Venture-Captain, California—San Francisco Bay Area North & East
|
What are Tenth-By-Third's stats? I'm worried about some mute characters I've come across and fitting them into the trial. Tchekua has telepathy and Zahal has constant Detect Thoughts - does Tenth-By Third have some way to receive non-verbal communication?
|
Bumping this and adding a few follow up questions.
On page 6 under surveillance it says: "PCs who succeed at a Hard Perception check get the feeling of being watched, but otherwise can’t interact with 322 at this time." What exactly is a hard perception check? It feels like a relic from when they had standardized pcs
What is a good mini/pawn to use for an Axial Monitor? I don't have any War for the Crown Pawns.
I'm a little concerned about what to do in the event the PCs refuse to help 322 mess with the society, but also refuse to attack her at the Serene Circle. How can I resolve this potential stalemate without having 322 attack the PCS?
Any guidance on these would be greatly appreciated. This is my first 7-11 I'm running so I'm a little nervous/excited.
|
|
I have to GM this tomorrow, and these are really good questions, Lyoto!
Here is how I'm planning on resolving these issues, barring further more information from a primary source:
What exactly is a hard perception check? It feels like a relic from when they had standardized pcs
I assume you mean “standardized DCs”? They were probably included and then cut.
I happen to be in a play by post with the author (there’s a PbP con going on right now!), and this "Hard" DC on high tier seems to be in the mid-to-low 30s. (It looks to be > 32, but ≤ 36). Without further guidance from a source who knows the actual missing content, you're on your own best judgement as a GM here.
For what it’s worth, I plan on simply rolling her stealth (or more likely, giving her a 10 on the die), and adjusting for distance and conditions as necessary.
Edit: I think Alex's solution below, of duplicating a standardized DC table from another scenario, is much better than using her stealth modifier.
What is a good mini/pawn to use for an Axial Monitor? I don't have any War for the Crown Pawns.
I would simply read the description given on page 29, and let players use their imaginations; use large-size blank tokens to represent the monitors, or any large-size robot-golem-type thing you have on hand if needed.
Hopefully the axial monitors don't a play large part in the story or tactical side of the session anyhow!
I'm a little concerned about what to do in the event the PCs refuse to help 322 mess with the society, but also refuse to attack her at the Serene Circle. How can I resolve this potential stalemate without having 322 attack the PCS?
The oracle has set this meeting up in order to bargain from the strongest position possible (and 322 can clearly Plane Shift with the engram in her possession, as she does so when going to Skyreach); she is also cunning, and familiar with the Pathfinder Society. It might behoove the GM to make this clear if players aren't "getting" it.
While players might not want to let 322 mess with the Society, there are also thousands of lives at risk in the tapestry.
If they refuse to fight or help 322, the PCs will fail the primary condition. (Maybe they could steal it somehow?)
As a GM, I always try to clarify for players what’s at stake here: they are putting the lives in the tapestry at risk, as well as jeopardizing their mission. If the players are cognizant of what's at stake here and they decide to walk away, then that's their choice and it can at least be an interesting RP moment.
If 322 escapes, the trial will still happen regardless. The scenario won’t have to end. This at least gives PCs a chance to get their other prestige point. Interestingly, the reporting conditions don't have an option for 322 escaping with the engram, so I wonder if that's an error after all.
That's how I plan on running it unless I hear otherwise. Hope this helps!
|
"Hard perception check"
PFS has been using tables with easy/average/hard skill checks and a separate table with save DCs in multi-table interactive specials for some time. (Like in Hao Jin Cataclysm.) The team has been experimenting with using those tables in regular-tier scenarios, too. This scenario looks like it once had a table and the table was removed.
Listing all of the DCs in a scenario is awfully spoileriffic so I'm not sure the best way to spoiler this. I'll steal a table from another scenario, I suppose, and not mention where I got it:
Subtier Easy Average Hard
7–8 (4 players) 17 21 25
7–8 (5+ players) 18 23 28
10–11 (4 players) 20 25 30
10–11 (5+ players) 21 27 33
Axial Monitor pawns
I don't think even the War for the Crown pawns come with Axial Monitors (I didn't see one when I looked) so I think we're out of luck for an exact match. I just grabbed a stone giant.
Players don't want to do anything when they meet 322
If the players aren't willing to do anything 322 wants, they could take the Memory McGuffin by force as you allude to, although 322 obviously isn't a fan of that. As written, she isn't responsive to diplomacy unless she knows a PC from before. I think in this case, the party might just be out of luck.
The tricky part is if they decide to try to sleight of hand it from her person--you could say she's got it stashed somewhere else if you're really worried about it, or has it hidden in a hard-to-get-to pocket or something, or you could just have them bypass an encounter for having a lesser-used skill.
|
|
Thanks for the help guys, I really appreciate it! Here's hoping I can make this scenario memorable!
Btw, I have ran the 1-5 scenario "Down the Verdant Path" which has a DC chart of easy, medium, hard, so I knew they existed. it just wasn't in this scenario, so I assumed it was a relic from an earlier DC chart.
