GM Reference thread for The Shackled Hut.
There's a fairly glaring error in the Stat Block for Courage Heart. It specifically states that she has the FE of a 17th level ranger.
Well, she doesn't. SHe's got twice the FE of a 17th level 3.5 Ranger.
Her enemies are Lawful outsiders +8, Evil outsiders +6, Undead +4 and Humans +2.
This is IMPOSSIBLE for a PF ranger. I actually went to the class description to see if I'd been reading it wrong all this time.
In short, a 17th level Ranger could have +8 to Lawful Outsiders, and then +2 to Humans, Undead, and Evil Outsiders, or 6/4/2/2, or 4/4/4/2.
Not 8/6/4/2, which is exactly double 3.5's +1 vs, and add 1 when you choose a new FE, mechanic.
So...oversight and error, or deliberate? If it's supposed to be that way, fine and dandy...but calling it a 17th level Ranger's FE was just a big mistake.
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I would also like to point out a possible option for those who don't have the Black Rider Mantle.
Simply give members of the party who approach the hut and honor the corpses of the Red and White Riders by passing their mantles on, too!
==Aelryinth
question.....erm Rime pelt? All sorts of places TALK about it, where does it or they or them COME from? What am I missing?
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Pendagast, check out pages 61 and 72 for information on Rimepelts. 61 makes it clear what they are and what they do (they're a magic item), and 72 discusses how to get one without traditional crafting.
The idea was mine, but Russ and Rob helped tie it in to the ecology.
I was working with the Greek and Nordic concept of magic items from the parts of dead monsters.
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Let's talk about Greta:
Nothing is forced on the PCs. Nothing takes away from their choice to roleplay the way they want to, and have fun.. If they're not interested in Greta, well—she'll meet someone else sooner or later.
You see, alignments are an important part of the game, and I can't as a Designer just discount them. However I tend to reserve "evil for it's own sake" to outsiders. Greta has needs and feelings just like anybody else.
Most people don't like to be alone.
I also look at it as an interesting examination of Diplomacy. One uses one's social skills and Charisma to get a favorable reaction, what do you expect to happen? I don't think all, or even most, uses of Diplomacy should end in someone giving you their number—but every once in a while, in the right circumstances, who knows?
Pendagast, check out pages 61 and 72 for information on Rimepelts. 61 makes it clear what they are and what they do (they're a magic item), and 72 discusses how to get one without traditional crafting.
The idea was mine, but Russ and Rob helped tie it in to the ecology.
I was working with the Greek and Nordic concept of magic items from the parts of dead monsters.
I know what they are, I was specifically trying to find where they would get one... I did a seach in the PDF for Rime and found where it might have come from....
Looking through the druid's wild shape I just came to the realization they cant turn into magical beasts? I thought they could? was that 3.5 or another rules set? I thought I remember a Winter wolf druid at some point?
Pendagast, I am sorry I misunderstood your question.
If you refer to Event #4 that begins on page 10 and ends on page #12, that is the encounter where obtaining one becomes possible in the adventure.
Let's talk about Greta:
** spoiler omitted **
Our party has a menhir savant elf druid (arctic elf/snowcaster).
He's...interesting to say the least.
IF I allowed evil characters at this point he MIGHT be one.
But at the moment I'd say he hovers between N and CN.
Not far in alignment from NE.
The druid is a humanoid who can change shapes. Like Greta. I would think this would be an interesting attraction, with the exception that, the druid can do it at will, anywhere in the world.
As a menhir Savant he's also quite the world traveler.
I thought Greta might take a liking to him.
However, there is the party's barbarian as well with the blood if giants trait, Dourn is 6 foot nine. 250 pounds of lean muscle, extremely dominate and powerful, but pretty quiet. Also an interesting candidate.
why are we spoilering in the Gm only thread btw?
Players haven't gotten this far yet, but if they do get a Rime Pelt, I can't see the druid being interested in it, since it doesn't let him do much that he already isnt going to be able to do.
