The Worldwound Incursion (GM Reference)


Wrath of the Righteous

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Ssyvan wrote:

Okay, so I read more into this and it looks like there is nothing stopping Jeslyn from animating an addition 14 HD of undead (using up the onyx she already has).

Since I'll be running this this weekend, I'll stick with the setup as is and only add in new undead should there be an escalation. In addition it seems the spell requires a mostly intact corpse, something that I'm not sure is immediately present in the garrison, but would be after an assault.

One last thing, Jeslyn is immune to sickeness but acts as sickened for the encounter? Is that right, or is she immune to that?

So I finally got a chance to finish up this book and I'm going to put the rest of this post behind spoilers just in case.

GM Eyes Only:
I've got a party of 4 players (Barbarian, Cleric, Rogue, and Summoner) all at 15 point buy, and only a single campaign trait.

They took out the Garrison in two assaults, on the first they went through the shutter and ended up having one huge pitched battle with nearly everything on the second floor. 3 Giant Flies, 6 Tieflings, 4 Cultists, Othribuo, and 3 Dretches. I left the Peryton, Schir, and Zombies alone. This battle went really well, and things arrived in waves rather than all at once. Things only got chancy when the cultists managed to command the rogue to approach, which meant my players had to finish this encounter rather than retreat and come back another day (As they weren't going to leave one of their own behind!). They managed to get their friend back, but left Othriburo and two cultists behind alive.

The next day they came back and went through the front door. Othriburo managed to hold them off for quite some time, but eventually they were able to corner and capture him! They had their Mongrelmen cohorts escort him back to Defender's Heart after an augury revealed that their mission would likely go well.

Afterwards they poured over what they found on the main floor (making quite a bit of noise) which gave the Schir and Peryton time to setup an ambush. These two working together as a team was an extremely difficult encounter for them, as the shock of it caused them to split their damage up across both opponents. That coupled with high AC (the Schir can cast protection from good) made this a bit too drawn out. Mid-fight they barricaded themselves into a room only to have the Schir Arcane Lock the door, then ran around and attacked them from their soft side.

From here they cleaned up the remaining cultists and zombies, then moved on to fight the Half-Fiend. They didn't use the scrying bowl, so instead sent the rogue up to scout. However the sound of battle in the room below gave the Half-Fiend time to set up an ambush. In a split second he landed on the Rogue taking him down to 7 HP, which caused the summoner to send up a small air elemental as a distraction giving the rogue time to get out of dodge.

From here they debated whether or not to head back and rest or try to complete their mission, as they knew they were close. They chose the latter and decided to run up all together. The Rogue and Barbarian attacked him on his front dealing some moderate damage, while the Summoner ran for the back door only to find it locked (then decided to provide flank). The Cleric healed for all he was worth, but still the Barbarian ended up dead. After the fight the rogue was still at 7 HP, the Summoner completely out of summons, spells and Eidolon, and the Cleric only had a few paltry charges on his wands.

At this point the party's morale was completely shot as they faced off against the sickened Jeslyn. In her opening gambit she cursed the Summoner (-6 Cha), then Soul Siphoned the Cleric (-1 Level), and finally charged passed them to the minotaur and raised it as a Flaming Skeletal Half-Fiend Minotaur (their faces at this point were classic).

As the table fell silent for a few long moments the Cleric finally declared, that if they're going down, they're going down fighting.

The Rogue charged headlong at Jeslyn and the Flaming Skeletal Half-Fiend Minotaur knowing that at best he was buying seconds. The Cleric dropped to his knees and started ripping apart his backpack trying to find the rod of cancelation. Jeslyn realizing what was happening shot a Hold Person at the Cleric, only to her horror see him shake it off. The Summoner jumped between the Cleric and the Flaming Skeletal Minotaur to buy a single moment. With his arm outstretched the Cleric reaccchhhhed for the Wardstone. Only the crickets outside are making noise as the room falls dead silent, the die falls on the table and stops on a 2.

GM - "What's your plus to hit?"
Cleric - "3!"
Cheers Erupt
GM - "It's not over yet, the wardstone might still resist"
Silence as the GM motions that this roll will be public
The die falls and stutters across the table knocking a few minis and finally comes to stop on a...

Not sure if any of the Devs frequent here, but I have to thank you for the best gaming moments our group has had in a long long time. =)


Ssyvan wrote:
Ssyvan wrote:

Okay, so I read more into this and it looks like there is nothing stopping Jeslyn from animating an addition 14 HD of undead (using up the onyx she already has).

