Is it really necessary that all treasure found be immediately usable? Of course, if they don't want to keep it until they *can* use it, I suppose they could sell it. IAC, since they've already found it, I wouldn't change it out by GM fiat, just let them decide what they want to do with it.
Additional note: RAW, while trying to keep item levels in rough correspondence with PC levels is a good idea, it's not written in stone that it must be so. If they can find the gold to buy a +1 armor rune at level 2, they can put both runes on somebody's armor. I don't think that would break the game (although coming up with 160 gold at that point in this (or any) AP is pretty unlikely).
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Sometimes I like putting in items that "punch above their weight" in an adventure as treasure so that it feels to players (particularly those who understand the way wealth and treasure are intended to be distributed) like they're actually getting some REAL treasure, rather than just the expected treasure for their level. In a way, these sorts of unusually powerful items given as treasures can be seen as filling the same role a bonus does for a real-world job, I guess, if one considers the "wealth by level" guidelines to be a PC's salary. Giving out unexpected things like this makes it feel exciting and unexpected and, in theory, pushes for more exploration and engagement in the adventure.
It's still tricky giving out powerful items to a group, though, because it can disrupt balance in encounters. When giving out things like this as treasure, I'll do so because it's important to the story and I'll build encounters with the expectation that the PCs will need the item (for example, giving out a ghost-touch weapon or two in a 1st level adventure where I know there's only one incorporeal creature in the entire thing and it's encountered early on and meant to be a challenge, or a waterbreathing item in a 1st level adventure that has a flooded room in the dungeon with an optional challenge within), or as a bit of "insurance" against a turn of bad luck (I put a scroll of raise dead into a 1st level adventure ages ago because the PCs were stuck in a region and I wanted them to have at least one get-out-of-death card just in case).
In this particular case, giving out that armor rune gives the PCs a great and valuable item for them to marvel at, but it won't break the balance of the game since it's use is gatelocked behind having a +1 armor rune. So the PCs can hang onto it and know that soon as they do find that armor they'll have a rune to slap on at once... OR they can sell it for a bigger than expected cash payout.
(As a side-note reminder, we generally aim for 150% to 200% of the expected wealth by level values in published adventures, to make up for the fact that not every group will find every item, not every group will keep every item, not every group can use every item, and some times items get lost or used or sold or broken or given away.)
(The altar would be D13 instead of D15 in the book though. :) )Originally, I had a few more encounter areas in that dungeon but ended up consolidating them in order to hit my wordcount; the stairs down to the south at area D12 and the passageway from D12 to area D14 both had their own map tags until relatively late in the game, and were tagged D13 and D14, leaving the room to the north D15.
At the last minute, I consolidated those together into area D12 but forgot to adjust the mention of the teleporter link. A great example of why any writer should be wary about sharing unedited text with the public!
I am curious. Are you able to share what those additional encounters were going to be (exploration/combat/social) from a story and scene perspective?
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I am curious. Are you able to share what those additional encounters were going to be (exploration/combat/social) from a story and scene perspective?(The altar would be D13 instead of D15 in the book though. :) )Originally, I had a few more encounter areas in that dungeon but ended up consolidating them in order to hit my wordcount; the stairs down to the south at area D12 and the passageway from D12 to area D14 both had their own map tags until relatively late in the game, and were tagged D13 and D14, leaving the room to the north D15.
At the last minute, I consolidated those together into area D12 but forgot to adjust the mention of the teleporter link. A great example of why any writer should be wary about sharing unedited text with the public!
I don't, alas. Made the decision to consolidate while writing, so there is no "previous version" to pull from.
Question about D9: Lasda's Lament
p1: A living creature needs to be anchored here so that they are constantly drained and rejuvinated. The energy is siphoned to power the guantlight.
p2: It can be reactivated so long as a "hardy" creature is anchored to it AND both Volluk and voidglutton must be alive/exist in order to get the [magic?] to work properly...
p3: Belecorra's ghost-existence (or existence pre-death) is also required
c1: The lighthouse is powered up and can teleport creatures into "nearby" locations (Absalom would require the lens) as well as animate the dead, but eventually it will run out of juice so it needs to recharge before another similar strike on Otari (or relatively similar distance location) can occur.
