So, you know how every Paizo/Pathfinder product purchased from the website is watermarked with the name and Paizo-associated e-mail address of the buyer? Is there any avenue or means by which one can or should report such names and e-mail addresses, should we come across them? Such as when an admittedly-pirated Paizo PDF starts circulating throughout your own gaming group? Or is there really no point?
Hi there. A quick introduction and I'll get right down to business. I'm a longtime DM/GM who has been exploring Golarion a lot lately. I run a couple of play-by-post games, severl home games, and I founded, write for, edit for, and essentially run Abandoned Arts, right here on the Paizo webstore. I'm enjoying my other (and first) two play-by-post games immensely, and feel I have the time for a third. I post mostly in the daytime on the weekdays, and I'd like to run a game set in the Inner Sea region in order to gain some more play experience in Golarion. Campaign and submission details are as follows. Please DO NOT post a character concept submission to this thread without reading all of the information below.
The campaign will take place in and around a large ruined city and underground dungeon network in the Mwangi Expanse called the Drowning Stones. This adventure will not reference and has nothing to do with the “Encounter at the Drowning Stones” module, or with any other module. (I do not run modules, so I haven’t read any of them.) The adventure will revolve almost entirely around the exploration of this ruin, and your “base of operations” will be a Pathfinder Society waypoint about 24 miles from the site. As such, your characters will be members of the Pathfinder Society. I’ll be taking a maximum of five players running one character each. Because Play-By-Post gameplay tends to be slow, we’ll be using the “fast” XP track. As for the dungeon itself: the Drowning Stones and the connecting ruins will run into the Darklands and into several other underground dungeons and sites. This campaign will be run in the “megadungeon” style, but this will not be a simple hack-and-slash. A team of five combat-monkies won't make it; the dungeon will eat them alive - I promise you. Though combat will be commonplace, character backstories may factor into the adventure where appropriate, and exploration and problem-solving will be a huge factor. Different floors and areas will require different skillsets and strategies, and the dungeon itself will prove a challenge – not just the site inhabitants. We will not be extending the scope of the campaign beyond the Mwangi Expanse – this is a site-based campaign. That said, this is not a one-shot adventure, and will go into high-level play if the campaign persists long enough (in the traditional “megadungeon” style). I’d like to extend a quick courtesy to everyone before we get into concepts. This campaign would benefit from: o-> Characters with the ability to scout, provide intelligence, and deal with locks and traps. In many areas of the dungeon (but not all), locks and traps are huge concerns. Scouting will likely prove very useful as well, as not all areas of the dungeon will necessarily be “encounter level appropriate.” Scouting saves lives. In general, both of these skillsets will save a lot of time and hit points. o-> Characters with the ability to fight well and kill monsters. Combat is a large part of the dungeon experience and the ability to overcome physical encounters is crucial to the survival of your team. o-> Characters with the ability to solve problems. Whether through the use of spells, speechcraft, useful skills, or both, problem-solving abilities not directly related to combat will play a huge factor in the exploration of the dungeons. Such abilities can greatly assist in combat as well, albeit indirectly. player requirements:
Play Time: You should be able to play during the daytime, on the weekdays (Eastern Standard Time). It is rare that I will be able to post on the weekends or during the evening. Post Expectations: You should be able to post at least once a day on the weekdays. If you are not able to post at least once per day, please do not submit a character concept. Life happens, and exceptions are bound to occur, but do understand that group activities imply group responsibilities. If you're a part of a group, you have an inherent obligation to that group to do things like show up and participate. Frequency (and maturity) of posting will be one of my most primary factors for choosing players. Cooperation: Please play cooperatively, in-game and out. Civility, a cooperative playstile, and a friendly attitude are expected of each player. Please include the word read in your first post, so that I know you've actually read the player requirements. Style: This game will be a RAW (rules-as-written) game. I'm an experienced GM; I've been running 3.5 since day one (and my experience as a player predates third edition). I've been playing Pathfinder since the playtest. I've been playing roleplaying games since I could talk. I roll on the table and I never fudge rolls or make exceptions in order to sink or save characters. I don't pull punches, nor do I "play to win." Whether you live or die, succeed or fail, win or lose is all up to you and the dice. PC-NPC transparency