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| bullonir |
 Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 10:58 am Post subject: Blood of the Gorgon advice |
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Joined: 23 Mar 2008
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Hi,
I will start BotG Sunday afternoon.
Has anyone played it yet?
Any specific advice ou things you feel need to be tweaked?
We are playing PFRPG, so I'll buff up some of the encounters...
BTW, I have already introduced a few NPCs for more emotional impact.
And one in particular who has been helping the PCs out for 2-3 years of gaming time(!). And my PCs always LOVE whenever this particular person shows up with free alchemical healing!
I really can't wait to see their reaction to all that is going on.
Patrick
(Coming off geekier than usual it seems.) |
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| bullonir |
| Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 6:10 am Post subject: |
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Out of curiosity, has anyone played this yet??
Patrick |
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| m8adam |
| Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 12:45 pm Post subject: |
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| I keep meaning to, but it's not a very "drop-able" adventure, it requires a bit of preparation for the PC's; introducing them to NPC's and building the antagonists reputation as a good guy. I'm starting a new campaign with them now though, so I think I'll be trying to lay the ground work for it and would love any advice anyone else has on that. |
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| bullonir |
| Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 12:58 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks! M8dam!
One word of advice, PREPARE YOURSELF.
Some of the scenes written in Part 2, happen before some of the scenes in Part 1.
So some of the editing is a bit wonky.
I'll try to keep people up to date on this and see what works well or not!
And yeah, I think foreshadowing will go a long way.
My PCs have known some of the characters & organizations since they've been 2nd level! (I am really curious to see how they react!)
Patrick |
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| m8adam |
| Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 7:40 pm Post subject: |
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| i'm planning to have my PC's encounter Silas for the first time at this week's session, but I'm wondering how Zobeck specific this adventure is. My campaign is currently set in Freeport, though i'm planning to expand to Midgard when the PC's want to leave town. It'd be nice to not have to railroad them to zobeck to run this adventure though. |
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| bullonir |
| Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 4:42 am Post subject: |
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Howdy,
Of the top of my head...
Not that Zobeck specific. Just swap some deitites for Freeport...
There is no map of the city, so just pick your neighbourhoods in Freeport...
I'd say the end scene is a bit clockwork specific though, you might want to plan for that. I forget how tech-savvy Freeport is.
Hope that helps.
BTW, Played the first session. It went well, but after the first two deaths, the PCs were a little frustrated as they were without any real leads.
So next session, there'll be a side trek to liven things up a bit, and then they'll come back and see a couple more deaths.. And have clues to follow up on.
Have a good day!
Patrick |
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| m8adam |
| Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 11:20 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks!
I've been slowly reading through the adventure and it definitely seems like one to preface with meeting silas and a few of the deaths while the PC's are engaged in other adventures, then pull them into it more directly once the action gets going. I think it'll a real challenge to DM well, but also totally worth the effort. |
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| bullonir |
| Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 8:38 am Post subject: |
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Just a quick reply (at work).
Yep. I also suggest preparing ALL the NPCs the PCs meet for Gather Info and such. And build up a bit the links between everyone. I feel, for this one, a little backstory on NPCs goes a long way!
Oh. And I'll be adding a bit to the motivations of our bad guy.
Patrick |
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| varianor |
| Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2011 7:46 pm Post subject: |
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| bullonir wrote: |
Some of the scenes written in Part 2, happen before some of the scenes in Part 1.
So some of the editing is a bit wonky. |
I might point out that there's a suggested order for what happens (see p. 7, The Order of the Murders) at the beginning. Nic Logue specifically wrote this to be loose and open ended depending on what a group decided to investigate. Rather than specifically structure the manuscript scene to scene (which would have added to wordcount and delayed the manuscript further), we inserted the above section into the introduction to try to offer a suggested order. That said, the point is noted, and I apologize for any wonkiness.
I think this is one of those adventures that requires a bit of prep for a DM who might be expecting more of a dungeon crawl. This is goose-flesh raising horror, which runs a bit differently. |
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| bullonir |
| Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 6:09 am Post subject: |
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Hi,
Sorry if I sounded rude, it really was not my intention. This forum is amazing - easy acces to the creators and all that!
It was while prepping and looking at the suggested order of events that I realized this. I guess you can blame years of ''module hand-holding''.
I think I also assumed everything would be there in semi-chronological order in chapters it related to.
It really is no biggie.
It also felt, to me, like some stuff was learned with each Open Design project. The products have always been very good, but you can tell things are always getting better and sleeker. Seriously.
Gotta go!
