In the Heist chapter there is mention of some of the slave buyers that will appear, the players do not have the funds to compete with it, you can pass that info to them, when they investigate more about the auction.
Please help me understand this power in terms of actual game play:
The calikang makes up to six fist Strikes. Each Strike can be against a different target. These attacks count toward its multiple attack penalty, which doesn’t increase until after all the attacks are complete.
Does this mean it gets 6 attacks at their highest attack?
What does that last phrase mean?
Help us!
Yes, for the cost of two actions he can do potentially six strikes if all of them are at different targets, and if it is the first attack he is doing in his turn, all of the attacks will be at the highest attack.
Also the exact wording is that he can do two longsword strikes and up to four fist strikes
In that battle one of them was scared to death by one of my players, happy days!
What if he attacks just ONE target?
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I read it a little differently than DemonKnight, but I am not sure about how it should work.
It says they "can" make the attacks against different targets, not that they must. But it also specifies "fist strikes," (it does not mention longsword strikes) so I'm interpreting it to be a number of attacks equal to the hands not occupied with longswords.
The calikang makes up to six fist Strikes. Each Strike can be against a different target. These attacks count toward its multiple attack penalty, which doesn’t increase until after all the attacks are complete.
So I'm going to run it as 4 fist strikes against one or more targets, at the current attack bonus.
Does this mean it gets 6 attacks at their highest attack?
No, it means they get these attacks at whatever their current bonus is. If this is the first attack they make that round, then it'll be at the highest. If they've already used one action to attack, all the Flurry attacks would be at the -5 multiple attack penalty.
I read it a little differently than DemonKnight, but I am not sure about how it should work.
It says they "can" make the attacks against different targets, not that they must. But it also specifies "fist strikes," (it does not mention longsword strikes) so I'm interpreting it to be a number of attacks equal to the hands not occupied with longswords.
The calikang makes up to six fist Strikes. Each Strike can be against a different target. These attacks count toward its multiple attack penalty, which doesn’t increase until after all the attacks are complete.So I'm going to run it as 4 fist strikes against one or more targets, at the current attack bonus.
Does this mean it gets 6 attacks at their highest attack?No, it means they get these attacks at whatever their current bonus is. If this is the first attack they make that round, then it'll be at the highest. If they've already used one action to attack, all the Flurry attacks would be at the -5 multiple attack penalty.
The creature reads now as follows that strike:
Sixfold Flurry Two Actions The calikang makes up to two longsword Strikes and up to four fist Strikes. Each Strike must be against a different target. These attacks count toward the calikang's multiple attack penalty, which doesn't increase until after all the attacks are complete. For 1 round, the calikang gains a circumstance bonus to their AC equal to the number of Strikes they choose not to take, to a maximum of +4 for taking only two Strikes.So each strike MUST be against a different target, the first form was not corrected and received errata.
http://2e.aonprd.com/Monsters.aspx?ID=1089
What if he attacks just ONE target?
He cannnot make all atacks on one target at the same MAP, there is a difference between the creature in the AP and how the creature now is, instead of a "can" now is a "must", and that changes everything
http://2e.aonprd.com/Monsters.aspx?ID=1089
Well if the champion in my paty ever reads this thread she will be VERY unhappy at how I ran the Calikangs!
(Champion got rushed by 3 calikangs and got dropped in 1 round!)
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So each strike MUST be against a different target, the first form was not corrected and received errata.
http://2e.aonprd.com/Monsters.aspx?ID=1089
Oh, geez. AoN has different pages for the Bestiary and the AP versions of the Calikang, and the AP version comes up first in google searches for me. Thanks! You may have saved a life. ;-)
That does change everything, as you said. So it can make six attacks if it has six targets at the same MAP.
I must say that when i run this fight there was just the AP version and my players did suffer a little in this fight, even if one of the Calikangs died of fright in the first round...
