Black Powder Chocobo's page

You are right in front of the museum right now. The open doors are practically begging for you to come inside :) Although if you wish to purchase anything or make special preparations, it will be assumed you did so on your way to the museum (just post it so I am aware of it). Trying to give Orion and Flori a chance to get ready before entering. And thank you all for your patience.

Sorry Shilyn, difn't mean to confuse you, but you are heading there immediately after the meeting barring heading to a shop for purchases, The morning reference is for morning our time.

Faction missions have been sent out; I have reworded them to be appropriate for your current faction if you aren't one of the original five (aka, everyone's except for Shilyn :P).

The Blakros Museum rises into the night sky, its single black spire severing the full moon in twain. The black iron gates surrounding the exhibition hall grind in protest against the wind. Beyond, the museum’s large oaken doors stand wide open, a silver-gray mist belching forth from the cavernous darkness within.

Last chance for any purchases before you step in! Unless everyone posts before the end of the night, you'll enter in tomorrow morning. Mwa ha ha ha ha

"Well, if that's all you lot need from me, head over to the museum immediately!", barks the hulking Venture-Captain.

Just as you are about to leave, Adril interrupts your exit. "Oh yes, apparently word of this urgent mission has reached other ears already...", eyeballing you suspiciously as he hands each of you an envelope with your name on it and sealed in wax with the Glyph of the Open Road. He then gives a wide smile at you all. "Don't let the influence of others detract from your original missions."

Faction Missions will be PM'ed to each of you to keep 'em super sekrets!!!

Addendum: Because of the Paizo site issues (and a bit of busy work I need to finish up), I'll delay the next phase until 3pm MST. SOOOOON

Yea, if this isn't for PFS, then go Viv alch for the sneak attacks.

I have a magus/ninja build I'm using, a touch more MAD than I'd prefer, but it's been interesting (and getting a wakizashi for the spellstrikes is nice).

My player's actually tried (and succeeded) in basically that same argument. A rogue player with a poorly made disguise as a bush was caught by some border guards while the other players were trying to slip through. He claimed he had a disease turning him into an ent. This was followed by the group druid then using tree shape to turn himself into a small tree, to which the rogue said, "See? He's in late stage and we're all contagious!"[/b] His then roll of a 39 Bluff (including a bonus for the druid's help) and the guard's poor Sense Motive roll, and they were sent along their way.

Moral of this is that a good Bluff mod is limited by the Bluffer and the GM. Or a zone of truth, that'll muck things up.

Correct, with Weapon Finesse, you can use Dexterity to make melee touch attacks instead of Strength.

And you are correct for wands with touch spells you have to touch with the wand.

Assuming it was an ad for one of their own products, then that's been common for a while. Pathfinder Society pdfs have ads for their games right at the end. Honestly, it's not that bad. It's not like the ads are in the middle of the content like a magazine would. And for people who purchase Paizo books and do not check out paizo.com, it's a way to let those customers know of upcoming or recent products they may be interested in.

Flavor:

Urumi (belt sword) is pretty awesome.
Sansetsukon: An incredible monk weapon that is just awesome; check out this video to see the awesomeness.

Flavor and Mechanics: Nine-section-whip. This thing does slightly less damage than the Sansetsukon, but bears the same crit range, is also a trip weapon, can be wielded two handed for extra strength damage or one-handed, which pairs incredibly well with Crane Style (with 3+ ranks in Acrobatics and Crane Riposte, it's a -1 to hit for +5 AC boost (4 Dodge and 1 Shield). Plus, it looks awesome in use as shown here.

Mechanics: Cestus: It looks cool, but it's the most reliable backup weapon. It's a dagger you can't throw, but you can't be disarmed of, either. Plus, you can have it equipped regardless of whatever else you're doing with that hand (only some activities, such as Disable Device or Sleight of Hand are affected by the cestus), so even if you're disarmed of your primary weapon or surprised, you have something to work with.

Kyle Baird wrote:

Black Powder Chocobo wrote:

Shame, I'd love to GM for a Goblin PC in Frostfur Captives :)

I played it with Garble. It was glorious!

Would love to hear that Pathfinder Tale.

I concur. I imagine there was much goblin teasing.

Score one for the lil dragon!

Shame, I'd love to GM for a Goblin PC in Frostfur Captives :)

Hmm.

