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Believe it or not, I was trying to find 3.5 stats for Brownies. I ended up just making some up. As a bit of a joke, I plan on running an irritating encounter based on "Willow" for an upcoming April Fools game. Tome of Horrors I (Necromancer) has Brownies, although in the 3.0 version. I'm not sure if that book (or a purchasable PDF version) ever got updated to 3.5.
Getting a bit off-topic here: When I think of a "Cleric", my default mental image is that of one of the warrior-clerics who did put on armour and do their best to trounce "the heathens". The concept of a "warrior-bishop" is not unknown in the history of some European countries. (For those who want political correctness: this reference is in no way a sign of support for crusades undertaken in various parts of the world.) If one wants to play a less warlike Cleric, one could always go for the Cloistered Cleric alternative in Unearthed Arcana (which I think made it to the 3.5 SRD).
It was really only the Oracle name which drew my attention; the other five classes don't seem that poorly named to me. I understand that many will be mixing 3.x and PF (I certainly will be doing so) but Paizo cannot do so in their own published materials. For example, if they want a Cavalier-type character in a module, they may not take the class from the Complete Warrior (as that book is not OGL). In addition, the Complete Warrior will eventually become unavailable as WotC is no longer supporting earlier editions. Enter the Advanced Player's Guide with its six new base classes, including Paizo's own take on the Cavalier. The various orders of Cavaliers actually appeal to me, as they run the gamut of "knightly virtues" from braggadocio to true chivalry, from loyal (or arrogant) musketeers to pious servants of the church, to defenders of the common people. (Yes, I know that musketeers are technologically out of place in this discussion, but in Dumas they certainly fit the romantic cavalier archetype.)
You've got a point there, and I agree that it's also good RP flavour. (As are most, if not all of the similar revelations in the other mysteries.) On the other hand, I do think that those particular abilities are too well-buried in the class features description. It looks as though just one revelation in each mystery type is related to oracular activity (Augury, Clairvoyance, Scry, etc.), so theoretically an Oracle character could simply choose not to take the "oracular" revelation particular to his mystery. In that case, I would be inclined to house-rule that an Oracle character _must_ take the oracular revelation at L 1. In which case I won't complain so much about the Oracle name. :)
(And here I told myself that I'd not post any more on this thread ...) Oxford English Dictionary (Concise form - my desk is too small for all 20+ volumes), first definition of the word "oracle": "a priest or priestess acting as a medium for divine advice or prophecy in classical antiquity." So where is the Oracle class' "divine advice or prophecy" class feature? And mentioning access to the Augury, Divination and Commune spells is not going to cut it; a Cleric can do that too. Don't get me wrong. I love the class, particularly the mysteries and oracle's curse. (The Tongues curse in particular harks back to the Oracle of Delphi, arguably the most famous oracle of antiquity.) For those who are interested:
C.O.D.'s second definition: "an infallible authority". That's taking a bit too much responsibility onto oneself as a character ... C.O.D.'s third (and last) definition, labelled as being archaic: "a response or message given by an oracle, especially an ambiguous one." This particular definition doesn't refer to a person, so it is clearly not applicable in a discussion about a class name.
As others have pointed out, Luck of Heroes is from Player's Guide to Faerûn in 3.5 (and FR Campagin Setting in 3.0). As a Regional feat, it can only be taken at first level - providing that one's character comes from one of the listed regions. Regional feats are meant to be slightly better than the normal ones. Furthermore, the bonus is typed as a luck bonus (+1 to AC and all saves) which means that most of its benefits will _not_ stack with such common spells as Prayer.
Okay, so my search-fu may have been lacking late last night - I only got one half-decent hit out of about 100 results when I tried using "oracle name" as the search terms in the Advanced Player's Guide Playtest section of the messageboards, and even that one hit was not specific enough. So yeah, I'll house-rule a name change. The _possibility_ of better vision in the real world/prime material plane still does not an oracle make (in my opinion). My apologies to the dead horses! :)
If the Oracle's generic class features don't support advice/divination of future events, then Oracle is not a good choice for the class name. Please consider changing the name from Oracle to something like Mystic - that at least ties in with the various mysteries/revelations which the class acquires, while also referring to the mysterious and varied powers of the divine.