I’m a little confused as to how to run the encounter with the Promise of Fire at the end of “A Desolate Vision” at the beginning of the book. It says to use the stats for an Ancient Red Dragon (I assume for its intimidate/initiative bonus, AC & the breath weapon damage.) It says the PC’s must do 80 points of damage before it acts to successfully resist the manifestation. Later it says the chances of the PCs slaying the Promise of Fire are “unlikely.” Unless the entire party rolls bad on initiative, isn’t 80 points of damage total fairly reasonable to achieve, especially if they’re tossing in hero points? Or does it have an ancient red dragon’s full 425 hp, and 80 points of damage is a success, but they still take the breath weapon? Or am i totally overestimating a party's chance of getting in 80 points of damage?
Thank you very much!
I’m a little confused as to how to run the encounter with the Promise of Fire at the end of “A Desolate Vision” at the beginning of the book. It says to use the stats for an Ancient Red Dragon (I assume for its intimidate/initiative bonus, AC & the breath weapon damage.) It says the PC’s must do 80 points of damage before it acts to successfully resist the manifestation. Later it says the chances of the PCs slaying the Promise of Fire are “unlikely.” Unless the entire party rolls bad on initiative, isn’t 80 points of damage total fairly reasonable to achieve, especially if they’re tossing in hero points? Or does it have an ancient red dragon’s full 425 hp, and 80 points of damage is a success, but they still take the breath weapon? Or am i totally overestimating a party's chance of getting in 80 points of damage?
Uh... rolling "bad" on initiative isn't necessary for an ancient red dragon to out pace the PCs. A maximum perception character will have +30 inc a +2 item bonus.
A more likely value is 24-25... a full 11-10 lower than the dragon... the dragon needs to roll poorly. (Imo the GM should just give them a round before breathing and have it do something else)
As for ease of doing 80 damage... unless the party is well specced with frost vials or cold damage saving throw spells it is unlikely. The average martial will struggle to hit without outside assistance as they will be sitting around 28-30 modifier before aid (circumstance) and status bonuses.
That is vs something with a 45AC, even if they get it flat footed a 43 is still hard for a PC with +28 to hit (a master proficiency).
And for spellcasters, ooof it is hard enough to hit before the status bonus vs spells and as reflex is its weakest save... debuffing via spells targeting will/fort are actually staring at solid crit success saves.
And that is before their almost certain frightened condition that frightening presence imposed.
Don't get me wrong, it is intended... but my advice is just let the PCs get a full round of actions out. Even if the dragon only had 80hp (and as it was explained above, it doesn't) it would take a well organised party knowing what was coming and insane luck to actually deal 80hp.
I need my colleague GMs’ opinions:
Towards the end, the PCs find Uri’s notes about his sister, Mengkare, etc.
However, I dislike this part because it doesn’t explicitly say what you should or shouldn’t reveal. I believe - I might be wrong - that it’s the first time Mengkare’s name is mentioned to the PCs, and I don’t know how much knowledge I should give to my players about the whole Scarlet Triad operations, Mengkare’s story, etc.
What are your thoughts? Any suggestions? I’m currently doing the prep for that book and its the only part I have left to do.
Thanks!
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I need my colleague GMs’ opinions:
Towards the end, the PCs find Uri’s notes about his sister, Mengkare, etc.
However, I dislike this part because it doesn’t explicitly say what you should or shouldn’t reveal. I believe - I might be wrong - that it’s the first time Mengkare’s name is mentioned to the PCs, and I don’t know how much knowledge I should give to my players about the whole Scarlet Triad operations, Mengkare’s story, etc.
What are your thoughts? Any suggestions? I’m currently doing the prep for that book and its the only part I have left to do.
My players are longtime PF1 players, so they expected Mengkare to be involved at some point once the Orb of Gold Dragonkind was known to be in play.
Hermea is an isolationist place that shuns outsiders except as necessary for trade, so little is common knowledge—it's run by a gold dragon and there's rumors of some sort of eugenics or selective breeding among its populace.
The explicit history and link between Mengkare and the Triad can be uncovered in the next book.
So I'd say they might have heard of Hermea, and if they have they've also heard of Mengkare as one of the most well-known dragons on Golarion. The notes in book 5 make it known that Mengkare is a target of the Triad, but not (IMO) that he was an original funder and that they'd been formed to find candidates for Hermean citizenship. The name of Uri's sister is unrevealed, just that she's working on the scheme from within Hermea.