Many of the other players are female (ha ha!)
The druid, as a snow caster already has the hair/complexion of a human/winter wolf. What might be the opportunities to disguise him as such without use of the rime pelt/macguffin?
Pendagast, I am sorry I misunderstood your question.
If you refer to Event #4 that begins on page 10 and ends on page #12, that is the encounter where obtaining one becomes possible in the adventure.
yea i think i found it...i was skimming through treasure and items rather than reading the whole encounter fluff
RE: Disguising druid without rime pelt. That would probably be a fairly standard use of disguise skill, but i believe the rimepelt also covers the scent angle, which disguise would be harder to pull off with. Mistah Groves can chime in here and correct me anytime he likes however!
what secret angle?
IF it looks like a duck, and walks like a duck....and the only issue is if it smells like a duck.
I'm wondering if the druid could replicate that ability.
He's a tall, silver haired, blue eyed, arctic humanoid,who can shape change its as close as you can get without being it, there should be some bluff/disguise involved.
The rime pelt confuses me a bit, would it not be obvious, right away for what it is? Or does the form conceal it, during it's use?
I said Scent, not secret, my good man.
The rime pelt confuses me a bit, would it not be obvious, right away for what it is? Or does the form conceal it, during it's use?
It does. Language to that effect was in the original turnover, but it's hard to articulate that point clearly. Nevertheless, it wouldn't be a fun item and worth anything to pretend to be a winter wolf if you could just point to the pelt and say "aha!"
I am not a rules guru, but if a character can wildshape, I think they could fool the scent ability. The Universal Monster Rules for scent are mostly about locating creatures that you can't see and/or tracking them, and if a character has wildshape you shouldn't nitpick and water down their class ability. Let 'em have some fun, I say.
If a druid had dark hair and dark eyes, I think they would need to either make a Disguise check or use the rimepelt in order to look like a Winter Wolf in human form.
If the druid naturally has silver hair, arctic looks, and blue eyes, then I suppose they probably wouldn't need a Disguise check or a rimepelt to look like a winter wolf in human form.
Sorry if that was pedantic, but I wanted to cover all possible bases.
I am actually pleased(for my group options) to have that opened up instead of restricted. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Chopswil,
There are no actual differences, other than the environmental conditions under which they live.
There was a difference, dating back to Classic Monsters Revisited, which I believe was during the 3.5 part of Golarion's history. In that book, snow goblins were an environmental sub-type. The decision was made to move away from making sub-races for environmental conditions.. so we wouldn't end up with, snow-elves, ice dwarves, and so forth. It's part of Golarion's background that is being "forgotten". That is my understanding for the last couple years now, since I wrote the Frostfur Captives for PFS.
The term probably should not been used, so as not to add confusion like this. The intent was more to convey "a goblin that dresses warmly and lives in arctic climates."
Note: This is not a universal rule, as we do have ice trolls. But they're more of an exception than the rule.
The rime pelt confuses me a bit, would it not be obvious, right away for what it is? Or does the form conceal it, during it's use?It does. Language to that effect was in the original turnover, but it's hard to articulate that point clearly. Nevertheless, it wouldn't be a fun item and worth anything to pretend to be a winter wolf if you could just point to the pelt and say "aha!"
I am not a rules guru, but if a character can wildshape, I think they could fool the scent ability. The Universal Monster Rules for scent are mostly about locating creatures that you can't see and/or tracking them, and if a character has wildshape you shouldn't nitpick and water down their class ability. Let 'em have some fun, I say.
If a druid had dark hair and dark eyes, I think they would need to either make a Disguise check or use the rimepelt in order to look like a Winter Wolf in human form.
If the druid naturally has silver hair, arctic looks, and blue eyes, then I suppose they probably wouldn't need a Disguise check or a rimepelt to look like a winter wolf in human form.
Sorry if that was pedantic, but I wanted to cover all possible bases.
Well he would still have to conceal the face that he is an elf and not human-esque.
scent would not be hard for a druid (or ranger) type to fake.
