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Recent posts by
Deimodius:
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In Microlite20 (Microlite20) the skill system is as follows:
"There are just 4 skills : Physical, Subterfuge, Knowledge and
Communication. Roll higher than the given Difficulty Class to
succeed.
Skill rank = your level + any bonus due to your class or race.
Skill roll = d20 + skill rank + whatever stat bonus is most
applicable to the use + situation modifiers
For example, Climbing would use Physical + STR bonus. Dodging
a falling rock is Physical + DEX bonus. Finding a trap is
Subterfuge + MIND bonus. Disabling a trap is Subterfuge + DEX
bonus."
The modifiers from class/race are as follows:
Humans get +1 to all skill rolls
Fighters have a +3 bonus to Physical
Rogues have a +3 bonus to Subterfuge
Magi gain a +3 bonus to Knowledge
Clerics gain +3 bonus to Communication
Now, I'm not suggesting this system as is, it is obviously a very simplified system, but what about something similar where you have "groupings" of related skills and he classes best associated with each grouping get a bonus to those skill checks that the other classes don't?
You could use a feat to get extra points at x number of levels to specialize in a skill (or skill set), or at every 2nd or 3rd level you get to pick a skill to increase your "specialization"?
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WARNING to players of my AoW campaign (Wilson and Dave I'm looking at you) don't read this! Spoilers below.
In my campaign we are almost finished TFoE. The PCs fought their way through the maze and made their way into the inner temple of Vecna. They killed two of the acolytes, and reduced the allip to low hp before it hid in the wall. Being afraid of the allip (after losing a lot of Wisdom) they now stand huddled, back-to-back in the centre of the "inner sanctum" (room 26).
While they were in the maze, to make things more interesting, I had a hissing, menacing, disembodied voice (the Faceless One) mock them as they progressed. At the moment we ended the last session, with the group all together in a circle in the center of the sanctum, it seemed the perfect opportunity for a little creative license to heighten the tension, so I had the disembodied voice say "Thank you for cooperating, and being exactly where I want you!"
So, my conundrum? How to make good on the Faceless One's disembodied threat and play upon their position in the sanctum.
I decided that, since it is a temple of Vecna, the god of secrets, and the former study of Vecna himself, it stood to reason he might have some means of extracting secrets. Thus I came up with the Tome of Secret Extraction, and the new spell "Detect Secrets".
At the start of the next session the PCs will suddenly be bathed in green eerie light. Looking up they see arcane symbols painted on to teh ceiling. These symbols create a magic circle 20' in radius from a point directly below. The symbols are connected to the Tome of Secret Extraction, which is activated by reading the incantation on the first page (a standard action). The tome can be used from up to 60' away (the Faceless one can use it from his laboratory next door). Targets within range must make a Will save vs a DC of 10 + 5 + the INT bonus of the person using the tome (in this case +5 for the Faceless One). Anyone making the save feels like something tried to probe their thoughts. Any target who fails the save has a secret plucked from their mind. This secret appears written in the Tome in green ink with the name of the person. It is written in the same secret coded language used by the Faceless One to correspond with Theldrick, which can be deciphered using the information found in the Faceless One's laboratory.
The means of making such a tome, and the circle of symbols that go with it, are themselves a secret known only to Vecna, and so potentially lost to the world, so this particular tome can only be used within the temple in TFoE.
However, worshippers of Vecna might discover the spell that is a part of the item, which can be used without the tome, but only against one target per casting. The spell appears below. Please let me know what you think. I have based it on Detect Thoughts.
Detect Secrets
Divination [Mind-affecting]
Level: Clr 5; Sor/Wiz 5
Components: V,S,M/DF
Casting Time: 1 Standard Action
Range: Close (25' + 5' per 2 levels)
Target: One subject with Intelligence 3 or greater.
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: No
Casting this spell against a target with intelligence greater than 3 plucks one secret from the mind of the target and makes it known to the caster. The caster "hears" the secret in his/her mind either in a language spoken by the target, or in images if the target has no spoken language. If the caster does not speak the same language, he/she must record the secret phonetically and have it translated. The secret is revealed in one sentence, and hearing it does not necessarily impart understanding of it to the caster, who must interpret what is heard. For example, the caster might hear from a target the secret "I killed Felbar", but won't necessarily know who Filbar was, how he or she was killed, or any other information. The caster can not control what secret he/she gets, or question the target.