But before Alex's chart, I had no real basis for what a "hard" check meant for a 7-11 scenario.
|
|
Hey, I didn't even see that you'd ninja'd me, Doug. Nicely done! :)
Preparation is the most important factor in running a good game*. It sounds like you're going to be well-prepared, Lyoto, so I wouldn't worry too much. Good luck and I hope you and your players have a great time!
Hopefully a dev can chime in with a proper DC for the "hard check" at some point.
It occurs to me to point out, for the axial monitors, that there are some websites that will help you convert an image into custom pawns or paper minis that you could then print out. If you really want accurate art, it might be worth it.
* in my opinion, and given a long list of reasonable constraints, anyway.
|
Venture-Captain, California—San Francisco Bay Area North & East
|
Ran this last night. Party convinced 322 to leave without going to the lodge. Note that while in her scene it says this requires the boon, back in dealing with Yakomo you get another way to unlock this (it'd be nice if that option was reminded here).
The reporting options are unclear though. It says if they 'make a deal' with 322 to check box A. Is 'make a deal' the default of they get her in the grand lodge and she gives the item? Or is it 'be free of Aslynn and leave and give the item'? Cause those are very different things to report. And if the thing she takes from the lodge is what I think it is, it's EXTREMELY important to note if she got it or not.
|
RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 8
|
Ran this a couple weeks ago and it was a memorable enough event that warranted sharing some of my thoughts which might help future GMs.
Overall I really liked this scenario and we had a super cool situation unfold based off player decisions. Not every table can have the same experience, but I think most players will enjoy this scenario if it's run well.
Point 1. This scenario takes place in a fantastical location with fantastical creatures and a fantastical plot. Which is awesome. Provided you can present that to your players. Unfortunately, there's just so much cool stuff you could tell them about, that the scenario can't possibly fit it all. The author only has so much word count to work with, so you can help suppliment the scenario by boning up on your lore.
I've been running the War for the Crown AP and in Book 3 & 5, there's a great amount of supplemental information on psychopomps and axis. You can also thumb through some old season 3 scenarios, and those from current seasons that have "tapestry" in their name for info on Hao Jin, as well as the Ruby Phoenix Tournament module. By getting well versed on those super interesting (to me at least) topics, it makes this scenario a lot better.
Point 2. Stripped away from the setting, characters, and plot, the structure of this scenario is super simple: PCs go to NPC, instructed to get items ABC, ends with a social encounter.
As I was prepping it, I worried that my players might lose interest if they saw those railroad tracks. So I did my best to obfuscate them. Sadly the name of the scenario gives it away, but there's no way for the PCs to know that the trial is going to happen in their lifetime, or that all three of the memory drives are intact. I think when GMing this you serve your players well if you keep momentum up and questions high. What's going to happen next? Is always better than "we got macguffin #2, heading to #3."
Point 3. The trial. Oh boy. This is a minisystem event the likes of which has killed enthusiasm at dozens of tables across my storied PFS career. I believe the best way to handle this is to be transparent with your players about it, be timely, and hand-wave it as needed. Here's examples of that in action from my table.
Transparency. "Alright, so there's a mini-system for this trial. Basically, each judge will bring up a discussion point for Hao-Jin's guilt. They'll hear from her, then ask to hear from one of you. The same person can talk again and again, but their impact will get progressively lower. Also, each judge has their own biases, so if you talk to the calculating orb of equations from your heart, he probably won't even understand it."
Timely.
"After asking the question, they turn to Hao-Jin. She speaks up, and explains X, Y, and Z in her defense but ultimately they quiet her down and the dragon speaks. 'We've heard all this before, perhaps, something new?' She gestures at your group. Who would like to speak up? In this case, probably skills X, Y, or Knowledge Z would be appropriate, though of course you could use anything."
Hand-Wave. For each tier and # of players, there are thresholds for getting a judge to vote on your behalf. My party met them after the 4th question, so I just described the 5th and 6th and we didn't do the minisystem for them--as there was no point.
Point 4. This scenario can be as exciting as you want to make it. There is an incredible amount of freedom GMing any scenario that takes place on another plane, with only partially described settings and only a handful of NPCs. Whenever the players want to go buy an item, or go explore, or spend the night before the trial, you have 100% free reign to do whatever you want to make the game awesome for your players. So I'd encourage people to think outside the box, lean on your research from point #1, and make the scenario a lot more memorable than it can be on paper.
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Post action report (Sorry if it's too lengthy)
Ran it this past weekend and it went fairly smoothly, although I didn't get to show off the setting as much as I'd have liked. Due to a four hour con slot, I rushed a little bit since a lot of 7-11's I've played have gone much longer than four hours.
Party was a 9th level ranger, 11th level sorcerer, 10th level gunslinger and due to a last minute dropout, everyone's favorite pre-gen (Kyra). 9.25 apl, so they played low tier with no adjustment.
