Charlie Bell's page

I just bought Owen's RGG Bundle. 200 PDFs for $30 is great. Downloading each PDF one at a time on My Downloads? Not so great.

I'd like a way to download multiple files in one big batch rather than downloading singly. Maybe through a check box mechanism that would batch watermark them and put them in one big zip file.

Another solid option would be a button to deliver the file to a Dropbox account instead of downloading it directly. As an example, DTRPG/RPGNow has this function, which I find quite handy.

Finally, fwiw, the thing that auto-initiates a download after 5 seconds is annoying. I don't want to automatically download a thing to my default downloads folder, I want to right click a link to download it to the place I keep all my Pathfinder stuff. The auto download function makes me either cancel it or navigate to a different folder every time. Which is not a problem if I'm downloading 1 file. If I'm downloading a whole AP, or Owen's RGG bundle, a bunch of extra fiddling for each download gets old fast.

This question is about the kingdom building rules from Ultimate Campaign.

Are the modifiers from Kingdom Events permanent?

For instance, are the kingdom attribute and settlement modifiers from an event like Justice Prevails permanent?

Justice Prevails (settlement): Authorities shut down a major criminal operation or thwart a plot against the settlement. Law and Loyalty increase by 1 and Crime and Unrest decreases by 1.

What if an event is continuous, for example, Inquisition? Do the modifiers only last while the continuous event is going on, and then go away? Or are they cumulative and permanent, i.e. they increase as long as the event is continuous, but remain after it has been resolved?

Inquisition (settlement, continuous): Zealots mobilize public opinion against a particular race, religion, kingdom, behavior, or kingdom leader. Attempt a Loyalty check. If you fail, the zealots run rampant; Infamy and Law increase by 1 and Lore, Loyalty, Productivity, and Stability decrease by 2. If you succeed, the zealots are somewhat suppressed; Lore, Loyalty, Productivity, and Stability decrease by 1. Two successful checks in a row end the event (if a check ends the event, no penalties from it occur that turn).

The enlightenment and rebirth psychic disciplines in Occult Origins do not have a mechanic to recover phrenic pool points.

All other psychic disciplines published appear to have such a mechanic, including the disciplines in Occult Adventures and Occult Realms.

This seems like an unintended design/development oversight. Please FAQ this post and hopefully we'll get a fix.

Attack of the Good Idea Fairy!

It would be handy to have, on the Downloads page, a way to quickly sort for all the files that have been updated since the last time you downloaded them.

For those of us who have a lot of downloads, and want to make sure we are using the most up-to-date versions (e.g. PFS GMs and VOs), this functionality would be super useful.

Ultimate Campaign p. 215, the Arena building says it gives a discount on Brothels.

Only there are no Brothel buildings listed in UC. Is that discount supposed to be for Dance Halls instead?

This dwarf-like creature glows with a pale blue radiance and appears to be wearing a large, dome-like, cobalt-speckled hat.

Dwarf Agaric CR 6
 XP 2,400
N Medium plant
Init +0; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, tremorsense 60 ft.; Perception +15

----- Defense -----
AC 19, touch 10, flat-footed 19 (+9 natural)
hp 68 (8d8+32)
Fort +10, Ref +4, Will +5
Immune plant traits; Resist cold 5

----- Offense -----
Speed 20 ft.
Melee 2 slams +11 (1d8+5 plus disease and poison)
Special Attacks disease, spore swarm

----- Statistics -----
Str 20, Dex 10, Con 19, Int 5, Wis 12, Cha 7
Base Atk +6; CMB +11; CMD 21
Feats Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack, Skill Focus (Perception)
Skills Perception +15, Stealth –20
Languages Undercommon
SQ hive mind, phosphorescence

----- Ecology -----
Environment any underground (Nar-Voth)
Organization solitary or colony (2–6)
Treasure incidental