Arguments for its inclusion have generally revolved around how it makes Mystic Theurges easier to swallow, or in general how it makes multiclassing casters and, well, anything, easier. These generally haven't been convincing enough to any of the campaign leadership, so assuming it's actually balanced, there must be something that's missing from that argument.

Caster level is one of the most important things for a caster, definitely up there with the importance of BAB to a martial character, but obviously more important. The price for a slot-less +1 to your caster level has been set at 30k. This means the trait is worth, to the only people who would be taking it, 30-60k gp. So perhaps one argument for it would be to find a trait (in the APG) that offers an ability within the same order of magnitude of this.

I'm honestly surprised that there isn't a feat to do something like that, even if it's only a +1 caster level boost with the same restriction of not using that to exceed the hit die/character level.

Another option would be then to even have the trait for PFS nerfed to a +1 CL instead of +2. While that doesn't absolve the issues you noted, it does keep the 'value' of the trait to a more respectable level, if that is one of the concerns.

Mr. Jiggy, what you've just said is one of the most logical and well written things I have ever read. At no point in your concise, coherent response did you ever deviate to something that could be considered an irrational thought. Everyone in this thread is now smarter for having read it. I award you eleventy internets, and you do not need Pharasma to have mercy on your soul.

Back to topic: Snowball seems to be a minor powercreep over Shocking Grasp, but not so much that I would call it OP. The oddity to me would be to compare it to Corrosive Touch, another conjuration spell that only deals up to 5d4 damage, no saving through but allows Spell Resistance, and has no other secondary effects. Snowball is vastly superior to Corrosive Touch, with its only benefit over Shocking Grasp or Snowball would be the ability to halt most forms of regeneration, which doesn't come up much in lower level play anyway.

Make him an Android from the Inner Sea Bestiary, then either give him a 20 point buy or the 25 point buy and remove/nerf the Nanite Surge. If you want to be nice, maybe rearrange the stat bonuses to be +2 Str, +2 Int, -2 Cha, or some other balance that you feel would be appropriate, so he can still have the high strength he obviously wants out of this build.

BPC

What is your favorite color?

Black Powder Chocobo wrote:

Only way to top that is to throw in some cough drops, too :P

Since we are trading folk remedies and old adepts wives home staples - a table spoon of organic honey before and then once during a slot works a bit better than the old cough drop. More nutritious too. And kissable!

Need to play more scenarios with vargouilles then.

The water provided to GMs was a huge help last year. I made sure to drink the water every slot and by the time I finished running my 7th and last slot my voice was still mostly intact.

Agreed; that was a godsend last year! Only way to top that is to throw in some cough drops, too :P

I want to so bad, but wife aggro.... gaaaah!

Technically no; shield provides a shield bonus to AC, but you do not actuall wield the shield. If that was the case, then you'd need shield proficiency to use the thing (making it far less desirable for wizards and sorcerors to say the least!).

Could be an interesting idea; choose your level 1 feat as Shield Proficiency, make the shield your arcane bond (since shields can be enchanted as weapons), and have fun with that, hoping for a mithril shield early in your career to reduce/negate the arcane spell failure penalty.

Also look into the skirnir magus archetype for a caster that uses shields.

Hmmm learning new things every day.

Granted! However, you then reply to your own wish and your bacon was apparently a blue arsenic pill. Roll a Fort save!

I wish I had a fresh, delicious cookie.

Correct, one of my favorite things about the new PFS rules is the level 1 rebuilding; until you play a character as level 2 (or higher if add in GM credits from running a game or two), you can change anything and everything about him/her. I think the only exception are items purchased with Prestige Points, and I'm sure some forum-google-fu would confirm that.

So have fun with your inquisitor; if that still doesn't feel right, then you can go with ninja :P

There's also a ninja pre-gen, too, if you want to try it out before sticking with it.

Paladin Detect Evil works as if it was 3 rounds of detection, so the Paladin could figure out the source of the evil better than 'thataway'.

Granted! However, this is your cookie.

I wish I could meet the cast of 'Burn Notice'.

The final encounter in We Be Goblins is fairly interesting, more so for those who read up on some of the backstory in Rise of the Runelords around Sandpoint.

Biggest issue I have with most chases in PFS is the lack of scaling DC's; I think it's kept at a weird middle ground between both tiers so the low tier is usually hosed.

