| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
I have a question...
I don't understand how haunts work...
For example: my party has entered in the prison; in the first room they found the slamming doors, they try to open a door and they listen the scream and the door slam! but they can pass through the door withouth destroy the haunt?
how they can find out that they must use the holy water to neutralize the haunt?sorry for my bad english... pls, can anyone help me? I don't understand how to manage haunts :(
Some of us had similar problems and there are a couple of long threads discussing them. The answers might be there already:
Haunts by the bookHaunts discussion thread for CC
Hope this helps!
Knowledge (Religion) checks help to figure out what to do! They are undead after all.
One of the PCs in my campaign is interested in taking on the Pathfinder Delver prestige class from Seekers of Secrets sometime during TOTB. I'm inclined to let him do so and work around the process for admission into the Pathfinders; it would actually work very well for my larger campaign world and incorporating other NPCs to have this PC join the Pathfinders.
My question relates to the requirement that the character have "recovered an object of historical significance from an ancient ruin or similar historic location." I'd ideally like to make that Harrowstone rather than some location in TOTB. What makes the most sense to me is that the object would have been something in the possession of the warden, which would now be at the bottom of The Splatter Man's oubliette, with the warden's other things.
I'm just trying to figure out WHAT the object might be. I don't really want it to be a magic item that the party would be reluctant to hand over to the Pathfinders for examination (I'm assuming that recovery of the object implies handing it over to the Pathfinders, or at least that would work best in my campaign, to give extra justification for giving the player a provisional field commission as a Pathfinder).
Something of major historical significance that the Warden might have had on his person would be ideal for my purposes. Any ideas?
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
He could have confiscated something from one of the prisoners--that strikes me as the most plausible reason for a prison warden to have an item of historical significance on his person.
The splatter man was a celebrated scholar of the study of personal names and their origins, so he could have had a sheaf of notes on his person that expounded the lineage of the whispering tyrant.
Father charlatan might have had something of interest as well, since he was in the business of bilking people out of miscellaneous valuables.
Dont know that class, but what about TotB's Seasage artifact?
Thanks for the ideas so far. The problem with notes is they wouldn't survive at the bottom of the flooded oubliette. Plus I'm concerned the PCs would assume that THEY needed to study the whole lineage of the Whispering Tyrant, which would be a distraction in our campaign.
Something else from a prisoner would work, but I can't think of something sufficiently historically significant that the Warden would have on his person (as opposed to something that would be left in the property room upstairs).
The problem with the seasage effigy is that it isn't recovered during TOTB, so it would not give the PC the prerequisite she needs to take the prestige class. I actually want to introduce a Pathfinder NPC in Lepidstadt, so getting the item in Harrowstone really would be best.
The only idea I have so far is that maybe the Warden got some sort of royal honor for his service to Ustalav in housing the Principality's worst criminals. And perhaps the Warden was given a ring with a royal seal to commemorate his royal honor. But I don't know if that is plausible and whether recovering a ring of that nature (which could be returned to the King by the Pathfinder Society) would be a significant enough historical object...
By the way, the Pathfinder Delver prestige class is sort of an Indiana Jones type, who is more focused on the action than the art of writing up the stories. It is a good roleplaying class, not overpowered as far as I can tell.
Hold on...its a prestige class, right? So when can he start taking levels in it?
There could be info @ the uni about the seasage....would that be enought? Bend the rules a bit and make it a requirment to recover that artifact?
Else...if it has to be HoH....make the spirit board (what ever that name was) special...some notes from the Prof...
HA....what about the Lord of the Rings approach. On the way to Lepidstadt they stumble across some hill graves....some undead and xp later and then he can find a pathfinder in Lepidstadt. (more likly anywaythen Ravengro)
The only idea I have so far is that maybe the Warden got some sort of royal honor for his service to Ustalav in housing the Principality's worst criminals. And perhaps the Warden was given a ring with a royal seal to commemorate his royal honor. But I don't know if that is plausible and whether recovering a ring of that nature (which could be returned to the King by the Pathfinder Society) would be a significant enough historical object...
Or you could say that the magical sword is a Hawkran family heirloom, dating back as far as you deem necessary to meet the PrC requirements. Since splatter man put the items in the oubliette to torment Hawkran, it would make sense that the item was of extra sentimental value to him.
Thanks all. Some interesting ideas.
