This affliction could end if they simply started putting out stuff we don't want or of inferior quality. Gladly, I don't think that's going to happen. So, we're all in this together.
To this day my wife can quote entire sections of this film. I got her the soundtrack one year for her birthday. I like it, but there's no bigger fan than my wife!
Ouch! It bit me!
What'd you expect fairies to do?
I thought they did nice things, like grant wishes.
Huh, shows how much YOU know.
I have four players. So, leading up to the start of my Carrion Crown campaign, I sent each of them a different knowledge piece from each book for six days before the game's launch date. I picked what seemed to be of most interest based on character history and just let them know it was info "they had picked up or heard somewhere".
I'll let them run with them as they see fit. So far, folks have used the knowkldge to pepper their conversations with each other and NPCs to add to the flavor. It's worked great so far.
I GM'd both the campaigns to completion for the same group of players. Sticking with my regular style, they enjoyed Curse of the Crimson Throne heads and tails over Council of Theives. Not sure what it was, but Curse was a lot more fun to GM as well.
Have you signed up for the D&D playtest of the new edition? Yes.
Do you actually plan to participate? I suppose so.
Have you been part of a pen-and-paper RPG playtest before? Yes.
Generally I like the modules line...but to an extent I do agree they could be more. For example: the best single adventure IMO they've done is Conquest of Bloodsworn Vale. "Sandbox with walls" as someone described it above. I've run it through completeion three times for three different groups. They all loved it, and it was a thrill to GM.
More in this style would be a huige preference of mine.
Hi there, and welcome! Specific time tracking is important only during combat or spell casting situations, as you mentioned because of various game effects. Besides that, a lot of it is hand-waived by the GM depending on circumstances.
Walking down a 50 foot hallway carefully, a couple of minutes maybe. Exploring a room after combat depends on the size of the room. Going over an average-sized room maybe 6x6 squares might take a half hour or so. Let’s say the PCs have used their abilities and spells and need to rest.
PC: “Time to rest, we head back to town”.
GM: “It’s a mile away and takes you about a half hour to get there”.
PC: “We book a room at the inn and go to sleep”.
GM: “Ok, 8 hours pass and you wake up refreshed. Renew your spells and check for healing.”
Otherwise a lot of the things PCs try can be guesstimated by the GM based on real-world ideals and common sense. Sometimes the players will even help you out.
PC: “I know that guy is waiting around to meet someone. I’ll watch him for an hour or so”.
If time needs to pass to get to nighttime, as GM you can control that with some give and take from the players (if they having nothing to do and you are just driving the story, whole days can pass if needed). Sometimes keeping a time tracking sheet handy like graph paper to check off hours means you have an idea when it’s night or day.
I attended a Beginner Box Bash here in NJ, USA over the weekend at a FLGS. It had a very small and unimpressive turnout. I saw some hope for the future in some of the kids playing, but the presentations were a little lackluster to be honest. I would like to get involved running some of these for my other brand new FLGS this coming weekend to spread the love, but I don’t know the deal.
Do I need to contact someone or does the store owner? Who do they contact? We’d like to get something for this coming Sunday Dec 18th. Are we too late to jump on board? Thanks!
There was a noticeable shift toward the beginning of book 5 in wealth.
Up until that point there was still major decision-making about what to build and a strategy I enjoyed watching at the table. By book 5 some of the magic items generated for their territories really shifted the wealth value and by book 5’s end they were swimming in BPs and built all sorts of stuff without worry.
Also, monthly events – in the earlier parts of the game they rolled pretty poor in general for events, but as the game went on their luck with these really turned around as well.
I know this probably belongs in the Beginner Box Sub-forum, but it take forever to get responses there. And I would like to know if the beginner box is a intro or a stand alone rule lite game? The way Paizo seems to be introducing stuff makes me think it may turn into a rules lite version. And another question is can I take my level 5 beginner box characters and use them in core with no conversion?
Hi and welcome! From what we have been told the Beginner Box is intended to be an introduction to the full version of the pathfinder Roleplaying Game. While it’s “lighter on rules” it’s not going to be supported as a rules-light version of the game.
You will need to make a couple of minor adjustments to your character to transfer them to the full version of the rules, yes.