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Assuming I have that correct, here are my questions on the "mechanics" of how this works.
q1: Why can a living creature be used/needed to teleport creatures?
q2: The narrative on "hardiness of Lasada" implies or suggests that "hardy" is essential trait to power such a lighthouse?
q3: Why does the light go away when Lasada is removed? Maybe asked a better way, what is the essential step/component to pull the light down from lower areas to a living creature bound here should Volluk and VG survive?
(I'd have assumed from a "mechanics standpoint" that the room fills up with the light as it is untethered, and binding a living creature here is in a sense a "poor-persons" focul lens. However, it seems like there is a "pressure plate" for the living creature or ritual that pulls the light through the room below once a living creature is bound here?)
q4: From a story element, there have been many "captured creatures" so why only Lasada? Why the practice run now versus pre Belecorra death or since he has been captured? They have had Lasada for a year, but I feel like I am missing a story element of the timing.
q5: Are the lenses functions simply distance or distance and bandwidth or is there more to the focusing of N's gaze through the lenses resulting in a different level of potency beyond merely range and splash radius? (4 lenses required to fire lighthouse at Absalom is my reference here.)
The location of the lighthouse says “wooded coast,” but many maps have it centered in a Forrest a short walk outside Otari. By coast and the nearby swamp is this the main river connecting merravon and diobel or is it a smaller waterway not shown on many maps flowing southward west of Otari…also trying to assess how the smugglers rowed their way there
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I wasn't the lead developer for this Adventure Path, but I did write the first volume and drew all of the maps up for the authors to work with, so I'll take a shot at answering the above questions.
p1: A living creature needs to be anchored here so that they are constantly drained and rejuvinated. The energy is siphoned to power the Gauntlight.
Correct, but it's better to think of this as a "jump start" to the Gauntlight rather than the engine for the Gauntlight.
p2: It can be reactivated so long as a "hardy" creature is anchored to it AND both Volluk and voidglutton must be alive/exist in order to get the [magic?] to work properly...
It only needs to be one creature, but in this case it's two that are working together to jump start the Gauntlight for its test firing on the graveyard.
p3: Belecorra's ghost-existence (or existence pre-death) is also required
No. This just requires the Gauntlight to be dormant, in the limited functionality it exists in when this campaign begins.
c1: The lighthouse is powered up and can teleport creatures into "nearby" locations (Absalom would require the lens) as well as animate the dead, but eventually it will run out of juice so it needs to recharge before another similar strike on Otari (or relatively similar distance location) can occur.
Correct.
q1: Why can a living creature be used/needed to teleport creatures?
Because that's what the Gauntlight was designed to do—to transport creatures from the Abomination Vaults (or entire armies) into Absalom to wreak havoc on the city while also bypassing the external defenses, thus bypassing the need, in theory, to lay siege to the city.
q2: The narrative on "hardiness of Lasada" implies or suggests that "hardy" is essential trait to power such a lighthouse?
"Hardy" in this case just means "someone who is alive and healthy enough to not be killed outright by the months-long invasive torture methods used to jumpstart the Gauntlight." Since we don't actually give rules for how this soul-siphoning life-draining effect works (beyond it's effects on Lasda), the word "hardy" here is just a word, not a rules term. The victim just needs to be able to survive the process for many months, and Lasda, unfortunately for him, has done so.
q3: Why does the light go away when Lasada is removed? Maybe asked a better way, what is the essential step/component to pull the light down from lower areas to a living creature bound here should Volluk and VG survive?
(I'd have assumed from a "mechanics standpoint" that the room fills up with the light as it is untethered, and binding a living creature here is in a sense a "poor-persons" focul lens. However, it seems like there is a "pressure plate" for the living creature or ritual that pulls the light through the room below once a living creature is bound here?)
The "pressure plate" isn't one that reacts to a physical mass, but the presence of a living creature's soul that's been properly prepared and placed and linked via torture rites performed by an evil figure like Volluk. Once it's going, Lasda's soul/life force is the fuel for the light ribbon. He's the wick in the candle's flame. Take the wick away and the flame goes away.
q4: From a story element, there have been many "captured creatures" so why only Lasada? Why the practice run now versus pre Belecorra death or since he has been captured? They have had Lasada for a year, but I feel like I am missing a story element of the timing.
