Rule and Lore Creative Director
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This is a spoiler-filled resource thread for the first volume of the Shades of Blood Adventure Path, Thirst for Blood by Luis Loza.
The GM Reference thread for the second volume, The Broken Palace, is here.
The GM Reference thread for the third and final volume, To Blot Out the Sun, is here.
Thank you for bringing these back! I was making them myself for a while but eventually got lazy
Stupid sexy vampires.
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Really cool dungeons, very glad to see stuff like the sidebar describing where all the cultists are in the second floor of the dungeon. More things like this are super good - anything to maximize usability of the book!
I am a little disappointed that we haven't really gotten in to the megadungeon sense yet, they're just really big dungeon floors with no real connectivity. But they're really good ones.
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Really cool dungeons, very glad to see stuff like the sidebar describing where all the cultists are in the second floor of the dungeon. More things like this are super good - anything to maximize usability of the book!
I am a little disappointed that we haven't really gotten in to the megadungeon sense yet, they're just really big dungeon floors with no real connectivity. But they're really good ones.
That's something that struck me about this book -- for a Megadungeon in a big ancient prison, the first book isn't much of a megadungeon nor does it take place in the prison for the most part, just the town and a cave leading to the prison. I am sure the second book is gonna fix that and we're gonna have a juicy megadungeon, though
I'm waiting for the Foundry module to drop to be able to read this.
I hope with the new marketplace we could get pre launch pages and even trailers for the content!
I'm waiting for the Foundry module to drop to be able to read this.
I hope with the new marketplace we could get pre launch pages and even trailers for the content!
Do you mean trailers like this: Shades of Blood
There doesn't seem to be a scale associated with the map of Vil-Azmar included in the book; the bar scale just says 00. Should that be 100 feet? The text only refers to it as a "small island." Is the island small enough that travel time here is trivial, a day or so to traverse from end to end?
Do you mean trailers like this: Shades of BloodI'm waiting for the Foundry module to drop to be able to read this.
I hope with the new marketplace we could get pre launch pages and even trailers for the content!
No, I mean a page showing that the Foundry module will be available on such and such date maybe with a screenshot or two. Something that I can stare at for a few weeks lol.
Foundry module just released today!
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From Chapter 1:
PCs who speak with Eugenie learn that nearly half a dozen dockworkers failed to report for work this morning, leaving things severely shorthanded for unloading the Star of Almas.
Are these dockworkers just truant, or actually missing? Curious if PCs should be clued into Talmandor Bounty's disappearances from this / potentially find some of the dockworkers in Chapter 3.
In Chapter 1 "Winged Shadows", does the Shade Breath from the Lesser Shadow Scamps damage the other Shade Scamps / Netherworld Vampire Bat Swarm? I would think that the intention is that these are not treated as living creatures, and thus they take no void damage, but I noticed in the foundry module they _can_ take void damage (unlike a dhampir character who correctly avoids taking damage thanks to having Void Healing).
In other words, the vampire swarm wants to swarm as many PCs as possible, and the scamps will likely want to use their cone breath on the same group of PCs. In this scenario, does the swarm take collateral damage (and proc area weakness damage), or does the swarm take no damage since they're "netherworld"? And ditto for their usages of Grim Tendrils.
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Is there a place to get HQ versions of the maps or extract them from the PDF?
I don't know if I have extra features on my copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader, but I'm able to extract the images (for example the combined outdoor maps at the end of the PDF) at at 2517 x 3273 resolution. They conveniently don't have overlaid text and things like trap markers, although I think secret door indicators are part of the image on those maps that have them. I can't extract images from the interactive maps PDF due to the overlay preventing me from clicking on the images, but the same maps are in the main PDF as far as I can tell.
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this is so very, very annoying. I have to photoshop the maps every time.secret door indicators are part of the image on those maps that have them.
Just was working on that myself, I was able to find sufficient wall sections to paste over the 'S' indicators but a clean version would be even better.
As another question, one that I don't think matters much - the description for B14 mentions five equidistant doors, four of which are on the map, and one of which opens into blank rock. I assume that door and the not-shown NW door were victims of cave-ins or flowstone accumulation, blocking them off from being traversable?
