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Posts
 Recent Posts
I think making skills and knowledge about what your fighting an important part of a combat is highly important. It gives smart fighters an advantage and makes those knowledge skills worthwhile. As others have said, in my games I have my players roll. A DC 15 will give them basic info, 20 will tell some more like DR or SR or whatever, and for every 5 over that, they get to ask me questions about it ("Does it have any specialized attacks?" or "can they cast spells/spell like abilities?", etc)
Name of PC: Constantinos Tsirtsirkis
Story: Constantinos was the leader of the group, always suggesting tactics and ways to make the party more effective. An excellent fighter in his own right, on excursion from his homeland of Cheliax, he was well on his way to becoming a feared Hellknight. After sneaking into Fort Rannick behind the waterfall and into the keep's dungeon basement, and handling Lucrecia without too much trouble (a lucky blindness/deafness where she failed her save and SR was beaten was key there), they were able to make favorable use of the narrow hallways to handle the ogres on the first floor without too much trouble. They posted 2 of the NPC rangers at the entrance of the keep to prevent themselves being surrounded without warning, and headed up the stairs. I was starting to feel that maybe I hadn't increased the challenge of the keep sufficiently (there are 7PCs). That all changed when they got upstairs. Upon opening the door, the party immediately recognized Jaagrath as the obvious leader of the ogres, given his immense size and stature. Constantinos charged him and issued a brave challenge, dealing significant damage against Jaagrath's weak AC. But then it was Jaagrath's turn. Jaagrath Power attacked and hit Constantinos twice, dealing enough damage on two hits to drive Constantinos from full hit points to negative 22. His Constitution was 14. The Human bane made the difference - the 4d6 from the Human bane on Jaagrath's weapon between the 2 hits was 18 points, I rolled well. =P Constantinos died as he lived - leading from the front against the biggest threat to the well being of his compatriots. Jaagrath would never admit it, but he was intimidated by Constantinos as well. A death worthy of any hero! Let's all raise a mug to Constantinos Tsirtirkis!!
I've just downloaded this and it looks absolutely fabulous. Probably the most customizable and all-inclusive char sheet I've ever seen for any game system ever. And I really love how active you've been in listening to feedback and adjusting accordingly. However...it's all a little overwhelming to be quite honest. I almost feel like I could use a small text file or word doc or something explaining how all the parts work...when do I use the "front solitary" and when do I use the "front summary" and what parts work with which and so on. I don't generally consider myself unintelligent, but I feel like I could use some guidance. I doubt I'm the only one.
I'd be interested in an epic book for PF. Never been a Psionics fan myself, it doesn't fit my view of a fantasy setting, but I have no issues with those who feel differently. As long as they were done well I'd be fine with it, but I wouldn't buy it. I'd leave that to someone else in my gaming group. :) As for the original Q, no it would not lessen my opinion of Paizo either way. I'm a fan of their work, that won't change based on these two releases (or non-releases as the case may be)
I downloaded some Hungarian and Romanian Gypsy music that I put together into a playlist, but I am about to get into the Meat of the Hook Mountain Massacre, so the Deliverance soundtrack is getting a download for use during that particular chapter. :) If anyone is interested in following the Gypsy theme, here are the ones I downloaded and recommend: Zoltan and his Gypsy Ensemble - "Gypsy Music from Hungary and Romania" (especially check out the single track "Two Guitars", I always start the evening with that one and then randomize the rest) Ferenc Santa and his Gypsy Band - "Csardas : Hungarian Gypsy Music" Andras Farcas and Ensemble - "Best of Hungarian Gypsy Tunes"
Name of PC: Dagrora Alekin
Story: Slightly wounded but still ready for battle, our party had fought its way through the 2nd level of Thistletop and had ingeniously figured out how to get through the gold coin pillar. They heard noises coming through the door through which Malfeshnikor waited, and got ready. He heard them as well and was waiting opposite the door too. Upon opening the door, the beast rolled a 19 on his initiative check, allowing him to go first, and he used that to full attack the flat footed dwarven fighter standing right in front of him. Even if he hadn't been flat footed, he would have been hit all 3 times, and the damage inflicted was more than sufficient to kill him instantly. The entire town of Sandpoint will be most aggrieved to hear of his passing, because he was a brewmaster at the Two Knights Brewery, and his ales and beers had been very well received by both locals and newcomers at the Swallowtail Festival. Everyone raise a mug to Dagrora!