Since I'll be running this this weekend, I'll stick with the setup as is and only add in new undead should there be an escalation. In addition it seems the spell requires a mostly intact corpse, something that I'm not sure is immediately present in the garrison, but would be after an assault.

One last thing, Jeslyn is immune to sickeness but acts as sickened for the encounter? Is that right, or is she immune to that?

So I finally got a chance to finish up this book and I'm going to put the rest of this post behind spoilers just in case.

** spoiler omitted **...

SON OF A B+!&%! GOD! I hate cliffhangers! Why you so cruel?


My party is getting ready to fully assault the Gray Garrison. (the last game ended after the two doormen) I am trying to consider ways to toughen the fights a little bit as the party is rolling over them a bit.

The Party:

I have 5 players all level 4 at this point only 1 of which is good aligned mostly neutrals in my group.

Fetchling Synth-Summoner in the vein of an Einherjar (I love the thematics of him and he actually is the better roleplayer of the group so i allowed this since he's less likely to cheese it.)
Orc Witch/Scarred witch archetype
Catfolk Rogue
Gnome Cleric of Calistria
Tiefling Paladin of Torag

They lost Horgus in the underground but kept anevia and aravashnial
They have the neatholm support rangers

Current Ideas:

Most of what I have comes from looking over Jeslyn's spell list. I am going to fill her Animate Dead limit with tiefling skeletons to bog down the synth-summoner chainsaw (slam+bite+claw+claw+rend) but im struggling to think of more. I dont forsee them having an issue with getting to the top in 1 go. Maybe Poisoned blades?

Any advice is helpful thanks!


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Tels wrote:
Ssyvan wrote:
Ssyvan wrote:

Okay, so I read more into this and it looks like there is nothing stopping Jeslyn from animating an addition 14 HD of undead (using up the onyx she already has).

Since I'll be running this this weekend, I'll stick with the setup as is and only add in new undead should there be an escalation. In addition it seems the spell requires a mostly intact corpse, something that I'm not sure is immediately present in the garrison, but would be after an assault.

One last thing, Jeslyn is immune to sickeness but acts as sickened for the encounter? Is that right, or is she immune to that?

So I finally got a chance to finish up this book and I'm going to put the rest of this post behind spoilers just in case.

** spoiler omitted **...

SON OF A B~!$&! GOD! I hate cliffhangers! Why you so cruel?

Sorry Tels, joy is in the journey and all that. =)

but if you need:
It was a 10, the wardstone was drained and they were in complete shock that there was an explosion killing Jeslyn, the undead minotaur, and a resurrection for the Barbarian.


Guru_of_the_Sands wrote:

My party is getting ready to fully assault the Gray Garrison. (the last game ended after the two doormen) I am trying to consider ways to toughen the fights a little bit as the party is rolling over them a bit.

** spoiler omitted **

** spoiler omitted **

Any advice is helpful thanks!

For DMs only:

It really depends on how hard you want to make things for your party, but these are things things I found rather useful against mine.

-Darkness, for some reason my dwarven cleric had the wand of daylight, which meant I got to take 3 players out for a round when casting Darkness. I have a Gnome Summoner, Tiefling Rogue, Dwarven Cleric, and Half-Elf Barbarian. Considering the first encounter is 6 tieflings you can use this against them. Also don't forget sneak attack!

-My players couldn't resist exploring each room and I made them pay a bit for it by hitting the room with the rat demons (I don't have the book in front of me so their name escapes me). This is a great place to use shatter to whittle down some of their equipment, be it an AoE potion destruction or shatter some cold iron weapons.

-You mention that the Synth-Summoner is a chainsaw, but make sure you're taking 5 points of damage off his attacks when he hits those demons (with DR) since there is no other way I'm aware of for him to overcome DR with natural attacks.

-If they're making a lot of noise allow Demons to summon ahead of time, since there is literally no reason they wouldn't do this.

-Or if Dreadnu hears them, have him sound his horn of battle clarity. That should prevent everyone from being flat footed.

-Remember the Peryton's shadow attack is a free action, so he should switch it whenever. And that any attack that hits provokes a Will save.

-The Schir can slow down the party with Arcane Lock, giving NPCs time to set up.

-Only provide Devotion Points to your good character, at least I think there is a very strong case for Iomedae only rewarding the Paladin as there is little reason for neutral characters to care about such things that she is rewarding the party for.

