So...I noticed something pretty concerning and I was wondering if there was an answer for this (I also posted on the Product Discussion, but I’m also dropping it here for a second opinion):
The Tyrant's Grasp Adventure Path reaches its world-shaping conclusion! The heroes learn that the keys to stopping Tar-Baphon's deadly Radiant Fire are the shards of the Shattered Shield still lodged in their souls—the only things dangling their lives above the grasp of the Boneyard. The heroes return to Lastwall to confront the Whispering Tyrant, but discover that he has led his army to the fields outside the city of Absalom. There, the Whispering Tyrant plans to blast his way through the city and crack the Starstone Cathedral open, transforming himself into a true god! The PCs must battle the lich's most powerful allies, turn the power of the Radiant Fire back on the Whispering Tyrant, and end the threat he now poses to the world.
If you’ve read things then you’d recognize this as the exact word-for-word description of Book 6 from pg. 91 of Book 1, which contains all of the spoiler-y stuff for the AP to come.
That’s fine, except for one thing: this is the exact description of Book 6 on Paizo.com!
It casually talks about stuff like the Radiant Fire and the Shattered Shield and that pieces of it are embedded in the PCs—Which, from the way I read Book 1, is supposed to be a twist! I feel like any potential players can come across spoilers just by searching up the product, and have a good chunk of the mystery be ruined! It’s really strange that THAT’S the description that for many people is the FIRST THING they see for that product!
I don’t like to be demanding towards people, especially people whom I sure know what their doing a lot better—but I need an answer from Ron on this one: What the hell?!?!?!
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Paizo blurbs are written for GMs, not players. A GM deciding which AP to run has the right to know how it ends up before she buys the first book. This isn't any different than the description for any other 6th book of an AP. (If you're not spoiled for Reign of Winter, don't look at the blurb for The Witch Queen's Revenge.)
Short answer is, if you want to play in a campaign without being spoiled, don't go searching online for descriptions for the various parts.
Paizo blurbs are written for GMs, not players. A GM deciding which AP to run has the right to know how it ends up before she buys the first book. This isn't any different than the description for any other 6th book of an AP. (If you're not spoiled for Reign of Winter, don't look at the blurb for The Witch Queen's Revenge.)
Short answer is, if you want to play in a campaign without being spoiled, don't go searching online for descriptions for the various parts.
That’s...actually a fair point...never really thought about it like that...I did overreact a bit. My bad. Here’s to me making a fool of myself once again :P
The Grim Helm item in the back articles has a price of 48,000 but a cost of 2,400. Which of these is wrong?
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I was kind of put off by the mites in the tomb. Mites? It just seems to not fit in the Boneyard or the campaign. It was a weird choice to me and I immediately began thinking what I'd do instead. I think instead I'll have a few frantic, mauled petitioners hiding in the tomb from a pack of cacodaemons.
I also thought it would be thematic and cool to work in a devil recruiting petitioners to Hell. Have the devil come along and tempt them with an impossible moral choice, bet, contract, or something. Maybe even have a gnarlier daemon be chasing them and the devil saves them, squashing the daemon? Then they'd "owe" him. I might even work this in instead of the tooth fairies. That whole thing didn't grab me at all either. The devil could own the palace instead and he'd put them through his twisted gauntlet of terrible choices or make them recruit a number of petitioners in his stead in order to earn his stamp. This might be a little too similar to Kishokish's games though.
I’m going to use the mites, they’re going to be partially spectral looking creatures, no real rule effect. They will be the mites found in the tomb who have themselves ended up dead in the boneyard after the cataclysm. They don’t know they’re dead of course and will confront and demand the PCs tell them what they did to “create the bright light” and “change the town what was out there?”
I am taking out the vermin, When they exit they’ll be set upon by a gang of hungry dead, resentful of the living with the strange presence in their bodies that have come to the boneyard.
As for the Oslo it’s, they are going to be sold as extraplanar parasites drawn to the boneyard by the skeletons present.
I think you're supposed to find the proper order of the symbols first (1234) and use that sequence, not the original sequence.
