AWizardInDallas's page

One thing I really like about having put this product together is that we really give you something useful, in a small, package, for just pocket change. Each volume has a theme too. So, if a particular monster is coming up in your next adventure that just happens to fit our latest theme, you can pickup "Rawr!" for a song and make small changes to a monstrous foe that can make a big difference in enjoyment at the table, for players and GMs alike!

In my Homebrewed campaign/Kingmaker, the players are all monstrous and own a small village where monsters can live free, however they're in the middle of a council session so they will be setting up laws...but it's great fun! I just hope there will be option that my players can use from this.

What are some of the monster races they're playing? :)

Hello!

My name is Richard Hunt and I've worked for TPK Games for a little over a year now. I've even had the unique opportunity to run one of my adventures at GenCon this year: Silvermote! It was both an honor and a real blast!

Our next project is just on the cusp of release and I'm really exited to tell you all about it! Our new product is called Rawr!: A Handbook of Monstrous Malevolence and I'm the lead designer/author. Our whole team contributed a little something to the whole stack though, including Mr. Tom Phillips also of RPG Superstar infamy! :)

Rawr! is a completely monster-centric product containing monster advice, new feats, traits, templates and, of course, new, original monsters in print nowhere else! If you like monsters, love adding some punches on the battlefield or in the dungeon, or just kicking your monsters into a little higher gear, then this book is definitely rocket fuel for your encounters. We originally conceived of this as major new source book, but it grew too large! So, we discovered a way to do so much more and so we are!

I would really like to invite everyone to check it out when it's released!

-Rich

AWizardInDallas wrote:

Banecrow wrote:

Wow everyone seems to just think point buy is where it is at. I love rolling for stats in my group. You do not end up with cookie cutter characters. The old 4d6 drop the lowest method is what we use. A lot of the time you do not even know what you are going to play till you roll your stats and see what you got.

I don't know maybe I am just old school lol I have been playing D&D for 27 years now lol. I still have my old red box, blue box for D&D.

You and I share the same philosophy. I won't use point buy ever, in fact we use this same method and I'm old school as well. :)

At a minimum you need to have the players roll in front of your face.

A fairer way to do rolling is to have each player roll 2 sets of stats.
But any player can choose any other players set of stats.

I allow a maximum of 3 sets, pick the best set. This usually results in characters with mixed +/- stats. I like characters to have some flaws and bumps rather than being Star Trek TNG perfect. Lol. Point buy to me is like RPG eugenics! :-)

Resolution: The player has dropped from the game and the character is now an NPC. The group is already aware that the character will be making some sort of exit. My plan is to pump up the "diminutive" Azlanti Idols in area X3 and make them full sized constructs who really, really hate fire. Rin will be going out with a bang! :)

By the way, I have a very agreeable group and we're good friends. Even if I did need to ask for rebuilds or anything like that they would do it for me, so I don't really need to strong arm anyone.

I do happen to agree with the consensus that the stats are cheated.

Finally, does it say somewhere in the AP that characters should be point buy or how the characters should be built? I'm accustomed to seeing that information before the adventure background? In any case, I'm old school and will always use dice for stats.

Wow everyone seems to just think point buy is where it is at. I love rolling for stats in my group. You do not end up with cookie cutter characters. The old 4d6 drop the lowest method is what we use. A lot of the time you do not even know what you are going to play till you roll your stats and see what you got.

I don't know maybe I am just old school lol I have been playing D&D for 27 years now lol. I still have my old red box, blue box for D&D.

You and I share the same philosophy. I won't use point buy ever, in fact we use this same method and I'm old school as well. :)

Interzone wrote:

The biggest thing powerwise would be the flight in my opinion... but unless I am missing something, I do not see ANYTHING that would give him flight! ??How is he flying??

I assume he has the Wings of Fire mystery, even though it's not listed.

Exactly correct. Hero Lab didn't list this which I submitted to Lone Wolf as a little buggie to squash.

EDIT: Also, what on earth is a Dino Stick? Personally, I'm hoping more "deinonychus handling tool" and less "stick of dynamite."