Because he had the (naratively decided) fortitude to make it long enough to endure the torture.
q5: Are the lenses functions simply distance or distance and bandwidth or is there more to the focusing of N's gaze through the lenses resulting in a different level of potency beyond merely range and splash radius? (4 lenses required to fire lighthouse at Absalom is my reference here.)
It's all of that. The lenses focus, harness, and contain that power.
The location of the lighthouse says “wooded coast,” but many maps have it centered in a Forrest a short walk outside Otari. By coast and the nearby swamp is this the main river connecting merravon and diobel or is it a smaller waterway not shown on many maps flowing southward west of Otari…also trying to assess how the smugglers rowed their way there
The entire Otari region is "wooded coast," even though the coastline only shows on the regional map along the south side. The coastline contineus west off the map, curling up a bit, and soon reaches an area where the cliffs diminish and it reaches a swampy saltmarsh. This area is awful for sailing ships into (which is why they chose the deep natural harbor at Otari to build the town there), but it works fine for rowing skiffs and rowboats and other small watercraft. There's not much of a REASON to go up into the marsh, but it is the route by which folks can come and go. The PCs can theoretically do the same, but it's easier for them to walk there (espeically since walking doesn't require some tricky skill checks to pilot a boat through a swamp and over some shallow waters with tricky surf during low tide). The forest shown on the map ends a few hundred feet from Gauntlight and turns into boggy muddy swamp, and then into watery wetland marsh in the very upper left corner of the map where the keep is located. This swampy area is Fogfen, and it extends all the way southwest to the coast.
Hope that helps!
It helps a lot! Thank you so very much, My players tend to be very very immersed and love the world so I try to be ready for all this stuff where I can be.
Many of the maps made by others (I recognize not Paizo) have a west coast pretty far away from Otari. I am not suggesting those are correct, but I just could not find any of all of startstone with major cities and locations in a world guide, but I could have missed it.
Thank you again JJ!
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It helps a lot! Thank you so very much, My players tend to be very very immersed and love the world so I try to be ready for all this stuff where I can be.
Many of the maps made by others (I recognize not Paizo) have a west coast pretty far away from Otari. I am not suggesting those are correct, but I just could not find any of all of startstone with major cities and locations in a world guide, but I could have missed it.
Thank you again JJ!
The scale at which the Otari map and the Isle of Kortos map is pretty different, but the coastline to the west doesn't do a sharp 90º turn north either. Fogfen is much bigger than it shows on the corner of the map, and it curves downward to meet the shoreline to the west of Otari is what I was getting at, not that the shoreline itself cures up dramaticly just off-map.
Isn't Tamily's fishing camp off in that direction (West) somewhere?
The scale at which the Otari map and the Isle of Kortos map is pretty different, but the coastline to the west doesn't do a sharp 90º turn north either. Fogfen is much bigger than it shows on the corner of the map, and it curves downward to meet the shoreline to the west of Otari is what I was getting at, not that the shoreline itself cures up dramaticly just off-map.It helps a lot! Thank you so very much, My players tend to be very very immersed and love the world so I try to be ready for all this stuff where I can be.
Many of the maps made by others (I recognize not Paizo) have a west coast pretty far away from Otari. I am not suggesting those are correct, but I just could not find any of all of startstone with major cities and locations in a world guide, but I could have missed it.
Thank you again JJ!
Got it, Fogfen is a waterly area that liters itself down west of Otari, but would be too smal to show on the map (I found one in Extensions Curse), but the lighthouse was not on there, but I assume its just too small.
Question on A11: Why is there no pale light in here if B35 ceiling is being warped by it?
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Got it, Fogfen is a waterly area that liters itself down west of Otari, but would be too smal to show on the map (I found one in Extensions Curse), but the lighthouse was not on there, but I assume its just too small.
I invented Fogfen and Gauntlight after Extinction Curse was published, so we didn't know at the time it shoudl be on the map.
Thanks.
Clarificcation on A9 - does it have a roof or are the walls shows on the map low like a bridge and the opening part fully open to the elements?
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Thanks.
Clarificcation on A9 - does it have a roof or are the walls shows on the map low like a bridge and the opening part fully open to the elements?
My intention was that this is a walkway, not a hallway, and thus is open to the elements with no roof, but it doesn't matter if you decide it has a roof, really.
