J. A.'s page

Golarion has a full suite of wrongs and evils, which is why organizations like the Bellflower Network and the Eagle Knights exist.

Are you repudiating those aspects of the setting? Are you calling out Paizo for including them in Golarion?

And, we go straight to the personal attacks.

On the OP's actual point, I've never played in a party with anything weirder than half-orcs and drow. I've certainly never played in a campaign with monster PCs, and I have a feeling those only come up with a small subset of experienced groups who have already run through the standard options.

As for the other issues which quickly came up in this thread, I've always understood that whatever world I'm playing in is not perfect and not the 21st century, so it will have its own issues and its own inequities. Playing in a such a world doesn't mean anyone necessarily approves of these elements, only that other worlds are no more perfect than ours.

How do you run a paid game? I've heard of this, but no idea how it works.

Presumably the ghost's attire would tell the party something about its historical era, and maybe its role in that era. That could be the basis for some lore checks and a variety of types of research.

I have no intention of looking up the empyreal thingie in question, but I get the unfortunate gist from the comments. I am not sure what the point of it even is.

Now I want to start a thread for "Things We Wish Paizo HADN'T Done in 1E," because I'm pretty sure this qualifies.

So, it doesn't seem like Paizo ever published any example builds for this archetype, which is a pity.

Does anyone happen to have a Fell Rider build that they could share?

Are there any APs or modules that include a statted NPC with the Fell Rider archetype? I'm not finding an example in the Advanced Race Guide or the Monster Codex.

Is there one buried somewhere in the Ironfang Invasion AP? Or failing that, anywhere at all?

Yeah, something like "Ultimate Character" could include archetypes, traits and FCBs. There are so many feats they would need a separate book of their own.

Alternatively, "Ultimate Classes" could include base classes (with unchained versions where available) with a handful of the best archetypes per class. That's a little subjective, but it would put the classes together with the most commonly used archetypes, which would make it a more useful reference.

Thanks for the info and build suggestions so far, those are very helpful.

Without dipping into another class, is there any way for a monk to gain channel energy?

What mechanical options are available to help a monk be an effective healer?

I’m aware of the Healing Hand and Disciple of Wholeness archetypes, as well as the two skill-based feats which improve heal checks. Is there anything else that would help a monk heal damage to others?

Cellion, do you happen to have a campaign journal for your War for the Crown experience? Sounds like your group had a great time, and that always makes for a fun read.

Very interesting, thanks. I see that Endzeitgeist positively swoons over this supplement, which is a strong nudge in its favor.

I have to agree with Dale about the flexibility of Kingmaker. I played partway through a Kingmaker campaign and our DM expanded on the AP to the point that it was almost a campaign setting in itself.

Runelords was great fun to play in for that classic dungeon-crawl atmosphere. And although I haven't played them, both Ruins of Azlant and War for the Crown seemed really interesting and well-done.

As for Ironfang Invasion, it seems to wobble a bit in later chapters, and there's an issue with the resolution I find irksome, but it's a wonderful resource for NPC builds, and I've drawn on it extensively for my own campaign.

JiCi, I appreciate the suggestions. The Hunt curses look interesting, but the party isn't anywhere near the level to access miracles or wishes, so those wouldn't be appropriate.

Spells above all, since that's most likely to see intensive use.

An Ultimate Races book would be interesting. Not sure if a book of archetypes would really stand on its own.

I didn't know Kingmaker even had a hardcover version. Never seen that in a bookstore, and can't even find it on Amazon. I would've bought that if I'd known about it.

Bakka, I appreciate the recommendation, and I think I've seen that supplement mentioned before.

Unfortunately the price is far out of my range for a casual purchase right now. Does the information in the book appear (legally) anywhere online?

Voodist, that Candlestone courtier looks very interesting, thanks. I'll be using that in some form.

Quixote, any ideas about a fey transaction or bargain? I'd be glad for more suggestions, since you really have a flair for this.

Quixote, I love the knight-and-damsel idea, and I hope I can use a version of that at some point.

For now, I'm thinking of something a little less combat-oriented and more involving some sort of bargain or temptation. A fey creature offers the party something in exchange for something, but the bargain is rigged in some way which might be obvious to the fey, and thus "fair" by its lights, but not at all obvious to the party.