You almost guessed! It's a dead deinonychus head stuck on a staff. He got it during Smuggler's Shiv and has carried it since. Lol.

Okay I'm satisfied that the class is fine and not over-powered. I think the real issue is that he's operating above the other characters in the party who have a different build philosophy. Their stats also don't look ridiculous. So, I think what I need instead is some good counter to the oracle without killing the rest of the party.

the problem at this sort of level is baddies struggle with flying opponents quite often, especially in the mostly outdoor SerSku.

I have a level 7 witch in that and flying is most helpful

this guys AC is terrible. My gnome oracle 1 in Carrion Crown started off with 20, 21?, and my 1/2e lvl 7 one in PFS is around high 20's pre-buff i think.
He should deff have swapped in warden of nature

oracles can rapidly be good arcane-like

His AC is terrible because I actually managed to rid him of his good magical armor during a failed Swim.

How did you do stat generation? Because by my math, that gnome has a 56 Point Buy, which could go a long way towards explaining why he seems really powerful. Especially if everybody else has a more reasonable statline and the Gnome is only one with that much to play with.

I never use point buy. He started with these stats:

Str 15, Dex 14, Con 15, Int 17, Wis 15, Cha 18

Gnome gets: +2 Constitution, +2 Charisma, –2 Strength
4th level buy: +1 Constitution

No, I didn't see him roll either. I generally go with the honor system since anyone that would b*++#*$$ stats to "win" a roleplaying game is a dolt anyway. Lol.

What are the other PCs like?

The other players don't build for power or combat, so theirs are more average and fit better into the AP's planned combats.

Yeah, okay, I'm kinda confused. How is this gnome OP? Its stats are waaaay outta wack, but there doesn't seem to be much cause for concern. It's got an AC of 18 and mediocre saves. HP is a bit high from the ridiculous stats, but still fairly squishy.

I'm thinking that maybe the character isn't OP at all, but rather syncing too well with your particular playstyle as a DM. Flame oracles function best as blasters, and blasters function best when DMs throw lots of lower-HP monsters in nearby swarms.

This oracle would struggle more if you used enemies with more HP, fewer enemies, or used "mixing tactics" and got the enemies within the ranks of your party. This can be as simple as having an enemy bee-line for a caster or flanking the melee; neither of which are unusual for pack-mentality or intelligent creatures. How can you successfully cast an area spell when you're going to hit the healer?

Normally I would agree, but I think part of the trouble is I'm sort of stuck running what's in the AP for enemies, not that I haven't made modifications, mind you. Actually that's exactly what's happening. I think I'm going to have to kick it up a notch. The trouble is the other characters won't be able to handle what the oracle can handle.

Your oracle is not a half elf, how can he be OP?

Lol.

OP by who's standards? Compared to what?

No need to be defensive, friend. I'm not attacking Pathfinder. I happen to love the system, so no one needs to defend it.

I'm currently running the Serpent's Skull AP and having some trouble with one of the character builds. Even the player confesses that the character build is over-powered.

The core of the issue is that the character easily flips combat roles and does all of them really well. He's stealing the show and the party relies on him way too much. He can heal like a cleric, he can wear even heavy armor (he's not wearing the best he can get...yet), he can front-line fight and beats the crap out of things pretty well, and he can even fill a wizard's shoes with all his fire spells and abilities. he can even bloody well fly. Lol. His stats are below:

Rin
Male Gnome Oracle 7
NG Small Humanoid (gnome)
Init +3; Senses Low-Light Vision; Perception +10
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 18, touch 13, flat-footed 16 (+5 armor, +2 Dex, +1 size)
hp 66 (7d8+21)
Fort +5, Ref +4, Will +7
Defensive Abilities Defensive Training; Resist Tongues (Ignan, Celestial)
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 20 ft., fly 60 ft. (average)
Melee Dagger +7 (1d3+1/19-20/x2) and Dino Stick +7 (1d4+1/x2)
Ranged Light crossbow +8 (1d6/19-20/x2)
Special Attacks Fire Breath (15' cone, 8d4) (2/day) (DC 18), Heat Aura (10', 4d4) (2/day) (DC 18), Touch of Flame (1d6+4) (8/day)
Spell-Like Abilities Dancing Lights (1/day), Flare (1/day), Light (At will), Prestidigitation (1/day), Produce Flame (1/day)
Oracle Spells Known (CL 7, +7 melee touch, +8 ranged touch):
3 (5/day) Cure Serious Wounds (DC 18), Searing Light, Fireball (DC 18), Daylight
2 (7/day) Restoration, Lesser (DC 17), Consecrate, Resist Energy (DC 17), Make Whole, Cure Moderate Wounds (DC 17)
1 (8/day) Shield of Faith (DC 16), Bless, Inflict Light Wounds (DC 16), Burning Hands (DC 16), Obscuring Mist, Cure Light Wounds (DC 16), Sun Metal (DC 16)
0 (at will) Resistance (DC 15), Read Magic, Detect Poison, Purify Food and Drink (DC 15), Create Water, Detect Magic, Light
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 13, Dex 14, Con 17, Int 17, Wis 15, Cha 21
Base Atk +5; CMB +5; CMD 17
Feats Armor Proficiency (Heavy), Extra Revelation, Extra Revelation, Nimble Moves, Warrior Priest
Traits Ease of Faith, Keeper of the Veil (Bluff)
Skills Acrobatics +6, Bluff +11, Climb +4, Craft (armor) +5, Craft (weapons) +5, Diplomacy +10, Disguise +6, Escape Artist -1, Fly +7, Heal +6, Intimidate +9, Knowledge (geography) +5, Knowledge (history) +7, Knowledge (local) +4, Knowledge (nature) +7, Knowledge (planes) +7, Knowledge (religion) +7, Linguistics +4, Perception +10, Ride +0, Sense Motive +8, Spellcraft +9, Stealth +7, Survival +4, Swim +1, Use Magic Device +6
Languages Aklo, Aquan, Celestial, Common, Draconic, Elven, Gnome, Ignan, Sylvan
SQ Hatred +1, Wayfinder, standard (empty)
Combat Gear +1 Lamellar (leather) armor, +1 Mithral Chain shirt, Crossbow bolts (30), Dagger, Dino Stick, Light crossbow; Other Gear Alchemist's fire (4), Alchemist's kindness (3), Backpack, masterwork (empty), Bedroll, Belt pouch (empty), Belt pouch (empty), Chalk (2), Crowbar, Everburning torch, Gems, Glowing ink, Ink, black, Ink, colored, Inkpen, Mirror (2), Spell component pouch, Sunrod (4), Trail Bar x8, Waterproof bag (empty), Waterproof bag (empty), Waterskin, Wayfinder, standard (empty), Wyvern poison
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Dancing Lights (1/day) (Sp) With Charisma 11+, cast Dancing Lights once per day.
Defensive Training +4 Gain a dodge bonus to AC vs monsters of the Giant subtype.
Fire Breath (15' cone, 8d4) (2/day) (DC 18) (Su) 15' cone of flame deals 8d4 fire damage, Ref Half.
Flare (Pyromaniac) (1/day) (Sp) With Charisma 11+, cast Flare once per day.
Hatred +1 Gain a bonus to attack vs goblinoid/reptilian humanoids.
Heat Aura (10', 4d4) (2/day) (DC 18) (Su) Heat aura deals 4d4 fire damage to all creatures within 10', Ref Half. You gain 20% concealment until your next turn.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in low light, distinguishing color and detail.
Nimble Moves Move through 5' of difficult terrain/round as if it was normal terrain.
Prestidigitation (Pyromaniac) (1/day) (Sp) With Charisma 11+, cast Prestidigitation once per day.
Produce Flame (Pyromaniac) (1/day) (Sp) With Charisma 11+, cast Produce Flame once per day.
Tongues (Ignan, Celestial) You can only understand and speak two languages in combat.
Touch of Flame (1d6+4) (8/day) (Su) Melee touch attack deals 1d6+4 Fire damage.
Warrior Priest +1 bonus to initiative and +2 on concentration checks when casting defensively
Wayfinder, standard (empty) A small magical device patterned off ancient relics of the Azlanti, a wayfinder is typically made from silver and bears gold accents. With a command word, you can use a wayfinder to shine (as the light spell). The wayfinder also acts as a nonmagical (magnetic) compass, granting you a +2 circumstance bonus on Survival checks to avoid becoming lost. All wayfinders include a small indentation designed to hold a single ioun stone. An ioun stone slotted in this manner grants you its normal benefits (as if it were orbiting your head), but frequently reveals entirely new powers due to the magic of the wayfinder itself (see Seeker of Secrets page 51).

