David Schwartz's page

The problem is, if I want to register my desire for Paizo to create this hardcover, I need to make purchases that will be rendered redundant by a hardcover release.

You're not really "wasting" your money on the primer; if you want a run a campaign when and if a hardcover comes out, you'll still want a primer (or more) to give to your players, right?

Simulationist answer: Yes, the length of the arrow/bolt relates directly to the pull of the bow; it can't be too short, or too long.

Gamist answer: Don't worry about it. It won't hurt your game if arrows are fungible. You'll save bookkeeping and disappointment ("Sorry, the magic arrow doesn't fit you bow.").

Mr. Schwartz, what you've done here is amazing (just like the classes in Dragon) and I was wondering if it could be included in the project?

I make stuff to be used. So, yes, feel free to use it [in any way you're legally allowed, and properly credited].

Download Wayfinder #6 when it comes out (any day now!).

You appear to have an unnecessary extra step there: After you make a successful save to resist, you don't make another save to cure. The save to resist is the save to cure.

Dark_Mistress wrote:

OMG the baby Chimera is so Fing cute on page 7.

Yeah, the cute pretty much broke our brains when we first saw the art. :D

My friend's reaction: "A three-headed, bat-winged monstrosity should not be that cute."

The valiant heroes defeat the evil cultists. No longer will good people have their hearts ripped out of their chests and offered up to the evil sun demon. Unfortunately, deprived of of his power, the sun demon can no longer keep the tzitzimitl at bay. They flood into world of light and start destroying the sun. A few heathen sacrifices don't seem so bad now, do they?

It's not explicit in the text, but in effect the intellect devourer kills the creature and then immediately brings it back to life (sans brain) like a true resurrection. Otherwise, the mechanics are as previous posters have said.

Knowledge skills represent "book learning" (or, I suppose "epic poetry learning" for your preliterate cultures): it allows you to know about things you haven't experienced. A character should never have to roll to know things they've actually experienced. (Maybe an check to remember minutia, but fighting a monster is pretty memorable.)

Does anyone know how to contact David, so that I can put him in touch with Seethyr?

*raises hand*

Wow. It's cool that people are still interested in my Maztica stuff.

Question: There were 16 original counties in Ustalav. Now, 9 form the Soivoda, 3 form the Palatinate, 2 became Virlych, and 1 was annexed by Razmir. That only adds up to 15. Where am I missing the last original county?

Looking to buy a house?

Meaning you're quite literally going to roleplay through the courtroom drama? Does that mean you are GMing all of the important people? I.e. Judge, jury, both attorneys, any witnesses outside of the PCs? If so that sounds like a nightmare, not only for you but maybe for the PCs, since they will be a doing a lot of sitting and watching you play a bunch of different characters, except when it's their turn on the stand I suppose... Can you provide a bit more clarification?

I did just that in a Planescape game and it was one of the best sessions I ever ran.

A few pointers:

If you're using the trial to punish the player, don't do it. Show her that actions have consequences, but don't hand her character an (effective) death sentence.

This is an adventure. It may be skill-based rather than combat, but it's still a story with challenges.

Make it a kangaroo court, it's just more fun that way.

Charge the other PCs as co-conspirators, so they have a reason to be involved. Alternatively, have the other players play court officials (but not the judge, that's your job).

Make the PCs defend themselves. If they have a lawyer, he's incompetent; if they want to win the case, they'll have to take it into their own hands.

You'll likely have a lot of characters: have a prop for each (a picture, hat, signature object, etc.). Hold the appropriate prop when talking, so the players know who's speaking.

Give the appearance that the PC actions are swaying the court (one way or the other), but the end result should be this: Guilty, but with extenuating circumstances. The sentence: We'll let you go free, IF you perform this task for us. Thus this odd sorts of adventure easily leads into a conventional sort of adventure.

Hill Giant wrote:

Nothing is inherently better or worse than anything else. However, some things may be more or less preferable to you (and differently preferable to someone else).

How can I act with compassion then? Nothing is inherently more or less compassionate than anything else except in relation to self. My self is different than your self. Therefore, what is compassionate for me may be uncompassionate for you.

