Dark Minstrel's page

Sweet! Thank you for letting us know!

I like to use the Baldur's Gate/Baldur's Gate II soundtracks. They have music for every dungeon, outdoor, city mood. I like the Copper Coronet music for taverns.

Some of the tracks are perfect for exploring and others are great for battles.

Some of my players really like it. Others have found it annoying and distracting.

I always find it interesting to read how because 4E was too different that it was doomed to fail. It's a part of the reason yet for the most part it's because of Pathfinder and the OGL. When 3E came out the players who wanted to stick with 2E either bought and learned 3E or remained with 2E. There was no OGL for 2E and the retro old school gaming movement is imo just not popular enough. No OGL for 3E would mean no Pathfinder. I think there would still be a 4E since once again there would be two options. Either players remained with 3E/3.5 or bought and learned 4E. Which is why I would be very surprised to see a OGL for 5E. I doubt Wotc wants to give anyone the ability to become their competion a second time.

I can only tell you what my experience was, but here it is. I had no problem going from 3.0 to 3.5 because it was the same game at heart. I was also excited about 4e coming out until I learned more about it. I bought Pathfinder to tweak my 3.5 game with and I still buy Pathfinder products to use with my 3.5 game.

If 4e had been, in my opinion, more in keeping with D&D traditions, I would never have bought Pathfinder and I suspect others would not have either, we would have just bought 4e. There would have been no need for Pathfinder. I don't believe the OGL created the competition for WOTC, I believe that 4e created the competition. I believe that 4e is responsible for Pathfinder. I know that it is for me.

I ran Sinister Secret of Whiterock by Goodman Games, DCC 51.5, as a one shot. Very short adventure with very little prep time for the GM. It is OGL, but because it is so short, it shouldn't take hardly any time to convert.

It was a fun little dungeon crawl for levels 1-3 that took only a couple of hours to complete.

I remember it fondly because I didn't have any time to prep that week and just pulled it out and ran it. It is like a mini-dungeon, but interesting and fun.

Nothing too sinister in it (for the kids), despite its name.

So, do you think we lost the others?

Koryn will be back. I bet he is just gone for the long weekend. Theledor too, probably.

No problem here, RaFon. I think we are all getting into our characters in this game. So far I love everyone's roleplaying, this is a fun adventure group!

My feeling is that we should, and that we should do it when the characters reach level 2, for ease of conversion. But I am certainly open to input from everyone. Do you all have a copy of the rules?

Upgrading at second level is a good idea. It will make the transition go more smoothly. I have the new rules.

"We're heading north," Dartalis says, stating the obvious, then quickly trying to brush by the question. "How is the road ahead of us? Any touble up ahead?"

Dartalis then looks over at Klor, just catching up on his short legs and smiles, trying not to chuckle.

Did 3.5 bury 3ed? If yes, then PF is burying 3.5. If not, then PF isn't either. Let's remember that 3.5 was backwards compatible with 3ed as well.

Good point. I still use all of my 3rd edition stuff with 3.5, so I never considered 3rd edition 'dead' while playing 3.5. I will use both editions books with PF as well.

I like your background for Marcus, RaFon. It fits your character well )

I always loved DMing 3.5 games. Still do.

That is the question Dartalis is asking himself about going into Rappan Athuk )

Just to let everyone know, my general posting schedule on normals days is:

During the days I have access to a computer on and off.

Thursday and Saturday evenings until around 9-10pm central time U.S. I do not have any computer access until after that time.

Fridays and Sundays I have access after 8-9pm.

OK. New thread is up on the play by post site. Titled "Rappin' in Rappan".

By the way, when it comes to combat, I will post basic details of opponents, i.e AC, HP etc.

I will also, in most circumstances identify magic items, when found.

See you over there...

Are you going to add a discussion thread, also? If so, I will change my links to those two threads.

Dr. Dark

One last change I would like to make to finalize my character sheet before the game begins is to switch (4) 25g scrolls for (2) 50g potions of cure light wounds. If you don't mind.

Yeah! Great Job Paizo!

Thanks for ending the punishment. Next time I'll take the flogging!

Dr. Dark! wrote:

I like the idea of meeting during a tavern brawl. It puts a new spin on a classic idea. Perhaps a follower of Orcus was involved in the brawl and during it someone accidently relieved him of some possesions, such as a map!

I would be, no doubt, chatting up one of the serving girls.

