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  1. #1

    Agents of Edgewatch: Compendium

    For starts: SPOILERS ALERT! There will be no intent (on my behalf) to ruin any surprises for player planning on going through any part of the series, but because there will be some information sharing here that is generally intended for GMs running the series, I would suggest avoiding this thread if you intend on playing through it.

    So going to try something new for the Agents of Edgewatch and, depending on this goes, for Adventure Paths I am a part of going forward. What I hope to accomplish here is a multitude of things.
    1. Links to the store pages for each product in the series. I’ll also indicate when there’s an update available or upcoming.
    2. An obvious place simply to comment on the series as it appears in Fantasy Grounds. Likes, dislikes, issues or bugs within each of the adventure modules, etc. Come here and offer any input. It’ll be read.
    3. Perhaps the key to this Compendium is the desire to have it be a gathering place for complimentary content to the series. Within each adventure, there are tidbits, brief mentions, and sidebars suggesting or offering additional possibilities, personalities, or intrigues. I’d like to develop those further for those wanting more content in these series.

    The Adventure Paths are long series. If played to completion, they take characters from fledgling adventurers to significant powers on Golarion. It’s with that in mind that I hope to give the series more for these remarkable individuals to get involved with. The compendium will probably not be for those who just want to play 1 to 20 straightforward, but if you are interested in expanding out a bit where it seems natural, I hope you can find something here for you!

    Finally, while I am obviously headlining the effort here, I encourage anyone who is running this series or has ideas to compliment it to contribute as well! Everyone benefits from a collective effort

    The Series: Agents of Edgewatch
    (Part): (Name with Store Page Link) (Link to Compendium Page)
    Part 1: Devil at the Dreaming Palace (Compendium Link)
    Part 2: Sixty Feet Under (Compendium Link)
    Part 3: All or Nothing (Compendium Link)
    Part 4: Assault on Hunting Lodge Seven (Compendium Link)
    Part 5: Belly of the Black Whale(Compendium Link)
    Part 6: Ruins of the Radiant Siege (Compendium Link)
    Last edited by ShadeRaven; March 24th, 2021 at 14:06.
    Ultimate License Owner since 2011 and FG GM since 2008
    Game Systems: 5E, Pathfinder, Starfinder, Call of Cthulhu, RoleMaster, C&C, Pathfinder 2, Old School Essentials

    Home Page: ShadeRaven Sorceries (Blog, Fantasy & Campaign Stories, Cat Tales, and more)

  2. #2

    Devil at the Dreaming Palace

    Note: Eventually, I will offer a compendium module for this that can be download here and added to the modules folder for use in game.

    One of the interesting aspects of the Devil at the Dreaming Palace is that it takes place during Radiant Festival: a summer long event that offers plenty of possibilities for little asides to the events specific to the series. It is a Downtime Smorgasbord! Characters with skills more useful for downtime activities can find perfect uses for them during the festival. With that in mind, here’s some suggestions to enhance a game night during the Radiant Festival.

    Radiant Festival Ideas:
    • Athletic contests. Just about any challenge of strength, stamina, or agility you can think of will likely to have occurred by the end of the festival’s season. Be it arm wrestling, archery, lifting, balancing, long or short races, jousting, horseshoes, hunting, handball, ten-pin bowling, shinty, hammer-throw, shrovetide football, etc. There are plenty of opportunities for characters to participate in various physical competitions.
    • Intellectual endeavors. There will be also contests involving knowledge, strategy, and quick thinking. Come up with a plausible sounding game name (Beldrin’s Mind Flayer Mayhem), then apply some simple rules for contesting it. Or use old standbys like chess, stones, riddle solving, knuckle bones, draughts, fox & geese, the philosopher’s game, etc. Like athletic contests, there should be no shortage of opportunities for characters wanting to test their mental prowess during the festival.
    • Performance arts. Renown bards will not be the only people performing on grand stages at the festival, there will also be plenty of small troupes, dancers, thespians, comedians, and musicians presenting their talents in small venues or just on street corners or make-shift platforms.
    • Physical pageantry. Beauty contests for males and females will be in the mix, as well. Similarly, fashions for the beautiful to display will also be in the offering.
    • Professional pursuits. A character interested in some sort of income from a profession should find plenty of possibilities during the festival. Characters with medicine could work as physicians. Crafters could set up small stands to sell goods they have constructed. There’s no shortage of ideas players could come up with: from Scribes to Masons to Candlemakers. Opportunity for income should be aplenty.
    • Practice a Trade. Lore isn’t just about knowledge, often is about a trade skill that a character can perform to earn income. With the excess of opportunity with the large crowds and increased activity in Absalom, every trade will have a chance to flourish.
    • Social endeavors. Perhaps a character would like to move up in the social circles. There will definitely be opportunities there. Visiting dignitaries from all over the Inner Sea region will be attending the festival, not to mention the movers and shakers or Absalom itself.
    • Divine messaging. Brining faith to the masses, whatever that faith may be, certainly will be abundant during the festival. A character interested in spreading the word of their deity, and perhaps gaining some distinction in their religious circles, could certainly find opportunity with so many to possibly enlighten.
    • Finally, there are the more disreputable pursuits. Cutpurses, con games, drug trafficking, and similar will abound during the Festival. Generally speaking, I would not promote these as character interests (unless there’s a good storyline it revolves around), and with the nature of this series, it seems even less appropriate. However, it still lends itself to possibilities for characters as vigilantes (perhaps gaining them the notice for becoming an agent), bodyguards, or reformists.