Or am I misunderstanding?

George Bernard Shaw (at least according to the internet) said: "Do not do unto others as you expect they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same."

How do know what another person considers compassionate (or any other adjective)? Ask. "How can I help you?"

People aren't always honest (with themselves or others), though. So also: Observe.

You have experience so: Analyze. Yes, people are unique (are emergent), but we can categorize them because they have things in common (fundamentals). Statistically, what you consider compassionate is likely very similar to what other people consider compassionate.

Even if you play the odds, you might be wrong. That's no excuse for not trying. If your intent is to be compassionate, they can only accuse you of being misguided (and you can learn from that), they can't (rightly) accuse you of being uncompassionate.

Bone Hag (by yours truly) in The Great City: Urban Creatures & Lairs.

If you'll excuse a little self-promotion, I did a few reskinned gnomes for Kobold Quarterly #4. I'd love to hear about it if anyone tries the gnomes as irritable, animistic weaselfolk. :-)

Still if anyone happens to know if a Plumaweaver or Hishnashaper conversion I'm still looking for those. Otherwise I'll be trying to create conversions myself. :)

This thread has a bunch more stuff to go with that article (including plumawaver and hishnashaper classes).

Would illiteracy be worth a free trait? I've got a barbarian concept here that doesn't work as well with the whole reading thing and the player was wondering if giving up reading and writing is worth anything.

Try this:

Hill Giant wrote:

Jack Vance put it best: "Of all questions, why? is the least pertinent. It begs the question; it assumes the larger part of its own response; to wit, that a sensible response exists."

And yet to many, if not a majority of the world, it is the most important question of all. Only arrogance would cause a person to dismiss it entirely.

I want to come back and agree with this statement, ironically, because I'm a happy nihilist. Logically, there is no objective 'why?' (there's a sudden stop or else turtles all the way down). This, however, makes the subjective 'why?' all the more important. The essence of spirituality is finding your 'why?'.

-Moon Warrior...There are no first level spell-slots in the class as presented.

That's actually not a typo. The first level spell for the Moon Domain is sleep, which for a normal caster starts good, but loses it's effectiveness at mid-level and higher--i.e. the levels when a character can take the Moon Warrior PrC. Rather than give the Moon Warrior a spell he would rarely use, we decided to start his spell progression a level up (and also end a level higher). I admit it's quirky, but it hopefully gives the class a bit more oomph.

cant a chaotic evil character have close friends without being tempted to kill them and without them also being evil?

Yes. A Chaotic Evil only cares about other people as they relate to himself. So, once he makes an investment in a friendship, he's willing to kill or torture others to protect that friendship. Would your Lawful Good friend do that for you? ;-)

I like the Crystal Dice d4: leftmost.

It might be easier to just build your own using Animated Object as a ROUGH guideline.

I second that notion.

What would be really cool, is if the animated organ played bardic music.

Hey, I'm David Schwartz, lead author of BPI's Cinematic Adventures. Jon is man of few words, so I thought I'd fill you in with...

Five Things to Know About BPI's Cinematic Adventures.

1. Cinematic Adventures is completely compatible with the Pathfinder RPG. We haven't just slapped new grapple rules on a previous Modern system. You'll be able to mix-and-match fantasy and Modern elements without translation.

2. This is not a universal system. It is design to replicate the ensemble action-adventures stories of popular media. Such stories just happen not to be tied to any specific time or place.

3. This is not grim-and-gritty. The game is not set in the real world, but the reality of the action-adventure stories. The characters in such stories regularly defy gravity, survive mortal wounds, and make fireballs using only sulfur and bat guano, and never once do they blame a wizard.

4. On the other hand, characters do not start out as heroes. First level characters are little better than those around them, though some X-factor marks them for greater things. Only through group adventures and their own personal journey do the characters rise above the everyday.

5. Sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Just as divine and arcane magic are transparent, so is high-tech and fringe science to the existing magic rules. If it can be done with magic mechanically, then it's treated as magic, even if we don't call it that.

