This is a GM reference thread so spoilers ahead!!
Not out yet but soonish
Good luck GM's!!
Tom
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I've not quite finished Chapter 2 yet, but it seems like it's missing quite a bit of XP award. We're currently at 310/1000, and as written there is only 400 left to earn (with an extra 30 if they imprison the Asura which is less guaranteed than the rest of the encounters).
To make up for the 290/260 still missing, I'm planning on making each Memory Point for Gwem count as a 10 XP story award which will add up to 40 of the missing total. Riding the bees, as adorable as it was, means we missed the cave bear on the Erosthes who is worth 80 XP as a level+2 encounter (for a difference of 50 given the 30 XP awarded for riding the bees to their hive); I'll retroactively bump that to at least 60, maybe even 80 to keep the paths equal in XP (which incidentally would also mean adding more borers to the north isle; that seems fair, the bees get you to the hive after a skill check with a mythic deed as a reward, the north shore after a mook encounter with an infiltration bonus as a reward, and the south after a boss encounter with loot as a reward). For the Honey Heist, I'll retroactively award 80 XP, and climbing the Pinnacle of Winds will be 60 XP. Finally, brewing the ambrosia feels too story-important to not be worth an XP award so that will be 40 XP as will returning the vortex pouch to Avelis, all adding up to the missing 290.
So to sum up, here are my suggestions for the missing experience if you're running Chapter 2:
- Bump up the XP award for riding the bees to 60 XP, to match the XP that would be earned fighting the cave bear in F2. If this feels like too big an XP award for a simple skill check, move this boost to the Ambrosia award instead, since it's more significant to the plot.
- Add 1 more Bee Borer (total of 3) to F1, to match the XP that would be earned fighting the cave bear in F2.
- Remove the elite adjustment from the cave bear in F2
- Award 80 XP for successfully collecting the honey, royal jelly and larva.
- Award 40 XP for brewing the Ambrosia, whether it's done by the statue of Untoia or a PC.
- Award 60 XP for climbing the Pinnacle of Winds and meeting Avelis.
- Award 80 XP for trading the drums of war for the vortex pouch, or otherwise peacefully resolving the Glittering Caverns encounter.
- Award 40 XP for returning the vortex pouch to Avelis, or using it to clear the miasma surrounding Vaveilos. (Not both, obviously)
- Award 10 XP whenever Gwem regains a Memory Point (total of 40 XP)
Or alternately
- Bump up the XP award for riding the bees to 80 XP, to match the XP that would be earned fighting the cave bear in F2.
- Add 2 more Bee Borers (total of 4) to F1, to match the XP that would be earned fighting the cave bear in F2.
- Award 80 XP for successfully collecting the honey, royal jelly and larva.
- Award 40 XP for brewing the Ambrosia, whether it's done by the statue of Untoia or a PC.
- Award 60 XP for climbing the Pinnacle of Winds and meeting Avelis.
- Award 80 XP for trading the drums of war for the vortex pouch, or otherwise peacefully resolving the Glittering Caverns encounter.
- Award 40 XP for returning the vortex pouch to Avelis, or using it to clear the miasma surrounding Vaveilos. (Not both, obviously)
- Award 10 XP whenever Gwem regains a Memory Point (total of 40 XP)
I should note that the honey heist went extremely well. They barely earned any Awareness Points and did not alert either the entry or the royal guards. The four potential encounters in the hive add up to 360 XP, so if your heist is a bit more of a fiasco, consider either not rewarding the failure with encounter XP, or omitting some of my suggested extra awards as you feel appropriate.
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On a separate note, I like the map of Iblydos on the back inside cover, but it is a bit disappointing that nearly all of the map labels are used to mark locations that aren't visited in the adventure. I would have liked to have at least Moilios, Thyellados, Koikolos and Vaveilos (but ideally also the uncharted islands from chapter 1) on the map to orient myself
I've not quite finished Chapter 2 yet, but it seems like it's missing quite a bit of XP award. We're currently at 310/1000, and as written there is only 400 left to earn (with an extra 30 if they imprison the Asura which is less guaranteed than the rest of the encounters).
To make up for the 290/260 still missing, I'm planning on making each Memory Point for Gwem count as a 10 XP story award which will add up to 40 of the missing total. Riding the bees, as adorable as it was, means we missed the cave bear on the Erosthes who is worth 80 XP as a level+2 encounter (for a difference of 50 given the 30 XP awarded for riding the bees to their hive); I'll retroactively bump that to at least 60, maybe even 80 to keep the paths equal in XP (which incidentally would also mean adding more borers to the north isle; that seems fair, the bees get you to the hive after a skill check with a mythic deed as a reward, the north shore after a mook encounter with an infiltration bonus as a reward, and the south after a boss encounter with loot as a reward). For the Honey Heist, I'll retroactively award 80 XP, and climbing the Pinnacle of Winds will be 60 XP. Finally, brewing the ambrosia feels too story-important to not be worth an XP award so that will be 40 XP as will returning the vortex pouch to Avelis, all adding up to the missing 290.
So to sum up, here are my suggestions for the missing experience if you're running Chapter 2:
...
- Bump up the XP award for riding the bees to 60 XP, to match the XP that would be earned fighting the cave bear in F2. If this feels like too big an XP award for a simple skill check, move this boost to the Ambrosia award instead, since it's more significant to the plot.
- Add 1 more Bee Borer (total of 3) to F1, to match the XP that would be earned fighting the cave bear in F2.
- Remove the elite adjustment from the cave bear in F2
- Award 80 XP for successfully collecting the honey, royal jelly and larva.
- Award 40 XP for brewing the Ambrosia,
Thank you for your detailed breakdowns of XP issues!