This is a spoiler-filled resource thread for GMs running the Age of Ashes Adventure Path, specifically for the sixth adventure, "Broken Promises."
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I am tremendously amused by the fact that, in event 5 of chapter 1, the PCs are once again going to be spending actions to Fight the Fire or Rescue Citizens. What a neat call-back to the very first encounter of the campaign.
Is the scale for the Citadel Ground Floor on page 34 accurate? Twenty feet per square seems way too large. If this is the case then the doors on each side are eighty feet wide! It seems to me this map should be a standard five feet per square.
According to the text
The building is immense, measuring a thousand feet in diameter
That's fifty squares across at 20 feet per square = 1000 feet in diamater.
The doors would have to be pretty wide for a dragon to use them comfortably.
Based on my initial read-through, this looks like a pretty great ending to the AP!
Two questions I've come across so far about how to run this:
Question 1. Should Inizra Arumelo be run as suspicious of Emaliza or not?
The AP seems to be of two minds about this:
"Inizra’s noticed strange behavior of late, but not just with Mengkare—she’s grown to suspect the leader of the Council of Enlightenment, Emaliza, of having nefarious plans of her own." (30)
"Bringing up Emaliza: If the PCs mention at any time their conversation (or fight) with Emaliza, Inizra grows pale. She’s suspected that at least one of the council members had their own plans, but never suspected Emaliza" (31)
I'm inclined to go with her being suspicious, and telling the PCs this, since it's likely that the PCs won't see through Emaliza's ruse, and may not even mention her to Inizra (given Emaliza's suggestion to keep their meeting on the down-low). Having Inizra tell the PCs her suspicions would ensure that the PCs end up in the "who should we trust?" dilemma that the AP seems to be aiming for.
Question 2. How should Mengkare's Doubt points be calculated if they kill Ingnovim Tluss (and, possibly, Emaliza and Rinnarv)?
In the argument with Mengkare section, it tells us that:
"Murderers: Each Promise guard or Citadel guard the PCs have slain decreases Mengkare’s Doubt by 1. Each Promise citizen the PCs have slain decreases Mengkare’s Doubt by 2."
This is a little confusing because the guards are also citizens of Promise, and so would result in a 2 point deduction no matter what, but put that aside.
It seems almost certain that the PCs will kill Ingnovim Tluss during their mission to free Jonivar from the prison, since he's described as taking his "last stand" against the PCs in D4. Technically that would result in deducting 2 points of Doubt to Mengkare's score. But this seems a little unfair, given that Ingnovim is clearly evil, and there's ample evidence the PCs could present showing that he was performing sadistic experiments on the prisoners.
I'm inclined to not have it deduct from Mengkare's Doubt score, since if Ingnovim's death is discovered and reported to Mengkare, they'll also find the evil experiments Ingnovim was performing and report those to Mengkare too.
In a similar vein, I'm inclined to not treat the deaths of Emaliza and Rinnarv as adding to Mengkare's Doubt score if the PCs successfully present evidence of Emaliza's betrayal. (Otherwise, killing them would result in deducting 4 Doubt points, but convincing Mengkare of her betrayal would only add 1 Doubt point back.)
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Haven't browsed the adventure yet, but was there no Interactive Maps included with this issue?
There are maps in the broken-down-by-chapter file, I think.
Having read through this, I guess I'm a little confused by the final fight. I'm assuming it's built with the idea that it's five level 20 characters against the manifestation? It takes one primary and four secondary, and none of those have to be the anchor (Mengkare most likely). Is the AP assuming that the party will take Inizra or even Emaliza along?
Never played at that high of a level, but that manifestation's AC and stuff are insane.
EDIT: Furthermore, as the final fight isn't in Alseta's Landing, is the ritual necessary at that point? Couldn't promise flood it with soldiers? Or is that not the intent?
According to the text
The building is immense, measuring a thousand feet in diameterThat's fifty squares across at 20 feet per square = 1000 feet in diamater.
The doors would have to be pretty wide for a dragon to use them comfortably.
That's what I get for checking out the maps before reading the room descriptions. Still, 80' wide doors is 4x wider than a gargantuan creature needs since one square would be the all the dragon occupies.
