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Started preparing to run this scenario...
Noticed a few minor things that might warrant corrections later.
I think the Appendix 1 entry for "Event 3: Pit Trap (Levels 1-2)" has a misplaced "(0)" at the end of the "Halfling Street Watcher" entry. The text for this event earlier in the scenario listed this entry without the "(0)" and the scaling text assumes that "Halfling Street Watcher" is always present in the event... so (unless otherwise corrected) I'd probably just run this event unscaled with the Hazard, 1 "Halfling Street Watcher" and 1 "Halfling Troublemaker".
Perhaps this extra "(0)" migrated from the last page of Appendix 2? There's a "Halfling Troublemaker" entry without a "(0)" in "Event 5: Boss Fight (Level 3-4)" that doesn't appear in the list earlier in the scenario.
On Handout #1 "Sakura's Sprig" is misspelled as "Sakura's Spri*n*g" in the Item header area.
Also, there's some extra artwork in Appendix 3 of a "Pitborn Adept" although one doesn't appear in this scenario. Instead of removing the artwork, one should be added to the scenario. :)
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Thought I’d chime in with Enraged Big Katsu’s +86 to Survival
But since I’m also in the midst of preparing to run this scenario this weekend; I’ve got big katsu at the boat launch and pit trap and wild things;
In terms of placement I was thinking putting the pit trap in the training room, could be part of the gangs training; then put the halfling and boar in the boat docks area, and finally big katsu arrives down entry stairs, biggest areas with a chance to use his size and strength to shove folk into the water of the docks
Contributor
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Thought I’d chime in with Enraged Big Katsu’s +86 to Survival
But... he needs that Survival to find the best cutlets!
But since I’m also in the midst of preparing to run this scenario this weekend; I’ve got big katsu at the boat launch and pit trap and wild things;
In terms of placement I was thinking putting the pit trap in the training room, could be part of the gangs training; then put the halfling and boar in the boat docks area, and finally big katsu arrives down entry stairs, biggest areas with a chance to use his size and strength to shove folk into the water of the docks
That sounds great! I hope I get to hear about everyone's monster layouts with this one!
Hmm
Venture-Agent, Netherlands—Leiden
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Heya,
Loving the scenario, and looking forward to running it! Below are two questions I have about it.
There seems to be an editing issue with regards to the Boat Launch map: Where is C8 (the shrine)? Is it the room that is mostly hidden by the compass?
Second: With regards to Bloodmoon (both tiers), in relation to Reactive Strike: The high tier Empowered Bloodmoon mentions that the weapon is Tiny but has reach. I'm assuming that the regular Bloodmoon (and the low tier Empowered Bloodmoon) do not have reach?
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Venture-Agent, Netherlands—Leiden
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Ran it today at 19 CP, for a party of 6.
I had the drake, the boat launch, pit trap and the constructs.
The investigator had a "bad crit roll" where he accidentally finished the poracha, costing them the bin from the kami. He was also the one whose Devise Stratagem actions regularly got interrupted by the Tengu's Eat Fortune abilities.
My party spent a lot of time trying to get the mail destined for the nephews from the squirrly creature, which led to a cartoonish scene with various attempts to coax the creature.
The Animated Wine Dispenser with drunk Tengu, that I placed in C1b got a laugh from the whole table.
The pit trap was in the entrance squares to C6, with the halflings successfully baiting a melee character by throwing their eggs and forks. That trap is mean and iconic, but very fair.
I ran the drake in C6 as well, after the party had dealt with the room that I assume was C8. That one appropriately got obliterated by the ranger with a drake rifle crit: It was a relatively short combat.
In order to play into the Golden League NPC's going crazy, I had Bloodmoon whisper in the PC's mind during the first round of combat, playing to their envies and ambitions.
The balancing seems fine, though I have a few remarks:
- Using a Hero Point for a reroll is a Fortune effect. I think a GM should consider carefully whether they want to cancel out one with the Eat Fortune ability that the Tengu have
- How should one handle cantrips such as Know the Way, or spells that show you the way / prevent you from getting lost?
