does the prison the bloody way, doesn't get much of a lead at the start of the chase because of it, and bombs some Delay checks. Now they're getting javelins thrown at them round after round, and then they have to fight those people without preparation. That could be an ugly fight.
So I think the final fight could be lackluster for a party that does the preceding parts well, and painful for a party that did badly. So I'm not sure how to fix the low difficulty if the party did everything right, without making it even worse for the party that did badly. But it's something to think about next time.
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Some random closing thoughts.
- The player who played the infiltrator inquisitor was very happy that in this scenario, playing an infiltration build really paid off. He ruled the Bluff checks and the Sleigh of Hand to spice up the soup. It's nice to see that while the scenario is probably playable for PCs that aren't that savvy, it's not dumbed down so savvy people feel redundant.
- The scenario was fair game for playing up. While a L2 PC has to be more careful when going to the front line in melee or suchlike, there aren't any area attacks in the high tier that'll instantly kill anyone playing up. I think especially in the 1-5 genre, that's important.
- I like the wide latitude given to use other skills/powers if the players come up with something odd that makes sense.
- The revelation about Zarta is very cool.
- I also like the idea that Zarta really has it in for Ianareth now. Curious to see how that develops.
- When I initially got my hands on Part I, there were some foreshadowings, especially the focus on Tamrin Credence, that were completely unexplained. It's good to avoid spoilering too much about part II and III, but I think in this case it was a bit too close to the chest so that the GM doesn't have anything to go off if the players show curiosity about the foreshadowing.
- The "care package" that Tamrin gave the party was put to good use. Printing out cards for it helped remind the players about what they had at their disposal. I didn't use his coaching about weasel-wording because there were no straight and narrow PCs at the table. But altogether, I like how this time you actually get sent on a mission with useful tools, a good briefing and NPCs that competently assist you. That's a breath of fresh air.
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They didn't ask many questions; I was a bit disappointed that nobody even asked about Tamrin's Aspis ties.
This information may have gotten lost due background noise. I was sitting next to you twice while you gave the briefing and totally missed it.
The player who played the infiltrator inquisitor was very happy that in this scenario, playing an infiltration build really paid off. He ruled the Bluff checks and the Sleigh of Hand to spice up the soup. It's nice to see that while the scenario is probably playable for PCs that aren't that savvy, it's not dumbed down so savvy people feel redundant.
I was the inquisitor in the game, and I would like to emphasize this quote. It's nice to have a scenario where an infiltraton specialist can show off (for lack of a better word) without overshadowing the rest of the players. Quote from the party: "With that kind of Take 10 Disguise, you ARE an Aspis agent".
Also, infiltrating a Chelaxian prison as a Twilight Talon to liberate people feels epic to say the least.The temptation was too great during the Parade card of the chase scene not to perform a speech condemning slavery to cause chaos (Liberty's Edge faction card).
One player grumbled a bit that the +4 DC hike for high tier was harsh on ability checks; I disagreed. At high tier PCs have had more opportunities to access class skills so the balance swings towards relying on skills instead.
Yes, that was also me. I understand Lau's argument, but still:
I still think that, since ability modifiers do not substantially increase between levels 1 and 5, the DC should not increase from 13 (which is moderately high, usually requiring between an 11 and a 14 to succeed) to 17 (which is very high, and unlikely to succeed, usually requiring a roll between 15 and 18 to succeed).The offer should not be the primary choice for the check, but still be a decent offer for a secondary. Therefore a +2 increase should suffice for the ability checks.
The +4 difficulty for the skills is in my opinion spot on though.
The final combat indeed felt like a bit like push over, even though it was entertaining.
What was the deal of the Elixir of Love in the care package, by the way? I can imagine a few things, but did it tie into the scenario in any way?
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I would like to give compliments to Christopher for writing this scenario. I enjoyed playing it very much.
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 4, RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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What was the deal of the Elixir of Love in the care package, by the way? I can imagine a few things, but did it tie into the scenario in any way?
I included that as an option for non-casters to charm Galvar or another guard. Thus far I haven't heard of anyone using it, but I thought social PCs might like the option.
I'm glad you enjoyed the scenario, and thanks to you and Lau for your feedback! I'm favoriting all of the reviews and breakdowns to look back on and inform my crunch work for future projects, which will hopefully maintain the flavor while moving closer to that sweet spot for challenge. As my first scenario, which was also a Tier 1–5, I definitely erred on the side of lowballing the challenge rather than clobbering beginning players. I think it's easier to forgive an overly easy scenario than an overly difficult one, especially if it has decent flavor.
