Zad/Wizardru's Story Hour (*final update 11/12*)


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WizarDru

Adventurer
So now, some post-mortem reporting.

First off, let me be clear: the 'exit interview' post notwithstanding, I don't regret buying or running Shackled City. Nor do I think that the problems I encountered were insurmountable. That really wasn't the issue at all. Neither do I feel that Shackled City is a bad product. I feel quite the opposite. While I will abandon Shackled City as an adventure path, Cauldron will remain.

My issues with the Shackled City ultimately are three-fold. They are, as follows:

1) It ended up requiring too much work from me as the DM. I purchased Shackled City to make running a fully assembled campaign a low-effort task. I ran the previous campaign almost entirely on my own work for 6+ years. At later levels, this proved draining sometimes (a fun kind of draining, but nevertheless it sometimes left me creatively empty). Shackled City fulfilled this promise in early levels quite handily...but as the campaign went on, it needed lots of upkeep. Shackled City's whole was not greater than the sum of its parts, regretably.

2) It's not really meant for our group. SCAP suffers from a common published module problem: it assumes that the characters will willingly do things 'because they're adventurers'. This sort of thing is fair game at 1st level and certainly it's not unreasonable that players will say 'well, we need to start somehowand shrug their shoulders under the 'brought together under circumstances' bailiwick. But the SCAP has a LOT of this sort of thing, and no suggestions for when that is NOT an alternative that is attractive to the heroes. The worst offender is the 'Test of the Smoking Eye' where a heretofore unknown evil NPC shows up and asks the PCs to go to the Abyss with him. This is wishful thinking at best. You shouldn't have to depend on the flimsy excuse of 'because they're adventurers' to be the primary motivation to move an untenable plot along.

3) The SCAP was written by committee. While later efforts from Paizo work, the Shackled City SCAP clearly had issues in terms of plot and pacing. Plot threads are left dangling or are just left unexplained. Important characters only walk into the players lives minutes before they do their 'big moment'. Characters like Maavu the merchant, Sir Alek the paladin or Jil the assassin never actually have any significance to the players are inconsistent throughout the arc. Character like the first Mayor, who has a picture but never even has a speaking part in the main story (but whose importance to the story is significant) are given more space than necessary and yet remain criminally undeveloped. An important character like Tygot, the halfling merchant, is presented as if he was totally new in the fifth module, even though he gets pride of place in several places prior to that point. And so on. SCAP is unfocused and the story arc falls apart in the later modules.


So where does the SCAP excel?

1) Excellent set pieces. There are some great set-ups and combats here. Some of them could have used more guidance in tempering their use and balance issues, but overall they are interesting and sometimes very fun and challenging.

2) A well developed setting. Cauldron is a great setting. It is both expansive and small, allowing the DM freedom to tell different kinds of stories. Cauldron has a unique feel to it and the city is internally consistent. Best of all, it's very easy to plug it in to an existing infrastrucure.

3) Pretty pictures Seriously. While there are times when the artwork and cartography disagreed with the written text, it never failed to deliver on the promise of compelling visuals to share. Sometimes a picture is much more valuable than a few descriptor paragraphs, and the quality artwork really helped with that. Paizo's usual bang-up job of layout and graphic knowhow certainly played a part, too.

4) Time-savings. Having pages and pages of stat-blocks at one's beck and call doesn't suck. And since Paizo was in good cahoots with WotC, these stat blocks included stuff from supplemental books, like non-MM monsters and prestige-classed characters from non-DMG sources. This made the enemies much more interesting and ave the players more options.

In answer to the question: Yes, I think someone (possibly me) will perform a write-up of the new Pathfinder adventures.

Next Post: Life, Liberty and Campaign Ties.
 

WizarDru

Adventurer
The question was asked: what WERE the Meepites up to during the campaign. Oddly enough I thought that most of this was revealed in recent adventures in the Shackled City game (to the players, at least), but here's the details:


1) Scorch, the Guildmaster. Of the heroes of our last story hour, Scorch was the most invested in the SCAP campaign, albeit indirectly. He dispatched the Lady Celeste to investigate the Cagewrights, which led her to Lord Vhalantru. Vhalantru had her imprisoned in a picture, rendering her unscryable and still living. When Celeste disappeared and failed to check in, Scorch dispatched another agent, Ramir, to investigate her disappearance. Ramir walked right into Vhalantru's clutches and was simply slain outright when he got in over his head. Scorch himself is quite busy running the Grey Guild from his demi-plane, the Siege Majere.

