tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8457309627892248510.post4261543995693372290..comments2024-03-28T10:41:18.080-04:00Comments on Zenith Games: Jacob's Tower, Level 1: ClassicZenithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05084567670274788805noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8457309627892248510.post-29013319320994324882019-10-07T19:10:41.020-04:002019-10-07T19:10:41.020-04:00Sounds like a good time, and I'm excited to he...Sounds like a good time, and I'm excited to hear how they progress through the rest of the dungeon! Yes, your question about treasure is correct.Zenithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05084567670274788805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8457309627892248510.post-50030289765343939622019-10-07T16:54:44.340-04:002019-10-07T16:54:44.340-04:00Oh one last hilarious thing, the only two characte...Oh one last hilarious thing, the only two characters that got trapped in the room with the haunt that deals 1 fire damage a turn was the paladin and the monk, who also happened to be the only characters who both had fire resistance!mehhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02732821549263716933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8457309627892248510.post-16985576656739498602019-10-07T16:52:24.600-04:002019-10-07T16:52:24.600-04:00Hi! Thanks for the module, I read through it a whi...Hi! Thanks for the module, I read through it a while back and instantly loved the idea. Now I'm running it with a group of 4 (a witch, paladin, bard, and a weird monk who plans on multi classing into sorcerer. So far I've done only the first floor. They didn't really have too much challenge with this fight, outside of the ghoul fight, which almost wrecked them. The ghoul managed to paralyze the monk right away, and almost got the paladin (if she rolled 1 less, she would have gone down). The bard the the witch both had almost no capability of fighting it, so it probably would have been a TPK. Posy though was super super easy for them. She opened with charm person, which failed. The paladin used the feature that gives her information as if she had used detect evil for 3 full rounds and saw that posy was evil aligned, instantly turning against her. the witch covered Posy in adhesive spittle, the spell, entangling her and rooting her in place. both melee characters surrounded her. she tried to cast defensively to charm person, failed, and the witch correctly identified the spell she was trying to cast and told everyone else, who promptly decided to murder her, without taking a single point of damage. Oh yea, also the witch had darkvision, which made the earth elemental room laughably easy. Even if she didn't the bard was able to cast dancing lights before the first turn the elemental had since being damaged, lighting up the room anyways. Well, looking forwards to the next room! just one question about how things are supposed to be run, they can only sell the stuff they find for 1/2 price, right? like the +1 full plate worth 3000 gp they can find on floor 3 they could sell for only 1500, correct?mehhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02732821549263716933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8457309627892248510.post-76481570678015616862017-07-16T18:45:43.668-04:002017-07-16T18:45:43.668-04:00Glad you like it, and my pleasure! If you would li...Glad you like it, and my pleasure! If you would like to contribute, it would be great to leave a review on Paizo if you get the chance (http://paizo.com/products/btpy9ls6?Jacobs-Tower)Zenithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05084567670274788805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8457309627892248510.post-61439058211311712412017-07-16T13:15:36.191-04:002017-07-16T13:15:36.191-04:00Hey dude, wanted to give you a huge thanks for mak...Hey dude, wanted to give you a huge thanks for making this and having it available to the public for free. This is very well done and I am very excited to try it out. We are doing the first floor today! I also just bought the pdf as well. I am happy to contribute to something like this. Caseynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8457309627892248510.post-70235597285701403862016-10-12T12:05:16.674-04:002016-10-12T12:05:16.674-04:00First Round!
After meeting each other in the inn,...First Round!<br /><br />After meeting each other in the inn, my Group (Fighter, Rogue, Bard, Ranger) started on Level one.<br /><br />My two veteran players were a little bit scared of the drapes, because they had to fight animated drapes in another adventure. But soon they went over to the door to the Lair of Fuzzy Animals.<br /><br />Not much action here. Heavy greatsword hits killed the animals in three rounds. The skunk tried to spray his musk at the bard but he made his save. A long discussion about the waterpool happend, but in the end nobody wanted to dive into it.<br /><br />Everyone but the Bard got trapped in the next room, but after 1 point of firedamage the Fighter one-hitted the northern door. None of my players made a Knowledge Check, so nobody knows what a Haunt is yet. Thats good, since I'm planning to do RotRL after Jacobs Tower :-)<br /><br />Room 5 went pretty well. They didn't notice the Metagaming here, so they didn't exactly understand what the Statue wanted them to do. But luck and very good rolls got them through with only one electricity bolt (which only did 1 damage).<br /><br />Room 6 was tough! Really tough!