If you'd like to get involved, feel free to comment/question here, or visit www.battlefieldpress.com.

I have a question about the Neopagan's Absorb Essence ability - how is "in excess of her daily pool" defined? If I have an essence pool of 12 points and I haven't touched it yet for the day, can I use Absorb Essence at all? Or is it that I can use it, but only to absorb up to a maximum of 12 points in addition to my daily pool?

The neopagan's essence pool represents the most energy she can hold at one time. So, she can use absorb essence to refill her pool only after she's spent some essence from it. If she tries to overfill her pool - intentionally or otherwise - the absortion automatically fails.

Exactly how many tentacle attacks do the octopus, squid and giant squid get? The giant octopus lists 8 tentacles, but the other three creatures just have "tentacles".

If no number is listed then all the tentacles constitute one attack. In other words, unlike it's giant cousin, the normal-sized octopus's tentacles are fairly weak individually, but all eight together are enough to do measurable damage.

What makes me cringe about it though are the people who won't recognize it as purely entertainment. By and large it's the same crowd that thought they had learned some amazing ancient secret after reading the DaVinci Code and wouldn't shut up about it.

Suggest they read Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco. Best ancient conspiracy novel ever.

And Edward Cullen?

Only on the limited edition foil cover.

*bump*

The rules for repairing an item as described under the Craft skill differ from those described under the broken condition. Which is correct?

Skraelings

These, I assume, would be a human ethnicity (skraeling being what the Norse called the Native Americans).

Isn't the Chelexian "race" the purest descent from Azlanti (or at least claimed so)? I imagine any mixing of blood would be looked on by the proud Chelexians as dilution at best and miscegenation at worst.

5ft = 1 Sesqimetre (sq)

Q: What do you call it when a black guy donates a kidney to a white guy?

A: Integration by parts.

I really think the flumph is just like the panda to our little wildlife protection movement...

I thought our panda was the starpanda fishbear?

The Canadian Perspective

Can we get R. Lee Ermey as the fleet commander? I just wanna hear him say, "You sunk my battleship!"

Unless The Great Beyond (which I haven't read yet) says otherwise, the PF Campaign Setting says that only those that deny their own afterlives are locked in the boneyard.

I get the impression that what's intended is not so much atheism, but the more extreme nihilism. It's not just cursing the gods, it's denying the gods, the universe, and one's own metaphysical self.

Toy Movies

In one of Jack Vance's space operas, the protagonists land on a planet on which people walk on stilts, because the dead decompose and become dust, and it's disrespectful to walk on the dead.

I'm pretty sure that's Cugel's Saga as well.

The Great Beyond has more on what happens to Atheists.

hopeless wrote:

Is any of Mel Brooks movies safe from this?!

History of the World Part II?

Spaceballs II: The Search for More Money.

Let the Right One In

Agreed, excellent film.

But it was based on a book; are we counting that as original, or are only remakes of movie/TV disqualified?

Excessive body hair, excellent sense of direction, uses a crossbow that shoots energized bolts? Harsk is clearly a Wookiee.

Haven't seen the product, but I would guess because the jarl is classed, versus straight monster levels.

Was watching G4 and as I was watching the new ticker it was confirmed that Hollywood is remaking The Neverending Story

One would hope that the new version will be closer to the original book.

And another version of the chupacabra (by yours truly) under the name vampire beast. :-)

If the 3E/OGL audience doesn't renew (witness Pax), then KQ becomes a 4E/Pathfinder magazine by default.

Well, I'll continue to pitch OGL (and generic) content. But I'll also continue to read 4E (or whatever game system) content, because cause good writing is good writing, regardless.

Yep. So one can have an immature aboleth or one can get a Goroloth miniature from Reaper. (What's up with those guys? Aboleths are covered by OGL.)

As I recall, the OGL doesn't include miniatures (to prevent competition in that field at least).

F. Wesley Schneider wrote:

Oh, and aliens are real, Santa is a ghost, and everyone from Texas is a werewolf.

That helps explain those blackouts.

No, in your case, that's a different form of lycanthropy.