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 Recent Posts
The item does seem pretty overpriced to me. To avoid having my players just sell an item that could strengthen the thematic elements of the AP, I'm considering making it more reliable. I'm thinking of allowing the Oracle in the party (who has the Life mystery and the Channel revelation) expend one of her daily channel uses to have the brass planchette temporarily function as reliably as the cold iron one. Spending two uses will crank it up to a silver.
I figure that first I should keep it simple probably something 4th lvl or below I've been a player for several years so I have the rules pretty well down. Never been a DM before. Advice from Experienced DM's is highly appreciated. I'm a GM of 20+ years, and I have to agree with the other two posters on CotE - especially if you are GMing for folks new to Pathfinder. I ran it for a group of players completely new to the game, and what was supposed to be a one-shot adventure has turned into an incredibly fun year long ongoing campaign. Should you decide to run it, do check out the "Chronicles:Pathfinder" podcast, available on iTunes. Their very first episode includes a lengthy interview with the module's author (Jason Bulmahn), and a very detailed and spoilerific deconstruction of the adventure. Some of their suggestions really helped smooth out the (few) rough spots in the module.
The goblins look great! The skin tone is just about perfect, and the poses are dynamic. One question for you, Erik. In the photo (at least on my PC), the teeth of the goblin heroes aren't quite visible - I can just see gaping black maws. Do the teeth stand out more in person (like they do for the warriors in the photo)?
Also, a brief plug for folks who like reviewing things: If you enjoy a novel (whether mine, some other PF Tales book, or a totally unrelated book), please post a review on its page at Amazon.com! Posting an Amazon review is one of the best things you can do to help an author--even if it's not a 5-star one--as it helps raise the book's profile, and people pay a lot of attention to what other readers have to say on there. This is especially true if you're already reviewing it on Paizo.com--it's easy to crosspost. Happily done! Hopefully, Amazon approves the review soon and there will be another five star rating of your novel on Amazon :-).
I strongly prefer the solo and PvE experience - I've eschewed PvP servers for years now. That said, I trust that any venture the Paizo folks are involved with will yield a fun, engaging and innovative end product. If that new venture includes a strong PvP element, then I will give it a shot with an open mind, and prepare for Paizo to once again wow me. After all, there was a time I didn't think I'd ever enjoy running adventure paths :-).
Well, I just got my iPhone and the first two apps I purchased were iFumble and iCrit. Simple, but very useful - exactly what I expect in an app. Can't wait to use them in game. I'd love to see a treasure generator and a random encounter generator in the future!
Thanks, Erik. I for one am thrilled with this news, even if it just represents the initial foray into apps. As luck would have it, I am getting my first iPhone on Tuesday, and guess what will be the first 2 apps I get? :-)
Couldn't agree more. Such a book (3rd party or by Paizo) would be very popular with my gaming group.
I agree, it is such an easy thing to do to demoralize and give the enemy -1 while at the same time giving party plus ones to some things and the check is quite easy. 1d20 + intim skill vs. 10 + HD of mob. Demoralize should give a -2, no?
How about using the Intimidate skill to demoralize, when there are no other combat options available? Intimidate is a class skill for a bard, so even if you have only one rank in it, you can have a +7 (1 for rank +3 for the ranked class skill bonus + 3 for CHA). Could be a +9 if you put 3 ranks into it, and could be as high as +11 at next level assuming you raise your CHA at 4th. Not as effective as a trip, but no need to spend feats on improving your CMB or range attacks. Would be fun to roleplay a street performer gnome demoralizing an enemy, too :-). In general, bards seem to have a lot more options at 4th level, when they can at least get 2nd level spells, so no need to do anything drastic at 3rd.
Regarding Aegir and hospitality, in Lokasenna, Aegir's hall is firmly established as a fridhstead, a place where no blood should be spilled. Even though Loki breaks fridh*, killing one of Aegir's servants, Aegir remains passive. Though I acknowedge your point that hospitality need not always translate to good, I would submit that an evil host wouldn't simply let a malcontent party crasher kill his servat. At least we agree he definitely isn't chaotic :-). * there really isn't a great translation for "fridh" from Old Norse, but "an actively maintained and productive peace" is somewhat close. Regarding the demand for human sacrifices and his priests sabotaging vessels - I'm not aware of any sources that support this, and would be interested to hear of any you might have come across. Aegir's wife Ran comes across as a little "greedier" than him in the lore (between her net and her name meaning "theft"), so I'm with you on her being evil. Anyway... the site is VERY well done. I've looked at similar efforts, and they usually drive me batty with dozens of blatant errors. Your's is a cut above.
