Filch's page

In case you're interested, based on the advice you guys gave this is what I whipped up; again, his question was mostly about what to do when he viewed the actions of the rest of the party as being dumb and leading them into danger.

Alexander,

Apologies for the lateness of my reply. The balance of the Houses is delicate, to put it lightly, but when the Regent calls we must still answer. I have spent much of the Spring in the Gronzi forest, for reasons I shall not go into now; suffice to say that I am most glad to be back in Restov.

You ask about your Oath, to which my answer is simple - think why you took it.

Our brethren of the Cockatrice think too small. One man alone cannot change anything. The Shield and the Sword are abstract, concerned with ideals. All well and good for philosopher and drunkards, but where are such things when the wolf is at the door? The Star and the Lion, they are too big! What they serve consumes them, they become a drop in an ocean. No, you chose the Dragon, like I did.

You chose it because it gives you allies. Allies are strength. They are eyes when yours are blinded, arms when yours are weak. They are defences. They are cunning. They give to you, and you to them. A chorus loud enough to carry through the night, but small enough that each voice is heard. That is why! You did not pick them for no reason, or - if you did - you paid little attention to me. Each supports and compliments you, and so each of you bolster the others, and make you capable of great, great deeds. What you have built in that hostile wilderness need only be the start.

That is why your oath tells you to defend and remain loyal to them. Without them, what are you? A lone swordsman, whose death shall be marked by few and then forgotten. But it does not require you to expect less in return! Nor does it require you to sit idly by while they risk what you have pledged yourself to on fool's errands. Confront them! Challenge them! You are not their servant, you are their peer! Perhaps there are reasons you do not see, or perhaps there are perils they do not.

You must protect their bodies and their honour, because both are your own. What good are they, or you, if others do not respect you? There are those in our Order who say that you must be loved, others feared. I do not put stock in such limitations. You must be known as strong, with all that entails, and let others decide whether they will adore or fear you for it by their actions. Enemies must know that they will never face you alone. Allies must know that you are dependable, and not to be crossed, or they will sooner or later.

Take heart in that your efforts are already bearing fruit. Your successes against the bandits and wild creatures of the Greenbelt have been noted, and your name bandied about the dueling schools and taprooms. If I were to only give you one piece of advice it would be this; make sure your arm and wit are both ready next time you return to Restov.

Yrs, etc.

Thanks for the feedback guys!

When I said he was butting heads, I meant with the other PC rulers of the kingdom, not with the neighbours. He's hitting that interesting zone where he wants to support and protect the group, so he's wondering what to do when he sees one of them doing something that brings danger to them all.

But that's a good point - the Order is very loose, and there's no guarantee that it applies to noble deeds any more than ignoble. That'll be interesting if, say, his mentor winds up allied with a faction that opposes the party.

Alignments are actually something that I've dropped; I get a lot more out of saying "this person is an ass" rather than that they're "evil." Thankfully I've no clerics in the group to worry about protection spells or the like.

Looking for some ideas or opinions - I'm into River Run Red, and one of my players is a Cavalier Sword Lord. He's having some issues with butting heads with the other rulers of the new settlement, and how this should work with his Order of the Dragon oath to support them. So he's writing to his mentor for advice and... I have no idea how being a Sword Lord and a Cavalier should work. Both seem to be militaristic orders who put a big deal on installing their ethics and combat secrets in their members. I've read what's been published about the Sword Lords, but I can't find details of how the Cavalier orders actually organise themselves in Golarion. Can anyone point me in a good direction, or has anyone else hit this combination of factors before?

Thanks for that guys - I knew to use the Horse companion rather than the Horse creature, but the chart in the basic rulebook didn't seem to have that handy BAB column. So everything is treated as Druid - makes it much handier to figure out!

Hi all,

Sorry if this has been answered before, but I can't find it anywhere. The rules say to substitute the Cavalier levels as Druid levels when determining BAB. Does this mean I should figure the BAB for a 2-HD animal companion as a 2nd lvl Druid, i.e. +1, or should I be doing it using the Cavalier chart because I'm doing based on Cavalier stats, so a +2?

The basic Horse has Str 16, with a bite (1d4) or 2 hooves (1d6) as secondary natural attacks. Adding Str modifier & BAB, this gives bite+4 (1d4+3), or 2 hooves-1 (1d6+1), or an extra +1 to hit if we use the Cavalier BAB. Is this right?

Thanks!