is in full effect. If a PC can do it, an NPC can do it (and vice versa). I don't use any houserules per se, (but see the "houserules and rules interpretations" spoiler, below). I believe that the game functions as intended, as written. While I do roll on the table, I don't declare my modifiers unless the roll makes modifiers immediately apparent. In other words: you'll know exactly what the monster's initiative modifier is after I roll it, and you'll know how much damage it dealt... but you won't know what its attack roll modifiers are… you'll only know if its attack roll succeeded or failed. If your playstyle conflicts with any of the above, please do not submit a character. Rules Knowledge: You don’t need a lot of rules knowledge to submit a character, but please do read and understand to the best of your ability those class, race, and rules features relevant to your character. When it comes time to submit a full character sheet, I may have second thoughts if your sheet is riddled with significant mistakes. Campaign Scope and Setting: Your characters will belong to the Pathfinder Society, who has established a small waystation some 24 miles from the site of the Drowning Stones. Do not submit a character concept which is at odds with Pathfinder Society membership or the delving of ruins in general. submission requirements:
Alignment: Any alignment is fine, but I expect evil characters to be played responsibly. No character concept exempts a player from the Player Expectations described, above. If you think being evil precludes you from being a team player, making friends, or maintaining party cohesion, then please do not submit an evil character. Content: The Core Rulebook, the Gamemaster's Guide, the Advanced Player's Guide, the Advanced Race Guide, Ultimate Combat, Ultimate Magic, all three Bestiaries, and the Inner Sea World Guide are the only Paizo sources we will be using for this campaign. Any products purchased from Abandoned Arts are also welcome at my table. NO OTHER sourcebooks, adventure paths, or supplements are open to discussion. This includes traits and magic items from other sourcebooks. Furthermore, the "example" Sandpoint campaign traits from the Inner Sea World Guide do not apply to this campaign, and no campaign traits will be written specifically for this campaign. Please don't ask for exceptions to these sourcebook limitations - none will be granted. Classes and Races: All "playable" races featured in the Advanced Race Guide are legal. All archetypes and classes are legal, with one exception: the antipaladin (too disruptive to party cohesion).
Point-Buy: Point-buy is set at 20. Spend your points or lose them. Starting Level: Starting character level is 3rd. I don’t find very, very low-level play to be interesting anymore. You’ll be playing experienced-but-not-exactly-veteran adventurers. Starting Wealth: Starting wealth is 3,000 gp, (but see the "houserules and rules interpretations" spoiler, below). Age and Templates: Templates with a static, non-scaling +1 CR adjustment are legal, with one exception: no advanced templates for PCs. If you start with a +1 CR adjustment, you'll begin at character level 2, not character level 3. Age categories (from adult to venerable) are legal options at character creation, as is the Young template. If you choose to apply the Young template to your character, you will NOT be compensated in any way, even though that template subtracts one from a creature's CR. Concept: While I place no restrictions on the array of classes, archetypes, races, and templates that I'll allow at my table, I do appreciate well-built, interesting, and sensible character concepts. I will likely choose lovingly-crafted or genuinely interesting PC submissions before I accept excessively-templated or min-maxed submissions. That said: play to win, by all means. It's the dunegon or you. My playstyle is unforgiving, challenging, and RAW. My motto at the table is "them's the rules." I don't deviate from from the EL guidelines (unless the party wanders into an area more dangerous than is appropriate for their level), but character death is a real possibility (though, if it furthers the story or your backstory, actions, resources, and/or partners merit it, the use of resurrection magic is an equal possibility). Play to win, but please don't submit a CE half-red dragon orcish alchemist (ragechemist) 1/barbarian 1 with a +1 seven-branch sword, nothing but combat feats, traits that make no sense, and the minimum Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores. I probably won't go for your submission if you do. Carrying Capacity, Food, and Ammunition: Please include the word great in your first post, so that I know you've actually read the submission requirements. Carrying capacity and encumbrance rules are in full effect (watch your encumbrance and record the weight of your possessions!), but I do not bother tracking non-masterwork, non-magical, non-alchemical ammunition. Thrown weapons (including shuriken and other “ammunition-like” weapons are tracked normally. Do count the weight of one full quiver of ammunition against your carrying capacity, if you plan to be firing ammunition, however. The tracking of mundane ammunition has never seemed to add anything to a game, and isn’t terribly