-Feel free to hit them with those Giant Demonic Flies, their breath weapon is great and can recharge rather quickly. Plus they can fly away and fly back and hit them when its ready again.

-Might be a bit on the RAW side, but if someone catches fire (see Othirubo) their worn items will likely need to make saving throws. Especially if they're a tiefling and not putting out the fire...

-If your PCs are exceptionally sneaky then go ahead and run the dungeon room by room, but remember to roll perception checks for everyone in the dungeon. If they hear the party by all means have them adjust! Othribuo for instance knows if the party enters by means of the Aviary, so why not send him up there to chuck a few bombs?

-With 5 PCs that are all at expected level they'll certainly have an advantage over the dungeon as is, so don't be afraid to allow reinforcements to arrive while they're in there. And if not that they lost Horgus so try to force them back to Defender's Heart to rebuy some cold iron gear that some rat demons sundered/shattered?

-Cultists, there are a *ton* of them and they all have Channel Energy and Command. Approach is an amazing command, use it and take advantage of the AoOs it provokes.

-Tieflings should attack from cover to get that +4 AC, if not that they can fire from prone (yayy crossbows!)

-Othribuo can fight defensively and chuck bombs, the -4 to hit won't matter much since he's already hitting touch AC. And at 26 AC + Blur he'll go down fighting.

-Save Jeslyn's Animate Dead for the minotaur, trust me the party reaction will be worth it.

EDIT: -USE POWER ATTACK


Here's the scenario. A neutral player killed an unarmed surrendering CE Teifling in front of Irabeth, 2 other paladins and a LG sorcerer. I don't think Irabeth would be foolish enough to try and place him under arrest in the middle of hostile territory, but upon return to the Defenders Heart I would think she would place him under arrest.
What do you think?
Should his alignment shift as well to Chaotic Neutral?


Grizzlydude wrote:

Here's the scenario. A neutral player killed an unarmed surrendering CE Teifling in front of Irabeth, 2 other paladins and a LG sorcerer. I don't think Irabeth would be foolish enough to try and place him under arrest in the middle of hostile territory, but upon return to the Defenders Heart I would think she would place him under arrest.

What do you think?
Should his alignment shift as well to Chaotic Neutral?

It's a war crime, plain and simple. So go with the massive movie trope of, "You can rot out the rest of this war in jail, or... we can send you on a suicide mission to save the war effort!"

Silly, but better than losing the PC.

The alignment shift depends on WHY the neutral player did it:
- He was angry because the tiefling's group hurt his friends: Neutral
- He wanted to show Irabeth and the other paladins that he wouldn't follow "their rules": Chaotic Neutral
- He likes making people he has power over suffer and die: Evil


He was angry, because earlier a Tiefling surrendered and they sent him back to the Defenders Heart with an NPC Ranger. In his view it was no different then if the Ranger had been killed, because he is not available to the party.

The biggest downside of this whole thing is the player is a bit of a loose cannon and will likely go down fighting to the death. Possibly destroying the campaign.


Grizzlydude wrote:

He was angry, because earlier a Tiefling surrendered and they sent him back to the Defenders Heart with an NPC Ranger. In his view it was no different then if the Ranger had been killed, because he is not available to the party.

The biggest downside of this whole thing is the player is a bit of a loose cannon and will likely go down fighting to the death. Possibly destroying the campaign.

I manage such players by making it amply clear to the other players that the offended NPCs are perfectly willing to accept, "I'm not with stupid."

I run a kids' game. Being an 11-year-old boy and playing a loose cannon is virtually synonymous. But when everyone else at the table says, "Oh, no! HE'S doing that alone! We stay out of it!" and you have the NPCs accept that, the loose cannon becomes a bit less loose.


I have a question. Has anyone used the crusader generals of the city, Dyre and Marcovina? Is there any official word on their surviving or dying in the attack on Kenabres?


They could be good generals to add to the heads of the armies left behind when Drezen swells to 1000.


I added a couple more Terendelev's Scales due to the size of my group... one grants Silverscales, which is a variant of Barkskin with a different visual appearance and adds vulnerability to Fire. Another I added allows the user to turn one handheld weapon into a Frost weapon, with a duration similar to the Magic Weapon spell. Neither is anywhere near a game breaker and seems similar to the power level of the other scales.

Opinions? Feedback? ... has anyone else created new scales to allow for a party of more than 4 players?


What is the current light level in the Gray Garrison? I'm thinking normal, since they mention continual flames being present instead of torches.

