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Doesn't have to be linear by any means. I do intend for there to be consequences for messing with the past, so if they, say, visit the Time of Troubles (I play in the Forgotten Realms) and assassinate a god or save Waukeen, that'll have lasting consequences
Howdy All, I gave my party a time machine! So, now I need to write out some fun one-shots that will go along with it. When they first attempt to use it, they'll have almost no control over it, so when they end up will be entirely up to chance. or so it will seem. The goals of these visits will either be searching for information or to gather new resources. I have several ideas of fun settings they can end up in: World War Faerun: This will be a WWI setting, where the Great War has erupted throughout the lands. Of course, my Players will find themselves in the midst of a chaotic battle. Crawling through trenches, learning how to use advanced firearms and grenades, and attempting to bring back anything they can get their mitts onto. Plague-ridden Past: The go back a few hundred years to when some manner of Black Plaque was overwhelming the area. They'll need to carefully traverse city streets, avoid being robbed, possibly keep themselves awake and starving for several days until the machine kicks back in and sends them home. Starfinder: Maybe Spelljammer would be a better title, either way though the world will be very advanced and entering space will be part of a normal day. Time of the Dragons: What happens when they appear in an early bronze age and communities are ruled by great dragon lords? Will their hubris overrule their senses, or will they humble themselves before these great terrors? Demon-lands: A portal has opened the countryside to a host of demons (or devils) that spill forth constantly. Survival will be a challenge here, as any show of strength will be taken to be a challenge. Those are my initial ideas. What sorta things can you folks suggest that i could incorporate into this mess? Any ideas are appreciated, thanks in advance! -Jhaosmire PS I also might have them go to a literal WWII setting, at which point Hitler will 100% steal their time-machine and go back in time to conquer the past. That will be more than a one-shot though.
Hey everybody! I finally ran this level! Thanks a bunch Covid-19 for helping delay this by four months (sarcasm). Here's how it went down: I pre-rolled all the monster initiatives to save time. Went from high (21) to low (1), with the most powerful bunch going first. Players were scattered in the middle of the track. All the players decided to stay defensive round 1 as the monsters lurched forward. This gave the mindless creatures a chance to corner the party in the room entry (which I think was a mistake of mine to do). Stuck in a small bundle, I tried to "lure" them away by hitting them with Unholy Blight a couple of times. Stubbornly, they stayed where they were at. As for the clock-mechanic, they were WAY too suspicious of it to get anywhere close (again, my mistake of cornering them). Other than summoning Ghouls, the clock played very little a part in the battle, other than being a cool decoration. With my party still sticking to the entryway, the Bar-cromancer started hitting them with his punishments. Confusion got a couple of them, but the big heavy-hitter was Stinking Cloud. Every single one of them failed their save, and they were cornered two creatures deep in a nook. That alone was leaning this fight towards a TPK. Players were Shaken from the Dirge of Doom Doomharp being played, Confused, Nauseated, often Sickened, Paralyzed from mass Ghoul attacks, and one even became Slowed. On top of all this, they didn't focus their attacks in any way, spreading damage all over the place, keeping more of the monsters in play through most of the fight. As things got worse and worse, one big factor kept them on top: one player had used an Elemental Gem of Fire round one, and it was hurting Mummies and butchering Ghouls from start to finish. The player controlling it realized there were ghouls behind curtains and started burning them way, and then the Ghouls would be cornered by the elemental until their demise.Additionally, the Fire Elemental (the MVP of the fight) found the Bard-cromancer, who was armed primarily with loads of fire spells. Thof his 192 HP (he was boosted from many things story-wise), the Elemental did about 140 damage! The Players finally got out the their corner, take loads of AoO's in the process, and hide and stayed defensive until the Nauseated condition left. Finally they started picking off monsters. The paladin summoned his Gorthek mount, which is always a big player in battle, and a key moment almost went awry: the paladin, with his healing spent and 20 HP remaining, surrounded by 5 monsters (including the Flesh Golem and the Erinyes Devil), debated between mounting the Gorthek or using his Great Cleave feat tree. EVERYBODY tried to talk him out of mounting, due to the AoO's he'd provoke. He was tempted. He weighed it heavily. In the end, he went with a big attack against the Erinyes Devil. He hit. He killed it! he cleaved through into a Spectral hand of the Bard-cromancer, dissolved it, cleaved into the Wraith, dissolved it, and continued into some Ghouls. This, timed with the reveal of the BBEG, changed to mood from despairing to hopeful. At this point, several characters were down. I was running the party wizard (as the player has been MIA for over a year). He, literally, did NOTHING the entire fight. The Paralysis + Stinking Cloud + Confusion held him from round one, until the was pummelled and dying. at -9, the character stabilized. The gunslinger, being