Question 2. How should Mengkare's Doubt points be calculated if they kill Ingnovim Tluss (and, possibly, Emaliza and Rinnarv)?In the argument with Mengkare section, it tells us that:
"Murderers: Each Promise guard or Citadel guard the PCs have slain decreases Mengkare’s Doubt by 1. Each Promise citizen the PCs have slain decreases Mengkare’s Doubt by 2."
This is a little confusing because the guards are also citizens of Promise, and so would result in a 2 point deduction no matter what, but put that aside.
I would read this as the guards counting as though they are not citizens. Guards are people who have volunteered for a dangerous job, while civilians are innocent bystanders.
Creative Director
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I would read this as the guards counting as though they are not citizens. Guards are people who have volunteered for a dangerous job, while civilians are innocent bystanders.
Question 2. How should Mengkare's Doubt points be calculated if they kill Ingnovim Tluss (and, possibly, Emaliza and Rinnarv)?In the argument with Mengkare section, it tells us that:
"Murderers: Each Promise guard or Citadel guard the PCs have slain decreases Mengkare’s Doubt by 1. Each Promise citizen the PCs have slain decreases Mengkare’s Doubt by 2."
This is a little confusing because the guards are also citizens of Promise, and so would result in a 2 point deduction no matter what, but put that aside.
Correct. It's also a case of power level—the guards are fairly matchted against the PCs, while the majority of the citizens are not. To Mengkare, it's bad if you kill someone tough whose job it is to put their life on the line defending the city, but it's worse if you kill someone defenseless who's supposedly protected by said guards.
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That's what I get for checking out the maps before reading the room descriptions. Still, 80' wide doors is 4x wider than a gargantuan creature needs since one square would be the all the dragon occupies.According to the text
The building is immense, measuring a thousand feet in diameterThat's fifty squares across at 20 feet per square = 1000 feet in diamater.
The doors would have to be pretty wide for a dragon to use them comfortably.
We err on the side of making the doors visible to folks rather than trying to make them exactly as wide as they need to be. Usually it's not a problem, but when we're pressed for space and have to run a large building as a smaller map, we have to use larger scales. Had we made those doors the "right size" they would have been difficult to spot on the map. And since the expectation is that there's probably NOT going to be a lot of fighting in that area for most groups, we felt that we could get away with it.
If not, then we'll note that going forward when/if we come to a similar situation in future adventures, at which point we'll have to choose what encoutners or other content to cut in order to run the map as a full page. ;-)
I suppose having it as-is in the AP and full page in the interactive maps would mean ordering more art and thus is not likely to happen?
How are the PCs supposed to defeat the 3 Xotanis, given that they have permanent regeneration with no way to bypass it, except a ritual that's only hinted at in the sidebar?
They aren't actual Xotanis. They are incarnations or copies of Xotani. So that sidebar is there if you choose to include actual Xotani in another scenario.
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How are the PCs supposed to defeat the 3 Xotanis, given that they have permanent regeneration with no way to bypass it, except a ritual that's only hinted at in the sidebar?They aren't actual Xotanis. They are incarnations or copies of Xotani. So that sidebar is there if you choose to include actual Xotani in another scenario.
Yeah, but the statblock pointed to by the encounter still has Regeneration without a "deactivated by..." clause. Either I'm missing something or there's not actually a way to slay the Xotanis, even if they're merely echoes of the real thing
Probably an oversight then. I'd just drop the regeneration.
Question about the level 20 sorcerer feat Bloodline Metamorphosis: Are you allowed to pick a spell outside of your tradition?
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Question about the level 20 sorcerer feat Bloodline Metamorphosis: Are you allowed to pick a spell outside of your tradition?
Nope, you gotta pick a spell from the same tradition. It would say otherwise if there was some kind of exception to choosing outside of your tradition.
Another question. The Tarrasque's ranged spine attack as the "Brutal" trait. As far as I'm aware that's not defined anywhere. Was that supposed to be forceful or deadly or something else?