----- Special Abilities -----
Disease (Ex) Fungal rot: Slam—injury; save Fort DC 18; onset 1d3 days; frequency 1/day; effect 1d3 Dex damage and 1d3 Con damage; cure 2 consecutive saves. A dwarf agaric’s spores can cause a potentially-fatal fungal infection. Affected areas develop moldy-looking rashes that itch, burn, and eventually cause the underlying flesh to slough away. If a Medium or larger creature dies from this infection, a new dwarf agaric grows from the resulting mass of fungal matter in 1d6 days. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Hive Mind (Su) A colony of dwarf agarics forms a rudimentary telepathic hive mind within a 100 foot radius. If one is aware of a particular danger, they all are aware. If one in the colony of dwarf agarics is not flat-footed, none of them are. No dwarf agaric in a colony is considered flanked unless all dwarf agarics in the colony are flanked.

Spore Swarm (Ex) Once per day as a standard action, a dwarf agaric can release a swarm of glowing spores, which it can control using its hive mind ability. The spore swarm has the same statistics as a cockroach swarm (Bestiary 2, p. 58) with the dwarf agaric’s hive mind and phosphorescence abilities and the plant type instead of the vermin type. Its swarm attack delivers the dwarf agaric’s disease and poison and limns affected creatures with its phosphorescence for 1d6 minutes.

Phosphorescence (Ex) A dwarf agaric glows with a pale blue phosphorescence equivalent to faerie fire.

Poison (Ex) Slam—injury; save Fort DC 18, frequency 1/round for 4 rounds, effect 1d4 Wis damage plus confused for 1 round, cure 1 save. Creatures that hit the dwarf agaric with natural attacks or unarmed strikes are exposed to its poison, a hallucinogenic mycotoxin. The confusion is a mind-affecting effect. The save DC is Constitution-based.

So called because of its appearance, a dwarf agaric resembles a crude dwarf-like creature with pallid flesh, dark spots for eyes, and beard-like tendrils under a bulbous nose. The blue-speckled appendage atop its head, often mistaken for a hat, is actually a mushroom cap, complete with gills. A dwarf agaric stands about four feet tall and weighs roughly 150 pounds.

Dwarf agarics are a rare, highly-evolved, and semi-sentient variety of cytillesh fungus found only in remote reaches of Nar-Voth. Like cytillesh, dwarf agarics glow with a pale blue bioluminescence and possess hallucinogenic and latent psychic properties. They lack any civilization or sophistication and do not use tools. Derro consider them a delicacy when properly cooked, but find them nearly impossible to cultivate due to their relative intelligence and the fungal infection their spores carry.

Smokemount Hold

Crook of Unseen Forces
Aura strong evocation and conjuration; CL 12th
Slot none; Price 42,000 gp; Weight 5 lbs.

Description
This iron staff, silvered and inlaid with diamonds, curves at one end like a shepherd’s crook. It functions as a +1/+1 quarterstaff and grants an additional +2 bonus on drag and reposition combat maneuvers. However, its true power is to summon and command invisible forces, allowing the use of the following spells:

unseen servant (1 charge)
spiritual weapon (1 charge)
spiritual ally (2 charges)
summon monster VI (3 charges, invisible stalker only)

The spiritual weapon or weapon wielded by a spiritual ally takes the shape of the crook of unseen forces itself and gains the crook's enhancement bonus to attack and damage. Moreover, any spiritual weapon or spiritual ally created by the crook is invisible as if by greater invisibility, gaining the usual benefits when attacking creatures unable to see it. The invisible stalker summoned by the crook is an unliving construct rather than a true outsider.

In addition, by spending 1 charge as a standard action, the crook’s wielder can create an invisible force in a 30 foot line. The wielder can make a drag, reposition, or trip combat maneuver against any one creature in this line. Each additional creature affected costs 1 additional charge. This special combat maneuver check does not provoke attacks of opportunity and uses the wielder’s caster level plus Wisdom modifier in place of his Combat Maneuver Bonus. The wielder can choose to use the staff’s caster level instead of his own.