run by a substitute player as the actual player cannot come until after the pandemic fully ends, did some harm, but unfortunately fell in battle. He, sadly, never stabilized, the paladin was out of heals, potions were all consumed, and the rogue with the Wand of Cure Moderate Wounds was slowed and far away. This was the first casualty. With the minions defeated, the BBEG cornered with a Fire Elemental burning him away, and twelve rounds gone, the paladin mounted his beast and lined up for a charge. The other players cleared rubble from his path, and even ordered the Fire Elemental away. This, however, left a straight shot from the BBEG to a grouped together party of four, and he had yet to use either of his Fireballs. Dice were rolled, saves were mixed, and the paladin, mounted but not yet charging, burned to unconsciousness. Our Fighter too, realizing the mistake of grouping again, was killed from the Fireball. The group now was down to two. I had the mount, dismayed and burned, wander off and dismiss itself, disappearing. The wizard shot a few Magic Missiles but was rebuked by a Brooch of Shielding. The Rogue, finally at full speed again, went invisible and rushed into the bosses room. He sneak attacked, injured the BBEG who now only had 20 HP remaining. The Elemental came back in, did another 9 damage. The paladin, flung to the ground, stabilized! Finally, surrounded, flanked, almost dead, the BBEG pleaded for mercy (after launched a Scorching Ray). No luck. The rogue attacked. with Sneak. Crit! with 11 HP left, the BBEG took 60 damage! The group won, at the cost of two PC's, dozens of condition cards, all their potions, every trick they had up their sleeves, and 15 rounds of combat! Additionally, with a tragic twist ending of storyline madness, they all agreed it was the best game of Pathfinder they had ever played, and the most challenging fight any of them had ever encountered! Thanks everyone for your help building it all, we all had a blast! -Jhaosmire
Based on this group, they've definitely all seen Die Hard 2, so won't be much of a contest there. Good ideas though.
@ Meirril Very cool premise and you definitely have the right tone down. Would add it if I could. @ Scott Wilhelm Heh, I will definitely keep that one in my back pocket. If all the cards fall into the right places, this will happen.
@ CBDunkerson, You're right, i should definitely give Toady some resistance to the potions, maybe a simple +2, but something. The McGruffin is a Flying Carpet that Toady is sitting on. The Players have killed off all this evil Druid's "pets," so now he wants some degree of vengeance, but is going to use this contest to try and get the upper hand. I'm sure they'll find a way around the situation, they're very good at coming up with alternate scenarios. @ Mark Hoover 330 His having the Magic Carpet will be his plot immunity. If they try to attack, he can just fly away. But he wants revenge. I love the idea of adding in a familiar tone to clue them off, I was trying to think of something (as this is the second part of an adventure they already began) and I know exactly what I can do. @ Scott Wilhelm You're right, that is a better comparison. The rest fo the adventure has had several "Princess Bride" tones, so I think they'll excuse the ending being not a perfect match. Alright, so: boss has an escape route and there are clues to indicate which potions are positive, which are negative (to the perspective Player). Any other ideas?
Any class where Constitution is the primary stat, specifically in the form of a spellcaster. Would be cool to see some manner of blood-letting caster that uses a D4 for their hit die, or maybe uses a big die but has to constantly sacrifice HP based on which spell he casts. Also, I would love to be able to adjust stats better. Like, a Wizard who casts spells through his Strength skill, or a Barbarian who keeps himself up and alive through his Charisma force of will.
Afternoon Community, I'm working on building an adventure scenario that mimics the great Battle of Wits from The Princess Bride. I could use some help getting the situation to have the proper feel, with the right blend of lethality and logic. Here's the visual: Player's roll into a cave after several fights. The cave has the BBEG ( a toad-person, based off a Slaadi), who has the item the Players are after. He could simply escape using said item, but instead he challenges them to this battle of wits. My current path I'm thinking of using is thus: There are a dozen or so potions scattered about the room on various tables. Six different types of potions, each its own color and in a unique bottle. The bottles contain the following potions/poisons:
Players will need to select potions for themselves to drink, a potion for the BBEG to drink, all will consume, and the results will play out. I plan on doing max critical damage for the Alchemical Fire when consumed, and use the Drowning rules for anyone that drinks a Tanglefoot Bag. After all has been settled, There most likely will be a fight between those still standing. What do you all think? How would you alter the scenario to make it more thematic, without flat out "save or die" rolls? Anything you think would make this more memorable? Thanks for the advice! -Jhaosmire
I'm trying to make an item to permanently make my small character a medium sized creature. As best I can tell, as a 1st level spell, making it a permanent effect (Spell level x Caster level x 2,000gp) it would only cost 2,000gp. However, I noticed there is the Titanic feature that can be added to a set of armor, which is equivalent of a +3 bonus (about 9,000gp value). Am I reading it correctly that I can make the item so cheap?