Speaking of the Tarrasque, it's there just sitting, waiting to be slotted into the adventure... I've just finished book 1, but already trying to figure out where to put it...
Love to know where you end up putting it.
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I expected Age of Ashes to be a simple AP, best suited as a training platform for new GM’s. Instead, I now think it’s one of the very best APs ever written.
Many APs sag in the middle and some have disappointing endings, but Age of Ashes is interesting and fun right through.
I haven’t GMed it yet, but plan to as soon as my players finish up with The Fall of Plaguestone.
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Yay! Glad you're all enjoying this one... it was a complicated adventure to pull off!
And if folks enjoy the adventure, don't be afraid to drop in a quick positive review! It's important to have constructive feedback, but constructive feedback alone won't keep us inspired. ;-)
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Still getting on it :'D
Age of Ashes is one of weird APs where I love each individual part, but I don't like it as complete product as much.(then again, Curse of the Crimson Throne set up REALLY high standards for campaign overall, even if I think there are many APs that do reach that status) I don't however mind it because I think it does great job of being introductory AP for new edition and newbies :3 And I don't think there is anything bad about liking each book individually better than liking them as complete product, its more of apples and oranges thing in a way.
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And reviewed.
One thing I didn't mention in review is that this AP(especially this book) successfully made Mengkare one of my favourite villains in Pathfinder.
Like, he just has so much fascinating doublethink to this methods. He genuinely thinks he is good guy doing the right thing while doing things like hiring assassins to get rid, being blatantly racist about what he thinks different ancestries are worth in his utopia and letting plucky forest rebels be because he is curious about their progress(like "Oh, it would be so unfortunate if I were FORCED to wipe them out for influencing the Promise!" doesn't enter in his mind as being bad guy thing). I think the part that showcases it best is that if Mengkare encounter escalates to combat and players run out to street, when the guard on side of PCs refuses to give order to attack them and guards as result fall in chaos, Mengkare think its PCs fault for disrupting the order instead of it being because their leader just started rampaging on streets :p
What makes it most fascinating is that despite having done increasingly evil things for his plan, he still feels shaken by being reminded what his parents would think of what he is doing.(among other things of course, though I find it hilarious PCs can increase his doubt by calling Promise's sacrifice a tragedy since clearly loss of his work would be such waste xP) The fact tries to decorate his lair like his childhood home really shows that despite all, Mengkare is still deeply affected by what happened to him.
Speaking of Mengkare's sad childhood nostalgia, geez is Dahak('s manifestation) petty :D He keeps around manifestation of Mengkare self doubt in order to torment notreal!young Mengkare by things like having fake!version of his childhood pet dire wolf ignore him. As ex pet owner, that just hurts!
On sidenote, its also cool that this AP has three distinct "PCs failed" bad endings depend on which scenario ends up happening depending on a way players lose :D (even if one of them is really unlikely)
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Since the beggining of this AP when Menkare plot was introduce, i had an idea. Try to make a homage of the battle(Song) between Finrod Felagund vs Sauron (the Lay of Leithian), with the moment my player face Mengkare. It is a working in progress. I am open to criticism
PS: Sorry for my bad english
(Lukien, Krull, Mirktszalix, Halungalom, Aramil and Randal are the PCS)
"Mengkare sang a song of magic,
Of violation, openness, falsehood,
Of revelation, discovery, betrayal
Lukien and Krull then suddenly
They responded with a firm song,
Of resistance, of struggle against power,
Of secrets kept, of light and strength,
Of faithful trust, freedom, escape;
Of pitfalls avoided, broken traps,
From prisons that open, currents that break
From side to side swayed the song
Staggering and sinking as the chant grew,
Mirktszalix and Halungalom were fighting,
And all the magic and power of the Gnomes they brought in their words.
Softly, in the dim light, they heard the singing of nymphs, satyrs, and dryads of the First World,
The sigh of the trees in evergrove, Beyond the material world
In the everlasting fields of the Gnome lands
Aramil and Randal have joined the song, they are the forest, the bow, the arrow,
The wolf stalking prey, nature's cycles, life and death
Then the darkness was closed;
The darkness grew in Hermea,
The red blood ran down the side of the ocean,
Where the people of Promise gave their souls to the Dragon King
The wind whistles
The wolves howl
The crows run away
The storm is coming
Sad people cry in Hermea
The thunder growls; the fire burns
And Mengkare fell before the throne."