Note: This item costs only 250 gp for members of the Pathfinder Society

Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, light; Cost 250 gp

Hero Lab® and the Hero Lab logo are Registered Trademarks of LWD Technology, Inc. Free download at http://www.wolflair.com
Pathfinder® and associated marks and logos are trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC®, and are used under license.

I'm having some trouble deciding how to rectify the matter without resorting to plot trickery (i.e. having a demon appear since he's really good with flame). I've dealt with imbalances in D&D 3.5, but nothing as all encompassing as this. Suggestions?

I pay with Legos instead of dollies so I may have to apply my Lego template. I guess that means her mouth is bricked over instead of sewn shut. :p

Oh, what about "Invasion of the chocolate killer-bunnies" and "Conspiracy of the Cookie Dough Golems?" Don't tell me they've been canceled as well...

Yes! "Night on Cookie Dough Mountain!" is a much better title!

Reviewed here, on DTRPG and sent to GMS magazine. And YES, I will run this one for my group - it's an awesome adventure...and I really hope you can adjust the layout - it's beautiful, but the shaded boxes can lead to problems. It's awesome to see how much better than the first GU this is - kudos, two thumbs up, stellar work!

Thanks so much for your detailed review! Reviews help us get the word out so much and I highly value your reviews on other 3PP products as well.

-Rich

Farewell and adieu to ye fair Spanish ladies ...

And now we show our scars! LOL

I like how, even in the free preview, there are notes about how dangerous this can be and to be prepared for character death. I'll definitely be paying more attention to TPK products in the future!

We the scaling section useful too you? I developed the current strategy for scaling our stuff and would love some feedback on it works out!

-Rich

This is practically begging to be inserted in Skull & Shackles, or the Serpent's Skull Adventure Paths. I personally can't wait to hear about someone that runs their party through it. It will be memorable, for certain.

This would also be GREAT with the Savage Tide adventure path! As a matter of fact, I'd present it when their own ship is...

It was an amazing experience collaborating with Rich on this adventure. He came up with the creepy-cool plot and the fantastic cartography. Then he let me off my leash and allowed me to run hog-wild all over it. I think we made a great team, but we'd love to hear your opinions. Let us know what you think!

Tom simply rocks! We had the distinct pleasure of collaborating during the RPG Superstar 2010 contest and I've known even since back then that we'd work well together. I'm planning out our next venture as we speak!

-Rich

Richard A. Hunt wrote:

Seems that way to me as well. Sadness. :(

Someone mentioned that there's always next year, but there really isn't because anyone that makes it to the top 8 can no longer compete, so this is his last shot in this contest.

Yeah, but at this point all 4 of them will be writing something (if they so choose), so we're now deciding which of the 4 proposals we (the fan base) want to see made in a module. And by that logic I have to look at any comments that say "This module will probably not end up like this proposal".

I prefer to vote for the one I like without trying to analyze how the community feels about it.

It's a shame that for many people this is coming down to voting on the adventure itself and not the designer behind it, due to circumstances wholly out of the control of the designer himself.

Feels wrong to me.

Seems that way to me as well. Sadness. :(

Someone mentioned that there's always next year, but there really isn't because anyone that makes it to the top 8 can no longer compete, so this is his last shot in this contest.

This adventure is hands down the WINNER for me! I also love all the fantastic elements presented in this proposal. Not since the wild days of Planescape has there been a creative leap into another plane I actually WANT to see! This isn't just another "save the town" adventure or even another novel trek into the underwater deeps, but a true quest into the unknown to stop some really badass adversaries from changing the world with their evil plans--even if the plane is other than Leng, even if the companions are other than giants. This adventure is about stopping the (re)birth of a god! How cool is that!? "The Scarlet God" definitely gets my vote! Void Motes? Devouring Geometry? Yes! WIN! Man, I really hope we're done with Serpent's Skull by the time this hits the shelves!