It is a bit of a stretch, but I was thinking it would be neat and create sufficient significance if the Warden somehow had on his person something that is somehow tied to the current political drama in Ustalav, relating to the rivalry between the current Prince Aduard and Reneis, the supposed child of the previous ruler and a rival for the throne. Could the warden have something -- either something sent to him by the previous ruler (Prince Valislav) or confiscated from a prisoner -- that would cast in doubt that Reneis is Prince Valislav's child, thus undermining Reneis' claim to the throne? It would need to be something that the Warden could conceivably have had on his person when he descended to the lower level to deal with the riot. Also, preferably, it would be something that could survive at the bottom of a flooded oubliette. I'd like to make it at least a little challenging to retrieve!
On a more pedestrian note, the module says that the Manual of the Flesh Golem possessed by Alendru at the Unfurling Scroll in Ravengro has a market value of 4000 gp, but I find it having a listed value of 8000gp. Am I missing something? Is market value half of listed value, or is it a mistake?
The players can sell it at 4k, but the market price is at 8k. It's due to the way that players sell loot differently from everyone else.
That said you can always allow Diplomacy or Appraise as a skill boost the sale price beyond the 50% margin (thus depriving the merchants of Golarion some of their very healthy profit)
Thanks for the info. Can you tell me where these guidelines appear in the rulebooks? I can't seem to find the guidelines for selling magic items in the core rulebook. Are there similar rules for sales of jewels and other nonmagical valuables, or can those be sold for the listed value?
I have a question about the alignment of the scythe, given that it is haunted. Should detect undead notice it? could a paladin's smite affect it?Given the logic of the scenario, disregarding what RAW would say, I would say yes, and yes.
Yes, because an "undead" spirit is haunting the scythe.
Yes, because the paladin's channel smite is bypassing the scythe/hardness entirely and attacking the spirit directly.
Just a note, the scythe has the haunted special trait.
Haunted (Ex, +1 CP): The object is haunted by a malevolent spirit. It takes damage from positive energy as if it were an undead creature and can be detect by detect undead.
Also, my group beat it by getting Crits with lances. Its attack bonus is shite. It hit one player over the course of 5 turns.
Did anyone come up with a list of scrolls and magic items available at the Unfurling Scroll? I'd love to see it.
Also, did anyone think of a logical reason why Alendru at the Unfurling Scroll would have Crowl's copy of the Flesh Golem Manual? The only thing that makes sense is the professor had it as well as the other books and it got stolen, but that seems weird and it is weird the Prof. would not have said anything about it. Also, I think the connection to the Trial of the Beast theme is odd, and a bit of a red herring, since Alendru having the book does not seem to connect to the ToTB storyline. I'm planning on omitting the book, since I can't make it make sense.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I randomly generated the scroll list and decided that the Unfurling Scroll is part schoolhouse and part caster general store. It sells the town's supply of scrolls and wands and a few wondrous items pertinent to magic users (pearl of power). In this way, having the Flesh Golem Manual makes sense - just something else that the old man would have for sale.
My players haven't even asked the owner why he has it, though they know it belongs to Crowl. If they were to ask, he bought it from a traveler a few days before Lorrimor's death. Perhaps the traveler was with the Whispering Way, was told to get rid of an item pointing to the next phase, but instead of destroying it he sells it for some cash (who would know and what's the harm?)
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Did anyone come up with a list of scrolls and magic items available at the Unfurling Scroll? I'd love to see it.
I'm trying to save myself some effort and use the charts for 1st thru third arcane and divine spells presented in the Game Master's Guide (pages: 126, 127, 130, and 131)
Also, did anyone think of a logical reason why Alendru at the Unfurling Scroll would have Crowl's copy of the Flesh Golem Manual?
I don't know if it was going to come up in my campaign, but if the PC's ever questioned it:
If they were to ask, he bought it from a traveler a few days before Lorrimor's death. Perhaps the traveler was with the Whispering Way, was told to get rid of an item pointing to the next phase, but instead of destroying it he sells it for some cash (who would know and what's the harm?)
The connection of the Flesh Golem Manual to the WW makes sense at a superficial level, but falls apart once you think about it more in the context of ToTB. First, the WW had nothing to do with creation of the Beast and there is no particular reason for them to have a Flesh Golem Manual. Second, we have to assume that the WW stole the manual from Crowl. Why would they take the risk of stealing some irrelevant manual from Crowl when the Seasage Effigy is so important? Third, why would any WW member risk coming into a small town like Ravengro and selling something so unusual? In my mind, it really makes no sense that Alendru has Crowl's Flesh Golem Manual. What am I missing?
Someone stole it. It was hot property. It was dispersed far away from where the crime happened. They just happened to choose Ravengro.