But I wonder if the character would think about it?
Sometimes a character is going to know more than the player about something.
being able to wild shape and have senses for a time other than your own (hearing, smelling, seeing things a different way) I would if this would naturally occur to him to disguise this as well?
A Hunter often disguises his scent to increase his odds of not scaring off game, so its obvious something people think about.
The thing is, would you think about it in this case? Trying to look one way to get past/bluff a certain HUMAN form.
I guess what I am getting at is the item does something automatically, that the character would have to do deliberately and by choice. It's not often one disguises himself as say a dwarf, and worries about what he smells like.
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what is the difference between snow goblin and a regular goblin?
I can't seem to find a bestiary reference to a snow goblin.
As Jim said, snow goblins are an environmental variant. It's right there at the beginning of area G2 on page 25: "Snow goblins are native to Irrisen and the icy north. Their skin is more of a pale blue color, but they are otherwise indistinguishable from normal goblins."
Which is a more flavorful way of saying that snow goblins have the same stats as normal goblins, and why the snow goblin stat blocks reference the goblin entry in the Bestiary.
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The rime pelt confuses me a bit, would it not be obvious, right away for what it is? Or does the form conceal it, during it's use?
The rimepelt is functionally equivalent to a beast shape IV spell, which is a transmutation (polymorph) spell. According to the Core Rulebook, page 212, "When you cast a polymorph spell that changes you into a creature of the animal, dragon, elemental, magical beast, plant, or vermin type, all of your gear melds into your body. Items that provide constant bonuses and do not need to be activated continue to function while melded in this way."
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Actually I was a bit curious about Greta too.
While as a GM I can only going so far as to encouraging a PC in a direction, I would love to see one of my PCs actually go in the romancing direction with her. I was curious how you would do this with her if she followed the party in to the Dancing Hut.
Would you treat her as a DMPC of sorts, a full share of the experience, leveling alongside the party as they progressed through the rest of the path?
It seems unlikely that any of the PCs would be able take her as a cohort with Leadership. Might you have a general idea of what level equivalent cohort a normal winter wolf (base Worg is a 5th level cohort for example) would be should I want to incorporate that idea elsewhere?
The rimepelt is functionally equivalent to a beast shape IV spell, which is a transmutation (polymorph) spell. According to the Core Rulebook, page 212, "When you cast a polymorph spell that changes you into a creature of the animal, dragon, elemental, magical beast, plant, or vermin type, all of your gear melds into your body. Items that provide constant bonuses and do not need to be activated continue to function while melded in this way."The rime pelt confuses me a bit, would it not be obvious, right away for what it is? Or does the form conceal it, during it's use?
I think it was throwing me off, being a human, that turns into a wolf, that turns into a slightly different looking human that your normal humanness, than made me think, wait wouldnt that guy be wearing a dead wolf on his shoulders in human form??
Actually I was a bit curious about Greta too.
** spoiler omitted **
great is a winter wolf, she can only be human while in the howling.
she falls in love with a human/oid.
if she leaves the howling she is just a winter wolf, right?
while she IS neutral evil, she has no allegiance, technically, to Queen Elvanna.
The question is, WHAT happens if Great finds out what the PCs are actually up to?
Would she try to stop them? would she WANT to help? Or would she technically be indifferent?
Also, WHY is she guarding anything if she's not part of the winter guard?
Is this just because the howling is told to police their own area according to the mandate of the martial law? Who is it they are looking for or trying to prevent free passage from?
Rob,
Thank you for the more artful answers!
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Actually I was a bit curious about Greta too
Would you treat her as a DMPC of sorts, a full share of the experience, leveling alongside the party as they progressed through the rest of the path?
Bear in mind Xevious, these are my answers on how I would manage it. They may be a little fast and loose with the actual rules.
I would treat her as a DMPC, but I would make sure the players actually wanted her around full time. I actually don't use experience points, but level at the proscribed times when the AP indicates it is an appropriate time to do so. However, we're I to use experience points—I would make the math very easy on myself. I would just level her when the majority of the players leveled up, and keep her out of the xp distribution altogether.