Rise of the Goblin Guild is the best done out of all the chases I've experienced due to the difference in how the chasee works in tiers and overall better balance in the DC's. It also helps that the chasee only goes one card at a time, but that's balanced by the fact that the chase is fairly short compared to others.

The best advice I can provide is to allow creative ideas and have players support each other. Aiding each other is a solid options, as well as doing an action that could benefit others outside of passing the DC's (had one player, after using a Disable Device to unlock a gate, said he left the gate open, so I allowed all of the other players to move through that square without needing a standard action).

Just to note, the Pathfinder Society chronicle sheet linked for this AP is the last one from Rise of the Runelords, but with the Dead Heart of Xin as the title. Is there a date when that will be updated?

Oh, and Magical Knack to help make up the caster level from those rogue/ninja levels!

Magus/Rogue would be an interesting combo; you can hit Trickster at level 8, Arcane Accuracy arcana would make up for low BAB. You can also wait and do Magus 5/Rogue 3 for feat and stronger Arcane Pool options, although that's completely optional.

Stop reading my mind Tiny Coffee Golem!

Jersey Shore
Honey Boo-Boo
Anything involving the Kardashians
Buckwild, if we're so lucky

There's more, but after thinking about that, I gotta take a break so the migraine will go away.

Granted! Here's your cat!

I wish my birthday today will be awesome!

Mystic Lemur wrote:

If you want to go back through an old favorite, just grab a group that's already played it and say "Let's play _____ just for fun." There's nothing stopping you from enjoying another playthrough, you just won't get credit. Think of it as a chance to test out that new build you've been wanting to try with no penalty for failure.

This

Ya know, I thought Mike said that if you replay a credit for fun/to fill a table and you die, it still counts against you.

Are you kidding? She's been getting tamer. I remember when she was still referring to me as a tender flesh puppet.

Oh, she still does Mergy; just not on the mission sheets ;)

Walter Sheppard wrote:

Fromper wrote:

Ok, let's turn this around. You keep asking why you can't replay scenarios.

I have to ask: Why do you want to?

One argument I'd sympathize with is that it would make organizing events and game nights far easier. You wouldn't have to worry who could play what, you would just pick out the games that GMs had the desire to run.

But again, it wouldn't work for the reasons listed, and I, personally, wouldn't want replaying opened for said reasons.

wow...

you could just schedule the same scenarios for each weekly game each month.
"This the third weekends this month? Oh, yeah, we're playing 'Whips & Midgets' - hey - I get to insult the guards this time, right guys?"

sheesh...

Zarta Dralneen's faction missions are getting outta hand it seems.

Just to ask Nekhet, what scenarios are you running over there? Are these your personal purchases or from a store account?

Thanks everyone for the feedback!

I know I was starting off with a SIAC, so I wanted to improve it beyond the normal spell abilities (lack of . As compared to Marvelous pigments which have a limited use, the brush would be completely reusable, albeit with the once a day limit. I went with Minor Image instead of other spells due to trying to keep it within the realms of a drawing; perhaps too limiting in scope and creativity a competition like this.

Outside of the minor formatting tweaks, it seems at least I came up with a good item, just not great. A good benchmark for next year indeed!

@Jiggy Yea, I came up with the idea after re-reading Gods and Magic for a potential PFS character and came across the short entry.

Tablet of Heretical Lore

*snip*

Never saw this item, but this is pretty cool in idea, except, in my mind, I can easily see a deity getting uppity over this.

*boom the next day you try to gather your divine spells*
Calistria: What's wrong? Problem getting your spells? I thought my magic wasn't good enough, so you had to borrow Burning Hands from that harlot Sarenrae. That'll teach you twice for casting around. Oh, and a giant wasp is hunting you down. Buh-bye.

Okay, your GM may not actually have it happen like that, but I could see an issue using divine power from another deity (even if it was granted by one of the deity's followers).

Tangential silliness aside, the concept is interesting and original. I could see a modified minor artifact version of this made for a specific deity and grants access to all of their domain spells. Just can't go with it as a regular magical item.

Hi fellow contestants and judges!

Here’s my entry. Please tell me how the ethos swarm charm fell short in your eyes, and really be honest. I’m serious about writing and need to understand where I went wrong. Don’t hold back, you won’t hurt my feelings. If someone already mentioned the thing that bugged (no pun intended) you, then feel free to “+1” their comments so I can see how many people hated the same thing(s).

Thanks for taking the time.