Construction
Requirements Craft Staff, Craft Magic Arms and Armor, greater invisibility, spiritual ally, spiritual weapon, summon monster VI, telekinesis, unseen servant; Cost 21,000 gp

So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round

:D

Any chance we could get the PFS Pregens in a single file, in addition to broken up into multiple files? Similar to the way you can download certain books as single file or one file per chapter.

Having all the pregens in a single file makes them much easier to print en masse.

Great reference! Who's the blues fan?

Need some help resolving an apparent discrepancy in the UC downtime rules.

This section assumes you are using the downtime system to earn capital rather than purchasing it, and all gp values in this chapter are based on the Earned Cost. If you aren't using the downtime system to earn capital (and are instead awarded capital as a treasure reward, for example), or you want to purchase something quickly by spending gold pieces, remember to double the listed gp value to find the Purchased Cost of the item or service.

However, all the costs for rooms and teams seem to be the Purchased Cost.

Create: This entry lists how much Goods, Influence, Labor, and Magic are required to construct the room or recruit the team. It also includes a gp value for purchasing a completed room of that type or recruiting an existing team of that type.

Indeed, if you add up the purchased cost of all the capital required to construct every building in the list, it equals the listed gp cost, not double the cost.

For instance, cost to create for an altar is 2 Goods, 1 Influence, 2 Labor, 1 Magic (210 gp). Purchased cost for the listed capital is 210 gp; earned cost is 105 gp.

So... are the listed gp values based on the purchased cost, which conflicts with the bolded parts of the first quoted passage, or do I actually need to spend 420 gp if I want to buy an altar outright?

Just a suggestion, for whatever it's worth: consider changing the URL to the product page to something more intuitive.

Right now, the URL is: http://paizo.com/products/btpy84k4

Consider changing it to (or redirecting it from) something like: http://paizo.com/pfsguide

When I tell a player that they need the guide, and to go download it from paizo.com, they have to poke around on the site to find it. It's not hard to find, but there are some folks out there that just don't/can't/won't find something by poking around on a website.

I've been collecting the AP promo posters to decorate my game room. So far I have:

Rise of the Runelords Anniversary Edition
Carrion Crown
Reign of Winter
Wrath of the Righteous
Mummy's Mask

and the Paizo store still carries:

Jade Regent
Skull & Shackles

What about the others? I don't remember ever seeing promo posters for APs prior to Carrion Crown. And what about Shattered Star? Does anybody know if Paizo ever made promo posters for the APs that I can't account for?

I'm not usually one for theorycraft builds, but I've been kicking around the idea of a pair of characters built around the Butterfly Sting feat. The basic idea is that you have two characters. "Float Like a Butterfly" ("FLAB") TWFs high-threat weapons like kukris, using Butterfly Sting to set up autocrits for "Sting Like a Bee" ("SLAB"), who 2Hs a x4 crit weapon.

The basic shtick is pretty simple, but takes a few levels to set up. There are a lot of different ways to get multiplying adds on SLAB, plus possible teamwork feat synergies.

SLAB is the easier of the two to build. Almost any basic high-damage 2H build works fine. A barbarian chassis gets damage adds from rage; a fighter gets them from Weapon Specialization and weapon training; a slayer gets them from favored target. I'm leaning toward slayer because of sneak attack (although it doesn't get multiplied, SLAB should be flanking with FLAB quite often). Race is anything with a STR bonus and a racial SLA to qualify for Arcane Strike (which gets multiplied on crits).

FLAB is a bit trickier. FLAB needs at a minimum TWF, Combat Expertise, and Butterfly Sting. As soon as he can get it, he also wants Improved Critical and probably Critical Focus. But what class? Since he's going to be flanking with SLAB as often as possible, sneak attack classes are attractive, but full BAB classes are also attractive. Less conventionally, a bard could be a decent option for FLAB because he can give SLAB adds from things like inspire courage and good hope, all of which get multiplied on crits.