In this case, it is a Princess Bride-like challenge. The unobservant character may end up drinking an alchemist fire as it is oddly bottled, including swallowing it.
How would you handle this? I'm thinking it will do max damage, including splash damage, so 14hp per round for two rounds. Additionally, I think it will prevent that player from casting spells with the Vocal component until fully healed. Too much? Too little?
Howdy All, I'm assembling a Mini-Game for my Players, and what's better than a Trading Card Game?! As I still play 1st edition, I wanted something that provided them insight into their world without giving everything away. So, there are two paths I see I can take: 1) Buy the Pathfinder 2e Bestiary Battle Cards, which would provide them a good idea of what monsters can do but the rules wouldn't fully pertain to the characters world, as it wouldn't be a perfect translation (ie, a Otyugh in 1e has different skills/saves/abilities than an Otyugh in 2e) 2) Buy the D&D Monster Cards, which again would provide faces, names, and some idea of ability, but wouldn't give away every detail of every monster. How I see this playing out is thusly: PC's will enter the local tavern and see folks playing a game, involving these cards. One NPC will lose the game, get mad, and storm out, leaving his cards. The other invites a PC to take over, offering this Starter Deck for free. Players will be given ten simple cards (orcs, goblins, etc.), both in game and IRL. Now Players can go town to town trying to find new cards for their game, and I'll roll on a table to see what cards they find when they go. A way for them to spend some gold, learn something about the world, and do some gambling. As for the in-game game: Both participants draw a card from their deck of ten at random, and roll an attack. Maybe 1d8+CR. Winner fights the next creature. Dice explode on an eight, one halves the CR bonus. Game ends when all monsters are defeated. Decks can only have a max CR of... maybe 30. So Goblin can trump Tarrasque on a perfect roll. As for special abilities, not sure if I want/should/will/how to incorporate those yet. What do you all think? -Jhaosmire
Thanks for all the input, folks. I didn't know D&D Wiki was a lot of Homebrew, but really I was just posting a link for folks who didn't know the Rest I was referencing as an example. I'll try the Unchained build, that sounds good. I know VoP isn't the best of the best, especially thrown on a Martial classed character, but it was fun, different, and would give my players an enjoyable challenge, which is all I'm really after.
#44: (A poorly scrawled note, barely legible, lying on the ground beneath the notice board)
#42: Secrets to Lichdom! Free seminar this weekend. Learn why you want to transcend the mortal existence, advantages to a solid-state organ system, systems and patterns to prevent unnecessary sacred interruptions, and more. Brought to you by the Revitalization Management Institution. #43: Please help me, I've been lost in this crazy fantasy world for days. I was attending college in Riverside when I found a book filled with weird symbols. My school disappeared and I was suddenly in a pig-pen. My family must be worried, my phone bill is super late, and nobody knows to feed my cat Baxter. If you can help call (951)275-3131... or go to Gareth's Farms east of the college, I'm there shovelling pig muck...
Howdy all, I had a (super broken) Paladin in 3.5 that had taken the feat tree from the Book of Exalted Deeds including the Vow of Poverty; It/he was killer. I want to remake this character concept in Pathfinder as an Order that is established in the world. However, I cannot find anything nearly as powerful as this in Pathfinder (darn this system, being too well regulated to be this broken). Any ideas that would lead a character down a similar path? I rule nothing out, multiclassing, crazy feat or skill concepts, anything goes. Thanks! -Jhaosmire
Ah, thanks for the info. I'll have to get the group to put funds into PaizoCon instead
Does anyone who has been to a WonderCon know if there is a Pathfinder or Paizo presence there? I've never been to a convention before, and out group was thinking it would be fun to try one out. We live is SoCal, so PaizoCon is doable, but we're trying to find a closer location if possible. Thanks!
