I may be in the minority here, but isn't the brilliance of the kobold precisely that it is underpowered?
They rely on cunning to make up for their shortcomings. They excel at traps not because they have insane trap bonuses, but because DMs often put them in adventures with awesome traps. They use ambushes and superior numbers. They don't have special ambush abilities, but DMs design cool ambush encounters with kobolds in them. They run, they come back, they get you when you sleep.
Adventurers foolishly underestimate the little guys at their peril - it's a tradition!
Plus, they give you a reason to enjoy Cleave or Combat Reflexes.
When you play a kobold, you relish the challenge of playing an underdog. You expect to have it rough. But you'll succeed anyway, because you're that awesome a player dammit.
-Ask
P.S. Bree-Yark!! (Did I get that right? It's been a while. . .)
Finally got my copy and had a chance to dig through it.
I know there's a lot of excitement over the play (and deservedly so - awesome scenes) but hopefully it doesn't get lost in the shuffle that the Asmodeus Knot is a pretty cool atmospheric dungeon as well.
Word of warning for Nessian in the final encounter, if you stand out on the siege tower platform to snipe at PCs, don't be surprised if a PC runs up the tower and bull rushes you off! Happened in the game, even with good BAB, Str and Dex for his CMD, it doesn't help if the PC rolls a natural 20 on the bull rush attempt. :-)
Now that is an awesome climactic finish. Sounds like it was a fun game.
Yeah, and every time I look at that [frog] avatar I think of Hugo Solis. Man, it's weird having an avatar forever linked with a poster that doesn't post that often anymore.
Heh, I am going to date myself here, but every time I see the frog icon I still think of the Wereplatypus, but you young'ns would not recall him.
I'll shoot you a line and let you know what I know.
But as a coincidence, the word on the street so to speak is that the organizers for Spellstorm are looking to organize their second Con sometime this summer - date still TBA.
Pathfinder Fans are once again kindly invited. A legion we are not, but mighty we are still.
P.S. Please say "Hi" to the fine folks of the TRPA for me.
Sparky immediately signed a three-year endorsement deal with Nike and will be featured in a chart topping hip-hop video. In a recent interview, Mr. Sparky revealed he had accidentally incinerated his title belt.
For his part, Mr. Inky decided to write a ‘tell-all’ book in which he revealed the seedy under belly of the sport. It’s a real page-turner in which Mr. Inky discovers he in fact has no under belly.
Keeping it real, Stampy has decided to retire from blood sport permanently and go into politics.
The T-Rex refused to pee in a cup and returned to the Darklands under a spectre of controversy. In a prepared statement, his agent denied all allegations on T-Rex’s behalf and insisted that his client’s jaws are all natural.
After a brief but successful stint on “Dancing with the Stars”, the Render signed himself and his bonded companion to a one-year contract for a reality television series called “Meet the Renders”.
The Gargantuan spider produced an infomercial for Thigh-Master, together with a series of popular weight loss supplements. He is expected to re-enter next year’s competition as a Huge spider.
The black dragon too left the world of fighting and enjoyed a burst (a cone?) of success bundling sub-prime mortgages for his hedge fund. Currently he has been indicted for designing a Ponzi scam. All allegations are as yet unproven.
Following his touchy-feely appearances on Opra and the View, the cloud giant skeleton is rumoured to be in-line to host an up-and-coming game show entitled: “Who Wants to be Re-Animated?”
The final was a bit of an anti-climactic finish, I’m afraid. The heavily-favoured elemental tore into the render. The render tried to fight back but he just didn’t have the hit points left to take the burn tax every time he struck his opponent. Or, for that matter, enough hit points to survive the burns he took when Sparky “returned fire”.
Let’s give some credit to Sparky’s player though, he stick-handled the tournament very well throughout and put himself in this winning position.
Winner: Fire Elemental
There you have it. The Winner of Green Blood on a Black Rock 4709 A.R. was Sparky the fire elemental!!!
The crowd goes wild – as do the wizards who watch the program on the scry pools.
Semi-Finals 2: Cloud Giant Skeleton v. Grey Render
This match was also guaranteed to come down to die luck. Both beasties were badly injured. Nevertheless, it was a stand-up fight. The render, well, rended and the giant clubbed away. When the dust settled it was the render that was still standing with oversized bones sticking out of its teeth. (Who knew that jaws can count as bludgeoning for the purpose of overcoming DR?)
But the giant had made its point: the render had so few hit points there wasn’t going to be much left for its final contest against the fire elemental.
Semi-Finals 1: Black Pudding (Mr. Inky) v. Huge Fire Elemental (Sparky)
After its deadly encounter with Stampy, Mr. Inky had too few hit points to carry over into the round. This match was over so fast, the spectators were not sure it had started. It was a fast fight, not a fair one, but it did leave us with the parting fragrance of evaporated pudding. Yikes!