What does the hive mind think?

Article.

A local newspaper article on the 40th anniversary of D&D has pictures of our Wednesday night PFS group and quotes from several of our Pathfinders.

Witchwar Legacy contains an interesting Greyhawk Easter egg regarding Queen Tashanna of Irrisen. The module strongly implies that Tashanna = Tasha = Iggwilv.

A cursory search of the forums for "Tashanna" shows that this is a pretty widely accepted idea, which, of course, no one can officially confirm because Iggwilv is somebody else's Product Identity.

Dungeon #149 happens to have a 3.5 epic level stat block for Iggwilv. Some years ago, I converted that stat block to Pathfinder, using the rules for advancing beyond 20th level in the Core Rulebook and some forward compatible epic level stuff. Now that we have mythic rules, it seems appropriate to re-stat Iggwilv using mythic tiers instead of epic levels. Epic Iggwilv was a 30th-level wizard; ergo, mythic Iggwilv is probably 20th level/10th tier.

So, what are those 20 levels? If we extrapolate from Elvanna's stat block in RoW, we might start out the banished Tashanna as a witch 10/winter witch 10, as befits a dethroned queen of Irrisen.

Here's what gives me pause. Iggwilv's a demon binder. She's always described as a witch (even "The Witch Queen"), but the definitive thing she does is bind demons.

Witches don't get planar binding, nor its lesser and greater permutations.

So how does our witch 10/winter witch 10/archmage 10 Tashanna/Iggwilv go about binding demons?

My pet peeve when GMing is when players interrupt me or try to talk over me when I'm reading box text. Same when players talk to each other when I'm reading box text, then ask me to repeat it. If only they'd been listening the first time, they probably would have gotten that extremely important clue or bit of description.

What's your pet peeve when GMing?

Let's keep it away from "entitled player" or optimization threadjacks.

Here: http://paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderBattles/WZK71408_SlothDemon.jpg.jp eg

In S0-S4, Out of Subtier gold is always the average of the high and low subtiers. In S5, chronicle sheets specify the OOS gold. On those chronicle sheets, is it always the average of high and low subtier gp, or is it possible for it to be a different value?

The reason I ask is that I'm working up a spreadsheet to calculate available subtiers, day jobs, and gold rewards. If S5 is consistent with S0-S4, it takes a couple fairly complicated functions out of the mix.

After reading the AP overview in the back of Snows of Summer, I had the idea of coming up with a Reign of Winter soundtrack list. There are a couple really obvious ones, like Mussorgsky's "Hut on Fowl's Legs." That gave me the idea of coming up with a track list showcasing the work of Russian composers in keeping with the Russian folklore theme.

Here's the first few.

1. Taldor. Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Great Gate of Kiev.
2. Baba Yaga's Dancing Hut. Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, The Hut on Fowl's Legs.
3. Rasputin Must Die! Tchaikovsky, 1812 Overture, with super-appropriate CANNON!
4. Machine Guns. Gustav Holst, The Planets, Mars, Bringer of War. Not Russian, but so perfect for machine guns that people said Holst had prophetically foreseen trench warfare.
5. The Riders/Baba Yaga. Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle.
6. Irrisen. Tchaikovsky, Marche Slave.

Who's got some more ideas?

From a nearby tree, a monkey-faced creature coils a heavy stick in its whip-like arms, taking aim with beady black eyes.

