Franz Lunzer's page

It's toilsome work, but I'm well on my way to answering my own feature request. I'm creating a massive repository of player-created stuff: searchable, sortable, and categorized, because a lot of awesome stuff has fallen through the cracks and that is a shame.

The domain is purchased, Joomla is installed, I've learned how to use the software, come up with my organization strategy, and I've gone through about 300 threads so far (only 650 more to go!). Not too bad for a week's work.

However, like I said, it's toilsome.

I haven't touched the GM Threads yet: the ones stickied at the top of the forums. They're just one bridge too far for me. So I'm requesting help.

It is true that the main purpose of the website is to present unofficial content. However, it would be a good idea to have an errata and FAQ section, with the developers' official patches and clarifications. But while I know would be good to do this, my heart just isn't in it. I'm (personally) only interested in the creative stuff.

So I want help!

Could I enlist someone (or someones) to go through those mammoth stickied threads and produce a document that contains the erratas and clarifications in consolidated format, without the discussion? (I'm not too particular about the format: I'll be converting to HTML in the end) If, in the process of going through those threads, you find cool house rules, please put them in a seperate document. Furthermore, "guides" or other "how to"s should be in their own document as well. The goal is organization. :-)

I'll handle the other stuff, but I would like to outsource this one particular piece.

Before someone jumps in and says "why not do a wiki?", it's because I want to use certain Joomla features that let users rate & recommend content, so as to help people find what they're looking for for their campaign. Besides, I don't see the articles being very interlinked, which is typically what you'd use a wiki for.
As for other questions about how the website will work, well, wait a couple weeks, and you'll see ;-) I'm not quite decided on every aspect yet, some things are still shaking out.

I'll suggest people respond to the thread with comments like "I've got Mass Combat covered!", and then someone else with "and I'll do Thousand Screams!", announcing intent ahead of time, rather than waiting until you're done, so there's no duplicated work.

Thanks so much for chipping in to make this community even better-er!

I have posted this on the DnD forums, but I thought I'd post it here as well to see what my Paizo friends think. Enjoy.

Be advised! This post is part rant, part ramble, and part instructive notes, hopefully, on how NOT to DM. This is drawn from my experiences alone and does not necessarily mean the things that did not work for me won't work for you. I intend this as a warning to young DMs; however, some shared stories or possible solutions from older DMs would be greatly appreciated. You have been forewarned.

My name is, well it's irrelevant, but for the sake of any possible repliers, call me Canis (it's easier to type than Master_of_Plataea). I've played in two editions as well as Pathfinder and DM'd for PF for two years.

In only two years, I've started and cut short too many games to recall, most of which were generic, cookie cutter adventures that any novice could have ran, but not I. Why, you may ask? Simply put, I couldn't see the forest for the trees. I was so caught up in unimportant details "The devil's in the details," goes the old adage, and for me, there were always endless details. The best way to explain this is to give one of my better, terrible DM moments as an example:

In one of my first games, I was using a premade adventure to supplement my homebrew campaign. I was making a few NPCs to really flesh out some encounters, I was trying to look like a well put together DM for my group. Vanity, thy name is Canis (mistake 1.) As a sidenote, I choose to make a level 2 NPC from scratch because, according to my reasoning, all "real" DMs made their own NPCs so I had to do it to be like them (mistake 2.) Before I had even rolled a stat, I ran into a roadblock: what is this NPC's name? Yes, I know those who read this will probably laugh at something this trivial but at the time, this was a serious problem. So what do I do? The only thing I can do, dangit, I fire up the ole' web browser and look for names (mistake 3.) Completely abandoning stat creation, I launch into a two hour search for the "perfect name." Not just a name that sounds cool, oh no, too easy. This name must be racially correct, as well as correct for class, place of origin, and alignment. Why? Because that is how you do it, according to my naive reasoning (mistake 4.) After researching countless campaign settings, mythologies, and regional name guides, I finally gave up and went to bed, assuring myself I'd "get around to it soon." (Mistake 5)

I never got around to doing any preperation, showed up to the session with no idea of what I was going to do, and ended up cutting the night short. The adventure lasted two more sessions before I scrapped it altogether. Not one of my finer moments.

To wrap up, let me return to my example and explain the mistakes I made (for those young DMs who may not fully grasp these mistakes and maybe even for some of you older DMs who have some idea of what is about to come):

Mistake 1: Rather than trying to impress your players with how acccurately you can quote rules or how prepared you are, let your adventure "do the talking." A lackluster adventure with a rules lawyer in the DM's seat will lose everytime in a contest with an awesome adventure run by a DM with a working knowledge of the game. In other words, don't try to memorize every rule, learn naturally as you DM.

Mistake 2: Use the resources at hand rather than tailor making NPCs just to ensure every last skill point is where you want it. Most NPCs won't matter in 3 sessions.

Mistake 3: Avoid needless distractions during prep time. Set attainable goals, work at your own pace, and don't overload yourself with too much at once.

Mistake 4: Don't try to make every NPC, village, or region completely perfect. Your players will rarely, or more likely never, notice that the orc they just killed doesn't have an orc name.

Mistake 5: Before stopping prep, evaluate what you have completed and consider if more prep is needed to ensure a good session. If you don't think you have enough to run with, set time aside within the next few days.