Some thoughts/nitpicking: Last I checked, Warmages don't get access to the Teleport spells, nor do they get the Use Magic Device skill. If the Warmage did put skill points into the Use Magic Device skill, it would still require a DC 29 check to activate a Teleport scroll at the minimum caster level of 9 (which would cost 1,125 gp, only cover 900 miles, and be subject to the possibility of error). Many scrolls (4 per round trip?) will be needed if the party wants to make frequent shopping trips to Sasserine, with the corresponding greater chance of error ... One possibility would be that the Warmage used the Eclectic Learning alternative class feature (PH2, p. 67) to add the Teleport spell to his class spell list (in place of one of his Advanced Learning slots). However, that would make Teleport a L 6 spell (instead of L 5) - so a Warmage would only be able to add it at Warmage 16. In that case, he might as well use the Eclectic Learning to add Greater Teleport to his class spell list (as a L 8 spell) instead.
What is a "star child" mentioned in the final revelation for the Heavens mystery? As far as I can tell, it's not from the Bestiary. Is it from one of the adventure paths? Or is it just a poetic way of saying "your character is reincarnated, so use the Reincarnate table from the PFCR"? Another question: the Guiding Star revelation refers to being able to see a particular star. What rules are in place to adjudicate this? Or is it left up to the DM?
The final revelation for the Heavens mystery is somewhat mystifying to me. (Ooh, the alliteration!) What is a "star child"? As far as I can tell, it's not from the Bestiary. Is it from one of the adventure paths? Or is it just a poetic way of saying "your character is reincarnated, so use the Reincarnate table from the PFCR"? Another question: the Guiding Star revelation refers to being able to see a particular star. What rules are in place to adjudicate this? Or is it left up to the DM? +1 on approving the change from "focus" to "mystery"! :) And I do like the new mysteries in general, particularly the non-Lovecraftian take on stellar phenomena. Don't get me wrong, I like the Lovecraftian mythos, but I sometimes get tired of the "everything from the stars is evil/mad" cliché.
(My apologies if this specific question has already been asked and answered before - my search-fu did not turn up any precise answers from the designers.) What happens to the number of spells known when a PF Sorcerer takes levels in a prestige class which allows her to continue advancing her spellcasting abilities? How does that affect the abilities which stem from her bloodline? I'm referring to those prestige classes with tables listing "+1 level of existing arcane class" under the Spells per Day column. For example, a Sorcerer (abyssal bloodline) 6 /Fighter 1 /Eldritch Knight 2. More specifically, in the above-mentioned example does such a Sorcerer (casting as a Sorcerer 7) have 2 spells known at spell level 3, or does she have 2 plus Rage (the abyssal bloodline's bonus spell for Sorcerer 7)? As far as I can understand, all the other abyssal bloodline abilities would have been cut off after Sorcerer 6. When at Sorcerer 6 /Fighter 1 /Eldritch Knight 2, such a character would gain neither a bonus abyssal bloodline feat nor an increase to her claw damage (despite casting as a Sorcerer 7). I understand that the Dragon Disciple prestige class is an anomaly (in that it allows the draconic bloodline Sorcerers to continue accruing their bloodline powers), but what about all the other prestige classes - both 3.5 and PF - which improve a Sorcerer's spellcasting? How do they affect the Sorcerer's number of spells known?
Out of curiosity, was this epic spell your own creation or did it come from another source? (I coudldn't find it in the Epic Level Handbook.)
One thing to remember if you end up playing the Saga version: don't get too hung up about the name of a class. As others have said, no one in the game's universe can read your character sheet. It's possible to have a Jedi Order character with no levels in the Jedi class. Or non-Jedi Order characters who have levels in the Jedi class. The important thing is to go for the crunch (talents, class abilities, etc.) which correctly supports the flavour of the character concept. (Having said that, however, some prestige classes have "Jedi" in the name and do require membership in the Order. Ditto for the Sith. Pre-requisites must still be fulfilled.)