Quarter Finals 4: T-Rex v. Huge Fire Elemental (Sparky)
This match-up was the most dramatic of the quarter finals by a mile.
It began with a blessing of the T-Rex mini by James Jacobs (though he was busy running another event at the time) a true omen for unsettling violence.
Well played, the T-Rex lined the fire elemental up for a bullrush and blasted the elemental off of the Black Rock and into the storm water below. The freeze-frame video shows a massive column of steam rippling skyward as the waves sucked the elemental below. It’s really something. (Pay per view only)
Remarkably, the elemental was able to scoot back up to safety before being utterly extinguished. After that though, Mr. Sparky focussed on spring attacks and made the T-Rex pay for its various attempts to line up a second rush. The T-Rex took damage every time it got its jaws on its opponent and took fiery slam attacks when it didn’t.
This was a fantastic match to my mind and in hindsight this was probably the “hidden final round”.
Quarter Finals 3: Cloud Giant Skeleton v. Gargantuan Hunting Spider
This was a weird match. Between the two of them, the two combatants had a combined intelligence score of N/A. Ultimately this proved to be a rough pairing for the spider as he couldn’t bring his High-DC poison, one of his key offensive weapons, to bear on his opponent. Worse, nobody else in the game _or the entire draft_ could pack a single-attack wallop of the magnitude of the cloud giant skeleton.
At one point the spider executed an awesome diving slam to bullrush the skeleton off the rock, but the skeleton didn’t seem to care. It just picked itself up and resumed its hunt. Whenever the spider wouldn’t close, the skeleton would hurl boulders. If the spider closed, it got the super-sized Morningstar – well played. (Interestingly after the match the spider’s player and another player collaborated to devise a fantastic stratagem which might have actually propelled the spider to victory – ah, another time.)
Winner: Cloud Giant Skeleton
This turned out to be the key match for the betting. Numerous Free Captains felt strongly one way or the other on this match. Half went broke while many other pirates doubled-up big time.
Quarter Finals 2: Grey Render v. (wing-clipped) Juvenile Black Dragon
This was a fun match as well though once the render got his improved grab on the little guy, it was probably decided. The render kept making its saving throws against the dragon’s breath weapons and while he fought admirably, the little guy just couldn’t go pound for pound.
There was a neat moment where the render sucked the black dragon inside its mouth like an olive and the dragon let loose with a full attack. Kudos to the dragon for getting its clinging breath weapon off before the render could close but unfortunately, the Black Rock is a small arena and there are only so many places a wing-clipped dragon can run to for space.
Winner: Grey Render
Note: The black dragon was actually drafted number one. Even with the hindsight of his early exit, I’d have to say it was still not a bad pick. The dragon was a natural counter for so many monsters in the game.
The biggest crowd pleasing battle was an elephant (yes, elephant) versus a black pudding. Some match-ups should just never take place. But here at Green Blood we do not shy away.
The elephant was unable to line-up a trample attack thanks to some “slick” manoeuvring by Mr. Inky. Once they met in close-quarters, the ooze swarmed over the elephant’s body and bathed it in acid while the elephant stomped it into puddles. Early on for one round the elephant also gored with its tusks, but this only caused Mr. Inky to divide into Inky “A” and Inky “B”, doubling the creatures’ offence, and the elephant had to learn fast. It was a super tight match that ultimately came down to the dice but in the end it was the pudding that walked (er sloshed) away.
I post to herald the winning beastie of this year’s competition!
This year at PaizoCon one of the events was a monster pit-fighting tournament. The players drafted monsters from a pool and pit them against one another in single combat, battling towards an elimination final. In the meantime, their Free Captain (pirate) owners placed wagers, either doubling up the gold in their holds or loosing it all in a mad fit of gambling.
For me the favourite part of the contest was the draft itself. The players struggled hard to predict a permutation that might lead to victory. At one point I could swear I could see the steam rising from their heads. Interestingly enough, the beast that actually took the title was actually drafted not first, second or even third, but in eleventh place – 11th! That tells me the match-ups made for some pretty tough calls.
Anyways, here we go! Stay with me gentle reader, but only if you can stand the sight of green blood.
Raise your hand in this thread if you too share the elite honour of having died in the Slumbering Tsar play test at Paizo Con.
Spoiler:
Pre-Gen: Ezren (wizard 7)
Death by: Confused, power-attacking Seelah followed by ice storm from an areana ambush.
Best Moment: Showing my true gamer savvy by casting scorching ray at an azer.
My fellow players were a pretty high-end bunch, but the dice turned against us in the final encounter. A memorable squashing.