It seems unlikely that any of the PCs would be able take her as a cohort with Leadership. Might you have a general idea of what level equivalent cohort a normal winter wolf (base Worg is a 5th level cohort for example) would be should I want to incorporate that idea elsewhere?
I think they could take her as a cohort at the end of the adventure, if they could manage a +2 or +3 to their Leadership score, and get around the alignment issue. To which I might just simply give Greta an early alignment change to just "neutral". Perhaps a +2 circumstance bonus to their Leadership score for romantic intimacy.
That would mean a 7th level chaotic good PC would need a Leadership score of 9. There would be a -1 penalty for a different alignment, and a +2 bonus circumstance bonus for romance, leaving the PC to scrape together a +1 bonus on their own.. perhaps by being kind and fair to her at all times?
I'm not a fan of the Leadership feat, but I can see a way to make it work.
Honestly, I wouldn't over quantify it, or try to twist yourself up in the mechanics to make it work. I would treat her as a DMPC, and be prepared to adjust the encounters up for having another party member.
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other issues
great is a winter wolf, she can only be human while in the howling.
she falls in love with a human/oid.
if she leaves the howling she is just a winter wolf, right?
Correct. This won't be an easy relationship. But nothing worth having is ever really easy.
while she IS neutral evil, she has no allegiance, technically, to Queen Elvanna.
The question is, WHAT happens if Great finds out what the PCs are actually up to?
That is your decision as GM. It wasn't an oversight that this wasn't explained. Each GM needs to figure that out for themselves. But, I recommend that you do what you feel is best for your game and your group. If you're not sure what that is, the one suggestion I will make is to do what the players think is fun. When in doubt, that is almost always a good call.
Would she try to stop them? would she WANT to help? Or would she technically be indifferent?
Your call. There are good arguments for and against no matter which way you go. I suppose it depends if there are genuine feelings there, which would engender loyalty. This is sub-plot is an option for you as the GM and your players. If it doesn't seem logical to you, that may be what decides it for you and your game.
Is this just because the howling is told to police their own area according to the mandate of the martial law?
Who is it they are looking for or trying to prevent free passage from?
Baba Yaga granted them their own district, and even before there was martial law, they were responsible for the security of their quarter. So some of this comes out of ancient tradition and custom.
If they fail to maintain the security of their quarter, it could become grounds for that section of the wall to be bricked up and have someone else regulate it for them—which would really restrict their own freedom to come and go as they please. This limited autonomy is a right and privilege, but Queen Elvanna might try to strip them of it, if they're not careful.
Right now, they're not supposed to let any one in the city without a very thorough and extensive search. That's because of the condition of martial law. Greta and her colleagues are doing a mediocre job at that, because they don't care as much as the White Witches do. After all, it wasn't their community that kidnapped Baba Yaga and imprisoned her and are usurping the kingdom under a new agenda. But for the sake of peace with Elvanna they're going through the motions. This is why Nyada's uncle chose this gate and this quarter to sneak through—because he knows the wolves are not taking it as seriously as the White Witches do.
This is internal politics.
This is also likely why the mirror men are making it a point to stroll through the Howlings. They're smart creatures and they know when the wolves are not being as thorough as they should.
another question,
5 foot steps, IVe been ruling that in the snow/ice you cant do them. because of the double distance usage thing.
Am i doing that right?
because a 5 foot step would use 10 feet, and so is a movement, not a 5 foot step?
That's correct. However, certain feats allow people to ignore the initial five feet or so of difficult terrain. Those individuals would be able to take a five-foot step. In addition, certain magic items help with snow and the like (and snowshoes may as well), which would thus enable people so-equipped to also take five-foot steps.
FallofCamelot,
We're cool! I absolutely agree with you that's it is a wonderful roleplaying opportunity. It wasn't my intention to "defend" the NPC. If I amended the choice of words, its because I don't think it should be an easy relationship to maintain—but a rewarding one if you do. Of course, whatever people want to do for fun in their game is entirely up to them. I won't be there to second guess the GM.