We finally started RotRL this Tuesday (3/8/11) and are converting it to the Pathfinder RPG rules. We are all veterans of 3.5, but this is our first foray into Pathfinder and we are excited about the prospects. Here is our starting cast of characters: Aamon Vosh - Human Cleric of the Old Ones (Void and Chaos Domains)
Should be a good group. I worry just a little about their ability to heal since their Cleric is a negative channeler, but the Witch took the heal hex so that will help some, at least early on. The rest of the bases seem to be covered, as you would expect in a large part. :) What follows is intended to be a chronicle of their adventures and they attempt to make their way in the world. I hope anyone reading this enjoys it. I'm going to start with a post for each of the character's backstories, as well as the character bonuses I presented to each to represent their additional training as a backstory reward.
We finally started Runelords on Tuesday (3/8) using Pathfinder RPG rules. We have a party of 7 PCs and so far so good. Aamon Vosh - Human Cleric of the Old Ones (Void and Chaos Domains)
Should be a good group. I worry just a little about their ability to heal since their Cleric is a negative channeler, but the Witch took the heal hex so that will help some, at least early on. The rest of the bases seem to be covered, as you would expect in a large part. :)
This may or may not be helpful...but I'm only willing to put forth so much effort for someone I don't know. On the giant in the playground site (google it) there is a poster who has something like 3.5/Pathfinder Handbook as a link in her signature. If the forums there have a search function, you should be able to find it. Good luck, and hopefully that helps a little. The handbook is very opinionated, and I think was writen very soon after the PFRPG was reliesed...so there's little wierdness like "rogues are the shizzat" (p.s., they're not according to most folk) but largely it's well thought out from what I've seen.Found it. That is actually super-useful, and pretty close to what I was looking for. Thanks much! :)
Yeah I've read the conversion guide but it's been a while. While that explains how to make a 3.5 char into a pf char, it doesn't really get into what I'm trying to get at, at least not that I can remember. We are playing the Rise of the Runelords, so all of my players have read that, but again, that doesn't really explain the differences between 3.5 and pathfinder. What I was hoping for was a single document with a rundown of the changes. Like for example "The new 'Perception' skill includes Listen, Spot, and Search"; "The new 'Stealth' skill includes Move Silently and Hide."; "Cleave has changed - you no longer have to kill the target to get another free attack - see the new feat for details." Stuff like that. I'm getting the impression that no such document exists, which is cool. We'll get through it - it's not THAT much different honestly.
We are starting a pathfinder game in a week or so, and all of my players have vast previous experience with 3.5 but none with Pathfinder. Is there a website or a pdf or something that summarizes all the differences? Mostly we're talking about skills, feats, CMB/CMD, and so on. Mechanical stuff. Anybody that has access to anything like that and could share it would be appreciated. Thanks! :)
The Improved Natural Attack feat from the Bestiary increases the size of your natural attack by one step, just like in 3.5. It has an additional line that it can't be applied to an unarmed strike. The monk's improved unarmed strike says that it counts as a manufactured weapon or a natural weapon. So feats/spells that normally can only go on manufactured weapons or natural weapons can be used with their unarmed strike. My understanding is that the generic unarmed strike every humanoid possesses does not qualify for the feat. My question is whether the monk improved unarmed strike overrides it being a generic unarmed strike.