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Venture-Lieutenant, Netherlands—Leiden
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I'm glad you enjoyed the scenario, and thanks to you and Lau for your feedback! I'm favoriting all of the reviews and breakdowns to look back on and inform my crunch work for future projects, which will hopefully maintain the flavor while moving closer to that sweet spot for challenge. As my first scenario, which was also a Tier 1–5, I definitely erred on the side of lowballing the challenge rather than clobbering beginning players. I think it's easier to forgive an overly easy scenario than an overly difficult one, especially if it has decent flavor.
I don't really mind the low difficulty in this case. It's actually very convenient that the difficulty is roughly the same in the entire trilogy, so that it can function as a good introductory series for new players. (Teaching them that skills, too, are very important!)
Also, there are good and bad kinds of easy. The bad kind is where you don't really get to see the bad guys do anything because they're defeated too soon and that was it. But in this case most of the interesting bits weren't actually about the combats, so that's fine.
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I'm glad you enjoyed the scenario, and thanks to you and Lau for your feedback! I'm favoriting all of the reviews and breakdowns to look back on and inform my crunch work for future projects, which will hopefully maintain the flavor while moving closer to that sweet spot for challenge. As my first scenario, which was also a Tier 1–5, I definitely erred on the side of lowballing the challenge rather than clobbering beginning players. I think it's easier to forgive an overly easy scenario than an overly difficult one, especially if it has decent flavor.
And a review is up. I hope others will enjoy it as much!
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I'm excited about this one, but still not quite grasping the "right way" to run the trap in A11. How are PCs supposed to get to all eight statues without triggering the trap? It sounds like touching any of the chains triggers it, so it seems almost impossible to navigate the room safely, even if they do manage to notice all the switches. The only option that comes to mind aside from shooting the winches is spells like mage hand.
For that matter, how would the Inquisitor disable the trap? He's probably not shooting the winches every time he wants to use the room, and his Acrobatics is pretty mediocre at both tiers, so he's probably not dodging and weaving through the chains.
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 4, RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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I'm excited about this one, but still not quite grasping the "right way" to run the trap in A11. How are PCs supposed to get to all eight statues without triggering the trap? It sounds like touching any of the chains triggers it, so it seems almost impossible to navigate the room safely, even if they do manage to notice all the switches. The only option that comes to mind aside from shooting the winches is spells like mage hand.
For that matter, how would the Inquisitor disable the trap? He's probably not shooting the winches every time he wants to use the room, and his Acrobatics is pretty mediocre at both tiers, so he's probably not dodging and weaving through the chains.
The PCs can get around the room the same way the interrogator does: just walking. As much as I love the image of Lau's PCs commando-crawling to each statue, logistically most of the "streamer chains" are out of immediate reach given the room's height and shape (they're included in the map more for flavor). The average human-height level is easy and safe to navigate, so just walking around the room shouldn't be an issue. The PCs only really risk triggering the trap by interacting with the chains in any meaningful way: tinkering with the statues (failed Disable Device), attacking the winches (any attack rolls), trying to wriggle the prisoners free from their bindings (failed Escape Artist), etc. Also note that even if the PCs do trigger the trap, it runs its course over several rounds, during which they can actively try to disarm or destroy the eight statues/winches; in essence, if the PCs can't bypass the trap using skills, they can functionally fight against it like a combat encounter.
The interrogator knows where the disarming mechanisms are and has the key to activate or deactivate them, so he just resets each statue whenever he has to leave a torture session.
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Ok. That makes sense, especially rereading the room boxtext. The description of tripwires, coupled with the map, had me imagining a scene more like this.
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 4, RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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Ok. That makes sense, especially rereading the room boxtext. The description of tripwires, coupled with the map, had me imagining a scene more like this.
Haha, nice! A great visual I'd love to use one day, but not for this particular trap :)
Fun fact: Those movies were part of my process for designing this scenario. I based Tamrin's character on George Clooney's titular role.
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Venture-Lieutenant, Netherlands—Leiden
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I'm excited about this one, but still not quite grasping the "right way" to run the trap in A11. How are PCs supposed to get to all eight statues without triggering the trap? It sounds like touching any of the chains triggers it, so it seems almost impossible to navigate the room safely, even if they do manage to notice all the switches. The only option that comes to mind aside from shooting the winches is spells like mage hand.