Argopelter CR 4
XP 1,200
CN Small monstrous humanoid
Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft., greensight, low-light vision; Perception +8

----- Defense -----
AC 17, touch 16, flat-footed 12 (+5 Dex, +1 natural, +1 size)
hp 32 (5d10+5)
Fort +2, Ref +9, Will +6

----- Offense -----
Speed 20 ft., climb 30 ft.
Melee slam +8 (1d4+2)
Ranged branch +12 (1d8+3)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks branch throwing (40 ft.), sneak attack +2d6
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 5th; concentration +3)
Constant—greensight (Rival Guide), pass without trace
1/day—tree stride

----- Statistics -----
Str 15, Dex 20, Con 13, Int 8, Wis 14, Cha 7
Base Atk +5; CMB +6; CMD 21
Feats Deadly Aim, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot
Skills Acrobatics +10, Climb +15, Perception +8, Stealth +17 (+25 in forested areas); Racial Modifiers +8 Stealth in forested areas
Languages Sylvan
SQ brachiator

----- Ecology -----
Environment any forest
Organization solitary, pair, or gaggle (3-7)
Treasure standard

----- Special Abilities -----
Brachiator (Ex) An argopelter travels by swinging through the trees on its wiry arms. An argopelter suffers no penalty to Acrobatics and Stealth checks due to undergrowth or difficult terrain in forested areas. Whenever it is climbing, an argopelter is counted as having a running start when making Acrobatics checks to jump, and uses its climb speed rather than its land speed to determine its bonus or penalty to Acrobatics checks made to jump.

Branch Throwing (Ex) An argopelter's muscular arms fling tree limbs with cannon-like force. An argopelter has a +1 racial bonus on attack rolls with thrown branches, sticks, or similar pieces of wood. The creature can hurl irregularly-shaped tree branches of up to Small size. In forested areas, an argopelter has an effectively unlimited supply of branches available. An argopelter can pick up and ready a branch as a free action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity. An argopelter’s thrown branches have a range increment of 40 feet and deal 1d8 points of bludgeoning damage plus 1 1/2 times the creature’s Strength bonus. An argopelter can throw branches up to five range increments.

The elusive, reclusive argopelters consider themselves the natural guardians of the ancient forests in which they dwell: places such as the Verduran Forest, Darkmoon Wood, and the Hoarwood. Argopelters do not get along well with dryads, treants, druids, or other beings that defend the wildwoods. Such beings find argopelters to be dangerous nuisances, but often cede territory to them since the argopelters are both motivated and capable of protecting their trees.

Argopelters often cross between Golarion and the First World at places where the planar boundaries grow thin, although no one knows on which of the two they originate. This may explain their legendary territoriality, since the ancient woods in which they lair often contain portals between the worlds. Argopelters hate most humanoids, although they tolerate gnomes. They especially despise lumberjacks and woodcutters and will go out of their way to ambush anyone carrying an axe or cut wood. Many a logger has been found with his skull crushed by a “fallen limb.”

An argopelter’s wiry arms are strong and highly flexible. The creature uses them for both movement, brachiating through the trees, and attack, flinging tree branches with deadly accuracy. An argopelter’s mottled, pebbly hide camouflages it perfectly against tree bark. It has a lithe frame but stumpy legs. An argopelter stands about three feet high and weighs around 80 pounds.

