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This is a spoiler-filled resource thread for GMs running the Attack of the Swarm Adventure Path, specifically for the sixth adventure, "God-Host Ascends."
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All GM Threads in this series:
1 - Fate of the Fifth
2 - Last Refuge
3 - Huskworld
4 - Forever Reliquary
5 - Hive of Minds
6 - God-Host Ascends
Reading through the Reactor Observation Post encounters. Is it intended for the PCs to easily avoid the pluprex demon just by not clearing the steam? Since they can tell the reactor is contained already, it seems likely they might just move on and waste all the dramatic buildup from the camera feeds.
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I'm prepping the final session right now (assault on the temple) and I have to say it looks really bland. Simple 1-2 enemy encounter, no special environmental effects etc. and the final battle is basically a 1vs4 and if I take a look at the stats of the God-Host, I think my three-player party will kill him in 2-4 rounds. Especially since the "big trick" is: using one of the most used energy attack in the game: fire.
I have to say I'm a little bit disappointed by the finale of this AP (just from reading it).
I think I will redesign it a "little" bit to make it more epic (using the environment, multistage fight, adding NPC troops etc.)
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I revamped the this part.
First I exchanged the trap at the entry with a normal combat encounter (1 High Priest, 4 Dredger troops, 1 molitera). For this fight I gave my players the support of the fire-team, giving them the option to apply harrying or cover fire to two enemies.
I kept the next encounter the same, only difference was, that there was a hole in the floor of the temple, which lead to the God-Host "chamber". I also used two of the wardens to flak the players from outside the temple (the map contained the temple and the area in front of it).
I skipped the High-Priest Encounter, since it doesn't add anything to the story and my player were already beaten up a little bit.
Then I wanted to make the final encounter more epic.
I achieved this by adding some off-combat chat. During the fight the players received a message from the team at the top: "Thousands of Bugs closing in, we need support!" followed by a call from Cmdr. Nayira "Rerooting all troops to the temple, double move!"
Then When the players killed three heads (my players were really fast and managed to close two of the "spawn points", the God-Host jumps to the ceiling and claws his way to the surface. At the same time the cave collapses and two of my player in Power Armor had to run, while the one with the jetpack followed the god host.
The next phase of the fight happend in the ruins of the temple. While the player battling the god-host and his minions (two thresherlords still spawning), Swarm troops flood toward the temple. SDF troups try to secure the temple area, firing in all directions. Tanks on the plains below the temple building defensive lines vs. swarm armies, gunships (lead by Cinnoka) flying above and battling the swam air creatures.
I gave my players the option to redirect fire to the god-host (doing a Diplomacy or Prof. Soldier Check and spent 1 RP) to give him the off-target and flat-fooded condition for one round.
When my players where on the edge of loosing Cinnoka swooped in with a gunship, pinning the god-host (doing no damage, but giving the players 2 rounds to heal and regroup).
And then when the god-host was defeated, they immediately saw the result as the swarm army broke down and the SDF troops could sweep them up easily.
At this point I did a fade-out. A few lights turn on and a female voice said "And this was the story of how the [insert Company name] fought the swarm and liberated our home planet." Next they see a group of children walking through an exhibition about the swarm invasion and they the the buildings name: [Company name] Museum.
"What happened with our heroes after this?" one girl asked "This, my little one, is another story…"
I have to say, my player loved it and we had a blast in this AP, even if some parts are a little "off" or slow, the AP overall was awesome.
I was rolling with the mildly military manner in which the PCs get treated up to this point, but the bit where the admirals or what have you say "You there, random lieutenants we've never met, you seem awesome! Decide these force dispositions!" blows it for me. However, I like the overall mechanic. Suggestions? I'm thinking command is holding them in reserve, and then their ship explodes or communications get disrupted, leaving the PCs to decide where they need to go, but I'd welcome any input.
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Don't forget the players are not "random lieutenants" but the "best-of-the-best" which had more experience with the swarm then anybody else, found the mcguffin, cut the swarms connection to the swarm etc.
I simply decided that the SDF (and it's allies) make landfall at several areas of the planets and the players (under command of Cmdr. Najiri) get the command of the "Brianna Landing"-Operation.
I either completely misplayed, or completely underestimated the Pluprex demon in last week's game.
When the party got the demon's attention, it showed up outside as written,activated the high radiation version of its aura, moved into the entrance and animated the dead body as described (this, I did misplay. I failed to realize that the spell required touch).