Sinister Secrets of Silvermote features a great adversary in Temerlyth the Undying. I purchased this adventure and am just waiting for my groups' PCs to be high enough level to undertake it. It is very well crafted, and looks to be a lot of fun. It is sort of your traditional dungeon crawl, but also has a lot of other fun elements.

Hi there. I'm the author and just wanted to offer my heartfelt thanks for the recommend. It does wonders for me to see folks enjoying Temerlyth and Silvermote! I've enjoyed the feedback so much that it's even persuaded me to run Silvermote at GenCon this year. :-)

I would like to see a relatively simple set of rules for determining the availability of equipment on the fly. Some rules for determining the legality of items such as drugs, alcohol, firearms, loaded dice, etc. would be cool too.

Also, I would like to see the following thief/spy type items:

+ Pin/Razor Ring (deliver poison/cut ropes or paper)
+ Aniseed/Dog Pepper/Cat Stink (throw animals off scent)
+ Blinding Powder
+ Metal-Eating Acid
+ Footpad Boots
+ Silenced Armor
+ Glass Cutter
+ Cane Sword/Dagger and Spring-Loaded/Surprise Weapons
+ Blowpipe (smoking pipe, but also a blowgun or delivers powdered poisons)
+ Boot/Wrist Sheaths
+ Mini-Telescope/Lock Scope
+ Paste Gemstones
+ Acrobatic equipment (tightrope walking, cat burglary, etc.)
+ Alchemical Gear (smoke bombs, capsules, poisoned tooth, etc.)
+ Additional Animal Training options (monkey thief lol)
+ Secret Compartments/Hiding Spaces in existing gear
+ Stink Bombs/Smoke Bombs/Colored Dye Bombs and other mundane alchemical distraction items

Your reviews are very much appreciated! -Rich

That being said, what I saw in the preview of this vile little kobold has me seriously intrigued, as he looks to be a fantastic villain, with an equally vile goddess.

Maramaga has a special place in my sick brain and I had a good time writing her up. :)

Question: Is that Lich on the cover dancing? Because I think The Dancing Lich as an adversary sounds awesome!

He's battle float green glow kick-butt dancing which is even worse! This is a seriously great piece by Eric de Mander from Sweden. We had to have it!

Awesome!

richard develyn wrote:

Any thoughts about how this could slot in to the Carrion Crown Campaign both geographically and from a plot p.o.v?

Cheers

Richard

Well geographically... [i]So my recommendation it to run it as a followup to the AP - as they are celebrating their big win and just scale it to level 16.

I agree. You do want to be careful an not derail your AP. Silvermote does contain some serious treasures. I'd recommend using Temerlyth and his lair like paint to touch up and enhance the experience. :)

Any thoughts about how this could slot in to the Carrion Crown Campaign both geographically and from a plot p.o.v?

Cheers

Richard

The Shudderwoods in haunted Ustalav, where the adventure path is set, seems like the perfect choice, with the nearby Worldwound being a good second choice. The demonic powers there would give Temerlyth a run for his money though yet provide a good reason for him to stay hidden. In the latter case, the twisted fey of the Shudderwoods adds additional flavor to Temerlyth's being an elven lich.

Recall that Temerlyth loves a bit of court intrigue. He'd be tempted to dabble in the political affairs of Ustalav, maybe even going so far as to act as an occasional adviser to the powers that be. Temerlyth could most certainly by involved somehow in "Broken Moon," the 3rd piece of the AP. You could use him to help weaker parties through a side quest to his lair for legendary objects or advice on dealing with werewolves. He would certainly take an interest in the werewolf lord's death and in the doings of the cult of the Whispering Way. They'd most certainly be interested in him! Temerlyth could appear against stronger parities, as competitors for lycanthropic flesh. Remember, he likes to experiment...