If you'd like to see the Kingdom Excel sheet just send me your email at ocasek50 at hotmail dot com and I'll send it along. Until I can figure out where to host files online without a hassle. :-)
I shall pass on the map compliments! I know some other folks here thought the exploration was tedious but I used the Gamemastery Guide, Ultimate Toolbox, and the articles by Ed Greenwood in the AP to flesh out locations and make every place interesting to see and explore. They had a great time making it their own.
Also, I am working on getting the Kingdom Excel sheet from the King. He's been very busy lately!
I ran FR Campaigns from 1987 to 2007. It was my mainstay and favored world to game in. While we dabbled in Greyhawk, Midnight, Eberron and even my homebrew from time to time we always returned to the Realms.
Then in 2007 I got the first book of the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path. “Hmm, Varsia huh?” I said. I told my players I’d find someplace to fit it in the Realms. By book two I had decided I would instead run it in this new world Galarion, and for the past four years have run nothing but Golarion campaigns!
I wouldn’t dare to make a comparison, ignoring the novel line in FR makes it a great world with a rich legacy, and Golarion is so well designed, new and yet familiar all the same. Last, we’d played in the FR for 20 years. This enabled a shift without jarring our play style or ideals.
Delaware the human sorcerer. She was a socialite and party hound who always got invited to the right parties. She always had a penchant for little magic tricks, but one night after one too many, she tried some drug and when an assault at the party broke out her sorcerer’s bloodline boiled up and she cast her first 1st- level spell. She was since convinced that taking a little hit before spellcasting was her ticket to arcane power. She was hired on reluctantly because there was no one else around in Restov at the time when Trent was assembling the team. She’s really good looking but as wise as a water slug.
Trent the human fighter. Trent was the first of three brothers. Up until recently he learned that his father was not his father, that it was some masked man at a costume ball. His father figure still married his mother thereafter and they set up a blacksmithing shop. He yearned for more and to get OUT of Restov and Brevoy altogether. With the right connections and minor skill at adventuring, he was one picked to colonize the lands south. He’s really strong, and smart in only the most simplistic way.
Phos the elf druid. He was a minor envoy from Kyonin looking into the wayward elf lands of the River Kingdoms when he stopped at Restov. Meeting with Trent and discovering the mission at hand, he immediately saw an opportunity to guide the humans first hand into a successful land. Dispensing invaluable wisdom and loads of thoughts within the first few minutes, Trent immediately hired him on as a guide and advisor. Phos sees balance in all things and is wise, healthy and quick.
Vera the human Monk Zen Archer. Vera grew up in a monastery of Pharasma on the shores of the Lake of Mist and Veils. Having quite a cruel streak she soon realized her skills could be put to hunt down anything that opposed the religion (or her)…not just the undead. Soon she escaped with a book of her teachings and fled south after one too many white arrows (her signature killing shot) was found in one too many locals. Realizing he would need someone skilled at tracking, hunting, and dispensing control, he hired her on when Phos saw potential in her no one else did. Vera is strong and very, very quick.
What makes this party work so well? Well, the boys Phos and Trent are good and neutral with a good bent, respectively. The gals Vera and Delaware are evil. Everyone had very strong ideals. With that the kingdom was able to get things done that others of weaker will might not. The others all saw Trent as the one to lead, but with their own skills Phos was able to guide and mold the kingdom, and Vera and Delaware were able to keep it safe by doing anything the “must be done” for the security of the land.
I hope he doesn't mind. Here is a little post the King player wrote to us all the night after the big mass combats.
Spoiler:
- The only force that can get back to Trentown before the wyverns attack is the secret army of kobolds. They march into the city and while some citizens scream and hide, others are out helping to hand them crossbows as they march to the lakefront and take cover in the shallow water. As the wyverns sweep in, the kobolds unleash 1,000 bolts into them and the Uberpolt flings bundles of sharp debris to cut delicate wings. Trent rides out on a shiny armored griffin, lances the Mother of all Wyverns, she stings the griffin and it plummets down as Trent leaps off and shears both wings off the giant beast. He hovers in the air screaming threats to the rest of dragonkin as the huge body of their mother splashes into the lake below.