Adapted from the work of JRR Tolkien
PS2: this is a translation of the text in portuguese...once again sorry for my bad english
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I agree 100% with you
And reviewed.
One thing I didn't mention in review is that this AP(especially this book) successfully made Mengkare one of my favourite villains in Pathfinder.
Like, he just has so much fascinating doublethink to this methods. He genuinely thinks he is good guy doing the right thing while doing things like hiring assassins to get rid, being blatantly racist about what he thinks different ancestries are worth in his utopia and letting plucky forest rebels be because he is curious about their progress(like "Oh, it would be so unfortunate if I were FORCED to wipe them out for influencing the Promise!" doesn't enter in his mind as being bad guy thing). I think the part that showcases it best is that if Mengkare encounter escalates to combat and players run out to street, when the guard on side of PCs refuses to give order to attack them and guards as result fall in chaos, Mengkare think its PCs fault for disrupting the order instead of it being because their leader just started rampaging on streets :p
What makes it most fascinating is that despite having done increasingly evil things for his plan, he still feels shaken by being reminded what his parents would think of what he is doing.(among other things of course, though I find it hilarious PCs can increase his doubt by calling Promise's sacrifice a tragedy since clearly loss of his work would be such waste xP) The fact tries to decorate his lair like his childhood home really shows that despite all, Mengkare is still deeply affected by what happened to him.
Speaking of Mengkare's sad childhood nostalgia, geez is Dahak('s manifestation) petty :D He keeps around manifestation of Mengkare self doubt in order to torment notreal!young Mengkare by things like having fake!version of his childhood pet dire wolf ignore him. As ex pet owner, that just hurts!
On sidenote, its also cool that this AP has three distinct "PCs failed" bad endings depend on which scenario ends up happening depending on a way players lose :D (even if one of them is really unlikely)
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Since the beggining of this AP when Menkare plot was introduce, i had an idea. Try to make a homage of the battle(Song) between Finrod Felagund vs Sauron (the Lay of Leithian), with the moment my player face Mengkare. It is a working in progress. I am open to criticism
PS: Sorry for my bad english
(Lukien, Krull, Mirktszalix, Halungalom, Aramil and Randal are the PCS)
"Mengkare sang a song of magic,
Of violation, openness, falsehood,
Of revelation, discovery, betrayal
Lukien and Krull then suddenly
They responded with a firm song,
Of resistance, of struggle against power,
Of secrets kept, of light and strength,
Of faithful trust, freedom, escape;
Of pitfalls avoided, broken traps,
From prisons that open, currents that break
From side to side swayed the song
Staggering and sinking as the chant grew,
Mirktszalix and Halungalom were fighting,
And all the magic and power of the Gnomes they brought in their words.
Softly, in the dim light, they heard the singing of nymphs, satyrs, and dryads of the First World,
The sigh of the trees in evergrove, Beyond the material world
In the everlasting fields of the Gnome lands
Aramil and Randal have joined the song, they are the forest, the bow, the arrow,
The wolf stalking prey, nature's cycles, life and death
Then the darkness was closed;
The darkness grew in Hermea,
The red blood ran down the side of the ocean,
Where the people of Promise gave their souls to the Dragon King
The wind whistles
The wolves howl
The crows run away
The storm is coming
Sad people cry in Hermea
The thunder growls; the fire burns
And Mengkare fell before the throne."Adapted from the work of JRR Tolkien
PS2: this is a translation of the text in portuguese...once again sorry for my bad english
Since i am portuguese i would love to see the original text you did, could you please PM me the text?
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Segue a adaptaçãp do texto do professor Tolkien... Espero que goste.