I'm asking because the tiefling/giant fly tactics of casting darkness are less effective due to the presence of continual flames. I'm a relatively new GM, so please be gentle if I'm missing something obvious.


Maveric28 wrote:

I added a couple more Terendelev's Scales due to the size of my group... one grants Silverscales, which is a variant of Barkskin with a different visual appearance and adds vulnerability to Fire. Another I added allows the user to turn one handheld weapon into a Frost weapon, with a duration similar to the Magic Weapon spell. Neither is anywhere near a game breaker and seems similar to the power level of the other scales.

Opinions? Feedback? ... has anyone else created new scales to allow for a party of more than 4 players?

I did something similar. Early discussion in this thread gave me ideas and parameters for this. Basically, three uses of a second level spell with some sort of flavor tie in to Terendelev.

http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2q27n&page=2?The-Worldwound-Incursion#82

I like your scales though - very thematic. The only thing that might suck, is a frost being ineffective against demons.


My WOTC game just reached the point where the PCs kill their first demon (last room of the Lair of the Vile and Vicious). I'm assuming these demons came into the material plane through the rift of the Worldwound since they are clearly stationed there as a defensive measure. I assume if they had been summoned, they'd pop back eventually, so that wouldn't be a very efficient way to protect the lair.

First question: what happens to a demon when it dies if it's not summoned? Does it just die and become a corpse? Since lots of demons are going to die over the course of the AP, I'd like some advice on any special way to handle deaths of demons.

A second question is just speculative: how did these demons get to the Lair of the Vile and the Vicious? The text says Hosilla installed them there, but at that point, the city of Kenabres was still controlled by crusaders, so how would she get a couple of dretches down into the underground? Is there powerful magic that can just summon a demon in a way that does not have a duration after which the demon returns to the original plane?

It's possible there are underground connections between the rift and the tunnels under Kenabres, of course, but that seems like a lot of work to get a couple of demons to place of minor strategic importance.


I'm DMing this and we're nearing the end of book one (the five PCs cleared out most of the Gray Garrison but had to retreat. They're gearing up for the second assault).

One of the main changes I've made is including references to the campaign trait backstories earlier, as waiting until Book 3 seemed counter-productive. It struck me that drip-feeding info to the players from the start would give the stories more oomph when they finally resolve!

So things I've added include:

Spoiler:

The tiefling gamblers on the ground floor also using display case plaques from the destroyed museum as chips. As well as referring to Radiance, they mention an item belonging to the father of the cleric with Touched by Divinity - who apparently rescued crusaders from a 'fallen fane'.

Othirubo also having among his gear a letter from Exorius (the incubus from book two - I'm boosting his role similarly to what Sc8rpi8n_mjd did) referring to him being behind the Azverindus Rite that affected the Stolen Fury paladin.

And when Galfrey arrives in Kenabres, I'm planning to have some of the soldiers in her army know about the Riftwarden Orphan's missing parents and that they were killed by the currently-mysterious head of the Blackfire Adepts, known only as 'Vang'.

The Chance Encounter bard will get to encounter Arueshalae's cell beneath Citadel Drezen, and I'm also going to give a bigger NPC role to the Child of the Crusades ranger's parents, who will eventually try to investigate the family's lost holdings in the Worldwound.


Clebsch GM wrote:

My WOTC game just reached the point where the PCs kill their first demon (last room of the Lair of the Vile and Vicious). I'm assuming these demons came into the material plane through the rift of the Worldwound since they are clearly stationed there as a defensive measure. I assume if they had been summoned, they'd pop back eventually, so that wouldn't be a very efficient way to protect the lair.

First question: what happens to a demon when it dies if it's not summoned? Does it just die and become a corpse? Since lots of demons are going to die over the course of the AP, I'd like some advice on any special way to handle deaths of demons.

A second question is just speculative: how did these demons get to the Lair of the Vile and the Vicious? The text says Hosilla installed them there, but at that point, the city of Kenabres was still controlled by crusaders, so how would she get a couple of dretches down into the underground? Is there powerful magic that can just summon a demon in a way that does not have a duration after which the demon returns to the original plane?

It's possible there are underground connections between the rift and the tunnels under Kenabres, of course, but that seems like a lot of work to get a couple of demons to place of minor strategic importance.

Sorry Clebsch GM, didn't see your question earlier. I know James Jacobs has answered this before. You can see what he's said there.