Green Knight (Paladin)
Green knights represent a more primal, uncivilized good than other paladins. Although they often quest in pursuit of their own mysterious ends, green knights are always firmly on the side of good. Green knights draw their powers from deities or azatas, from the magic of good fey or the more benevolent powers of the First World, or even from nature itself.
Alignment: Chaotic good.
Class Skills: A green knight gains Knowledge (nature) and Survival as class skills and does not gain Knowledge (nobility) and Knowledge (religion) as class skills.
Smite Evil (Su): This ability functions like the standard paladin’s smite evil ability, except that if the target of smite evil is an evil-aligned fey, an evil-aligned plant, or an evil-aligned magical beast, the bonus to damage on the first successful attack increases to 2 points of damage per level the green knight possesses. This ability replaces the standard paladin’s extra smite damage against evil outsiders, dragons, and undead.
Resist Nature’s Lure (Ex): At 3rd level, a green knight gains resist nature’s lure, as the druid ability of the same name. This ability replaces aura of courage.
Spells: Beginning at 4th level, a green knight gains the ability to cast a small number of divine spells. This functions like a standard paladin’s spellcasting ability, except that a green knight casts divine spells drawn from the ranger spell list instead of the paladin spell list. For all purposes, a green knight’s spell list is considered to be the ranger spell list. This ability replaces the standard paladin’s spellcasting.
Divine Bond (Sp): A green knight who chooses a weapon as her divine bond can add the anarchic or vorpal special abilities to her weapon, but she cannot add the axiomatic or disruption special abilities.
Champion of the Wild (Su): At 20th level, a green knight becomes a true fey creature. She is forevermore treated as a fey rather than as a humanoid (or whatever the green knight’s creature type was) for the purpose of spells and magical effects. Additionally, she gains low-light vision and DR 5/evil and cold iron. This ability replaces holy champion.
Code of Conduct: A green knight must be of chaotic good alignment and loses all class features except proficiencies if she ever willingly commits an evil act.
Additionally, a green knight’s code requires that she respect the sanctity of nature and the free will of all living beings, seek to undo the schemes of evil fey, and punish those who harm or threaten innocents. A green knight is free to associate with allies of any alignment, as long as the association furthers the green knight’s quest for good. This replaces the standard paladin’s code of conduct.

Spell-Winding Timepiece
Aura strong universal; CL 13th
Slot none; Price 25,000 gp; Weight —
Description
This ornate platinum pocketwatch has a brass hour hand, silver minute hand, and golden second hand. Despite the presence of a winding knob, it never needs winding and always keeps accurate time. The bearer can wind a spell-winding timepiece as a standard action. Winding the timepiece causes the durations of active spell effects that target the bearer to be reset, as if the spells had been re-cast just as the timepiece was wound. Only spells with a duration based on caster level and measured in rounds, minutes, or hours are affected. The duration is reset only for the bearer, not for any other targets of the original spells. Spell effects from magic items and spell-like abilities are likewise not reset.
A spell-winding timepiece can be wound once per day with no risk. If it is wound more than once per day, there is a 25% cumulative chance per use past the first that the delicate clockwork will be ruined, permanently destroying the device.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, Extend Spell, limited wish; Cost 12,250 gp

I'm playing a Tian-Min samurai named Ishida Katsumoto. I've decided that I'm going to go for a rivalry with Shalelu. I'm envisioning more of a friendly teasing, Legolas and Gimli kind of relationship than cutthroat enmity. It's been established that Katsumoto writes haiku, so I thought it would be funny to tease Shalelu with haiku insults a la Kyle and Cartman. Here's the insults from levels 1-3:

When we accepted the job to hunt down the goblins.

"Sandpoint's protector?"
What kind of elven ranger
Needs help with goblins?

When the four goblins (our PCs from We Be Goblins) joined the caravan.

Four goblin minions?
Shalelu won't be happy-
That look on her face!

When recommending that Shalelu help the party ninja scout ahead in Brinewall, delivered while making a "radar ears" gesture.

Shalelu should scout
I bet she hears everything
With those ears of hers

All these threads lately about backstories inspired me to start this thread as a place we can post PC backstories.

Minor spoilers may abound, so please spoilerize any backstories that contain them.

My backstories tend to have a few common characteristics. I provide a physical description of the character. I try to outline the character's close family and possibly other friends or mentors. I account for the traits I've selected, especially campaign traits. I explain any fluff/crunch weirdness on the character sheet (like a half-orc with an elven curve blade, or any non-Qadiran with Dervish Dance). I establish any pre-game connections with other PCs. I provide hooks for the GM to use if desired.

Without further ado, my backstory for Othollo Wintrish, my CoCT bard. I rejoined the group mid-campaign, so I provided enough background to tie myself to the campaign location but I didn't have a campaign trait.

Inspired by this thread.

You could literally solve the world's energy problems, hunger, and disease with 3 items.

What magic item would you use to build a perpetual motion/infinite power generator? Here's some ideas to start:

zombie on a treadmill
decanter of endless water paddlewheel

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.

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."