Material component: A blank piece of fine paper worth at least 1 gp, or a blank page torn carefully out of the caster's spell book. The paper is consumed in the casting, disappearing in a small burst of flame that does not cause combustion of other materials.
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@ Olmac: I read the article, it looks like a great idea, but what about a divine spellcaster doing it? I know that divine spellcasters can spellcraft spells being cast by arcane casters, but it seems to me that a divine spellcaster should not be able to identify, with spellcraft, a magic item that does something (uses a spell) that doesn't appear in the Divine spell lists.
Should divine spell casters be able to use this at all? Maybe to do it you should have to have the requisite creation feat?
As for the Ebon Aspect, I like the idea I saw elsewhere of the pool bubbling a bit more and more after each temple is defeated. After the last temple falls the pool becomes quite turbulent. You can maybe even have the temple start to shake a bit (à la Raiders of the Lost Ark) and if the PCs stick around to see what happens, to bad for them.
If the PCs flee, they get up above and maybe have some time to heal up, but 1d6 x 10 minutes after they leave the mines the ebon aspect claws its way up the shaft and heads in to town, hunting down the PCs and killing ad destroying along the way.
Most people, including the town watch, will flee, and it will take too long for the soldiers from the militia to get across town (and they can't _all_ leave, _someone_ has to guard the garrison!).
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Well, as mentioned in my initial post, I've intentionally set the story in a very isolated, and small, village, so things they do in the past shouldn't change the greater world too much.
In order to account for villagers not potentially leaving the village (to become a madman who takes over the world in the future) this village is sort of like from the Children of The Corn in a way. VERY old fashioned and insular. Very religious, patriarchal, and with lots of rules. So, saving someone in the past won't really "screw up" the future much, if at all.
The basic premise is that 1 week before the PCs arrive, _all_ the villagers disappeared, but some restless spirits may remain (the village is haunted). The disappearance is linked to a horrifically evil act committed by one or more of the villagers in the past, but which bonds them all together.
The purpose of the time travelling will be to solve the mystery of what happened, and to find a way from stopping the evil act in the past, so that the villagers don't all disappear in the present. At -5 years the PCs can interact with the villagers, but since the evil act has already occurred at that point, nothing they do then will stop all the villagers from disappearing in the present. The only point at which they can stop that happening is at -10 years, but not without first gathering clues, and also accomplishing a specific goal in the _present_ which will give them the info they need to stop the event in the past.
I sort of see it being like the series finale of ST:TNG where Picard was jumping back and forth through time, with the solution to changing the past being found elsewhere.
The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of having them inhabit the bodies of villagers, but I will have the inhabit villagers who are "like them" (a fighter end s up in a strong person, etc) and allow them to retain their own knowledge, and perhaps even skills like using a bastard sword... if they can find one. ;-)
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Yes, it was either March or April. It had new Chronomancy spells.
I guess I'm not really looking for rules, but rather the best way to handle time-travel.
Should I have the PCs _themselves_ go back in time? Or should I have them go back in time into the bodies of villagers of the time period (like possessing them).
I _do_ want them to be able to affect changes in the past and the present.
If I have the PCs themselves go back in time, I was thinking about having the players make up three character sheets for each PC. One at Lvl 1, one at Lvl 5, and one at Lvl 10.
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I know there is a long thread on this subject from last year, but this question wasn't really answered, I don't think.
Are there any good rules for running an adventure that uses time travel for 3.5, either from WotC, Dragon, Dungeon, or some third party?
I am planning a 1-shot adventure for my players for Halloween ,and I'd like to add some time travel. I know all the caveats about changing the time-line, etc. but this time-travel will be limited in scope.
The PCs will stumble into a very small and isolated farming village a week after Wicharrys (sp?) the "Halloween" of Greyhawk. The village is deserted, but meals are left half-eaten. Halloween decorations are still up, so it may have happened on Halloween. The PCs end up trapped in the village by restless spirits who need absolution. In the course of investigating they will be transported back-and-forth between 4 time periods only, and no longer than 10 years in the past. (1. The present. 2. A week in the past. 3. 5 years in the past. 4. 10 years in the past). Over the course of the adventure they (hopefully) discover how to stop an horrific evil from happening.