2) Valanthe the Sleepless Between maintaining the Hand, the non-magic arm of the Grey Guild (whose specific imperative is to keep the guild itself in check and single-handedly containing the threat of the Horned Society to the North, Valanthe had little time to visit Cauldron in recent months, though she managed a single visit to the city to confer with one of the guild's agents, Vortimax Weir. She saved the party from one ambush, though the party was unaware of it, as a favor to Weir.

3) Dravot the demi-god/king Saint Dravot's followers have been encountered several times, though more often in passing than directly. Pelor has a weak presence in Cauldron, so his followers are rare to encounter. Whether or not the Caliph of Ekbir is the same Dravot know to have gone adventuring years ago is unknown. What is known is that his paladin brother-in-law, head of the Tower of the Moon, one of two of St. Dravot's elite undead-fighting orders, had a son also of that order who disappeared during a mission southwards named Bellsin.

4) Aethramyr The leader of the Tested People (the testing having passed years back) has ascended to his new position of the Great Dreamer. He leads his people and teaches the skill of Lucid Dreaming to any of a noble nature. In the last few years, he has dispatched some of his people to train potential candidates of the Dreaming and to defend against any incursions into the Dreaming by evil forces, as well as monitor the status of the Far Realms. One of those acolytes approached and trained Maris to defend herself, as she had the Dream-haunted trait and was having prophetic dreams sent to her by Adimarchus.

5) Bolo As the Great Druid of the North, Bolo had no interaction with the Shackled Ciy. Spending most of his time keeping peace in the wildlands from the Nomad territories all the way to the Land of Black Ice, Bolo never had call to come as far South as the Cauldron region. Bolo is one of the few humans who is allowed to sit in on meetings of the Scaled Council.

6) Kayleigh, the Celenian The guardian of the people of Celene has sat in the same small meditation vale for the last 5 years, studying with her master to eventually assume the full mantle of her title and continuing her transformation into a Leshay. She has been joined by the sword-prince, who has dedicated himself to the same cause.

Also, The Lucky Monkey was taken over by Blue Tyger Legion towards the last few sessions, in cooperation with the Church of Fharlangan. When the players arrived at the Monkey as a hideout after the assassins attacked, they found little constructs had been working on the monkey for days, repairing and expanding it. They also found a strange powered stone that protected the inn and them, and discovered that the new innkeeper was a member of the Striders of Fharlangan named 'Ember'. Ember, older readers may recall, was Scorch's sister. The devices were constructed by her and her mistresss, the Owl. Ember would have turned out to be a femme fatale of sorts, and likely would have become attached to some of the male characters.

There were other connections, but they're not coming to mind, just now. Need Coffee. :)
 

Scorch

Explorer
WizarDru said:
Scorch, the Guildmaster.[/b] Of the heroes of our last story hour, Scorch was the most invested in the SCAP campaign, albeit indirectly. He dispatched the Lady Celeste to investigate the Cagewrights, which led her to Lord Vhalantru. Vhalantru had her imprisoned in a picture, rendering her unscryable and still living. When Celeste disappeared and failed to check in, Scorch dispatched another agent, Ramir, to investigate her disappearance. Ramir walked right into Vhalantru's clutches and was simply slain outright when he got in over his head. Scorch himself is quite busy running the Grey Guild from his demi-plane, the Siege Majere.

...

Ember, older readers may recall, was Scorch's sister. The devices were constructed by her and her mistresss, the Owl. Ember would have turned out to be a femme fatale of sorts, and likely would have become attached to some of the male characters.

I had asked WizarDru earlier what I should write Scorch up as now-a-days and he said Level 35. I still think we should do a one shot "getting the band back together" epic level adventure with the old Alpha game characters...

Any character who did get involved with Ember would REALLY get the attention of Scorch who is a little over-protective of her. ;-)

Scorch
 

Aethramyr

First Post
Lvl 35?

Aethramyr at level 35?