fun. The same goes for food and starvation. Provided that the PCs have regular access to supplies, this sort of thing just isn’t exciting to keep track of. However! If the party becomes trapped somewhere, we will start tracking food, water, ammunition, and other expendable resources. If you’d like your character to be prepared against such an event, do include rations, water, and plenty of ammo on your character sheet. There is one exception with regards to firearms. Bullets aren’t tracked, but powder and cartridges are tracked and must be purchased and paid for normally. So, to recap: You’d list and account for the weight of one “unit” of ammunition on your character sheet: (for example: “quiver of crossbow bolts”). As long as you have that item on your person, you can be assumed to have enough ammunition to fire your weapon as needed. If you want to be prepared in the event of your character becoming trapped or losing access to supplies, you may list more than that. Black powder and cartridges are to be tracked and paid for normally, but bullets are not. Initial Submission: Right now, I don’t need full character write-ups. Your initial submissions should include: overall concept, approximate alignment, probable class and race, intended party role, region of origin, and anything else you'd like to include (like PC goals). Though this campaign will be based out of a central location, I generally run a pretty sandbox-y game, so the characters tend to determine the tone and direction of the campaign. Again, you don’t need to submit a statblock yet. I won't be starting until Monday, at the very earliest. I'm looking forward to your submissions, everyone. I'll check in tomorrow morning, if not tonight. Once you submit a character, please stay active in this thread! I’ll be looking for posters with the eagerness and ability to participate and post regularly as much as I’ll be looking at the concepts themselves. houserules and rules interpretations: Starting Gear: I have one "house rule," if you could call it that, with regards to the way I handle starting gear. Aside from that, I'd like to mention a couple of my rules interpretations, below. All things considered, I run a very RAW game. Starting gear is 3,000 gp, but there are some items that I do not require players to subtract from that amount. In other words, you get 3000 gp, plus you get some items for "free". Nonexpendable mundane gear is free, as long as it costs LESS than 1,000 gp. Mundane gear means "non-masterwork, non-magical items, non-alchemical items". Nonexpendable gear means anything that does not have charges, limited uses, and is otherwise not expended, broken, or consumed when used. For example, manacles and silk rope would be free, but a spyglass or a suit of plate armor would not be (too expensive), nor would a vial of alchemist’s fire or a healer's kit (limited uses). Furthermore, the mundane aspects of your magical arms and armor are free at character creation. This means that you DO pay masterwork costs (150 gp for armor, 300 gp for weapons), but you DO NOT pay for the base cost of the item (even full plate armor). For example, the cost of a +1 breastplate would be 1,150 gp (a 150 gp masterworking cost, and a 1,000 gp cost for a +1 enhancement bonus). As with ammunition, firearms are the exception to this rule. The cost of a firearm, even a non-masterwork one, must come out of your 3,000 gp budget unless you have a class feature that says otherwise. Death, Dying, and the Prone Condition: This is more “interpretation” than “houserule,” and doesn’t impact much. The rules don't say how or when a character falls down, after going unconscious or dying. I assume that the world isn’t full of standing corpses, but I’ve never liked the idea that a character falls over instantly, and therefore must always stand from prone after being healed back up. So, my interpretation is as follows: if you get put to sleep, are rendered dead or dying, or otherwise go unconscious, you fall prone at the start of your next turn. For example, if an enemy puts you at -2 hp on his turn, and the cleric heals you for 6 hp before your nest turn comes around, you'll still be standing when your turn comes up. Corpses and Difficult Terrain: The rules do actually say that the bodies of larger creatures (or groups of smaller creatures) should constitute difficult terrain, but they don't say how many creatures it takes. My rule of thumb is as follows: One Large or larger corpse makes difficult terrain, two Medium corpses make difficult terrain, four Small creatures make difficult terrain, and eight Tiny creatures make difficult terrain. The corpses of Fine creatures do not create difficult terrain. For the purposes of this ruling, any helpless, prone character counts toward this "difficult terrain" determination. Please include the word reason in your first post, so that I know you've actually read the houserules and rules interpretations. One last note: If you are more than one size category larger than the creatures making up the difficult terrain, you can ignore it. In other words, a Colossal creature is not impeded by a Large corpse, or four Small ones. Zen Archers: Flurry of blows works as intended, not as written, for the zen archer monk archetype. In other words, it works.