As for you last set of questions, check out the Abyssal Rift in Book 2, things can certainly spill over from the Abyss in that way. Also if you check out The Worldwound source book, there is a lot of information in there about how else it can happen. Lastly, I believe Book 4 also covers this a bit.


so umm. has anyone had to deal with a group that was very clever with dealing with the gray garrison.

Spoiler:
seeing how the building is made of stone, a character that had a pet earth elemental from some source be it a companion or a summon, then putting invisibility on it some how, could just go up to the top floor using earth glide invisibly then go inside the building and use the rod of cancellation to touch the wardstone. effectively making the only one in the room or even building, while the players are across the street waiting. then what does Areelu do, does she just see a small earth elemental with the wardstone shattered. do the players still get mythic some how. this has not happened yet in my game but how to handle this corner case.

This more or less has the players out think themselves from getting mythic.


Won't work. The Rod of Cancellation needs a Command Word to function, and Elementals don't speak Common. Also, you could state that the Wardstone fluctuations makes Earthglide not work - even though that's not how it's supposed to be how the Wardstone functions... (or that the building was built to prevent that sort of thing being done by cultists).

That said, the AP can be run with non-Mythic players. Other than Book 2 which would need to be toned down in places, most of it would work just fine with regular PCs.


Tangent101 wrote:
Won't work. The Rod of Cancellation needs a Command Word to function, and Elementals don't speak Common.

That's a non-issue if you speak a common language with the elemental. You tell him in his language what the command word is.


I do have a question about the Guardian Improved Campaign trait. IT states the the PC gain +3 hit points per level. Is that a one shot deal that gives (in my player case) 18 hit points or like an "improved" toughness feat that will give him 3 additional hit points on each level thereafter?


Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

I would assume that the bonus would be for each level in total. That's how I played it.


Maveric28 wrote:

I added a couple more Terendelev's Scales due to the size of my group... one grants Silverscales, which is a variant of Barkskin with a different visual appearance and adds vulnerability to Fire. Another I added allows the user to turn one handheld weapon into a Frost weapon, with a duration similar to the Magic Weapon spell. Neither is anywhere near a game breaker and seems similar to the power level of the other scales.

Opinions? Feedback? ... has anyone else created new scales to allow for a party of more than 4 players?

Nice! I'll replace one of the existing ones with the frost weapon one.


Hey wondering any advice GM's who have run this can suggest. The group I'm running completely ignored Hosilla (and thus Radiance) in the Mongrelman lair--choosing to block the tunnel to her room instead of adventuring down. They are currently in Kenabres and have zero intention on going back down into the tunnels. Did this happen with anyone else and if so what did you do? I have some ideas but would like to hear on what worked or what did not. I'm inclined to have the sword corrupted and used against them at another point but that may be too extreme. Thoughts?


Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

At first I thought your idea of using it against them was a bit mean, but then I thought about it more. How about if Radiance was corrupted by Staunton Vahne? That also gives the PCs the immediate means to uncorrupt it.

I suppose Radiance could also take the part of the Sword of Valor; it always struck me as an odd name for a banner. That would require a side quest for something to prevent demonic teleportation though.


Evil Deity wrote:
Hey wondering any advice GM's who have run this can suggest. The group I'm running completely ignored Hosilla (and thus Radiance) in the Mongrelman lair--choosing to block the tunnel to her room instead of adventuring down. They are currently in Kenabres and have zero intention on going back down into the tunnels. Did this happen with anyone else and if so what did you do? I have some ideas but would like to hear on what worked or what did not. I'm inclined to have the sword corrupted and used against them at another point but that may be too extreme. Thoughts?

If the PC's made the agreement with Chief Sull and the people of Neathholm, they could bring it up later when they join them for the assault on the Grey Garrison.

Hosilla and the others down there would die of hunger/thirst before long, and the mongrelfolk could have gone in after it had been cleared to explore the area.

Just offering a nice way to deliver at least the sword to them. Let the mongrels keep everything else found there.

Scarab Sages

James Jacobs wrote:
Abyssal Lord wrote:
Tangent101 wrote:
The challenge is having them stay with you. They snipe at each other, there are chances for diplomacy to fail... so the XP award is for players who actually interact successfully with them. Don't make it too hard on the players. It's not like it's a huge reward.
It seems given how the players have to level up real quick, it appears the quick XP progression table should be used, mythic powers or not.
And yeah... the rate at which PCs level up in the first adventure is about on par with the rate levels accumulate in any Adventure Path part one. The increased XP accumulation becomes more and more noticeable as the campaign goes on, and the PCs start facing more and more challenges that are well above their APL.