Could anyone recommend where I could track down a copy of this? Having finally gotten a credit card, I've been hunting Paizo, Ebay & Amazon to no joy.

Well, I would very much like to have a look at it, for both the design and the curio reasons. Thanks loads to the people who offered to email it to me - is there any way to PM an email address on these forums?

Need? No, not at all. I'm just curious. Now that I've flicked through Alpha 3, I'd like to see what came between.

Afternoon all,

Sorry if I'm missing something obvious, but I've had a look around the site and I can't find this anywhere. I grabbed Alpha 1 when it came out and liked what I saw, but RL has kept me busy until now and I'm curious as to what I've missed.

Thanks,
Filch

A little late, but I only just saw this thread.

No, I don't think that being offered a job by an NPC is a cop out. As long as there's a good reason for the NPC to do so, and a good reason for the PCs to take it. I agree that PCs should have a willingness to go along with things for the sake of getting a game started, but disbelief can only be suspended so long.

This isn't so much a fault with scenarios as it is with adventuring parties themselves however. Why do these people hang around in the first place? If the PCs are created in a vacuum, then it's not lazy GMing to use an outside hook rather than something from a player's background. Sure, you might have a fascinating backstory, but if the ramifications of this are personal, why will anyone else help?

In my mind, it's far more important to work out why the party are together in the first place, and then tailor any scenarios - pregenned or otherwise - to fit this.

For example, the Eberron game I currently play is filled with "NPC offers you a job" hooks. Because we're a mercenary company. The DM announced he was going to be running D&D, and that the party would be composed of an ex-military unit who couldn't get "real jobs" following the end of the Last War. The reasons for this were left up to us, but we had to build characters who would wind up in this situation. It was fun coming up with the stories everyone had about their time in the war, why the couldn't go home, and we got a fun, mixed group afterwards. And it is an endless source of plot hooks, as we have to balance our personal interests in Sharn with the efforts of running a company who could be hired to do anything from investigation to bodyguarding to far-flung rescue missions.

After all, if NPCs don't offer us job, we can't afford to eat next month :)

I'm still curious as to why the Thrall of Zuggtmoy PrC, which is designed primarily for Druids and Rangers, has the sole Feature of one level dedicated to increasing the toughness of undead you create (Raise the Rotten). Without multiclassing into Cleric for 5 levels, is there any way to get any use out of this?

For the sake of game balance I'd have to say yes. How you justify that in your campaign is a matter up to you, of course.

Hmm. Perhaps the period of levels could be said to represent the Druid researching & experimenting the changes they're calling forth in their plant companion, and once it's complete they could be said to have mastered it? So any follow plants "uplifted" to be companions can benefit from the research conducted on their predecessors - getting the net result without the months of trial?

I'm glad you liked it :) Wish my issue of 357 had made its way to my door already so I could check out the final version and answer the many questions it has sparked. Good thing Mike was here to step in and clear the air.

I've love to hear your thoughts on the issues raised as well, whenever the magazine turns up. Not that I'm not fully satisfied by Mike's answers, but I'm really interested in all the thought that went into the article. As I said, I spent a while trying to figure out something like this myself, but didn't get very far.

Edit: Yet another thought. If your Plant Companion dies, does the new one you grow come complete with all the benefits the previous one had? Initially I'd say no, but that seems to be a major drawback when compared with regular animal companions, who are generally tougher by default.

Hit me!

Thanks for the quick response!

Yes. If it's missing a Grp number in its stat block, I made a grievous error.

On a second look, it does indeed have a Grp number. I was looking under attacks. I'm going to put this down to a long day at work on my part, and sit here looking embarassed.

Uh... that's such an excellent question. I would play it that you're out of luck on the ability developing until you take enough druid or ranger levels...

Something to bring up with my GM then. I'm planning to multiclass into the (somewhat) plant-based Thrall of Zugtmoy. Whether or not that counts as plant-based enough will be up to him.

No worries, mate. :)

Thanks again for the answers. Articles like this remind me why I'm going to miss Dragon so much.

Update: Having now read the article, I have another few queries.

Can the Plant Companion make grapple attacks? I don't see anything in the rules one way or another on this.

How exactly does the system of adding new abilities every few levels work? I'm possibly being dim, but I see a few possible interpretations.

Say I'm a lvl 1 Druid, and I choose Sticky Sap. My Companion is going to develop that ability when I hit lvl 6. Can I choose another power to start developing concurrently when I hit lvl 2?