So am I correct in seeing what I believe to be a reference to D&D or some similar tabletop RPG in The Clerk's Lounge of Salighara's Scriptorium?
Are the Clarity points at the Scriptorium something the PCs should be aware of and actively seeking or should it be something the GM keeps track of secretly?
Are the Clarity points at the Scriptorium something the PCs should be aware of and actively seeking or should it be something the GM keeps track of secretly?I don't have a strong preference on that, as an author. As for myself, I would make it clear what their total is and when they get them, so they take actions that they think would get them more (without telling them, "do this right here to get more").
Thanks. I guess I'm still confused as to how the checks should actually work. Do I just tell all my players to make a roll with the appropriate skill when they encounter the event or do I tell them to choose one skill they think would be appropriate and they only get one roll each?
Finished my first read through, still need to do another more detailed one of the three way stations for some of the more complicated aspects.
My biggest complaint is that all three way stations have a similar story of 'they've been usurped'. This feels a little unsatisfying to me, unless there's a backstory hook I've missed as to why all three 'fell' at once to outside influence.
So, a thing that's been bothering me: at Mictena's Gazebo it says that the PCs have one chance to persuade Mictena, but that seems really weird to me because you can only make a Diplomacy check if you're conversing with the person for at least a minute, and the way the adventure lays it out makes it clear that Mictena wants these guys dead! So why would she stay idle for a whole minute when her prey is right in front of her! (EDIT: okay, so it says that Mictena "reads the litany of their [the PCs] crimes against creation and demands they submit quietly to death and peace." So that kinda makes sense for the 1 minute thing, but it still feels really weird)
Additionally, while it does state that the PCs can attempt a diplomacy check with her multiple times within a 24 hour period (which is good attention to detail), it also says "Each time the PCs shift Mictena’s attitude one step closer to friendly, she holds off her attack another round." That's not enough time to re-influence her.
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So, a thing that's been bothering me: at Mictena's Gazebo it says that the PCs have one chance to persuade Mictena, but that seems really weird to me because you can only make a Diplomacy check if you're conversing with the person for at least a minute, and the way the adventure lays it out makes it clear that Mictena wants these guys dead! So why would she stay idle for a whole minute when her prey is right in front of her! (EDIT: okay, so it says that Mictena "reads the litany of their [the PCs] crimes against creation and demands they submit quietly to death and peace." So that kinda makes sense for the 1 minute thing, but it still feels really weird)
Additionally, while it does state that the PCs can attempt a diplomacy check with her multiple times within a 24 hour period (which is good attention to detail), it also says "Each time the PCs shift Mictena’s attitude one step closer to friendly, she holds off her attack another round." That's not enough time to re-influence her.
In pathfinder, specific rules overrule general rules. So if adventure allows you to roll diplomacy in single round, then you can do so but only in that situation.
In pathfinder, specific rules overrule general rules. So if adventure allows you to roll diplomacy in single round, then you can do so but only in that situation.So, a thing that's been bothering me: at Mictena's Gazebo it says that the PCs have one chance to persuade Mictena, but that seems really weird to me because you can only make a Diplomacy check if you're conversing with the person for at least a minute, and the way the adventure lays it out makes it clear that Mictena wants these guys dead! So why would she stay idle for a whole minute when her prey is right in front of her! (EDIT: okay, so it says that Mictena "reads the litany of their [the PCs] crimes against creation and demands they submit quietly to death and peace." So that kinda makes sense for the 1 minute thing, but it still feels really weird)
Additionally, while it does state that the PCs can attempt a diplomacy check with her multiple times within a 24 hour period (which is good attention to detail), it also says "Each time the PCs shift Mictena’s attitude one step closer to friendly, she holds off her attack another round." That's not enough time to re-influence her.
True, but the adventure never explicitly says “the PCs can influence Mictena with one round of conversation instead of one minute.”