I thought there was a rule somewhere that said that tiny or smaller creatures could use Dex instead of Str for the Climb and Swim skills. Where can I find this rule, I cannot locate it anywhere... Thanks in advance,
If I were to create a .pdf (say, some archetypes, feats, or NPCs for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, plus a copy of the OGL), what would it take to sell it on the paizo website for sale? Would I need to be incorporated, or can a private party sell his intellecual property? I create a lot of material, and obtaining a standard or registered copyright is easy. Would copywriting an item be sufficient? Do I need be incorporated or a small business owner? Thanks in advance,
Hello, all. Very recently, I have been monitoring the forums for examples of rules and abilities that require interpretation, or seem to be contradictory. To use the first example from the list below: what happens when you try to move into an invisible character's space? What I am trying to do is compose a list of all the rules and effects that require interpretation so that I can have at-hand a list of the most RAW and RAI interpretations for those rules. I may use this in the moderately-near-future to run a "Pathfinder Coliseum" in the style of the old "Core Coliseum" of the WotC threads, back in the day. (Basically: it was very fun, very strict Rules-As-Written gladitorial-style gameplay using exclusively OGL content, and hosted on the forums.) So far, here's what I've got: Rules Clarifications and Interpretations:
Attempting to move into a space you cannot occupy (such as a space occupied by an invisible creature or a wall of force) may provoke, but never uses up any squares of movement. Creatures rendered dead or unconscious fall prone. Flurry of blows works as intended, but not as written, with regards to the zen archer. The compel hostility spell cannot compel a creature to attack a creature that it cannot detect, even if it threatens such a creature. The convincing lie rogue talent requires the subject to become aware of the lie, otherwise no Bluff check is rolled (since the subject isn't lying). The Eldritch Heritage feat chain cannot access wildblooded bloodline abilities. The barbarian’s totem warrior archetype works as specified in the Advanced Player’s Guide, not as specified in Ultimate Combat. The various elementals from the Bestiary II are summon-able with summon monster spells. The summon monster spells specify elementals, but do not necessarily specify what types in the text. What I'd like from you fine people is more. Which rules or abilites are unclear, and require clarification or interpretation? This could benefit the forums in the months to come, if I'm able to get the PF Coliseum off the ground.
I want it so much. This is actually something I'd always wanted WotC to do, back in the days of 3.5. Every new sourcebook would introduce some new race or class (the Monster Manuals were full of them) that would never see a scrap of product support again. Every sourcebook succeeding it was all "elves and dwarves, fighters and wizards" again. I love the continuity in Paizo's Pathfinder products.
Was this ever resolved? What was the verdict? Does the qinggong monk archetype stack with other archetypes, as long as the monk does not elect to replace any of the class features of his second archetype with the qinggong ki powers?
And that was not the first (or last) 1 you guys have rolled so far, either. At least you were already asleep, so it's not that bad. Better a 1 on that save than a 1 once you're up and walking around again. On the whole, you guys are not impressing me with these rolls, though. Come to think of it, Shisumo, Flametouched had a really hard time with his rolls during that first thoqqua encounter in my Eberron campaign, too. And those had AC 14. You all know the "blowing on the dice for luck" trick, right? Maybe you guys should blow on your computer screens.
