Charlie Bell's page

After watching Gary Kovacs' TED Talk on "Tracking the Trackers," I installed Collusion.

Paizo.com doesn't report your activity to any trackers. It doesn't even show up in Collusion.

And that's awesome. Thanks, Paizo.com, for doing your part to protect our online privacy.

Morrigna psychopomps have regeneration 5, but don't list anything that overcomes it. This is probably just an omission--what's intended to beat morrigna regeneration?

I like the weird menu items listed for the Laughing Demon. Let's put together some more weird menu items!

~the originals~
1. vampire steaks (cuts of beef skewered on thick wooden spikes)
2. wolf balls (lamb meatballs served on plates painted to look like the face of the full moon)
3. corpse chowder (a thick stew with red broth and chunks of meat)
4. liquid ghosts (a sweet pale ale that glows faintly with a greenish tint)

~new~
5. the evil eye (sunny-side-up eggs with a spicy tomato sauce)
6. bloody Ileosa (a relatively new mixed drink made with tomato juice, pepper sauce, and a variety of spices)
7. goblin ears (snap peas the length of your hand)
8. mystery meat loaf (an inconsistent meatloaf made from whatever's on hand: goat, beef, pork, mutton, and/or vension)
9. mummy fingers (small link sausages wrapped in a pastry crust)
10. demon blood (the signature house drink, made from stiff whiskey, grain alcohol, hot pepper sauce, and strong coffee, served flaming)

I love Paizo's APs. While there are other rules systems out there I might prefer to PFRPG (although PFRPG is fun and gets the job done), nobody even comes close to Paizo for adventure design and writing.

However, after having played or GM'ed several APs, beginning with STAP, I have noticed something I dislike regarding level progression and time. To wit, the APs (with the exception of Kingmaker, which I gather can be played through at quite a leisurely pace), take too little in-game time for the level range. It sort of breaks verisimilitude for me when you start the AP as a 17-year-old apprentice or novice or squire or what have you, and within mere months of in-game time you have rocketed your way up to becoming a 17-year-old 15th-level archmage or high priest or greatest-swordsman-in-the-world.

There are some points in APs where, as GM, you can say "okay, three years pass." However, those moments are few and far between in most APs, and in certain APs with a built-in "doomsday clock," such as Second Darkness or Carrion Crown, you really can't pause for the PCs' lives to catch up to their own abilities.

As a GM and as a player, I would prefer to see more APs designed with the potential for long pauses in the action in between chapters.

Thoughts?

I don't have 100... I'm looking for 100. So far we have:

1. Lifedrinker
2. Master of Magic
3. Soul Swallow

4. Thing of Slime (Ex). The balor gains the aquatic subtype and the amphibious special quality. It can speak Aquan. It loses fire immunity and acid resistance, but gains acid immunity and fire resistance 10. Its flaming body and death throes deal acid damage instead of fire damage. It loses the firestorm spell-like ability but gains storm of vengeance 1/day. It wields a +1 corrosive whip instead of a +1 flaming whip.
5. Shadow and Flame (Su). The balor radiates deeper darkness and gains See in Darkness (Su).
6. Stygian (Su). The balor The balor gains the aquatic subtype and the amphibious special quality. It gains cold immunity. It loses flaming body. Its death throes deal no fire damage (only 50 points of unholy damage). Its body drips with the waters of the Styx. It gains the ability to inflict feeblemind at will as a touch attack; the save DC is Constitution-based. Creatures struck by the Stygian balor lord's slam attack or death throes, or grappled by the Stygian balor lord, are also subject to this attack. It loses the firestorm spell-like ability, but gains quickened feeblemind at will. A Stygian balor lord wields a +2 whip instead of a +1 flaming whip.

So there we were, gathered around the table for Chapter XI of the Savage Tide AP. It was yesterday afternoon. About halfway through, we felt pressure in our ears as the air pressure increased sharply. The power went out. About 30 seconds later, we heard that sound you hear about in all the accounts, that "freight train" sound that means you are about to be hit by a tornado.

