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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 9774586" data-attributes="member: 6750502"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/h4vNayB.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 654px" />Note: I realized that I forgot to include the recommended levels for the prior chapters after the Great Wasteland. The Veil and the Flame and the Sunken City of Anan'Thul are intended for 5th or 6th level characters who should gain a level by the end of the respective chapters; the Enchanted Gala is suitable for characters of any level and should gain a level after they claim the Knife of Topaz; and Sapphire Sandstorm is designed for 7th or 8th level characters, and are expected to gain one level after leaving/escaping the Roaming Treasury.The final chapter of Sands of Doom occurs when Lord Ammu's army reaches the city of Al'Kirat, and is suited for PCs of 9th level. They will level up to 10th during the progress of the siege, and then to 11th level after defeating Lord Ammu. The Siege is split up into four major sections separated by time, as the adventure takes place over the course of the majority of the day and to the dawn of tomorrow. To reflect the large-scale nature of the battle, there are two tables that add variable enemies and allies to encounters: Siege Reinforcements consist of both generic and named NPCs to aid the party, along with their stats and the conditions under which they're unlocked. Siege Reinforcements cost Reinforcement Points to deploy during an encounter, and the PCs otherwise have more or less free reign on who they can choose for what battles. The party starts with a default number of Reinforcement Points based on how many days are left before the army reaches Al'Kirat by the time the party hunkers down in the city. Reinforcement Points can also be gained by accomplishing special objectives during the chapter.Conversely, Special Enemies lists both generic and named NPCs and monsters who can be deployed during particular encounters, with similar conditions for how PCs would "unlock" them over the course of the adventure path. Needless to say, most of these enemies are triggered by the party earning the wrath of a surviving villainous individual or faction, or otherwise failing to eliminate such an enemy earlier on in the adventure path. Strangely, while Asmara is present as a Special Enemy, she otherwise is not brought up at all in the rest of this adventure, either as a deployable ally or for possible involvement in the Rite of the Solar Throne.There is one supposed "ally" of Al'Kirat who actually threw his lot in with Lord Ammu in secret: Yasar-Al-Fajr, the efreeti ambassador from the City of Brass. As to why, his mission is to procure rare Anubian artifacts, and dealing directly with the Anubians will cut out the city of Al'Kirat as a middleman. He established contact with Lord Ammu a week before the siege via Sending Stones, and sent his agents to place satchels of grimpowder in key positions along the city's walls to be breached during the siege.PCs will receive an urgent Sending spell if they're not in Al'Kirat in four days prior to Lord Ammu's arrival. If they cannot return in time, then Vizier Rashid will teleport to them to assist with a speedy return, or the Skylark will be deployed to pick them up. Al'Kirat is on lockdown, with citizens under curfew and the city fielding 4,000 soldiers to line the battlements. The army's commander will establish a telepathic link between one PC and several other VIPs in order to share instant updates and reports. We get a rundown of the Anubian army's numbers and major divisions. They include Anubian rank-and-file soldiers, magi who use Heka amber and magical runes to cast less-powerful versions of Meteor Swarm as long-range artillery, O'grillan orc quislings who sided with their invaders, a brood of fang dragons, and a gigantic Brass Titan construct that is basically a souped-up Iron Golem whose unique size grants it special rules in combat. Besides Lord Ammu, High Commander Annubarack is the primary general of the Anubian forces, who rides on a fang dragon and has magic items to aid him in battle.The PCs will be invited to a secret Merchant Council of Al'Kirat's movers and shakers in order to determine major actions. Measures are determined by majority vote and we get a rundown of various NPCs, what factions they represent, and if they have any particular status or sway in the city to make their votes count more. None of this really comes into play, as the VIPs already planned major strategies and will instead consult the PCs about Lord Ammu and the Divine Relics. If the PCs have been particularly defiant of Prophecy during the adventure path, she will activate sleeper cell cultists who will first warn the party to obey "the Lady in Dreams." If they refuse, other cultists will then kidnap an NPC the party particularly likes during the Noon of the Siege event. No matter how powerful or well-defended the NPC is, they will be tortured and killed, and the words "You Will Obey" are written in blood on a nearby wall.Content Warning: Suicide[spoiler]The kidnappers slit their throats after killing the NPC so they can't be taken alive.