Since it is an isolated village, and the time period is limited, not much can be "changed" other than the horrible act that has left the village abandoned. I am toying with the idea that it is the gods themselves using the PCs as tools to fix something that was so evil that they feel time must be changed to stop it.
I'm wondering if any time-travel rules exist? I am trying to decide between having the time-shifting be "event based" or by touching certain items.
Thanks.
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I am also still waiting for confirmation.
Vic, Cosmo, or Lisa: I keep seeing on these boards that other Canadians who did not receive 358 and the poster have already been given confirmation (either by email or in the forum threads) that they will be receiving replacements.
So why haven't I? Are you waiting until you actually send them out the door before confirming?
Once again, I did NOT receive 358, nor did I get the poster with 359.
Every time I ask, Vic says "Be patient, we're looking into it, Deimodius" but then i see the next day another person has a confirmation.
So, Vic, Cosmo, or Lisa, can you please confirm, will I be receiving replacements for 358 and the poster, or do I need to ask for my money back?
Thanks.
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Hi, i know that you guys said there were phone calls and emails going on trying to figure out what happened to the Canadian subscribers and issue #358, and the poster from #359, but it's been a week now since last I received any correspondence from Paizo, with no update.
I'm just wondering what's happening.
I have seen on other threads that subscribers with this problem have received confirmations that replacements are being shipped, and even though I am one of those subscribers, _I_ still haven't heard here, or by email, from anyone at Paizo that I will be receiving replacements.
This is the last _I've_ heard (even though others have been told they are getting replacements) http://paizo.com/paizo/messageboards/paizo/customerService/dragon/358Poster NeverCame
Vic, or Cosmo, or even Lisa...
Where is my Dragon #358, and my poster from Dragon #359? Will i be receiving replacements?
Thanks.
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1. My AoW campaign has 5 PCs (one of them was originally going to be an NPC cleric run by me for healing, but someone stepped up to play him as a PC) and they are doing _okay_. There have been a couple of near-deaths in the Whispering Cairn (if not for the healing) so i would say it has been adequately challenging without changing anything. They are just staring TFoE, so we'll see how it goes. NOTE: I am NOT using XP, instead I am leveling them where appropriate. This solves a LOT of problems (like whether or not they will be appropriate level in time to face certain obstacles/bad guys). We are also using Action Points, _and_ the Critical Hit Deck. >:-)
2. Wee Jas. Dragon Issue #350 (Dec 2006) has the Core Beliefs: Wee Jas article. If you are making her a big part of your campaign, I suggest checking it out. You can still order back issue. OF IMPORTANT NOTE: The article states that the church of Wee Jas do NOT have a problem with animating the dead/necromancy, as long as a SOUL is not involved, and specifically the soul of a person from the Suel region.
Wee Jas is a deity of the Suel of Greyhawk, and the article states that if people are desecrating bodies/animating them, etc, Wee Jas doesn't care as long as a soul is not being forced back against it's will. Even then, if the soul that is used is NOT a Suel soul she _still_ doesn't care.
So as far as Filge is concerned, provided no souls are involved with the undead he has created, a cleric of Wee Jas won't bother with him.
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My favourites so far (not including the ones I posted) in no particular order:
- A large exotic water garden filled with beautiful iridescent fish
- A chest with gold coins that pour out of it forever
- A land-bound lighthouse inside the city
- "The Hounds of Eyras"
- The Fountain of Torrents
- Giants are arising from the water
- richshaw drivers
- The Aerie
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Callum, there are some corrections to your errata of the CULTISTS
There is further errata to GARRAS, and KENDRA.
CULT FANATIC
The stats in the magazine are correct as they are for a Lvl 1 _WARRIOR_, so the only errata is that these Cult Fanatics should be changed from "Human Commoner 1" to "Human Warrior 1". This would make sense since they have been training to get in to the temple of Hextor. ALL STATS IN THE MAGAZINE REMAIN AS THEY ARE LISTED IN PRINT.