It proceeded to cast confusion when the party moved forward to deal with zombert and was wildly successful. 3/4 of the party was affected with nobody having a handy way to deal with it. This is where the demon gets crazy.
Because radiation is a poison, even on a successful save it is dangerous. Nobody gets immunity to high levels of radiation, and thus everyone has to save every turn. On a successful save, everyone within 20' of the demon loses 12 hit points (not stamina as far as I can tell. The poison rules are oddly specific about losing hit points rather than taking damage, and I didn't find a correction anywhere).
There's basically nowhere to fight that creature in the small building that isn't within 20'. More than likely you'll be fighting in b2 or b7, and that aura is a commanding area.
If you can't get your debuffs on, or the wrong person gets confused and rolls poorly, or you're just having an off day, you're on a very short fight timer, even without the mutation, multi-attack, or other spell-likes. Scary fight.
The vast majority of times hit points means damage to stamina points first with few exceptions.
However, yes, running into a whole party succumbing to confusion is difficult to deal with. Hell, I had every PC fail to a confusion, then a synaptic pulse, followed by a modify memory that removed their brawler from the fight (temporarily). That sort of thing happens and it is very difficult to deal with.
When you know it's a possibility it pays to plan ahead.
How on earth did you use Modify Memory in combat?
How on earth did you use Modify Memory in combat?
Greater synaptic pulse rolled a 4 on the stun rounds. Character was already near an exit and adjacent to the enemy. One round to open the door, and grapple/shove the character out the door, another to cast modify memory (1 round cast)... And now] I see where I went wrong, they couldn't have spent enough time to implant the memories of 'nothing important, the rest of the party is wasting time being stupid, you moved on'... whoops.
Yeah, it's a plot device spell for out of combat use on captured/unconscious targets.
Pathfinder 1 introduced at least one "forget the previous round and this spell I'm casting right now" memory spells to cover a quick event or botched roll on something else that might initiate combat.
Yeah, it's a plot device spell for out of combat use on captured/unconscious targets.
Pathfinder 1 introduced at least one "forget the previous round and this spell I'm casting right now" memory spells to cover a quick event or botched roll on something else that might initiate combat.
I suppose I could have just used suggestion from the same enemy at the time for the same/similar effect, so no real harm done.
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I was rolling with the mildly military manner in which the PCs get treated up to this point, but the bit where the admirals or what have you say "You there, random lieutenants we've never met, you seem awesome! Decide these force dispositions!" blows it for me. However, I like the overall mechanic. Suggestions? I'm thinking command is holding them in reserve, and then their ship explodes or communications get disrupted, leaving the PCs to decide where they need to go, but I'd welcome any input.
I really don't like the set up of this book. Midnight Squad was last running a minor guerilla operation off system and is now considered the strategists AND the tip of the spear?
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Wrapping up [fingers crossed] tonight.
I didn't really like this book, and so I've been steering the plot of the AP to allow my extensive changes:
-the starship combat was changed to asking the guys to come up w/ Veskarium alter-characters and we ran a Tier 20 v. Tier 19 fight v. Hellknights [just used the stats for the Conqueror of Worlds and Citadel Zirval]. that was a lot of fun.
-fought Zantos and his hellknight allies in the Gigafactory
-did the fun little chase mission w/ the psychovox, pretty much skipped everything else in the first 2/3 of the book [except for those cool radioactive demons]
-fighting the God-Host pretty much as written [ended last session in mid-combat]
-for this session the guys will finish the combat, then level up to 18 BY THE POWER OF HYLAX, and then fight the BROODSOUL [from the back of the book] as the ultimate expression of THE INVINCIBLE SWARM!
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Finished up last night. The God-Host needs to be stronger - more like a CR 16 than a 15. And he gets so much weaker as the fight happens, that the CR 10 support guys who pop up don't come close to compensating for. If I were to re-run this, I'd make some of the psychovoxes "activate" as well, or boost the Thresher Lords.
The guys had a lot of fun with their level 18 PCs, dishing out crazy damage and blasting through CR 16 Xersks like paper.
We ended with the revelation that although 19/20ths of the Swarm components on Suskillon died, that some of them rolled natural 20s on their Will saves and are now free from the Swarm's pernicious influence - what is to be done with this devastated planet???
But for now... it's off to DEVASTATION ARK...