It was lifted from a WW guy by the Scarnzi, who sold it to a known mage in a little out-of-the-way town.
Vroomer:
I'd leave it to Crowl to think a student borrowed it, but that's just my interpretation.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I hear all of you about the WW angle, and I don't doubt that they would have been able to take it and theoretically it could have ended up in Ravengro. But it is a coincidence of monumental proportions in that (1) there are two other of Crowl's books in town and (2) the manual is directly resonant with (yet wholly unconnected to) the theme of ToTB. I'm not unopposed to coincidences that further the storyline, but this is a wholly random and pointless coincidence that creates a big red herring. My PCs might waste time trying to figure out how the heck Alendru ended up with the book and they might start to think that Crowl is the one that made the Beast. That last part would be ok if I was looking to misdirect the party, but I've got enough going on in the campaign that I don't want to just throw something confusing and ultimately pointless at them.
The only objective the Manual actually serves in the AP as written is the PCs can make some money off it. I'll make that up elsewhere.
Really, I think the writer just made a mistake on this one. That happens. I absolutely love the AP as a whole.
A couple questions as I'm preparing for the next session:
(1) With respect to the horrifying ooze of the ectoplasmic humans on the prison's lower level, the module (p. 87) says "the save DC is Charisma-based." What does this mean? The DC is 10+ half of hit dice and it is a Will save, which is based on Wisdom. Where does Charisma come into play?
(2) With respect to headless skeleton Vortch (p. 44), does his blind fight feat mean that if he misses due to blindness (50% miss chance) mean he gets to roll the miss chance again? And I'm assuming his channel resistance is not built into his will save stat, so his will save versus channeling is actually +8?
(3) Regarding the Lopper, his axe attack is against the PC's touch AC, since he is incorporeal? Deadly!
Sorry if these are obvious questions, but I haven't played Pathfinder too long and I want to make sure I'm not messing up any of the mechanics. More questions probably will follow...
Also, does the Gray Ooze's acid ignore weapon/armor hardness? The stats don't say so, so I'm inclined to say no considering how many hp it has, although that means its acid can never harm most weapons when it hits or is hit, only if the weapon is in contact with the ooze's acid for an entire round (such as if a PC is grabbed).
I don't think the gray ooze gets around the usual rules for energy attacks hurting items.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
My group is nearing the end of HoH. Our game is run over IM, with OOC talk handled over skype, and cosketch for the maps. Great, great job by paizo and Michael Kortez here--this is one of the best experiences I've had with published adventures. That said, I've mostly kept things as written, but there were some exceptions:
1) Didn't use trust points.
2) I didn't like much about the way the professor's journal was handled in this adventure writeup. So I downgraded it to a few sheets of paper that remained unnoticed on his corpse, not to be discovered until his re-animation. Instead of the journal in the adventure I used a modified form of John Lynch's writeup.
3) The encounter "Smoldering Revenge" was staged during a performance by the Twisted Kin at The Outward Inn, instead of at the town hall meeting. One of the performers pulled out a tarot deck and I combined this event with the "A House on Fire" optional event.
4) Mosswater Marauder. I gave this guy 36 hp, made him vulnerable to being attacked by his own hammer, and had the screaming skulls re-assemble and pop back up whenever all three were killed. Made the encounter a bit longer, and a bit more tense. Also ensured everyone had some meaningful choices as to how to contribute.
5) The Splatter Man. Going to run him as written, until one of the PCs gets the idea of bringing out his spell book. Then TSM will go bats*** crazy with magic missiles at that poor PC.
About Ghosts' Corrupting Touch and what it is supposed to do.
|
A couple questions as I'm preparing for the next session:
(1) With respect to the horrifying ooze of the ectoplasmic humans on the prison's lower level, the module (p. 87) says "the save DC is Charisma-based." What does this mean? The DC is 10+ half of hit dice and it is a Will save, which is based on Wisdom. Where does Charisma come into play?
That kind of line mean that the difficulty of the DC is modified by the charisma of the creature using the attack.
The example Ectoplasmatic human has a charisma of 10, so it will not affect the Save DC of his Horrifying ooze ability, but if it was a Ectoplasmatic human ex bard, with a initial Charisma of 13, increased to 15 by the template, the DC would be 10(base)+0(1/2 of 1 HD, FRD)+2(Cha modifier), for a total DC of 12.
That kind of line mean that the difficulty of the DC is modified by the charisma of the creature using the attack.
