[3.5] Soloing Curse of the Crimson Throne - From Start Until the World Opens Up

[Endarire]

Greetings, all!

I've been playing a solo campaign that finished yesterday.  It's Pathfinder's Curse of the Crimson Throne - Edge of Anarchy.  I went in blind, playing with 3.5 rules (with minor exceptions).

I was a 32 point buy LN Gray Elf Generalist Domain Wizard1 to start, and ended as a Wizard5/Mindbender1/Incantatrix2.

I was considering going Conjurer1/Spell to Power EruditeX/ThrallherdX.  I'm glad I didn't.  Why?  Flavor-wise, the character I envisioned was a pure Wizard.  It's just his nature.  More specifically...

Charm person is one of the best level 1 Wizard spells around.  Say what you want about Enchantment being not so useful later, but in a solo situation, and especially in this module, it was my favorite and most-cast offensive spell.

Starting off, I had the feat Mercantile Background with regional prereqs ignored.  I also sold off chunks of unneccessary spellbook.  This netted me about 5,000 gold total.  With it I bought partially charged wands for a variety of situations - scorching ray, magic missile, nerveskitter, silent image, burning hands, and, yes, charm person.  I also started with two Elven Hounds (Cooshees) and two Magebred Warbeast Mules; they were cheap enough.  A potion of invisibility was also bloody handy for early levels.  I also got an item to cast prestidigitation at will, another to cast lesser vigor at will, and another to cast mage armor at will.  These proved quite useful, especially the mage armor amulet for my party.

My goals were to survive as long as possible and to squeeze as much EXP (and treasure) out of every situation as I could within the scenario.  My character, Seymour, fancied himself somewhat of a noble and a diplomat.  Considering he was soloing this, violence was not his first resort.  Overcoming encounters got me the same amount of EXP violently as nonviolently, but I only got the EXP for each situation once.  For situations where nonviolent solutions were impossible - see sharks - violence was the way to get me EXP.  Oh yes, and no farming EXP from random encounters on purpose.

Rules-wise, all 3.5 material was open.  I didn't use Pathfinder material at all, except the module and the skills system.  I didn't and won't use loops.  No wish/gate/etc loops.  Repeatedly using the same tactic is fine, but if it feels too much like a looping exploit, it's out.  Rulings leaned toward the letter of the rules, but were chosen for what made the game most fun.  As a solo game (with me also as GM), things went smoothly.  A quick way to resolve d20 rolls was thus:  If one side has at least a 60% chance of success (accuracy rolls, grappling, combat techniques, saves), it succeeds.  Skills still work as normal.  Some dice were still rolled; some in my favor, some against me.

Another notable house rule: Leveling is only done once someone has enough EXP and that person finishes resting.  It's an incentive to rest instead of just continually going.  I allow people to accumulate any amount of EXP; they don't stop 1 EXP short of their next next level.  Also, PCs get max HP per HD.

(click to show/hide)

For Part 1, I first took a look around outside the shop, then sent my Elven Hounds to investigate.  I took out the shark outside the fishery with wand blasts of scorching ray.  It took more than one shot.

The first encounters in the fish shop can be easily won by charm person.  Merely charming the 3 underlings and confronting their master was enough to make everyone turn against each other in my game.  Mind you, I had a DC of 16 right off the bat for my first level spells (DC 10 + 5 INT + 1 spell level) against stock creatures with a Will save of about +1.

The orphans weren't a problem.  With the staff charmed into being my new best friends, the orphans were left alone until the confusion of the confrontation with Gaedran.  With everyone fighting each other, the orphans were freed and ran off.  One notable event:  Elran, the Elven Hound, died.

I was slightly below the EXP needed to reach level 3 when I started this fight.  I now had enough EXP to reach level 3.  Whee!

The drain spiders aboard the ship were handled by my pets tanking and me burning handsing.

I didn't need my invisibility potion, but it was bloody tempting with all the threat around.  I was close to using it in the final fight, but it turns out these guards don't like their master nor each other very much.