And I have a suspicion that you are the one who 'accidentally' relieved him of his map while he was busy accusing Koryn of heresy.

Amazing how you can have one hand on a barmaid's skirt and the other in a cleric of Orcus' map pouch. ;-)

Rather than new base classes, I'd MUCH rather see ways to expand the roles of existing classes to take their place, through variant class features, new rogue talents, etc. Don't add a swashbuckler class -- add variant fighter class features to make a swashbuckler out of a fighter! Unearthed Arcana was worth its weight in gold for things like the druidic avenger, the battle sorcerer, the bardic sage, and the prestige paladin.

Not a bad idea. I liked the class kits of 2nd edition.

I still don't think that a 1st level wizard without a barred school should be better at using wands than a 10th level wizard with.

Also, the "double caster level" rule is kind of wonky. A 2nd level wizard can use a 1st level (prohibited) scroll no problem, but a 20th level wizard can't use a 6th level scroll. And "rolling for scroll misshap" (in the case of a wizard whose level is high enough to cast the spell in question) is basically just a "check for 1", since he can't fail numerically.

I would treat him as being 2 levels lower. Or more, if you feel that's appropriate.

Yeah. Double mught be too high. One or two levels is probably more appropriate.

I don't want Pun Pun!

Right!

The Man-at-Arms in Iron Heroes gets "wildcard feats", which are feats that he can pick on the fly (remembering an obscure bit of training, or perhaps just improvising).

What you end up with are Men-at-arms who carry around a polearm, a scimitar, a battleax, a greatsword, a fistful of throwing hammers and a heavy crossbow.

If he needs to hold a line, he wildcard's some Combat Reflexes-type feats and hauls out the polearm. If he's fighting a lot of mooks he wildcards Cleave and Power Attack and cleans house with the battleax; if he can't get at the enemy he wildcards projectile feats and plays archer.

It was a really cool mechanic to reward warriors that don't specialize.

I like this. I really like the idea of a fighter with dozens of different weapons strapped on his legs, arms, and back.

A mystical weaponmaster would be pretty sweet.

One thing I don't like about the 3.P fighter (and it's a minor gripe) is the focus on a specific weapon or kind of weapon.

In 3.5, I always thought Weapon Specialization should be available to everyone. Meanwhile the fighter should get powers that let rock with a wider range of weapons, reflecting his superior training.

Agreed. I like a fighter who can pick up any type of weapon and figure out a way to use it. Even the most obscure exotic weapons.

(if you haven't, I'll send a Pit Fiend to your place with an envelope containing dozens of pictures of me dancing around the book... NAKED!)

Please. Don't. Say.

Nevermind, once the box is opened, it can't be closed again. That is one bald-headed, bearded, dwarf vision that I will never burn out of my brain.

Punished... Even though I already ordered my copy. ;-)

I love the shaman/mystic idea, too. I've always liked shamans.

A warlock with something similar to bloodlines is good, too, but instead of being born with the abilities (bloodlines), they seek out the connection. Perhaps they can seek out various connections at various levels?

OOO, I got two!

5) We all met in a tavern!

A classic favorite. I'll add - We all met in a tavern brawl!

I seems a little odd to me that specialist wizards should be able to cast spells from their opposition schools from spell trigger or spell completion items without any penalty. Given enough downtime, a wizard with say, Evocation as an opposed school will be able to create say a Wand of Fireballs, and basically ignore the penalty on casting spells from his opposed schools.

To counter this, I'm proposing a simple set of house rules:

1. When casting a spell from an opposition school using a scroll, a specialist wizard must have double the minimum caster level of the spell to automatically cast the spell. Otherwise, he must roll to avoid a mishap as per the rules.

2. When casting a spell from an opposition school using a spell trigger item, such as a wand or staff, the specialist wizard must expend double the listed number of charges.

3. When creating an item containing one or more spells from opposition schools, the cost of making the item is 50% more than the listed price (with creation times increasing accordingly).

This hasn't been play tested, and some tweaking may be necessary, especially for rule 3. But it limits specialists in what I feel to be a logical fashion, one which is consistent with the new rules. And it's still a better deal than specialist wizards got in 3.5.

Thoughts?

I like these rules. The spell completion items are more difficult, as they should be, spell trigger items are easier to use, but still have a penalty, and it makes a lot of sense to have an even greater penalty for the creation of items that the wizard is not trained in.

I may keep these rules in consideration for my campaign.