There seems to be some dissonance with the directions for Roslar's tomb and which way is north. For example:
A9: "This wide room has a hallway leading out of the north wall and a set of stairs leading up to the east." So that matches up with the map (which has a compass rose, btw), but "Three fire beetles cling to the western wall, near the stairs leading up to area A10." Emphasis: mine. The stairway is to the east but the beetles are "near" the stairs on the opposite side of the room?
The most confusing one I've found so far is with A10: "The bust farthest to the north—of a proud man with a wide mustache—wears an elegant wig of actual hair." Based on earlier descriptions, this sounds like a depiction of Ervin Roslar ("...a long-haired man with a wide mustache..."). But in the description of the room: "These busts depict Roslar and his immediate family: his sister, mother, and father. Small plaques beneath them [the busts] read, from west to east, 'Fallist Roslar, Father,' 'Emmillisa Roslar, Mother,' 'Annilisa Roslar, Sister,' and 'Ervin Roslar, Hero.'" Emphasis: mine. The box-text said that Roslar's bust (the one with the wig) is the northernmost (which matches the map), but the description says that his bust is the easternmost, when the busts are aligned north-to-south.
EDIT: Also, unrelated, but A11 says that the cockroaches burst out of the mite-mounds whenever someone comes within 30', but in a 70' long room that doesn't really give much leeway for the PCs to actually see the mounds before combat is initiated.
So, is it me or is the grid for the map of Roslar's Coffer on p4 skewed? The vertical lines, in particular, seem to not be equally spaced. I'm finding it next to impossible to grab and drop it in roll20.
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So, is it me or is the grid for the map of Roslar's Coffer on p4 skewed? The vertical lines, in particular, seem to not be equally spaced. I'm finding it next to impossible to grab and drop it in roll20.
I noticed that as well. Good news, though, is that the other maps aren't like that.
Is there any city info on Roslar's Coffer? I know of the info that is in the inner sea region book, but I was hoping to portray the city on the living end before I kicked off the AP.
My plan is to run Reaver's Roar for my party as a one-shot prequel to set the scene. I know that RC is fairly barren due to the Red Reaver's occupation, but I can only piece together the town's occupants from the encounters with their ghosts in book one, as well as a couple of people from Reaver's Roar.
Suffice to say that since we'll never see Roslar's Coffer whole in the AP I won't be worried about a stat block coming out... How do other GMs plan on running it?
Is there any city info on Roslar's Coffer? I know of the info that is in the inner sea region book, but I was hoping to portray the city on the living end before I kicked off the AP.
My plan is to run Reaver's Roar for my party as a one-shot prequel to set the scene. I know that RC is fairly barren due to the Red Reaver's occupation, but I can only piece together the town's occupants from the encounters with their ghosts in book one, as well as a couple of people from Reaver's Roar.
Suffice to say that since we'll never see Roslar's Coffer whole in the AP I won't be worried about a stat block coming out... How do other GMs plan on running it?
The player's handbook actually gives a good description since the players are supposed to be residents of the town.
Shouldn't Kishokish's manor be called Nine-Gables, not Nine-Eaves? Especially since Puzzle 3 says they are represented by triangles.
My biggest complaint is that all three way stations have a similar story of 'they've been usurped'. This feels a little unsatisfying to me, unless there's a backstory hook I've missed as to why all three 'fell' at once to outside influence.
I feel the same.
What happens if one of the characters dies in the Boneyard and/or when they have an obol? Don't have the best Pathfinder lore, and not sure how the obols will affect player death. Do they just pop up again somewhere in the Boneyard as a mortal being?
What happens if one of the characters dies in the Boneyard and/or when they have an obol? Don't have the best Pathfinder lore, and not sure how the obols will affect player death. Do they just pop up again somewhere in the Boneyard as a mortal being?
That’s actually a very, very good question, since the obols are kinda the basis of the campaign. If I had to guess, I’d say the PC would poof back into the sarcophagus they were in at the very start of the adventure, but I’m just a guy, so don’t take my word for gospel.
