4-12 The Refuge of Time

[Lazoth]

As far as I can tell, it's a once off due that fact you activate to have begin circling then, due to the fact that it is curse you volunteerly take it off it remains activated, thus you only need the one atonement.

[Castilliano]

I'll be running this 2 (maybe 3) times soon, one at each tier, so some questions:

About the trapped statue:
Several of the effects are AoE or multi-target, are they only hitting the toucher, or do they get their full area/number of targets?
Is it 'most possible' (plus toucher) or just 'toward toucher'?
(a.k.a. is the statue (or remnants of goddess) choosing or is it haphazard?)
Does the statue need line of sight/effect or is the line from the toucher?

I think he would use his ring to Summon in something immune to acid (or perhaps w/evasion), at least at higher tier where he's soaking the place.
Are any Daemons PFS legal for Summon Monster? Does it matter for villains/NPCs as long as it's PF legal?

Agree that Quickened Acid Arrow is a poor choice, but it could be a metagame warning to the low h.p. folk to get their acid protection up.
It also fits the BBEG's theme. He's throwing a lot of sticky/stinky spells around.

Thanks for any feedback, and big thanks for the PDF!
JMK

[MillerHero]

Castilliano wrote:

Several of the effects are AoE or multi-target, are they only hitting the toucher, or do they get their full area/number of targets?

The multi-target effects affect more than the one who touches (within line of effect).

[jjaamm]

can only use those monsters on the summon monster list from core book.

[Castilliano]

Thank you & thank you.

Surprised nobody mentioned Bone Devil.
BBEG could take Bone Devil DimStepping, planting Walls of Ice all around.

Or Earth Elemental(s). Those guys are brutal, and immune to the poison of Stinking Cloud. (Still like the imagery of the tigers jumping out of the fog though.)

If Naroth has enough time to prep, why doesn't he come out and attack?
(Is there an RP reason, or just a CR reason?)

BTW, nice job, Steve. It's a good mosh pit of violence.

[MillerHero]

Castilliano wrote:

If Naroth has enough time to prep, why doesn't he come out and attack?

(Is there an RP reason, or just a CR reason?)

BTW, nice job, Steve. It's a good mosh pit of violence.

He's lazy (RP reason) and combining his encounter with another encounter would be deadly (CR reason).

Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed.

[Kintrik]

ok some issues i have with this one.

Spoiler:

First, there are 2 combat encounters that have no scaling rules for them, even tho they are the same CR or within 1 as encounters that do have scaling rules.

Second, why are parties that negotiate with the angel penalized so heavily?

Doing this scenario with no magical gear is a death sentence, especially for martial characters.

[Chris Ballard]

Kintrik wrote:

ok some issues i have with this one.

** spoiler omitted **

Spoiler:

They aren't penalized for negotiateing with the angel. Players are allowed to play with all of their gear. After talking their way past the angel, they can put their gear back on.

[Kintrik]

Chris Ballard wrote:

Kintrik wrote:

ok some issues i have with this one.

** spoiler omitted **

** spoiler omitted **

Spoiler:

Why would the angel permit entry with no magic gear on then give it back? The encounter needs clarification. At the event I organized, the 2 tables of it were ran both ways. 1 GM gave the gear back and 1 didn't. Both tables ran by Venture officers(again both this encounter and the incorporeal encounter need scaling for party of 4)

[Mathwei ap Niall]

Kintrik wrote:

Chris Ballard wrote:

Kintrik wrote:

ok some issues i have with this one.

** spoiler omitted **

** spoiler omitted **

** spoiler omitted **

spoiler:

I do believe removing the gear and the magic auras is designed to prevent the players from using magic to hide the truth when the deva questions them regarding their intentions. The number of spells/items/effects that can protect you from divination effects is staggering in this game.

[nosig]

spoiler for headbands:

When a PC removes a Headband of (stat booster) - then places it back on, the bonus still counts as only "temp." for 24 hours. SO, after removing the magic item, the PC will loose bonus spells. And other things... bonus bombs? For example, a Cleric with a 20 Wis, and a +6 headband would loose 1 spell of 2nd, 3rd and 4th levels for the day.

Removeing the magic items - even if they are given back, will reduce the parties strength. When I played this, my table was very split... three non-casters trying to convense three casters to remove thier headbands...

[Chris Mortika]

Kintrik,

I don't know why you're using a spoiler tag here, when you're saying the same thing on your one-star review of the scenario.

1) You're right, only the last two encounters have modifications for four players. I'm not a PFS developer, but it's been my experience that not all encounters necessarily get modifications for four players. The point is to make the entire adventure more appropriate for a smaller party. The angel and undead encounters don't need to be scaled for four players -- a group of 4 PCs still has action economy in its favor -- but they'll use more resources and so they'll be worse off for the last to encounters, and so the scenario chooses the last encounters to cut smaller parties a break.