I know this might seem like a crazy idea, but I had to change the beginning of this AP and get the PC's to level 2 right when they wake up in the caves beneath the city. How I did this is not so important as it fit my players and their play style, but having them at lvl 2 (and giving them an injury that put them at a -2 penalty (or -10ft movement or -4 on certain skill checks) fit better than the "being saved by a feather fall spell...). Then I left them at that level all the way through the caverns (healing them of their injuries after 24 hours had passed and they slept. This happened at the good mongrel-men encampment so they became full level 2 at the appropriate time.

As of now, with my players out in the city trying to survive, I think it was a great way to play the beginning of this AP. they had the extra hp, so I could be as feral as I wanted with the evil mongrels and really had a blast playing Windaug as the harrying guerrilla sniper for the longest time. Very fun.

Silver Crusade

Evil Deity wrote:
Hey wondering any advice GM's who have run this can suggest. The group I'm running completely ignored Hosilla (and thus Radiance) in the Mongrelman lair--choosing to block the tunnel to her room instead of adventuring down. They are currently in Kenabres and have zero intention on going back down into the tunnels. Did this happen with anyone else and if so what did you do? I have some ideas but would like to hear on what worked or what did not. I'm inclined to have the sword corrupted and used against them at another point but that may be too extreme. Thoughts?

I know this is late, but I would gladly post for someone later to use. I used Hostilla in just such a way, having the PC's find the not crumpled next to a brazier as one piece of paper that did not get burned, along with the place she was going to (in kenebres) to be teleported away to safety (with the sword). I also had Anevia tell the PC's that the sword was her wife's sword (mistakenly thinking it was the sword that Irabeth had sold for Anevia's transformation potion). NPC's make mistakes right:? Sure they do.

So because they had Anevia as an NPC in the helpful mode, they pursued her story right after going to Blackwing for Arivashnial. Catching the inquisitor before she could teleport out was nice, and having the high level mage teleport himself at the sight of the crusaders instead of testing their mettle, left the poor hostilla all alone in a warehouse storage building with 5 angry pc's and a few seething npc's/ :D It worked out fine.

Scarab Sages

Jess Door wrote:

I"m doing that now, and I ran Kingmaker for 7 players.

I opted for more enemies over stronger enemies. I also tended to prefer some simple modifications like all monsters had max hit points rather than more hit dice. This allowed the fights to last longer without the enemies having abilities the PCs couldn't handle for one reason or another.

One thing to be really careful of, is single bad guys. Given the even greater action economy advantage your players have over such than a normal 4 person party does, give him lieutenants and/or bodyguards when you can.

Adjust for your players' skill as necessary.

Good luck!

I added some summoning chips, like rune magic on a stone, that when broken, summons a dretch or a group of dretches. I found that adding this to all the cultists, even the low level ones, was the perfect addition to up the power level of the combats without having to add loot. Plus it helped with a couple character story lines to pull them into the campaign. I am using templated dretches that will keep them viable throughout the entire first book - example = Dire Half-Balor Dretch (CR7). A nasty little critter with minor adjustments like max hp added to it with greater toughness from 3.5 :D

Dire, Half-Balor Dretch CR 7 XP 3600
CE large outsider (chaotic, demon, evil, extraplanar)
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +16

AC 25, touch 12, flat-footed 22 (+13 natural, dex +3, -1 size)
hp 162 (8d10+82) (Max HP)
Fort +15, Ref +6, Will +10
DR 5/cold iron and good; Immune electricity, poison, fire; Resist acid 10, cold 10

Speed 40 ft.
Melee (2) claws +13 (1d8+8, +1d6fire), bite +13 (1d8+8, +1d6fire)
Melee: A half-balor deals +1d6 fire damage with every attack.

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 8th)
1/day—cause fear (DC 15), stinking cloud (DC 17), summon (level 1, 1 dretch 45%)
3/day –Scorching Ray, Burning Hands (DC 15)
Str 26, Dex 16, Con 28, Int 9, Wis 19, Cha 19
Base Atk +6; CMB +18; CMD 28
Feats Toughness, Greater Toughness, Weapon Focus Claws, Weapon Focus Bite
Skills Escape Artist +15, Perception +16, Stealth +18
Languages Abyssal; telepathy 100 ft.


Hey everyone !
I started the campaign a few days ago with a 5 players team.