Too shocked to take cover, we looked out the bay window and watched pieces of houses flying by in the front yard. Finally, we came to our senses and moved to the rear of the house to take some kind of cover. As we made our way to the windowless hallway, we noticed trees in our neighbor's yard snap in two... one of them a small dogwood, but the other a large, old-growth pine.

The whole thing was over in about three minutes. We went outside to survey the damage. At our neighbor's house on the left, all the aerial lines were ripped away. The shed out back was ripped in half. But it wasn't until we walked over to our neighbor's house on the right that we realized just how serious this had been. Half of his house was destroyed, crushed beneath a fallen pine tree.

We didn't see any immediate damage to our house, so we gave it a thorough walkaround. We weren't even missing a shingle from the roof. My wife's car, my truck, and three vehicles belonging to my players were parked in the front yard: not a scratch on any of them, even though fallen limbs were piled all around them. We had stuff on our back porch that wasn't so much as blown out of position. Aside from the loss of power (current estimates say it'll be out until late Wednesday night), the worst that happened was we had trash in the yard.

So we finished the game by candlelight. It was

As we drove out through the neighborhood this morning, past multitudes of downed trees and power lines, the destruction was awe-inspiring. Whole stands of pines so large you couldn't wrap your arms around them were shorn off about 30 feet from the ground, as if some colossal scythe had swept through them. Smaller trees with spreading roots were blown over. About half the houses in the neighborhood had trees through them. Some houses' roofs were torn off. We saw one house that was completely flattened, as if a giant had squashed it with his foot. The destruction would have been far worse if most of the houses in the neighborhood hadn't been 1-story brick.

I believe God spared our house yesterday (it certainly wasn't because of any saintliness on my part). It was like there was some kind of force field around us.

And that's the story of how we played Pathfinder in the middle of a raging tornado.

Sadly, I'm not able to attend Paizocon this year. I've purchased 2 badges and 2 banquet tickets. If the badges are refundable, I'd like to return them. I plead military necessity.

I've already made arrangements to sell the banquet tickets, so I don't need to return those as well... although I can't find the original listing for them to know how much I bought them for! What was the original sale price for banquet tickets?

I've only used a little music for my STAP games. However, there have been a few times when music has really enhanced the encounter. I thought I'd share some of the themes I've used and ask if anybody has ideas for theme music for other villains/NPCs/places/encounters.

The Sea Wyvern - Pirates of the Caribbean theme song
Iggwilv - Pruit Igoe and Prophecies (Watchmen motion picture soundtrack)
Orcus - Night on Bald Mountain
Saint Kargoth - Facing Darth Sion (KotOR II soundtrack)
Final battle with Vanthus in Divided's Ire - Duel of the Fates (Phantom Menace motion picture soundtrack)
Wat Dagon - Malachor V (KotOR II soundtrack)

I could use some ideas for theme music for:
Charon/traveling the Styx
Obox-ob (super creepy)
Malcanthet (seductive yet sinister)
and, of course, Demogorgon himself

Theme music for stuff prior to these will be appreciated by the many STAP GMs who visit these forums.

I'm looking for a technique to make an iridescent, rainbow-sheen metal color. The figure in question is Reaper Miniatures #02970, Rasia, Bladedancer. I'll be using her for Gwynharwyf, the Whirling Fury, in my STAP campaign. I'm using this picture for the color scheme--look at her scimitars to see the iridescent metal effect I'm trying to recreate.

I am trying to find which minis people think would work best for these two great witches.

So far for Tasha, the best miniature I have found so far is Hordes - Minions: Lanyssa Ryssl, Nyss Sorceress

I think I can paint her cloak to resemble Fiend's Embrace.

I would appreciate any feedback on this idea or other suggestions for her or Baba Yaga. Thanks!

Reaper Mini #03138, Necromancer With Tome, is basically Iggwilv. She's wearing the same cloak and virtually the same dress as in the illustrations in Dungeon mag and Fiendish Codex I. In fact, I'm using this fig for Iggwilv in my STAP campaign.

At the levels at which you can get Staggering Critical, action economy is the name of the game. So a feat that hits the target with an action debuff condition like staggered is very useful, especially when your main melee bruiser badguys rely on full attacks for any significant damage output. Sure, there's a save, but even if the target makes the save, they're still staggered for 1 round.