2) As you correctly observe, a high-level party without magic items -- which probably means: without any weapons or armor -- is terribly helpless. You say that a GM wouldn't let his players re-equip before assuring the deva of their good intentions, and I have no reason to doubt you, but there's nothing in the written scenario to suggest that.

[Castilliano]

nosig wrote:

** spoiler omitted **

Oh, great point I hadn't considered.

"Now, choose which spells you lose."
Doh!

But, the Angel almost certainly wants just to check for tricky magic, not to strip them of their gear.
Wow, just wow, that an XP GM did this to them.

[MillerHero]

Magic item and magic aura removal are only for the conversation with the Deva. Not letting the party re-equip is just mean.

My turnin did have scaling instructions for each encounter, but the developer wisely only applied the scaling where appropriate.

[TetsujinOni]

It may just be me, but the low tier version of the Deva encounter seems VASTLY more difficult.

Of course, that might be because I'll run the Deva with its tactical AMF and PFS players don't normally get to the tiers where AMF tactics are learned....

[Kristen Gipson]

I have a few questions about Emketta

1. When she charges on her phantom steed and does triple damage, does the energy damage from ruinous revivification get tripled.

I know energy damage enchantments applied to weapons does not get tripled, but I was unsure since this is not a weapon enchantment and it is just her graveknight ability.

2. Do step up (and others) work while she is mounted?

I'm unsure since it would be the phantom steed making the five foot step and it does not have the feat to step.

[Iammars]

1. No, extra dice of damage is never multiplied, just the base damage plus any static modifiers.

2. No, for the reasons you mentioned.

[BigNorseWolf]

So the stone is a "now or never" item? Take it now or cross it off for good?

Also, to make absolutely sure...

A paladin can take the stone, get an atonement, and still stay an unfallen paladin even while keeping a functioning Ocher Rhomboid Ioun Stone?

[Criik]

Another question about the ioun stone. I "activated" it by sticking it in my wayfinder. I assume that the curse makes it so I cannot remove it from my wayfinder now. If I get the curse removed, can I pull it out of the wayfinder in order to put my other stone back in, yet still activate the ocher rhomboid in its normal "satellite" fashion in order to receive the feat? I would rather have the "gimped" immune to mind control than k(arcana) as a class skill (especially since I already have it as a class skill).

[Ninjaiguana.]

Sorry to raise this threat from the reaches of tiiiiime, but I noticed an error on the chronicle sheet. In the adventure, it mentions the quill in area 4 functions as a pearl of power (1st) at Tier 7-8, and a pearl of power (3rd) at Tier 10-11, but in the chronicle sheet, the loot lists only a pearl of power (2nd) at Tier 7-8, with no advance on that at Tier 10-11. Shouldn't it be a 1st level pearl at the low tier, and a 3rd at the high?

(I admit it makes little difference in the long run - players likely have the prestige to acquire pearls of 1st, 2nd or 3rd level as standard purchases by this point - but it does seem to be an error.)

[P33J]

I have a question, as I'm running this for the PFS PBP Game Weeks.

Do the PCs have to surrender all their magical items to enter the tomb, or just to approach the angel to prove the nobility of their quest?

[Castilliano]

P33J wrote:

I have a question, as I'm running this for the PFS PBP Game Weeks.

Do the PCs have to surrender all their magical items to enter the tomb, or just to approach the angel to prove the nobility of their quest?

They are taking their magic items off to prove they are not masking themselves with magic. The angel trusts in its Sense Motive, but wants to make sure magic isn't interfering. (And can't detect alignments.)

After that, they can prove their nobility with good RPing and/or a difficult Diplomacy.
And lastly, they can put their magic back on before entering. (Something another GM didn't realize, much to the dismay of his players.)

Note: Most casters who take off their stat-items will lose extra spells from having a high stat, so there is a price.
(Of course, fighting the angel would lose you several spells too.)

Cheers.

[P33J]

Thank you!

[TetsujinOni]

In at least one tier, the angel CAN detect evil by dropping a Holy Word and watching the results....

[Rogue Eidolon]

That's more like detecting non-good.

[Chevalier83]

Got a question regarding Ocher Rhomboid Ioun Stone:

The item says activating an ocher rhomboid ioun stone is an evil act that shifts your alignment one step toward evil unless you receive the benefits of an atonement spell.

I think about GMing the scenario. Is it possible to give the boon to a neutral character and than atone him?

[kinevon]

Chevalier83 wrote:

Got a question regarding Ocher Rhomboid Ioun Stone:

The item says activating an ocher rhomboid ioun stone is an evil act that shifts your alignment one step toward evil unless you receive the benefits of an atonement spell.