Leave monk alone. Leave Vital Strike alone. Here's what you do: human barbarian (armored hulk) 2/fighter (unarmed fighter) 2 You want at least 18 in Strength and at least a 12 in Dex. The unarmed fighter loses medium and heavy armor, but the armored hulk barbarian gets them back. From being a fourth-level human, you get three basic feats. You can take "heart of the fields" in lieu of your bonus skill points so that you can effectively sleep in your armor without waking up fatigued, or to ignore the fatigue caused at the end of a rage. From unarmed fighter, you get: Improved Unarmed Strike for free, one Style Feat for free, and one bonus combat feat. From armored hulk barbarian, you get: armored swiftness (moving 25 ft. per round in full plate) and rage. Because the unarmed fighter's "unarmed style" class feature specifically says that you don't have to qualify for the bonus Style Feat, you can take one of the "second-tier" Style feats, and choose the "first-tier" feat as your bonus first-or-third level feat. Your feat chain might look like this: 1st-level (fighter) - You get Power Attack from your human bonus feat, Weapon Focus (unarmed strike) from your first-level feat, and Improved Unarmed Strike and Tiger Claws from the "unarmed style" fighter class feature. You do not have to qualify for Tiger Claws (although you can't use it without Tiger Style, which you'll pick up soon).
You end up with:
Now you run around Power Attacking as a full-round action, dealing an average of more than 20 damage per round and getting a free bull rush attempt with a huge CMB bonus. The numbers suffer a little without rage, but not all that much. Thanks to the Tiger Claws feat and to various class features like "indomitable stance" and "harsh training," you gain quite a lot of little bonuses against things like ability score penalties, bull rush, charging, exhaustion and fatigue, overrun, staggering, trample, and trip.
So I'm not seeing anything in the "prone" condition that penalizes ranged attacks in any way (except by prohibiting attacks with ranged weapons other than crossbows and firearms). And yet...
So... what is this feat meant to do? Even the feat referenced in the "Special" section, Prone Slinger, acknowledges that crossbows and firearms can be fired while prone. Furthermore, if you did have both feats, you still wouldn't need Prone Shooter to fire a sling without penalties, because there are no penalties for firing a sling while prone if you have the Prone Slinger feat! Here's Prone Slinger, for reference. Prone Slinger:
What is Prone Shooter meant to do? Was this just a massive misunderstanding of the rules by one of the writers? The prone condition is really prevalent, really common, and really important. Did the author of this feat really misunderstand how the prone condition works, or am I missing some obvious "RAI" here? Thoughts?
...
Things used to be worse. Back on the WotC forums, "fighters suck" and "how to fix the fighter" threads were on the front page, every day. Here in the greener pastures of Pathfinder territory, the arguments aren't quite as common (and they're often a fair bit more civil), but it is an issue I've seen trending lately. And I have a simple proposition for any party interested in this subject. Skip to the final paragraphs, if you'd like to get right to the proposition itself - it's going to require a little audience-participation. Let me make my stance clear, first: I don't think there's anything wrong with the non-casting classes. Not a thing. I think they fill the roles they were meant to fill as nicely as can be expected - and as nicely as the casters do. I also think that there is truth in the extremes. For example, let's address - to use the iconic offenders on either side of this argument - the idea that a wizard is better than a fighter. If this is true, a party of wizards is superior to a party of fighters. If casters really are the flat-out better class types, then the best thing any party can do is to include nothing but full-casters. And if wizards are the "brokenest" of them all, then a party of wizards is the only logical choice, from a tactical standpoint. Why build a party out of inferior class choices if you don't have to? Do I think a wizard can "beat" a fighter of equal level? Yes, I do. It's a fair match at lower levels, but at higher levels, it's usually no contest. A mid-to-high-level wizard will slay an equally-high-level fighter outright, nine times out of ten. But does that mean the wizard is better? Why should it? Pathfinder isn't Rock-Em, Sock-Em Robots. It's a simulationist fantasy game. It's a tactical exercise in teamwork and team dynamics. It's an adventure game, not a pen-and-paper Street Fighter analogue. So let's make this about the party. If one class is better than any other - can fill any and every role - then why bother building a team out of multiple classes? Let's build a team out of members of a single class. The BEST class, whatever that means to you. Is it wizards? Druids? You - the good people of the forums and participants in the Great Debate that has been so prevalent in the tabletop world since gods-know-when - build the teams, and I'll run them through level-appropriate, tried-and-true adventure scenarios. The idea is simple: we'll see how the "best classes" making up the "best party" fare as a team against textbook D&D / fantasy scenarios. Let's put our monies where our mouths are. Four characters.