The example Ectoplasmatic human has a charisma of 10, so it will not affect the Save DC of his Horrifying ooze ability, but if it was a Ectoplasmatic human ex bard, with a initial Charisma of 13, increased to 15 by the template, the DC would be 10(base)+0(1/2 of 1 HD, FRD)+2(Cha modifier), for a total DC of 12.
Thanks, a lot. That helps, and it is something that I see now and again, so it is a good rule to understand!
Can the 6 points of CON damage delivered by the Mourning Maiden be recovered by normal means (e.g. rest or restoration spell) or does it need remove curse to cure, because it is referred to as the iron maiden's "curse" (HH p. 49).
Can the 6 points of CON damage delivered by the Mourning Maiden be recovered by normal means (e.g. rest or restoration spell) or does it need remove curse to cure, because it is referred to as the iron maiden's "curse" (HH p. 49).
Natural Healing: With a full night’s rest (8 hours of sleep or more), you recover 1 hit point per character level. Any signif icant interruption during your rest prevents you from healing that night.
If you undergo complete bed rest for an entire day and night, you recover twice your character level in hit points.Healing Ability Damage:Temporary ability damage returns at the rate of 1 point per night of rest (8 hours) for each affected ability score. Complete bed rest restores 2 points per day (24 hours) for each affected ability score.
(Core 191)
Thanks. It sounds like you just interpret this as regular ability damage rather than an actual "curse". I think that makes sense. I think the module would have said if the ability damage could only be cured by the remove curse spell.
I treated the Mourning Maiden's damage as an actual curse, but I let lesser restoration affect it, and since they were on good terms with Father Grimburrow, he dealt with the remainder of it the following day.
How did other GMs deal with selling loot in Ravengro? The PCs will come out of the prison lower level with a fair amount to sell, especially a pile of masterwork weapons and armor they don't need. I'm ruling that the Council won't object to the PCs selling that stuff, even though it belonged to the prison originally. The Council is just grateful to the party for clearing out the prison.
But can little Ravengro absorb the cost for all that stuff? Jorfa is really the only one who sells armor and weapons. Is she willing to buy it all, on the assumption that she will then be able to sell it to others who pass through town? The write-up does suggest that she gets some out of town customers...
Anything in particular I should be thinking about on this topic?
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
My players detoured to the west (on the way to Lepidstadt) to sell the weapons to the boarder guards. I actually used that possibility to trade some of the weapons with tradure they missed in HoH.
Also the PC should think about (appraise) that they might get a better price in Lepidstadt for some items then back-beyond-ravengro
Well, it finally came time to starting my campaign. I was a wee bit nervous, but things ran pretty smoothly! They like my adaptations of some of the characters went off well. Especially Father Grimburrow, and how I ran Old River. (This is the first time I've actually run an actual adventure path as opposed to one-shots or outdated modules).
I know I posted earlier about the Momument desecration, and I thank everyone for their advice. I ended up rewriting the scenario over anyway, but the reason I was having trouble in the first place is because I overlooked the line "He then uses the leftover blood to splatter the rest of the statue and the surrounding area [...]". Its a simple mistake. Thought I mention it anyway.
I do, however, have a question that I can't seem to find on the forums or in the adventure path. The PCs have been able to get all the information on each prisoner for the DC 25. I understand that each one is a seperate roll, but the book says "Conducting research into the town’s history also brings experience awards, as listed for each DC result below. Award these XP rewards only once—the first time these pieces of information are learned". Unless, again, I'm over looking a line in the book, it sounds like the reward should be just be 400 experience (which is 100 per PC like they only got 1 of the 5). My GM intuition feels it should be 100 per prisoner (which means they'd get 500 per PC). I am not sure which way it is actually suppose to be.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Award these XP rewards only once—the first time these pieces of information are learned[/i]". Unless, again, I'm over looking a line in the book, it sounds like the reward should be just be 400 experience (which is 100 per PC like they only got 1 of the 5). My GM intuition feels it should be 100 per prisoner (which means they'd get 500 per PC). I am not sure which way it is actually suppose to be.
I understood that if they role HIGHT they get EVERY one below automaticly. -> and adding up the XP's
Well, it finally came time to starting my campaign. I was a wee bit nervous, but things ran pretty smoothly! They like my adaptations of some of the characters went off well. Especially Father Grimburrow, and how I ran Old River.Do Share...
Sure?