I think about GMing the scenario. Is it possible to give the boon to a neutral character and than atone him?

Yes. Just make sure you annotate it on the chronicle sheet.

[Chris Ballard]

Chevalier83 wrote:

Got a question regarding Ocher Rhomboid Ioun Stone:

The item says activating an ocher rhomboid ioun stone is an evil act that shifts your alignment one step toward evil unless you receive the benefits of an atonement spell.

I think about GMing the scenario. Is it possible to give the boon to a neutral character and than atone him?

The character is allowed to finish the scenario. That player would have to get an atonement on that chronicle sheet to continue playing the character.

[reyyvin]

After reading through the message boards for Feast of Sigils, I came across this question regarding the boon at the end of the module:

Spoiler:

Someone asked if an animal companion could eat the wafer to get the stat bonus. The reply was YES, but would count as an additional evil act by the PC. 1 atonement still fixes both evil acts. Both the PC and the AC could get the boon, since there were multiple Sigil wafers available.

With there being only 1 stone, can an Animal Companion (with Int 3+) or Eidolon gain the benefit of the Ioun Stone as well as the PC? Can it gain the bonus feat instead of the PC? Would both the PC and the pet change alignment (and require atonement as necessary)?

I also noticed the Angel has an aura that makes animals not attack him; if an Animal Companion has the Celestial Template (magical beast), does this allow it to bypass the protection?

[Quentin Coldwater]

I played this today with Ascalaphus, I'm sure he'll have more comments, but I'd just like to mention how the final boss has Summon Monster IV prepared, but in pfsprep there's a Summon VI Dire Tiger in the statblock. It didn't lead to any problems, but I can imagine it being a problem for some.

[Ragoz]

Quentin Coldwater wrote:

I played this today with Ascalaphus, I'm sure he'll have more comments, but I'd just like to mention how the final boss has Summon Monster IV prepared, but in pfsprep there's a Summon VI Dire Tiger in the statblock. It didn't lead to any problems, but I can imagine it being a problem for some.

His spellbook has Summon Monster VII which he can spontaneously cast to summon 1d3 Dire Tigers.

[Ascalaphus]

Yeah, I figured that out in the car beck when looking at his statblock. I think if our spellcraft had told us that SM-VII was being cast we'd have made interrupting that more of a priority than SM-IV.

[CN_Minus]

Are bonus feats gained as a result of activating the Rhomboid Ioun stone retrainable? Is there any RAW for this (at least in the scenario)? I can't find it. I ran this one ages ago, but I don't want the feat until level 10.

[Muser]

There's none. Your guess, and ruling, is as good as mine. Now were you player, I'd say the feat is set once you pick up the stone during the scenario, but as a gm I suppose you could just postpone applying the boon.

[Ascalaphus]

Given that you need to fill in the feat when you get the sheet, I think this one may have been intended as a "make a spot decision and live with it". After all, it's an extra, unanticipated feat so getting one more shouldn't disrupt your build.

[Quentin Coldwater]

I just GMed this. It was a cakewalk for my players, though it could've gone bad in a few instances:
- They managed to talk themselves past the angel encounter. The Druid lost his only Greater Magic Fang. There was some talk of kicking his ass, but they decided against it.
- Greater shadow surprised the cocky controller Arcanist/Fighter. Set his Strength to 1, then got its ass kicked by a Ghost Touch Brawler (he's died three times to Ghosts, he's prepared). Druid was usless as he had no more Magic Fang.
- Graveknight got grappled by the Druid (he's grapple focused), was able to breath attack twice, then died. They left the armour with the angel, as he promised to take it back to the Positive Energy Plane when he's done guarding the temple. The last scenario the Druid played also featured a Graveknight and he almost died, so it was again perfect for him. :P
- BBEG got stunlocked and was only able to get off a quickened Grease + Solid Fog in turn 2. Druid played an incredibly lazy character and the Sinspawn could smell him. Then BBEG got Sheet Lightning thrown at his head, saved against a Cacophonous Call and cast Grease + Fog, then failed his save against a knockout punch from the Brawler. And I think I forgot something. >_>
- They hit themselves with the whip found earlier and because of DR got all the tokens without an issue. The Druid was weirdly enough Bluff-focused and they dragged the limp body of the BBEG past the angel with half-truths and no outright lies, so he was okay with it. That angel's standing guard there for eternity, occasionally kicking Emketta's ass whenever she regenerates. :P

So yeah, it was a feast of suffering for the Druid (he enjoyed it, though). I feel a bit sad I couldn't challenge the party more (when I played it, it was quite an epic fight), but them's the breaks.

[RealAlchemy]

Reading through this scenario I noticed that Naroth has Crushing Despair as a L3 spell in high tier. Looking up the spell, I see it is a L4 wizard spell. Am I missing something obvious here?