I just had my first session of an in person campaign running AV, and I'm very excited. Currently building out the first two lvls of Gauntlight, and hoping that I get it done before we finish the beginner box.
Couple of Questions.
1. From the Gazateer for Otari, has anyone used the seed of the missing owner of the Thirsty Alpaca? I have one player who is very curious about it, and want to tie it in.
2. Has anyone else dealt with the party negotiating with the Stone Scale Kobolds from the beginner box? They have started with diplomacy, and I'm thinking maybe half the Kobolds are spoiling for a fight, but some might hang back and be willing to talk. I kind of like the idea of them integrating into the society of Otari, or at least speaking to being driven out of Gauntlight by the Morlocks/Metflits.
3. I read a great GM resource where it was suggested to start of the AP with the Deadtide encounter after a Founder's Day Festival (post beginner box). Has anyone tried this?
Curious about an in-game story element:
A8: had a sink hold collapsed by a battle where Otari fell down, but in AP there is a hint of a staircase.
Later when the party finds Otari he tells them nobody knew about lower levels as an in-game explanation of why he was left to die or presumed dead.
What about this stair? My only hook is that it too could have been hidden but it’s unclear why by a barracks there’d be a hidden spiral staircase?
I get that a meta reason may be to give players a clue if a second level down even if this local toon is generally discouraged as a time intensive way down
In story ideas?
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Curious about an in-game story element:
A8: had a sink hold collapsed by a battle where Otari fell down, but in AP there is a hint of a staircase.
Later when the party finds Otari he tells them nobody knew about lower levels as an in-game explanation of why he was left to die or presumed dead.
What about this stair? My only hook is that it too could have been hidden but it’s unclear why by a barracks there’d be a hidden spiral staircase?
I get that a meta reason may be to give players a clue if a second level down even if this local toon is generally discouraged as a time intensive way down
In story ideas?
The entrance to that staircase was hidden behind a secret door. It wouldn't have been hidden from those living in the castle way back when, of course, but this was one more level of secrecy/security built into the lower level access.
The entrance to that staircase was hidden behind a secret door. It wouldn't have been hidden from those living in the castle way back when, of course, but this was one more level of secrecy/security built into the lower level access.Curious about an in-game story element:
A8: had a sink hold collapsed by a battle where Otari fell down, but in AP there is a hint of a staircase.
Later when the party finds Otari he tells them nobody knew about lower levels as an in-game explanation of why he was left to die or presumed dead.
What about this stair? My only hook is that it too could have been hidden but it’s unclear why by a barracks there’d be a hidden spiral staircase?
I get that a meta reason may be to give players a clue if a second level down even if this local toon is generally discouraged as a time intensive way down
In story ideas?
Awesome
Thank you!
Any ideas on the route Volluk took Lasda down to level 4 (understanding it was a year prior)?
I assume not apprentice island given Mister Beak's patient wait, but likely avoided Fresnelkesh and the Morlocks.
Thoughts?
I have recently startet abominations vaults as a GM and have heard other playthroughs have had the problem with ghoul cultists being almost only one encounter. So it seems like a common situation.
It is also referenced in this thread:
https://paizo.com/threads/rzs43if0?How-will-the-Cult-of-the-Canker-adjust-a fter
With the situation you are in, thejeff, if you feel like the combat would lead to a TPK, you could give the party an option to avoid combat for now. Canker Cultist are primarily cultists, as I read it, and want to further their goals of making a nasty corpse body for Belcorras resurrection - and now there is a lot of corpses laying about and not many ghouls to gather them. Perhaps Nakhazarin will threaten them with a deal: "She will postpone their deaths if they gather up the ghoul corpses and bring them to her".
That could buy the party time and still be "true" to how I have read Nakhazarin - mostly interested in building the statue. Even though it is a tactical blunder on her part.
I hope to hear how you fare - my group has only begun battling mitflits.
Hey, golems are big and stupid. If the players found a way to deal with it, that's a win for them. If they remain within line of sight, you can still use Splinter attacks on them, but if they use cover or break line of sight, that's smart. That's the advantage of being able to come back for a second round. They took a beating, had to retreat, and probably bruised their ego. This is them getting the upper hand on the dungeon for once. Just describe how cool the players are for exploiting its lack of intelligence and give them the win. It's not a big deal.