Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
I'm currently running an Extinction Curse campaign, and the party has just finished the first chapter of The Show Must Go On. They are suitably bruised and battered following their encounter with Nemmia and have expressed a desire to stock up on field-recovery goods upon entering Abberton. I didn't see an indication of level for the town: Did I miss it? If there is no set level, would it be appropriate to consider it a level two settlement when filling out marketplace opportunities?
It seems Paizo has dropped the idea of assigning settlements a numerical level, even though this is precisely what the rules expect.
I can only surmise they want GMs to assign these numbers themselves, perhaps saving Paizo some complaints about towns levelled "too high" or, perhaps more realistically, "too low".
I'm using level 2 for Abberton and level 6 for Escadar myself.
Haven't yet decided on what to do with the Swardlands; I'm getting a rural vibe suggesting a low level - yet, the settlements are filled with mid-level NPCs (since APs are written to always have you interact with level-appropriate creatures).
On one hand, it would be strange for a remote logging camp to be anything else than low level. On the other, it would be strange for a low-level logging camp to be inhhabited by level 8 or 12 NPCs...
If anyone knows Paizo's intention here, regarding their world-building, I guess now we're two that wants to know.
PS. Can't edit my previous reply.
Installment 4, Siege of the Dinosaurs, does put a number on a town. Willowside is level 5.
It stands to reason that this goes for much of the Swardlands too, which are uniformly characterized as "towns" and "villages". The only two notable settlements mentioned (that doesn't figure in the story of installment 3) are the port of Kerrick and the aforementioned Willowside.
(Of course, I can't explain how the Rome of this fantasy world is surrounded by farms and villages with populations in the three figures...)
Anyway, it seems we are on our own - I can find zero guidance from Paizo on how to handle shopping at higher levels of Extinction Curse. It seems individual GMs need to decide whether shopping trips to Absalom (which I'm guessing is a level 20 metropolis) are within the scope of this particular Adventure Path without having anything from Paizo to use as guidance :(
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Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Guidance for Absalom:
You can buy anything unless the GM says otherwise.
There, you owe me 50 cents.
Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
Zapp wrote: Haven't yet decided on what to do with the Swardlands; I'm getting a rural vibe suggesting a low level - yet, the settlements are filled with mid-level NPCs (since APs are written to always have you interact with level-appropriate creatures).
On one hand, it would be strange for a remote logging camp to be anything else than low level. On the other, it would be strange for a low-level logging camp to be inhhabited by level 8 or 12 NPCs...
The GMG does suggest giving some settlements specialist tags/abilities to indicate that they might have offers well above their overall levels. E.g.:
Quote: City of Artisans: Items of up to 4 levels higher are available from a particular category the settlement is famous for, such as armor and weapons. I expected settlement stat blocks to be done for us in adventure paths, but I suppose it'll be a fun exercise to assemble them ourselves as needed.
Gorbacz wrote: Guidance for Absalom:
You can buy anything unless the GM says otherwise.
There, you owe me 50 cents.
Agreed. Absalom doesn't even feature in Extinction Curse.
Still would like Paizo to tell us GMs:
"in this adventure path, players will gain access to shoppes at levels #2, #12 and #16. Anytime else, they're crap outta luck, unless they bring a crafter with the Inventor feat"
Book 5 has a settlement level 15.
Zapp wrote: It seems Paizo has dropped the idea of assigning settlements a numerical level, even though this is precisely what the rules expect. My guess? The GMG (with the settlement rules) was released simultaneously with the AP, so settlement rules weren't available when developing the early parts of the AP, and thus settlements are only described in vague terms.
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Speaking as a fellow Extinction Curse GM and not with my developer hat on, I'd say Abberton is level 4, Escadar is level 9, Kerrick is level 7, and the other communities around the Swardlands are levels 3 through 5 or so.
This should meet the heroes' shopping needs until the third book, and by that time they're close enough to Absalom and high enough level that they can easily take an off-screen side trek there, or order something specific from local Swardlands shops that will take a few days to arrive.
Now putting my developer hat back on, we absolutely expect heroes to do shopping they need in Absalom, particularly at higher levels. But since Absalom intentionally isn't the focus of this story, none of the shopping is presented on screen.
Ok, so this particular adventure path has no meaningful limitations on shopping (there doesn't exist a stretch of levels where heroes are intentionally barred from purchasing level-appropriate gear).
Got it. Much obliged, Ron.
While I have everyone's attention, is 75 to a hundred miles a reasonable (walking, not flying) distance from the Swardlands to Absalom?
The only map of the Isle of Kortos with a distance indicator I could find is oznogon.com. No idea how legit that site is...
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Zapp wrote: Ok, so this particular adventure path has no meaningful limitations on shopping (there doesn't exist a stretch of levels where heroes are intentionally barred from purchasing level-appropriate gear).
Got it. Much obliged, Ron.
We did that with Tyrant's Grasp already, and billed that as "survival horror" partly because of the limitations on shopping. Extinction Curse is decidedly *not* survival horror. Your heroes can't go shopping when they're in the middle of a dungeon of course, and might have some troubles if they're, say, hundreds of miles belowground or something, but generally, no meaningful limitations.
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Zapp wrote: While I have everyone's attention, is 75 to a hundred miles a reasonable (walking, not flying) distance from the Swardlands to Absalom?
The only map of the Isle of Kortos with a distance indicator I could find is oznogon.com. No idea how legit that site is...
That seems about right, from the map on page 13 of the Lost Omens World Guide. (That map even helpfully has all the aeon towers on it.)
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Pathfinder Adventure, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
I didn't see it annotated here so I'll chime in. Kerrik is Settlement level 6 according to book 3 page 60 in the Swardlands gazetter. I know Ron already chimed in for you Zapp, but I also know you like to use publication information if it's printed in the books.
Roboconn wrote: I didn't see it annotated here so I'll chime in. Kerrik is Settlement level 6 according to book 3 page 60 in the Swardlands gazetter. I know Ron already chimed in for you Zapp, but I also know you like to use publication information if it's printed in the books. Ooh, thanks for pointing that out!
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
heh i know this is a dead thread, but i wanted to say this saved me a TON of trouble just as i am starting Life's Long SHadows.
Recent threads in Extinction Curse
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