Great resource, Perram. I've passed the link to both of my gaming groups and I'm sure we'll get a lot of use out of it. We have 5 or 6 people in each group, and only a couple of core rulebooks, so it'll be a great help to have the spellcasters access these index cards rather than hog the core rulebooks :-)
Really looking forward to this one - I'll check it out later today. I usually GM, but this will be the first cast I'm listening to with my player hat on. While I mourn the loss of a couple of hours of spoilerific content I can't listen to, I'm happy that my GM will benefit from your insights and create a better game for me :-).
First off, I LOVE the podcast. I'm running The Price of Immortality trilogy now, and I'm finding your inputs and the interviews invaluable. I've implemented some of your suggestions (such as replacing a certain NPC in Everflame with a PC's relative) to great effect. And getting the perspective of the various AP and module developers is a real treat. My suggestion would be to include a player focused (non-spoilery) segment on how to develop a character background that will mesh well with the AP or module you are covering that episode. Something beyond "you could take this trait". Really get into the details, referencing the campaign setting or Pathinder Companion books. Obviously, this would only apply to the first book of a given adventure path, but I personally would find that far more valuable than, say, the character build segment.
May hat is of to you sir! This is something I've been looking for. My girlfriend is an active asatru and somewhat of an expert on norse mythology. I'll forward it to her and I have a couple pdfs you may find useful. Let me know if you are interested. :D Looks great! A couple of minor things. Jotnar is the plural of Jotun. I don't believe Aegir should be Evil. He is one of the Jotnar (like Skadhi) that "plays well with others". In the eddic poem Lokasenna, for example, he serves as the host to all of the Aesir and Vanir. Perhaps True Neutral? He is far too hospitable to be Evil.
Backgrounds from my party: Human (Chelaxian) Cleric of Pharasma: Worked as a kind of funeral director at the chapel, before it bacame the cathedral. As such, he had lot of background knowledge about the Late Unpleasantness, and the many deaths that resulted from it. Halfling Rogue: She is Bethana's (from the Rusty Dragon) daughter, so knows Ameiko as well. Elf Wizard: I also went the "Thassilonian scholar" route - she is studying the Old Light with Brodert. Gnome Sorcerer (Fey Bloodline): She is an herbalist and has travelled with Varisians, so she is acquainted with Madame Mvashti. Human (Chelaxian) Paladin: He's the only non-local, but is from Magnimar, and knows the Foxglove family.
I'm about to start the article about this saucy elven goddess. If there are things you want to know, now is the time to tell me. :) I'm very interested in the mythic stories of the Golarion gods (like the tale about the blind orphan who nursed Desna's avatar back to health after her battle with Lamashtu). These myths really make the gods come alive to me and my players. Details about holy days and any rituals would be great, too! Thank you for asking :-)
I don't believe I was as clear as I could have been. I'm not asking how to physically capture the information, but I'm wondering if Paizo is specifically interested in the feedback from newer players, vs. those of use who are converting from 3.5 or 4th edition. Do they want this broken out, or mixed in with the feedback from the veteran gamers who may (naturally) be comparing their Beta experience with the various editions of D&D. There will be people in my game who have never looked at a 3.5 PHB, and have no idea that 4th edition even exists. If Pathfinder is to grow and thrive in the long term, it will be important to appeal to these people (a fact I'm sure Paizo understands :-).
Any other GMs out there using the Beta as an opportunity to bring new players into the game? Or bring back old players who haven't gamed in a while? I'm doing a little of each, which will make for a larger gaming group than I'm used to, but I think it'll be worth it. My Beta group will be a mix of complete or relative newbies, and veterans who have been playing since the days you had to color the dice in with crayon. Paizo guys: is it worth breaking out the feedback from new players, who haven't a clue what 3.5 or 4th edition are? Any other suggestions on how to capture/report feedback from newbies?