GARRAS
Callum is correct that with a Heavy Flail (2 handed weapon) Garras would not be able to use his shield, and thus AC should be 17 without his shield. The damage stats listed in the magazine are for a light flail, which may have been the writer's intention 9and would allows for use of the shield), but Callum is right that Garras can take advantage of his strength to get an extra point of damage using the Heavy Flail two-handed (1.5 x Str bonus to dam). So, DMs should choose either to have Garras use a Light Flail with a Shield for an AC bonus of 1, or have him use the heavy flail and NO shield for a dam bonus of 1 instead.
Further correction to Garras: Unless I am mistaken, the skill points for Garras are incorrect. The mag lists his skills as: Concentration +7, K. Religion +6, Spellcraft +6 (Callum has these skills listed as Con +6, Intimidate +2, K. Religion +5, Spellcraft +5, but Intimidate is not one of his skills in the mag. Though it might be useful to him).
Garras' Int is +1, so for either Fig, or Clr, he gets 3x4 = 12 Skill points at Lvl 1, and another 3 SP at level 2, for a total of 14 SP. Class skills can't have more than 5 ranks at lvl 2, so he couldn't possibly have the skill ranks he does in the magazine.
If he started as a Cleric at level 1, and then took a lvl of fighter, he could have the following Skills (the three skills listed are all Cross Class skills for Fighters) Concentration +5 (4 ranks as cleric + 2 skill points as a fighter to equal 1 rank), K. Religion: +4 (4 ranks as Cleric + 0 ranks as Fighter), Spellcraft +4 (4 ranks as Cleric + 0 ranks as Fighter), and he would have one skill point from his Fighter level left over to put into a Fighter class skill.
So: Con +5, K. Rel +4, SC +4, Intimidate +1 (for example)
If he started as a Fighter at level 1, and then took a level of Cleric and kept the same skills listed in the mag, his skills would be lower. They would be Con +3, K. Rel +3, SC +3. These are all cross class skills for Fighters, so it would cost 2 SP per rank at Fighter level 1.
Obviously you will want Garras to be a Cleric at level 1, and a Fighter at Level 2.
KENDRA
The mag says she has a heavy flail, but lists the damage for a light flail, and her AC with a shield. Obviously she was supposed to have a LIGHT FLAIL instead, so change her Possessions to say LIGHT FLAIL instead of HEAVY FLAIL (which is 2-handed). Dam stays the same, and she can use her shield.
Kendra's skills are wrong also. As a Level 2 Cleric she can't have more than 5 ranks in her class skills, so the skills as listed in teh mag are too high. As a human Clr 2 with INT of 11, she would only have 14 skill points, so her skills should be as follows:
Concentration +5, Diplomacy +4, Heal +5
Kendra's possessions also fail to mention her Light crossbow, as Callum points out in his errata above.
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Callum, some corrections to your skeleton errata:
Skeletons have the _Undead_ trait, which specifies that undead are proficient with "whatever armour they are described as wearing", if they are not described as wearing armour, they are not proficient with it (they can't put it on after the fact) Thus these skeletons, since they are described as wearing the armour, are proficient with it. So, no ACP to attack roles (or anything for that matter).
Also, under possessions you have listed: "rusted partial plate (as breastplate). The text says it is FULL plate that is rusted (and thus only grants +5 to AC). The difference is that aside from providing slightly less protection, it is still technically FULL plate, and all the stats that go with it.
The changes are reflected below.
ARMOURED SKELETON (CR 1/3)
NE Medium undead
Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +0, Spot +0
AC 20, touch 11, flat-footed 19
hp 6 (1 HD); DR 5/bludgeoning
Immune cold, undead traits
Fort +0, Ref +1, Will +2
Spd 20 ft. (4 squares)
Melee heavy mace +1 (1d8+1)
Base Atk +0; Grp +1
Abilities Str 13, Dex 13, Con –, Int –, Wis 10, Cha 1
SQ undead traits
Possessions rusted FULL plate (provides only +5 AC), heavy steel shield, heavy mace
NB. Undead are proficient with any armour they are described as wearing (MM 317)
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