| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Marc |
Posted - 24 Aug 2011 : 11:21:11
I started the first adventure three weeks ago. We are taking a very slow xp progression, if at all, the PC's are still 1st-2nd level after 15 games. I have a few questions for those who have experience with the path or have read it. There were a few threads about Kingmaker here.
1. How many years did pass in your game? Did you start in 1200's DR, or added a few pre-existing towns. I mean is this a joke, they expect you to start from scratch. On the Paizo boards a few posters said that it to took them 10 years to the War of the River Kings, lol. Unless you buy mercenaries or necromancers, a normal army cannot be build that way.
2. What other adventures did you take for this ''sandbox'' campaign. Are there any good low level FR ones with the savage frontier feel. Or that happen in Damara? |
| 14 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Marc |
Posted - 04 Sep 2011 : 06:11:45
Here's the list of adventures I found after digging through a huge pile. Finally some use of them. They are mostly simple side-treks, that could be a part of the exploration.
The Beast Within (Dungeon 65): the NPC priest could later become an alternative to the hedonistic state religion they want to set up.
Faerie Wood (Dungeon 73): short encounter near the Narlmarches. Looking for more of these.
Bandits of Bunglewood (Dungeon 51): a part of the Sootscales kobolds story.
Orange and Black (Dungeon 66): for the party's oracle to shine, probably will be the same site where's the statue of Erastil.
Welcome to Krypthome (Dungeon 52): Kryptgarden becomes Narlmarches. Potential dwarf NPC's for later. Dwarves are rare in this land.
The Dark Forest (Dungeon 22): for the party's alchemist. Continues the priest's story, the search for potions of vitality. Were-beasts instead of the flinds.
Wingclipper's Revenge (Dungeon 132): to test the party's rogue, who follows the Society of Sensation.
Into the Nest of Vipers (Dungeon 75): except the poisoners will be from Daggermark.
After the Stag Lord's defeat, a diplomatic visit to Tymon could use the old Arena of Thyatis adventure. A chance for the party's gladiator. Followed by Paizo's Masks of the Living God module against the cult of Razmir.
Another two old adventures I consider are U1 Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh. Different monsters tough, the vodyanoi chained in the ship and drekavacs. It's possible the party's alchemist takes interest in the house. And B10 Night's Dark Terror starting with the bandit siege. Cyclopean ruins in place of hutakaan's. That's for the party's Pathfinder wizard-bard.
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| Marc |
Posted - 03 Sep 2011 : 13:23:45
Are there any good low-level adventures involving forest bandits, that are not cliche?
So far I ran the prequels to Kingmaker
A Plague of Shadows (found in Tales of Zobeck), followed by
Witchfire Trilogy part 1 (Iron Kingdoms adventure)
then parallel to Exploring the Greenbelt, Hollow (from Tales of Old Margreve)
and Pathfinder TC 1 Into the Haunted Forest
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| Marc |
Posted - 02 Sep 2011 : 17:35:14
Thyroid of the temporal filcher could affect the metabolism |
| Rhewtani |
Posted - 31 Aug 2011 : 20:34:24
And the pituitary gland of the tarrasque ... wait wrong, spell. |
| Marc |
Posted - 31 Aug 2011 : 14:08:17
Spleen I can't, there was a case finding an illithid spleen  . I think I'll offer a pact with an intelligent fae forest as one of the components. It will clear a path to a lake related to that one in Deepingdale, but also cursed. Alternatively a part of their city could be built on a nexus of the Weave energies and tapped.
I've found that priestesses of Ishtar in Unther have the Oil of Agelessness, and that in Zakhara a few components of the Potion of Longevity are the dust of a crumbled fruit from a con-tinh tree, and the brain of the serpent lord.
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| crazedventurers |
Posted - 28 Aug 2011 : 23:24:57
quote:
Originally posted by Marc
Good luck with your grand story. I wish my players had your patience, they weren't enthusiastic about the kids. They're young. Until then maybe the alchemist PC achieves something, or I'll consider fountains of youth, golden apples or undeath.
Potions of longevity! that will keep the alchemist and the rest of them busy adventuring and collecting lots of esoteric supplies (spleen from a white dragon, giant tortoise shell from a 300 year old specimen, a lock of hair from the Queen of the Fairies etc )
Just slip in the 'recipe' on an adventure as treasure loot and let them run with it :)
Cheers
Damian |
| Marc |
Posted - 28 Aug 2011 : 22:35:56
Good luck with your grand story. I wish my players had your patience, they weren't enthusiastic about the kids. They're young. Until then maybe the alchemist PC achieves something, or I'll consider fountains of youth, golden apples or undeath. |
| crazedventurers |
Posted - 25 Aug 2011 : 00:28:21
quote:
Originally posted by Maruluthu Mistrivvin
. The problem is, I know they will be unhappy with the aging of their characters.
The grand werewolf invasion, I got to have one , vukodlaks actually. I can't believe 7 game years passed in your campaign. That is incredible.