I'm aboslutely thrilled with the changes to the cleric, and I can't wait to see how he plays at higher levels.Without discussing channeling energy (which we all agree is fabulous), can you explain why the changes in the cleric class from 3.X to Beta have you so thrilled? Do you find that the changes to domain powers add to your excitement and/or ability to flesh out the character/roleplay? Sure. I like the at-will abilities. My cleric can use the fire-bolt ability whenever he wants, but it is really just a nice back-up weapon for when I'm out of spells or for when wading into combat isn't an ideal choice or possible. The ability to conjure fire at will is a physical manifestation of my connection to the sun goddess, which can be used for dramatic effect in the right roleplaying circumstance. So, I've found this is not an over-powered ability, but one that I nonetheless choose (despite the x-bow being a better option at low levels) to use because it fits with the character. The Rebuke Death at-will ability has come in handy, too - especially as a priest of Sarenrae in the beginning of CotCT. I've developed into a bit of a hospitaler, giving healing to any severely wounded guardsmen who need my aid, whenever I am at the Citadel (which has helped the party gain their trust, and led to roleplaying opportunities). I haven't even tried to use it against undead, yet. Regarding the 2nd level abilities, it is nice to have access to both of my domain abilities, rather than just the one I chose to memorize at the beginning of the day. In 3.5, my cleric could have chosen Burning Hands OR Cure Light Wounds as his 1st level domain spell. In the combat I described above, he wound up using BOTH of those abilities. I still have to plan out my other spells at the beginning of the day (and I really obsess over those choices), so I get the best of both worlds. I'm looking forward to getting both Lesser Restoration AND Resist Energy at next level, rather than being forced to choose between the two. Got to cut this short - need to prepare for a meeting in 15 minutes :-)
I've been playtesting the Alpha (and now Beta) rules with a cleric, which has long been my favorite class (since the aforementioned specialty priests in 2nd edition). We had a lengthy battle in our last game, in which my 2nd level cleric (with Healing and Fire domains) really shined. He used both of his bonus spells (cure light wounds and burning hands), and at least three channel energies. Two of the channel uses brought up companions from negative hitpoints. And both of those companions were too far away to otherwise get to. The side benefit of those channels was that I had more then enough hit points to stay in combat, relieving the other party members so they could swig potions after I got them up into positive hit points. The BEST thing about all this is that I actually got to use my other spells in this combat (including a command spell which helped turn the tide). I'm finding that I'm only spontaneously converting one spell a day into a cure. Of course, the fact that I've taken selective channeling as a feat allows me to make greater use of those 30' healing bursts in combat. As far as I'm concerned, that feat is a must-have for any cleric! I'm aboslutely thrilled with the changes to the cleric, and I can't wait to see how he plays at higher levels.
The rules are not something a player should feel the need to swallow in one gulp. I'm playing a cleric in a Beta campaign, and I'm picking up the new rules as I go along. I just got to third level on Friday - that's when I first took a look at the 2nd level spells. I won't glance at the 3rd level spells until I hit 5th. There's little reason to. Most of the other players in the group seem to be taking the same approach.
Thanks, Jason! My long-running 3.5 Forgotten Realms campaign just reached a conclusion, and we will be starting a new campaign using the Beta rules and running RotR. I can't wait to get started!!! I have a feeling I will be running only Pathfinder games set in Golarion from here on out. Paizo forever!
I own almost every Forgotten Realms book since the original grey boxed set which I picked up in the late 80's, but I will not be buying the 4th edition campaign setting. Although I do not intend to play 4th edition, I would have continued to purchase 4th edition FR products had they not made the wholesale changes to the Realms that they did.
I have a fairly big one of a Viking style deer, taken from a the door of an old stave church in Norway (see lower left corner of this pic: http://i.pbase.com/u32/andreagruber/large/20735238.P8190140.jpg). I'm in two gaming groups now. In the first one, I think there is only one person who isn't tattooed or actively pursuing getting one. Several of the people who have been in this group would be considered "heavily tattooed" (between half a dozen and a dozen each). In my other group, I don't think anyone is tattooed. Not in a visible area, at least.
Some quotes from "People of the Storval Plateu", towards the back of "A History of Ashes" (book 4 of CotCT): "The essence of "Shoanti" is more of a set of warrior traditions than it is a true racial group" "The Shoanti are not one people but many" "Shoanti possess widely varying skin tones, reflecting the broad diversity of their ancestry" It goes on, and on, and on... you get the idea :-).
This weekend, I played the Alpha rules for the first time and went with a cleric. I could see at-will orisons such as Virtue, Resistance and Guidance bogging down play a bit. Why wouldn't the cleric cast Guidance before every skill check every party member ever made? With a duration of 1 minute, why wouldn't he kick off 4 Virtue and 4 Resistance spells (given an average party size) to buff the entire party before they open any and EVERY door in a dungeon just in case there was an enemy? Assuming he does, then someone has to keep track of who got the spells in what order, since they'll all wear off at different times. This isn't unbalancing (it is only a +1), but that kind of frequent buffing reminds me too much of an MMORPG. One suggestion would be to say that a spellcaster can only have 1 orison/cantrip in effect at any given time. That would fix Virtue and Resistance, at least.
Yes... and unfortunately, that's not really an option for us at this time. We can't simply blow up the maps to minis-scale; their pixels would show. And paying to have maps done at that scale is WAY out of our budget range. And to be honest, simply providing a duplicate untagged map for download is a bit out of our capabilities resource-wise right now too. There SHOULD be a way to extract the maps without tags from the PDFs though... I seem to remember someone was able to do that, at least... not sure where I read about that though. Completely understandable. Being able to print up the maps without tags is awesome in and of itself, even if they're not blown up. Thank you for the quick response! You guys really spoil us, you know that? :-)
Mr. Jacobs (or anyone else from Paizo): Has any thought ever been given to providing online, larger scale versions of the kinds of maps DM Jeff refers to? Maybe as downloads available to anyone who has purchased the product? Unmarked city maps would make great handouts, and larger scale dungeon maps could be printed and laid on a table as rooms were explored. (and yes, CotCT is awesome so far!)
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