Grikkitog: How do you run this monster?


Advice

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Castilliano wrote:
c) Or you've been wrong. Maybe the dev thought a rock taking Attack actions would become obvious to those with line of sight...

We can only discuss the rules interactions that are there.

In other words, *of course* I do not believe they intentionally set out to make an invincible level 14 creature.

But Occam's Razor applies.

My explanation relies simply on "somebody messed up".

In other words, the dev likely DID think just that.

I have no doubt that RAI differs from RAW in this case.
RAI = rules as intended
RAW = rules as written

But they still need to issue errata to make RAI line up with RAW.

The argument "nobody knows" is absolutely true, but it is a poor argument that we should apply the rules we THINK they meant, rather than the rules they actually wrote :)


The argument "nobody knows" was to counter you saying you do know, Zapp.
I disagree w/ your RAW (see previous posts), and your RAI (sadism).


Castilliano wrote:
your RAI (sadism).

For your information, that was me playing the devil's advocate.

Now I wish I could edit my post to insert an /s for sarcasm to clarify this.


Zapp wrote:
Castilliano wrote:
your RAI (sadism).

For your information, that was me playing the devil's advocate.

Now I wish I could edit my post to insert an /s for sarcasm to clarify this.

We still want to hear how the fight went and how you ran it, Zapp. Just to get a different DM perspective on how running it a certain way played out in the game world.

Scarab Sages

Why do I get a feeling that Auras are going to be the Spell Manifestation fiasco from 1e all over again.


Deriven Firelion wrote:
We still want to hear how the fight went and how you ran it, Zapp. Just to get a different DM perspective on how running it a certain way played out in the game world.

Unfortunately, they walked right instead of left. I had already decided the Grikkitogs' aura could not reach outside of their cave.

Spoiler:

At this point I need to relate how the party wizard rolled three straight 1's on his saves vs the nightmares (!), which means he must have went clinically insane :) I gave the player the option of embracing Bokrug as his character's patron to manifest this psychology, and he liked the idea, now multiclassing into Witch (as the PF2 equivalent of a D&D Warlock)

After having defeated Lyrt the cult leader, they summoned a guardian of Bokrug to help with the Xulgath siege. I invented the "Bokrug Cultist Mr. Bubbles" and repurposed the summoning circle in the Library for this purpose.

After the 8 hour ritual, they only saw something black and sinister beneath the robes they supplied, and Mr Bubbles continously muttering "bubbles bubbles bubbles..." The party wizard could converse with Mr Bubbles, but everyone else became quite confused.

But the Grikkitogs sensed something more - they sensed a Shoggoth (albeit a humanoid-shaped medium-sized one) and hightailed it out of there, without ever confronting the heroes.

Now they're traveling the countryside with Mr Bubbles in tow. This should considerably cut down on the otherwise extensive playing time needed to break the siege (all those fights!).

It will be interesting to see whether the party Wizard will compete or cooperate with Helg now that there's two Bokrugists...


Well Zapp, your players like to take the game in odd directions and you enjoy letting it. My players would have tried to kill everything. You must have some very engaged, outside the box thinking players.

Interesting direction to take the campaign in.


Deriven Firelion wrote:
My players would have tried to kill everything.

Oh, don't get me wrong. They become livid when a monster appears to successfully flee, and they drop everything to ensure they get all the kills.

In this stage, a single character peeked into the Grikkitog cavern, didn't see anything ;-) and so they went in the other direction.

I'm sure they would have attempted to kill the Grikkitog(s) if they had been made aware of them.


Zapp wrote:
Deriven Firelion wrote:
My players would have tried to kill everything.

Oh, don't get me wrong. They become livid when a monster appears to successfully flee, and they drop everything to ensure they get all the kills.

In this stage, a single character peeked into the Grikkitog cavern, didn't see anything ;-) and so they went in the other direction.

I'm sure they would have attempted to kill the Grikkitog(s) if they had been made aware of them.

That room is unique too.

My players ended up doing the following:

Spoiler:
They met The Banyan Boys in the Bokrug room. Never figured out one of the Banyans was possessed. Led Lyrt back to the surface and left him to help manage the "defense" of town. Lyrt has left town to make a deal with Helg to obtain the statue and go with her to build a Bokrug Cult in the Darklands if she agrees to destroy much of the town. Now he's going to help Helg kill the heroes, destroy the town, and take the Bokrug statue to the Darklands to join the new cult. Helg has convinced Mayor Vandy that giving the Xulgaths the Bokrug statue from below will save the town.


Coolcoolcool.

Spoiler:

Okay, so does your Helg really care about destroying the town? That is, are you running her as a "big bad"? Or will she dump Lyrt once she gets hold of the statue, forget about the town, and retreat back to the Darklands?

