Pathfinder Society Scenario # 10-07: "Mysteries Under Moonlight Part 2" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

I ran this at high-tier using the four-player adjustment.  Although I would recommend people going through  Part 1 (# 10-05) first, it's not really that big of a deal if they don't.  Part 2 stands well on it's own, and is probably a better overall adventure.  The scenario writer was thoughtful about how different groups might approach the challenges involved, and provided lots of sidebars to help GMs customise things.  There's also a good mix of different types of encounters (both combat and non-combat), and a pretty cool set-piece finale.  Overall, I appreciate Mysteries Under Moonlight, Part 2: The Howling Dance much more then I thought I would on an initial skim.  It's a very professional, meaty, complete scenario.

SPOILERS

The scenario starts about a week after the events of Part 1, in which the Pathfinders successfully cleansed a malevolent taint infecting several of the monuments in Magnimar.  But although the symptoms have been dealt with, the cause still remains: an evil fey lurking in the heart of the Mushfens (swamps) outside the city.  Tulvhatha, a twisted will-o'-wisp, has taken control of the Glade of Silver Sparks (a sacred site dedicated to Ashava) and turned it into an unholy source of power.  The opening briefing, by Sheila Heidmarch, charges the PCs with venturing into the Mushfens and wresting control of the Glade of Silver Sparks from Tulvhatha.  Present during the briefing (but regrettably not illustrated) is an NPC from Part 1 named Luvyire.  Luvyire offers Ashava's blessing to the PCs, which manifests on the night of the full moon as the ability to transform into a celestial werewolf!  This ability stays with the PCs throughout the scenario, and in an un-jaded group could be seen as pretty awesome--both cinematically and for the mechanical benefits of DR, bonuses to natural armor, speed increases, etc..  The scenario's author anticipated that some PCs might not want even a temporary, beneficial "gift" of lycanthropy, and set out a nice sidebar for what happens if all the PCs refuse (with a mix of positive and negative benefits).

The first encounter starts once the PCs have entered the Mushfens and (presumably) transformed into wolf or hybrid form with the full moon.  That jerk from Part 1, a "supernatural investigator" (Inquisitor of Abadar) named Theodorus catches the PCs shifting and attacks, thinking they're evil werewolves.  My PC almost attacked Theodorus in Part 1, so I didn't feel too bad for the poor schmuck.  His uppance came even if through an understandable mistake on his part.  I'll note in passing here that the author did a nice job describing the "feel" of the Mushfens

Venturing further into the Mushfens, the PCs come across a kidnapping in progress!  A swan maiden is being abducted by a pack of custom-made "Lurkers-in-Twilight" (Lurkers-in-Light corrupted by Tulvhatha's presence).  This leads to a classic Chase, but lessons learned from previous appearances of Chases in scenarios are applied here.  The Chase is fast-paced, well-described, has a reasonable number of choices, and has a good spread of consequences depending on the PCs' success.  At high-tier, and with the bonuses from wolf form, it's probably a touch too-easy (only one PC needs to succeed on each obstacle, with the others' results serving as Aid Another), but I don't think anyone at the table minded too much.

When the PCs catch up to the Lurkers-in-Twilight, there's a battle to rescue the swan maiden (unless they were terrible at the Chase, in which case she's already dead!).  They don't do much damage, but they can potentially blind PCs--and that could create major problems for a character for the rest of the scenario!  PCs who accepted the blessing would still have Scent, however, which lessens the problem somewhat.

I really liked the next encounter, even if it's only tangentially relevant to the scenario's main plot.  The path the PCs need to follow leads them into the territory of a pack of dire wolves; but the wolves' leader, Riverfang, has become twisted into an undead creature called a vukodlak.  However, this doesn't have to be a combat encounter.  The PCs can plausibly just sneak past, or, more likely, convince Riverfang to back down and leave the area by persuading the rest of the pack to turn against him.  Encounters that offer genuine combat and non-combat options are always appreciated, and this is a good opportunity for role-playing in the middle of what's an otherwise action-heavy scenario.

The next bit was equally as good, though for a different reason.  It's rare in Pathfinder Society for PCs to get a chance to share their backgrounds (and especially secrets) in an organic way.  But this scenario instructs the GM to ask each player, before the game begins, to write down their character's greatest fear.  By the time this encounter arises, most players will have forgotten doing it, which makes it very effective when a haunted mist brings visions of that fear to the character's mind!  Mechanically this operates as a haunt; it's not likely to really hurt anyone (a PC gets two saves before there are any negative effects), but I like the concept.