Good, done, and dear Lord! 3d6 Constitution!? That can wipe an entire party in a single roll. Like a leftover tiem from OD&D... I'm super late to the party, but I love this thread. Welcome to my soiree. I considered making him a level 14 Bard, through and through, but decided against it for storyline reasons. With the hordes of undead being thrown at the party, the clock working against them, and this bard-cromancer in the background blighting them, I'm alright if he comes off as weak once they finally get to fighting him. I'm altering a Doomharp into a pipe organ, so that's what he'll be playing now, pumped through speakers (to throw off his location) attached to each of the false bard-cromancer ghouls. Crypt of the Necrodancer is one of the themes playing out in the dungeon before they come across he BBEG. The soundtrack will be heavily featured. I still think that this is a perfect opportunity to gestalt your 7th level Wizard with 7 levels of Chronicle of Worlds Bard. It's a Bard archetype that changes the key ability to Intelligence instead of Charisma... which will help, a lot. I don't see his stats being an issue, as he had a very high INT and CHA from the get-go. Good call on the items though, they are in, especially the Twisted Headband. So, I gave one PC a sword that has an ability to, on a killing blow, split a good or evil person into two separate beings. I'm hopeful that it gets used against this guy. If that happens (and I may give the BBEG some bonus XP to give that player a chance), then they will definitely meet this guy again, as his wife will beg for his life, and the only murderhobo player is out of this campaign. I'm hoping to use all this great bardic traits for future fights, but that's always up to the PC's (and when do they do what is expected?).
How about gear? What manner of equipment would you find essential to this guy? as a level 14 character, he's got quite a lot of wealth to spend.
Yep. Likely the entirety of the clockface floor will be affected each "hour" which will be running either once a round or once every other round. Combat usually doesn't last 24 rounds though...
Chiming damage at midnight is great, a good replacement for the huge mass-resurrection. Okay, I like the idea of it running from one to two to three, and so on. I'll adjust the effects accordingly. I think I'll make it a Spellcraft check to determine the effect rather than knowledge, as this is an unheard of artifact so past studies shouldn't reveal much. Reading dweamers of magic make more sense for figuring out what may soon happen, imo. 1 - Summon Ghouls
How does the new order look? Tried to spread out the effects to keep it random and building.
Using my PC's existing stats, it's obvious that Rogues have an advantage, and some characters are not suited for this. But from an RP perspective, it does make sense. The Paladin and Fighter are low in all stats, the knowledgeable Wizard can hit hard with his smarts but not take it, and the Rogue is versatile. I often use the Pathfinder Cards (Chase, Social Combat, Tides of Battle) to do the same, just planning some of my own systems. So... basically your looking to deal non-lethal damage to their ego? Sounds like a fun idea. Thanks! Yep, non-lethal, very expositional.
Definitely this would not be an option throughout most of the campaign, just a one-shot for this or that level, to break up any monotony they may come across. And no out-of-place skills could be used (dancing for debating, a great example). Do you think I should reduce the number of skill options then? I thought four or so would allow some versatility among the PC's, so they don't rely on the one player who put ranks into the one necessary skill. Instead, they could approach from a few angles.
Maybe, as the encounter moves forward, the clock sort of builds up power, giving enemies Haste, slowing the party, "undoing" wounds (healing/resurrecting), forcing re-rolls on saves, etc. That could be the source of the infinite enemies: every time they kill some, the clock rewinds time and the dead ones are fine again. Love this. I'll definitely build out a model for odd effects. My initial thoughts are: I have Elder Sign, which comes with a 4" clock. I'll have that out on the battlemap. Once the battle ensues, I'll start rolling a d12 every round, turning the time to various effects. The PC's can then spend their round forcing the hour hand around to try to recreate the effects, or to hold it in place to maintain an existing effect. Oh, maybe anyone on the face of the clock gains the effects, so it could harm/help both PC's and enemies... 1 - Haste
Twelve may be too extreme... Also, I think I'll draw out the clock, so it's harder for the PC's to be off of it, and just keep the Elder Sign clock to the side where they can all see it.
if you're like me and prefer physical books every now and again, a big airport-style suitcase is what my friends usually use I was leaning in this direction before I made this post. Mostly I wanted to test the waters and make sure I wasn't missing out on any gems someone else had discovered. Found some nice sized (carry-on 30x12x13) cases with a good number of pockets for $40-$50, which is likely the direction I'll go. I do like the battle-foam cases, but I don't have many mini's and the ones I have aren't fragile, so it seemed unnecessary (at this point in time).
how many physical items do you need to bring? Need is very relative. I do what you do, carry what mini's I need for a single adventure, use pawns rather than minis on most occasions, and use a lot of .pdf's. I do like the have the Core RuleBook, Bestiary, and NPC Codex in physical format on me, along with a blank folding map, my dice/pencils/markers case, and a laptop. Oh, and I keep all character sheets for my party too, which means five Folio folders. That bogs down my messenger bag enough that I end up carrying the case.