Kids is the answer, let them marry and have children that way the storyline continues into the next generation so the time span does not matter so much. Retainers and henchmen are another good way to get more longevity from the campaign, especially if your cohort is an elf :)
I only really run one grand campaign, the current game (like all the previous ones) is really a sub campaign within the larger game, the grand campaign is nearly 25 years old so there is lots of back-story and history and the various players who have participated over the years understand that what their PC did 20+ years ago has bearing on the current game. That way all actions matter and have relevance, even if their original character does not get to play through the consequences in the current Realms timeline.
Good luck with the game, sounds like you will make it a good one.
Cheers
Damian
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| Marc |
Posted - 24 Aug 2011 : 16:54:20
You're right, on the first glance both settings look alike. It takes more than a few hours to make them work together. So far the first adventure involving the wood golem is easy, but I don't want to make the forest their enemy. |
| Daviot |
Posted - 24 Aug 2011 : 16:25:42
quote:
Originally posted by Maruluthu Mistrivvin
Oh yeah, many plots of my own, but the Old Margreve from Midgard is quite impressive. Wouldn't mind to include additional places like it.
I know a quite a few folks on the Paizo boards have discussed using Tales of the Old Margreve, either combining it with the Narlmarches on the Paizo maps or integrating in elsewhere. I actually have the Margreve book, but it's more of a mini-setting and encounters rather than a setting splatbook or a continual adventure. |
| Marc |
Posted - 24 Aug 2011 : 16:13:25
Damian, thanks for the good advice. I know that cause back in 2002 we played in Vaasa, running a town. Even king Gareth attended the coronation, the campaign ended too quickly, in a disaster when the Zhents and Mulmaster invaded. We were kids, now most of the players want a more detailed experience. The other GM changed the rules a few years ago, suitable for longer play. Basically every feat, skill or spell is learned through ''living'' not killing. Still I know that in the end they want to lead legions and have a realm on a much epic scale than in Vaasa. One player is obsessed with the Roman Republic and I tell him to remember how long it took there. I'm not sure how to include all that in the long term plan. Maybe add a small town that will grow for a century, increase the population over the decades by a great number refugees fleeing the Tuigan, introduce a silver rush ... Start in 1250 DR, finish Blood for Blood adventure in 1357 DR, involve all the big historical events nearby. With the help of magic, seems a bit more ''realistic''. The problem is, I know they will be unhappy with the aging of their characters. One of them is already like a revenant, returned from the dead in holographic form by an alien mechanical device. This one is a crazy artificer type, would replace the politicians with golems  . I have no idea about the rest of them, potions of longevity aren't that cool anymore.
The grand werewolf invasion, I got to have one, vukodlaks actually. I can't believe 7 game years passed in your campaign. That is incredible. |
| Marc |
Posted - 24 Aug 2011 : 16:04:58
Slower than Slow actually, don't worry I can make a balanced monster in seconds. Intend to replace the trolls with divs from Slavic mythology, different than the ones in Pathfinder.
Oh yeah, many plots of my own, but the Old Margreve from Midgard is quite impressive. Wouldn't mind to include additional places like it. |
| Daviot |
Posted - 24 Aug 2011 : 15:06:43
My group is 4 years in, game-time-wise, and on the third book.
As written, it's scaled for medium XP progression, so if you're using slow, it's probably more of a place to start than a progression to follow, or else it's going to be very interested when that level 2 party goes off to fight trolls and worse. 
I haven't used any pre-fab adventures, though I have added my own sub-plots, intrigues, and loads and loads of NPCs as folks move into the players' new kingdom. |
| crazedventurers |
Posted - 24 Aug 2011 : 11:50:40
I haven't played this adventure but in the ongoing campaign the PC's have been doing something similar, rebuilding settlements, building an army, renewing trade routes etc.
The campaign started in 2001 (FR start date DR 1379). After 10 years they have stabilised the area, have proper trade routes set up and several thriving and growing communities. They have advanced to 11-13th level and the current year is autumn 1386DR (its seems the spellplague didn't happen in my game ).
You are right, things don't happen quickly, but they do happen. A lot of time has been spent building links with other communities, making alliances and friends, dispatching enemies and pouring all the loot they won from adventuring into rebuilding and trade. They are just starting to see profit from all this and are looking further afield to expand settlements and trade.They have trained around 50 knights/warriors to protect the roads and deal with the low level threats (bandits, orcs, wolves etc) whilst the PC's do the dangerous stuff (Zhent archmages, Dragoncult Archmages, dragons, the grand werewolf invasion etc).
What your players need to do once they have secured their base is to get a really good and loyal steward to run the basic day-to-day stuff for the PC's whilst they do the major stuff, that way the community builds itself in the background slowly with the PC's having major input into specific projects (so the steward organises farm labourers, digging of ditches, collecting of natural resources and the PC's organise building barracks and walls and other major buildings, agree trade alliances and destroy the evil death cult temple which is hidden in the forest 10 miles away etc).
The campaign only works if the players put time and effort into the overall game plot then they will get things back, however if they don't want to do the mundane stuff then the DM needs to put other NPC's into place to resolve the mundane and let the players go and kill the enemy.
just my thoughts
Damian
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