The climactic battle against Tulvatha comes next.  The setting is large and a pain-in-the-butt to draw, so GMs should try to do it beforehand.  As a will-o'-wisp, Tulvhatha is naturally invisible and immune to most magic, and because she's close to the corrupted holy site, she gains fast healing. In effect, she doesn't do much offensively but can gradually wear PCs down while bobbing and weaving and healing up from the occasional strike that does land against her.  I remember it was a long, challenging fight that (I think) resulted in the death of one PC before they finally managed to kill Tulvatha.

The conclusion is solid, and I appreciated that there was some role-playing and a description of subsequent events.  The Werewolf's Resilience boon is pretty sweet, even if it's a one-time only thing.

Overall, I can't really think of anything bad to say about Mysteries Under Moonlight, Part 2: The Howling Dance, and I can think of plenty of good things.  I'd definitely recommend it, even if the lead-in from Part 1 is a bit weak.

Pathfinder: "Bonus Bestiary" [RPG]

Is it sheer coincidence or proof of cosmic synchronicity that my personal rotation of reading has scheduled me to review Paizo's 2009 Free RPG Day offering on the same day as 2019's Free RPG Day?  We'll let the metaphysicians chew that one over, but in the meantime, I'll discuss the Bonus Bestiary.

This sixteen-page, full-color, softcover product served as something of a preview of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, as it was released just several weeks before the Core Rulebook debuted. It introduces the overall look of monster stat blocks in the game and (I assume) gave players some monsters to work with prior to the release of the first Bestiary.  The twelve monsters it includes weren't included in that book, so it had some value even past the first year of the game's existence (it looks like most of these were included in Bestiary 3 in 2011).  You can judge the cool cover art yourself (I didn't realize water nagas were so scary!), but here's a description of the contents.

The inside front cover is a listing of the 300+ monsters that were to appear in the Bestiary so readers could get a sense of what to look forward to.  The inside back cover is the classic: "3.5 Survives! 3.5 Thrives!" advertisement for PF1.  I should really get a poster of that advertisement for display somewhere.

After a credits/table of contents page, the next two pages discuss a couple of rules developed uniquely for Pathfinder: the concepts of Combat Maneuver Bonus and Combat Maneuver Defense.  These were elegant simplifications on how to resolve things like trips, disarms, grapples, etc., without having separate formulas for each type.  There's also an explanation of how diseases and poisons are formatted.  The rest of this introductory material explains Pathfinder's approach to Universal Monster Rules, and gives some samples.  It all shows the designers spent a lot of time thinking about how to do monster stat blocks in an intelligent and user-friendly manner.

Now, on to the monsters.  A high-DC Perception check will notice some very minor differences in how the stat blocks in the Bonus Bestiary are formatted compared to the actual Bestiary: the CR/XP entry is slightly different, and there's a fixed gold piece "treasure value" instead of a reference to treasure categories like "Standard", etc..  I might actually prefer the explicit gold piece value, approach, but that's neither here nor there now, not to mention a decade's time travel away.  Each of the twelve monster entries is illustrated, though the artwork styles are a bit more inconsistent than later Paizo books.

1. Allip:  Super creepy undead resulting from the death of the mad or suicidal.  Their special abilities fit well.

2.  Ant Lion, Giant:  Never actually seen these in a game, but I like their little sand trap ability.

3. Ascomoid: Never heard of this--some kind of giant puffball fungus.  Frankly pretty goofy, and really more a supernatural hazard than a monster.

4. Axe Beak: If you have bird phobia, watch out!  Good to see training and animal companion rules--a reminder of another thing the Pathfinder team did well.

5. Caryatid Column: Essentially lesser stone golems, but their "shatter weapons" ability could be really nasty.  If I were a mean GM, I'd toss these in any time a melee character got on my nerves.

6.  Dragon, Faerie: These sorts of creatures aren't really my thing, as they verge more on the cartoonish.  Still, I have to admit the artwork is really colourful and they might be fun to have as a familiar.

7.  Dragonne: Kind of a bland lion/dragon mix.  Rules for mounts (using Leadership) and animal companions.

8. Hag, Annis: The artwork here is great, capturing the size and hunch-backed nature perfectly (though perhaps making them look like undead).

