ArchAnjel's page

In anticipation of Pathfinder Online, I started up an EVE Online account to get a feel for how some of the systems might work. I don't expect them to be identical, by any means, but I'm hoping I might be able to at least get a general sense of how some of the systems interact with each other. Last night, I noticed something about the PvP experience that I want to talk about.

A little background, first. I enjoy PvP. My first real PvP experience was Dark Age of Camelot (DAoC) which I played from the day of launch. Ironically, I kind of did the same thing with DAoC that I'm now doing with EVE. I got started with DAoC to check out what PvP was like, in anticipation of Star Wars Galaxies which I knew was going to have faction-based PvP as a core element of the game. DAoC, as a theme park MMO, had its flaws and has suffered from them over time but one thing that I think it did very well was introduce players new to PvP into a PvP environment in a way that didn't frighten them off.

The PvP experiences in DAoC were all consensual, though some were more consensual than others. There were areas of the game that were completely free from PvP and then there were the frontiers. In the beginning, people would often PvE in the frontiers, levelling up on content there. In doing so, they recognized the possibility that PvP could occur, but they weren't really there FOR the PvP, they were there to level on PvE content. So it was technically consensual since they chose to be there knowing that PvP could occur, but not fully consensual in that they weren't looking to PvP, they were just looking to level.

Over time however, customers utilized that content less and less for fear of getting rolled by a roving band of PvP'ers. People avoided less-than-fully-consensual PvP until they got to the level cap where things were more equal. When Mythic (the makers of DAoC) saw that all this content was getting ignored by people levelling up, they introduced the Battlegrounds. Those were lower-level areas of frontier where each area allowed characters of a narrow level range so people could be assured that they would be able to dip their toes into the water of PvP without fear of being overwhelmed by characters who were grossly more powerful than them.

That feature is missing from EVE and I fear that it may be overlooked in Pathfinder Online. I think a game with PvP as a core mechanic can really benefit from an introductory level of PvP where people can check it out without fear of getting totally ganked with zero chance to enjoy the experience. Maybe we can toss around some ideas for how to introduce customers gradually to PvP in a way that ensures characters of like power are matched together.

Perhaps areas (arenas?) could be set aside that limit PvP engagement to characters that have a certain point total in the combat-centric skill tree? I know the subject of arenas has been brought up in the context of duelling but, rather than consequence-free duelling, perhaps it could be implemented with all the normal consequences of death. There would likely be no looting within that environment because everyone would dump their non-essential gear prior to going in so they didn't lose it.

Or maybe PvP missions as part of the tutorial? If you have a particular mission, you can only be engaged in PvP by someone with the matching mission. Make it a mission provided in the tutorial in an area isolated from the rest of the game? The mission would have to expire after a certain duration and would need to have a limit for how many times you could re-acquire it after expiration to prevent people from using it as a shield to protect themselves permanently.

Or perhaps someone can think of some better ideas for how to introduce customers gradually to a PvP environment.

I'm really looking forward to Pathfinder Online for a numer of reasons but high on the list is the wealth of dynamically generated content in the game, much of which is generated by the actions of the playerbase. Some of the quests in the game clearly will be generated by the players in the form of bounties, contracts, etc. I would like to suggest a possibility for dynamic generation of non-player-created content.

Way back in the day, Sid Meier created a spy game called Covert Action. The game had its share of flaws but one thing it did which I think has tremendous potential was the way it generated "missions". The game contained ten mastermind villains; in Pathfinder Online those might be evil demigods, demon lords, mighty necromancers, or crafty dragons. Each of those mastermind villains had a specific objective, something far-reaching requiring the achievement of numerous smaller objectives; think along the lines of development, production, and distribution of a magical disease or the subjugation of an entire region by turning everyone into undead.

To acheive that larger goal, several intermediate goals would need to be achieved, perhaps an ancient formula retrieved from the depths of some ruined wizard's tower or the destruction of a village for the rapid generation of corpses for reanimation. Some of these intermediate goals might be broken down into even smaller goals such as researching the location of a wizard's lost tower or blackmailing a guard captain to turn against his village.

The accomplishment of these goals can be approached from two angles. Through successive layers of obfuscating underlings, the mastermind villain needs to hire someone to accomplish these goals. But as word gets out that someone is being or has been hired, opposing forces may choose to take action to prevent the accomplishment of these goals. So for each goal, content is generated for two types of players.