Well, im loving everyones characters. Brilliant.

Thanks )

What I would like you to do if you have the time is come up with a bit of a party backstory between you all. It doesnt have to be elaborate; just something that ties you all together.

Hmm. Some ideas:

1. Perhaps all or some of us served in a war together?

2. Some of us could be related?

3. One of us posted a recruitment sign?

4. A mentor (who is no longer with us) brought us together?

Just off the top of my head, I'll try to think of some others too.

On further research:

In the Rules of the Game: Using Magic Items part 2 article, it does clarify this for 3.5E. It specifically states that it does not matter if the item is arcane or divine.

According to the PF core rulebook regarding scrolls, in order to cast a scroll the spell must be: of the correct type (arcane or divine), and on the users class spell list, and the user must have the requisite ability score. p.490

The way I read that is that if a detect magic scroll was created by a cleric, a wizard who has that spell on his/her class list, still could not cast it, because it is a divine scroll.

Wands and spell trigger activation do not specify type, just that the item can be used by anyone whose class can cast that spell. It does say that activating a spell trigger item is simpler than activating a spell completion item, though.

However it does also say that a special knowledge of spellcasting that an appropriate character would know and a special word is needed. p.458

shrug

I'm not sure exaclty how to interpret that.

Then there is another explanation: The god of wine occasionally gets the other gods exceedingly drunk and they go around blessing the wrong children, explaining all sorts of interesting miraculous births and prodigies.

This explains a lot of things.

I was gonna say the exact opposite. :Shrug:

Left brain - Right brain.

A mythological answer makes much more sense to me )

Thanks for explaining Spacelard's post in a language an English major can understand, Chris. Now, when I re-read it, the science makes much more sense. ;-)

Wow-backstories are contagious!

Indeed. My background is revised, now. It's still no masterpiece of English Literature, but it is slightly better than before )

Looking forward to starting, maybe as soon as weekend.

Sounds great to me, Dr. Dark. I'm looking forward to this adventure.

See, now I feel compelled to right a backstory...

Yeah, I know what you mean. I feel compelled to revise mine )

I really like your background information, Edward. It gives great insight into Klor's personality. Good read )

Way to go BenS! Congrats Lordzack!

I knew there was a reason I switched to these boards. What a great community!

I like having everything in one book too. Sooo much easier to find information.

I like Arcane Bond and Cantrips for wizards.

I like Pathfinder fighters, paladins, and rangers.

I loved the story. Well written and fun, thanks for the read )

Displacement is sweet to cast on yourself or a melee type - 50% miss chance.

I've always been a big fan of Otiluke's Resilient Sphere - cast it on a creature to lock it down or on an ally to protect them if they are near death and unable to get healing.

I made a few changes to my character, if that is ok, since we are still waiting for all the characters to be drawn up.

1) I exchanged (1) 750g wand for (30) 25g scrolls.

2) I copied two of those scrolls to my spellbook: Read Magic to decipher, DC 16 to copy -> Take 10 + 10 Spellcraft = 20 if that is ok.

3) I changed the feat Quicken Spell to Skill Focus: Spellcraft

Hi Db3! Hi all!

Since RaFon wants to play a rogue, I'll play an arcane caster - Wizard. I really couldn't decide between the rogue and wizard so that helped me make up my mind. I will post my wizard alias as soon as I get my sheet drawn up. Should be soon )

I have no problems with a paladin, JZ.

1. Forgotten Realms (old)
2. Greyhawk
3. I am starting to really like Golarion, but don't have many sourcebooks yet.

I did! They had a sweet gaming section. I just wish I'd had more money, I need to line my last free wall with bookshelves )

Awesome! Sounds interesting and fun. I will begin rolling up my character after work today. Should have it posted by earlyish tommorow.

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THIS ADVENTURE IS RENOWNED FOR ITS ABILITY TO DO A TPK (Total Party Kill)

DOH! Ok, I'm ready ;-)

I will start working on a character. Just waiting to find out about JZ's attribute question. I would like to play a rogue, unless you had your heart already set on a rogue, JZ. My second choice would be wizard.

>Ninja Cats< are cool too.

That is very cool.

I had a chance to go to Austin this past week and I was able to squeak in some time to get my Half-Price Books fix in Cedar Park on the way out of town. It was so refreshing. It's been a long dry spell.

How do I love thee, Half-Price Books? Let me count the ways... $1, $2, $3...

I've never played it either. Count me in as well!