I have been looking at that bag, wasn't sure if it was large enough. Ever find it doesn't suit your needs? I found this gem. It has room for 3 boxes of pawns and several dozen books. It also has side pouches for dice, pens, pencils, etc... I bought that one for a friend a while back, and it works well for board games. I wanted something with a few more pockets for myself, so I can split different objects up and keep some things in permanently.
I am driving my own truck, so space inside isn't too much of an issue. I'll likely upgrade my figure box to one of those (Dewalt, my brand, rather than Stanley). I don't have any physical terrain yet, I'm not worrying about buying those until I have a permanent game room, rather than just our extra room. I'm searching more for a single bag, be it a suitcase, duffel bag, shoulder bag, or anything else that not only holds a GM's worth of books and accessories, but also has pockets in which I can categorize somewhat. Any ideas in that field?
I'm looking for a bigger means of moving my books and minis around to and from games, which are rarely at my place, despite me being the GM. My question: What bags/boxes/products do you use to move your gear around? Any recommendations on what I should buy? I currently use a messenger bag, but it'll only hold my laptop, three books, some folding maps, and then I wedge in a bunch of card packs for character art. I carry all my mini's, dice, Bestiary Boxes, etc...
The Plan, currently: Here's what monsters I have planned for the combat right now: Bard-cromancer 6,400 XP CR 9
I'm thinking the ghouls will always number about 10, likely a d6 of ghouls will join the battle every round. There will be ten starting out in a mixture of disguises/armor to make them look like the Bard-cromancer (who is a venerable Warforged prototype). They'll hang back, pretending to cast spells in unison (which will actually be buffs/debuffs from the organ playing) The room will be coated in dark curtains, shaped like a square-ish gear, with many crenellations on the sidelines, hidden by the curtains. Behind one of the curtains is the BBEG, behind the rest are the many, many Ghouls. Presumably, if they throw back all the curtains except the BBEG, that would end the flow of Ghouls (but they're near infinite until that happens. The Erinyes Devil is actually a shell the Bard-cromancer built to house his Frankenstein-style wife, a gnome safely tucked inside. Once defeated, she'll emerge, and plead with the PC's to let him live. The Shadow Demon is going to be what is driving the Bard-cromancer mad, living inside the Dark Grimoire. He'll bolster troops from the sidelines, and keep the darkness flowing. If they try to destroy the book, he'll join in regular combat. If destroyed, this will give the PC's HeroArmor, in that the BBEG will be sane enough to help them out now, for a bit. There is still evil in the Grimoire, afterall. Also, I chose a lot of these creatures based on a combination of CR, what he would have created, and what I have available in my Bestiary Box 1.
Good advice all. Let me explain the CR 9 bit in detail I totally get it. I knew from the getgo that this is a terrible class combo from any manner of minmax or power perspective. Glad you folks let me know it's so low a CR though, I would have guessed higher on my own. Just cat and mouse with a constant deluge of Undead Done and done. I'm thinking a horde of ghouls will be constantly flowing in, until I either have the party at about 1/4 HP and resources, or until they figure out who the real BBEG is (as there will be illusions all over the place to confuse them. How about a huge pipe organ Absolutely! My campaign theme (as this is all the Player's first ttRPG ever) is to take a classic situation and give it a new flavor. Giant organ playing BBEG fits perfectly. Maybe the character could possibly fight off the evil power just long enough to help the PC's overthrow him You understand me in ways that are unnatural and intimidating. This is now my HeroArmor I'll throw out, IF they're fighting in a way that convinces me it's worthwhile (if it improves the story/fun, basically) add a ticking clock to an encounter Can do. There is a literal clock, gigantic, built into the floor of this room. I'll add in some detriment from the pipe organ, maybe a cumulative -1 penalty, as a mixture of the insane music and the effects of the clock. The clock, btw, is an artifact they get from succeeding. It's a time machine, allowing the PC's to move forward and backwards in the spot they're in. It's very bulky, takes days to setup and a crew to move it, so not a standard use item. Also, until they've used it a few times, it's also random as to which direction in time they'll go and how far in that direction, which should be fun. I'm already planning a fantasy WWI-type encounter for the future, and an ultra-low-fantasy survival situation in the past.
You could add in some other optional elements Would love to do this, but not sure I can. I'm allowing the Player who's character became the BBEG to write/run the beginnings of the chapel adventure as his first GM experience. I'll simply be taking over again when we reach the final chamber. His level is a railroad of rooms, so mot a lot of options for sneaking in secret items of power. Minions, minions, and more minions! Done and done.