Now, from the mastermind's perspective, the goal NEEDS to be achieved. If one group fails, another group must be hired to achieve that same goal. Perhaps she hires from a different region and that same quest spawns elsewhere in the game. Once that goal is achieved, the next step in her nefarious plan gets generated as a quest. At some point along the quest chain, perhaps there is a point of no return where failure of the quest results in a complete collapse of the quest chain. And that quest chain might appear later in the game having been generated by a different mastermind.

So from a list of masterminds and a list of plots, a series of goals can be generated as quests. Each quest results in content for two types of players, the "for" and the "against." Some of those plots may share similar goals to reduce development resources and to obfuscate the true nature of the plot.

I believe this could be a great way of encouraging player interaction in an ongoing storyline without that storyline being static content that is consumed once and then ignored.

What resources do you feel would be particularly inspirational for Skull and Shackles?

A few that come off the top of my head:

• Captain Blood (movie)
  
• Count of Monte Cristo (book by Alexandre Dumas and movie)
  
• Pirates of the Caribbean (movie series)

I just finished George R. R. Martin's A Dance with Dragons and was looking for another book to read when it occurred to me that I should use this opportunity to start a book with a piratical theme so if anyone can think of a book along those lines, I'd appreciate it.

We're planning to run through this Adventure Path (AP) and my group is trying to decide on which books to allow for character creation and development. My group's GM (me) is a bastard and only wanted to allow Core classes initially, but he's starting to bend.

My initial hesitance to using the additional content was for balance issues. It seems to me that most of the NPCs in Adventure Paths are designed with Core classes, feats, spells, etc. so allowing PCs access to a whole host of new classes, archetypes, feats, spells, items, etc. that the NPCs are not going to have access to would be imbalancing and significantly reduce the challenge to the party, thereby reducing the fun (presupposing that the fun comes from overcoming significant challenges). One of my players has suggested that recent Adventure Paths have been including more and more content from the Advanced Player's Guide (APG), Ultimate Combat (UC), and Ultimate Magic (UM) so it actually would not be imbalancing at all to allow such content for the players.

Can a designer reply with some suggestion of how much of the content from APG, UC, and UM are written into the AP so I can get a better sense of whether allowing such content for those playing through this AP would be imbalancing? And obviously I recognize that the Paizo staff have a vested interest in encouraging use of as much content from supplemental books as possible to encourage sales, but I'm asking for a realistic opinion of whether I can do so and maintain a fair balance.

I'm looking for advice on how to run an in-game tournament. Like, jousting, archery, strong-man, that kind of stuff. I'd like to use that kind of setup as an introduction to an adventure but I've always been disappointed with how in-game tournaments have been handled in the past. Too often, they rely heavily on a round of d20 rolls which have so much variability that even someone who is highly skilled can roll a 1 and totally bomb.

Does anyone have any suggestions for how an in-game tourney might be played out in a way that's fun?

Shannon

We've started up a new Carrion Crown campaign and will be putting character journals here. It looks like a really fun campaign and we're all looking forward to playing against the gothic horror backdrop of Ustalav.

Our campaign site can be found HERE.

Shannon

I'm looking for some advice on how to handle Rigg Gargadilly's abilities. His Supernatural Speed (Su)grants concealment with his normal, everyday movement, right? Against most creatures, finding cover or concealment allows you to use Stealth.

When moving at a speed greater than half but less than your normal speed (120 for Rigg), you take a –5 penalty to Stealth. But if people are observing you using any of their senses (but typically sight), you can't use Stealth.

So, I see two options for the ruling here:

A) If the PCs have a readied action to attack as soon as he streaks into their melee range, he can stealth up to them at 115 movement, take a sneak attack (and thus no longer stealthed), receive an attack from the readied action, and then use the rest of his 115 movement to hide somewhere and do it all again next round.

B) As soon as he streaks out from hiding, he is being observed and thus cannot stealth. He can rush up and attack, triggering the readied attack, and rush away again as above.

Option A seems a little too tough since you're essentially giving one creature a permanent sneak attack to every hit without having to get flanking. But option B seems a little too weak since he may as well be standing toe-to-toe exchanging one attack for another.