Trivia was a blast. Especially thanks to the MC work and humorous answers from many different teams.
What Paizo didn’t tell us was that the 25 questions were actually the Test of the Starstone. Three teams were one question away from ascending to godhood. Maybe next year.
Here in Belkzen shrunken Shoanti heads have become THE "must have" fashion item for this season. Could you recommend a particular clan's shiny noggins to really accessorise our armour spikes or belts?
Ugly in Urgir
Dear Name Says it All,
Belt fashion is a complex issue and one that is difficult to explain to individuals with racial intelligence penalties. Fortunately, it can be relayed with an effective live demonstration. Expect a visit soon – I will show you first hand.
My concubine keeps complaining that we never go out anymore. I tried pointing out that I've been magically imprisoned within my tower, but she seemingly expects me to work miracles. You'd think that after all these centuries, she'd have a more realistic atitude.
To help resolve this issue, could you recommend a good marital counselor willing to make house calls?
Dear Barely Audible Despot,
I see that while most undead can’t ‘get it up’, you also, ‘can’t get it out’. But worry not. In my experience, women simply frequently confuse their need for romance with the urge to travel to exotic locales. What you really need to rekindle your necromantic flame is a shared peril – have you tried getting turned together?
Consider luring a band of adventures to your tower using cryptic riddles recently discovered after several centuries of obscurity. As the two of you layer negative levels on intruders together, take a moment to reflect on all the good times you’ve shared in the past. Then as things slowly start to come together perhaps discreetly suggest that its been too long since the two of you have cast wail of the banshee.
Dear Ask,
I've heard tales of the fighting prowess of the Shoanti, and I'm very impressed. Do you think a dwarven monk like myself would be welcome in a quah? I hear you face Belkzen orcs often, and I need a good exercise.
- Dried out in Osirion
Dear Dried out in Osirion:
No doubt you have the right stuff; any Quah would be lucky to find someone with such a can-do attitude. But a strong cover letter enclosing a well-balanced resume is still the key. When approaching a Quah, make sure to fill-out your application form in triplicate for ease of administration (i.e. stomp it into the armor of three separate hellknight corpses.) Also, while a good reference goes a long way be sure to keep them current. I recommend including the names and direct phone lines of 2-3 BBEG’s you have pummeled black and blue in the past year.
Yours very truly,
Ask a Shoanti
P.S. For maximum orc warfare exposure, I suggest you consider the Sklar Quah.
As to the original topic, it's also worth mentioning that druids picked up some love in Pathfinder Chronicles with the leaf armor option (a +3 armor bonus but without any penalties).
It's a solid pick for the low-level druid who does not want to sacrifice any speed.
While reading this post I reflected on how many notorious Pathfinder contributors attended this con and the South Park showtune "Blame Canada" sprung into my mind...
Hey Gary, any ideas on this problem? I have tried to download on different computers and keep getting the same errors.
This is a difficult problem for us to replicate. Can you tell us what browser and OS you're using?
Thanks Vic,
I've had the same problem here using both firefox and explorer on two different computers (both microsoft OS though). I too assumed it was a problem on my end with security levels, or that these particular downloads were not yet available, though I can download many items from Paizo without the error appearing.
The error message is:
Spoiler:
paizo.com uses an invalid security certificate.
The certificate is only valid for secure.paizo.com.
Thanks (I liked the pharaoh adventures you did). Unfortunately, I have to help a friend move Saturday, so I doubt I'll be there then. Possibly, Friday though.
That's cool - 'The moving buddy' is an important time honored tradition. I too am only a possible on the Friday, but if I make it in the evening I'll keep an eye out for ya, just in case. Have a good one!
I currently run a weekly game group in Toronto. We usually game Sundays at the UofT campus (though we are all in our early 30s for the most part). However, our game group is currently full (I have 6 players). There's a gaming convention at the Ryerson campus this Friday and Saturday (It's called Spellstorm and there's a website). It might be a good place to meet some gamers and find a group to join.
Hey! See ya at Spellstorm there P.H. Dungeon! We'll be playing some Pathfinder Society on the Saturday so swing by and say "Hi"!
P.S. Seb30 - I second P.H. Dungeon's other suggestion to try the Toronto Roleplayers Association as a good way to start.
Go by the official website, rather than by me, but as I understand it there are now actually three PFS Scenarios being run on Saturday: "Slave Pits", "Silken Caravan" and "Frozen Fingers". The first is the morning slot, the second is the afternoon, and the last is the evening slot. There is only one table for each mod so seats are very limited, but at my last look there's still a couple spots left at each table.
As a bonus, we were able to persuade author Craig Schackleton to run the "Frozen Fingers" slot for us, the module he wrote. Hey, he did it for Montreal, what are we, chopped liver?