-The town of Port Amboy is the most fortified in the kingdom. Lord Numesti was ordered to "hold", but Trent never expected they would be attacked by catapults and giants riding on mammoths equipped with battering rams. The strongest city in the kingdom is going to fall. Half of its warriors are dead during the first onslaught. There is only one choice. The Heroes of Port Amboy sally forth to take on the leaders of the opposing army, and versus overwhelming odds succeed. Then they turn the mercenaries to their side. The mercenaries attack the mammoth riders but look like they will fail, only to have the last defenders of the town charge out from the gates to throw the mammoths into confusion and save the day.
-Trolls are taking a sneaky route through the swamp to attack the undefended city of Tassleford. Our swamp allies warn us and the elves can try to stop them, but they don't stand a chance alone. Fighting a retreating battle the elves arrive at Tassleford to find unexpected allies in the kobolds who have marched hard from Trentown to make it to Tassleford in time. The kobolds dig holes and hide. The trolls charge into town and the elves try to hold on but are sure to be crushed. That is until the kobolds swarm out of their hiding spots taking the trolls by surprise, out numbering them 10 to 1 and dragging them down like a pack of wolves bringing down a bear.
-Now only one enemy force remains, waiting for allies that will never come, but it is the largest of the forces sent against Trent thus far. Three Redeemed Lands units converge on the barbarian horde from multiple directions. The horde can feel the icy hand of death closing about them. Victory seems imminent, but then the first wyvern appears over the horizon.
Congratulations to you and your players. Did you run the kingdoms rules from start to finish?
Thanks! We did run the game all the way through with the kingdom building rules, they rolled each month following the rules. We started on a kindgom sheet, and about a year of game-time in we switched over to the spreadsheet posted on these boards and the king player brought a laptop to handle calculation from there. Each city was crafted with the city sheet and tiled building cutouts.
Spoiler:
The war with Pitax was fun. The mass combat worked well. The PCs all suspected Irovetti was up to no good and began recruiting aid for armies earlier than expected. The wars were awesome to behold, and ran fast and well. It took an entire 6 hour session to run all the mass combats, but they were really each over within a half hour or so. There was an awesome 4-army battle and Wyvernstone bridge that took the cake for brutality, both side nearly being wiped out.
The Nyrissa problem was unique. Even with Plot Twist cards, good prep and the like, she still gave them a real run for their money. We thought all may be lost, then the sorcerer and druid managed to corner her with antimagic, and the archer and king killed her with what ammounted to masterwork weaponry and their awesome array of combat feats.
So after one year and two months, playing near weekly for six hours at a pop, we completed the Kingmaker Campaign from start to finish! 325+ hours of high adventure, and it went down to our group as the most fun (if not, tied with RotRL) AP we’ve done.
I’m not really sure where to start without spoiling everything. At the last session I went back through the books and showed the players all the artwork (much of which was used during the game) and so we re-lived the whole campaign that night. To see where some throwaway NPC or situation became such an integral part of the campaign through player choice was fun. Remembering the battles that really stood out was a blast (and there were plenty).
I’ll say that using and mining the Guide to the River Kingdoms really helped this campaign stand out. Whenever there was a lull in the action or a month’s planning ended I’d occasionally have visiting dignitaries from other lands show up and spread news or gossip, letting the players know about what was going on around them.
I GM’d for four players, two men and two women who compose my long-time stable of dependable players. They portrayed a fighter, sorcerer, druid and zen archer monk. There were two near TPK’s averted with amazing luck and planning and three character deaths that suddenly didn’t happen thanks to Plot Twist Cards (another prop this game depended on). They ended the campaign at 17th level.
The girls painstakingly drew out the hex map as they crawled along to the point where the thing is huge and detailed and artistically rendered. The fellow who’s been playing D&D for over 25 years and always wanted to be a king finally got his wish.
From a GM point of view one of the things that made this AP great was the open spaces I got to toy with in both story and literally on the map. Of the five AP’s I’ve run this one left the most for me to work with and customize and my creative part relished that.
We’re actually taking a little break now because to start anything else so soon after PC’s they have portrayed so strong and for so long would be an exercise in futility.
If anyone has specific questions, feel free (it would help focus my thoughts on it all). I suppose we should spoiler-note much of it if it involves behind the scenes stuff!
Don't ask me specifically why but when my group tells old stories about other APs we've been through, there's plenty of NPCs referenced, but they can't always remember their names. Everyone from CotCT is always remembered with a name. As a DM it was sheer circus time with the NPCs from this campaign. I loved it.
Aye, I did. Was it fun? Immensely. Was it hard work? Extremely.
