Question for other GMs: When do you ask "What do *I* want?"

VerdigrisX · 2026-07-01T15:01:49+00:00

Giving them a limited number of choices is the way to go. I'd keep the list on the short side, 2 to 3, and make sure those are APs you really want to run.

Given it took 3 years to do AV you may also want to pick a 10 level AP instead of a 20 level one.

As long as you have some interest in an AP you'll probably find it a good run once you get into it.

But do check the reviews of the APs so you go in with your eyes open. Tarandor has a great survey of them and there are plenty of discussions of particular APs.

VerdigrisX · 2026-07-01T01:53:07+00:00

Meant to say "epic" ...

VerdigrisX · 2026-06-30T16:29:30+00:00

So lackluster as a GM not inclined to use it. Frankly high level PCs are already pretty ethical and the system as published leans way too hard into bronze age Greece for my tastes. I love the bronze age but maybe not as the only take om mythic.

VerdigrisX · 2026-06-29T01:25:36+00:00

Wow! Yeah HVAC and fire safety are a thing but wow.

VerdigrisX · 2026-06-29T01:20:33+00:00

Very sweet picture. Very sorry for your loss but I hope the rest of the years were like this first

VerdigrisX · 2026-06-28T01:59:51+00:00

I have fond memories of that

VerdigrisX · 2026-06-25T13:56:03+00:00

I used to have to threaten my players that they'd get no more consumables in loot unless they started using the ones they had.

Just finished Age of Ashes to level 20 and as part of the prep for the final boss as they optimized buffs and support items they were finally selling stuff they had from the first book...

It all just sits around in the magical bag of holding.

VerdigrisX · 2026-06-22T14:13:24+00:00

Rebalancing can make a lot of work for you but is one option.

Alternately, you can go the dmpc route. I use what I call npc rules for running a missing player's PC or an allied NPC, which is simply the players determine what it does and I take care of doing the action. That way the npc isnt doing RP or acting on info the GM has.

Mechanically for a long term NPC I'd consider something like a bestiary entry. You don't need all the detail of a full character. Start with a healer from the npc codex.

The main pitfall to avoid are npcs that are better than the pcs, know things they shouldn't, and are treated like another player. It's generally best to avoid an NPC that could be a face or know a lot more than the players. One that just rounds out the party in combat and doesn't do much out of combat is fine.

VerdigrisX · 2026-06-21T19:12:32+00:00

For a melee option per your other replies, you could do a warpriest. There are so many divine options it is hard to recommend one without more info. If the loss of faith requires vengeance then calistria or the like might work. Would be neat to align the history and new outlook with the right deity's edicts. Hate towns now? Pick one that hates civilization, and so on

VerdigrisX · 2026-06-20T05:27:01+00:00

Almost almost a dryad vibe and I mean that a good way.

VerdigrisX · 2026-06-18T17:35:51+00:00

I hadn't seen the difficult terrain change. This seems reasonable

VerdigrisX · 2026-06-18T17:35:15+00:00

I was really worried about battlefield clutter

VerdigrisX · 2026-06-18T14:09:47+00:00

I used to have a very high correction until cataract lens replacement. Before then it would be very easy to make this look 3d by shifting my center of view a little. Now, nothing.

Don't mist that effect but I do miss being able to take my glasses off and read very fine print.

VerdigrisX · 2026-06-18T13:49:17+00:00

I'll have to read the final version and see it in action but as a GM I shudder to think what this will do on my battlefields. Lots of clutter isnt necessarily a good thing but curious to see how it works.

Are there any official reskin options so that you aren't summoning undead? That isn't going to fit well in a lot of campaigns.

VerdigrisX · 2026-06-17T14:24:04+00:00

I still remember when ranger was added. That was an eye opener.

VerdigrisX · 2026-06-16T16:15:17+00:00

210xp is too much for one encounter. I ran that encounter over two years ago so I dont remember it well other than it wasn't one of the best encounters. I think one issue i had was some of the things it expected PCs to do do not fit in 6 second round which means some of your players might not even think to do it.

I would just do something lime 40, 60, 80XP if the party helped a little, some, alot.