The Sinister Secrets of Silvermote adventure also features an interesting NPC aristocrat whose nationality could certainly be made Ustalivic too ;)

I have the Temerlyth the Undying and was plotting a means to throw him at my PCs - then I saw this. After downloading the teaser I'm excited. This is going to be pure awesome - looking forward to the release!

I'd love to hear how it goes! Also, if you have any questions or anything once you read it over, don't hesitate to let us know! We have an awesome website to help support our fans and products: http://www.tpkgames.com!

Cheers,
Rich

Necroblivion wrote:

@d20pfsrd.com: Richard is a rock star, and really delivered the goods on this adventure. Also, drinking with TPK is a CR 9 hazard, so you may have some XP coming! Make sure to get Great Fortitude for Gen Con next year as you level!

In my defense, I failed my Perception check and you guys got a surprise round in on me and you guys confirmed crits on every attack.

Haha! You are all too kind. :)

Thanks very much for the review, Wizard, I much appreciate it. Out of interest, what would have made it a five-star product for you?

Honestly, I had trouble deciding. There are certainly no flaws so it's a five star product as far as quality is concerned. I gave it four stars for basically two reasons: it fills a very small niche and the price is a little high when considering the small place it fills. Still, much effort went into this so it was certainly hard to judge. I liked most of the line art, the first piece (the cat) being the best. Not all the pieces are as good, but it just can't have been easy to fit the art to the text.

P.S. This is such a small thing but it was nice to see the word 'doddle' in use as well as real English spelling. Sometimes products lack personality or linguistic interest and so "Wondrous Treasures" was certainly not dry or dull either. I think you've also organized your product lines in a very thoughtful and intelligent way and I really do like the absence of flashy design.

Haha! Well considering that this all began in bar in Indianapolis, I believe you're right!

AWizardInDallas wrote:

It also seems like there's not enough reviewers. Do you all think that's true? I was even thinking about doing some reviews myself because there are some great (and inexpensive) products out there. I'm not sure how that would be received though.

You are absolutely right. I'd happily provide free review copies to anyone who would give Raging Swan's products fair reviews. I deeply appreciate everyone who takes the time to review one of my products, but with more reviews come more opnions and more opportunities to create better products in the future!

I just recently discover your stuff and would be happy to do a review in exchange for a copy. :)

Speaking as a publisher: please, please, please post reviews. You are absolutely right that there aren't enough. If it's a good review, great! If it's a bad review, it gives insight into what to improve or fix. Win/win.

Speaking as a player: I tend to buy from Paizo if I'm not buying from a FLGS and the product is available at the Paizo site. For two reasons: first, it's the only place to get Paizo products online that I know of. Second: I know that Paizo gives 3PP a better rate than RPGNow or DriveThruRPG. ;)

Also, I want to mention that, while Psionics Expanded isn't in my game plans (I prefer psionics in my sci-fi and magic in my fantasy), I have looked at your work in the store and it's absolutely top notch and less expensive than most rule books. You can quote me on that. :)

Speaking as a publisher: please, please, please post reviews. You are absolutely right that there aren't enough. If it's a good review, great! If it's a bad review, it gives insight into what to improve or fix. Win/win.

Speaking as a player: I tend to buy from Paizo if I'm not buying from a FLGS and the product is available at the Paizo site. For two reasons: first, it's the only place to get Paizo products online that I know of. Second: I know that Paizo gives 3PP a better rate than RPGNow or DriveThruRPG. ;)

Would it be considered a conflict of interest if, since I work for a game company, to review competing products. I've fair and balanced capability but don't want to cause myself or others any grief.

I was just wondering, where does everyone go to buy compatible stuff? I typically go to Paizo because I like having all my previous downloads available.

I've purchased from DriveThruRPG/RPGNow too, but usually only if it's not available here. I've never bought from EN World, but am discovering they have a lot of great things too. Are there other places everyone likes to shop for compatible products?

It also seems like there's not enough reviewers. Do you all think that's true? I was even thinking about doing some reviews myself because there are some great (and inexpensive) products out there. I'm not sure how that would be received though.

I recently wrote Temerlyth the Undying and as his author/creator I just have to say that... well, I am such marketing noob. Haha! I really would like to understand the gears of the 3PP world much better than I do.