Ethos Swarm Charm

*snip for readability*

Think the biggest issue I had with this item was that it was roughly a bit too complex in preparation for the judges as well as the player even. The idea itself is cool, and turning yourself into a swarm has good tactical and logistical advantages. But having to navigate through all the text for the various types (even with HTML links) seems a bit much. Perhaps just having a good/evil/neutral set instead of the nine variations.

There's also the unwritten rule (or maybe posted somewhere I can't remember) of when referencing a book that you should also include the page number (ex. snake swarm (Bestiary 3 249). I can see why you would not have done that since you did add the hyperlinks, but I think that's the appropriate format.

The only other gripe was the wording of the more powerful single-use mode. I like that idea, too, but I think the imagery could be better (either say smashing on the floor or breaking it on your or the target's body) to turn the person into a stronger swarm.

Again, overall you had a good idea, and you did put quite a bit of thought (trying to find a good warm to make a feel for each alignment), but several little things that dragged it down.

Tamago wrote:

First, let me say a quick "thank you" to all the judges and everyone who voted! I know this was a huge time commitment, and I appreciate your efforts!

Here's my item, the ** spoiler omitted **

** spoiler omitted **...

I think this item was perfect for the boundaries you set for it. Essentially I would not change a single thing - the item was masterfully conveyed. Unfortunately, those boundaries might not have included enough "crunch" or "stuff" to convince the judges that you were the designer they were looking to top 32. I would have loved them to have given you that chance though. Reading that you were in the top 20 or so on public vote is certainly deserved. As an item, the Candle of Distant Reassurance "feels" like it should be part of the game. I'm sure it will end up in a future Paizo product somewhere.

Best Regards
Herremann the Wise

I have to agree, this was a solid item and I upvoted it every time I came across it.

I'm going a bit odd and showing my original item as well as a revision that I think would have been a stronger candidate. In my case, I want to know if the revision is indeed better so I know I'm thinking in the right direction.

Thanks in advance for any responses!
BPC

Ghoulslayer Gloves

Aura faint conjuration; CL 5th
Slot hands; Price 5,000 gp; Weight —
Description
Often inscribed with invectives against the necromancer Geb and his legacy, these silver-studded leather gloves can focus healing magic into crackling bolts of undead-slaying energy. Whenever the wearer casts a cure spell (any spell with "cure" in the name), she may target an undead creature within close range as if using the Reach Spell metamagic feat (Advanced Player's Guide 168). Undead creatures do not receive the normal Will save to halve the damage when affected by a cure spell enhanced by ghoulslayer gloves. Both gloves must be worn for the magic to be effective.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, Reach Spell, cure light wounds; Cost 2,500 gp

I have to say I like the idea of these. Shame you can't "Heal" bomb an undead baddie at range with these, but the lack of a saving throw would have been ridiculous.

Honestly, I think the limited scope of the item is the biggest drawback, but it's something priced low enough that it's a good set of back up gloves if you know you're running through undead territory as a cleric or oracle. I upvoted it 'bout every time I saw these (3 if I recall right).

Glad to see I made the cull. I wrote the Master Healer's Satchel, but I'm not terribly disappointed about not making the top 89...I wrote it in one day and submitted it, when previously I hadn't planned on entering at all.

That was a fairly decent item if I recall right; something people would want, decent power to cost ratio. I voted that one up quite a bit.

Black Powder Chocobo wrote:

Thanks Eric! I never saw my item during voting(Findeladlara's Brush), but your list at least let me know I didn't submit a bottom-rung item. At least I know I'm not half bad now, but will have to up my game next year.

I liked that brush, can't say why but it appealed to me at a subconscious level, think I up voted 5 times and only once against it - when it was up against ziv's many layered veil.

Thanks for the kind words :)

I like the imagery I was trying to invoke; think I should have made the rules less complex (perhaps have the illusion permanent until another illusion was drawn) to give a more clear, concise picture of the brush; or perhaps ignored the Craft/Profession checks so anyone could try and use it (much like Gorum's Stompers; great imagery and, well, anyone can jump).

My biggest regret is that I have really cool idea for Round 2 that will probably be pointless next year :(

Thanks Eric! I never saw my item during voting(Findeladlara's Brush), but your list at least let me know I didn't submit a bottom-rung item. At least I know I'm not half bad now, but will have to up my game next year.

I <3 you Jiggy