For that matter, how would the Inquisitor disable the trap? He's probably not shooting the winches every time he wants to use the room, and his Acrobatics is pretty mediocre at both tiers, so he's probably not dodging and weaving through the chains.
The PCs can get around the room the same way the interrogator does: just walking. As much as I love the image of Lau's PCs commando-crawling to each statue, logistically most of the "streamer chains" are out of immediate reach given the room's height and shape (they're included in the map more for flavor). The average human-height level is easy and safe to navigate, so just walking around the room shouldn't be an issue. The PCs only really risk triggering the trap by interacting with the chains in any meaningful way: tinkering with the statues (failed Disable Device), attacking the winches (any attack rolls), trying to wriggle the prisoners free from their bindings (failed Escape Artist), etc. Also note that even if the PCs do trigger the trap, it runs its course over several rounds, during which they can actively try to disarm or destroy the eight statues/winches; in essence, if the PCs can't bypass the trap using skills, they can functionally fight against it like a combat encounter.
The interrogator knows where the disarming mechanisms are and has the key to activate or deactivate them, so he just resets each statue whenever he has to leave a torture session.
I got the impression it was something like this, but wasn't quite sure from the description. So I ruled that crawling to the statues didn't require a check => no risk of accidentally setting it off just to get to the statues.
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In regard to the final combat being too easy, my experience was very different. Our party was 4/5 human and we had to face all three opponents on high tier due to a bad start on the chase. At the high tier, the interrogator was hitting consistently for 20-30 damage per attack using bane (human). We had two party members down and my empiricist investigator had to step up to take a hit in order for us to get one of the real melee types back into combat. A second hit would have killed my PC. I thought it was a good challenge.
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Ran a helluva game tonight with this one! Seven players on modified high-tier and only one level 1 rogue (the rest were casters or fighters). The group spent a meticulous amount of time sizing up the chain room trap and managed to get all four targets extracted without setting it off! Clever application of a wand of grease really helped out there. (+10 to Escape Artist checks!) The chase was great running it with a loose, cinematic feel and the players pulled off a sizable lead throughout the whole thing. Taking down the interrogator was too easy for party, even at high tier, but they rolled well and earned the win. Very fun and a wonderful early birthday present to myself to run this one for a big group that really pulled it all off!
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Venture-Lieutenant, Netherlands—Leiden
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In regard to the final combat being too easy, my experience was very different. Our party was 4/5 human and we had to face all three opponents on high tier due to a bad start on the chase. At the high tier, the interrogator was hitting consistently for 20-30 damage per attack using bane (human). We had two party members down and my empiricist investigator had to step up to take a hit in order for us to get one of the real melee types back into combat. A second hit would have killed my PC. I thought it was a good challenge.
That's... weird. My party was mostly human as well, but the interrogator was just dead too soon to actually do anything. He's got unimpressive AC and starts 1-2 rounds of movement away from a party that's had time to buff. So he took damage getting there, got to roll one attack but missed, and then he died.
(Also, investigators can be absolute combat monsters. Mine is scarier than my paladin of higher level.)
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What was the deal of the Elixir of Love in the care package, by the way? I can imagine a few things, but did it tie into the scenario in any way?I included that as an option for non-casters to charm Galvar or another guard. Thus far I haven't heard of anyone using it, but I thought social PCs might like the option.
My group considered putting it in the stew instead of the poison, but the GM (Bongo Bigbounce) warned us that it wouldn't work that way, which I already suspected. Still, we had fun joking about all the possible uses for how the poison and love elixir could be used.
All in all, a really fun adventure. The whole trilogy, actually. Well done to all involved.
I was glad I brought my low level Dark Archive PC for this trilogy. He's a skill monkey infiltrator inquisitor of the Reaper of Reputations (Norgorber's aspect as the god of secrets) who is obsessed with finding out secrets. So having him find out the big reveal about Zarta was almost a character defining moment. But he's still obsessed with finding out who the Decemvirate are, so he'll continue to serve as a loyal Pathfinder, at least until he achieves that life goal.
Of course, bringing along that kind of skill monkey was perfect for this part of the trilogy. He's not great in combat, but that +15 bluff at level 3 came in REALLY handy here. And between my guy, the psychic, and two wizards, our group had no problem with knowledge rolls throughout the entire trilogy (which was huge in part 2 especially).
