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This is a spoiler-filled resource thread for the first volume of the Quest for the Frozen Flame Adventure Path, Broken Tusk Moon by Ron Lundeen & Stephanie Lundeen.
The GM Reference thread for the second volume, Lost Mammoth Valley, is here.
The GM Reference thread for the third and final volume, Burning Tundra, is here.
Gonna share any Moose Tips here, Luis?
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To make this part of the adventure more interesting, you can intersperse the characters’ tasks with minor complicating events that occur around the Broken Tusk’s camp. Three such events are detailed under Events Around Camp on page 18.
It looks like one of those 3 events was removed (lack of space I would guess?), since only "New Snares" and "Porcupine Nest" are presented in the adventure.
Any hint/idea you can share about a third (or more if you want!) possible event(s)?
Who is the point of contact for purchasing things for gold in the Broken Tusks?
The Ardissa encounter has the chance to kill one of the following's mammoths. But I don't see anywhere that says how many mammoths are in the following to begin with. The only thing I saw was that there are 74 members at the start of the adventure. Is that just people, or people + herd? How many mammoths? If they have so many that losing 1 isn't too significant then maybe it doesn't matter, but since mammoths are level 10 I was assuming they only have a few (one per mammoth lord?)
not all "mammoth" lords actually ride mammoths, some ride other big animals like rhinos - there's at least 1 mention of this in the player's guide
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i think it includes significant animals + ppl? hard to tell
would it include ppl of any ages? so when the triplets are born it goes up by 3?
Who is the point of contact for purchasing things for gold in the Broken Tusks?
i haven't read it all yet, but i suspect there isn't one, given there's so few ppl! might be assumed they craft anything they need? though the PCs are busy scouting or exploring like 100% of the time in ch1-2, maybe they're supposed to ask someone else in the following to craft stuff for them?
i've spotted a few mistakes, and a discrepancy
the weak and elite blindheims are both listed as lvl 2, despite weak/elite changing your lvl, so they should be lvl 1 & 2 respectively
in the text on pg 48 it says syartik rejuvenates in 1d4 days, but in his statblock on page 91, it says 2d4 - which is correct? perhaps 1d4 as they're only given a few days to explore before the following will move on - and upto 8d is def more than a few!
is it ever laid out what happens if the burning mammoths catch up with the broken tusks? or just assumed it'll never happen?
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Who is the point of contact for purchasing things for gold in the Broken Tusks?
Items found in the adventure are given a gp value (just becuse thats how the game is set up) but there are very few gold coins to be found
What real value does gold have to a broken tusk you can't eat it, and it doesn't make good weapons, but it is shiny! Interestingly there's very little economic inequality in societies that only use barter.
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what height is the high ground above the low ground on the reaver squad map? and would the hunters who would be wanting to stay at range be all on the high ground? there's 0 description of the map, nor does it say where anyone is on it - perhaps they're all supposed to be hiding behind the bushes on the map? though reavers are untrained in stealth, so that wouldn't work! the hunters are lvl 0 with only +5 stealth too, so they're not gonna hide well either
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the tallow bombs seem to be missing normal (non-splash, non-persistent) dmg - though the description says there should be some! "A tallow bomb deals the listed fire damage, persistent fire damage, and splash damage" it should probably be the same amount as the splash?
i'm guessing that the death's slumber ward's supposed to have a 1 action ability to attack with a thread - it's implied in the text, but not totally clear!
I'm pretty disappointed that the hexgrid map for overworld exploration wasn't in the interactive maps .pdf. Does anyone know if there have been any solid fanmade adaptations for it?
i very much doubt anyone has made one yet, as the AP only came out on weds!
is it ever laid out what happens if the burning mammoths catch up with the broken tusks? or just assumed it'll never happen?
I got the impression that if the burning mammoths catch up with the broken tusks, they'll simply fall upon the following and completely wipe it out, since they're so much stronger and numerous than the BT's.
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I'm not as practiced at mapmaking as Narchy, but I have tried remaking all but one of the maps in the AP (with plans to do the remaining one). I posted about them here, hopefully they're helpful!
I'm hoping Narchy is already working on it. I used his redraws of the Abomination Vaults maps and they were spectacular. He even drew the Otari graveyard, a *battlemap* that wasn't included in the Paizo literature for some strange reason.I'm pretty disappointed that the hexgrid map for overworld exploration wasn't in the interactive maps .pdf. Does anyone know if there have been any solid fanmade adaptations for it?i very much doubt anyone has made one yet, as the AP only came out on weds!
Narchy is not running Quest, and will not be making maps for it most likely.
Also to be fair, there's ten zillion graveyard maps available online AND from Paizo sources.
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What real value does gold have to a broken tusk you can't eat it, and it doesn't make good weapons, but it is shiny! Interestingly there's very little economic inequality in societies that only use barter.
This doesn't really help me when a player asks where they can buy a +1 sword. Theoretical discussions of hunter-gatherer societies aside, I would like a name to go with whomever they can speak to about buying magic items/scrolls/whatever.
is it ever laid out what happens if the burning mammoths catch up with the broken tusks? or just assumed it'll never happen?