And any likening to Baldur's Gate or Dragon Age is delightful compliment, for which I thank you. :)
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well, she is kinda hot, in a commandeering germanic way.
Kevin,
I feel more comfortable deferring to Rob on that particular question. What I know has a good chance of being inaccurate. Sorry!
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So, went through the adventure, still quite a lot of details to read but I already have a couple of questions:
1)In the stat block for the falcons of the falconers in event 4, part 1, the HP section declares 8 HP, with (3d8 + 3) being the base for this. One of the two is clearly not true. Which is it? (logic dictates they don't have 3 hit die, but I guess my logic has been off in the past... :P)
2) Something I'm not getting about the dancing hut of Baba Yaga, is what prevents the PCs from blazing through the rest of the campaign sitting comfortably inside the hut, controlling it from within and using it as a CR 17 creature to crush all those weakling CR 8 creatures they'll be encountering... is there something stopping them from doing that written in the adventure? if there is, I missed it...
3) Nadya,as written in the AP, is supposed to move her children to a "safe distance" by relocating them to another nearbly village... this somehow dosen't settle well with my perception of Irrisen. Are the White Witches so easy to fool? They should be awere of Nadya as a threat and seeking her and her children out... At least that's the vibe Iv'e been getting from Irrisen, a land where the people have to fear the evil, all knowing rulers. If (when) I ran the AP, I intend to have Nadya send her children through the winter portal while it's still open, with the intent of traveling to reunite with them in the safe, far away lands of summer after she made sure the PCs managed to sneak into Whitethrone.Actualy coming to think of that, the entire village of Waldsby is in great peril, because the White Witches will eventualy pay the village a visit to make an example out of it, to show everyone exactly what happens when one tries to oppose them. It makes sense that the *entire village* will flee through the winter portal, with the exception of Nadya. anyone has thoughts on the matter?
A certain high-level witch queen having a secret back door so she could pop in and in the surprise round kill the party?
Also, the Keys are deactivated. So they can't easily travel worlds. They're dependent on the whims of the Hut.
As for Waldsby, there are a lot of sympathizers in the village. They would probably feel they were protected. As for the others... if we told any one village in Afghanistan that we were going to move them to the United States but they'd never be able to return, would they? Don't forget, once the gate closes, it's a months-long treacherous journey to a place that's who-knows-where?
No. Most wouldn't flee. And knowing the gate would close... I can't see Nadya sending her children, knowing she'll likely never see them again.
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And knowing the gate would close... I can't see Nadya sending her children, knowing she'll likely never see them again.
I can't imagine how hard it would be to send my children into the unknown like that. But having personally experienced the loss of a child, I know *I* would do anything within my power to protect my other children...even if it meant never seeing them again.
Nadya's daughter was brutally murdered for saying something unflattering about a White Witch. Imagine what they might do to the children of a traitor! Simply moving them to a nearby village doesn't seem good enough to me.
I'm running this for my husband, and I know he'll feel the same way. I'm assuming that he'll figure out the connection between Arbagzor and Tengezil, so I'm playing Arbagzor up as a friend of Nadya's who acts as a sort of eccentric uncle for her boys. Sending all three of them through the portal will still be a gut-wrenching choice for Nadya, but knowing they're being looked after by someone she can trust should prove the tipping point for her.
Nadya *might* end up accompanying the PCs (after all, what has she got to go home to now?) and I imagine that the first thing they'll do after the endgame is make sure Nadya is reunited with her children.