“Mengkare entoou uma canção de magia,
De violação, abertura, falsidade,
De revelação, descoberta, traição
Lukien e Krull então, de repente,
Responderam com uma canção de firmeza,
De resistência, de luta contra o poder,
De segredos guardados, de luz e de força,
De fiel confiança, liberdade, fuga;
De ciladas evitadas, armadilhas quebradas,
De prisões que se abrem, correntes que se rompem
De um lado para o outro, balançava a canção
Cambaleando e afundando, à medida que o canto Crescia,
Mirktszalix e Halungalom lutavam,
E toda a magia e o poder dos Gnomos eles traziam em suas palavras
Baixinho, na penumbra, ouviram-se com eles o canto de ninfas, sátiros e dríades do Primeiro Mundo,
O suspiro das árvores em evergrove, Além do mundo material
Nos campos eternos das terras dos Gnomos
Aramil e Randal se juntaram a canção, eles são a floresta, o arco, a flecha,
O lobo perseguindo a presa, os ciclos da natureza, a vida e a morte
Então as trevas se fecharam;
Cresceu a escuridão em Hermea,
O sangue rubro escorreu ao lado do Oceano,
Onde o povo de Promise entregou sua alma ao Rei Dragão
O vento assobia
Os lobos uivam
Os corvos fogem
A tormenta se aproxima
O povo chora, triste, em Hermea
Ronca o trovão; arde o fogo
E Mengkare caiu diante do trono”
Since i am portuguese i would love to see the original text you did, could you please PM me the text?Since the beggining of this AP when Menkare plot was introduce, i had an idea. Try to make a homage of the battle(Song) between Finrod Felagund vs Sauron (the Lay of Leithian), with the moment my player face Mengkare. It is a working in progress. I am open to criticism
PS: Sorry for my bad english
(Lukien, Krull, Mirktszalix, Halungalom, Aramil and Randal are the PCS)
"Mengkare sang a song of magic,
Of violation, openness, falsehood,
Of revelation, discovery, betrayal
Lukien and Krull then suddenly
They responded with a firm song,
Of resistance, of struggle against power,
Of secrets kept, of light and strength,
Of faithful trust, freedom, escape;
Of pitfalls avoided, broken traps,
From prisons that open, currents that break
From side to side swayed the song
Staggering and sinking as the chant grew,
Mirktszalix and Halungalom were fighting,
And all the magic and power of the Gnomes they brought in their words.
Softly, in the dim light, they heard the singing of nymphs, satyrs, and dryads of the First World,
The sigh of the trees in evergrove, Beyond the material world
In the everlasting fields of the Gnome lands
Aramil and Randal have joined the song, they are the forest, the bow, the arrow,
The wolf stalking prey, nature's cycles, life and death
Then the darkness was closed;
The darkness grew in Hermea,
The red blood ran down the side of the ocean,
Where the people of Promise gave their souls to the Dragon King
The wind whistles
The wolves howl
The crows run away
The storm is coming
Sad people cry in Hermea
The thunder growls; the fire burns
And Mengkare fell before the throne."Adapted from the work of JRR Tolkien
PS2: this is a translation of the text in portuguese...once again sorry for my bad english
Loved that kayman!!!
Specially the ending.
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One thing I didn't mention in review is that this AP(especially this book) successfully made Mengkare one of my favourite villains in Pathfinder.
This is a really great thing to hear! One thing that was important to me is to make sure that Mengkare was a complex figure. It would be easy enough to have a dragon that just turned out to be evil the whole time or had one bad thing happen to him that flips on the evil switch, but I didn't find that very believable or interesting. Thankfully, the original outline for the AP included Mengkare's time in Axis, which planted the seed for a more gradual shift in his outlook on the world, his overall way of thinking, and his morality. Thanks to James Jacobs for providing such a rich detail to work from!
With this in hand, it was easy enough to expand on Mengkare's unfortunate life, tying his moral development to other events in his history. Mengkare originally had aspirations to be a great hero, but saw a group of what others would refer to as heroes (adventurers) slay his parents. He developed an obsession with improving on these flawed heroes that became an aspiration for racial perfection. His aspirations for heroism became a savior complex.