[/spoiler]Thoughts: I like the main set-up in that it rewards PCs who have been particularly quick and proactive, granting them additional resources and allies that will then pay off for the campaign's climax. I'm not a fan of Prophecy's off-screen murder of an allied NPC, as it's very Deus Ex Machina. It can also stretch suspension of disbelief if said character is too powerful or canny to fall in battle against CR 1/8th NPCs. Yes, they use the Cultist stat block, my use of the word wasn't as a generic descriptor!<img src="https://i.imgur.com/IugVv8O.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 650px" />Dawn of the Siege consists of three encounters that involve waves of enemies, and even with XP leveling there's enough for characters to go from 9th level to 10th by the end. The first encounter takes place on the battlements surrounding the city, where the PCs and Kirati soldiers fight against pteranodon-riding orcs, High Commander Annubarack astride a fang dragon (he only participates for one round before retreating), and finally the Brass Titan mecha which can also attack the wall itself. If the Titan strikes the wall 10 times, it will create a breach that allows hordes of soldiers to effortlessly invade the city. This results in a Nonstandard Game Over where most of the city's inhabitants will die, but the PCs can still achieve a pyrrhic victory by confronting Lord Ammu in the final encounter. There's also placements of ballistae on the wall that can fire bolts coated in explosive grimpowder.The second encounter deploys the PCs to the Artisan's Quarter, where the grimpowder satchels planted by agents of the efreeti traitor go off. By default, the PCs are aided by Kirati soldiers against Packs of Orcs, which are basically like Swarms of small monsters but applied to medium humanoids instead. If Annubarack is alive, he will arrive by fang dragon, not directly participating but shouting out orders to the orcs while the fang dragon casts Dispel Magic on any hindering AoE spells put up by the PCs and their allies. The party will get the opportunity for a Short Rest after this encounter's resolution.The third encounter involves claiming key city streets as choke points to hinder the Anubian army's advance. The battlemap for this encounter is a wide thoroughfare, with rows of buildings containing narrower allies and passageways to serve as additional entry and exit points. The PCs and their allies have 10 minutes to make preparations for the eventual assault, and gain additional Reinforcement Points to spend as rounds gradually pass. The enemies will enter the map via three different pathways, and there's rules for setting up improvised barricades of debris. The enemy forces are arranged into three waves: the first is an orcish warlord riding a triceratops aided by packs of orcs, rock-throwing hill giants, and a pair of black dragon wyrmlings. The second wave involves Anubian warriors consisting of both traditional soldiers and spellcasters, and the third wave marks Annubarack and his fang dragon's last stand.If the PCs can hold out for 10 rounds, reinforcements arrive to push back the Anubians and end the battle. But if the PCs defeat Annubarack, they will absorb the energy that comes out of his Obsidian Blade (a broken Divine Relic) and each gains +1 to an ability score that isn't their highest or lowest.Thoughts: The wave-based combat encounters are quite innovative, and I like how they have alternative victory and failure conditions. My one criticism is that the adventure really wants Annubarack to die during the third encounter and not before, which feels rather railroady on account that many gaming groups will likely prioritize enemy commanders over faceless mooks. And 9th level is high enough for many parties to adequately deal with aerial opponents and also having ways to prevent their retreat.Noon of the Siege sees both the Kirati and Anubian forces digging into their fortified positions. The Anubians are confined to the Artisan's Quarter, and combat shifts to hit-and-run house-to-house skirmishes on both sides. As a result, the PCs have some breathing room to explore the safe portions of the city to catch up with surviving allies. The book provides six social encounters, such as consulting with Rumbold Tomekeeper to learn that Lord Ammu is using enchantment magic on the fang dragon broodmother, and that ending it can rob the Anubians of their draconic allies; learning from Vizier Rashid that Lord Ammu's palanquin throne is covered in an antimagic aura that might be disrupted by a fang dragon's bite; visiting the slums, which are now reigned over by beastfolk who used the invasion to start a slave rebellion, and PCs who show sympathy for their cause can convince them to give 1,000 soldiers to fight the Anubians in exchange for universal manumission; or take part in a debate at the Temple of the Five-Pointed Star, where the devils of Asmodeus are willing to help fight the Anubians in exchange for being allowed to engage in Diabolical Contacts outside the temple grounds.This event lasts until the DM deems it narratively appropriate to move on, at which point the PCs gain the benefits of a Long Rest.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/9FkefnI.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 271px" />Night of the Siege focuses not on the Anubian forces, but the metaphorical enemy within. The Sultana Zanara Zin'Zara is scheduled to travel to the next war council via a secret, heavily-armed convoy. Yasar the efreet leaked the convoy to Lord Ammu, who intends to use an elite group of soldiers to assassinate the city's leaders. However, Yasar is impatiently ambitious, and throws a wrench in this plan by deciding to attack the convoy first with summoned swarms of fire elementals and salamanders.