I just wanted to say a few words about Temerlyth the Undying and about TPK Games in general. Though it isn't readily apparent from the product description I'm his humble creator. It may sound as though I'm bragging on myself, for which I apologize, but I just want to mention a couple of my personal accomplishments to help reassure about quality of this product. I'm really proud of my work on this despicable villain.

I participated in the RPG Superstar 2010 Contest and placed in the top 8--doesn't buy me a beer at the local house, but there it is. :)

Anyway you may recall my Needles of the Ebon Strand, my Splorudra or perhaps the Green Barrow, my round 8 map and adventure pitch. These were all favorites with some.

My name also appears in Ultimate Combat as one of the contributing designers (Richard A. Hunt... that's me!). This is also my very first work for a game company, other than as a contributor or in some old Dragon Magazine articles. I'd like to see Temerlyth's evil spread world wide... Muhahahah! *Ahem*

To close, we think Temerlyth came out so well, that I've also written his lair--what I hope will be our next major companion product. So what you'll be getting is just the tip of the iceberg! We have big plans to produce hundreds of weird and wonderful products--all simple to use, filled with old school goodness, built on the chassis of the best RPG system in the world and in some cases as dark and twisted as the hair in a demon's arm pit. Haha!

So far my experience with 3PP has been fairly limited.

I don't know anything about TPK games, I haven't heard of y'all before, but I'm definitely looking for something on the dark side. Do y'all have a website? (Since the stuff won't be available here?)

We sure do! I attended GenCon this year and as a result hooked up with the guys at TPK Games. I made mention of my various skills and talents (in a bar in Indianapolis no less! Lol!) and, in short, later built a site and joined the team. Please check us out: TPK Games! The site is full featured in hopes of supporting our growing fan base.

ShadowcatX wrote:

I don't know anything about TPK games, I haven't heard of y'all before, but I'm definitely looking for something on the dark side. Do y'all have a website? (Since the stuff won't be available here?)

I've bought and reviewed TPK games material and so far I'm pleased with their later material as their early material as pretty as it was just wasn't upto snuff. Now their latest books you can see they are getting on a roll and it's come along nicely. The writing is solid, the layout is clean, and the big color artwork beautiful. There is nothing in there that doesn't need to be in there and it's packed in there cleanly. Very pleased with my purchases.

Raging swan press is another one like TPK games. Simple, easy to use, and full to the brim of everything you need and nothing you don't. Don't let that plain black front page fool you, if you need something in that book you'll end up saying "OH! I can use this too!" It's a veritable DM treasure trove of ideas.

I just wanted to take this opportunity to say a little more about Total Party Kill Games. I apologize in advance if it sounds like I'm bragging on myself, but that's not the intent at all! Please let me assure you that I'm as humble as they come! It's just that there are no resumes or credentials, etc. and since I now work for TPK, I wanted to mention some of my personal accomplishments, with the obvious goal of hoping to influence folks to check us out!

While I mentioned above that I attended GenCon, prior to that I also participated in the RPG Superstar 2010 Contest and placed in the top 8 (as you can see by the text next to my name in this post. Lol!) I also wanted to mention that my name appears in Ultimate Combat as one of the contributing designers (Richard A. Hunt... that's me!).

So what's in store for the future? I wear so many hats at TPK it's hard to know where to start, but I will be writing for TPK most of all. I'll also be doing lots of maps too (I did the map for the most recent Tomb of Caragthax the Reaver scenario, our first offering in the Grave Undertakings product line). I'm the lead designer on two brand new products coming out very soon!

If you love recurring villains you're definitely going to want to take a look at our next Infamous Adversary, Temerlyth the Undying! If you're looking for a really dark, irredeemable soul Temerlyth fits the bill. An NPC from my own campaign, he is highly developed and ready to horrify your players! Apologies for sounding like an advertisement but he really is all that, IMHO!

What's also so special about this one is that we think he came out so well, that I also wrote a major companion product, a full-length adventure/lair starring this major bad guy! Also from my home campaign, it's very well developed too! While it can be played as an adventure it's really a major reusable site you can drop into any campaign!