9. Huecuva: Heretical undead clerics; an interesting concept but they need a power boost to really work well.

10. Lammasu: I guess this is a lion/eagle mix.  I think maybe some of these entries were omitted from the first Bestiary for a reason.

11.  Naga, Water: Cooler on the cover than here.

12.  Nixie: Okay, I guess.

13.  Shadow Mastiff:  Cool artwork and "shadow blend" makes them fearsome foes for their CR.

Overall, there's a good mix in the book of different monster types: undead, constructs, magical beasts, regular animals, etc.  I did notice there aren't any high-CR threats, with the CR 8 Lammasu as the highest.

Paizo took the same approach with its Free RPG Day 2017 product when getting ready to debut Starfinder.  I'd actually rather have more of a grab-bag preview--maybe one class, a few skills, a few feats, and then a couple of monsters to get a feel for the game as a whole.  Anyway, the Bonus Bestiary is still available for purchase as a print product from Paizo (for just $ 1!) or as a free PDF download.  Today, the product is really nothing more than a curiosity, but it's a mildly interesting one nonetheless.

Inveska Oykot, Ghoul Bureaucrat [RPG]

Inveska Oykot was one of those "could have been" characters.  The replacement for my barathu in the Dead Suns adventure path, Inveska died at the end of her very first session!  Getting knocked into a pit of acid that does 20d6 damage per round will do that to you.  It's a shame, because I saw a lot of potential in the character.  As a member of Eox's Ministry of Eternal Vigilance ("Eternal Vigilance Requires Eternal Undeath"), Inveska had a dry, bureaucratic persona--but with layers that I never got a chance to bring out.  For example, she only posed as a ghoul to fit in, as she fell into the in-between category of half-undead borai.  I also liked her background as a former member of the Starfinder Society who was killed during an excavation on Eox, thus tying in an SFS scenario.  There would have been some interesting stuff to explore there.  Unfortunately, two deaths in quick succession hardened my heart in Dead Suns, and afterwards I went with pretty stock, low-investment characters.

Class: Operative 6
Race: "Ghoul" (Borai)
Theme: Xenoarchaeologist
Homeworld: Absalom Station
Gender: Female
Speed: 40'
Initiative +5
Alignment: LN
Deity: None

Stamina: 48
Hit Points: 42
Resolve Points: 6

Strength: +3
Dexterity +3
Constitution +2
Intelligence +2
Wisdom -1
Charisma +1

Skills:  Acrobatics +14, Athletics +11, Bluff +8, Computers +6, Culture +14, Diplomacy +3, Disguise +12, Engineering +14, Intimidate +11, Life Science +6, Mysticism +6, Perception +9, Physical Science +8, Piloting +10, Profession (archaeologist) +16, Sense Motive +6, Sleight of Hand +10, Stealth +13, Survival +11

Attacks:  Advanced Semi-Auto Pistol +7, d. 2d6+3 P; Claws +7, d. 1d6+6 B

EAC: 21
KAC: 22
Saves: Fort +6, Reflex +8, Will +4
 *+3 on Fort saves vs. disease or poison, +1 on saves vs. exhaustion, fatigue, mind-affecting, paralysis, sleep, and stunning

Racial Abilities: Darkvision 60', Deathly, Living Shell, Old Talents, Resist Energy Drain

Theme Ability: Trap Spotter

Feats: Skill Focus (Culture), Skill Focus (Survival), Armor Proficiency (Lightt), Weapon Proficiency (basic melee, small arms, sniper weapons), Improved Unarmed Strike, Weapon Specialization, Great Fortitude, Multi-weapon Fighting

Class Abilities: Operative's Edge, Specialization (Explorer), Trick Attack, Evasion, Inoculation, Quick Movement, Weapon Specialization, Debilitating Trick, Field Treatment, Ever Vigilant, Stalwart

Languages: Common, Eoxian, Sarcesian, Castrovelian, Azlanti, Brededan, Drow, Elven

Equipment:  Advanced Semi-Auto Pistol, Small Arm Rounds (x4), Ghost Killer Fusion, D-Suit II w/ Quick-release sheathe & descent thrusters, Mk 1 Ghoul Glands, Consumer backpack, clothing (uniform), hygient kit, field ration, tool kits (disguise, engineering, profession archaeology), datapad