You can build characters at any level, and I will produce level-appropriate results. Keep in mind that the mid-level range is where most people spend most of their time playing. It's also where the alleged problems start. I'd really like to see this get off the ground; I'm deeply curious. I'm also open-minded. I think summoners would fare exceptionally well, for example. But on the whole, I hope to demonstrate that martial classes fill necessary roles, and fill them well. What do the forums say to my proposition?
A couple of quick questions about the Falconer ranger archetype from Ultimate Combat. The feathered companion gains three special tricks, one of which is tragicaly unclear on two points. First, the quote:
So, two questions: 1.) What kind of action is this?
The first question is the most important: is this an attack action or a standard action? I am hopeful that it's an attack action, since the ability would be much more useful if it were. The second question is almost as important, though. There's a big difference between "shaken for the duration of the encounter" and "shaken for one round". My thinking so far is in favor of the most literal interpretation: the target is shaken for as long as the bird (the object of it's fear) is around. Since no duration is mentioned, no expiration is specified for the shaken condition. However, if there's no bird, there's nothing to be shaken over. Thoughts / advice?
...
MIST ASSASSIN, CR 7 XP 3,200; NE Medium humanoid (elf)
I know this is thread necromancy, but I just heard this build referenced in another thread, and looked it up. This is obscenely cool. I'm stealing it. Seriously, I'm stealing it. I'll be running this against a party of 4th-level PCs as a CR 7 villain (using an NPC stat array), here's what I've come up with. Note that I'm building him as a ninja, not a rogue, and I'll be favoring both melee and ranged attacks. Also, he's an NPC, so no traits. That said, here's my take on a CR 7 version of the build:
Spoiler:
half-elf ninja 5 / waves oracle 3)
Str 13
favored classes
racial traits
curse: deaf revelations
ninja tricks
feats
spells
equipment
Ok, so... lemmie talk about the flying blade first (it's from Ultimate Combat). Check this out. With obscuring mist up, I can't be detected at my 10-foot reach. The flying blade is at a -2 to hit with most attacks, but gets a +2 to hit instead with attacks of opportunity provoked by movement. Since the mist hides me, my opponents don't know when they're provoking. So not only are they flat-footed and provoking blindly, but I get a +2 to hit them, and my attacks of op are sneak attacks. My to-hit seems mediocre at first (+5 BAB, +1 Str, +1 Weapon Focus). But consider that I'll have a +2 on attacks of opportunity and that my opponents will be flat-footed. Damage-wise, the flying blade is a d12 weapon... so with a +1 enhancement, I'm hitting for 1d12+3d6+2. Not bad at all. Combat Reflexes gives me multiple attacks of opportunity. Whenever possible, I hit-and-run with Fast Getaway to keep my concealed reach advantage. If I want to, I can tanglefoot some poor bastard and reach-sneak-attack or flurry-of-stars (see below) the unlucky git from ten feet away with total concealment until he breaks out. For ranged attacks, I attack with flurry of stars. Outside of his powerful attacks of op, this should be his go-to attack option. That's three sneak attacks with +1 to hit and damage each from Point-Blank Shot. The damage there works out to 3d2+9d6+6. And I can split it up among multiple flat-footed targets. Hot damn. EDIT: WAIT! I just realized that I can spend a point from my ki pool to add yet another shuriken to my full attacks. So that's four stars for 4d2+12d6+8. Hot. Damn. My ki pool is 4 (1/2 ninja levels + Cha modifier), so assuming I use Shadow Clones before combat, I can do this up to three times. Note: I took the "rogue talent" ninja trick to get the rogue talent class feature so I could qualify for the Extra Rogue Talent feat so I could take the rogue talent "ninja trick" as my Extra Rogue Talent, so I could get Flurry of Stars. How's that for a workaround? Also note that I can even use Fast Getaway after a reach or ranged sneak attack (but not a flurry), keeping the PCs completely in the dark as to where the hell I'm attacking from. If I need to make a standard melee attack, I hide as a move action and strike with my