Back in 2nd edition a writer I admire, Bruce Cordell, wrote this trilogy of adventures for AD&D 2nd Edition. In them, Mind Flayers plot to try to turn off the sun. Now I’ve never taken illegal substances, but I’m pretty sure what it feels like it what it was like to try and digest these things. Behind the really super-high powered expectations were some solid, good story elements. I used these as the endgame for a Forgotten Realms 3.5 game I ran from 2003 to 2007.
Book one was the best. It involved a cult infiltrating a great city and slowly mass hypnotizing the population. I worked very hard to settle it in a city in the realms, Marsember, I think, and worked up player handouts as promotional leaflets for the cult. There were some very good role-playing and investigative elements to this part. Growing terror as they uncovered what was going on was palatable.
Books two and three required heavy rewriting. The end result was about 25% of book two and about 75% plus of book three was rewritten, toned down, and I worked hard to fit is seamlessly into Realmslore and the campaign we played. Book three involved some very epic-level high-powered stuff. Because it involved wiping out the sun, the church of Lathander and/or Amaunator were heavily involved.
Because it was written for 2e, I needed Mind Flayers of a large variety of challenges. I mined what I could from WotC sources, and what I couldn’t I cheated with. There was an awesome online NPC generator at the time I was part of. The designer was taking submissions for critters to add and I tweaked a few numbers and created the “brain flogger”. I then used the program to create dozens of custom Mind Flayer-esque stat blocks of CR 10 to CR 25. It’s a good thing, too, because within a month WotC swooped in and asked him to remove the mind flogger. He did. :-)
Because I had a really good group of players and I played up the alien theme of the campaign it worked amazingly well. The group still tells war stories of this campaign every time we meet even today.
Funny, when I read that I was immediately reminded of a certain Doctor Dev... of Curse of the Crimson Throne Fame. You know, the guy who looks like Nicolas Cage...
Isn't that what the Morale part...oh wait, that just says if they curl up like a puppy or fight to the death. Good news is they usually fight to the death. I've had players for years and years take prisoners. With practice it's a great way to agitate players with roleplaying.
Just a look over their skills or the situation they are in helps me devise one of three scenerios:
* They cower and cry and spill their guts (players love it if they start out tough but cave at the slightest threat).
* They hold out but otherwise cooperate if not grudgingly (especially if made a deal).
* They act like an Oscar winner and pretend to go along, using bluff and diplomacy and make to escape or cause mayhem at first opportunity.
But yeah, if it wouldn't derail the word count any this could be neat. Still, part of the fun for me as a DM is coming up with this stuff!
2 Archetects tending to a building or forming a road or path.
3 Blink dogs and handler practicing and training.
4 Elder elf with ruling implement and small entorage.
5 Elf adventuing group preparing for a journey.
6 Elf children at play.
7 Elf couples picnicing and playing music.
8 Elf druid conversing with awakened animal companion.
9 Elf druid tending/shaping a tree.
10 Elf farmer collecintg food.
11 Elf herder with herd (trees, cats, butterflies, lambs, etc.).
12 Elf nobility and servants crossing the path.
13 Elf setting up an easel to paint a lake and landscape.
14 Elf suddenly appears (from teleportation or through magic portal).
15 Funureal procession with attending cleric.
16 Gardeners tending to a grove.
17 Group of young archers making their way to have a contest.
18 Human visitor being escorted by elf guards.
19 Invisible walking noted in nearby grass.
20 Streetside poetry reading with small crowd.
In our game Duke Trent McCormick finally chose Rachella Varn (Maeger Varn’s younger sister) as his bride. As GM I kinda took liberties, I gave her all the qualities I knew the player finds irresistible. Perfect timing was with my game as well. He courted her for over a year before popping the question and was surprised that no response came. I felt like Joss Whedon. On dope.
As for Lilly I saw her as a sort of elf groupie. She latched on pretty heavily to Phos the elf druid of the party and they’ve had a romance for most of the campaign. Only in the last game did she fall victim to a Witchfire that came for revenge on the group. Phos had her raised from the dead by high priest Jhod, to then promptly dump her and tell her to leave, as he could not bear to watch her age and die during his long life (in what I call the Highlander Syndrome). Ouch.