For Part 2, I headed back to base.  I saved the noble and saw to it the orphans got to an orphanage.  I also promptly slept, having recovered the magic deck I would need later.  The riots could wait until I had my magic back.

For Part 3, there wasn't much to do but follow the plot.

For Part 4, I went with my escorts (I assumed 3 escorts of equal level) and saved Grau, as well as killing the Otyugh.  At the butchery, charm person from spell slots (including my new Pearl of Power I) got me through there diplomatically.  The Pearl of Power let me have enough spell slots to handle all the guards, including their boss.  With the situation secure, I snuck back and slaughtered the boars and "reefers," and everything else in the way that provided EXP.  With Verik alive (and now my spiffy new friend!), I returned to Cressida at the fort for bonus EXP and 25 EXP short of being level 5.

For Part 5, "Spider" Man proved no obstacle to charm person.  Sure, it was only Friendly, but some games of Knivesies against lower-level goons proved easy when I could cast grease enough to make the boss laugh.  Devargo needed to see only three feats of grease before he laughed so hard he released the documents.  Peacefully.  I could have killed him, but I liked the notion of someone well-protected and well-informed working with me in the future.  I considered buying the Pseudodragon, but price was a concern; I'd already spent money on a +1 INT Headband and didn't have the cash.  Perhaps later.

With EXP gotten for defeating all 6 wannabe thugs nonviolently, and with all of Cressida's bribe money for Devargo still in my pocket, and without having explored the entirety of the ship, I left, hoping to get bonus pay or some compensation for dealing with Devargo so peacefully and quickly.  Nope!  Apparently, Cressida really doesn't like Devargo.  Oops!  Oh well.  He's alive and perhaps an ally.  With the EXP from Devargo and his 6 wannabes, I'm 25 EXP short of level 6.  An ad hoc reward of 25 EXP puts me at level 6.  I did do all this quickly.

Between Parts 5 and 6 there's a scheduled break of "a few weeks".  I took it and bought scrolls of charm monster and dominate person, scribing them into my spellbook.  Enchantment is nice - and wonderful, actually - but I don't see myself needing any Enchantments beyond what I have, plus perhaps charm monster and dominate person.  Why?  Planar binding is soon, and so is, oh, animate dead.  I also get myself a cheap Azun-Gund, and I'm spent money-wise.  (Azun-Gund lets me animate 2 Zombies of up to 10 HD each.  It's only 3K.  From The Sunless Citadel.)

In Part 6, there's a clever rooftop chase... that's sposedta happen.  If you, like me cast invisibility and alter self: Avariel form (flight), there is no such chase.  There's only capturing Trinia and hiding her before another finds her.  Getting the truth is more important.  Regarding Trinia's innocence:  "I believe you, but if you words betray you, you die."

In Part 7, there's another change of pace:  Undead!  Interesting how the 3 schools a lot of people ban - Illusion, Necromancy, and Enchantment - have come in very useful!  It's situational, and I'm soloing things here, but it's more about how things work in practice than in theory on the Internet.

Invisibility is very useful here, and I keep it on between minion grabs, just in case.

Command Undead gets me a free minion - an Owlbear Skeleton - who proceeds to tear this place apart.  Combined with Velthas (the other Elven Hound), and Packer (one of my mules), this place gets steamrolled.  The Otyugh has a convenient Hole, and dies quickly to my minions' assault, and the occasional grease and magic missile.  That gives way to the Carrion Golems, which was actually kind of a tough fight.  Velthas went down and nearly died, and I nearly lost my Skeleton (the Owlbear, not Seymour's), but lesser vigor patched us up good as new.  Moving on, we faced Cabbage Head - a pushover and my newest party addition via animate dead, Azun-Gund edition!  Remember him, for he is mighty!