Any ideas along those lines?

Voodist, I appreciate your ideas, and I'll certainly keep them in mind.

Quixote, I'd be glad of your suggestions. The campaign has been a long foray into deep wilderness, moving between small outposts and settlements and finally striking out into the wild. Most of their interactions have been with various tribes, sects and bandits, and there's been an increasing Lovecraftian element as well.

The party recently had a challenging encounter with a lamp blighter, so I'd like to try a different tone for the next fey they run across, something that involves the strange, unfathomable perspective of the fey, fundamentally inhuman yet hopelessly alluring. Beautiful, perilous, carefree and darkly whimsical.

I don't want a full encounter with a faerie court, because that might crowd out other aspects of the campaign, but something that highlights these features of the fey, serving as a single-session encounter, would be be perfect here.

For my next game session I’d like to run a fey encounter — and since I’m pressed for time, I could use ideas on specific scenarios.

I’m looking for something with an eerie, otherworldly vibe. Fey bargains, trickery, gifts or trades that aren’t what they seem. Any suggestions along those lines? The more detailed the better.

I appreciate the suggestions so far. The party has just reached fourth level, so I was thinking lower-CR creatures.

The smaller fey are closer to what I was thinking--with the exception of tooth fairies, which are too unpleasant for what I had in mind. Swan maidens are a good call, since the region is perfect for swanmays, and I always enjoyed the Swanmay PrC from 3.5.

Also, what are "stories"? I'm not familiar with those.

What fey creatures would be best suited for a more whimsical encounter?

I’ve been hitting my PCs with some darker fey here lately, including the lamp blighter, which managed to really disturb my players, not to mention take a total of three eyes from the party.

So, I’d like a lighter fey encounter to balance that out. I’m open to all official Paizo content, but with a strong preference for fey that are less cruel and more amusing, exasperating, or just plain odd.

All very interesting, thanks. I love your imagery for the sea dragon.

The forest dragon is also intriguing, in part because it breaks completely with the old categories of chromatic/metallic/whatever and follows a habitat-based approach. That sparks ideas.

Quixote, I'd be very interested in seeing some of your unique dragons, since I've enjoyed the mood and style of what I've seen of your campaign.

Interesting, thanks. That's a tremendous amount of work there.

So, what happened to the Advanced Monster Search? Why was it lost from D20PFSRD?

I'm curious, of course, but beyond that I'm looking for options which might inspire future game material.

I would certainly agree that the color/metal dichotomy feels very dated and inflexible. I'm not as familiar with crystal dragons, void dragons or any of the more exotic kinds, so I don't have a feel for how those compare.

Can anyone point me towards a comprehensive monster listing that allows filtering by monster type?

Apparently there used to be something call the Advanced Monster Search on D20PFSRD, but that seems to be long gone. AonPRD has a resource for 2E, but I can’t find a filter-able version for 1E.

Does anything like this still exist?

@Darigaaz, I've seen the pink dragon combo mentioned before, and half-dragon-to-dragon seems to be the default homebrew approach. That was considered quasi-legal in 3.5, just wondered if Pathfinder had ever addressed the question in any way.

@Meirril, if you don't want to contribute, that's fine, but whether or not we "cut it off" is not your call.

I've never heard of any such requirement.

As for druids, I've never heard of any preponderance one way or the other. Also haven't heard much about nature being female.

If he feels a sense of responsibility to the islanders, and is actively trying to help them, I'd say he's definitely lost his evil groove.

Are there any rules for the results of a mating between different types of dragons? For instance, a red-gold hybrid, or black-green, or white-bronze, etc.?

Given how readily they cross with other creatures, it seems odd that they don’t seem to cross with each other. Even if this is a rare event, are there any rules governing the offspring?

Were the full stats for Zutha and Xanderghul ever published anywhere?

JiCi points out all the creatures languishing in the APs, which could easily be compiled into another Bestiary with very little effort compared to the usual development process.

It seems like low-hanging fruit, and I'd buy it in a heartbeat, but Paizo has made it clear they're not interested.

This could almost be a community effort--at the least, compiling an index of all the creatures from all the APs. I'm wondering if this hasn't been done already somewhere.

Ultimate Comedy is brilliant. That should be a third-party priority.

