Avemar's page

I have noticed that I have spent almost $50 on my subscription to Dragon Magazine – however that I would have to buy the Player’s Guide to Savage Tide from Paizo to actually get the Map of Sasserine.

Why Isn’t the map part of Dragon Magazine?

Or at the least a free online download?

I would look at the second post in this thread. It may be just me but I think the answer you are looking for is there.

I've received Dragon 348 and a package from Paizo with the player's guide but no sign of 139. Mine must have been in the fire.

Well, that is something that you don't see very often. Not surprisingly, I don't have my copies of Dungeon 139 or of Dragon 348.

I'm also in Rochester, NY.

To echo the lamentations from upstate NY I haven't received mine yet. I'm in Rochester. There's always tomorrow!

Very cool cover and I can't wait!

...but is that a firearm at her hip? I thought firearms were not going to be featured in the STAP, at least officially.

I am getting ready to DM Savage Tide when our group finishes AoW (I'm a player in that one so I stay out of the AoW board) and I also was a player in the SCAP.

If I made characters and gave them out I would have a mutiny on my hands. It seems like in our group coming up with characters is something very important for the players (it certainly is for me). Having said that I do think it's useful to explain the gist of a campaign to the players. When we were playing the SCAP some characters had a strong wilderness theme and they did not fit in as well. They ended up changing mid-campaign into urban ranger-types. It was not very satisfying.

The DM for AoW worked with every player individually to make sure that their concepts worked within the campaign. I plan on doing the same thing. The players then communicated with each other to make sure they had a balanced party.

The Core Beliefs article on this latest Dragon was the straw that broke the camel's back. I just had to resubscribe, which I hadn't done in years. What a terrific article! I am going to have to order the backissue with Olidammara's CB article.

The Impiltur article was terrific too!

5'9" and 203 pounds...

...but I'm going to lose some of it. I swear!

Go Sabres!

In the interest of research, is there an online version of this scandalous PBEM ad?

I just want to be informed on all the particulars. Really, it's just research.

My first character was back in the times of the Red Box, a human wizard obsessed with fireballs, who only cared about casting fireballs everywhere. His name was Odin.

For AD&D my first character was a Ranger. Got him a belt of strenght and switched from melee to tossing daggers. The DM was forced to disallow my tactic because it was really disruptive.

Needless to say, since then I have stopped trying to abuse the mechanics of the game and focused on just having fun playing.

In a campaign a long time ago I had a giant owl NPC called Retsam Noegnud. It took a while for the guys to figure out that it stands for Dungeon Master backwards. Hey, I was a kid then!

Then in a recent campaign one guy had a cleric call Huhs (stands for hand up her skirt). The guy is in his 30s too. Don't ask, but he is still playing with us and is the DM now, and not doing too bad either.

I have been in similar situations, from both sides of the screen. I guess it is human nature.

The way we have dealt with it is by speaking to the charismatic person away from the group and explaining ths situation. In that case they usually deal with it well and would roleplay properly. Comments like "don't look at me, I have no clue" or suggesting ridiculous courses of action make it clear that the character, unlike the player, doesn't have the stuff of leaders. The rest of the players usually catch on and act accordingly.

The problem that I find more serious is when a non-charismatic player plays a charsmatic-diplomatic sort. In one current group we have a half-elf with a terrific diplomacy score played by someone who is somewhat gruff and undiplomatic.

I recall a rule in the 3E books, which may or may not have made 3.5E, stating that charisma based skills specifically could not be used on PCs, either by NPCs or by other PCs.

I seem to remember something similar from the DMG, but I think it had to do with Diplomacy and not necessarily all charisma based checks. If my memory serves me correctly I think you can only adjust the attitude of NPCs with it because PCs will determine their own attitudes.

The way we seem to play, and it works for us, is that bluff and sense motive are rolled as opposed checks when one PC attempts to lie to another.

Yes. What you're missing is that attacks of opportunity are resolved before the events that trigger them, as are Readied actions.

So what happens is the opponent begins to leave the threatened square, gets hit with the AoO while still in that square, then continues on into the square adjacent to the longspear-wielder (L-W). Likewise, the L-W's Readied action is triggered when the opponent begins to enter the adjacent square, but before he actually does so; thus, the opponent does not threaten the L-W (since he is not yet in the adjacent square) when the L-W begins Moving away, and therefore gets no AoO on the L-W.

My first reaction was to think that this tactic would make characters with reach weapons, who are able to move, virtually un hittable by those without reach. There would have to be a countermove, and I guess that could be a disarm attempt or something along those lines.

I need to think more about this, but I would be inclined to disallow this for fear of it being unbalanced. I don't mind the initial AoO, but being able to move without any repercussions. Think of all the critters with reach.

On the other hand, this could make enlarge a popular spell again.

There was also something important with the old potions of longevity. The main ingredient was fresh elf marrow, which made making and imbibing them, arguably, en evil act. The group which in Greyhawk provided the ingredients for these potions would do it by kindapping victims in a park.

I once had a campaign revolve around the Thayan enclave in Waterdeep and their attempts at making and selling these potions to the Whaterdavian nobility.

Given how they work (take 1d12 years off a person) and the evilness/rarity of them I don't have a problem having them in my campaigns.

All I can say is, I'm getting a copy. Firefly was/is a terrific TV show and the setting is perfect for an RPG.

My quick-witted, fast talking players will do justice to the spirit of the series.

Absolutely! I loved running that adventure.

I didn't know that the continuation was available through the RPGA. I'm going to have to look into that. Thanks!

I'm 31. Started playing in '89 when a friend sold me his red box. I promptly got the blue and the green boxes. Been hooked since.

I've been reading Dungeon for about six years and I buy my copy at the local gaming store (don't want them to go out of business).

For whatever it's worth, I was never a fan of Greyhawk during the 20+ years I have been playing RPGs. The main reason was apathy towards the way it was presented (shallow, I know) and ignorance. Given the way Paizo has fleshed out some of the campaign with their articles, supplements and adventures I find myself actually enjoying the setting very much. In fact I have chased down some old modules and boxed sets.

It might not be a bad thing if WoTC drops GH as the 'core' world and allows Paizo or some other company to publish for the setting.