spiked gauntlet (because the flying blade is useless in melee and has attack penalties). Against high-AC or low-Will-save targets, I attack with inflict light wounds instead. If I'm hidden, casting won't provoke (and nobody can hear me cast it, thanks to my curse). Defensively, I'm relying a lot on concealment and Shadow Clones. My AC is only 18 (+3 for Dex and +5 for a +1 chain shirt) or 20, with shield of faith. Fluid form helps against some maneuvers and offers some protection from critical hits. My hp ends up at 55. Not stellar, but not bad either. Unfortunately, this version of the build is too low-level to have access to the deaf + silence combo, but - as I mentioned earlier - being able to cast spells inside the mist without giving myself away is still very cool. For example, if I'm injured, then I step deeper into the mists and heal myself, I'll be mysteriously uninjured again the next time they catch sight of me (remember, nobody heard me cast a spell). Kinda spooky. Similarly, I can silently summon monster from total concealment. Out of nowhere, monsters start creeping out of the mists. Very spooky. Thanks to Poison Use, I can stack my own poisons with that of a summoned viper or two. I realize I could've put my racial +2 into Strength, by the way. Makes sense with a two-handed flying blade, but I opted for Int because - damn it - he's a ninja. If I were really optimizing him, though, I'd probably switch it over. Overall, this guy works pretty well as a villain, I think. In fact, he might be a little too good. The primary drawbacks to a "lone villain" are: 1). A poor economy of actions; and
By making myself untargetable to most PCs, my economy of actions improves, and "focusing fire" against me becomes all but impossible. Also, in addition to the actions I take on my own turns, I'm making a lot of very powerful attacks of opportunity. Plus, I can throw a flurry of stars on my action, enabling me to decimate single targets or effectively attack up to three PCs per round. Throw in a summoned monster or two, and my economy of actions is looking pretty good. Not bad for a CR 7 baddie.
Nope. The listener doesn't get to use your lie as it applies to him. The Convincing Lie ability just lets him use your modifier when he is questioned later. So, for example: Convincing Rogue: (successfully Bluffing) Hey, let me past. I'm working for the Queen's Secret Service, I have an urgent message.
Later; Guard Captain: How did this man get inside the palace?
The problem with the above scenario is this: The guard doesn't need to use your Bluff modifier instead of his own, because he isn't Bluffing. In the scenario described by the Convincing Lie ability, (i.e. being questioned later about your statement or story), the listener will never need to roll a Bluff check, because he isn't bluffing. He's just repeating what he believes. An ignorant goblin who believes that fire is magic doesn't roll Bluff when he teaches his offspring that fire is, in fact, magical. When would this ability's effect ever come into play?
So... mummy rot. Correct me if I'm wrong, but: If my third-level antipaladin comes into contact with mummy rot, (which is a disease, depsite also being a curse) he is not only immune to it's effects, but gains the ability to inflict the disease with his own natural attacks? If so, that's quite a good deal! An attack that deals 1d6 Con and 1d6 Cha damage per day, has no cure (and must have an associated curse magically removed before magical curing can even be attempted), halts fast healing and all forms of natural healing, makes magical healing (including remove disease!) difficult, and can potentially prevent raise dead. Also, would the antipaladin spread the DC 16 version he contracted, or would he use his own Charisma modifier, since the DC for this disease is based on the carrier's Charisma modifier? Follow-up Question: I assume that Ability Focus (Plague Bearer) would have no impact on my disease DCs since the Plague Bearer ability itself has no DCs associated with it. However, when I contract a disease, is it added to my special attacks or special qualities (as it seems to be for the dire rat, for example, who is a carrier for filth fever). If so, I could take Ability Focus (mummy rot), which would up the DC for the disease AND the caster level check for conjuration (healing) spells - correct? Thanks in advance!