...about the Necromancer... He is a Wizard specialized in necromancy, sorry for not making that clear. And yes, he does have to be both Bard and Wizard with Necromancer, it's an integral part of the storyline.Same goes for making him a Cleric or Mystic Theurge or any other class: can't do it.Here's why: He was a party member, a 7th level wizard necromancer, when he read from The Dark Grimoire. He went mad, and rather than have him constantly roll sanity, and with the Player's permission, I walked him out of the campaign and made him into the bad guy. Now he's got split personalities in his head, along with the evil artifact (which is actually the phylactery of a semi-banished lich, Act III of the campaign) telling him to do wrong, and this is the summary event where they finally confront/engage/deal with him. ...If 'necromancer' means a wizard specialising in the necromancy school ... Great suggestions for spells, since yes, he is a wizard specializing in necromancy. ...it can work... I'm reading up on the Dirge Bard now, which is definitely the way I'll go. I'll be keeping him out of combat, buffing and debuffing from the sidelines. Besides it being best suited for the build, I think it sounds fun. ...have you considered dirge bard 10... Oh my that would be fun, but I think it would result in a TPK, as the CR is getting a bit large at that point. As this is an end-of-the-arc campaign fight, they won't have any HeroArmor, but I do want to give them a fighting chance. I may find a means of adjusting for this though...
VoodistMonk and AVR: I was thinking the same thoughts, keeping him out of the limelight, which I'm thinking I could accomplish with an undead servant with an illusion cast on him. Possibly there will be a few decoys of the like. Mudfoot and Nyerkh: Good to know about Inspire Courage. I realize a 7/7 Spellcaster won't be great, but for storyline reasons, he became the big bad. A former character gone bad, so his whole story limits his class options a bit. Meirril: You think he'll be as low as a CR 9? I get that, just don't have that much experience running big battles like this. He'll definitely have a horde of some sort. I'll definitely give him great gear to pump up his CR. Can't be a vampire, again due to storyline conflict. Adding in Shadows or incorporeal undead would be fitting, as he burned out a church to make his HQ. I don't have an archetype in mind for the Bard portion of him yet, I'll look into what was suggested here. What sort of actions do you think I should be taking? He'll be blasting from the sidelines somewhat, while trying to keep his horde holding back the party.
Howdy All, I could use some advice here. Going to be a 7th level Bard/7th level Necromancer against a party of five 10th level characters. The BBEG Bard can have an advantageous setup to make sure the CR is +3 or +4 (the party tend to dominate, so higher CR's are feasible). What would you advise for setup or scenario to compliment the Bardic abilities?
Thanks in advance! -Jhaosmire
Howdy All, My Players all over the way combat roles out in Pathfinder, so I'm trying to adapt it to more areas. Here was the formulae I have come up with, using a social situation was the example: Social Combat:
Once defeated, a character will be "out" without being dead. In the example above, they'll have been so humiliated/shamed/disgraced that they resign from further interactions. I'm hoping to use this format for a series of situations, some serious some silly: A dance-off, an intellectual debate, a wilderness survival challenge. What do you all think? What would you adjust? Any suggestions for other ways to use this, both situations and combinations? Thanks! -Jhaosmire
Is this journal seperate to the dead wizards spell book? This is separate from his actual spellbook, but there will be mystic notes throughout, so likely this is where he sketches spells and runes while he figures them out. According to the tomes I've uncovered I believe that the Golden Macguffin of Questiness is in the Castle of Aaaaaaaaaauuuuuugggggghhhhh.... It's always in Castle Aaaaaaauuuuuuuugggghhhh.... I plan on having the Golden Macguffin, which will be the Eye of Savras, an item that to the untrained will show what Fate has written down for that person's final death. To the trained, it'll have more powers... still deciding on those though.
Today, I substituted the theta rune in place of the delta rune I will be directly swiping this into the journal. This is 100% what i was after when I made this post, thanks for the contribution.
Love the Spell Component shopping list idea, especially mixed in with his traditional groceries. That's in. The failed workout schedule is in too, pretty great. I like the idea of the Summon modifications, just this guy is a pretty strict Necromancer. I'll augment that to allow the other wizard in the party to make more custom undead, assuming he decides to take a necromancy spell ever. Lastly, the Familiar problems are wonderful, for sure going in. Keep 'em coming, I have 100 pages in the journal, 30 of storyline diary, so 70 to fill with the rest.