* The PCs get wind of the intended attack on the convoy via telepathic communication regarding a potential mole, and are instructed to travel to the convoy's current location to provide additional security. Yasar's gamble was partially successful: several council members were killed, but the Sultana, her guard, and 16 Merchant Council members are still alive. During this time, multiple Special Enemies might attack the party, with the book providing suggestions for individual foes based on ideal skillsets and narrative elements. The combat takes place on an urban battlemap, with the convoy starting at the far south and the PCs at the far north. The party will need to pass through a gatehouse watched over by the Special Enemies, and the Convoy members are guarded by Kirati soldiers. The nameless Merchant Council members use collective stats of a large-sized (noncombatant) crowd with 160 hit points, where one NPC dies for every 10 hit points they take.*These plot-based summons make use of the efreeti casting Wish, as there are no spells in the default 5e rules that can summon waves of mid and higher-CR monsters.The more Merchant Lords who survive, the better support they can give to the PCs before the final battle in the form of fungible Treasure Point assets to "spend" on magic items. If the Sultana survives, she can accompany the PCs in the next encounter for 0 Reinforcement Points. The survivors urge the PCs to head to their intended meeting point at the Hall of Memories, fearful that it is also under attack. The next encounter takes place outside the building, where a remorhaz summoned by Yasar plus one Special Enemy is attacking the structure. After a mandatory Short Rest, the PCs meet up with the rest of the attendees in the Hall, and inevitable talk of a traitor within the ranks circulates as Vizier Rashid raises the issue.Ferreting out the traitor can be done via narrowing down the list of suspects in determining which NPCs are capable of commanding summoning magic, as well as skill checks that point to suspicious behavior on Yasar's part. The efreet is concealing his Sending Stones in a small bag, and if the PCs previously encountered Hamza they will recognize the magic items as matching the ones he used to contact Lord Ammu. Yasar will fight to the death if confronted, and the Vizier, the Sultana, and any other allies present will join the PCs' side. However, the efreeti isn't alone, as he will have more fire-themed allies summoned in to join him in combat, although they will prioritize killing the Merchant Lords first.Alternatively, if the PCs accuse Vizier Rashid of being the traitor and persuade the Council, then they will fight him instead, where he is aided by Morgiana (if still alive) as well as 1d4 Invisible Stalker bodyguards. Once the dust clears, Anubian spellcasters will unleash more Heka-charged artillery on the Hall of Memories, forcing the PCs to conduct skill challenges to help evacuate people as the building collapses.Thoughts: Given the generous use of Special Enemies, the initial encounters are highly variable and thus cannot be so easily judged, but I like how the combat continues the themes of non-conventional victory/loss conditions in order to ensure the survival of Al'Kirat's leadership. I also like how the PCs can end up fingering the wrong person of being the traitor. While Rashid is definitely a likely suspect, I wish there was more discussion on what would happen if the party casts the blame on other characters, like the Church of Asmodeus or heck, even the Sultana or her niece!<img src="https://i.imgur.com/xvPzxNj.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 542px" />The End of the Siege has the PCs emerge from the wreckage to the sight of a crowd of citizens scarred and wounded from the siege, but still willing to provide aid and assistance in what ways they can. As the sun rises in the east, a rainbow-hued giant bird soars across the sky, recognized as the Simurgh of legend. It sheds feathers which fall to the city, resurrecting corpses and providing Heroic Inspiration and the benefits of a Long Rest to the living. Even if the PCs are indoors, fate twists to have at least one feather touch each party member somehow. As the Anubians were already miraculously resurrected by the Ankh of Life, they do not receive the benefits of the feathers. This is a great morale boost to the people of Al'Kirat, and each friendly named NPC who died during the Siege has a 25% chance of being revived.Lord Ammu resides in the Burning Ring arena to the city's south, deep in Anubian territory. The Merchant Council convenes as they discuss ways to defeat the Pharaoh once and for all. PCs can come up with their own plans, but the book suggests four proposals by NPCs: using an underground network of tunnels previously used by the Veiled Syndicate for smuggling operations, feigning a letter of surrender to get physically close to Lord Ammu, or gaining the aid of Asmodeus' devils or the beastfolk slaves in exchange for their aforementioned demands.The Ember Ring is technically a five-room dungeon crawl, but the bulk of the events and combat