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What happens if one of the characters dies in the Boneyard and/or when they have an obol? Don't have the best Pathfinder lore, and not sure how the obols will affect player death. Do they just pop up again somewhere in the Boneyard as a mortal being?That’s actually a very, very good question, since the obols are kinda the basis of the campaign. If I had to guess, I’d say the PC would poof back into the sarcophagus they were in at the very start of the adventure, but I’m just a guy, so don’t take my word for gospel.
This is how I will probably play it. Need a raise dead? Tough. Commune, plane shift, teleport, etc. will be your way home.
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I asked this on the product thread, but thought I'd try my luck here too ...
The "Tools of the Graveyard" article at the back of this AP instalment includes the Reaper mystery for Oracles. However, the mystery does not list its final revelation (the Oracle 20 capstone ability).
Any chance of getting that information, please? :)
Thank you, Ron! :)
"This sense does not allow you to detect objects, but it does allow you to notice living things that are not creatures."
Does this mean that (if depending upon this sense alone) you don't see the table, but you do see the golem? What about animated objects?
What about other constructs, like golems or automatons? IIRC, the latter do have some sort living soul connection, as they're essentially uploaded humans originally. Would a general rule of thumb be that if it's has the Mindless quality, then it's non-detectable?
(Sorry about all these corner case questions, but I'm trying to be sure that I understand how this particular sense works before my players start asking me.)
To briefly explain the Boneyard in Pathfinder’s cosmology: the souls of the recently departed are awaiting judgement by Pharasma (more accurately her stewards whose jobs are to do those judgements) in a long line in the Astral Plane known as the River of Souls. Unjudged souls are themselves ethereal (I think that’s the correct term) and thus do not have a corporeal form. Once a soul has been judged then it is send to its appropriate destination (one of the many planes of the Great Beyond) where it becomes a Petitioner—an outsider with a corporeal form that may gain enough power to become an outsider like a demon or archon.
In short, the Boneyard is indeed a corporeal place—it’s not like the Ethereal Plane—but it does have MANY non-corporeal entities travel to it. The primary denizens of the Boneyard, the psychopomps, are primarily corporeal creatures.
TL;DR: Think more “spooky haunted house with ghosts” than “insubstantial dream.”
The Boneyard does indeed have its own native ecosystem (after all, look at the bonewrought willow in the bestiary), and while it is the metaphysical "mouth" of the River of Souls, the souls themselves do not "populate" the plane—they come, get judged, then leave. Only a fraction of those souls are judged to remain on the Boneyard (those truly neutral-aligned, true worshipers of Pharasma or the psychopomp ushers, etc.).
And while the Boneyard does indeed host extraplanar entities (my favorite being when a soul is bound for Abaddon then it is always given a choice by a representative demon and devil to instead go to the Abyss or Hell), they mostly do not stay there permanently.
To be clear, when a soul is judged and becomes a petitioner to a plane, then it’s infused with the quintessence (the material that makes up everything in the Outer Sphere IIRC) and become a native of that plane—so while it’s technically correct to say that the Boneyard is populated by entities from the Material Plane, it’s not completely accurate because all extraplanar outsiders have souls that were once mortals upon the Material Plane, so by that logic every plane is populated by “entities that have arrived from elsewhere.” Once a soul dies then it is no longer “a denizen of the Material Plane,” it just…is until it is judged, then its new home become its appropriate plane.
As for the copies of tombs: Shrugs I honestly don’t know. It’s not a detail I’ve seen in other books talking about the Boneyard—perhaps Ron could provide slight clarification?
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Okay, thanks, that's really helpful. Especially the "spooky haunted house" comparison. : D
So, if I understand the intro to Dead Roads, there are somehow physical copies spawned of <every> tomb and graveyard? Or are the physical copies only created in special cases?
Also, does the Boneyard have a native ecosystem of its own, or is it populated primarily by entities that have arrived from elsewhere?
From this passage in Planar Adventures, I'd infer that there are indeed copies of every tomb and graveyard:
Graveyard of Souls
The area immediately surrounding Pharasma’s Court
is a seemingly endless graveyard filled with crypts,
gravestones, mausoleums, and monuments from nearly
every race and culture within the mortal realms.