(My players immediately assumed Emaliza was Uri's sister, although they didn't engage in combat in Mengkare's lair. Blond lady hanging out by the portal while they were on the lookout for recently deceased blond dude's sister was too obvious for them. You might consider having them meet Inizra first, come up with a couple red herring council members she might suspect, and then have Emaliza contact them as high councilor and express suspicions about Inizra.
Although there's nothing wrong with running it as written. I just don't think many parties are going to entertain Emaliza's plan for a second.)
I think my players came up with some laudable solutions to some of book 5’s events. For the Duneshadow task, when the party met Prihayn, they set up a meeting between the simurgh & guildmaster Zulran. They suggested leaving Duneshadow where he was, under Prihayn’s protection, and the guild setting up occasional caravans of camels to bring potential mates to him. This was presented as furthering Duneshadow’s bloodline and bringing more natural beauty into the world and evidence of Shelyn’s will. And at the start of Chapter 3, when the party was approached regarding the kidnapping of one of the Pactmasters, they leveraged their successes into a demand that in return for their discrete help, this would be an ideal time for slavery to be outlawed in Katapesh, which is now canon in our campaign.
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How to overcome the Wendigo Torment?
I know there has been some discussion about the Wendigo's Ride the Wind ability. My interpretation of how it works or doesn't work is not what I want help with; it's how to deal with the torment after a PC has been afflicted.
My players' party does not have Divine or Occult traditions, so no way of casting Remove Curse. The 6-player party has a champion, rogue, arcane sorcerer, primal sorcerer, druid, and ranger. Divine hasn't been required as between the champion and the druid with a staff of healing, the healing needs of the party have been covered.
A Will DC 38 save is required to overcome the Wendigo Torment, but the party's Will saves are +23 to +28. Stages 1 & 2 impose the Stupdified 4 condition, giving a -4 on Will saves. a Will of +23 is adjusted to +19, requiring a natural 20, or successive 19s on the dice.
Is keeping the PC restrained, preventing them from killing, until an NPC can cast Remove Curse the only option? If so, an added challenge is the PC is a halfling rogue with Unhampered Passage.
Looks like your party may be in for a difficult time if one of them is afflicted (especially the halfling), but do note the stage durations. Even with a critical failure, it should take several days before things become too dire.
I suppose these are great examples of why improvisational skills are a very good thing for a GM to master.
Also, for the small scene with the Manifestation, she's rolling initiative with a +37. I think the highest bonus in my players is a +29. Have your players even had a chance to do anything before she ended the encounter with her breath ?
My players will reach this point in our next session. I simply will not roll initiative (rather I set its modifier to 0 in Combat Manager) and have The Promise of Fire go last. This gives each player a chance to do something, and probably realize how hopelessly outclassed they are before they are cast out. The players won't know this, of course, but I hope to instill great fear in them for when they eventually face the full fury of Dahak.
While I'm prepping this, the adventure keeps telling me how big the Xotanispawn are (several mentions of "larger than an elephant," etc). The stat block of an elephant is huge, while these critters are only large. Should I keep them at large, or increase them to huge size?
I ran them as-is without issue.
Does anyone know of any tools or tips to keep track of all the downtime activities and potential actions from the players in Katapesh?
I just used two fairly simple text files; one was a timeline so I could track campaign progress day by day (I started doing this in the campaign when work on the Citadel began) and the other had sections for each of the Guilds and Tasks so I could make notes and track progress.
It worked fine for me, though if you have a preferred notes app you'd naturally want to use that.
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I have a dilemma. My adventurers left the pyramid after rescuing the hostage and taking URI’s journals. (Legendary athletics dealt with the door, and the 2 spellcasters were down to cantrips) By this time the phoenix was unleashed, blocking one path. They returned the next morning. I expect URI to escape, taking the amber key. This makes entry into book 6 hard. Any suggestions?
Haven't read book 6 in-depth yet, but you could also just have the PCs sail to Hermea themselves. You miss the big dragonstorm at the beginning of book 6 (which might be beneficial to the PCs, but you'd miss out on a cool setpiece), but now they'd have all the more reason to go to Hermea. Catch up with Uri, and stop the plan he and his sister have planned.
Also, there's a three-day countdown. They ran through all three days?