The word limit for round 1, per the official rules, is 300 words. But on the FAQ, it is listed as only 200 words.

Just an FYI.

Shannon

I'm concerned about a problem that I had in Savage Tide that I see as a possibility here in Serpent's Skull as well. Isolation. In Savage Tide, the group went for weeks upon weeks (and level after level) with no access to the outside world. Feats devoted to item crafting were completely wasted with no way to obtain supplies. Roleplaying was virtually non-existant as there were no interactions with anyone who was not already a part of the group.

I haven't read through the first adventure yet (in hopes of being able to play through it), but as soon as I read, "A deadly storm shipwrecks the passengers..." I was concerned.

Is this going to be an issue again?

My group of five level-1 adventurers is standing outside the Stag Lord's fort discussing how best to conduct the assault. <sigh>

They really took to heart Oleg and Svetlana's plight and interrogated the living bandits to determine the camp's location. During the interrogation, one of the PCs demanded to know if they had seen an old man who fit the description of the PC's missing father. Seeing an opportunity for a backstory hook, I had the bandit admit that they had indeed seen a prisoner pass through the camp some days back. Inspired by the urgency of finding the PC's missing father, they headed due SW until they struck the Thorn River, then followed it downstream to the forest's edge and started exploring to discover the camp.

After a near TPK at the camp (the bandits got a few lucky rolls), they ended that fight with one charmed bandit. That bandit confirmed that an old man had passed through their camp recently. In an effort to impress upon them the viciousness and strength of the Stag Lord, I had the bandit relay that the prisoner had tried to strike the Stag Lord and got his hand crushed for his efforts.

Unbeknownst to me, this created in the group a sense of urgency to rescue the PC's father post haste! The charmed bandit provided enough information for them to follow the river down to the Tuskwater where they found the Stag Lord's fort and they're now preparing to mount their assault.

I fear a TPK is in the offing here. I've given them fair warning that they are sure to run into encounters tougher than they can handle so they'll need to be prepared to withdraw if necessary. I'm just concerned that they may all get wiped before they realize it's too late.

Some of them are advising caution, warning that they nearly TPK'd against the Thorn River camp whom they caught unawares. Out of character, I think they all recognize the lethality of what they're proposing but in character they are motivated by what they see as a rescue attempt.

Perhaps I was remiss in following up on the opportunity for a backstory hook? Any suggestions for how I might remediate this situation? Give them a reason to pull back? Allow an opportunity to "rescue" the father without storming the fort?

Shannon

Since the adventure path starts rather abruptly with a, "You all arrive at Oleg's Trading Post," I was inclined to modify that introduction a bit to provide for more interaction between the players prior to arriving at Oleg's.

I'm sure other groups have done the same and I'm wondering what techniques others have used for this intro.

Our first live game starts next week so I just used the campaign site to initiate a little online roleplaying prior to game time so the players could start interacting with each other and get a feel for their personalities.

Here's how we started our game:

Ash

Recently having abandoned the life of the thug and brigand, Ash set off for Restov to try to make a life anew for himself. Arriving in Restov and hoping to find employment, Ash found it more difficult than expected to find his place in society. Everywhere he went, he found other out-of-work swordsmen competing for the same kinds of jobs he sought. In a city filled with hot-blooded young swordsmen trying to prove themselves, conflict was more than likely... it was inevitable.

A grazed shoulder in passing, a perceived insult, a drunken threat - a duel at dusk. The assembled crowd barely even saw Ash move but in an instant his charging, blustering opponent lay at Ash's feet, life's blood darkening the muddy ground.

Dueling, however, is unlawful.

Vodim

Arriving in Restov, Vodim could see in a heartbeat that this was a city lacking law. The few wealthy noblemen and ladies here walk in the muddy streets alongside ruffians and sell-swords. Seeking out the local clergy, Vodim explained that, as a priest of Abadar, he would be doing his best to ensure the law was carried out and offered his services to the local magistrate. His offer was politely rebuffed and Vodim sensed that he was perceived as an outsider and a possible threat.

None the less, Vodim could not stand idly by and watch lawlessness go unpunished. While partaking of the hospitality of the local nobility, Vodim could be often found in the streets, assisting the local guard with identifying criminals and following up on leads, talking to the locals and gathering information.