My wife's character is a mobile fighter dual-wielding rapiers with Staggering Critical. She can pretty reliably crit at least one of her 5+ attacks in a round. Dealing with a melee boss usually goes down like this: move in and Rapid Attack, boss is staggered for 1 round; boss gets his standard action 1 hit; wife shreds with full attack, boss either dies or gets staggered again.

Throwing in lots of mooks doesn't really help because mooks can't really hit anybody in the party; they're just damage/action sponges.

So, Staggering Critical: too good, or just good? Thoughts? Let's stop short of bandying about the "b" word ("broken")--that's never helpful in any discussion on these boards.

I'm looking for a good mini for the Ivory Champion from Dragon 356. It's a figurine of wondrous power type item that turns into a Large size, greatsword-wielding armored knight.

I have looked for a chess piece for it, but nobody sells them singly.

Anybody have any ideas?

Heard about this on the radio this morning and found this article:

STD Testing App

"Hey baby, we can get it on, but you gotta pee on my phone first."

I've converted a substantial amount of stat blocks from STAP to PFRPG. Can I legally post those converted stat blocks here without violating Paizo's messageboard policies?

I've searched the forum archives, but I wasn't able to find any thread that answers this question directly.

Does the Gang Up feat from the APG let you flank with ranged weapons? As written it seems like it does. That would really make it a must-have for archery rogues.

I left my hat in the hotel restaurant after breakfast Sunday. When I went back for it, it was gone. I asked the wait staff, the front desk, the Paizo table, and some other diners at the restaurant about it, but nobody had seen it. Somebody must have picked it up.

The hat in question is a brown wool newsboy-style hat with a cross-striped pattern and a snap on the brim. Inside is the manufacturer's label that reads "Barbour."

I have had this hat for 17 years - half of my life. I can't imagine that anybody else would want to wear it since it's been on my head. It is of no particular value, but I have a strong sentimental attachment to it. If any of my fellow Paizo fans have found it, I'm prepared to offer a reward for its return.

Please help me get my hat back!

I've been thinking about the news a lot lately. I have concluded that the news is largely b*#&+*$~. Here's a few observations I've made that have supported that conclusion:

1. Many "news" sources are overtly biased. The blogosphere is a big offender. Talk radio is an equally big offender. Most people get their news from sources that agree with their own personal biases. This is ideological masturbation. On the other hand, the overt display of bias can be quite useful.
2. Mainstream news sources claim journalistic integrity, but they're just as biased as the aforementioned sources. Everybody knows that Fox News is conservative. Everybody knows that MSNBC is liberal.
3. Bias in reporting is completely unavoidable. The personal beliefs and opinions of the reporters and their editors and publishers are imprinted on every story, to a greater or lesser degree. You cannot talk about something without inserting yourself as an observer; in other words, you can't describe something without making observations about it based on your accumulated categorical framework. Ergo, your bias is inevitable.
4. Only a proportion of bias is actual editorial insertion or "spin." Probably 90% of it consists of selective omission. Details are omitted within stories. Entire stories are omitted. Anecdote: BBC news interviewed 2 "experts" in a radio story about the ban of "rape games" in Japan. On one side, they had the leader of a women's rights organization that was working to ban the games--highly articulate and credible. On the other hand, they trotted out a "British gamer" with no credentials that sounded like the English equivalent of a provincial hick. The lopsided selection of "experts" to be interviewed skewed the story's bias toward a positive view of the ban.
5. News media are businesses. They sell stories. People watch lurid stories because we're fascinated by them. Stories that aren't lurid, alarmist, or pop-culturally remarkable will not be reported, no matter how important they actually are, unless they serve a niche interest: sports, Wall Street, etc. Anecdote: remember when the U.S. pulled out of cities in Iraq? Probably not, because Michael Jackson died that week. Do you remember Jessica Lynch? Sure you do. Quick, off the top of your head, name the African American female Soldier who was captured with her. Or, for that matter, ANY of the other Soldiers who were captured with her. It doesn't make the news when a Soldier is captured unless she's a pretty white girl.
6. Someone's interests are served. More to the point, someone's FINANCIAL interests are served. Anecdote: I am not here to discuss global warming and the environmental movement, but how many of you prefer "green" products? Would you pay 25% more to buy "green" stuff if the Big Damn Message of the last 2 decades wasn't man's adverse affect on the environment? For any given cause, some will say "raising awareness" and others will say "hysterical alarmist fearmongering."