First, the rules-as-written stuff ... Complete Divine, p. 27:
Pierce Disguise (Ex): The inquisitor has a +4 competence bonus on Spot checks against the Disguise skill." (Pierce Disguise is listed as a 4th level class ability on the table.) Now for the rules interpretation(s) ... There could be two ways to interpret the above. One: the inquisitor simply sees through every illusion (including Invisibility spells) if that Will save is made. That's pretty powerful. Or two: the inquisitor sees through every illusion if that Will save is made, _providing_ that the spell in question has a "stat line" mentioning both Saving Throws _and_ disbelief (which is where touch and interaction usually come into play with illusions). For example, Major Image and Hallucinatory Terrain both mention disbelief but Invisibility does not (the only use for Invisibility's Saving Throw line is if the spell is being placed on an unwilling subject or the like). This interpretation simply allows the inquisitor a "hands-off"/"passive disbelief" chance to make a Will save (possibly as a free or immedate action). I would be inclined to go with the second interpretation, but YMMV.
?!?!? Last I checked, Mirror Image only affects the caster and Haste only affects "creatures" (and not objects). And Invisibility would have to be really metamagicked to affect a ship, what with the normal limit of 100 lbs/caster level. Not to mention that if it affects the ship, it doesn't affect any crew/passengers who are on deck or up the masts. Which isn't to say that there might be other, higher level spells which could do something similar. And that's a good use for Shrink Item! :)
Did you also reduce the party's available spells to account for the forgotten fight? If so, did you use any particular selection technique to decide which spells had already been used?
Fey is not really a type of its own in 3E - there are fey-style critters spread throughout the various types. Officially, Fey _is_ a monster type in 3e. However, I'll certainly admit that fey-like beings can be found under other monster types, such as the afore-mentioned Eladrin (MM, Manual of the Planes, Book of Exalted Deeds). I can even find one in the Aberration category - the Silthilar (Lords of Madness). That last one was weird! :)
That's similar to the fate of atheists, agnostics, etc., in the Forgotten Realms. (At least in 3.x - I'm not sure what's going on in 4e, and cannot remember those details from 1e + 2e.) As for the OP, I usually use the official FR pantheon but add in my own changes. This means that some pantheons are based on geographical regions and/or ethnic groups (Western Faerûn, Mulhorand, etc.) and some along purely racial lines (elves, dwarves, orcs, etc.), but nearly all of them have been tweaked. For example, my version of the elven pantheon includes some deities from 1e/2e plus some homebrew additions. This means that if one wants a god of magic (for example), one has to specify which region/ethnicity/race is involved - is it Mystra (or her associates or enemies), Eset/Tehuti/Sutekh (based on alignment), Corellon/Kirith/another elven deity, or one of the other racial or interloper gods? The more, the merrier! (Obviously, YMMV.)
If you're thinking of running Dark Sun in 3.5, here are a few useful Dragon and Dungeon issues with relevant articles (which should all still be available as PDFs if not in print versions): Dragon 315 - Defiler magic Dragon 319 - DS player's guide Dungeon 110 - Monster update 1 Dungeon 110 - Monster update 2 My only caveat here is that I have never run Dark Sun myself, so I can't attest as to the quality of these updates. Good luck, and have fun! :)
You could try adding the Titanic template (MM 2, p. 217; CR +13) to a normal Ape from the MM. Technically the Ape is size Large and thus not eligible, but it would certainly fit the spirit of King Kong. (It requires a bit of number crunching since the Titanic Modifiers table doesn't have a line for size Large base creatures.) Then add the Monster of Legend template (MM 2, p. 213; CR +2). If you're feeling particularly nasty you can add the Paragon template (Epic; CR +15).
I am a new Dungeon Master looking for players who will commit to an old fashioned table top RPG. I live in Houston, Tx. and I would really like some input out there from any gamers who enjoy this kind of gaming experience. Also. I am looking as a long range goal to be officially licensed as a Dungeon Master. I am very familiar with the 3.5v of D&D and really enjoy running a game. Experienced players is not a must and I am willing to teach novices. As far as finding players is concerned, you might have better luck if you started a thread in the Gamer Connection part of the boards.