At work
Patrick |
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| bullonir |
| Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 4:45 am Post subject: |
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Here is a quick write-up of our first session playing Blood of the Gorgon!
Hope it helps anyone planning this sweet baby!
Patrick
BotG – Part I
April 26th, 752, Barovian calendar
The Carpenter’s Tears
It is night, and the group finds itself resting at the Seven Bells as usual when they hear a commotion outside in the back alley. Once they rush there, they see this huge man towering over two mangled bodies. The man is holding what is left of what seems to be a young girl’s head.
A couple of city guards are asking the man to stand down: They are looking to subdue him. The man keeps creaming: ‘’Stay away from my baby!’’ Before the man attacks one of the guards, the heroes manage to calm the man and save a guard from a severe beating.
The man, the suspect, is called Dromov Baravik. He is a carpenter and a veteran in the Dead Men’s Campaign, Falkovnia’s last campaign against the realm. The victims are Lyrana, his daughter, and Lucio Patrill, her lover who Dromov did not approve of… Their bodies have been ripped apart apparently by someone using their bare hands, cut, torn and shredded with an axe, a chisel and even a saw… Common carpenter’s tools…
Havark Boldrin the constable on watch requests the group to help him. They have garnered a bit of a reputation as problem solvers in the city in the past year.
Lyrana’s fatal wounds spoil any chance of finding information through Speak with Dead. Instead, Vladimir casts Blood biography (from Pathfinder Advanced Player’s Guide) and manages to find out the following info which writes itself in blood on one of the walls in the alley:
- My name is Lucio Patrill;
- The recently appointed leader of the Glassmaker’s Guild;
- My blood was shed by the monster… the thing with the axe…
- In the last hour…
The city guards take Dromov into custody, so sure are they of his guilt. Except that the war veteran keeps screaming he would never hurt his daughter… The group is not quite convinced either way.
The twins take note that the moon is two days into its last quarter. And Gorn not present (probably out on some binge), they can’t really track any of the footprints around. There is blood all over the scene, but footprints from the guards have marred the ground. It’s impossible to have a clear view of who was there.
April 27th, 752, Barovian calendar
In the morning, while having breakfast, the group is visited by Malovio and Imelda Patrill, Lucio’s parents. While distraught over their son’s death, the Patrill ask the Vladimir, Grisham and the others to find their son’s killer. They have been told that they are not sure the real killer is in jail right now. Malovio offers 500gp each for their work.
The group decides to investigate. Also having members of a guild on your side is always a good thing the have. They manage to get inside Dromov’s house and tiny workshop for a little bit of a look around… They almost miss it but then find a few tools with what looks like dried blood. The rest of the humble house is rather uninteresting.
On the way out, they start talking with one of Dromov’s neighbours: Yallin, another war veteran. Yallin tells the group that Dromov was once an axe-wielding militia man, his troop went so far as to say that the man was ‘’a devil with an axe in his hand’’ and ‘’the light in his eyes, a kind of hellish evil gleam, sometimes scared us more than the enemies’ war cries in the night.’’ Yallin also tells them about the carpenter’s anger at Lyrana’s dalliance with the young merchant’s son. His shouting shook their home and woke up the whole neighbourhood more than once.
April 28th, 752, Barovian calendar
Early that morning, Vladimir is called to the Moon’s Grace Temple in the Lower Quarter by constable Havark. It’s right across the street from his little temple. It seems an elderly priest, Father Ribali, has been murdered during the night. Vladimir knew him a bit, the old priest had been at death’s door for over five years. His successor, Father Palkado had been waiting patiently to assume the post of Abbey. Ribali, during the night, was seemingly thrown against the walls most violently over and over again. His body has been beaten to a pulp. Even though the place is a mess what with the commotion caused by all this, the group manages to retrace steps in the blood left in the hallway. It leads to Palkado’s room. Palkado is quick to tell everyone that yes he might have felt some level of frustration at being unable to assume the post, but he purged himself of these urges through prayer and confession. Palkado agrees to have his room searched since he has nothing to hide.
But the group does find a bloody chalice under his bed.
Another casting of Blood Biography does not reveal anything else. It’s most likely that Ribali was murdered during his sleep and never even saw his attacker. Which does raise the question of how his body was thrown against the walls and no one heard anything…
The group wonders if there might be a connection between the victims and certain objects: the chalice, the carpenter’s tools. Could there be some possession at work?
Father Palkado is brought to jail. Like Dromov.
Having nothing to look into, it really does seem like the two murders are not connected. Vladimir suggests leaving soon for the Falkovnian border to see what’s brewing and find out if the enemy is raising its army. |
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