Evil. Outsiders. Worst. Nightmare. Worse than that Rosanne-Barr-dancing-the-Watusi-on-their-back-in-stilletto-heels nightmare.


Bellsin was starting to come into his story - finding who he is, Shifting his combat abilities to be more Rogue-like, almost contacting his parents. But that's the Wizardru-Flavoring in the Campaign, not part of the SCAP cannon (Well, not the combat ability shift). The story was getting kind of a, "why are we (as a party) doing this again?" Vibe. Occipitus was probably the biggest offender. Our assault on the Temple of We Jas was for the Winnowers, and once they were gone, we really couldn't Justify Staying to Kill the BBEG in residence. (At that time, we didn't know about the attack on Glyph's Cabal, so revenge wasn't on our motivations there).

I liked Bellsin, and would like to try out his new abilities from lvl 12, (two Weapon fighting, and two Glyphander-made Daggers)

But My Pathfinder-adventure character promises to be fun, so we'll go there for a bit.
 

Argent Silvermage

First Post
I couldn't resist.

Bolo Brandybuck
23st level Druid/ 1st Level Divine Agent of Ehlonna/11th level Janni
Medium Fey Outsider (Native) {Janni}
Hit Dice: 35d8+50 (239 hp/296 with belt.)
Initiative: +11
Speed: 20 in armor, Normal 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class: 33 (+1 Dex, +3 ring, +10 Darkwood Breastplate, +5 Darkwood Heavy Shield (animated), +4 natural armor), touch 14, flat-footed 29
Base Attack: +17/+12/+7
Attack: MW Scimitar +18/+13/+8 melee (1d6+2/18–20/x2) or MW Comp. Longbow +16/+11/+6 ranged (1d8+2/x3)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Magic, Wildshapes
Special Qualities: Fey traits, Immune to all Enchantments and Charms.
Druid Abilities: Animal Companion, Nature sense, Wild Empathy (26/22), Woodland Stride, Trackless step, Resist Nature’s Lure, Wildshapes [Tiny to huge], Venom Immunity, 1000 faces, Timeless Body.
Divine Agent Abilities: Casts “Good” Spells at +1 level. Gain 1 Good Domain spell per level.
Saves: Fort +17 (19), Ref +12, Will +26 (29)*
Abilities: Str 17, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 22, Wis 37, Cha 21
Abilities with Items: Str 21, Dex 13, Con 18, Int 22, Wis 41, Cha 21
Skills: Knowledge Nature +41, Listen +24 (+26), Search +6, Spot +21 (+23), Diplomacy +15, Sense Motive +24 (+26), Concentration +17 (+20), Craft Wicker +8, Handle Animal +26 (+28), Knowledge Planes +8, Knowledge Psionics +9, Move silently +3, Ride Dog +8, Spellcraft +28, Swim +1 (+3), Survival +44 (+46), Knowledge Fae +20, Knowledge Folk Tales +13, Perform Storytelling +13, Bluff +8
Languages: Common, Sylvan, Druidic, Giant, Terran, Auran, Aquan, Ignan, Halfling & Blue Bugbear.
Feats: Leadership, Evolve, Iron Will, Track, Plant Control, Fast Wildshape, Nature Spell, Extra Wildshape (Animal-Plant-Magical Beast 8/Elemental 4), Magical Beast Wild Shape, Improved Initiative, Improved Elemental Wildshape, Practiced Spellcaster, Improved Initiative, +2.
Janni powers: Enlarge/Reduce 2/day, Telepathy 100’, Speak with Animals 2/day, Invisibility 3/day, Create food and water 1/day, Fire Resistance 15, & Plane Shift at will (6 passengers).
Environment: The Grove in the Land of Black Ice
Alignment: Neutral Good

Appearance: Bolo’s basic look. 6’ 8” tall 215 lbs. Burnished copper skin. Golden hair. Bolo has a golden glittery sheen to his skin and hair. He has a tattoo of a tree on his chest and various tribal style tattoos along his body. Due to Bolo’s 1000 faces ability he can change his appearance at will and does so often. He typically dresses in “Arabian” style.