Then came the day when he saw a crowd gathered on the street at dusk. Knowing it must be a duel, Vodim strode forward to call a stop to such unlawful foolishness. As he pushed his way through the crowd, he heard them gasp in shock. Breaking through, he saw a fallen body lying on its back, split from neck to hip in a single clean cut. Standing over the corpse, a creature of clearly inhuman origin.

The two men locked eyes and time itself seemed to stop. A battle of wills or perhaps something else passed between them. With a start, they realized that they stood alone on the street, the sun having fallen. Vodim knew that he had to bring this man to justice. Ash knew he refused to live his life fleeing from the consequences of his actions.

The local magistrate, perhaps seeing an opportunity to rid Restov of a ruffian and a rival all in one stroke, requested that Vodim escort Ash to a outlying trading post to the south and ensure that he commit himself to the assistance of the proprietor there.

Kepli

Having stayed in Restov for some few weeks in his quest for wealth, Kepli had heard much about Lord Noleski Surtova's encouragements to bring order to some of the outlying regions. When he heard that a group had been sent south to assist a fringe trading post, he considered trying to join their company but decided against it as he heard they were a pretty rough bunch and unlikely to treat a halfling with anything but derision and scorn. However, when his identity was mistaken for an adolescent member of the guild of thieves, Kepli decided it best to make a hasty exit. It is well known that halflings have a penchant for thievery so finding justice in Restov seemed unlikely at best.

Leaving town on his trusty pony Nugget, he set out on the south road from Restov. By midmorning, the fog had turned to rain but Kepli pressed on hoping to find a small village where he might shelter with a local in exchange for news of the world.

After slogging through a few hours of rain, Kepli pauses as he thinks he can make out some dark figures on the road ahead. They do not seem to be travellers as they are just standing on the road. Edging somewhat closer, Kepli can make out that there are actually three figures. Two standing at the side of the road and a third dark figure swinging silently by his neck...

Andrick and Vikenti

Having travelled for two days north and east through the woods toward the road that leads to Restov, the two companions stopped on the third day as Andrick could tell there was going to be rain. He built a shelter large enough to keep the two dry and warm and hunkered down as the fog began to change to heavy, fat drops of rain.

Some hours later, Andrick made out the echoing sounds of a fight, though heavily muffled by the falling rain. The sounds lasted only briefly before dying out. Ever on the alert, Andrick and Vikenti emerged cautiously from their shelter and began making their way slowly, carefully east toward the road where they had heard the ring of steel against steel.

Emerging cautiously from the trees, the two crept toward the road where they saw the carnage of a very recent fight. Several bodies had been dragged from the road and quickly stripped of valuables. Judging by what little clothing remained, Andrick and Vikenti concluded that they must have been wearing armor which had since been removed. As they moved closer toward the road, they made out a figure swinging by his neck on what appeared to be a crude gibbet.

Before they can investigate further however, they hear the approach of strangers on the road coming from the north. Unsure of whether these might be the waylayers come back to marvel over their carnage, Andrick and Vikenti withdraw into the mists just far enough that they can barely make out the approaching strangers. They drop to the ground to observe further without being noticed...

Ash and Vodim

Travelling south along the road from Restov, the fog has turned to rain and the road has turned to mud. As you slog your way mile after mile, you stop as you see a figure before you, standing just off the side of the road.

He seems to be swaying slightly as if dancing slowly in the rain. You realize with a shock that the figure is actually swinging in the wind as it dangles from its neck. Moving closer, the two of you see that the figure has been strung by the neck from a hastily constructed gibbet. You can see that he seems to have some notice pinned to his chest... actually, the notice is stuck to his chest with an eating knife plunged into his heart.

Before you can make out what the notice contains, you hear over the constant splatter of rain the sounds of a mounted rider approach from behind you and stop...

I've seen a number of posts about how many characters have gotten whacked by the randomly generated will o' wisp and I'm wondering how this encounter can be made more interesting rather than just a frustrating combat encounter for the players.

Some of the descriptions I've seen have been right on the money in terms of the classic will o' wisp - trick the players into following the light into some dangerous area and then feed on their terror. Others seem to be more along the lines of "You see a will o' wisp. Roll initiative."