In the end, Mengkare is still very much like the child playing with his toys in his room. (In fact, there was originally a set of two toys in the Vengegate encounter, one in the shape of Mengkare and one in the shape of Dahak and explained that Mengkare used to imagine himself as a hero stopping the big, bad dragon from his parents' tales. It unfortunately didn't make it into the final product due to a lack of space.) I wanted to show what would happen to a young figure who lost their parents very early on in life and became dedicated to do right by them, but lacked guidance while doing so. In a way, Mengkare is what happens to Bruce Wayne without someone like Alfred in his life to keep him on the right track. My inclusion of a memorial to Mengkare's parents on Two Tree Island is actually an allusion to this idea. Much like Bruce Wayne has with parents' grave, Mengkare has a symbol to represent his lost parents and comes by to speak with them. I imagine he would take the time to talk out his plans and do his best to remain virtuous, but began to visit less frequently, eventually losing that final connection that kept him from slipping into evil.
Anyway, that's just some of my process with figuring out Mengkare. Again, thanks for the kind words on the adventure!
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In the end, Mengkare is still very much like the child playing with his toys in his room. (In fact, there was originally a set of two toys in the Vengegate encounter, one in the shape of Mengkare and one in the shape of Dahak and explained that Mengkare used to imagine himself as a hero stopping the big, bad dragon from his parents' tales. It unfortunately didn't make it into the final product due to a lack of space.) I wanted to show what would happen to a young figure who lost their parents very early on in life and became dedicated to do right by them, but lacked guidance while doing so. In a way, Mengkare is what happens to Bruce Wayne without someone like Alfred in his life to keep him on the right track. My inclusion of a memorial to Mengkare's parents on Two Tree Island is actually an allusion to this idea. Much like Bruce Wayne has with parents' grave, Mengkare has a symbol to represent his lost parents and comes by to speak with them. I imagine he would take the time to talk out his plans and do his best to remain virtuous, but began to visit less frequently, eventually losing that final connection that kept him from slipping into evil.
Thanks for that, Luis. What an amazing insight into the character of one of my favorite AP villains! That little bit of comparison will genuinely help my characterization of Mengkare for my players.
I think that, prior to the AP, most fans suspected that all was not right with Mengkare. I sort of hoped he wasn’t a straight-up villain and he very definitely isn’t. As much as I have enjoyed portraying the out-and-out villainy of Unity, The Whispering Tyrant and various runelords, I heartily enjoy the more complex motivations of Mengkare. And look forward to role playing him when my PCs get there.
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The size of the hoard is not consistent with wealth by level. It's consistent with what a legendary dragon would have. Part of the intent was to show what that kind of dragon hoard would look like, part of it was to tempt player characters with the chance to rob a dragon but then possibly regret the choice, and part of it was to make it feel like the PCs had come to a part of the campaign near the end that was truly epic and amazing and jaw-dropping in scope.
If we gave out only how much treasure the Core Rules suggested in that room, it would be underwhelming and disappointing.
But since it takes place near the end of the campaign, the "damage" giving out too much treasure can do is relatively minor... especially if you don't allow the PCs to do the full-on cash in treasure and fully optimize things at the magic store.
In addition, it's an experiment. I'm honestly curious to find out if giving out that much treasure made the game experience more or less fun at that point in the campaign.
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First of all, this is such a good g@+ d!#n AP. This game absolutely stands alongside Return of the Runelords, Curse of the Crimson Throne, and Hell's Rebels as my picks for the best APs ever penned by Paizo. So, many hundreds of kudos!
My question is about the spell selection for Dahak's Manifestation at the end of the campaign. One of his 9th level spells is Massacre, which is definitely among the most badass spells in the game, no doubt. My question though, is that the text of the spell says it can only affect creatures up to level 17 when the PCs will certainly be level 20 at this point. Was there another rationale towards giving him this spell, or am I missing something in the spell's text that still lets it damage higher level characters. I know that there's the bit about dealing 30 negative energy damage to everything in the line if nobody dies, but it still seems underwhelming.
I'd love to know if I'm missing something here. If not I'll probably just switch out the spell for another damage dealing spell like Meteor Swarm or Storm of Vengeance, but conjuring a Dragonstorm instead.
Thanks!