takes place in the center, where Lord Ammu resides on his magically-warded palanqain. Besides his many faceless Anubian minions, Lord Ammu also has Ma'rut (a unique monstrous pet based off of the Egyptian goddess Ammit, and is a physical fighter with a fire/necrotic breath weapon that can consume the souls of dead creatures), a dominated fang dragon adult who is the broodmother, and the possibility of either Yasar-Al-Fajr or Malicia as Special Enemies if either survived during the course of the campaign. Malicia is only an enemy if the PCs are on the Path of Devotion and possess the Golden Spear, and during combat will plead for the PCs to not destroy the Ankh of Life.As for Lord Ammu, he is a CR 14 opponent, already attuned to two unique Divine Relics which grant him increased stats as well as unique abilities. He doesn't have any Legendary Actions or Resistance, but he can perform up to 3 Reactions per round which include casting spells and imposing unique debuffs on enemies. Lord Ammu is also proficient in all saving throws and has access to a wide variety of divine spells, making him a pretty tough opponent. His antimagic throne is selective, meaning that it protects him from magic but he can freely cast spells while on it, and will not get up unless he is forcefully moved off or if the throne's protections are dispelled. At some point during the battle when things are looking against him, Lord Ammu will demand the divine intervention of Anubis, which takes the form of the sky tearing open to a vast, purple cosmos as the Pharaoh is bathed in powerful light. At this time, pillars of red sand begin reaching up towards the rift, as the Will of the Sands seeks the life force of the Duaat.Anubis does manifest, but will choose to bless the PCs with the benefits of a short rest. Lord Ammu does gain 100 temporary hit points, and the arena becomes difficult terrain due to all the red sand. The Pharaoh cannot be defeated as long as he is attuned to the Ankh of Life, for it will immediately resurrect him should he hit 0 hit points. The means of defeating him depends on which of the three Paths of Fate the PCs are on: Devotion requires destroying the Ankh of Life with the Golden Spear, targeting it as an object; Benevolence requires performing the Rite of the Solar Throne which forcefully unattunes him; and Erudition requires a Wish spell cast to unattune him once he hits 0 hit points. Although in this last case, the Ankh grants limited access to its power to an unattuned holder in casting the Heal spell as a bonus action without expending a spell slot.Once this special condition comes to pass, the true final battle occurs as the Will of the Sands asserts itself, using its corruption of Lord Ammu to commandeer the Pharaoh like a puppet. Lord Ammu has a new stat block for this, where his magic is instead innate spells related to earth-based elemental attacks, such as a modified Tsunami that takes the form of sand rather than water. He also automatically conjures living motes of sand which mimic the effects of Bigby's Hand, but can move of their own accord. Besides his spells, the Will-controlled Lord Ammu can cause a mote to take damage in exchange for firing concentrated streams of sand at targets, and also can take 3 reactions per round which include casting spells, shifting damage from one mote to another, transforming into a whirlwind of sand, and entombing a single target.Any surviving allies of Lord Ammu and enemies of the PCs will flee, recognizing that this is no longer the Pharaoh they once knew. Anyone besides the final boss standing in the arena's sands begins sinking into it if they fall prone or don't move during their turn. Trying to use the Magic Lamp to imprison the Will of the Sands will fail, destroying the lamp but dealing 70 force damage to it and nearby creatures in an AoE.Much like the first phase of this battle, Lord Ammu's true defeat depends on the Path of Fate: Devotion requires striking Lord Ammu at least once with the Golden Spear, which also robs him of the use of being able to shift damage between motes; Benevolence requires that the PCs protect the Divine Child, basically fighting Ammu as normal but also ensuring the survival of the new Pharaoh; Erudition requires casting another Wish spell to sever the Will of the Sand's connection to Lord Ammu. In this final case, Lord Ammu can then be touched by the Ankh of Life to be resurrected, but this will leave him in a coma. Souk will teleport into the arena to try and stop this process, attempting to destroy the Ankh which immediately breaks if it takes a single hit from the Golden Spear.Thoughts: Lord Ammu looks to be a powerful opponent for 10th level PCs in both phases. My main concern is that the amount of NPCs on both sides of the battle (PCs get a lot of Reinforcement Points) can result in a lot of factors for the DM to juggle. Add onto this the special conditions for defeating Lord Ammu plus the terrain effects,there's a good chance of something being forgotten about in all the note-taking.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/YMd6rwZ.