Dear Journal of Magical Expertise... Likely the last pages of the journal would have teeth marks, at least enough for said barbarian to figure out that "leather bound" doesn't mean jerky. Maybe some random sketches for when he was bored and didn't knew what to write in the Journal. I'll definitely include some sketches. The wizard was a mixed class Wizard/Bard, so some musical scales, bits of music and such, should be included.
That is the question I pose: What would you find in a Wizard's Journal? I'm building a puzzle book that'll encompass Act III of my campaign, and it'll be based around the mad yet methodical writings of the slain Act II BBEG. This is going to be a physical notebook, which I've already purchased (blank), and plan to fill out in detail. Much of the journal will be that of a diary, the story of why our villian did what he did, what he hoped to achieve, what he did achieve, and so on. There will also be pages of madness (he was truly insane, thanks to the Dark Grimoire). But hidden throughout will be mentions of a place he was trying to get to, and the treasures thereof. Here are the things I know I will have, in no particular order: -Cipher - A date/time cipher, which will be based on the faerunian Calendar (Dale Reckoning). This won't be the entire journal, just points that I want to emphasize as vital. -Magical symbols - These will likely be Red Herring pages, with no actual use for the quest. I'll likely have them tie in as clues to solving traps on the path to the end goal, but not all of them; some will simply be where this wizard sketched out a symbol he needed to save for later. -Maps - These will come in two forms. One will be a greater map of the Realms, though with enough detail missing as to make it something they'll need to figure out on their own. The second will be area specific maps, which will help guide them from the macro to the micro. -Clues - Just like Professor Henry Jones, our researcher has mapped out clues that will help the party through difficult situations. Indiana Jones didn't have magic to bypass the Leap of Faith, but I'll definitely have more elaborate traps to accommodate our wizardly friends. So what else would you add? Feel free to post ideas, or even write in-character, which I'll alter to fit into my journal (and will be much appreciated) -Jhaosmire
Howdy all, I'm looking at running a leisurely Riverboat Adventure through Nirvana for my group. On this trip, I want to include a series of minigames and gambling games for the Players to try out, preferably something more substantial than "roll a d20, highest wins." I found an old dead post from 2013 that I'll post down below which had two good ideas. So my questions are thus: What minigames have you all run and/or created that worked out well, and what system did you use to run them? Here are two that were posted on another thread in this forum (no hyperlink as I'm doing this all from a phone on vacation): --------- Spicy food eating contest
Waiters will quickly bring out plates of Curry and remove them all at regular intervals. Players have to roll 3d6 and add either their will save or fort saves to the totals. For every 6 points they get, is one bowl of curry they manage to finish. the player with the most bowls of curry finished by round three wins! Also at the end make them all roll a DC14 fort save or throw up. ------ Junk stacking contest
Players have to stack random junk as high as they can and attempt to make the highest tower possible. The player to build a tower 50 inches high wins. Players play one at a time and roll 2d6 with each 1 point representing 1 inch of height gained. Players have to push their luck or lock in their progress because if they get a 1 roll on a single dice, their current amount of work crashes down and is lost, if they roll two 1 results, their whole tower collapses and they start again. The trick is for players to roll their 2d6, gather points and knowing when to stop to "balance their tower" locking in their progress. Trying to be too greedy can result in their work being wasted unless they know when to lock in their progress. -----
Randomly grab letters from your scrabble or upwords box and place them in front of the players, give them 5 minutes to make as many words as possible
Thanks all, I definitely overcooked these eggs. Just have them take the trait blind zeal and call it a day Yep, this will be the main thing we do. He could take 3 levels in Flame Dancer Bard He wants to stay a single class, and is set on Ninja, so nay to the Bard. There's no need to get too fancy. There are blind people in the real world who are self-taught echolocators. Just give them Blindsense to 20' or 30' and call it a day. I'm leaning towards this concept with his Bat Familiar. He'll take the HotGMP trait and Familiar Bond, along with the Blind Zeal Trait,and Blind-Fight. That'll be more than enough, I think. Why not just give the clouded vision curse from oracles? I considered this, but it's not true blindness, and he said nay to it. I may do an altered version where he's fully blind, but slowly can get both DarkVision and a Detect Magic vision at higher levels. (I'll take these one at a time, because I'm a lazy quoter) His previous character was a low intelligence Druid, which was just bad rolls for stats. He just got bored with the character's personailty. He's never seen Zatoichi, but yes and yes, entirely, he wants to be Zatoichi. Blind-Fighting feat does let you move at full speed without making checks, and I misspelled, he won't be getting Blind-Sight until he hits a higher level, as a reward of his weapon. Have you checked out the Astomoi race? No, for the specific reason that he wants to be human. Thanks again all for the advice, I think I'll present him with two options, and let him go his own direction otherwise. He'll keep the trait HotGMP and the feat Familiar Bond, and I'll give him Blindsense 30' from those. The two options will be: 1) Blind Zeal trait and Blind-Fight feat, then he goes his own way, or
I'll let you all know what he says. Not sure what I'll do with his weapon, but I think I'll give it in some form to him still, I'll just make him pay for it as per the standard rules. -Jhaosmire
One of my players is bringing in a new character to my steampunk campaign, as his last character was a dead-end and no fun to play. I don't play RAW, so I'm tweaking some of the rules to favor him (such as Scent and Familiar Bond). His decision is an eastern-themed Human Ninja, who was born blind. The character is coming in at level 5. I've helped him get a big list of feats, traits, and abilities to supplement his choice to be blind, which include: Trait: Scent - Can locate creatures within 30' by smell (maybe redundant with Familiar Bond...)