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We did our usual discussion for Book 1, and we were looking for that megadungeon. I assume it's in book 2 and 3, so compared to Otari and Abmonation vaults the only other 2E megadungeon we're getting less.
The majority of the book seems like troubles in Otari, and under Otari for the little missions to help introduce people to the game and general combat. Those were separate from the megadungeon before, that means the MD we're getting here is significantly smaller for the same price.
Other things like Cazamotz rewarding his lycanthrope followers with flowers that stave off and cure lycanthropy were really confusing. The coastal community that relied entirely on the sun for agriculture and livestock, yet adjusts without any trouble despite the significant tax on resources like oil and torches that need to be going everyday.
Andoran's civil grant not really being a civil grant, but a plot for weaponizing people's innovations and not telling the DM until chapter 3 after explaining it in chapter 1. I cannot fathom why modules are written like this, as GM resource as though we're a player, and not the person running the game when these details come up after their explanations.
You can find our discussion here
How many hours did it take y'all to play through the adventure?
Perhaps you misunderstood when I wrote discussion sir. The four of us as DMs collectively read through the adventure, and held a discussion. There were four in the group this time, including myself who contributed to the live discussion. These are my personal glaring thoughts in retrospect and a link to the video for the full impression the adventure left on experienced DMs with what to expect for those planning to run it.
We then brought up all the pain points and elements which we believed would not be continued in the two following books, and what wasn't holding up short term with what our players would undoubtedly bring up and ask questions about.
Playing through the adventure in full will not satisfy these issues for any prospective players, nor does it give us material we as DMs don't have.
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We did our usual discussion for Book 1, and we were looking for that megadungeon. I assume it's in book 2 and 3, so compared to Otari and Abmonation vaults the only other 2E megadungeon we're getting less.
The majority of the book seems like troubles in Otari, and under Otari for the little missions to help introduce people to the game and general combat. Those were separate from the megadungeon before, that means the MD we're getting here is significantly smaller for the same price.
This argument is in incredibly bad faith. You’re not getting less of an adventure for the same price — it’s not like the book is blank. You’re just getting a different type of adventure than in book 1 of Abomination Vaults. If you’re trying to argue that this shouldn’t have been marketed as a megadungeon, then I would disagree with that too, as it’s not like it’s inherently bad spending book 1 getting the PCs to care about the town next to the megadungeon they’re going to spend the next 2 books exploring.
That's the first time I've heard that, and I'll keep it in mind when I do the interview for Mythkeeper's 3rd anniversary; as I am answering a lot of questions about why I love Pathfinder. I'll be sure to keep it pure Bramble.
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Alzira is lacking an Unholy Symbol of Camazotz.
This argument is in incredibly bad faith. You’re not getting less of an adventure for the same price — it’s not like the book is blank. You’re just getting a different type of adventure than in book 1 of Abomination Vaults. If you’re trying to argue that this shouldn’t have been marketed as a megadungeon, then I would disagree with that too, as it’s not like it’s inherently bad spending book 1 getting the PCs to care about the town next to the megadungeon they’re going to spend the next 2 books exploring.We did our usual discussion for Book 1, and we were looking for that megadungeon. I assume it's in book 2 and 3, so compared to Otari and Abmonation vaults the only other 2E megadungeon we're getting less.
The majority of the book seems like troubles in Otari, and under Otari for the little missions to help introduce people to the game and general combat. Those were separate from the megadungeon before, that means the MD we're getting here is significantly smaller for the same price.
To be honest, the player's guide could have done expectations management and explanations a bit better.
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You can find our discussion here
Watched your video. Some good insights. And I appreciate your honest evaluation of Paizo's products. As you and your guests mentioned, some adjustments are in order. I agree the chores are a little dumb. I'm thinking of achieving the same sense of intrigue regarding missing people by doing a werebat attack on the ship either coming to Talmandor's Bounty or on the way to Vil-Azmar.
I disagree on the Vil-Azmar encounters. Trudging through the island is a nice prelude that evokes Indiana Jones feels. Random jungle dangers feel appropriate. Signs of inhabitation increase tension. Maybe one cultist encounter or something related might spice it up.As you suggested, I'm planning to put Talmandor's Bounty in the rear view mirror completely and create a base camp that grows.