If they have to fight both Helg and Lyrt at the same time, boy are they in for a drubbing. (Or Zashatal and his Quarashith)

---

In my campaign, assuming the heroes doesn't pull off the difficult feat of keeping Mr Bubbles identity a secret (even if they kill all fleeing Xulgath forces, sooner or later Helg is going to load up on Prying Eye spells to see for herself why and how her units gets massacred)...

she will realize the heroes are somehow aligned with Bokrug. If she can find out who, she'll be casting her Inveigle ritual to try to "recruit" him. Even if that fails, she'll try to make peaceful contact.

My Helg will definitely dump the town and the army if she can get hold of the statue. Of course, what the party Wizard thinks of this is unknown at this time...

I will probably reskin the Statuette ritual to be a ritual that specifically animates the Bokrug statue (so it walks under its own power), and dump the idea that the siege tower were built to carry it. I can't remember if it was here or at EN World, but I have discussed my misgivings about that ritual.


I'll probably run it like this:

Spoiler Module:
Helg figures she can easily kill Lyrt, so she will keep him as long as she is useful. She will only destroy the town as long as it is useful to her. She will probably bring anyone that converts to Bokrug if somehow she beats the PCs.

I like that statuette walking idea. That looks cool.

My expectation for the play is that the PCs return to town. They find the Bokrug statue moving. They finally figure out Lyrt is not there to help. They kill Lyrt/Ledoric and maybe his brothers in the ensuing fight. I'll probably have Lyrt yell something as the invading Xulgaths come like, "Convert to Bokrug or face the wrath of his children" selling the town that the xulgaths are all created by Bokrug to destroy the town as punishment for offending Bokrug. Try that whole H.P. Lovecraft Shadows over Innsmouth scenario this town seems to ripe for.


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Hello all,

So i've been wracking my brain all day on how to run this encounter in Age of Ashes.

I liked the option of the Gugs worshiping it in some way shape or form, but it would not fit as if they worshipped it, it would not be starving.

As well, I can't find any way as to why this creature would just remain in this room, starving. It obviously has access to loads of food within its 120ft aura, so this really makes zero sense as it is written. (specially that Ghast that is explicitly written to be trapped in a stone prison right across the hall...next to two fresh duergar bodies)

I will make it so that this area of the undead city was given a wide berth since any undead who came in was swiftly devoured. The gugs saw this as an opportunity to secure a good stronghold, and Xevalog, the stone based cultist of Azatoth, used his dark magics to seal the creature inside the room.

I will slap a lock spell on this door, ward it with magical runes and writings of ''keep out'' in Aklo on it. When Xevalorg is about to fall, he will either order a minion, or go himself to try to open the door as a last ''suicide move'' before he falls.

The creature within the room will then try to lure some people in in order to be able to secure the door, but it must squeeze through in order to escape its confines of cursed stone, giving the party a good controlable objective over it.

If it does break out however, all hell will break loose and the party will probably have to withdraw. Or hope that their Shoony Druid prepped stone to mud that day. (She usually does though...she also has a burrow speed...)


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber
AlastarOG wrote:


As well, I can't find any way as to why this creature would just remain in this room, starving.

I don't see any indication that the grikkitog is starving, just hungry.

Quote:
(specially that Ghast that is explicitly written to be trapped in a stone prison right across the hall...next to two fresh duergar bodies)

I wouldn't describe two bloated corpses that recently succumbed to ghast fever as "fresh." They'd got to be disgusting for most creatures to eat, and gugs are filthy, putrid beasts as well Eating them would be unpleasant and probably hazardous. The carnivorous crystals aren't flesh and blood and the Purple Worm is too dangerous looking.


Well if we have "gastronomically inclined" maddening abominations from beyond space and time....

What's it doing in saggorak if there's nothing to eat that it likes then?

Point is, it's location is a bit weird...


Ran the age of ashes encounter last night.

IT was a bit chaotic, the rogue decided, despite me putting up neon ''DO NOT OPEN'' Signs on the door and warning them of a TPK monster in this session, to open up the door mid fight with the 3 gugs and xevalorg.

The players did not know what to do as the jaws of earth came out and took the bard to 3 HP in one round. It took them a few rounds to regroup and then some yelling at the rogue to convince him to do a seek check (Rogue whisper elf with goggles of night and 18 wis) rather than go stab the imprisoned ghoul to the north. He got a 42 total (rolled 16)

When he finally found the beast, it was easy to take down because it was stuck in its small kitchen and I had already set up the walls as unpassable to it. The alchemist set up a wall of fire on it and everyone piled on for victory. Only 3 of the 6 chars were sent to dying.

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