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A few thoughts for those discussing Nadya and her children:
First, keep in mind that no one in Waldsby knows about the winter portal. And, even assuming the PCs tell them about it, few would likely believe it. Instead, they'd view these foreigners and outsiders as potential spies, troublemakers, or misguided fools. No one's going to venture out into the harsh weather to confirm the PCs's claims. At best, they'd require proof from the Pale Tower. But, by the time the PCs venture there, they'll likely be closing the portal and stranding themselves (and everyone else) in Irrisen anyway...i.e., they don't have the luxury of heading back to Waldsby and just assuming they can come and go from the Pale Tower anytime they want. Ending the magic that sustains the portal to Taldor isn't a task with an open-ended timeframe, because they can't assume Nazhena and more of the Winter Guard and cold fey won't return to take back the tower. There certainly wouldn't be enough time to warn the villagers, have them pack up their families and belongings, and make the trek through the harsh weather to the portal in the forest. Logistically, it just doesn't have a high enough chance of succeeding before the window of opportunity closes on the PCs.
As for reprisals on Waldsby, the locals will provide the White Witches and the Winter Guard with everything they'll need to know about the PCs...and the assistance Nadya provided them...all in an effort to avoid retribution. The powers-that-be in Irrisen aren't out to vindictively murder everyone for things they didn't do...or were powerless to stop. They've cowed the population of Waldsby before and they'll do so again. In many ways, the rulers of Irrisen are dependent on the subjugated population for all kinds of things, from food to trade to manual labor and new recruits for the Winter Guard. So, it's not like the White Witches or their servants would instantly raze Waldsby for what happened at the Pale Tower. Instead, they'd interrogate all of the townspeople, make examples of a few of them, easily get the information they needed, and then go after the PCs (and Nadya).
Meanwhile, the reason Nadya knows she has to get her family out of Waldsby is because she knows the White Witches will come for her. And, that's why she wants to relocate her remaining children somewhere they can be with people she trusts. Leaving them with their uncle is the best thing she can do for them, because a) they'll be with family which should make it easier on the children, b) their uncle is a smuggler who's already very good at hiding things from the White Witches, and c) she wants to draw attention away from them and onto her by separating from them and helping the PCs. Basically, the more distance she can provide between herself and her children, the safer they'll become even as she takes all the danger and risk on herself.
That's really the primary catalyst for why Nadya would consider separating from her family, accompanying the PCs on their adventures, and ultimately doing what she can to end the threat of the White Witches once and for all. It's the one proactive thing she can do to ensure there's no retaliation on her and her family. After all, she already tried the appeasement route with trying to free her daughter, Thora. And that didn't work out well, at all. So, in the end, if she can play a part in freeing Baba Yaga and gain the Old Crone's favor, she'll plead for real protection for her children. That's what's in it for her. Only by tearing down the White Witches can she make certain she and her children are safe. But, to do that, she needs to temporarily separate from them so she can focus on the task without worrying about them.
Finally, for Nadya, part of going to Whitethrone with the PCs isn't just to help them find Baba Yaga's hut and free her. Part of it is to seek out Nazhena Vassiliovna and kill her...both in retribution for what she did to Thora, and to ensure she can't threaten her or her family ever again. Even if she fails...and Nazhena captures or kills her instead...she'll hope that the witch's vengeance is sated with just her and that her remaining children can still live on under the protection of their uncle. It's the sacrifical play. Either Nadya takes out Nazhena before the witch can avenge the events from the Pale Tower, or Nadya's death brings closure and safety for her family. And, of course, along the way, there's also the romance option for a PC who bonds with Nadya over the course of the campaign. Essentially, there's lots of directions you can take this part of the story from the Snows of Summer and The Shackled Hut. Even with Nazhena's death, Nadya will know she can't truly live in safety with her remaining children unless she helps the PCs free Baba Yaga and return things to "normal"...or, maybe even improve things by freeing Irrisen entirely from the reign of the White Witches.
My two cents,
--Neil
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A certain high-level witch queen having a secret back door so she could pop in and in the surprise round kill the party?
Also, the Keys are deactivated. So they can't easily travel worlds. They're dependent on the whims of the Hut.
As for Waldsby, there are a lot of sympathizers in the village. They would probably feel they were protected. As for the others... if we told any one village in Afghanistan that we were going to move them to the United States but they'd never be able to return, would they? Don't forget, once the gate closes, it's a months-long treacherous journey to a place that's who-knows-where?