Glad you liked it. I'm here to please. :) Now, start making "Shiny Happy People" references, and I might have to run through Paizo HQ with a large semiautomatic weapon. :) I'm with Denis Leary on that one - "Hey hey hey - Pull that bus over to the side of the pretentiousness turnpike! I want the shiny people over here, and the happy people over here. I represent angry, gun-toting, meat-eating $*#ing people. Sit down and shut up, Michael!"
OOOOhhhh! Me want! Even though it doesn't fit on my gaming table !!!!Clearly Paizo needs to add "extra large gaming table" to whichever subscription line includes all these big maps. :) I have a 5' x 10' gaming table that would certainly hold it, but it's not going to. Mine is going on the WALL! :) Don't worry, it's all the in the basement, the wife won't disown me. At least not for that... =P
Yeah, I doubt my guys would go for that either. We're pretty old school and want our xp at the end of each session. If I just "arbitrarily" levelled them up, we'd probably have a revolt. But yeah, I like your idea about using Medium to allow for other awards...might look into that. But knowing what was expected as "baseline" is nice. So thanks!
I know I saw this somewhere once before, but can't remember where and can't seem to find it now... Which XP progression is the one that's assumed to be in use when determining the "proper" level gain to keep up with the Adventure Paths? I remember there was one suggested but can't remember which. I'll be running Runelords as soon as my friend finishes up his turn as GM doing Age of Worms, our last 3.5 campaign, and need to know. Thanks. :)
It would seem that I may have perhaps missed the last train out. Is there anyone else who had this stuff sent to them that could perhaps forward it? :) Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease? :)
Anyone have any suggestions on which minis to use for this adventure path. I understand the obvious one (ie goblin warrior, zombies...etc) but what about the sinspawn and villians? Am I missing something? http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/c/crocodileGames/pathfinderMiniatures/v574 8btpy89uq They make minis for most of the other iconic villains in the path too. The ogres, karzoug, skinsaw man, etc etc.
I too am thrilled to see someone do this, and would like to add my name to the list of people interested in seeing your work. I am going to start in a few weeks (another GM is currently finishing running us through Age of Worms, I take over when he's done). We are 7 PCs, and this will be our first foray into Pathfinder RPG. We're really pumped, in fact my only regret is that I won't get to make a character. :) At any rate, if you could send what you've got to direweaseltjw (at) gmail. Thanks much.
If you really want these questions answered fully and in-depth, I highly recommend you get your hands on the Stormwrack supplement and read it thoroughly. I'd imagine you should be able to find it cheap on eBay, and I for one couldn't really imagine running STAP without it. I used it in my game planning for pretty much every session for several months.
But hey by all means, the more the merrier. It will be a while before I run this, but it is next on my agenda after a friend finishes running us through Age of Worms. By then, if there's anything left for me to contribute I'll be glad to, but it's likely there won't if past experience with these boards is any indication. :)
I had been putting together my own ideas for some sea-based d&d adventuring on my own to run. I had some fun ideas that stood alone, but no real "glue" to bring them all together into a coherent story line. That same month, the first issue of Savage Tide came out, and a friend who knew what I was doing pointed it out to me. It was perfect because I was still able to incorporate most of my own ideas in as side adventures, another was more or less exactly what I had in mind, and most importantly, it all had a perfectly coherent and credible story arc that my disparate ideas had so far lacked. Perfect!