Background: Inveska was a Starfinder xenoarchaeologist working on the Blackmoon Survey when she was murdered by feral ghouls.  Now, undead herself, she's taken up a position with the Ministry of Eternal Vigilance

B'rrlb'lub, Excitable Flying Jellyfish [RPG]

B'rrlb'lub was my first Starfinder character, and probably my favourite.  I played him in the Dead Suns adventure path until his untimely death at the climax of Chapter 3.  When designing the character, I wanted to take advantage of the science-fantasy setting of Starfinder and go with a crazy alien, and I remembered really liking the incredibly obsequious NPC barathu (a race of floating telepathic jellyfish) in the first Starfinder Society scenario (# 1-00: Claim to Salvation).  So I decided to incorporate that setting into my character's background and gradually developed B'rrlb'lub, an enthusiastic, ever-optimistic, carefree, and morale-boosting Envoy.

B'rrlb'lub was a joy to role-play, and was responsible for a lot of laugh-out-loud moments with his love of knick-knacks, ostentatious clothing, glamered shoe-pistols, hyper-caffeinated energy drinks, and his hero, legendary explorer, Halkureem Zamm.  Mechanically, he probably didn't really hold up his end of things--Dead Suns is a surprisingly tough adventure path, and I didn't know what I was in for (I made a fun character instead of an effective combat machine).  But, oddly, I've played two PCs since B'rrlb'lub in the AP, each much more capable on paper, and each died surprisingly quickly!  The game just hasn't been the same since my lovable jellyfish died, and he'll be missed.


CHARACTER SHEET

Name: B'rrlb'lub
Size: Medium
Gender: Male
Race: Barathu
Alignment: CG
Deity: Weydan
Theme: Bounty Hunter
Class: Envoy 6

Hit Points: 42
Stamina Points: 54
Resolve Points: 7

Initiative: +3
Speed: Fly 30'

Strength: +1
Dexterity +1/+3 w/ Mk 2 upgrade
Constitution +3
Intelligence: +0
Wisdom +1
Charisma +4

EAC: 17
KAC: 17
Saves: Fort +6, Reflex +8, Will +6

BAB: +4
Melee Attacks +5, Ranged Attacks +7 (+8 w/ small arms), Thrown Attacks +5

Skills: Acrobatics +10, Athletics +1, Bluff +11+1d6, Culture +7, Diplomacy +14+1d6, Disguise +6, Intimidate+8, Life Science +3, Medicine +8+1d6, Perception +6, Piloting +3, Profession (Bounty Hunter) +6, Sense Motive +8+1d6, Sleight of Hand +8, Stealth +8, Survival +4

Languages: Brethadan, Common, Castrovellian, Eoxian

Feats: Weapon Focus (small arms), Weapon Specialization, Dive for Cover, Fast Talk

Racial Abilities: Darkvision 60', Limited Telepathy, Fly Speed, Strange Anatomy, Early Stage Adaptation

Class Abilities: Inspiring Boost, Watch Your Step, Watch Out, Fire Support

Gear: Binders (x3), Personal Com Unit, Basic Medkit, Flashlight, Fire Extinguisher, Consumer Backpack, Gill Sheathe, Cheap Unicorn Miniature, Blue Silk Cape ("Certified Member Starfinder Society"/"Deputy Qabarat Law Enforcement"), Serums of Healing (x6), Frag Grenade I, ID Papers (Castrovel), Basic Lashunta Tempweave, Sprayflesh, Antitoxin, Rations (x14), Knickers!, Defiant Longsword, Squad Machine Gun, Cult of Devourer Holy Symbol, 600 Credits

BACKGROUND

B'rrlb'lub is the "son" of barathu prison guards on the Sauna, a prison on the volcanic planet of Varos.  B'rrlb'lub found life on Varos dreadfully boring, as one couldn't go out on the surface without dying!  His only joy was seeing exotic inmates.  B'rrlb'lub started spending more and more time as part of the combined barathu entity "The Warden" so he could interact with exciting aliens from all over the universe.  Until the Sauna had a prison break!  B'rrlb'lub, who may have been accidentally to blame, volunteered to hunt down the escapees.  He joined the Starfinder Society for its resources and the thrills of exploration it provides, while (occasionally) trying to track down the escaped criminals.  Current Target: Korlak the Disembowler (Reptoid Serial Killer).