I started a new game a few weeks ago, level 1, pretty standard stuff (20 point buy). There's a magus, a ranger, a fighter and a samurai. The only one without an 18 in strength is the magus. This has happened a few times. Not just with warriors and strength, but also with wizards and intelligence, sorcerers and charisma, etc.

And I am really getting tired of it. I can't pit standard enemies against these guys. I'm forced to throw things like bugbears against a level 1 party because they just shred everything else. And I do understand that it's a party of warriors, and that they normally shred enemies, but it's happened before with high save DCs and ridiculous rogue ACs.

How do I discourage this kind of character-building? I understand that everyone wants to be effective in combat. But "effective in combat" does not equal "meat grinder with legs." A warrior can be effective with a 14 or 16 at level 1.

Thanks in advance,

...Catch Phrase,

-Chris

I've used the same generation method for years and don't allow point buy characters. Each player is allowed to roll 4d4, drop the lowest die, in three sets of six. They get to pick the set they like best and arrange them as they please. :)

Is Google messing them up, or is there actually a problem with the links? I'm getting an error message "Sorry, we are unable to generate a view of the document at this time. Please try again later."

Click edit, then it shows up. Then do download as suggested. :)

You may or may not remember me from Paizo's RPG Superstar 2010 contest. A lot of you liked my round 8 map submission from the contest so I thought I'd mention that I recently joined TPK Games and did the maps for this. :)

These are my comments before reading the comments of the judges or others:

I can't help but think of the symbionts and grafts from the D&D 3.5 Fiend Folio, so I'm on the fence about seeing this item as monster or magic item. That aside, your description of this nasty little thing is vivid and clear. I'm not crazy about the flanking penalty, which nets out at -1. I'd rather it just negate the flanking bonus, which is easier and seems more reasonable. If the braid had multiple tentacles or something like that I could see imposing a -2, but not as it stands.

I like that the braid takes advantage of the weak since that befits it's devilish nature, but "rips at target's face" seems like a targeted attack, which also seems sort of harsh/unfair since there really aren't any targeted attacks in the Pathfinder RPG. Combat is abstract. I see no need to make the blindness permanent; again, seems harsh, though I realize the blindness is curable. I'd just have the braid whip the target and cause temporary blindness.

I like that the braid does some harm to the wearer and that it takes advantage of the same weakness. As written, the costing/pricing seems too low for permanent blindness. I also like it that this item uses a head slot, which is kind of uncommon.

Overall, the description of this item is compelling and it's actually well thought out. A lot of my criticisms are more personal preference than flaws and with some re-pricing this is a good, solid, nasty thing. I can even accept it as a magic item rather than a monster or graft. :)

This sounds a lot like the effects in The Little Mermaid. Anyone else notice this? *looks around* Ah, I'm not the only one.

I can't get past that on the first reading. An awesome archtype would probably get me to reread this and consider it more fully.

Ah! That was it! My daughter's 13 now; no wonder this eluded me. Haha!

These are my comments before reading the comments of the judges or others:

Hmm, this one's tough because it does have an interesting core concept--storing hit points. Unfortunately, the title doesn't match or just has no explanation at all. In this case, more fluff, beyond just a flaw in the stone, can only help the item's association with the title. The item should also better describe the transfer process, like holding the tear tightly in hand or just concentration or...? Also, I'd impose a rate of transfer so the process is interruptable and so this isn't item used during combat. The item also ought to have a hit point cap and/or a 2-to-1 transfer rate to prevent huge hit point transfers.

Also, wouldn't an hp transfer be painful in some way? I mean hit points aren't just a number, they're a measure of how much physical punishment a being can take, so how the gem makes the user feel after a transfer seems important. Again, a sudden hit point drain--seems like it would painful, just like being hit with a blade, whereas a more gradual transfer might not be. The recipient should probably feel some sort of negative effects too (nausea or temporary fatigue), at least for a minute or two; the item doesn't have the instant comfort of a healing spell after all. I like that the gem doesn't hold points forever, but there are a lot of details missing; you had the word count and should have used more of it.

Overall, this item just seems incomplete, even though the concept is cool. This could be an interesting unselfish clerical item with a lot more work.