As the title says, I'm going to start Hell's Vengeance soon and I am beyond excited. However I do have a few questions about running it for people who might have already done so.
1) How did you find the difficulty balance? I know its got a heavy intrigue focus, but some of the combats seem like they would get really difficult if the PCs build too heavily in that direction
2) Whats the timeline like, in game time i mean. Book 1 kind of lays out a rather specific time frame that ends up being around a month in game time length. But how about the rest of it. Will I need to make changes if my Players like doing downtime activities like crafting or what not?
3) Book 3 seems to get some heavy criticism, Any suggestions on making the twist more of a surprise? The fetch quest aspect i don't think my players will have particularly much problem with. They'll have a more fun version of it in Book 5 regardless.
4) Book 4 has a nice Stat Block for Abrogail II, but unlike every other such stat page I've seen theres basically no info on her background, her motivations, or any real fleshing out of her as a character instead of a plot device. She has 3 paragraphs of text 1 about how she got the throne, 1 about how she treats traitors, and a 3rd that just says she tells the PCs what to do. Are there any other sources that flesh her out more?
4b) It does seem like she's young and single though. Anyone who's played this ever have anyone try to do anything with that? One of my Players
is a CK2 addict playing a Noble with very high aspirations.
5) The Hellfire Compact and its later expansions, how troublesome is it down the line if players dont want to sign on? I know come book 4 Abby kind of forces it on you at least in part.
6) I've seen some suggestions online to tweak the final fight in some way. Some Suggest giving her the Thorncrown in addition to her normal kit. Anyone try that? How did it work out.
7) Are there any thematically appropriate magical items/artifacts i might want to consider adding to spoil, i mean reward my PCs?
7b) I also have a player who is interested in taking advantage of the evil nature of the AP to explore Necromancy and maybe even Lichdom. However i dont want to open that door for only one PC. I dont consider Lichdom to be super powerful in this AP due to the primary enemy being Good Aligned Divine Classes. I do need to find options for 2 martials and an enchantment caster if thats the case though
8) Any other tips and tricks.
Thank you a bunch for your time and any help you might have to give me.
1) How did you find the difficulty balance? I know its got a heavy intrigue focus, but some of the combats seem like they would get really difficult if the PCs build too heavily in that direction
for our group it was good, we had a couple of front liners and two casters, plus Chimri was available to talk some sense into the party if they were on the wrong track. one of the party min/max'd a little but the others made normalised characters and it helped, i tried to get the players to think like the characters, based on their wis/int levels, worked for a little while.
2) Whats the timeline like, in game time i mean. Book 1 kind of lays out a rather specific time frame that ends up being around a month in game time length. But how about the rest of it. Will I need to make changes if my Players like doing downtime activities like crafting or what not?
Book 1 was good, the timeline was quite solid, with downtime for crafting (though not by our party), by the time they had replaced the law in the town, they were partolling most days, keeping the peace, etc. there will be loads of time to craft, research and the what not.
3) Book 3 seems to get some heavy criticism, Any suggestions on making the twist more of a surprise? The fetch quest aspect i don't think my players will have particularly much problem with. They'll have a more fun version of it in Book 5 regardless.
book 3 was really fun, and the herasy devil was really fun to play with, the players in my group kinda suspected that the baron had some other ideas. so I played the baron's cards as a double-double cross, saying that the devil had wanted the sacfifice, but the baron would bind him before the sacrifice could take place. and he would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for you meddling kids!.
from the GM side, I enjoyed the book, it was fun, there were some good encounters in there and some reall oppotuities for my players to shine, which they did.4) Book 4 has a nice Stat Block for Abrogail II, but unlike every other such stat page I've seen theres basically no info on her background, her motivations, or any real fleshing out of her as a character instead of a plot device. She has 3 paragraphs of text 1 about how she got the throne, 1 about how she treats traitors, and a 3rd that just says she tells the PCs what to do. Are there any other sources that flesh her out more?
The Cheliax book has some more information, but not masses. my party has just started this book, so I'm interested to see where we will go with it. reading between the lines, i think i can see how she treats everyone. she is power hungry and wants to remain that way. removing anything and anyone that get's in her way.
4b) It does seem like she's young and single though. Anyone who's played this ever have anyone try to do anything with that? One of my Players is a CK2 addict playing a Noble with very high aspirations.
i suspect that she's not interested in love right now (if ever), power is her thing. i'm sure that there is a large amount of suiters in the courts, who she has little time for.
5) The Hellfire Compact and its later expansions, how troublesome is it down the line if players dont want to sign on? I know come book 4 Abby kind of forces it on you at least in part.
i advised the players that they needed to accept the rituals, as they were story elements that were required. they followed suit. there was an in character discussion about if someone can be connected to two 'masters' at the start of book 3 with the Inquisitor, as one of my PCs was blessed by Moloch.
7b) I also have a player who is interested in taking advantage of the evil nature of the AP to explore Necromancy and maybe even Lichdom. However i dont want to open that door for only one PC. I dont consider Lichdom to be super powerful in this AP due to the primary enemy being Good Aligned Divine Classes. I do need to find options for 2 martials and an enchantment caster if thats the case though
this is where i have an issue with the AP, everyone says it's an Evil AP. think of it as an AP, but with a different set of skill requiremenst, yes it's an Evil AP but it's not an Evil AP. Think Wreck It Walph. think Bison's speech from 'Street Fighter the Movie' which sums it up too. 'The day I killed your father must have been the most horrible day of your life, but for me - it was just Tuesday.' well ok, maybe not that onebut you get the idea.
if the players want to be a Necro, sure, why not. i have one in my game, he causes issues for me all the time with 8HD worth of undead on the field, but would the local people in Cheliax allow a Lich to walk around, take residence and cause issues for the country?
8) Any other tips and tricks.
there's a really amazing playthrough on youtube for the AP, i think they are in book 4 or just starting book5 right now, and it's an amazing view at what can be done with the Adventure Path, really smart players having fun with it.
also, have fun, and as it says on page 3 of The Hellfire Compact, don't be a jerk.
Thanks man.
Thanks man.
how have youbeen getting on? did you start the campaign? are your players enjoying it?