    Roll for Success
    With all the possibilities, how to apply them is a good question. The simplest way is to just use a basic skill/ability check system – from complex to uncomplicated, it doesn’t matter. Just set up a DC with some success/failure results and let the players rattle some dice. Certainly, some roleplaying could also enhance the experience, especially where there is some social interactions involved. Adjustments to the Difficulty Class (DC) based on the RP could certainly be called for.

    Simple Checks:
    1st) Choose the appropriate ability or skill. For archery, that probably means a ranged attack score; for knuckle bones, an intelligence modifier or lore skill (if appropriate); for a comic, their perform or maybe something like clown lore or virtuosic performer enhanced perform score. This should include a proficiency bonus for trained skills. Roll a D20 and add that check bonus to it. Add any bonuses or penalties that seems fitting to get a final score total.
    Example: A 1st level character wants to game of Fox and Geese (a medieval board game) that the GM determines is about clever play, so assigns their wisdom bonus to it. Because the character roleplayed out a childhood filled with nights of Fox & Geese play with grandparents, the GM determines that is suitable enough to qualify for being proficient. Their Wisdom bonus is +2 with a +3 bonus for being 1st level proficient (+2 trained, +1 level). When the character rolls its d20, it will get a +5 bonus.

    2nd) Compare that score against a level appropriate DC rating. The Core Rulebook has a table (10-5) that gives DCs by Level that is a handy starting point. The table that follows (10-6) offers suggested adjustments based on difficulties higher or lower than expected.
    Example: At 1st level, a typical DC is 15. The above character will be rolling that D20+5 and comparing it to a DC of 15. The DC might have been 17 (or worse), for example, if the character had just come a drinking contest (where they failed miserably against a Fortitude Save).

    3rd) Determine an appropriate conclusion based on the score. For some pursuits, like a trade or crafting skill, using the Income Earned Table (4-2 in the CRB) would be an easy way to determine how well their efforts for the day came out.

    For games and contests, I’d suggest setting a daily limit as to how many a character can attempt. Perhaps four a day, or maybe just 1 or 2 if the character is also plying a trade or craft. If you want to hand out rewards for their contests, use the earned income chart again. Again, my suggestion is something like this:
    Critical success: Award the player the Trained (or Expert if appropriate) income. Allow them to advance to the next round where they’ll be going against more difficult competition (set the DC at one level higher).
    Success: The character competed well, but ultimately didn’t advance. Give them the failure amount on Table 4-2 for the level attempted.
    Failure: Unfortunately, the character didn’t succeed past an early round. No prize money or notice is taken.
    Critical failure: The character performed so miserably, they’ll have lost any confidence in trying that particular pursuit again (at least for this festival).

    For some of the other activities, a similar system could be used. Perhaps the characters comedy routine is a short one and he or she performs in numerous times throughout the day at different venues. Instead of advancing in rounds, it would be about earning accolades and even encores. For something like Social or Religious pursuits, instead of income it could be social or divine standing that is to be gained, earning greater reputation and notice in the appropriate circles.

    Complex Checks:
    As will simple, I would still use abilities and skills against a DC backdrop to determine success. However, if you want it to be a little more in-depth or involved, enhance the activity by adding layers to it. Some possibilities could be as follows:
    Hunting: The character wants to partake in a contest of hunting skills being displayed in a fenced off area of the forest north of the fairgrounds. Not only will character have to be good with a weapon of choice, they’ll need survival skill for tracking and stealth for sneaking up on their prey. To succeed at this contest, the character will have to score well enough in all three checks at an appropriate DC. However, for each skill check, you get two opportunities at success. That first level character with a +6 with her sling, a +4 with survival, and a +1 in stealth has a tough task at hand trying to hit a DC 15 with two tries each.
    Physical Pageantry: The barbarian is body positive and wants to show it off. While his charisma isn’t great (+0), he’s buff and comes from a family of tailors and wants to use his Tailoring Lore to enhance his chances. The GM allows the barbarian to use both Charisma and Tailoring Lore (+4) in an attempt to win over the crowd. After the Charisma check, the GM allows a Tailoring Lore check using a success as a +1 improvement on the result to their Charisma check, with +2 given for a critical success or a -1 for a critical failure.
    The Philosopher’s Game: This game of high intellect isn’t an easy one. It requires the mastery of math and strategy. To succeed, the character must pass a series of challenges all against their Intelligence Bonus (possibly with proficiency if an appropriate lore or background is applicable). To this end, the GM has decided that the character must roll 7 times against the DC score. A character earns +1 score for a success, +2 for a critical success, and a -1 for a critical failure. After 7 rolls, the total is added up. A net score of 4 or more results in an overall success with hitting 7+ being a critical success. Anything below 4 is a failure (0 or worse being critically failed).
    Last edited by ShadeRaven; January 22nd, 2021 at 02:56.