If so, can multiple powers all activate at the same level? For example, if I choose Blindsight (requiring 2 lvls) at lvl 1, and then Bonus Feat (requiring 1 lvl) at level 2, do both powers manifest when I hit lvl 3?

Also, am I correct in assuming that you can't work the ritual to start a new ability if you're on a level where an ability has manifested? By that I mean, if I'm lvl 1, and choose an Abilty which will manifest at lvl 2, do I have to wait until I hit lvl 3 before I can work the ritual again? The article seems to suggest this.

Finally, what happens if you multiclass out of Druid or Ranger after working the ritual, but before it comes into effect?

Sorry about all the questions,
Filch

I just wanted to drop in a quick note to say how pleased I was by this article. I've been playing - or trying to play - a plant-themed Druid for a few weeks in an Eberron game, and my DM & I have been having great difficulty trying to figure out just what a plant companion would be like. And now we have something playtested by people who know far more that us! Cheers to everyone involved in the article.

Can anyone suggest a fair way to adapt the listed plant to being Small, rather than Medium? We've always described my character as carrying the plant in the folds of his robes, with vines reachings out from his collar, sleeves, etc. and I'd like to keep this image if I can. Previously we were trying to adapt a small Assassin Vine to the job, which he would thrown at people.

Thanks,
Filch

Sorry to work thread necromancy on something so old, but I've just started playing a new game and my DM has allowed me to work towards the Thrall of Zuggtmoy Prestige Class. I've hit a curio though, and I was hoping someone else might remember back far enough to give me some pointers.

I'm going at it from the starting point of a Druid, with no particular desire to multiclass. But look through the list of abilities granted by the class, I see one from which I can't see myself getting any use. This would be Raise the Rotten power, which allows the thrall to give Str & AC bonuses to any undead they create. Only problem is, as far as I can see it, Druids and Rangers never get to create undead. Without splitting into Cleric for 5 levels or so, is there any way to get anything out of this power?

It just seems a bit odd to me that when Druids and Rangers are described as making the best thralls, for there to be something like this. I must be missing something obvious, right?

Thanks in advance,
Filch

I'd like to add my voice to the request for an album listing, as someone else who has no access to itunes. Google answer the question for a lot of the tracks, but entries like "Main title" remains mysteries.

Speaking of Lovecraft, I wonder how well a Lovecraft-themed article would fair...

The October issue from either '05 or '06 did a chunk on this, called The Shadow over D&D. Discussed Lovecraftian influences, what monsters are suitable for such a game, etc. Was quite good.

I'd just like to come out in support of the Bas-Lag issue, which I got my hands on over the weekend. I've only read Perdido Street Station, but I loved it, and I think the magazine did a good job of portraying the world in game terms.

I can agree that most of the presented mechanics, races & monsters don't easily slot into existing games. The Forgotten Realms would be a different place with Weavers or Slake Moths running around. But that applies to almost everything but the most generic of articles, and I'd get very bored if Dragon did nothing but print such. I think the current balance is about right - some issues are more adaptable than others, but that's fine.

About my only complaint is that some of the artwork for the bestiary article wasn't great, and didn't fit description of the monsters in question. The Anophelii & Weaver in particular, didn't look like the artist had been given a good description to work from. The Weaver in particular, with it's fanged maw (and baby-arms?) despite being described as having a spider's mandibles. Likewise, the Khepri looked more like they had the head of a bug, rather than an entire bug for a head. On the other hand, pieces like the Garuda or Handlinger were great, as were the Cactacae.

That's about it, other than to again say you have a happy reader here.

Hello all,

I've been collecting Dungeon for several years now, despite rarely actually running D&D. The Ages of Worms really entertained me - I liked Shackled City, but AoW brought me back to the time when my older brother used to run games for me. Names like Dragotha & Kyuss have been burned into my brain for as long as I can remember as things that were just cool.

Last month I bought Green Ronin's Black Company Campaign Setting. And after I read it, and made happy noises about the edited mechanics, I decided that I had to play it. But what story would I tell? I turned to my stack of Dungeons for inspiration...

The rebirth of the man-become-deity is classic Black Company material. I see Kyuss as a wizard who fled South during the Domination, coming to power in the southern lands. After the Domination fell, he made a bid for power himself, only to be defeated & hurled into the rift between worlds. Much like what Old Father Tree finally did with the Silver Spike. I'm thinking of setting the game perhaps two hundred years before the books kick off, which puts them about two hundred years after the end of the Domination.