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First of all, this is such a good g&! d**n AP. This game absolutely stands alongside Return of the Runelords, Curse of the Crimson Throne, and Hell's Rebels as my picks for the best APs ever penned by Paizo. So, many hundreds of kudos!
My question is about the spell selection for Dahak's Manifestation at the end of the campaign. One of his 9th level spells is Massacre, which is definitely among the most badass spells in the game, no doubt. My question though, is that the text of the spell says it can only affect creatures up to level 17 when the PCs will certainly be level 20 at this point. Was there another rationale towards giving him this spell, or am I missing something in the spell's text that still lets it damage higher level characters. I know that there's the bit about dealing 30 negative energy damage to everything in the line if nobody dies, but it still seems underwhelming.
I'd love to know if I'm missing something here. If not I'll probably just switch out the spell for another damage dealing spell like Meteor Swarm or Storm of Vengeance, but conjuring a Dragonstorm instead.
Thanks!
Chalk that up to the fact that we were writing the adventure and developing it at the same time we were learning the rules. From an RP standpoint, some of Dahak's spells can be interpeted as being things he uses against lesser foes, though.
My take is that it's not an error, and that it's one of the benefits the PCs have for being 20th level when they confront him that he can't cast massacre on them as effectively. This helps to justify why the PCs are the ones taking him on and not, say, a less powerful group.
And of course, the avatar has PLENTY of other options available to use against the PCs. He won't be able to use all of his abilities in the course of a battle, after all, and the players will never notice that he didn't use a 9th level spell on them when he instead breath weapons and bites and thrashes and casts other things.
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Chalk that up to the fact that we were writing the adventure and developing it at the same time we were learning the rules. From an RP standpoint, some of Dahak's spells can be interpeted as being things he uses against lesser foes, though.
My take is that it's not an error, and that it's one of the benefits the PCs have for being 20th level when they confront him that he can't cast massacre on them as effectively. This helps to justify why the PCs are the ones taking him on and not, say, a less powerful group.
And of course, the avatar has PLENTY of other options available to use against the PCs. He won't be able to use all of his abilities in the course of a battle, after all, and the players will never notice that he didn't use a 9th level spell on them when he instead breath weapons and bites and thrashes and casts other things.
For being written in tandem with the rules is astonishing to me that everything is as functional as it is with only a few hiccups here and there. Thanks for the reply, that makes a lot of sense!
Hey gang. I was prepping the last part of Broken Promises when I noticed a small... bug? It seems real odd that Ilgreth has 28 AC, 17 Fort 19 Reflex 19 Will. His natural 20s fail my PCs saves so they'll just succeed instead and any other numbers fail.
I don't think that's intended. I added 10 to all of those numbers. Just thought I'd point it out!
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The callback to Breachill in this volume was incredibly well received by the PCs. I initially ran saving the orphanage as the original DCs from AoA book 1, and then explained the party seguing into saving the entire town is that they realized they've grown so much that they themselves alone are each worth a party (or more) of level 1 adventurers.
After all was said and done the party got an equal number of successes and I rolled the fateful 1d6 of dead citizens... and came up 1.
The party universally decided to use the elixir of rejuvenation from the Temple of All Gods to bring them back. Felt great.
And to answer your question from March James, my PCs loved receiving a massive hoard of treasure upon the start of Part 2. We've always disliked when the adventure rewards amazing treasure in the final dungeon like huge gold totals when we know the game is ending. Getting almost everything for 19 and 20 in one giant lump sum felt awesome and they only ended up selling 6 items (just the low level stuff mostly, and the journal of stories-- our bard is a storyteller and wanted it to himself to read and create plays from).
Should be done in 3 sessions so I'll keep an eye out on the game and report back. I'm thinking the choice here was the right one, though.
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I think my group are likely to take this in a different direction from anything the AP is written to support, at least in part bbecause of Tyrant's Grasp; spoilers comparing the overall arc of that AP to Age of Ashes follow. I think the juxtaposition of these two APs creates a somewhat awkward effect.
** spoiler omitted **
The book is pretty clear that the ritual will not work. All you have to do is find a way to convince your players that all those people would absolutely die in vain, and it becomes a very different conversation?