It wasn't a very knowledge heavy group, so they missed mostly of the early info checks. Their diplomacy with Kyra was solid though, so they got a brief guided tour of Axis from the horse thing and met the arbiter, who leads them to Hao Jin.
They have a civil discussion with Hao Jin, who I tried to play as a bit sarcastic, but also reflective. She was a little disappointed that the Pathfinders messed up the Tapestry, and gave them the rundown. They said they surprised at how easy it was to find her and how reasonable she was, I was surprised at how few questions they had.
They choose to hit the stylite first. They switched some of Kyra's base spells and had a Daylight spell prepared, so the Devil was never really a serious threat to the team.
Next up was the Kolyrut. I actually had a song queued up on my phone that I played for about a minute to see if I could entice them to be impatient. They didn't bite though and some high rolls made the diplomacy checks rather simple.
Their encounter with 322 was actually the most memorable scene (On my end for sure) as Doug's help proved invaluable in helping me get in 322's mindset to navigate what turned out to be an intense negotiation that took nearly 30 minutes.
As expected, the PC's found Yakomo and untied her. I gave them the diplomacy check to hear the info about Aslynn, which they made meaning they had a shot to make 322 back down.
It's possible I was being too harsh, but since it was a 7-11, I made the decision that she would only hand over the engram if they specifically said they would protect her from Aslynn or that she needed to ditch Aslynn and made the check. Vague "we'll help you" or "we'll protect you" promises wouldn't cut it. If any more experienced GM's think I was being too harsh, let me know.
Anyway, They approach 322, who is very obviously holding the engram. They make their first pitch which boils down to "hand it over," She snaps back with something like Or what? You're going to shoot me in the middle of the Serene Circle? The PC's are taken aback and agree to a chat, which goes something like this:
"What are you going to do in the Grand Lodge?" A little snooping, just for a couple minutes
"Why do you need us?"I need one of you to let me pass into the lodge
"How else can we help you?"That's the only way I give this to you
"Are you planning hurt or attack anyone?"I promise nobody will get hurt. Which is true, AFAIK.
"We can make sure you're safe!"Oh yea? From what? *blank stares and a sigh.
"Only if we can all go with you"And make it easy for you to backstab me? not a chance!
It goes on like this for a while, I keep listening to see if they'll specifically mention breaking her from Aslynn or bend to her will. Eventually the gunslinger makes a proposal. "I'll go with you, but if I don't like what you're doing, I'll put a bunch of holes in ya." She smiles and accepts.
After she comes out and puts the bag in the magic box, the gunslinger points his gun at her and yells "what's in the box!" I veered a bit off script here since IMO it made little sense for her to fight when she was so close to a clean escape. Instead of immediately attacking him, 322 held up the box, smiled and told him to take a look. He had her open the box to see that it empty since the bag already teleported to somewhere else. He then groaned a bit, lowered his gun and took the plane shift back.
The actual trial afterward was fun too, I only had the PC's testify since I figured they already heard enough from Hao Jin and the whole reason for the retrial was the PC's thoughts on her anyway. The first couple of sections the party's energy was pretty low. Not sure if it was because it was getting late or they were feeling a bit defeated.
They perked up toward the end, after I had the judges make some amusing banter between themselves and the party. They succeeded at the trial on the last round thanks to a nice intimidate check from the gunslinger to get two out of three on their side.
Afterwards a player remarked to me that this is what "Cost of enlightenment" should have been. A weird scenario with some curious philosophical debates, but tied to enough Golarion lore that it doesn't feel like a philosophy 101 course. Said he had a good time.
Overall, I thought it went pretty well as the players seemed to have fun. A little combat light and I'm not certain I ran the 322 segment perfectly, but it definitely was memorable. I'm pretty sure more experienced gms could make this scenario amazing with a little more Axis lore. I also want to thank you guys for the advice, it helped a lot!
|
|
Getting ready to run the scenario this weekend, and one of the things I'm hung up on is the heresy devil. He really seems primed to shred a party that's not ready to deal with deeper darkness. "...he avoids using his blasphemous bile and summon abilities, nor does he cast any of the following spells: stinking cloud, unhallow, or unholy blight." Of course he's not going to use unhallow, it has a 24 hour casting time. But he's got blasphemy, and against a 7-8 party that will be devastating. Did other GM's just stick with searing words or was there another approach?
The party can rip down the curtains to raise the light level one step for each curtain they rip down in the event nobody has an oil of daylight. It mentions that in the scenario as an option, it takes a strength check and some way to get onto the 20 foot tall bookshelves IIRC.
Also, I stuck with just the searing words when I ran it, that seemed like the intent.
|
|
Searing words is enough, especially in the high tier with 6d6 sneak attack and bleed on top. The one party that could not handle the deeper darkness had a brilliant hail mary once the rogue dimension doored to the librarian and failed to get assistance. On his way back into the fight, he yelled 'the guards are on the way' as a bluff. One natural 1 later and the devil teleported away.