I'm considering using the statblock made by Sc8rpi8n_mjd and I read that this campaign can be improved by setting the advancement speed to "slow".
My players are experienced players (except for one), with optimized characters (two paladins, a spy, a samurai and a druid) and I'm a new GM at Pathfinder (and I haven't GMed in, like, 10 years).

I read the whole thread already, taking notes, and I continue reading everywhere on this forum.

Any advice / other threads to read before starting ? We'll begin playing the home-made intro I've prepared in two weeks.

Thanks in advance.

Scarab Sages

Abigaïl Enderleith wrote:

Hey everyone !

I started the campaign a few days ago with a 5 players team.

I'm considering using the statblock made by Sc8rpi8n_mjd and I read that this campaign can be improved by setting the advancement speed to "slow".
My players are experienced players (except for one), with optimized characters (two paladins, a spy, a samurai and a druid) and I'm a new GM at Pathfinder (and I haven't GMed in, like, 10 years).

I read the whole thread already, taking notes, and I continue reading everywhere on this forum.

Any advice / other threads to read before starting ? We'll begin playing the home-made intro I've prepared in two weeks.

Thanks in advance.

Greetings and good luck to you. I am just about done with book two and wish you a speedy time through book 1. The summon chips added just the extra scare I was hoping they would and they have become the focus of the party. Once somone is seen with a bandolier full of those chips, they are immediately attacked and killed (if possible). It has made the cultists much more threatening and real as an enemy.

Liberty's Edge

Darkbridger wrote:

I scanned this thread and did not see this asked... maybe I'm just reading this wrong...

Pg. 10 - Story Awards ...they earn 200 XP. If they make an NPC helpful they earn an additional 400 XP. ...total award of 1,200 XP if all three NPCs are made helpful.

Should this be 1,800 XP ((200+400)x3) total or should it be 200 additional XP so that the total is actually 1,200?

Any word on this?


Hi there (I wonder if this is still active).
My group is finishing up another AP, this wi be next. It looks like there won't be a Paladin in my party. What do I do with Radiance? Do I just ignore it? I didn'tike the idea that only one PC gets a cool scaling weapon anyways.


Gidonamor wrote:

Hi there (I wonder if this is still active).

My group is finishing up another AP, this wi be next. It looks like there won't be a Paladin in my party. What do I do with Radiance? Do I just ignore it? I didn'tike the idea that only one PC gets a cool scaling weapon anyways.

If you want the weapon to continue to be somewhat connected to the story, as the weapon's original wielder can appear again its probably best if the party gives it to Irabeth as she hangs around as an important NPC.

Or let it bond with a non paladin. /shrug. With the amount of treasure this campaign throws at the players, it won't really matter if someone gets the neat artifact sword.


Thanks for the advice, they can give it to Irabeth then. Letting it bond with a non-paladin would be fine, but as the sword becomes a holy avenger, it would be kinda wasted.

Another question: I've been reading Nobody'sHome's Journal, and noticed the high number of rests the PCs have. Aravashnial can't prepare new spells due to his blindness, right? So he only has the spells he prepared to assist them through the whole book?


Gidonamor wrote:

Thanks for the advice, they can give it to Irabeth then. Letting it bond with a non-paladin would be fine, but as the sword becomes a holy avenger, it would be kinda wasted.

Another question: I've been reading Nobody'sHome's Journal, and noticed the high number of rests the PCs have. Aravashnial can't prepare new spells due to his blindness, right? So he only has the spells he prepared to assist them through the whole book?

If you were of the mind to let it bond with a party member, I'd probably either let them use the holy avenger like a paladin or alter its abilities to be more suited to it, but that starts to get away from the sword's identity. Depends on how much you want to cater to the players.

That's correct. Aravashnial cannot prepare spells until his blindness is cured, so the PCs have to be judicious about asking for his help. When I ran it, My PCs rested twice in the underground. At the Torag Temple (That one might have been two days though) and once at the Mongrelmen village. Otherwise they powered through the whole thing.

However, Once the PCs reach the surface I expect they'll leave him at a safe place (The library is his designated one, if I recall) and his spells won't be an issue anymore.


Getting ready to start the Gray Garrison. I noticed the DC 30 Disable Device check needed to enter the building on the only two entrances. My group (alchemist, paladin, fighter, wizard, cleric) doesn't have anyone who can pass that skill check. They could just smash the door down, alerting everyone inside in the process, but I was wondering if I should have one of the Vermleks outside have a key to the front door. Would it be better to make them smash the door down and deal with the repercussions? I'm not sure I want to get in the habit of giving them keys for every locked object just because none of them want to put skill ranks in disable device.