There was one Shaorti guy I'm meant to save, and I found his head next.  At least we're healed, 'kuz I'm not touching that thing!  Instead, we head into the final room with the Derro Necromancer.  I win initiative, order Cabbage Head to grapple, and the Necromancer never gets a chance to act after that.  Funny how grapple charging (partial charging, technically) with haste and a determined caster and his cadre works.  By now, I've beaten other minor creatures too (Stirges, Derro, and Lesser Necrophidii) and have enough EXP for level 7, and am about halfway to level 8.

Part 8 is a doozy.  I'm meant to rush from beating up a Necromancer (and clearing Derro) to attending Trinia's execution.  (Heywaitaminute!  Ijustsavedher!)  Fortunately, the chopping block happens at sunset, and I was fairly quick in clearing that den.  I sleep up, get my new spells and abilities, and prepare to crash this party and get away.  (I infer from the lack of description of things being cold, and from the back art of the queen's attire - a revealing dress - that it's summer, and the sun is slow to set.  I infer correctly.)

Technically, my time in this module is done, and now I get to participate in an ending cutscene/quick time event.  "Trinia" - someone looking like her, but not actually the woman I rescued, is on the chopping block.  I arrive near the end of the party with my party (Cabbage Head and Velthas), just in time to meet some old fellows (including Sabina, the queen's bodyguard, from Part 3 who was never really detailed in this description).  Turns out that people in power don't like what happened to the queen.  I did her a bloody favor regarding returning her brooch in Part 3, and now she won't even speak to me!  Something is definitely not right.  Sense Motive reveals she truly is a bastard, and yes, just like the rumors said, I get the notion that she had the recently dead king killed.

Turns out that in this party, there are a lot of people who don't like this new monarch.  There are some who'll defend her, of course.  Seymour has turned out to be one of them.  With limits of mortals not applying to him (and a general lack of magical practicioners in this region), I cast these spells (or have them handy) to ensure I get answers from the queen:

Alter self: Avariel form, fly!
Charm monster: Queen, "Vee have vays ov making you tahlk..."
Dimension Door: Makes for a quick getaway.  Cast after swift invisibility.
Invisibility: Because who wants to be seen fleeing the scene?
See invisibility: Queeny went invisible after thanking me for returning her brooch.  Now I can track her.
Web: Just in case a fight breaks out.  Casting this will cause a fight to break out.

During a heroic rescue, "Trinia" is taken by the local hero, Blackjack.  During this time, the queen gets away toward her palace.  I give a warning shout to Blackjack regarding the executioner, then begin the the interruption of this module's ending.  See invisibility, mage armor, and alter self are pre-cast.  I sling a web at the queen, hitting her and her bodyguards easily.  I use my fly speed to get into range and cast charm monster on the queen.  She fails her save, barely, and the inquisition begins.  Mind you, I'm not out to kill the queen, but I want answers.

For that harrowing (and heroing) act, I get enough EXP to level from handling the queen nonviolently and bonus EXP for shocking everyone with a creative plan that worked!

(Regarding the queen's stats:  I infer saves and certain things not listed.  Not that it matters much right now.)

As for what happened at the trial, I quickly interrogated the queen and she confessed to killing the king for personal gain.  More details are uncertain due to this being the scripted end of the module.  With the kingdom/queendom of Korvosa in shatters, Seymour decides it's now a good time to quickly finish his business before the Undead Plague arrives in the next module.  (If that no longer applies, he's inclined to go off somewhere and start forming his own base.)

At the end of this, I felt like the world opened up.  Now, I felt like I was in control.  In the span of maybe 2 game months, I'd gone from a level 1 master Wizard in training to a level 8 badass.  I also was so close to getting teleport and planar binding and having the world and the planes open to me.  Still, it felt... odd... to have this feeling of loyalty to Korvosa, even though I didn't do very much (or so it seemed) and I disagreed heavily with current politics.

Overall, Edge of Anarchy is a wonderful module and a delightful change of pace.  I recommend it to low-level parties, and for the soloer interested in a challenge.  Having nonviolent solutions built into the module was a refreshing change.  The Part 6 "minigame" was also interesting.