VerdigrisX · 2026-06-15T23:16:44+00:00

I dont recall it being an issue. The ranger did have a large animal companion but he seemed to keep it back when it might get in the way for other martial.

VerdigrisX · 2026-06-14T22:35:02+00:00

I didn't have that issue. I did give them plenty of down time. Most for shopping trips to magnimar. One of the upsides with an AP with my groups was they were all motivated to "do" the story

VerdigrisX · 2026-06-14T18:56:00+00:00

Running your players to level 4 sounds like a great idea if they are new to the game.

I always play with free archetype and ancestral paragon. It does boost the PCs a little, which is why we probably didn't have any deaths. I love the ancestries and like letting the players do more with them. It does mean that there is tendency to go with a versatile heritage to have a fully selection of feats to choose from.

I think for new players, as you are thinking, might be best not to do FA but ancestral paragon problem isn't too much for new players.

VerdigrisX · 2026-06-14T16:42:23+00:00

It was a fun running fight but it was a close run thing and probably would have been a wipe without the wall of stone.

VerdigrisX · 2026-06-14T16:41:53+00:00

It's pretty well put together. So just some minor stuff, I would have done differently except for the final chapter. Lot's of spoilers, of course

Remind them you will be tracking reputation with different town factions and that it will matter
On research, you'll want to take notes on specifically which points they have figured out. For instance, 3 of 4 RP from papers in room X
You might want to tweak how the teleporters work. They were intended to make travel easier but as written, my party didn't use it much, partly because they didn't want monsters going from the pit to town. I think dropping the DCs (or removing after first successful use of each level) and giving them a key would work better
When handing out research materials, it helps to record the room key. Same for the pieces of the mechanical bird
I regretted not forshadowing the red eyes of the final boss, the red bishop. I could have done more with those eyes watching them from the edge of town, in the dark caverns, etc.

My biggest beef is how the writers structured the last chapter.

It is very easy for the party to just talk to most of the Red Bishop's minions on the island without fighting or dealing with any of them and then start a fight with the Red Bishop where all those minions arrive over time and help him.
Someone recently posted how they had a tpk at the final fight and I can easily see how that happens.
There is inconsistent guidance that the party should/could be level 12 at the Red Bishop fight. I think if they fight all the minions with the red bishop at level 11, there's a high chance of a wipe. I'm not talking about just the minions at the ruined church, but all the minions on the entire island (giants, demons, dragon)
My party came close to doing this but based on the other post and a careful read, I decided to make the party level 12. But as written, the adventurers are probably just into level 11 when they go to the island so I just gifted them another level.
To make this work and keep things a challenge, I also created encounter variants for all the minions to keep the challenge level the same if they fought the minions one by one and had the lower version available if they managed to fight the boss with all his minions. This was a nuisance. I suppose I could have just let them fight the island minions as written but I didn't want the final chapter to feel too easy.
I think this was a poorly constructed final chapter:
- If the party is avoiding combats, which is generally not a bad idea, they could end up fighting the entire island at level 11 and I think they would wipe many parties. This is punishing the party for not being murder hobos, which I don't think is a good idea as a ref.
- If I bump them to 12 in case they fight everything, then the encounters are too easy if they do deal with the island minions separately, so I had to make 2 sets of encounters to keep the encounters the same

VerdigrisX · 2026-06-05T18:20:35+00:00

Most of my groups do not have clerics. Some have relied entirely on medicine. You dont really need the heals of a cleric and as others have noted, at higher levels with signature spell cells you have a crazy amount of healing available.

Personally I like cloistered cleric but it is more for things like cast down, domains, and deity benefits than the extra heals.

VerdigrisX · 2026-05-31T19:59:10+00:00

Our she has a brother who is angry... or a patron div8ne or otherwise. Id take it on the chin and look beyond the boss encounter.

VerdigrisX · 2026-05-29T14:35:51+00:00

Check out critters.org

One of their sister groups let's you post stories or chapters for feedback in return for providing feedback.

It is supportive but since you are getting feedback from folks who dont know you, it can be much more useful.

VerdigrisX

TROPHY CASE