Sticking with the classic methodology of luring PC's into situations likely to evoke the fear and terror on which the wisp feeds, what kinds of scenarios might the wisp lead the PC's into?

• Quicksand (or slurpy bog mud equivalent)
• Nearby lair of some other creature
• Ravine
• Fast-moving river

I also like the idea of combining some of the above. For example, a ravine which drops into a fast-moving river or a fast-moving river in which lairs a dangerous creature.

What kinds of other scenarios do you envision a wily wisp luring your PCs into?

Anyone else planning on running Kingmaker via MapTool? The group that I game with is spread all over the nation (Maryland, Oregon, Texas, a couple in Denver, and me in sunny San Diego) so we use MapTool to come together for our weekly game.

Running Kingmaker via MapTool looks like it will pose some interesting challenges. Since the group could potentially go to any of a variety of encounter areas, it seems like the GM will need to either A) have plenty of maps already created prior to game time or B) have the necessary resources gathered and organized to wing it and quickly create maps on the fly.

If you're running Kingmaker via MapTool, I'm curious to know which method you plan to take or possibly a combination of both. Also, what other challenges do you think you'll be facing by running this AP via MapTool?

Shannon

I'm looking for advice on how to build a mostly-core archer.

I am interested in taking on the challenge of creating an archer that is at least reasonably powerful (not overpowered) while sticking to mostly core SRD rules. A few non-core elements here and there are not going to kill me but I want to stick as close to core as I can and still have a character who is not utterly teh suq.

One other stipulation - I don't want to go down the path of Cleric Archer. I understand that one can use cleric buffs to become awesome at virtually anything. I've done that with another character - no need to do it again with this one.

Any thoughts on the issue would be greatly appreciated.

Shannon

Our group had some difficulty with Kazmojen. They first encountered him coming into the great hall through the dining area. When he demanded to know who had interrupted his business proceedings, the group charged without a word. Kazmojen and Prickles were able to effectively flank the leading members of the party since they had spread themselves out thinly. I had Kazmojen making single, two-handed attacks with his urgrosh instead of wielding it as a double-weapon which made for a more effective combatant.

Kazmojen and Prickles were able to tear to pieces each of the party members that came close, frequently switching to the most lightly-armored target they could reach. I could hear the panic in their voices when the hobgoblins, alerted by Prickles eerie howling, started to flood into the chamber in a seemingly endless stream. When one of the six party members was dead and two more had fallen, the retreat was called. The heavily armored dwarven fighter was felled during the retreat leaving two members to escape.

The fallen members were imprisoned and, in a mini-session played out with captive party members, they were able to effect their escape the next morning through a clever ruse and some very effective Bluff checks. Alas, during the escape, the general alarm was raised.

As the escapees reached the elevator, the party members who had survived the first fight were just coming down to rescue the fallen, accompanied by Fario and Fellian for added support. The reunion was short-lived however as the general alarm brought Kazmojen, Prickles, and the remaining hobgoblins charging in to face the new arrivals and escapees.

In this second encounter, the party was caught off-guard and ill-equipped (with the escapees being dressed only in hastily-donned hobgoblin armor and weapons) and again allowed themselves to get spread out along the length of the corridor, providing ample opportunity for the hobgoblins to surround the archer and Kazmojen and Prickles to again flank the remaining party members freely. After two more deaths (Fellian being one of them) and another two fallen, the party again fled to preserve their lives.

They regrouped on the surface with a few members bringing in new characters to replace the dead and captured. Joined by Fario and Alek Tercival (scaled down for being an early chapter, though still formidable), the revised group once again descended into the Malachite Hold. This time, Kazmojen had left the secret door leading to the elevator open so his guards could see when they came back. The alarm was raised immediately, but since Kazmojen was down to only a few guards left, they had instructions to pull back to the great hall.

The group was blessed with the wisdom to not charge after them and instead proceeded carefully down the hall, through the entry room, and down the next corridor toward the great hall. One of them fell prey to the pit trap but the others managed to avoid it. They had come in time to interrupt the sale of their fallen comrades (shackled and gagged, of course), to a kuo-toan slave trader (in an effort to foreshadow Bhal-hamatugn).