You will see that my initial post is slightly wrong on the dates. The Con takes place on Friday (Jan 16) and Saturday (Jan 17) only. There is no Sunday.
The location is:
Oakham House (Ryerson)
63 Gould Street,
Toronto
Think Young and Dundas guys. Very TTC-able.
Also, from speaking to the organizers, the Con is meant to be a general rpg Con. It's only 4E-Living by default as that's what's currently packing the schedule. There is enthusiasm for any interest in diversification.
. . . I believe the only damage they dealt was what was necessary for her to cut her way out, as a point of respect for a creature of Shoanti legend. . .
Now that is just class. The true mark of a man is showing restraint while being showered with digestive juices. Illessa, please pass along my respect to your excellent players.
Ah, well, nobody has done it yet. I'm just finishing prepping the adventure and making sure I've covered everything. Although, you make it sound like it's a rare thing to accomplish this task...
Heh heh. The play test was ugly but decidedly memorable. Valeros, the party's "designated diver", repeatedly dove down and he would not come out. There was a lot of tweaking. The party learned to buff the "volunteer".
Spoiler:
The play tester's difficulty in cutting their man out also inspired in the inclusion of a magical beast bane dagger in area A10 (The Fallback Vault) on p.41 which was originally named "Fang Tamer". This makes the task a bit easier. Though there is no guarantee the players will explore the Acropolis of the Thrall Keepers and find the dagger before they meet up with Cindermaw.
Killing a big giant worm-like is pretty standard adventure fare. But winding up inside and cutting your own like exit hole is. . .
Well actually, that’s also pretty standard adventure fare.
OK, but deliberately jumping inside just so you can cut your way out, that’s pretty gutsy. I think that’s tougher than just dropping its hit point to below zero. If I had the choice, I’d much prefer the assignment of just killing the thing.
It’s worth the full CR in my book. Congrats to your party HSuperman if someone in your group managed to pull it off.
Hey Torontonians and those close enough to drop by!
More details to follow soon, I hope, but there’s a D&D mini-con taking place on January 16-18, tentatively set at one of the downtown colleges or university campuses (tentatively U of T or possibly Ryerson, I suspect).
It’s really a 4E org play event, but I was invited to run a table or two of PFS. Those 4E guys are quite cool. But I’d still like to demonstrate that we can still kick it 3.X with an awesome of setting.
If you can make the date and are interested, please post up here and I’ll see if there’s a table to be formed. I am happy to prep and run any module, so feel free to let me know your PC level and what mod you’d like to play in and I’ll see how I can accommodate the group. If you’d like to GM a table instead, just let me know; I bet we could arrange that too. Players new to PFS are welcome – as are players new to the game entirely.
All I ask is that the game exude an intensity level worthy of the PFS island it will be surrounded by those 4E tables! ! !
-Mighty crossbows at double the price, without need for the actual strength;
Cool. I've been thinking about the pricing. As an example:
Introducing "Big Bertha"
Big Bertha is a masterwork heavy x-box with 20 mechanical Strength (+5 damage)
Bertha's an awesome find for a low strength PC who has better options than loading after he pulls her trigger. Big Bertha's cost would be:
Base: 50 gp
Masterwork: +300 gp
+5 Mechanical Strength: +500 (were it a bow) x2 = 1,000
TOTAL COST FOR BIG BERTHA: 1,350 gp
Bertha is in some aspects equal as well as superior to a +1 x-bow, though she cannot handle DR. If we were to make it quadruple, instead of double it would be 2,350 which would be exactly the price of a +1 x-bow and might better reflect her value.
I could see a case for the cost being much more. Really it should scale so that each extra +1 costs more than double the previous +1.
12 Mechanical Strength (+1): +100 gp
14 Mechanical Strength (+2): +400 gp
16 Mechanical Strength (+3): +800 gp
18 mechanical Strength (+4): +1,600 gp
20 mechanical Strength (+5): +3,200 gp
22 Mechanical Strength (+6): +6,400 gp
Under this, Big Bertha would cost 3,550 gp. She would represent a real find and a very rare weapon.
Before lizardfolk charge their foes, the central fin running overtop their heads often reflexively bristles on end. Among the clans it is a form of non-verbal intimidation employed by warriors.
It wasn’t long before the orcs figured out they could insult and bait their lizardfolk rivals by briefly sticking their hand on their heads and wiggling their fingers.
Once the maneuver was picked-up by a few clever bards, word spread quickly and today “giving the fin” remains a rare but serious insult in a few corners of Golarion. Never use it at a poker game. It’s the equivalent of giving someone the middle finger: “dem’s fighting words” or rather, a fighting gesture.