Well, Grimsburrow, I gave him the personality of the head nun at a catholic school. He carries around him a ruler which he tends to slap against anyone who meanders slightly out of line in his church or to the people of the Ravengro. One of my PCs referred to his picture as a goblin, but was still talking in character, so during the funeral scene, the father had a stern talking to about them being outsiders in this town and how he's got his eye on them. The players response since then has been a bit comical around him now, taking him seriously in game more than the Sheriff. They've decided not to attempt to find the False Crypt until they can make amends with the man.
With Kendra, I started the game off on the 5th of Pharast, to explain why she doesn't have any money and is in the attempt to pawn off her father's old things. That way it explains why it was 16 days before she buried her father and why her will was written like it is. I figured they'd question it, but they feel that her life may be in danger. They opted to sleep in Kendra's house on the floor if need be, and at night, they take turns keeping an eye out for possible break-ins.
With old river, I know the group loves dogs. So I decided that given what was written about Old River, I up the ante on his story. He now has a similar tragic story like Hachikō. Five years prior, the dog and his master (only referred to by the dog as "master") had been traveling through town. The master told Old River to wait until he came back from dinner. Then man, unknown to the dog (and the town for that matter) had been killed by a vampire who was in the area (something related to a player's back story), he was last seen leaving the Laughing Demon by Zokar that night, but never made it down the dark alley. The townsfolk asked the well known ranger in town, Sheriff Caeller, to speak with the animal, but even after being told that his master was dead, the animal refused to leave the spot until his master returned. Pevrin and Zokar are often seen feeding the animal daily, and most people know that the master was found dead. The PCs are greeted with the only friendly face when they arrive. It opens up relations a bit for Diplomacy whenever they mention or are near the old river. The PCs also figured that the dog may be peril later on, and plan to kidnap the dog even if its the town mascot.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Award these XP rewards only once—the first time these pieces of information are learned[/i]". Unless, again, I'm over looking a line in the book, it sounds like the reward should be just be 400 experience (which is 100 per PC like they only got 1 of the 5). My GM intuition feels it should be 100 per prisoner (which means they'd get 500 per PC). I am not sure which way it is actually suppose to be.
I understood that if they role HIGHT they get EVERY one below automaticly. -> and adding up the XP's
They must roll for each separately, so the XP is 400 by prisoner then divided by number of PC. (the point I am not sure is if it's divided amongst all PC or only those who beat the DC)
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
They must roll for each separately, so the XP is 400 by prisoner then divided by number of PC. (the point I am not sure is if it's divided amongst all PC or only those who beat the DC)
Divide the total among all the PCs, I am assuming they share this knowledge with their fellow party members.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
They must roll for each separately, so the XP is 400 by prisoner then divided by number of PC. (the point I am not sure is if it's divided amongst all PC or only those who beat the DC)Award these XP rewards only once—the first time these pieces of information are learned[/i]". Unless, again, I'm over looking a line in the book, it sounds like the reward should be just be 400 experience (which is 100 per PC like they only got 1 of the 5). My GM intuition feels it should be 100 per prisoner (which means they'd get 500 per PC). I am not sure which way it is actually suppose to be.
I understood that if they role HIGHT they get EVERY one below automaticly. -> and adding up the XP's
They need to roll for each Prisioner, sure, but what I'm saying is that they if they e.g. research the WW and get up to 25 then they should get all the info below and 750XP.
Question about the cursed items on p 37. I have an inquisitor and paladin in the party, so they're going to be examined with detect magic and detect evil. Most of them are not magic items, so wouldn't fall under the rules for cursed magic items. They are directly related to their haunts, and so are the 'curses' associated. Their specific information cannot be found out without using the spirit planchette or some other means, but what about their very nature?
Will detect evil or detect magic show anything on these items?
I believe I made it so they detected as evil, but not as magical. The lopper's may have been magical, in retrospect.
I know I definitely didn't allow them to use detect magic to figure out the nature of the curses.
The Lopper's axe is +1, but it seems the curse is separate from its properties as a magic item.
Thanks for the feedback!
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Greetings everyone! I'm getting ready to run this AP. It will be my first time DM'ing with the Pathfinder system. I've gotten a lot of great ideas from this thread.
I just want to take a moment to plug the podcast on this module that Sean mentioned earlier. You can get it here. I found it really helpful and a lot of fun to listen to.
|
|
I believe I made it so they detected as evil, but not as magical. The lopper's may have been magical, in retrospect.
I know I definitely didn't allow them to use detect magic to figure out the nature of the curses.
I had the GM's fortune of having the "cleric carry the holy symbols because you know about gods, and I as the wise wizard will carry the spell book and divine what arcane knowledge I can." boy when those percentiles rolled for spell failure did they have egg on their faces.