This time, the group stuck together to prevent flanking and kept the cleric immediately behind the front line for in-combat healing. Despite Kazmojen withdrawing for long enough to get two free rounds of Fast Healing, they were still able to overcome both he and Prickles (though they nearly lost another character in the process). During the fight, the Kuo-toan slave trader fled the great hall so he could come around the back of the party with his two lemures (repurposed from Pyllrak) as a surprise for the rear ranks but he fled and was chased down when he saw that Kazmojen had fallen.

To make the combat more interesting and less static, Kazmojen had also set up a swinging deadfall trap by having his hobgoblins go out to the jungle through the lava tunnels and collect saplings that he then had bundled together and hung from the ceiling, rigged to swing down and slam into anyone standing in the center of the great hall. He was hoping to catch a few of them in it, but it was triggered early by a panicked hobgoblin and ended up being something that the group was able to move around instead of though.

I'm really glad they have finally gotten past Kazmojen. He was a tough opponent, made all the tougher by poor tactics on the part of the PCs. I think they're starting to get a better idea of how difficult some of the encounters are going to be, so that's giving them a new respect for those characters who have been able to survive.

I know people have complained about the claw/bite damage being reversed in the stats but I'm looking at the stats and I'm seeing a lot of other discrepancies that I'm hoping someone can help me get settled before game night.

First off, he starts out with:

• +10 melee (1d8+7/x3, masterwork dwarven urgrosh)

There's something that doesn't add up and I can't figure out what it is. I can only come up with +9 melee for him: +3 BAB, +5 Strength, +1 Weapon Focus (dwarven urgrosh). Where is the other +1 melee coming from? Additionally, his damage should be +8, not +7; since he has nothing in his off hand, he's got both hands on his urgrosh, thereby doing Strength x 1.5 damage (5 x. 1.5 = 7.5 = 7) plus 1 for it being a masterwork weapon = 8. So, instead of +10 melee (1d8+7), I'm counting up +9 melee (1d8+8).

His optional single attack is listed as:

• +8 melee (1d6+4, claw)

We know that's supposed to be (1d4+4, claw) but there's still something not right. Where is this +4 damage coming from? He should be getting the full +5 from strength since it's a single attack, right?

His Full Attacks are similarly messed up:

• +6 melee (1d8+4/x3, dwarven urgrosh)
• +2 melee (1d6+2/x3, dwarven urgrosh)
• +2 melee (1d4+2, bite)

As far as I can see, the attack bonuses should be +5 melee, +1 melee, and +3 melee. The same +9 from above would calculate to +5 and +1 when two-weapon fighting at -4 and -8 respectively. And the bite is a secondary natural attack, thus gets a -5 on the attack roll (which would otherwise be at +8). Leaving aside the damage dice for the bite, the damage modifiers as I see them should be +3 (half strength bonus (5/2 = 2.5 = 2) plus masterwork (1)), +3 (same), and +2 (half strength bonus due to secondary natural weapon). So, altogether the Full Attack stat block should read

• +5 melee (1d8+3/x3, dwarven urgrosh)
• +1 melee (1d6+3/x3, dwarven urgrosh)
• +3 melee (1d6+2, bite)

So, with that many discrepancies, it's starting to make me wonder whether it's really ME that's making a mistake somewhere. Can someone take a look at the above and let me know if I'm missing some bonuses and/or penalties from something? And if this has already been covered somewhere, please point me to it since the Search function on the site is down right now.

Hey there,

I'm wondering how you all are dealing with downtime between or within chapters. Our group is has just arrived at Tanaroa (or however that's spelled) and we're about to start Chapter 5 but we are desperate for downtime. We haven't gotten a single day of downtime since we finished Chapter 2 and we're talking about basically staging a mutiny by refusing to proceed to Farshore until we've taken a couple months to Teleport back to Sasserine, sell loot, craft items, research spells, etc.

Has anyone else run into this same issue with their groups? How have you handled it?

NO SPOILERS PLEASE!

Hey there señor Schneider,

I couldn't think of any other place to put this so I guess I'll put it here.

It seems that one of your favorite phrases is "by in large" as I've seen you use it several times in various threads. Every time I see it, it makes me cringe. I figure as an editor you probably like words and stuff and enjoy learning about etymology and wordy things like that, right?