At higher levels, he plans to take Blind Competence, Great Blind-Fight, and Blind Master, but I thought it kinda feels like a waste to spend every feat you have to negate a story choice. Effectively he's ditching all his feats until eleventh level just to try and catch up to other players. I'm seeing some of this is a bit redundant, but I'm not done yet! Because he's choosing to take such a big flaw for merely a storyline reason, I want to reward his choice at later levels. Therefore, I decided to give him a Scaling Magic Weapon at no cost (he doesn't know about this, and won't until he levels up the first time). The first two abilities he bought (+1 and thundering), the rest will be a surprise. The weapon is a Kasarigama. Here are my thoughts for the weapon: Jinsoku katsu Mōmoku
2nd: Jinsoku becomes a +1 Weapon
Jinsoku means “Quick.” When held by a handicapped individual of tenth level or higher, it gains a new name based on the ailment. In the hands of the blind Earo, it becomes Jinsoku katsu Momoku I'm trying to figure out how much is too much, if giving him this weapon will make his traits/feats feel wasted, if I should alter the weapon's abilities, etc. I know he would rather have the Bat Familiar seeing for him as story flavor rather than having the Scent ability, so if you think I should drop one, Scent would go first. Any and all help is appreciated, thank you so much. -Jhaosmire
What about a party stat buying system? Everybody rolls their six stats, all those are thrown into a group pool (in order, so a STR roll is a STR roll, no swapping), but then Players have to opt to buy each from the pool? Then there is some amount of option in character build, no one player gets to dominate with highest stats, etc.
Heck ya. That'll be a good throwback for me: I recall when 3E was new running a level with a Minotaur Barbarian trying to Bull Rush players into a 60' pit. Succeeded in getting two players in, which was worth it. I'll definitely run that Feathered Giants concept.
Heh, most of those traps are great! I'm just about to run a game were a former party-member-turned-antagonist will Mass Hold Person the party, give his bad guy speech, steal a big item from each Player, and teleport out. There are so many good traps based on trying to get a reward, I'll be running a Tomb of Horrors-esque follow up where the Player's recover their stolen gear. Thanks for pointing those out to me Cevah.
Our group had two wizards, one with Fly one without, and because the one with Fly turned evil and is now the antagonist for this story arc, I don't have to worry about that spell bypassing my set ups. Thanks for all the links though, I'll run through them and post back.
Here's the link to the Skill Chart, created by Reddit user u/Kesselya. I love how he built it, though admittedly it won't get it's first use until tonight, me thinks.
I've been holding off on both Chase and some Social conflicts until I get the deck of cards associated with both of them, but those are definitely along the lines of what I was thinking. I've also been using those Mundane and Special Hazards, but glad someone referenced them to have them included in this post. I like the battle-quicksand idea. Nothing like disabling the PowerHouse-adin and the Sneak Attogue to give the other players a chance to get some kills.
I'm trying to assemble a thick list of Hazards and non-combat challenges to run my PC's against. I try to balance out a mix of about 1/3 Combat, 1/3 RP, and 1/3 Other Challenges, but have been coming up short in the last regard recently. Any ideas are appreciated, I can always retool them for my needs. Feel free to be as detailed as possible, what with DC's and such, as it saves me a bunch of prep time. My group of six players are currently level 8, and traveling through the former Silver Marshes (now the Kingdom of Many-Arrows). It is a frozen wilderness getting ready for the spring thaw. Some ideas I was going to use:
Thanks again for the helpful ideas! Again, any and all are appreciated! -Jhaosmire
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