Appearance: Age 22, Height 5', Weight 100, Gender: "Male", Skin: Orange Translucent, Hair: None, Eyes: Orange, Home World: Brethada, General Description:  B'rrlb'lub is an early-stage barathu with long tentacles and glowing orange skin.

Personality:  Curious and excitable.  B'rrlb'lub is enthusiastic and prone to hyperbole.  He's always optimistic.  Likes: Biotech, meeting new creatures, drinking hyper-caffeinated beverages.  Dislikes: Long periods of inactivity.  People who are mean.  Quirks: Loves floating in various non-corrosive liquids.  Phobias: Being alone for long periods of time.  Catchphrases: "You're beautiful!"  "You can do it!" "My shoe is not a shoe!" "Knickers!"

ACHIEVEMENTS

Most Weapon Damage Dealt: 10
Number of Times Hit by a Crit: 5
Number of Deaths: 1
Highest AC Hit: 24
Highest AC Achieved (w/ cover): 21
Most Credits Possessed at One Time: 3880
Most Credits Gained at One Time: 1996
Greatest Number of Foes in One Fight: 6
Enemy Starships Defeated: 4
Alien Ruins Explored: 1
Creature Types Defeated: Aberration (13), Animal (2), Magical Constructs (2), Technological Constructs (4), Humanoids (21), Magical Beasts (1), Plants (4), Undead (100

Rise of the Runelords Recap # 69 [RPG]

[1 Calistril 4708 continued]

Few live long enough to recount 

seeing a Red Mantis assassin.

At the Founder’s Archive in Magnimar, Kang, Nerissa, and Jinkatsyu decide to focus their investigation on the mysterious crimson insect-like mask that they found hidden aboard the boat belonging to Nerissa’s would-be assassin.  During their day at the library, Kang accidentally knocks a dusty book on murder-cults off the shelf and it falls open on a page with an illustration that exactly matches the mask!  Underneath the illustration is the caption “Red Mantis.”  With the library about to close, they head back to the Black Shield inn to find Ava and Salma staring at the front of the establishment intently to help fix it in their memories for future spellcraft.  When she hears about the book they found, Salma explains she’s heard a little about the mysterious organisation of assassins known as the Red Mantis: she says membership is by invitation only, that they’ll accept contracts to kill anyone except heads of state, and that they have means of assassination that keep the victim from being raised from the dead!  Salma says she could put feelers out to try to get in contact with them, but Nerissa says it’s too dangerous.  The group speculate whether there is a contract out on Nerissa and, if so, who placed it.  Although the library surely holds more secrets about the Red Mantis and perhaps the key to deciphering Nerissa’s mysterious journal, the group decide that the priority has to be stopping the giants of Jorgenfist; a decision is made to teleport there in the morning.

[2 Calistril 4708]

Unsurprisingly, Merrymead has become 

one of the most "holy" days for 

devotees of Cayden Cailean.

As the adventurers assemble for breakfast in the common room of the Black Shield, a general hubbub alerts them that something unusual is going on.  Kegs are being lined up against a wall, bottles of wine cover an entire side table, and the place is surprisingly crowded at a time when most people would be heading off for a hard day’s work.  Having been far too busy to glance at a calendar, the adventurers quickly realize that today is a holiday: Merrymead!  Originally a day to share the last of the previous year’s mead with one’s fellows, the holiday has since evolved into a general day of heavy drinking, frivolity, and (more often than not) outbreaks of drunken violence.  Nerissa is overjoyed and immediately starts to partake while the others hunch around a table examining the sketch-map of Jorgenfist they obtained from the scout Veridian.  Various possibilities for teleportation are discussed, but the consensus is to try for one of the caves on the cliffside under Jorgenfist, overlooking the river.  It’s not long before the shouting, spilled drinks, and pushing and shoving start, something that drives everyone but Nerissa into the alleyway behind the tavern.  Ava barely manages to persuade her to come with them and, as they walk out into the bright light, the grippli realizes that Nerissa’s shadow sometimes disappears completely and other times points in the wrong direction given the angle of the sun!  Ava points this out, quite concerned, but Nerissa explains it’s always been that way and isn’t something to worry about.

Even being near a deathweb 

can nauseate the living.