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Venture-Lieutenant, Netherlands—Leiden
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The guards move 3 squares minus the parties skill successes, minimum 1 , i take it all party members count towards this limit?
The guards have 3 "moves". Entering a card costs a move. For every Delay the PCs placed on the card (with a success), entering it costs 1 more.
If due to Delays the guards cannot enter a card, they stop in front of it and remove all Delays from it.
Example: the next card is clear, but the card after that has 2 Delays because the PCs got 2 successes on checks. The guards move onto the first card, and have 2 moves remaining. Due to Delays, the guards would need 3 moves to enter the next card, and they don't have that. So they pause and remove all Delays from it. Next turn they'll enter that card (1 move) and try to move onwards from there.
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I'm too tired (and probably too shifty) for a full report but I wanted to document how my players evaded their chaperone for future generations.
One of the players was a hunter with an owlbear animal companion. Early on, conversation turned to the owlbear. The guard hadn't seen one up close before. After it snarled at him, he was incredibly nervous about it.
Another player was a shifty halfling. (Yeah, he probably won't write up a full report either.) He's looking for a way to ditch the chaperone right off the bat and he figures out the elixir of love has got to be the ticket!
The poor guard is sitting there staring uneasily at the owlbear. Halfling says, "Here. If you drink this, the owlbear will consider you an ally. You'll be safe." Makes his check. The guy's sold on the idea. Staring into the beaky face of an owlbear probably didn't hurt.
GM: The guy's staring at this owlbear going, "Are you sure?"
Halfling: Absolutely. Trust me, it'll work!
GM: He looks the owlbear in the eye... (waits a beat)
Players: Silence.
GM: He drinks the potion. "Is it... is it safe now? Can I pet it?"
Hunter makes a check, successfully tells the owlbear not to maul the poor guy. And instructs the owlbear to stay and not to move.
GM: "This is SO COOOOOOL. Owlbears are awesome!"
Players: Oh sh*t.
They leave the two of them there and go about their business. On their way out, I have the hunter roll a will save for the owlbear. Owlbear bombs the check. The players found the guard shivering in the corner, missing a leg from just above the knee. There's blood on one of the owlbear's flanks. "I... I tried to ride it... ...can you help me?"
They heal him up, stuff him in a sack, and take penalties on the chase on their way out. Poor guy's now the hunter's groom.
Thank you for helping my players enable bad decisions. They really didn't need the help, but they had a lot of fun as a result.
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Wow.
Makes our play of this at a local convention two weekends ago seem rather tame.
Infiltration went smoothly, drugging was expedited by a smoking hot-cold-infernally hot bard getting the guards to come in to listen to music, and the guards didn't make it past surprise so we manacled them up and put them in the privy with a note (25 on the Linguistics to knock out a forgery, based on handwriting samples we'd seen) where they could see it when or if they managed to get out.
"By order of Her Infernal Majestrix Abrogail Thrune of the Thrice-Damned House of Thrune, your readiness has been judged and found wanting. Report for disciplinary procedures when you manage to break out of your chains or face immediate termination."
GM kind of did a double-take and gave us an extra round for the start of the chase because that definitely threw off suspicion and (added bonus) helped Tamrin stay 'in the clear'.
GM missed Krima on our tour, but that was okay, because we managed to sway her (with two LE members in the party kind of helping, and a person who had a Bellflower trait) to participate in the 'be sleeping in a cage' method of distraction.
That particular note in the prison files about Zarta had my LE character going Oh, *insert some expletives here*, making a copy of that, how often does a member of LE get GOOD blackmail material on a faction leader, particularly Zarta?
Personal highlight was my character, with Profession(Barrister), looking for clients at the Asmodean service.
"See that mess of chaos there? It's HEADED right FOR you! There's no better time to get legal representation than BEFORE the chaos strikes!"
We were tempted at one point to just stop and wait on a square because we had such an insane lead boosted by our massive successes causing delays but realized that discretion was the better part of valor and by having such a commanding lead we could protect Tamrin better via plausible deniability.
We got done in nice time, suffice to say.
The only 'downer' was as we were leaving, the other table that went off was in the middle of murdering all the guards and one player said "This is Pathfinder, what else are we supposed to do BUT kill them all and take their stuff?"
Kind of dampened the euphoria at the awesome table we had.