My recommendations on how to get "real" news, based on the above.
1. Know thyself. Specifically, know thy biases. Your opinions are important, but you might be wrong. I might be wrong. Everybody's wrong about something or other. Allow yourself to be challenged or you will stagnate.
2. Do not rely on US sources for news. They are hopelessly polarized, contaminated, and Amero-centric. Important s##& happens outside of our borders and our wars. BBC News is good but nevertheless still see #1.
3. For US sources, if you're conservative, read liberal news sources. If you're liberal, read conservative news sources. In either case you might learn something. If nothing else you will get a good laugh. Do not sequester your worldview by only feeding it news which affirms it. That's like trying to subsist on nothing but cool whip. Do not indulge in intellectual wankery; expose yourself to other viewpoints.
4. Ask yourself, qui bono? Follow the money trail. Try to figure out whose interests are being served by you having this information. Then try to figure out what they're not telling you, and why. Every story has 1 side you see and 5 you don't. Realize the sound bite is incomplete and probably misrepresents the truth of the matter.
5. Ignore celebrity "news." It is enormously, utterly meaningless and a complete waste of your time and attention.
6. Keep your bulls__t sniffer sharp.

I flatter myself to think that people will respond to this thread. Let's keep it a discussion of the news/media, rather than a discussion of the merits of any particular topic arising in anecdotes.

I have a few questions regarding a submission I'm considering. Hopefully someone floating around here will have an answer.

1. The Sodden Lands. Does it rain all the time there? Can weather-affecting magic such as control weather stop the rain for a while? Is it hurricane rain 24/7/365, or degrees of variation?

As a service to the Paizo community, I offer this thread.

If you are about to invoke Nazis, Hitler, or the Holocaust in any way in another thread, STOP. Check yourself. Then make your post in this thread.

Consider it Godwin's Law mitigation. Magic circle vs. Nazis.

Anybody else in LotRO? I'm on Brandywine.

Is there anybody else floating around the boards that used to play the old Neverwinter Nights? Not the Atari NWN, I'm talking about the original gold box-esque 2nd ed. AD&D Neverwinter Nights that was on AOL back in the early to mid 90s. I know Jason Nelson did because I remember his character (who has made his way into PF products since then). The NWN I'm talking about was afaik the very first graphic MMO (aside from text-as-graphics stuff like the old Moria). The game itself wasn't the stuff of dreams, but there was always really good RP on the boards. A lot of people enjoyed the chess-like PvP: you couldn't attack other players directly, but if you came on a player in a fight with mobs, you could join in and then target that player with spells. Most folks played human dual-class cleric 10/MU 11 for that reason. Feeblemind was a death sentence. Periodically we'd have bashes, which were like cons without events... kind of more like big hotel parties.

If anybody's around from those days, it'd be interesting to remember our old characters and guilds. I made some good friends in those days with whom I've unfortunately not kept up.

I was:
Tyserach, elf F/M/T in the Spirit Lurkers
MOB Gaidin, human Cl/MU in Masters of the Balance
Errandir, elf F/M/T in the Grey Company

Hey fellow Paizonians,

I'm looking for a gaming group near Tacoma (I just moved to old Steilacoom from back East). I'd love to play in or run a group playing Pathfinder APs, but I'd be interested in any Pathfinder or 3.5 group.

A little about me:
I am 32, professional, been playing and DMing D&D since early 2nd ed. (almost 20 years). I have experience with other games and systems too (GURPS, Palladium, White Wolf, various d20 games such as Mutants and Masterminds). I am a PFRPG fanboy. Back east, my old group was together for 7 or 8 years and I feel confident that anybody I've played with would tell you I'm the kind of player you'd want at your table.

I know the Pac NW is the epicenter of all gaming so I am hopeful to find a group soon! I am willing to drive 1hr+ to attend a game if the group is just right.