|
One of the revelations in SD is the Lantern Bearers and the Winter Council that controls them. If a half-elf PC wished to become a Lantern Bearer, could they find a Lantern Bearer sponsor by the time they hit 5th level, when they can qualify for the prestige class, or do they not show up until later?
Isn't Kwava with the Shin'Rakorath? He shows up in Book 1.
Is he one? I'm away from my PDFs.
Dug out my print copy. He is one of their newest members.
One of the revelations in SD is the Lantern Bearers and the Winter Council that controls them. If a half-elf PC wished to become a Lantern Bearer, could they find a Lantern Bearer sponsor by the time they hit 5th level, when they can qualify for the prestige class, or do they not show up until later?
APs are not holy works written in stone. A good GM should always be able to time things or even put in things for player development, especially if such development is appropriate and serves the campaign.
The "problem" with a Lantern Bearer PC is that there are revelations about who they work for later in the AP, and the PC may not like what that entails.
Also, once the contacts with the higher-level Lantern Bearers become common, the PC might expect to be told more than the AP plans for.
Plus, there WILL ba a problem with Book 5.
So, while Lantern Bearer (both the Faction and the Prestige Class) feel like they should be a perfect fit for this AP, they actually can cause some problems.
For this reason, some GMs in the past have required that ALL PCs be Elves and Lantern Bearers.. so that encounter can be avoided by the Winter Council "trusting their own" to keep quiet.
I don't like that solution myself, as it feels really forced and contrived.
Contributor
|
I strongly suspect that the Lantern Bearers' depiction in this AP is one of the things Mr. Jacobs would fix, given the chance. Among other things, their depiction in the (slightly) more recent Faction Guide takes particular pains to discuss how firmly good-aligned they are. Their actions in the AP (and their description as "mercenaries") don't really gel with any of their material published since then.
While a hardcover update is unlikely for the foreseeable future, hopefully we'll get something at some point that clears some of these issues up.
I strongly suspect that the Lantern Bearers' depiction in this AP is one of the things Mr. Jacobs would fix, given the chance. Among other things, their depiction in the (slightly) more recent Faction Guide takes particular pains to discuss how firmly good-aligned they are. Their actions in the AP (and their description as "mercenaries") don't really gel with any of their material published since then.
While a hardcover update is unlikely for the foreseeable future, hopefully we'll get something at some point that clears some of these issues up.
Mostly agreed... the issue I was trying to get to is that PC members of the Lantern Bearers will have some conflicts to deal with as the AP goes on. At the time, there was no Faction or Prestige Class for PCs to be members of, and the GMs who expected/required the PCs members generally did so in order to get around other issues in the AP.
|
I would run it with all players being Elves (maybe one half-elf or elf-born aasimar) and Lantern Bearers.
Then change the elves to make them not be pompous, horrible buffoons.
The conflict with the Winter Council can be dropped. Your heroes are here to face the drow (plus some forces of Treerazer) and, as succesful members of the Lantern Bearers, it is no surprise that they face the enemy.
I feel like this give an extra layer of meaning to the first volume (you're taking over a casino to make a front for LB investigations) and makes the transition to save-the-elves/save-the-world more natural.
It is also truer to JJ's vision of elves and the general presentation of elves in post-3.5 Golarion.
Meeting your first drow is still a shock, but the shock is now 'what is it doing HERE!'
Having Kwava be a LB contact/runner also makes a lot of sense and means trust is simpler to create.
|
I'm closing in on the end of book 1 of this and my party is mostly elven or half-elven with a dwarf and human rounding things out. One of the players has expressed some interest in being a LB and I think this should work out really well. It'll give the PCs a Point of View into some of the decisions to "cover up" the existence of the Drow as well and give them greater motivation for some of the later books.