<br />The Ranger was the first victim, immediatly taking full damage from the first hit. Another full damage hit in the second round sent him unconcious. The bard used CLW on him, only to see him fall in the next round again.<br />The PC's rolled quite bad, so the elemental scored a third full damage hit on the Rogue, before the fighter was able to one-shot it. Good for the group, because I don't think they could have managed the sudden darkness.<br />Sadly all healing was used, so the Rangers Player couldn't participate for the rest of the level.<br /><br />The secret door wasn't found.<br /><br />The paintings were quite funny. At least for me :-)<br />The fighters player, playing the good old "dumb fighter" cliché, walked straight into the first trap for sweet sweet max damage again. They didn't really think about knowledge checks, but the rogue was quite succesful with finding and disarming the traps. A lot of talking and confusion happend, but they finally found the right painting. Of course they didn't think about trying to remove the paintings...<br /><br />They went left in the next room an ran into the Zombie. The Rogue managed to tumble through it's space, just to find himself right between a Zombie and a Ghoul. The Ghoul instantly hit twice (I couldnt find my third d20 so I thought it was time for some mildness and didn't use the bite attack). He missed his Saving throw and was lucky that the bard ran around the corner and attacked the Ghoul, so I spared the Rogue from a Coup de Grace.<br />It was a hard fight, but even when the Fighter was finally paralysed, the Bard scored a lucky hit and killed the ghoul.<br /><br />Heavily damaged the group chose to finish the level and went over the pit without much trouble.<br />Posy didn't manage to charm the Rogue and had to take some hits from the party. She used invisibility and CLW, but when she tried her second charm she became visible and was instantly sent to the ground.<br /><br />The group wanted to take a rest, but they splitted so the Rogue and Fighter were in Posy's room and the Bard and unconcious Ranger were in room 1 when the Grimples came.<br />But this last fight didn't take long and the group went up the stairs into Nine's Inn.<br /><br />It was a nice evening and my group really liked level one!<br />I noticed, that I wasn't well prepared, even though I read the adventure over and over again over the last two years.<br /><br />Level 2 is coming soon!<br /><br />Thanks so far<br />PascalKetanestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8457309627892248510.post-14806296839574025962016-05-20T21:08:11.852-04:002016-05-20T21:08:11.852-04:00Sounds like a blast! Glad they survived, and look ...Sounds like a blast! Glad they survived, and look forward to more reviews!Zenithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05084567670274788805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8457309627892248510.post-16711255461142228052016-05-18T23:22:58.201-04:002016-05-18T23:22:58.201-04:00Hello! I just started running this for a couple of...Hello! I just started running this for a couple of friends, and the first session was a blast! My two players had two characters each: a draconic sorcerer, an unchained summoner & rogue, and an inquisitor...with no cure light wounds. Between them all, they had a single potion of cure light wounds.<br /><br />Needless to say, Posy posed quite a challenge. Between the sorcerer knocking out the eidolon, being knocked out, the inquisitor being knocked unconscious, it left the rogue and summoner to deal with her.<br />The rogue got knocked out, and the summoner desperately started using their summon monster ability to get dogs. Posy dazed him, ignored the yapping summon, and coup-de-graced the rogue. The two were brothers.<br /><br />What followed was a made rush as the summoner desperately fired crossbow bolts at the deteriorating bard, while a dog barked at her heels. She almost killed the sorcerer too, but a lucky hit finished her.<br /><br />The three of us spent the next 10 minutes laughing over the craziness. We had a blast, and can't wait to do more.darrel378https://www.blogger.com/profile/04418105384885472440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8457309627892248510.post-55889482840976682962015-06-04T13:18:57.089-04:002015-06-04T13:18:57.089-04:00Great, and I'm glad you had such a good time! ...Great, and I'm glad you had such a good time! Sounds like a blast (and I think the skunk can be the most dangerous creature in the first level). If you wind up running any other levels, please let me know!Zenithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05084567670274788805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8457309627892248510.post-45414511884624658432015-06-04T12:58:30.833-04:002015-06-04T12:58:30.833-04:00I just wanted to drop you a line and say thanks / ...I just wanted to drop you a line and say thanks / good job on writing up these adventures! I ran a party through level one (wrote it up as a dream sequence imparted by a cursed gem the suckers...er, adventurers, picked up previously.) For some reason, they were utterly paranoid about the skunk in area #2. As in, both characters and players nearly crapped themselves. It was an absolutely enjoyable experience for a DM. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8457309627892248510.post-65631780620035313632015-01-19T13:31:32.979-05:002015-01-19T13:31:32.979-05:00Ah, thanks. I totally missed the overviewAh, thanks. I totally missed the overviewAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14099243870732119650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8457309627892248510.post-63030059595087657932015-01-18T18:23:40.053-05:002015-01-18T18:23:40.053-05:00Take a look at the Jacob's Tower Overview (htt...Take a look at the Jacob's Tower Overview (http://zenithgames.blogspot.com/2013/08/jacobs-tower-overview.html) Nine is a inter-level bartender, shopkeeper, and general mystery man who provides supplies and sleeping quarters.Zenithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05084567670274788805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8457309627892248510.post-37383942831673378292015-01-18T17:36:21.867-05:002015-01-18T17:36:21.867-05:00I'm probably just missing something obvious, b...I'm probably just missing something obvious, but who is Nine? I see no mention of him on any of the floors...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14099243870732119650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8457309627892248510.post-11739518813416334562015-01-04T21:25:55.214-05:002015-01-04T21:25:55.214-05:00Fantastic! I was giggling through most of that de...Fantastic! I was giggling through most of that description. Hilarious combination of bad luck and funny choices. Looks like they need to invest in a wand of cure light wounds.<br /><br />Man, the Mask was my childhood. Sounds like an excellent frame of reference for Nine.<br /><br />Glad that you are finally running them! Very much looking forward to what happens in Level 2!Zenithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05084567670274788805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8457309627892248510.post-74293044249796576032015-01-03T22:15:53.629-05:002015-01-03T22:15:53.629-05:00I just ran the first floor for my group, took them...I just ran the first floor for my group, took them an entire 8 hours session, almost got TPK'd by the zombie and ghoul (I mean really, 3 critical slams in a row? COME ON!). <br /><br />They spent four full days with the paladin giving two of them full treatment, and the sorcerer of the party came up with a smart idea of defending them from the Grimples by simply tying the two door handles in the first room together... Only after 3 assaults in the night :D.<br /><br />They managed to only get electrocuted 4 times each by the statue in room 5. The Paladin accidentally crafted something when he was trying to do the profession check without moving from the crafting square.<br /><br />The Paladin also fell into the pit over the bridge, almost dying from the rats, luckily the sorcerer had his trusty rope and pulled him out of there.<br /><br />They had very little trouble with Posy, though, the first person to enter the room was the sorcerer... who had used up all his spells for the day... and somehow lost his crossbow... Posy got cornered by the dwarven paladin and the duergar fighter and got hammered unto oblivion.<br /><br />Overall, they enjoyed it, I set it up as a "dude, that's the worst hangover I've ever ha.... Why am I in a dungeon?" kind of opening, with a letter from Jacob giving them the deal, finish it and get rewarded beyond you wildest dreams (might be a lie, who knows what Jacob is like... Aside from you anyway) or perish and become a permanent obstacle in his gauntlet.<br /><br />The thing they loved the most though, is how I played Nine, I tried to channel my inner Masked Jim Carey for it, I mean, you have the power to summon anything in the known universe and only hang out with yourself all day... Of course he's going to be a bit bonkers!<br /><br />When the sorcerer asked to see his potion selection, Nine spun around, suddenly had a trenchcoat on and opened it and said in a raspy voice "Wotcha poisin?". Any time they asked about Jacob, he'd swoon a bit over him. They even were clever enough to ask for a map of the dungeon floors. At one point he was mixing potions, alcohol and appraising gear they wanted to sell all at the same time. It was good fun.<br /><br />Can't wait to run the second floor next week, I gave them a bit of a spook when I set up the page for them (on roll20) and they saw the PyroHydra.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03786018077002656863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8457309627892248510.post-72774630864132632652014-07-30T09:23:36.810-04:002014-07-30T09:23:36.810-04:00I'm glad you liked it! Sounds like you did a ...I'm glad you liked it! Sounds like you did a good job running it and your players got a lot out of it. Look forward to the future sessions!Zenithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05084567670274788805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8457309627892248510.post-17323407898574468122014-07-30T05:46:46.940-04:002014-07-30T05:46:46.940-04:00I finally ran this level for my players the other ...I finally ran this level for my players the other week! And it was amazing. We had a slight issue when we realised nobody had brought a healer, but they managed somehow. <br /><br />The first player went down in the fight with the earth elemental. Fortunately he fluffed his sneak attack, or the monk would've been dead rather than unconscious. <br /><br />They say outside the undead room for a long time strategising, but made it through eventually, although the wizard got himself KO'd by an arrow trap immediately afterwards. <br /><br />None of them had ever seen a haunt before, and it was very cool to see them react to it. I love the way you've added parts of the system that are less well-known to the levels. They ended up speaking with the spirit briefly, which was neat. <br /><br />When they finally took on Posy, it was really tense. They decided that she was part of the same adventuring group that the haunt and the dead halfling were from, and used that as leverage to set her soul to rest, but not before a short and tense fight. <br /><br />Overall, this level was one of the best sessions I've run. Thanks for writing it, I'll let you know what happens at the next one! Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8457309627892248510.post-76937910563159895232014-05-22T09:32:47.972-04:002014-05-22T09:32:47.972-04:00Glad you like it! I'll either go to level 20 ...Glad you like it! I'll either go to level 20 or level 12. Dungeon crawling breaks down with high level spell casting, so we'll see what happens. If I go to level 20, it will likely be some sort gauntlet of the bestiary's baddest baddies - the tarrasque, balor and the like. Ending, of course, with Jacob himself.Zenithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05084567670274788805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8457309627892248510.post-25171609057651276132014-05-22T05:05:34.657-04:002014-05-22T05:05:34.657-04:00I realized like an hour after I posted this that I...I realized like an hour after I posted this that I could use Minor Image in conjunction with Fascinate to give the players a great challenge as well as fitting her backstory of being trapped by silent images. <br /><br />By the way, this whole thing is amazing. Great work! I cannot wait to see more. <br /><br />How far do you think you'll go? 20 levels with Jacob being some demon lord on level 20?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8457309627892248510.post-78607824032586258952014-05-21T11:54:49.574-04:002014-05-21T11:54:49.574-04:00Ideally, she will use inspire courage to help out ...Ideally, she will use inspire courage to help out her charmed allies.Zenithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05084567670274788805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8457309627892248510.post-24243266895048826692014-05-21T09:16:03.805-04:002014-05-21T09:16:03.805-04:00I'm running this this weekend and I'm curi...I'm running this this weekend and I'm curious, which bardic performance do you suggest with Posy? Fascinate is great (hey look at me while your buddy ties you up) but you're invisible and it states they have to see you. The others seem less useful (especially the one that gives +1 against charm) or are out of her level range.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8457309627892248510.post-79051179090376053092014-05-19T15:28:29.630-04:002014-05-19T15:28:29.630-04:00Great, and added! Yeah, a few more monsters may b...Great, and added! Yeah, a few more monsters may be appropriate for more optimized and experienced adventurers. <br />People have had very mixed experiences with Posy - some near TPK's, some cakewalks. I may modulate that a bit, but sometime quick fights happen at level 1.Zenithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05084567670274788805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8457309627892248510.post-57505889437034341492014-05-19T13:25:42.852-04:002014-05-19T13:25:42.852-04:00This was the one that I actually played with my gr... This was the one that I actually played with my group, they all are veterans in the game, but still they seem to enjoy it. We were gonna start a new Adventure Path and they wanted to try the characters before playing it, so I just decided to play with them this adventure.<br /><br /> They all got along very well, they didn't knew each other, and I only knew 2 of them, so it was a great way to start the group. Also they did learn something, even thought they are veterans, that their wizard is a better martial character than all of them together.<br /><br /> I added extra monsters because I felt that it was kinda empty/they could handle it, and it actually went really smooth. I added 4 halfling skeletons at the start that are just standing there in every corner and only wake up if they are disturbed or they finished one of the puzzles. Also some zombie wolves and an extra elemental (that almost kill them).<br /><br /> They loved the little squirrels and rabbits eating the bigger animals, thay are definitely going to make an appareance in my campaign, along with the living statues.<br /><br /> They did one of the paintings puzzle by pure luck, they just thought "Malebolge sounds kinda infernal, so lets take the inferno painting". They thought that for the other puzzle they had to use the items that the other adventurers made. They succeded tho, they made the shoes dance, they sewed the hat and armed the trap.<br /><br /> The only thing that kinda threw me off was the anticlimatic ending, they killed Posy in almost one hit, but that was actually my fault, I forgot to make her invisible.<br /><br /> Loving this adventure, please keep them coming!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8457309627892248510.post-259096203224743492014-05-19T00:09:21.776-04:002014-05-19T00:09:21.776-04:00Ow damn, don't add that one, I forgot the door...Ow damn, don't add that one, I forgot the doors!<br /><br />http://i.imgur.com/HILdFmp.jpgAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8457309627892248510.post-91021262827920295862014-05-18T23:54:56.703-04:002014-05-18T23:54:56.703-04:00Hey man, me and my insomnia want to show you somet...Hey man, me and my insomnia want to show you something =)<br /><br />http://i.imgur.com/7VaWPmv.jpg<br /><br />This one actually does have a really light grid, but still, you may want to add the 70px by 70px grid.<br /><br /> I hope this maps bring not only more people to your blog, but also some of those awesome artists that do those amazing battlegrids =)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com