No. Most wouldn't flee. And knowing the gate would close... I can't see Nadya sending her children, knowing she'll likely never see them again.
There's a difference between just being in Irrisen (in your parallel, being in Afghanistan) and being in Irrisen AND being known associates of a group of people who JUST NOW stormed the white tower and killed the apprentice of a white witch... there's a huge target mark on Waldsby after the PCs are done with "Snows of Summer" and I imagine most people living there would flee through the portal in order to save their own lives.
As for Nadya, she is REALLY tough. Sounds to me like she'd much rather take a risk and send her children through the winter portal to safety than risk having them both killed. I also mentioned that it makes sense that after seeing to that the PCs menaged to infiltrate Whitethrone, Nadya will begin to travel by foot out of Irrisen, to save herself from the White Witches and to eventualy reunite with her children. A sort of reverse Marco Polo, if you will.
To me, it sounds like the most reasonable plan Nadya could have. It involves GREAT risks, and even if both Nadya and her children survive Irrisen there's a very real possibilty Nadya will fail to reach her children again and the family might be broken... but the children will live on.
who are the children living on with again? throwing them through the portal doesnt help much. There is still danger in the forest, it's a day at least to heldren and that's if they know where they are going, un armed, un escorted, no communication or guidance, arm yea thats almost a death sentence too.
1)In the stat block for the falcons of the falconers in event 4, part 1, the HP section declares 8 HP, with (3d8 + 3) being the base for this. One of the two is clearly not true. Which is it? (logic dictates they don't have 3 hit die, but I guess my logic has been off in the past... :P
Actually this is correct as it is written, as contrary as it looks. :D
The rangers are falconers, which are an archetype from Ultimate Combat. They get a class ability called feathered companions. This allows them to take a Large size bird as their animal companion (even vultures). However they only receive half hit points, to keep them from being too powerful too soon. So quite literally the falcons do have (3d8+3) Hit Dice. That comes out to 16 hit points, which reduced by 50% is 8 hit points.
Your logic is not flawed, but there was rare class ability which is listed but not explained.. to conserve word count. The idea being you can take the stat block at face value, but see where you're coming from—it does look weird. Those are sort of "damned if you do and damned if you don't" situations. It's correct to list the full hit dice, but also correct to list the full hit points, even if looks wrong when you're done.
Actually this is a great improvement Rob made. Authors are encouraged to be sparing with Ultimate Combat and Ultimate Magic, so I went traditional ranger with a bird animal companion and he spiced it up by using Ultimate Combat as a resource. I think he really improved the encounter that way.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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Re: Greta
If she goes with the party into the TARDIH (Time and Relative Dimensions In Hut) there's a very straightforward motivation for her.
"Hmm, we helped her overrun a small country and she was able to magic up a way for us to shapechange in the city. Now what could she do for me if I save her scraggly butt..."
2) Something I'm not getting about the dancing hut of Baba Yaga, is what prevents the PCs from blazing through the rest of the campaign sitting comfortably inside the hut, controlling it from within and using it as a CR 17 creature to crush all those weakling CR 8 creatures they'll be encountering... is there something stopping them from doing that written in the adventure? if there is, I missed it.
It's not terribly easy to control at the best of times unless you have a really high UMD skill rating. (Hint!) Plus, the PCs are going to have to look for clues where Baba Yaga has been kidnapped and held prisoner. Plus, there are the keys which have to be located which are outside the Hut and in dungeons and castles and such. The Hut is a huge construct, it can't shrink on the outside.
I say this with some awareness of the story-lines of future chapters, but I don't know for certain. The reasons above are my best guess how that is going to be handled. Rest assured, Rob and the later authors will have thought through that ahead of time and made it logical.