Firstly, I apologize if this is the wrong forum. And secondly, I'll get straight to my point: I'm creating a campaign world for my own group's personal use. In doing so, I've encountered a bit of a problem with the cosmology of the planes. What I'm trying to avoid is the idea that a bunch of different "heavens," "hells," and other aligned planes are floating around out there. I want the idea of an extraplanar realm to be special and unique, and I'm really trying to keep the number of them down while maintaining a place in the world for every creature in the Bestiary and Bestiary II. What I'm trying to avoid, in other words, is the idea that there's a LG heaven where the archons live, a CG heaven where the azatas live, a NG heaven where the angels live, another NG heaven where the agathions live, a LE hell where the devils live, a CE hell where the demons (and qlippoth) live, a NE hell where the daemons live, a LN plane where the inevitables live, a CN plane where the proteans live, a N realm where the aeons live, and four elemental planes where elementals and genies live. That's a lot of planes. I've created this thread for the purpose of petitioning the boards for ideas as to how to implement some of the extraplanar races without creating a bunch of extra heavens, hells, and extraplanar realms. Here's what I've got so far... The Empyreal Realms consist of Mount Celestia, and the Heavens which surround the mountain. A body of free-willed angels rule the celestial plane from Mount Celestia. The LG archons literally exist to serve the ruling class of angels, and act as the executors of angelic will. The Infernal Realms consist of the Old Hells, where unorganized masses of demons spawn and roam, and the Endless City, a "surface" layer of hell which the devils built on top of it. The devils are known to enslave and employ demons as living weapons. The inevetables will likely be constructs of devilish deisgn, created to enforce pacts and contracts throughout the multiverse, which "turned" on their masters a'la the classic "I, Robot" plot device. Beneath the Old Hells is the Abyss, where the qlippoth plot the death of demon- and mortal-kind. Paralell to the material plane are the Territories, where fey live. The azata protect and guide the good fey, and act as "gods" for fey-kind. Evil fey worship and are led by outsiders like barghests and night hags. The aeons are largely absent in the world for plot reasons, but presumably roam the astral plane and the void of space. (Sorry that ran so long!) With all that in mind, what I'm missing (and requesting ideas for!) are places in the world for the following: Agathions
Or: ideas better than the existing ones described above. Also, elementals & genies are bugging me a bit as well, though I could include the classic elemental planes. And maybe throw the proteans into the elemental planes as well? Please share your thoughts, and thanks for your time!
Actually, there is a rule for this, it's just a bit obscure.
Emphasis mine, of course. In my game, the "some creatures" this rule references means "one Large or larger corpse, at least four Medium corpses, or at least eight Small corpses". At least that's the rule for Medium and Small creatures (Large creatures treat at least four large corpses as difficult terrain, or at least eight Medium ones, and so on). There's the rule, and there's my take on it.
You're right. For some reason, I thought sewers were excluded specifically. I could have sworn I saw the entry mention it somewhere. EDIT: Ah. First line describing the urban ranger: "For the urban ranger, the streets and sewers of the city are just as dangerous as the barren wastelands or the deep forests. An urban ranger has the following class features." So it almost certainly will apply, which is a small advantage over Favored Terrain.
Hang on a sec. Let's look at what the RAW says before we start 'ruling' things, a ruling might not be necessary! First of all, if what you really want to do is unseat a mounted opponent, there is a feat for that, as the posters above have pointed out. However! By RAW (and for all we know, by RAI), nothing mechanically precludes a character from simply being prone while mounted. A prone attacker has a –4 penalty on melee attack rolls and cannot use a ranged weapon (except for a crossbow). A prone defender gains a +4 bonus to Armor Class against ranged attacks, but takes a –4 penalty to AC against melee attacks. We can imagine that a character is knocked flat on his back while his horse runs obediantly along, or that he is clutching the reigns on his stomach while still riding, struggling to pull himself up. Nothing about using the Ride skill is at odds with the prone condition. Similarly, nothing in the 'trip' entry suggests that it cannot be used against a mounted opponent. You could actually get pretty cinematic with this! Your opponent charges past on his steed, and you use your gurisarme to hook his leg, yanking his rear end out of the saddle! Clutching at the reigns with one hand as his mount charges onward, your enemy struggles to pull himself upright again. |