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Yeah... this was a good one, especially since you weren't forced into fighting anyone as long as you could make the right checks. My party was playing tier 1-2 and didn't have a single combat. We finished in about 3 hours and at the end we sat down and ran them through the final encounter at tier 4-5, just for fun. (That fight... wasn't particularly close.)
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As there is no 4 player adjustment to the chase unless combat happens, I would suggest that the speed of the forces be adjusted as well. My experiences suggest that the speed should be 4 per at regular, and 3 per with the four player adjustment. If we made it 3/2 instead I would not argue. Of course this is only my humble opinion.
I agree Dropping guard advancement from 3 to 2 as a 4 player adjustment seems fair
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Venture-Lieutenant, Minnesota—Minneapolis
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I agree Dropping guard advancement from 3 to 2 as a 4 player adjustment seems fairAs there is no 4 player adjustment to the chase unless combat happens, I would suggest that the speed of the forces be adjusted as well. My experiences suggest that the speed should be 4 per at regular, and 3 per with the four player adjustment. If we made it 3/2 instead I would not argue. Of course this is only my humble opinion.
Are you suggesting this be done in addition to the DC modifier already given?
As mentioned earlier, there is already an adjustment given in the sidebar.
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I am curious on Room A11
the description of the room is well done ... however mechanically I wonder if something was overlooked with spiked chains lying about the room floor everywhere that spin up and start shredding people , was the intent to make the floor difficult Terrain ... or function like Caltrops ? the description certainly leads to that Thought process
when I ran it I had a hafling Cavalier wanting to charge around to damage the mechanisms... this was after the chains had spun up
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 4, RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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I am curious on Room A11
the description of the room is well done ... however mechanically I wonder if something was overlooked with spiked chains lying about the room floor everywhere that spin up and start shredding people , was the intent to make the floor difficult Terrain ... or function like Caltrops ? the description certainly leads to that Thought process
when I ran it I had a hafling Cavalier wanting to charge around to damage the mechanisms... this was after the chains had spun up
The chains are mostly suspended overhead and wrapped around the central column, so they don't affect movement within the room. Chains along the floors would impede the interrogator too, so it would be counterproductive for the facility.
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 4, RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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My conclusion is that if the PCs can get 4+ delays on consecutive cards, they CAN widen their lead on the pursuit
Not really, since the pursuit that gets stopped at a card automatically progresses to that card on their next turn regardless of how many delays remain in that card. Your breakdown of the pursuit should read as follows:
Pursuit starts on Card 1.
On Turn 1, pursuit cannot enter Card 2, but automatically gets there next round
On Turn 2, pursuit automatically enters Card 2, cannot enter Card 3, but automatically gets there next round
On Turn 3, pursuit automatically enters Card 3, cannot enter Card 4, but automatically gets there next round
On Turn 4, pursuit automatically enters Card 4, cannot enter Card 5, but automatically gets there next round
etc
The second quote you referenced refers to the PCs' ability to stave off the pursuit should they catch up. That would resolve something like this:
- PCs reach Card 4 with max success in the prison, but without creating any delays. The pursuit becomes active and moves 3 cards, in this case landing them on the PCs' card, causing them to throw javelins at the PCs.
- The PCs, not wanting to get shot at again, try creating delays when they move into Card 5. They are wildly successful and create 6 delays, way more than the pursuits' movement. This means the pursuit cannot enter the PCs' card (because they lack sufficient movement to clear the delays), but they will automatically enter the card on their next turn.
- The PCs move to Card 6 and create 2 delays. The pursuit automatically moves into Card 5 (costing 1 move), but lacks sufficient movement to enter Card 6 where the PCs are.
- The PCs maintain this one-card lead by getting 2+ delays per turn until they reach the finish line.
The chase ultimately boils down to the PCs first establishing a lead from their performance in part one, then maintaining it throughout the chase by rattling up enough successes to keep the pursuit at bay. I would argue that cards beyond the second still matter, since the pursuit stands a very real chance of rapidly gaining on lazy or unsuccessful PCs (allowing them to fire off one or more free javelin attacks).
Hope that helps!
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So uh, a question: Tactics for Valenti says he uses studied target in attacks but normal inquisitors do not have that as far as I know? Did I miss something from his statblock or is this an error?
I didn't read the scenario (only played it), but the Sanctified Slayer archetype gets it. But that should be mentioned, and he would not be getting Judgment then.