The Mammoths travel at about 3 days for every 1 day of your travel, so unless your players insist on exploring every hex (and if they do, I don't think they understand the situation they're in) it shouldn't be an issue. But if it did come up for me it would be an instant gameover. Pakano hints at the fate that awaits the Broken Tusk if you fail on page 64.
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Gonna share any Moose Tips here, Luis?
Yes, absolutely. The very first encounter of the AP is the big moose hunt, which is a super cool idea. What's not super cool is the fact that the moose is a level 3 creature. The hunt has ways to modify the moose's stats, but most of those only work to lower the moose's AC. If the moose gets to attack, there's a very good chance it can down or even outright kill characters right out of the gate. I recommend adding some checks that could grant the moose the enfeebled, frightened, or sickened conditions (especially enfeebled). Alternatively, consider applying the weak adjustment to the moose and adding some terrain features to make up for the difficulty. Either way, you're looking to lower the moose's attack bonus and damage in some way to spare the PCs.
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Gozreh and Ng get a shoutout. I'm sure that Erastil has a following as well. There's more coming next month when Lost Mammoth Valley is released.
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What real value does gold have to a broken tusk you can't eat it, and it doesn't make good weapons, but it is shiny! Interestingly there's very little economic inequality in societies that only use barter.
This doesn't really help me when a player asks where they can buy a +1 sword. Theoretical discussions of hunter-gatherer societies aside, I would like a name to go with whomever they can speak to about buying magic items/scrolls/whatever.
There's none listed in the adventure.
the only 1 reference to a merchant caravan suggests they have been dead for 3 years.There are 2 references to trading
1: Just before summer’s end, Broken Tusks traditionally meet
with Bristle Hogs to share news and trade medicinal
herbs for one of the Hogs’ gangly swine.
2: "If the party rejects her offer to trade one of their
mammoths for garbage."
in the player's guide, there's 1 reference to where to trade
"other types of societies exist as well, such
as the permanent mountain encampment called
Hillcross, where many followings go to trade or
negotiate treaties." Sounds like you get to Hillcross in the 3rd book
"Pathfinder Adventure Path #177, Levels 8–10
The Broken Tusks find sanctuary at last in Hillcross,"
This is a wilderness adventure I just don't think (at least in the first book) easy access to whatever you want to buy is not built into the game. Getting into a hunter-gatherer society mindset does seem part of this adventure.
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I think the 5 elders are the best goto NPC for supplies
(from the players guide) "The Broken Tusk is led by five Mammoth Lords:
Argakoa the Songsinger, her dour but willful husband
Letsua, Merthig the Firekeeper, Nakta the Healer,
and wise old Grandfather Eiwa."
If the PC needs something and it benefits the following for them to have it, it might just be given to them. but what is available is likely very limited
(From the adventure) "POSSESSIONS AND ZOIC FETISHES
Generally, each member of the Broken Tusk has the
responsibility of carrying all their own belongings
when traveling between camps, and as such, followers
generally have few belongings, most of which have
a specific function. These items are almost always
handmade and one-of-a-kind. Belongings that aren’t
strictly functional tend to be small, owing to the need
to migrate on a regular basis. Durable weapons and
armor are among the most highly prized belongings,
often passed from one generation to the next. In this
way, personal possessions undergo a natural arc:
children tend to own few things, adults have as many
personal effects as they’ll ever have, and elders carry
only those things that they cherish most."
So there's not likely extra swords around unless someone dies or they are found, or the following visits a trade village or town which seems to happen maybe once a year. You are being pursued by an invading army as well so the whole idea of surviving with what you have or find seems to fit in well here. Consumables like arrows might be one of the few things the following can produce on the run to keep the PCs supplied.
listing to one of the Paizo lives about this adventure the writers even considered how the broken tusk cooked food, saying cooking in a large heavy iron pot would slow them down too much.
does anyone have concrete ideas what to do about the ram hunt with Panuaka (annoyingly similar name to Pakano)? if no-one comes up with anything i might just mention it and do nothing with it, cause i'm terrible at coming up with new content (hence why i run APs/modules solely!)
I was compiling a list of loot (to check what might need to be changed to use the Monster Part system I alluded to in another thread) and I noticed that there seems to be no treasure listed for area G4 (Open Barrow).
Since this is where Hiajor died, I would think that there would be a few things to be found there?
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Small continuity error - on page 63 it says that the 4 hunters at M2 attack the party with shortbows but their stat blocks don't show shortbows.
To those people saying "you don't need loot in this AP", I thought I was playing Pathfinder, a TTRPG d20 system where equipment is very important to advancement, and the AP itself has the group sitting on at least 80g in currency by the end of it, but I figured my own solution out.
What happens if the players refuse Pakano's wrestling duel when they discover the spear at the river? It seems like it would be too easy to just let them have it, but not sure what Pakano could do other than outright attacking them.