I dug up my Draconomicon, and the revised version is in there (Cha bonus as a deflection bonus to AC, but a penalty of half of the Cha bonus to natural AC, or something like that). Not nearly as good as I'd hoped, but what is said above is true - if they don't cast some greater dispels right off the bat, they deserve what they get. Actually, since the Draconomicon was published in November 2003 and the Spell Compendium in December 2005, the Spell Compendium version supercedes the Draconomicon version. (Personally, I regard all non-core books published in 2003 to be on the cusp of 3.0/3.5, as editing/printing schedules would not necessarily have allowed the authors to see the final version of the 3.5 rules.) The differences are as follows (if anyone's interested). The Spell Compendium version lasts for 1 minute/level (instead of 1 round/level). The Spell Compendium version transforms (i.e., replaces) the natural armour bonus into an equivalent deflection bonus (instead of adding a deflection bonus equal to the Con modifier and decreasing the natural armour bonus by half that value).
Just a reminder: only the hp loss, skill points loss, and power points loss are cumulative on those tables. With regard to spell slot loss, only the highest level spell slot listed is applicable (assuming other conditions are fulfilled). I too have had lots of fun designing my own legacy items. Way better than most of the pre-generated ones! :)
You need to read the particulars of the true mummy's sacred vessels - until those vessels are figured out and destroyed ... the mummy cannot be destroyed! Sounds like a concept similar to a lich's phylactery and how a ghost cannot be laid to rest before certain conditions are fulfilled. Also, I seem to remember something about a mummy's canopic jars being their weak point - maybe it was in the original Lords of Darkness (a 2e supplement detailing undead in the FR).
My browser has problems showing the poll, so I'll just put my answers/thoughts here. I'm currently playing in a two-person (one player, one GM) KotOR-era campaign. It's actually set a few centuries after the events of the KotOT computer games. Other eras that I _would like_ to try as a player: Old Republic prior to the Clone Wars (up to and including episode I), and a post-Rebellion era. "Infinities" settings which I would also like to try as a player: a campaign set around episodes I through III. Yeah, I know, it's wishful thinking, but I'd love to see Palpatine's plots come to nothing! And see some favourite movie characters survive. (Although the Jedi Order does need a shake up in that era.)
The Throne of Power: This magical item (virtually an artifact) casts a powerful anti-magic shell in a 50-foot radius that does not affect the character seated in the throne and allows him to cast spells that normally require touch at a range of 100 feet. It also keeps Emirikol in contact with his golems, grants him a +5 AC bonus (for a total of -7), and lets him store an additional contingency spell in the throne. At this time, Emirikol has a contingency set up so that if anyone fires a projectile at him, a wall of force springs up around the throne. From where does the throne get the extra +2 AC bonus? And shouldn't the final bonus be a positive number, instead of a negative one? (This just caught my eye - I haven't done a nit-picking run-through of the statblock.)
I'm not entirely sure if my reply will be relevant, as it deals solely with the 3.5 context and not PF ... In a word: "no" (with one exception). I do not allow the Clerics to memorise their domain spells in their regular spell slots, as that would cheapen the special abilities of certain deity-specific prestige classes to do the same. The exception would be that if the Cleric character in question gave something else up, then it might be possible. There are many class feature alternatives in the multitude of 3.5 spatbooks. As an aside, I too have experimented with the Favoured Soul. Usually either the resistances or the weapon feats (and always the wings) were cut in favour of either turning undead and/or domain access (which meant that a domain spell could be chosen as one of the spells known - not as a bonus spell known). The good Reflex save was also dropped.