Combat: Bolo tends to think defensively. He will cast Dispel Magic or Greater Dispel Magic at the largest opponent before they can get an attack off if he can. From there he will switch into an elemental form and combine his combat abilities with his spell casting. His favorite forms are the Air Elemental and Blink Dog.

Fey Jan Traits (Ex): Fey Jan possess the following racial and insight traits.
• +4 Wisdom, +2 Charisma
• Medium size.
• A Jan’s base land speed is 30 feet.
• Immunities to “Humanoid” only spells, enchantments and charm effects.
• +4 to save vs. Fae magic (Resist Natures Lure)
• Darkvision 60 foot.
• +4 insight bonus to all fear and compulsion effects (Not reflected in the saving throw modifiers given here.)
• +4 insight bonus to concentration checks.
• +4 insight bonus to will saves versus illusion and enchantment effects. (Not reflected in the saving throw modifiers given here.)
• +4 insight bonus to Sense Motive
• Weapon Proficiency: All simple and Martial weapons. All light and medium armor
Gift of the Divine Breath:
• +4 insight bonus to saves vs. death spells and death effects.
• +2 insight bonus to Initiative
• +1 to Wisdom
Book and Tome adds:
+2 Int, +2 Wis, +2 Cha.

Equipment of note:
+5 Darkwood Breastplates (Wild)
+3 Darkwood Heavy Shield (animated)
Robe of Resistance +3
Cloak of Displacement, Minor (20% Miss Chance)
Gloves of Man: (Built into Gloves of Storing)
Glove of storing Right hand (Rod of fire extinguishing)
Glove of Storing Left Hand (Shield above)
Bulette Belt: +4 Natural Armor, +4 STR, +4 CON
Circlet of Understanding: Speak with Animals, Comprehend Languages and Read Magic
Ring of Feather Fall
+3 Ring of Protection
Figurine of Wondrous Power: Onyx Dog
Horn of Fog
Periapt of Wisdom +4
Quiver of Ehlonna (modified for Wands, Staves and Rods)
Masterwork Composite Long Bow (+2 mighty)
Bracers of Mighty Fists +2
Rod of Flame Extinguishing
Ioun Stone: Vibrant Purple: Stores 3 spell levels (spells listed on spell sheet)
Ioun Stone: Dark Blue (Alertness)
Ioun Stone: Pale Lavender (absorbs spells of 4th level or lower Max 20 spell levels)
Portable Hole
Leaf of The First Ash.
Rod of Acid substitution.
Rod of Cold Substitution.

New info: Bolo has the blood of Ashardalon.

Extra equipment not carried on Bolo:
Heward’s haversack.


As you can see. Bolo went full tilt into his Janni form.
 

Zad

First Post
WizarDru said:
The players did attack the Temple of Wee Jas, but as much because they found out that the Diamonshard Cabal had been wiped out by Orbius and Rhiavadi, with the exception of the newly christened Blackshard Di'Lao and his henchmen. Hilarity ensued, but heroes were driven from the temple by Ike Iverson's forces (though they came VERY close to stopping him).

We were as much "driven out" as we were just denied motivation and unsure why we were there. The whole setup was that we were attacked by the Winnowers and eventually a lead showed up saying they were at the temple.

And they were. And we were a little uncomfortable doing a full-on assault of an upstanding religious institution in town but we went in. We tried to talk our way past the first guards but no dice. But after that, the winnowers showed up and made it very clear they were leaving and were just hired out. We pressed on thinking Di'Lao was around and that he was somehow behind it. But that part was less than clear and we weren't sure he was even there. Given the uncertainty, ransacking an established church was putting us on pretty thin ice, motivation-wise.

Add to that some really stiff resistance and we just said "What are we trying to do here anyway?" and bailed out.
 

Zad

First Post
LightPhoenix said:
So... will the Pathfinder sessions be written up?

(Bated breath)

;)

That's a goooood question.

Since it was kind of a sandbox one-off, nobody had bothered so far. Someone might pick up the mantle though. It's not impossible that I will do it, but I don't think it's likely either. It's a lot of work and I could use a break.

On the other hand, I'm not sure how much of my SC blah feeling was wanting a break vs not feeling invested in the goings-on. It's possible I'll get wrapped up in it all and want to write.

But it is a lot of work.
 

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