Now I'm trying to think of other movies to draw on for inspiration. Sadly, most fantasy films and TV shows take themselves way too seriously.

Thanks, I see it now on p. 101.

Those are some ridiculous prices. A thatched-roof house should cost a couple hundred gp at most, and much less if you pay for the construction yourself.

There's a third-party Pathfinder book which goes into a lot of detail on construction, essentially a Pathfinder 1E update of the old Stronghold Builder's Guide. Apparently there are even rules and pricing for a gingerbread house. Can't remember the title now, but I recall it seemed impressive.

A few months ago I mentioned a hardcover compilation of Paizo art. I liked the idea, but for some reason it only generated some unpleasant pushback here on the boards, and a curt dismissal of the idea from Paizo staff.

I would really love a hardback retrospective of Pathfinder 1E, along the lines of the Art & Arcana book done for D&D, but Paizo has made it plain they won't be doing that.

As for the suggestions in this thread, I'd buy Bestiary 7, plus Ultimate Spells and Ultimate Classes. But at this point it's more productive to dream of lavender fairy dragons, because those are more plausible than any more 1E hardbacks.

Canadian Bakka, are you sure about that page number in the 3.5 DMG?

In my copy, page 151 is in the middle of the section on planes, with nothing about housing prices. I'd be interested in seeing those prices you mentioned, but either you mistyped the page number or we have different printings with different layouts.

Thanks for all the suggestions, folks, I appreciate it.

And Ryze, I sure wish I'd had a friend like yours when I was shopping for a new fridge last year.

: )

I'm sitting here staring at "multige" and trying to figure out what that could possibly mean.

For some reason it's reminding me of Doctor Strange, but I don't think that was the intention.

The PCs in my campaign currently have several spellbooks (and one formula book) that they've harvested from various opponents, who were either spellcasters themselves or who had taken out other spellcasters and had taken those spellbooks.

There are a number of good spellbook generators floating around online; sometimes I use those, sometimes I work up a custom list, depending on the NPC.

Also, I've been known to browse the character sheets on Myth-Weavers from time to time, and sometimes I'll use a spell list if it's from a character of the right level and persuasion. I actually prefer those created by other players, since they have a more authentic feel, as opposed to the completely random selection that the online spellbook generators will give you.

Thanks. I should clarify that I'm looking for anything that gives a bonus while the character is in a single, predetermined location, eg. Magnimar.

I do like favored terrain, but (to use a real-world parallel) if your favored terrain is "chaparral," then that bonus will apply in southern California, southern France, parts of South Africa and a small region of Chile, since chaparral occurs in all those places.

What I'm looking for is something that allows a character to select one town as his hometown, and gain bonuses only while in that one town. I feel like I've come across this recently in one of the Pathfinder books, but I can't bring it to mind.

Apart from campaign-specific traits, are there any class features, archetypes, feats, etc. that give a bonus while in a specific hometown?

I know I’ve come across something like this recently, but can’t call it to mind. I’m looking for anything in official Pathfinder 1E, but I’m open to official Wizards content if there’s anything similar.

I haven't played the Ruins of Azlant AP, but after reading "Beyond the Veiled Past," it’s hard not to wonder how the endgame plays out in practice.

Has anyone detonated this device, or had it detonated during their campaign? Did that end the campaign right there, or did it open up new storylines?

Okay, thanks. I don't know much about Golarion lore and wasn't sure how the various snakey races fit together (or not).

And I appreciate the mention of the Reptoids, I keep forgetting about them. One of the sillier races, but worth looking at in this context.

Is there a playable version of the serpentfolk, something scaled down (so to speak) to the level of the standard races?

I expect the quick-and-dirty answer is “play a nagaji,” but I’m wondering if there’s a more elegant option, maybe tied directly to serpentfolk lore in Golarion.

Aha, thank you.

I came across this while reading through the last chapter of a certain recent AP, and it’s hard not to wonder how the endgame plays out in practice.

Has anyone detonated this device, or had it detonated during their campaign? Did that end the campaign right there, or did it open up new storylines?

Thanks for that link, Bjørn, very interesting indeed. I hadn't realized that serpentfolk/yuan-ti had such a deep pedigree in pulp culture.