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Venture-Lieutenant, Netherlands—Leiden
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So uh, a question: Tactics for Valenti says he uses studied target in attacks but normal inquisitors do not have that as far as I know? Did I miss something from his statblock or is this an error?
I think it's meant to be Bane, since you need to actually select a creature (sub)type for that - i.e. the PC he wants to attack first.
He's a vanilla inquisitor so he has Bane, and that's something he can actually do as a Swift action while using a Standard to cast and Move to move closer.
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If a player finishes part 3, having not played parts 1 and 2 before that, but later plays parts 1 and 2, do they then retroactively qualify for the Delvehaven Star boon?I have the same question but really only see on response on this. It's supposed to be as written so I would guess if you didn't do the other parts you don't qualify.
My question on this is one step further in clarification, Do you have to complete parts 1 and 2 before doing this and must those chronicles be on the same character to earn credit?
Would be nice to get some paizo insight on this. I've had GM's not cross this off for people that did not play the other two parts and others that left it available. Can we as GM's leave it available if parts 1 and 2 are not completed but make a note on the chronicle sheet that this requires all three parts on the same character to be available along with which parts the player has not done?
The problem with this is, what about all the players that did have it crossed off? As the scenario has been out for almost a month now, that's a lot of potential players that will be unhappy because they missed out on the reward. In the past, the boons that allowed for a player to gain access without playing all the parts in order specifically called out in the text what you needed to do to activate it. Without that accompanying text, the GM has to go off of what it says, which is that only those who have played all three parts gain access when the chronicle sheet is handed out. Those who aren't crossing it off are not following the scenario/chronicle instructions (though honest mistakes do happen), and instead are setting up their local lodge for a hard time when players who missed out complain about the unfairness.
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 4, RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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So uh, a question: Tactics for Valenti says he uses studied target in attacks but normal inquisitors do not have that as far as I know? Did I miss something from his statblock or is this an error?
That's a holdover from an earlier edition of the adventure. He is a normal inquisitor, so he uses his judgment and bane abilities, not studied strike.
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We were able to disable about half the trap-chains before our rogue botched a disable roll and some of the chains started up.
Fortunately we'd had the foresight to channel heal the prisoners first and some really quick shooting/disabling shut down the reaction before it spread to the rest of the chains.
It was very refreshing to have a scenario where the *option* of combat was there(at least in our run) but we had the *luxury* of choosing to NOT do that, while still feeling the pressure/on a timetable.
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Venture-Agent, Finland—Tampere
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Prisoners didn't actually need healing though, they are at max health before trap is activated IIRC. Good thinking though
Anyway, I did find chamber of chains bit confusing when running this. Like, I had image of it being essentially wire trap room, but there wasn't any mention of players having to be careful while moving there.
Also, I'm now wondering if it would have been possible to safely remove prisoners without disabling the trap first... I don't remember if text actually said you can't do that .-.
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Venture-Lieutenant, Netherlands—Leiden
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Prisoners didn't actually need healing though, they are at max health before trap is activated IIRC. Good thinking though
Anyway, I did find chamber of chains bit confusing when running this. Like, I had image of it being essentially wire trap room, but there wasn't any mention of players having to be careful while moving there.
Also, I'm now wondering if it would have been possible to safely remove prisoners without disabling the trap first... I don't remember if text actually said you can't do that .-.
You can remove them without disabling the trap, with Escape Artist.
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With regard to the boon: yes, it must be on the same character. The boons specifies "PCs", not players. If you don't qualify for it at the time you earn the Chronicle, you don't get the boon. Boons cannot be earned retroactively, so you must play the first two scenarios with the same character before playing part three to earn the boon.
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Ok, something has me stumped on the final encounter. If the PCs arrive and have X rounds to "prepare for combat", why wouldn't they just run to the dock, get on the boat, and sail away? Is there a reason they would instead spend several rounds allowing the bad guys to catch up and then fight them?
If they arrive with enough lead time, they do just that, but if they have less of a lead they instead get some number of rounds before the bad guys arrive. Is the boat not there yet, except in the case of arriving with the maximum possible lead?
If the boat is there, then basically there is almost no chance of the final encounter occuring. What am I missing?
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Venture-Lieutenant, Minnesota—Minneapolis
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They have to wait because someone didn't feel safe enough to come meet them with pursuers so close behind.
At least, that is how I choose to interpret it.