Between this, the older NPC guide, all the NPCs in the APs I have, and the stats in the back of the GMG I hope to never need to worry about creating NPCs from scratch again.
Exactly! Here's some interesting trivia. Between sourcebooks (like the GMG and these NPC books), Pathfinder Modules, Society Scenerios and Adventure Paths there are over 1,000 Pathfinder RPG stat blocks out there.
I remember when I first started keeping the mighty Excel file I now have (and update each month). It's literally my NPC "generator". I can search by class, race, level and so on and within a minute I have the PDf and its page where I can copy the stat block into a template I keep handy for game prep.
Since August of '09 I haven't made a single stat block. Talk about cutting down on game prep.
"Once a week, its strings can be strummed so as to produce chords that magically construct buildings, mines, tunnels, ditches, etc. The effect
produced in 30 minutes of playing is equal to the work of 100
humans laboring for 3 days."
Anyone have some good stats on how many buildings, mines, tunnels or ditches 100 humans laboring for 3 days can make?
My group is filled with very serious roleplayers. Mostly. Which is why by the time we are half way through book 4, I am actually surprised the capital is named Trent Town (the 'duke' is named Trent McCormick) and Fort Drelev became Port Amboy.
Unfortunatley all our players are from; and the campaign is played in New Jersey, USA. And the naming convention that came out of it are painful to betray.
I was just coming here to offer my thanks as well. When I flipped through Rule of Fear I was seriously impressed with the GM friendly layout and organized, clear presentation. The two-page spreads are perfect, and the maps are stunning and just what is needed. Bravo!
So still no website did anyone get their money back from Nick recently?
For the record, about 2 months ago I did write Nic at loguen@essex.ac.uk. I told him I'd still wait for RC but that I wished a refund for the many other items I preordered. He wrote back within about 2 days with an apology, saying he sent two payments to my PayPal account. Again, that was 2 months ago. No refund has actually appeared and 2 emails back to him reminding him of such have gone unanswered.
I do feel like it might be in his best interest at this point if he just admits his priorities and refund folks for products which don't (and likely won't) exist.
At the same time the sheer hours and days of good gaming he brought to my table in a plethora of great adventures over the past 6 or 7 years still have me respecting the man's privacy and hope he does find time to make this right in the end.
Couldn't you use the farm map pack and arrange the cards as needed onto a fieldy-looking flip mat? I find blutak works great for temporarily affixing map cards to flip mats.
I could, yes. And, blutak is a wonder. Perhaps when the map cards go out of print they might consider a larger flipmat farmstead.
In the meanwhile, lots of good ideas on this thread.
Ah, they do indeed, and I have it and like it. I still envision a full-sized flip-mat farm however, the kind we've all been waiting for since the Graul residence in Hook Mountain massacre. :-)
Please for the love of GOD keep Mike Mearls away from Pathfinder and Golarion.
Yes. Please.
On the other hand Noonan also penned the underrated (IMO) Shattered Gates of Slaughterguard for D&D 3.5 near the end. Awesome work on backstory and populating the setting makes this the 'Thunder Rift' for the new generation.
So I'll toss in a hearty huzzah for the Davester too.
DM Jeff, unless there is something I have missed, HeroLab does not make any choices for you. You still have to allocate ability scores, choose skills & feats, purchase equipment, etc.
Understood, and thanks for the quick response, but those are exactly the types of choices I don't want to be forced to make from this kind of software. Thanks for your help!
OK, I'm almost sold. Answer me these questions three, to help me...purchase this thing or not.
1) "You meet a rogue. She seems capable and eager" says the GM. "I recruit her as a cohort" says the player. CAN I: Click "human", "rogue", "level 6" and then a "generate" button to fill in ALL the rest, equipment and all?
2) This rogue NPC needs to level up. Can I load her saved record, click "add 3 levels of rogue", "engage" and watch it happen?
3) I'm updating an old 5th level adventure for my 11th level PCs. Can I click "medusa" "sorcerer" "level 5" and then a "generate" button to fill in ALL the rest, equipment and all?
Basically I will use this 75% of the time as a generator, and about 25% as a custom builder. I don't want to have to babysit it and make innane choices I don't care about. Will this suit my goals?
Thanks in advance. I smell a purchase quickly approaching...
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DM Jeff
(Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Roleplaying Game, Campaign Setting, Companion, Modules, GameMastery Maps Subscriber)