A cold wind swirls around the group in the alleyway as Salma makes a final study of the special teleportation scroll sent to the group by Magnimar’s army commander.  Salma sighs as she realizes that the magic in the scroll isn’t powerful enough to take everyone along; someone will have to stay behind and be picked up later.  Nerissa is quick to volunteer for the role, and happily heads back inside to keep drinking.  Salma reads the complex runic magic on the scroll flawlessly, and an instant later she and the remaining adventurers appear in a cave almost 250’ above a narrow beach and river below.  Countless bloated, many-legged insects trample one another on the floor of the cave, creating an unnatural susurrus of a million clicking bug legs.  The rear of the cave is blocked by fallen webs and occluded by darkness. 

Ava starts snacking on some of the bugs while Jinkatsyu lights a torch so that he and Kang can investigate the rear of the cave.  As they approach, thick ropy strands of webbing shoot out from things hidden in the mass; Kang dodges out of the way, but Jinkatsyu finds himself entangled!  From the rear of the cave, stocky, partially-decayed spiders the size of a horse advance as thousands of living spiders fall from their bodies like drops of blood.  Kang shouts “deathwebs!” and hurls a makeshift explosive just before getting impaled by a sharp, serrated leg.  Jinkatsyu cuts his way free from the webbing and starts attacking, but begins to feel sick as some sort of necromantic venom courses through his veins.  Ava works out a plan with Salma, magically silencing the rear of the cave so that Salma’s massive fireball creates no noise when it explodes.  Two of the monstrous creatures are fried in the explosion, and Kang manages to finish off the last one.

Jinkatsyu uses his torch to burn away much of the webbing and finds a surprisingly large collection of skeletons enmeshed within, many still wearing armor and grasping weapons.  Salma appraises whether any of it is worth keeping while Jinkatsyu continues investigating—at Kang’s suggestion, he looks to see if there is a secret door, and is astonished to realize there is one!  The adventurers, having established a beachhead in their invasion of Jorgenfist, decide to rest for the night and collect Nerissa in the morning before moving further in.  Meanwhile, Nerissa is having an adventure of her own as the patrons of the Black Shield turn into a mob when the barrels and bottles are emptied—they rush off to ransack a nearby wine cellar, and Nerissa narrowly avoids being swept up in the riot and arrested by the city guards.  She makes her way back to the Black Shield and helps the grateful proprietor clean up.

[3 Calistril 4708]

Redcaps are malevolent fey 

who delight in mass murder.

Salma teleports to the front of the Black Shield first thing in the morning, but has the bad luck to manifest while a horse and carriage are speeding down the road!  She gets knocked brutally into a nearby snowbank that’s still covered in vomit from those who drank more than they could handle the night before.  The now-filthy half-elf heads inside and, after some effort, manages to rouse a very hungover Nerissa.  When they return to the cave near Jorgenfist, the others are ready to see what lies beyond the secret passage.  The adventurers head through to discover a veritable maze of narrow tunnels.  Wisely staying to what seems like the main branch, they navigate deeper and deeper in until Ava and Salma realize the adventurers are not alone—creatures have used the various side tunnels to surround them!  The snarling, gnomelike figures wear metal boots and blood-red pointed caps while wielding large scythes, and their eyes are filled with the anticipation of blissful sadistic slaughter!  Ava shouts a prayer to Sinashakti while Salma doesn’t hesitate to fill the caves with a massive fireball.  The affray is fast and confusing as the attackers slip in and out of the side tunnels, but the adventurers stand their ground and eventually kill all but one of the attackers who slips through a tunnel so narrow the others can’t easily follow.

The adventurers have stumbled onto a potential way into Jorgenfist that could allow them to bypass many of the fortress’ outer defences.  But with their penchant for setting off thunderous explosions, will they remain undetected for long?

----------------------------------------------
Director's Commentary (June 2, 2019)

Merrymead was another one of those holidays on the calendar that I went ahead and implemented just for some local background color.  Nerissa's player really took to it, and had great fun getting her PC enmeshed in the festivities.

Of every possible location on the map of Jorgenfist the PCs could teleport to, they just so happened to pick the one cave that offers a perfect hiding place/staging area and a secret route that bypasses all the dangers on the surface (while taking the unusual action of explicitly searching for secret doors).  Maybe it's just really good luck, but sometimes I suspect someone may be reading something they shouldn't!

The redcaps felt a bit out of place--kinda goofy fey that presented absolutely no threat to PCs of this level.  They were more a nuisance than anything.

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