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Jim since you are responding I was hoping maybe you could answer a question regarding the Iron guard
** spoiler omitted **
This is a GM Reference thread, so I'm not going to out my answer in spoilers:
Since the AP leaves Whitethrone and Irrisen after this volume (and doesn't return), what happens to the Iron Guard is not spelled out in later volumes. What happens to them after all of the events of the AP play out is an open question as well, since the finale of the AP depends heavily on the PCs' actions and choices. We might revisit the Iron Guard and their rebellion at the end of the last volume, at least in passing, but there are other possibilities by the end of the AP that have the potential for much greater and more far-reaching effects than the Iron Guard's uprising.
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So, went through the adventure, still quite a lot of details to read but I already have a couple of questions:
1)In the stat block for the falcons of the falconers in event 4, part 1, the HP section declares 8 HP, with (3d8 + 3) being the base for this. One of the two is clearly not true. Which is it? (logic dictates they don't have 3 hit die, but I guess my logic has been off in the past... :P)
Jim's answer above was spot-on: both are correct, as explained in the falconer ranger archetype.
2) Something I'm not getting about the dancing hut of Baba Yaga, is what prevents the PCs from blazing through the rest of the campaign sitting comfortably inside the hut, controlling it from within and using it as a CR 17 creature to crush all those weakling CR 8 creatures they'll be encountering... is there something stopping them from doing that written in the adventure? if there is, I missed it...
Since this adventure ends with the PCs entering the hut for the first time, this issue is addressed in later volumes of the AP, when the PCs might actually be able to drive the hut around. Of course, that requires a DC 30 Use Magic Device check every round, something likely out of the range of possibility for the 7th-level PCs at the end of this adventure.
Even stacking all those and any other bonuses they can scrounge up (aid another, bard song, etc.), they still have to make it every round. Even my craziest Lucky Dice players couldn't manage that more than three or four times in a row before single digits popped up.
I think the issue is that there doesn't seem to be a downside even to failing the check. If it's intended that the failed check results in the egg breaking-irate chicken-1 hour respawn scenario then I see the risk of haphazardly making repeated checks. Which is what I may implement if the players attempt to abuse the hut.
Otherwise even a failed check resulting random stomping is relatively beneficial in a fight.
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Again, as Rob mentioned, advice and rules for how the PCs can use (or not) the hut are coming in the next adventure. They don't matter in this one since the PCs don't have a chance to use it in that matter until the adventure is over.
But being able to use the hut in some encounters is an expected repercussion of the events in this adventure, and that has been built into the following adventures as appropriate.
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1)In the stat block for the falcons of the falconers in event 4, part 1, the HP section declares 8 HP, with (3d8 + 3) being the base for this. One of the two is clearly not true. Which is it? (logic dictates they don't have 3 hit die, but I guess my logic has been off in the past... :P
Actually this is correct as it is written, as contrary as it looks. :D
The rangers are falconers, which are an archetype from Ultimate Combat. They get a class ability called feathered companions. This allows them to take a Large size bird as their animal companion (even vultures). However they only receive half hit points, to keep them from being too powerful too soon. So quite literally the falcons do have (3d8+3) Hit Dice. That comes out to 16 hit points, which reduced by 50% is 8 hit points.
Your logic is not flawed, but there was rare class ability which is listed but not explained.. to conserve word count. The idea being you can take the stat block at face value, but see where you're coming from—it does look weird. Those are sort of "damned if you do and damned if you don't" situations. It's correct to list the full hit dice, but also correct to list the full hit points, even if looks wrong when you're done.
Actually this is a great improvement Rob made. Authors are encouraged to be sparing with Ultimate Combat and Ultimate Magic, so I went traditional ranger with a bird animal companion and he spiced it up by using Ultimate Combat as a resource. I think he really improved the encounter that way.
Yeah, I was indeed awere that what seems logical to me is not always the truth, which is actualy the very reason I posted the question here in this thread :)
I also think this is a very good encounter, while we are at it. Between the environmental difficulty of fighting in the snow and the smart tactics deployed by the bad guys, I can see this encounter forcing my players into more creative moves than usual to win.