For locations, I was thinking of using the Jewel City Garnet as the Free City. It was never detailed in the books, but was briefly described as having a notably large pantheon - the manipulated Cult of the Ebon Triad works whether or not the gods they worship are real. The Resurrectionist movement already exists in secret, trying to revive the Dominator. It wouldn't be too hard to have their efforts being subtly redirected towards bringing back the wrong god :)

Kyuss' temple works well in the D'loc-Aloc jungles, Ruins left by the Wind Dukes can become slightly more recent ruins from the Domination, purged from the pages of history by the efforts of the White Rose, etc.

The PCs will start on their own, but draw in others to aid them as the campaign progresses, forming their own mercenary band, and eventually a small army.

My biggest problem is lowering the fantastic nature of the Ages of Worms. The BCCS is about human evil - things like vampire-dragons have little place. In order to keep up the stakes, I'm considering replacing these kind of scenes with pitched battles. The Worms themselves are horribly appropriate for the world - my only concern is just how lethal they are in a setting with little healing magic and no ability to raise the dead.

Has anyone else considered such things, or even read both sources? I'd love to hear comments or criticisms, or ideas on how to replace some of the more fantastical sections of the AP.

Thanks in advance,
Filch

Loosely, the order is Perdido Street Station, The Scar & The Iron Council. Though each stands alone, that's the chronological order. I am told that a character from Perdido Street Station has a minor part in The Scar, but otherwise they don't cross over.

And "GNNNNNNG!" sounds like a good description of SM power levels to me :)

Spoiler demand!

What's the CR of a Slake-Moth?

Yeah, this is gonna be a long month...

Carpenters are crucial to the maintenance of a ship. Far more so than trained medics. After all, a doctor may be able to save a man, but the carpenter can save everyone. The trade off is that the carpenter may not actually be allowed to join in boarding parties, etc. as they're just too valuable, and this lack of fighting results in smaller shares of the loot. It's a;ways arguable which way a PC will fall on a treasure vs. survival balance...

Not sure if this is what you're remembering Timault, but the Silicon Sorcery article in Dragon #308 had 2 Epic Prestige classes based on Morrowind, one of which was based around worshipping the Gods of that world, the other around defying them. The names escape me for now however.

Isle of Dread

:blink:

If the entire sales pitche required to get me obsessed with Ages of Worms was "Dragotha", then this has had an even more intense effect.

To sum; it must be mine.

Please read the above in one of those scary, calm voices you get in horror movies when someone has just threatened to kill someone in an utterly horrific manner because they have simply left them no choice.

Damn editors knowing exactly how to reel in the sales... :)

Morgan was a sample character in the Basic D&D rulebook.

Which edition was she from? It's been a while since I flicked through the Red book, but I don't recall the name.

I loved the article though. Except that it could have done with being three or four times as long. Easily. I miss the silliness of the old April issues - this ecology was very welcome indeed.

Ecology of the Rust Dragon is fair game! ;-)

Thanks for the great anecdote! Tamed rust monster! HA!

I don't even know if they're still canon tbh, I just liked them. Sadly, I don't think I have the talent to do them justice.

Yeah, that guy was dumb... he even called it Rusty :)

Actually, one other thing. Is this article going to make any allusions to Rust Dragons, one of my favourite Planescape critters?

I could live with a lot more Zogonia and Mount Zogon. I'd love to see Galeena get a several-page special some time, as the did with "Raiding the Dragons Lair" and Zogonia. And Downer... I like, but I think I'd like it a lot more as a bound volume. I'd certainly buy it as such if it were ever released. I'd also agree that Nodwick's adventures in Dungeon were a nice touch - I like him, I'd like him more if he were back in the other magazine.

Order of the Stick I think works better on the web, where you can read the whole backlog in one sweet session. Reading it one page per month does not do it justice.

That one with the huge-eared short thing has never even made me crack a smile, sadly.

Not much to add to this except that I had a moronic player many, many years ago who attempted to tame one that he found in a Dungeon. He thought it would be useful to herd along through Dungeons (with organic guides, of course) and use to get through locked doors, locks, etc.

Of course it just ate all his weapons and armour, as swaddling himself in cloth proved to be a poor deterrent against the creature.

Gotta love players...

I was in two minds as to whether I was going to continue collecting Dungeon through the second Adventure Path. Shackled City was fun enough, but I felt it let me down in places. I wasn't sure that I cared to collect a rehash.

It took one word to change my mind.

Dragotha.

My only regret is that he's so tough that it'll be months before we actually get to see him. Hopefully, it will be worth it.