Thanks for the offered clarifications, Wolf. I have some thoughts, and would like a sounding board for them. (My apologies if I'm sounding argumentative, but I'd rather have a discussion about this here than waste time doing so at the gaming table!) With regard to the breath weapons, I was thrown in doubt mostly by the purple dragon's breath weapon's second form. Can/should a blinding flash be considered force damage? Does it even matter - by which I mean, wouldn't it affect force-protected or incorporeal foes anyway? Another thought - if the Shield spell (a force effect) can stop Magic Missile (also a force effect), would Shield (or anything similar, like Mage Armour or Bracers of Defence) help in protecting against a force-based breath weapon? I would assume so against the purple dragon's energy blade version of its breath weapon (since it attacks the AC), but is there any possibility of such force effects helping a foe against the breath weapon's first form (the cone of force damage)? Maybe a save bonus based on the force effect's bonus to AC? As for the ice demon's ice blade attack and damage, I _knew_ that something was off. I guess that I was just too tired to crunch the numbers correctly, and so didn't identify the underlying problem. (That being: are the ice blades treated as +2 weapons in all respects, or only for getting through DR x/Magic? If it's the latter, then the "+_2_" must be a relic of 3.0/earlier editions, where the value of the bonus was also important.) Anyway, thanks again for your answer! :)
The hobgoblin spellscourge, warcaster, and warsoul are all supposed to be magical mutants of some kind, which is why they "jumped the fence" into Monstrous Humanoid territory. If you want a backstory which supports that idea, then maybe some LE deity realised that the hobgoblins - unlike the orcs - don't get much love from the world (i.e., nifty prestige classes, etc.), and decided to sponsor them as his new army of darkness/minions of lawful evil/whatever. I think that the hobgoblin duskblade was just there as a shout out to make readers take a look at the PH2. If you have the Book of 9 Swords (a.k.a. Tome of Battle) and want to be nasty, make a hobgoblin warblade with a focus on the Iron Heart discipline (it's supposed to be their specialty). (I kind of miss the Spelljammer setting. The goblinoids there - lead by the hobgoblins and scro - were an extremely organised military power, and they were hellbent on getting revenge on the elven Imperial Navy for thrashing them in the first Unhuman War.) I've never bothered to read up on the war troll, so I can't help you there. The blackscale lizardfolk are originally from Eberron, aren't they? If so, there might be some campaign-related explanation to be found there for why they're Monstrous Humanoids.
I've gone through the errata for the Dragon Compendium and have also taken a look at a couple of "error-finding" pages, but I'm still puzzled about the errata's changes to the orange, purple, and yellow dragons' breath weapons. I also have a question about the ice demon's ice blade attack. Have the dragons' breath weapons been "nerfed" to only doing damage (and disregarding secondary and/or alternative effects)? Or am I misunderstanding the errata? Why are the ice demon's two-weapon attack bonuses (with its ice blades) identical? Shouldn't the second weapon's attack bonus be at a lower value because it's the off-hand? Or am I missing something obvious here? Some (hopefully official) answers would be appreciated, as these particular monsters could star in an upcoming adventure for my players. (Apologies for cross-posting this between two threads, but I wasn't sure that I'd get an answer on the other one.)
Another comment ... Using intellect devourers (CR 7, advancement by HD) as the Goa'uld would indeed be nasty, but the tsochar (CR 4, advancement by both HD and class levels) have the advantage of not needing the Psionics rules. So, I guess that it depends upon what one's comfortable with using. (While I have nothing against Psionics as a game concept, I've never bothered to read up on the rules for it.) Plus the tsochar don't suffer from having the Evil subtype. And that also makes it easier to have the Tok'Ra. Maybe I should also plug the silthilar (also from LoM, and designed by James Jacobs, I do believe). They have an interesting form and history, and they are, as far as I know, the only good aberrations in the official sources.
Elves are a good idea for the Wraith, but I think that ghouls are not as appropriate. The Wraith are more about draining life energy, and not actually eating up the body of a victim. For the Wraith, I'd suggest instead using elves with the wight monster class as per the Libris Mortis. That way, you can even get someone being "infected" and slowly transforming level by level. Or one can use the wight template (Dragon 300, and possibly Savage Species) for a quick transformation.
You can find the Age of Worms adventure path issues here and the Savage Tide adventure path issues here. Additionally, Dungeon 114 and 149 each had an adventure in the same region as the Savage Tide. While the Age of Worms issues are all available in PDF format, the Savage Tide issues are not (except for the first installment) due to licensing issues with WotC. So you're stuck with getting hard copy (or possibly dubious sources) for the last path. As for the Dragon magazine support articles for the two paths, check the issues which were published at the same time as the relevant Dungeon magazines. The Age of Worms support articles were called "Wormfood" (Dragon 333 - 344), and the ones for Savage Tide were entitled "Savage Tidings" (Dragon 348 - 359, but none available in PDF thanks to WotC).
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