What happens if the players refuse Pakano's wrestling duel when they discover the spear at the river? It seems like it would be too easy to just let them have it, but not sure what Pakano could do other than outright attacking them.Pakano is happy with his dominance and over the party, and his sweet new spear. There's no characteristic reason for him to attack if the party fails to challenge him.
The PCs will miss out on their first enhanced weapon. Let them do what they want to do, but if you want to encourage them to wrastle for it you can really play up how fancy the spear appears to be to entice them. Maybe even give them a chance to identify it as a +1 before the challenge.
But what if the players take the spear first? The adventure describes that Pakano will also challenge them to a wrestling duel in that case, but there really does not seem to be any reason for players to agree to that.
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Just GMed the first session yesterday, we all were not what to expect but we all had a good time and they were quite engaged with their "Clan Buddy" Pakano.
One of the PC's did beat Pakano to the spear, but then old Pak pushed him into the river and tried to grab the spear away. The first 3 players lost the wresting match that followed, 2 for the spear and one as a grudge match Clan house honor against Paka's actions "Fainting in the Moose battle, then the attempted spear steal and he had enough of this dude!!
The 4th just beat Paka by HAIR, then the party went upstream in search of "non ashy" water and the interesting disturbed stones that lead upriver.
Meanwhile Paka stormed off with his delivery of his Ash water back to the base camp!! Ha Ha Ha
Then the "water whisperer" and they did as instructed to purify the stream spirit, LOL ended the session when one of them got blasted by the acid arrow.
Good times so far!!
Tom
At the end of red cat cave it's assumed the party keeps going on to find lost mammoth valley, starting the second portion of the hex crawl (with actual exploration), for the reaver squad encounter this assumes that Ivarsa has already found red cat cave and the map (which isn't necessary because she has already been to lost mammoth valley but I digress, I don't actually care about this minor thing).
My real question is how far back do you start the Burning mammoths from the broken tusks as they begin chapter 3? For continuity's sake you could continue plotting their position from chapter 2, but there is also a potential that your following has left them in the dust by like half the map, has anyone who has run this seen this as a problem (removing the looming threat) or do you just let your characters have the win but still have burning mammoth scouts/reavers in the valley to harry them since Ivarsa can teleport small numbers of troops ahead anyway?
What have you folks run across in this?
I ran it continuing their position from Ch 2 hex map — the Burning Mammoth were 28 days behind the Broken Tusk when the party left Red Cat Cave ... and recently reappeared on the Ch 3 hex map at the same time they were investigating the divination apaku! The players were pretty jazzed/scared to see the war machine back on their trail.
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Hi!
The final scene at Rimecrag Pass mentions frost giants in the mountain, and Iversa commanding them to "pick up the scraps and make sure the Tusk runts die after [...] the avalanche", but there's no other mentions of them.
Did I miss something?
Hi!
The final scene at Rimecrag Pass mentions frost giants in the mountain, and Iversa commanding them to "pick up the scraps and make sure the Tusk runts die after [...] the avalanche", but there's no other mentions of them.
Did I miss something?
Yes. M5's flavor text:
In the far distance, standing on a the peak of a different mountain, giant humanoid figures are silhouetted against the gray sky.
Then a paragraph later:
The Burning Mammoths aren't alone. The silhouettes on the mountain peak above, more than a quarter mile away, are frost giants to wait on the ridgeline until the avalanche consumed the Broken Tusks. Afterward, the giants would trek down down the mountain to finish off whatever Broken Tusks remained and pilfer their broken bodies from the snow.
Is there any artwork available of Nakta and Merthig, two of the house leaders/mammoth lords?
The books only seem to have portraits of the other two leaders, Argakoa and Eiwa, and a wide shot of the five mammoth lords leading the following on page 66. I was hoping to be able to show my players the leaders of all the houses when they decide where their PCs belong.
Is there any artwork available of Nakta and Merthig, two of the house leaders/mammoth lords?
The books only seem to have portraits of the other two leaders, Argakoa and Eiwa, and a wide shot of the five mammoth lords leading the following on page 66. I was hoping to be able to show my players the leaders of all the houses when they decide where their PCs belong.
Hello Shadram !
I can say that there is sadly no art of both of these characters. I checked the player guide, first book and the second book. i'd be shocked if there were THIS late shown in the third however, that seems way too late. Unless there's any in the mammoth lord region's book, seems like those need to get art chosen by the DM, instead :l
Hello Shadram !
I can say that there is sadly no art of both of these characters. I checked the player guide, first book and the second book. i'd be shocked if there were THIS late shown in the third however, that seems way too late. Unless there's any in the mammoth lord region's book, seems like those need to get art chosen by the DM, instead :l
Thanks, I came to the same conclusion. For Merthig, I found this image of a dwarf barbarian and chopped one of his arms off in paint. Still looking for a suitable Nakta. :)
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I am considering running Bounty 10:HIllcross Round Up as a introduction to the campaign setting. How far from Hillcross does the campaign start? And across the three books, do they visit Hillcross at all? I know the players guide mentions they go there about once a year or something like that.