I think that about does it for this post. Thanks for anyone who struggles through the ramble and I hope it helps someone out there.

-Canis

drennier wrote:

But, I would add that when a character receives stat damage, it only matters in increments of 2. Meaning a stat of 16 getting a penalty of -1 doesn't do anything. Most people think it modifies the stat direct, but in actuality, its just that every 2 damage gives a -1 to all things related to that stat. I see people miss that all the time. Including my group, regularly. The same is true for stat penalties.

I see this mentioned more than once in the thread, but don't find it in the Ability damage and drain section... can someone point me to the source?

Franz, it's in the Glossary under "Ability Score Bonuses".

http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/glossary.html#ability-score-bonuses

I totally forgot about that rule for our "Kingmaker" game!

When speaking to Muggles, yes. Though I do my best to explain to them that it's a gross oversimplification. They don't care. They ask if I wear a wizards hat at the game. *le sigh*

Of course. Actually there are two levels.

1. Thursday night is DnD night. This is true whether we're playing Gamma World, PF, Torg, or Amber, it's still DnD night.

2. What are we playing this Thurs? Generally we are still playing DnD, which means PF. If youare speaking to non-gamers, most of them know what D&D is, none of them know what Pathfinder is. If you're speaking to pure gamers, most of them now know what the difference is between PF and 3.5.

But it will always be Dungeons & Dragons, no matter how much better the PF rules are, it's still D&D. That's why we love it.

Hound master. Everyone wanted it and it seems we won't be getting it.

I think you missed the most important part...

Lisa is an archvillian looking to build an island fortress!!!

Stuff

So in conclusion... Rat Poop happens, and so does babies... Got it! ;)

Dear, Paizo do you offer your rule books with out the dying fighter art? I am in love with your, products just not the artwork. I am trying to get my boys involved in role playing and am looking for more melee friendly covers. I don't want my boys to be exposed to dying mortally wounded fighters (or being dragged off to his death, and seriously Merisel fighting beetles while Valeros has to deal with THREE wererats??). I understand the market you are going for and I am not judging you at all I just am not a proponent of "heroic deaths" and was wondering if you have alternate covers? Also it doesn’t help to show Valeros with a medium melee weapon and a small one, it is really screwing up the kids feat selections

Six Player Kingmaker Conversions-

Chapter 1- Stolen Lands (Alexander Kilcoyne)

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Conversion- Link

Chapter 2- Rivers Run Red (Alexander Kilcoyne)

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Chapter 3- Varnhold Vanishing (General Chaos)

Forum Topic- Link

Conversion- Link

Chapter 4- Blood for Blood (General Chaos)

Forum Topic- Link

Conversion- Link

Chapter 5- War of the River Kings (the_minstrel_wyrm)

Forum Topic- Link

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Chapter 6- Sound of a Thousand Screams (General Chaos)
Conversion—Link

I blame TOZ. It's his fault.

I hear Rock, Paper, Scissors is well balanced. But I read on a blog somewhere Scissors is getting a splat book soon that might mess that up.

RPS™ hasn't been the same since the 2e of the game introduced lizard & Spock as player options. How are three inanimate objects or a lizard supposed to compete with a highly intelligent vulcan? I'm sticking with RPS™ 1e myself.

Okay, I got nothing on this one.

The amount of money in Paizo's bank account.

Wolfthulhu wrote:

Sorry, but this argument doesn't work. The book is not Ultimate Race, indicating a single superior race, trying to make it so is foolish.

The thought had crossed my mind as well, Wolf. It's not that crazy, some people are really sensitive to issues surrounding race, even if they are in an obviously fantastic context.

How about Ultimate species?

(Dominant Species sounds cool too. :P)

I think a better name is Extreme Races, with cover art featuring an Aasimar on steroids, holding two oversized plasma cannons.

Drawn by Rob Liefeld, of course.

Folks,

The RAW do allow the grappled to make a full attack action, assuming they can do so with only one hand. Since flurry does not require two hands to perform, a monk could flurry.

Grappling is not always the best idea. Grappling a monk is one such example. I think folks need to remember that the grappled condition is not as severe as it once was. You are no longer draped all over the target. It is more like you got a hold on them, typically an arm (hence the restriction). The pinned condition is more of your greco-roman wrestling hold.

Hope that clears it up..

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing

Cartigan wrote:

Benchak the Nightstalker wrote:

But doesn't the Escape Artist entry specifically say a success means you "change from a pinned condition to merely grappled."?

Link, Under Grappler

Or am I misreading the blog as saying that's no longer the case?

Hurray, rules clarifications produced without familiarity with the rules!

Ouch, Stephen can we get a clarification for the clarification or is Escape Artist supposed to be worse than using CMB to escape a pin?

I sure can. Just got out of a chat with Jason about this.

The Grappler text in the Escape Artist skill entry is a holdover from 3.5, and is not the case in Pathfinder. An Escape Artist check escapes the pin entirely, it does not make you grappled, as the text in the pinned condition states.

Wasn't the part about Tripping someone who is prone already in the FAQ?

It is, but we are still getting a lot of questions about it, so we figured that maybe repetition would help hit the point home.