I'm participating in the #My30DayWorld exercise partially because I want to see how fleshed out my world of Khardtha actually is, and also to see what I can add, prompted by questions I may or may not have already asked myself.
Day 3 - Who is the most nefarious villain in your world?
The short answer, and kind of a cop-out is "no one." Despite the number of years I have had material on Khardtha sitting in my notes, I've not actually developed it to the point where many would claim it is playable. Additionally, quite a few of my decisions when world building are player driven, and I've never been presented by a player with a "big bad."
This isn't to say there aren't villains in the world, I've just not delved into their stories much. If I had to choose, however, I'd say it would be a tie between Arvedas Dungan, a powerful magic user that threatened the peace and prosperity of a whole continent hundreds of years ago; or Karthōth, the God of the Dead in the Fartucian Pantheon, who had been a thorn in the side of the very first adventurers I ever ran in the setting.
Neither have much developed for them to make them the "most nefarious," but I would likely edge Arvedas just a touch higher in rank on this, due to how oppressive his regime was.
6.29.2019
Bleep Boop! Achievable!
Last night's session was a milestone for my group. Though we have completed a Pathfinder Adventure Path in the past (Wrath of the Righteous), this was the first one we completed with me in the DM's seat.
A few years back, I decided I would run the APs in order, starting with Rise of the Runelords. That one wrapped up in the fifth book, with the characters' lives ending in Runeforge, the magical research center created by the Runelords. Curse of the Crimson Throne came to its conclusion during play of the third book under Arkona Manor when the party fell to the claws of Sivit, the darksphinx. After that, the group (down a couple of players, I'll add) failed saves against Drow sleep poison and were quickly outmatched by Depora at the end of the first book, bringing our Second Darkness run to a close.
Then, we started Legacy of Fire. The opening felt weak, though the action and story were compelling enough to keep play going. There were times when the story fell flat, not supporting the overall narrative, and focus was lost a little. There were times I had to bolster or scale back the number of encounters to keep things exciting/stop the game from becoming a slog. Despite this, after 41 sessions since 2017, we completed the Adventure Path.
I only hope my players had fun through the campaign. Something about the end rang hollow to me, but I can't place it. It's not that they didn't have to fight for the win, it's not that I don't think they were rewarded with a bad campaign (or Dungeon Master!). I keep going back to the denouement. Legacy of Fire's epilogue isn't as satisfying to me as the three previous APs'.
We talked about it as a group after we finished, and everyone seemed ok with it. Sometimes it's a curse being the DM, when you read and know more about it all. It does feel good to not TPK in one of these and actually see it to the end, though Jhavhul did his best to try to change that.
The Council of Thieves is next in the series, but it's been requested that Forgotten Realms 2 be next. Looking forward to that!
A few years back, I decided I would run the APs in order, starting with Rise of the Runelords. That one wrapped up in the fifth book, with the characters' lives ending in Runeforge, the magical research center created by the Runelords. Curse of the Crimson Throne came to its conclusion during play of the third book under Arkona Manor when the party fell to the claws of Sivit, the darksphinx. After that, the group (down a couple of players, I'll add) failed saves against Drow sleep poison and were quickly outmatched by Depora at the end of the first book, bringing our Second Darkness run to a close.
Then, we started Legacy of Fire. The opening felt weak, though the action and story were compelling enough to keep play going. There were times when the story fell flat, not supporting the overall narrative, and focus was lost a little. There were times I had to bolster or scale back the number of encounters to keep things exciting/stop the game from becoming a slog. Despite this, after 41 sessions since 2017, we completed the Adventure Path.
I only hope my players had fun through the campaign. Something about the end rang hollow to me, but I can't place it. It's not that they didn't have to fight for the win, it's not that I don't think they were rewarded with a bad campaign (or Dungeon Master!). I keep going back to the denouement. Legacy of Fire's epilogue isn't as satisfying to me as the three previous APs'.
We talked about it as a group after we finished, and everyone seemed ok with it. Sometimes it's a curse being the DM, when you read and know more about it all. It does feel good to not TPK in one of these and actually see it to the end, though Jhavhul did his best to try to change that.
The Council of Thieves is next in the series, but it's been requested that Forgotten Realms 2 be next. Looking forward to that!
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