  3. #3

    Sixty Feet Under

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    Ultimate License Owner since 2011 and FG GM since 2008
    Game Systems: 5E, Pathfinder, Starfinder, Call of Cthulhu, RoleMaster, C&C, Pathfinder 2, Old School Essentials

    Home Page: ShadeRaven Sorceries (Blog, Fantasy & Campaign Stories, Cat Tales, and more)

  4. #4

    All or Nothing

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    Ultimate License Owner since 2011 and FG GM since 2008
    Game Systems: 5E, Pathfinder, Starfinder, Call of Cthulhu, RoleMaster, C&C, Pathfinder 2, Old School Essentials

    Home Page: ShadeRaven Sorceries (Blog, Fantasy & Campaign Stories, Cat Tales, and more)

  5. #5

    Assault on Hunting Lodge Seven

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    Ultimate License Owner since 2011 and FG GM since 2008
    Game Systems: 5E, Pathfinder, Starfinder, Call of Cthulhu, RoleMaster, C&C, Pathfinder 2, Old School Essentials

    Home Page: ShadeRaven Sorceries (Blog, Fantasy & Campaign Stories, Cat Tales, and more)

  6. #6

    Belly of the Black Whale

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    Ultimate License Owner since 2011 and FG GM since 2008
    Game Systems: 5E, Pathfinder, Starfinder, Call of Cthulhu, RoleMaster, C&C, Pathfinder 2, Old School Essentials

    Home Page: ShadeRaven Sorceries (Blog, Fantasy & Campaign Stories, Cat Tales, and more)

  7. #7

    Ruins of the Radiant Siege

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    Ultimate License Owner since 2011 and FG GM since 2008
    Game Systems: 5E, Pathfinder, Starfinder, Call of Cthulhu, RoleMaster, C&C, Pathfinder 2, Old School Essentials

    Home Page: ShadeRaven Sorceries (Blog, Fantasy & Campaign Stories, Cat Tales, and more)

  8. #8
    (Reserved)
    Ultimate License Owner since 2011 and FG GM since 2008
    Game Systems: 5E, Pathfinder, Starfinder, Call of Cthulhu, RoleMaster, C&C, Pathfinder 2, Old School Essentials

    Home Page: ShadeRaven Sorceries (Blog, Fantasy & Campaign Stories, Cat Tales, and more)

  9. #9
    I added a start to the series with details on the Festival (you can find it HERE!) that is brought forth in the first module. Eventually, I want to create a downloadable module that can be added to the modules directory of FG to bring this stuff to the VTT. Beyond the Festival, there will also be some other NPCs that only got brief mention that I want to give a little more meat to (stat blocks) for further interaction for those interested.

    Enjoy!

    PS: As always, feel free to come up with your own ideas and suggestions that would be useful to anyone playing this series or, such as with the Radiant Festival, just want to draw from ideas that might enhance any other campaign.
    Ultimate License Owner since 2011 and FG GM since 2008
    Game Systems: 5E, Pathfinder, Starfinder, Call of Cthulhu, RoleMaster, C&C, Pathfinder 2, Old School Essentials

    Home Page: ShadeRaven Sorceries (Blog, Fantasy & Campaign Stories, Cat Tales, and more)

  10. #10
    Belly of the Black Whale is now available at the Store. Ruins of the Radiant Siege is under review and should be released soon.

    I know I haven't followed up on this compendium yet, but I have focused on catching up on Abomination Vaults since that was just released and probably needs more attention right now. Hopefully, what I have offered with the first in this series proved useful to some people.

    Enjoy!
    Ultimate License Owner since 2011 and FG GM since 2008
    Game Systems: 5E, Pathfinder, Starfinder, Call of Cthulhu, RoleMaster, C&C, Pathfinder 2, Old School Essentials

    Home Page: ShadeRaven Sorceries (Blog, Fantasy & Campaign Stories, Cat Tales, and more)

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