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 350px" />Sand's of Doom's Epilogue takes a look at likely endings for the adventure path. Once Lord Ammu is defeated, Al'Kirat uses the capture of various high-ranking Anubians to force the army to retreat from the city as leverage to end the war. The Anubian Army is still much larger than Al'Kirat's, so the nobles and army are allowed to depart after hostage exchanges during a ceasefire, and they don't have to pay any reparations to the city. The PCs are rewarded each with 10,000 gold pieces, a parcel of land in the city, a grand statue in their likeness, and permanent position in the council with full voting rights.If Sultana Zanara Zin'Zara is dead and not resurrected, her nice Zaluna will take her effective place in leadership after inheriting her wealth, setting policies to make Al'Kirat more welcoming to outsiders and beastfolk. Zanara's will included having most of her wealth dedicated to renovation and construction in the Slums, which are now filled with tidal waves of red sand that ends up quarantined. The will also bequeaths the collective ownership of Kunaten Keep to the PCs, along with 50,000 gold pieces for its reconstruction and upkeep.As for O'grila, its eastern half becomes territory of the new kingdom of Anubia, with its western half a decentralized assortment of various kingdoms. Anubia is ruled by various gnoll noble families, whose first major policies involve searching for more of their buried cities and the missing Aru. The Great Pyramid, called Ankhara in their language, serves as their capital city.Further developments depend upon which of the 3 Paths of Fate the PCs followed. Devotion results in the Will of the Sands fully taking control of the Anubians, as the destruction of the Ankh of Life robs them of their last bit of supernatural resistance to the foul force. The Will-puppetted gnolls will grow in number as they kill more of their independent brethren, before eventually going to war against the Darakni. All as Prophecy intended.Benevolence causes the Will of the Sands to withdraw back into the Wasteland with Lord Ammu's corpse, becoming permanently imbued with supernatural sapience as the result of feasting on his divine essence. Lord Ammu is born anew, albeit it is uncertain to what extent this new being is the former Pharaoh, the Will given physical form, or a hybrid of the two beings. Anamnesis, the Aru guardian of the gates of the Duaat, appears back in the mortal world to validate Amen as the new Pharaoh. This Anubia has a much more peaceful foreign relation policy with Al'Kirat and O'grila. The Ankh of Life is used to keep its citizens shielded against the Will of the Sands, although its corruptive influence remains. It is this corruption that will subtly push Anubia to expand eastward, going to war with the centaur tribes and thus causing more corpses for the Will to claim. The Will takes the skeletons from Anan'Thul to raid more Anubian tombs to expand its army for an eventual war with the Darakni. Prophecy finds this arrangement acceptable but not ideal, as the Will lines up with her ends but isn't controllable by her.Erudition has a reawakened Lord Ammu establish contact with Anamnesis, who learns of Prophecy's role in the death of his daughter. He shares these findings with Anubia at large who devote themselves to hunting and thwarting the sphinx's influence. The Pharaoh will also undertake an extensive policy of cleansing the Wasteland of the Will of the Sands' influence, using the Ankh of Life to drive back the red sand and also unearthing more Anubian cities in the process. This reduces the Will of the Sand's power, allowing the Darakni to make headway against the Will's undead warriors and expand their territorial holdings. Prophecy is now fearful, realizing that she'll need to put her plans in motion before they're ready.As for what these plans of Prophecy are? Well, according to a potential sequel to this campaign, they involve clones of the sphinx using the stolen divine essence of various gods to create a new Divine Relic in a city overrun with Darakni. This relic will be used to unseal a gate to the Abyss and summon a primordial serpent known as Sera'Aku, as this supposedly is "the only way to prevent this world from turning into ash and dust." The last surviving Aru will meet together once again, preparing to wage war against Sera'Aku.Unfortunately, this sequel product is unlikely to be made anytime soon. In a video made by the author, he explains how writing Sands of Doom forced him to take more time away from his YouTube channel, which is his main source of income. While the book indicates that future content is planned, it's unlikely when or if we'll see such products.Thoughts So Far: From determining the city's survival to the fate of the Anubians and the region of Kirat as a whole, this chapter makes for a dramatic climax to the Sands of Doom campaign. Lord Ammu isn't a pushover either, and combined with his ample access to spells and battlefield control abilities, the combat should be quite fluid and tactical in feel. I also appreciate how various decisions made during the siege, as well the survival and deaths of key NPCs, further cause long-term changes to the region. I do wish we had some more opportunities to reveal Prophecy's end goal to the PCs in actual play. At the very least, the party will surely be asking what was the point of all this when they find out her role in the death of the Divine Child, and thus the crux of the major events in this campaign.Join us next time as we finish up this review with several Appendices!</blockquote>

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