Okay, cool. Cause just as an FYI, it's "by and large". Check out this clicky link for more info on the origins of the phrase. And yes, I recognize that it's a niggling little thing that has very little significance in the overall effect of the communication, but stuff like that just somehow sticks in my craw - or would if I had a craw. It's right up there with "for all intensive purposes" for things that make my gums ache.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit about the nautical origins of the phrase and I hope you're not upset with me for finding fault in the details.

Crawlessly yours,

Shannon

Most of the specialist schools have a level 1 ability that can be used any time as a Standard action. If that ability is to fill the role of the "something I can do even when I'm out of spells" ability, it needs to scale more than just a +1 damage every 5 levels.

I recommend an extra +d6 every 2 levels which allows it so have at least some impact without outshining any higher level spells.

To begin, let me state openly that I really like the idea of using Turn/Rebuke attempts to add longevity to a group's adventuring. Having to rest for a day after every significant encounter can really suck so anything that helps to shore up a group and get them back in the fray is good in my book.

Having said that, evil clerics get the shaft. Unless they are undead themselves, it could be argued that they will be damaged by their own Rebuke attempt. Even if that is not the case, a cult of evil clerics attempting to bolster their undead followers is going to decimate itself when Evil Cleric A attempts to Rebuke and also hits Evil Clerics B, C, D, E, and F. And when each of the Evil Clerics A-F all attempt to Rebuke, they end up as smoking piles of ash consumed by the negative energy of each others' Rebuke attempts.

Even without there being a group of evil clerics, putting the adventurers (presumably goodish) against an opposed evil group with a cleric tips the advantage unfairly in favor of the adventurers because the evil cleric can't use the same abilities available to the good cleric without harming his own group. The good cleric can just position himself 30 feet from as many of his allies as possible while staying 35 feet or more from any enemies and channel positive energy in combat as a healing boost to augment his other curative abilities.

Part of the problem here is that the rationalization is based on the positive/negative energy paradigm. If it were changed to some other function that converted Turn/Rebuke attempts into a bolstering effect for allies, then it would be equally useful to both sides. It would be similar in concept to the many and varied feats that convert Turn/Rebuke attempts into everything under the sun and could be introduced as a free feat to Clerics and Paladins as well as other classes that are able to Turn/Rebuke.

Anyway, that's what I think.

I'm wondering how other groups have handled the possibility of becoming infected with the Vanishing in Jzadirune. My group just lost a character to it so I wonder if others have had similar experiences.

The group has discovered a number of infected items including the Bag of Tricks (or, as my group refers to it, the Fuzzy Ball of Animaliness). A couple uses of that item have resulted in the barbarian making his Fort save to avoid infection but the wizard failed his save. I was pretty concerned about this as the wizard, much like several members of the group, has used Charisma as basically their dump stat and at a 6 Charisma can't afford to lose much. In retrospect, it seems that the Vanishing was specifically created as a lesson about the hazards of using Charisma as a dump stat. Heh.

So, I was a little nervous about the next morning because, on the one hand, I wanted to stick with the original design as much as possible but, on the other hand, how bad would it suck to have your character just up and vanish with no way of combatting it. Fortunately, I rolled a 2 instead of a 6 and the wizard lost 2 points of Charisma, dropping him to a grand 4.

I figured they would spend some time addressing it, trying to figure out what they could do to cure it, talk to some priests or someone knowledgeable, or do something, but in the absence of a clear course of action, they basically just went about their daily activities, continuing to fight and explore.

Last meeting was the next game day and the wizard recovered 1 point of Charisma (since it's only damage and not drain) but when I rolled a 5 on the damage for that day, and he only had a 5 Charisma AFTER the 1 point was automatically restored... well, no more wizard.

I feel particularly cold-blooded about the fact that the wizard is just gone without being able to really fight it off, but they did have the opportunity to look into the matter and chose to just ignore it and go about their business. I could have stretched it out a little more using DM adjudication to have him drop down to a 2 or 1 Charisma but again I really did want to stay true to the original design. Besides, I didn't want to water down the potential for harm just because the group chose to make characters with extremely low Charisma (of the six party members, three of them have a 6 Charisma).

Any thoughts or feedback on what you have done with your groups? Did any characters in your groups become infected? How did they handle it? Did the DM just ignore the possibility completely? Thanks in advance.

Shannon