SamMule wrote:
Would it be better to make them smash the door down and deal with the repercussions? I'm not sure I want to get in the habit of giving them keys for every locked object just because none of them want to put skill ranks in disable device.

With no ranks in DD (and likely some heavy armor), will they even try to be sneaky? If so, it might be best for them to learn the hard way that getting in is a big part of silent infiltration. I'd just let them bust down the door, and maybe the Alchemist (or someone else) will use some skill ranks to prepare for such things in the future.

If you don't want that, is Anevia an option? At least for the front door? Imo, they should at least notice that they'll need this skill if they want to be sneaky.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

On sidenote: It took me WAY too long to realize that line in Kenabres map post fall is the route players took underground x'D

Scarab Sages

Anyone got an idea of how many "Wardstone Shards" are actually found? I'm assuming its more than 1 per player as they're used once and gone forever but I'm not sure how many should be found? I'm half inclinded to just roll a d20 and add that many useable shards.


The AP says six are found embedded in the walls (the Areelu's Vengeance treasure section). I guess you could increase this if you have 5+ players. They are a cool little item.


I had a question on the traits the PC's pick from the player's handbook. Do they gain the mythic bonus at the end of book one when they become mythic or at a later time?


There is a Trait Bonus associated with each Campaign Trait. Those are applied on character creation. For example, Child of the Crusade gets a free Saving Throw re-roll once per day.

The PCs become Mythic the end of book 1, earning their first Mythic Tier. They get the additional benefits associated with that Tier at that point (a Mythic feat, Mythic Abilities etc). They gain additional Mythic Tiers, and other features as a result, at given points throughout the AP.

Scarab Sages

Thanks missed that detail.

@KBo
The wrath campaign traits are a bit special as you get two bonuses one on selection and one on becoming a specific mythic path. Speak to your DM about untying the flavour of the trait from the mechanical benefit e.g. I prefer the stolen fury backstory and the rifwarden benefits. To go into more detail . . .

Riftwarden Orphan
When taken this gives you a plot hook (orphan of a riftwarden) that will tie into events in a later book and depending on the GM possibly throughout as you experience and run into things. It will also give you the default trait bonus for that choice e.g. riftwarden orphan gives you +2 trait bonus on concentration checks. These two things apply in any game from taking this trait.

Now in Wrath each of these specific traits are tied to a specific mythic path e.g. riftwarden orphan to archmage. So when you ascend (at the end of book 1) and choose that path your trait becomes mythic as well granting you further benefits specific to a mythic character of that path. For example Riftwarden Orphan if they are a mythic archmage will get +4 to caster checks for overcoming demon spell resistance and expend one use of mythic power to recharge 1d10 + tier charges to a magic item in addition to the normal benefit of +2 to concentration checks.

If you choose a mythic path tied to another trait you don't get the mythic benefit e.g if you were getting the riftwarden benefits then choose hierophant you wouldn't get the enhanced benefit of recharging objects and a bonus to overcoming demon SR. Similarly if you took this traits in another AP it would be up to the DM to decide if you get the enhanced abilities in that game.


I ran the Gray Garrison last session, and I gotta say, Paizo's trademark "all of these baddies stay in their rooms and wait for the party" is strong here.

For my somewhat-optimized party of 5 it was mostly a cakewalk. The only really dangerous area was the upstairs landing, where one of them was isolated behind the tieflings and had to fight the Cultists alone for a few rounds.

But even though I replaced the Tieflings with Troops and let Jeslyn do all of her prep before init, they pretty much steamrolled the thing in one go, without Irabeth and without a real healer.

If I was running it again, I'd probably draw the enemies together once the alarm was raised, esp. On the second floor, where I'd have the Schir, maybe some of the Flies and possibly the Peryton leave their rooms.

I'd also use maybe one of the Flies and others to support Jeslyn. But the main change for Jeslyn would be to keep the door between Deradnu and her open. That way she can cast spells at the party and quickly raise him as a flaming skeleton once he drops, but the party can't easily gang up on her.


How come Wenduag doesn't have Common as a language? I get why she has Hallit (because Hosilla does and she's trying to curry favor with her) but all of the other mongrels have Common in addition to Undercommon. She can communicate with them but it might make it a little difficult for my players once they get to that point.

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