Problem my group had was that they didn't have Knowledge (Dungeoneering), so no one knew about the Split ability... barbarian won initiative, full attacked, all suddenly all four of them are getting attacked by separate puddings. That's a lesson to them then - maybe next time somebody should invest in some knowledge skills eh? That's not a flaw in the dungeon or the encounter, it's a flaw in the party. Stupidity is supposed to be painful sometimes - you can't just hack and slash everything in sight and not expect it to backfire now and then. Again, there should be more of these sorts of creatures in dungeons, not less. Make people think a little. :)
I am considering trying this next time I run a campaign, which will be this one. (I trade off with another DM and he's currently running Age of Worms, so I'm playing). Anyway, I have some questions about how you handle a few things related to the application of this system instead of handing out XP each night. 1) How do you handle getting people being permanently level drained, resurrected, etc? They lose levels, but the XP difference numerically between level 6 and 7 is less than at 14 and 15, for instance, meaning that eventually the lost level will be at least partly caught up later in the game. If I have to start a new PC when the party is 6th level, and the rest of the group is 7th, how would I ever catch up without a totally arbitrary "hey you level twice this time, while the rest get one."? 2) XP is often seen as a bit of an incentive to have good attendance at games. We don't have an attendance issue in our group, but if you're not feeling terribly well one night and just don't feel like gaming for whatever reason, sometimes the thought of missing out on your xp for the night is enough to get your lazy @$$ going to the game. Missing games takes away some of the fun for everybody, so it's important that they show whenever possible. Is that a problem you see when you do it this way? If you do have people who consistently miss, do you "punish" them by not letting them level now and then, or through some other in-game mechanic? I'm sure there was something else, but can't remember now what it was. :) Thanks for replies. :)
I don't know that he necessarily means to attack people. I think he means, using a rope to lasso something to "capture" it. Like lassoing a statue from a pedestal instead of climbing it... I've often wondered the same thing in 3.5. Rope Use doesn't quite seem to cover it, but I suppose it could be used that way - not sure.
Of course, they get back up on the side of the evil armies, too, but their wounds don't necessarily close... :)
If you aren't using the supplements, then what's the point of the whole notion of "backwards compatible"? PRPG replaces the PHB and DMG, The Bestiary (roughly) replaces the MM, so that's the core. If you don't count the splatbooks, where's the backwards compatibility come in? I'm pretty sold on PF, but if it becomes apparent that it won't work with all the splatbooks I've got on my shelf, then I guess we're back to 3.5 with a few new PF-inspired house rules.
I don't think Knowledge Devotion is overpowered - it requires a large expenditure of skill points, not to mention the feat, for a + to hit and damage. To get a really big + you have to have a TON of skill points AND roll well on the check. In my mind, Travel and Animal devotions both come to mind as being better. I think Sun is too but I'd have to reread it, don't have it in front of me. I have a Cleric with Travel Devotion right now and she's a terror. She has Cha18 and lots of daily turn attempts so she can do Travel Devotion generally every encounter every day, and still have a few turn attempts left if some actual undead should happen by.
I disagree. I think the improvements they got elsewhere MORE than make up for any loss in performances, perceived or otherwise. They get more hit points so they can fight better. They get more spells per day and a bigger known spell list, so they're better overall casters. The knowledge stuff you mentioned isn't "fairly minor overall" it's pretty substantial, or at least it will be in our group. And especially when you consider the Knowledge Devotion feat.
OK this has gotten a little bit silly on this tangent. Again I won't judge Zurai's take as right or wrong, it's not how I would play it but it's not my problem either. It does seem that most of the rest of us generally play it as encounter at a time, with some possible situational exceptions. It also seems that many/most of us recognize that the performance abilities comprise only one of the bard's many uses. If we do choose to take as given that the performance based abilities have been weakened somewhat (which is debatable, but let's take it as given nonetheless), then I still would contend that the balance of the abilities of the rest of the changes to the class STILL make it a very compelling option. They get more hit points. They can use perform/charisma in place of some of their other skills, depending on what kind of performance they take (Versatile Performance). They can cast more spells a day, and have more to choose from in their knowledge bank. Their skill abilities are improved (Jack of All Trades and Lore Master abilities). In short, I don't think there's any doubt that they are a very playable class. Maybe not exactly the way you used to play them, Zurai, but in some ways, that's what a rules change is all about. OF COURSE it's not going to be identical - it's going to require some alteration in how you play. Or, of course, you could house-rule it and do it however you want, pending the approval of the rest of your group.
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