- My party handled all combats trying to knock out the opponents instead of killing them (although they failed with the poracha). They decided that it was maybe best to avoid bloodshed, being unsure how that would impact the "miasma" that the Kami described. I couldn't find if that was necessary, but I wasn't going to stop them from doing that, as it felt in line with what the Kami explained.
All in all, great fun was had! I'll write a review soon.
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Venture-Agent, Netherlands—Utrecht
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Ran this yesterday, I have a few comments:
I'd missed that Bloodmoon was tiny, as Monkhound mentioned above. I made him medium/small size, but I don't think it would've mattered much, considering it has reach.
Some combats in low tier feel underwhelming, at least in low tier. The 7 HP Sprite feels more like an inconvenience, and it's very hard to get it to stop fighting with the Call to Reason action. It's very easy to accidentally oneshot it. I used the Dying rules, so the party could stabilize it instead of immediately dying. And the other way around, the Tengu Sneak in event 3 is horribly outclassed. Sure, it can get sneak attack off, but it's still 4 versus 1 and it can't keep up with the damage output of the PCs. The additional halflings also don't add much here, much like the sprite. They're knocked out by a single attack. And Bloodmoon feels weirdly flimsy for a boss encounter weapon (more down below)
My players had several comments about the story:
- Sakura has closed off Silvertree Village, but apparently hasn't told the villagers as to why, or what they can do about it? The villagers think she is mad at them, but have no idea how to fix it. Why hasn't she made clear what's wrong, so they can actually do something about it?
- The mist has been around the village for a month, but Pathfinders show up and Sakura lets them through immediately? Why not other people? I made up that she's tired of all the travelers trying to get through and the villagers flailing around and is seeking outside help, but some other insight is appreciated.
- Bloodmoon feels underpowered for a weapon that slew a deity. Felt a little anticlimactic that the boss of the organisation was tougher than a god-killer. Empowered Bloodmoon already fixes a lot of that.
Also, is the BT of Bloodmoon supposed to do anything? Objects break at half HP, but that would mean that by the broken condition, Bloodmoon stops functioning after 6 damage. I just had it function like a normal enemy, though I can also see it functioning like construct armor, lowering its AC and hardness, but leaving its damage output intact.
On a more positive note, my players loved the narrative touches to the scenario. The Risucho were a big hit and the spirit element was definitely present during the scenario. A player also commented that a lot of skills were useful during challenges and skil checks, so everyone could contribute, without just going "just roll whatever." All the skills asked for made sense and leaned into what the players came up with naturally, so my compliments for that. :)
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Venture-Agent, Netherlands—Leiden
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Ran this yesterday, I have a few comments:Make sure to leave a review on the product page if you and your players liked it - authors love that sort of thing!
I agree with you, though I have a caveat: I've written many reviews over the years in order to help and encourage fellow GM's and players. I noticed a while back that Paizo is hiding many reviews and not necessarily due to spoilers or foul language, which I understand. This includes my review on this one. This bothers me, as I invest time and effort trying to write mine in as positive a way as possible while remaining critical of glaring issues. The consequence is that I currently feel censured and actively discouraged to write any future reviews.
If this is due to a technical issue, I'll reconsider, but for now I'm not writing reviews anymore.|
Venture-Agent, Netherlands—Utrecht
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I saw this happen with badly-reviewed products at first too, but after some digging, it also happens with well-received (and reviewed) products as well. The thought of censorship did occur, but Paizo staff have said it's a bug, and I'm inclined to believe them. Still sucks that reviews disappear, though.
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Venture-Agent, Minnesota—Minneapolis
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Second: With regards to Bloodmoon (both tiers), in relation to Reactive Strike: The high tier Empowered Bloodmoon mentions that the weapon is Tiny but has reach. I'm assuming that the regular Bloodmoon (and the low tier Empowered Bloodmoon) do not have reach?
The base weapon is a reach weapon. If you treat it as a Small or Medium creature it would have 10’ reach, which can be very powerful. Making it act as a tiny creature makes the reach 5’.
I would guess it is an editing error that the same text isn’t in both tiers.