TL;DR version = I have a lot of soundtracks and music for gaming I have gathered... I'm looking for advice on must have "categories" for dividing it up into themed playlist.
Non-TLDR:
I was taking a break from planning out the upcoming game of Pathfinder this Sunday to play Oblivion when I thought of something... A while back I added some theme music to the folders of Oblivion to add some diversity to the song choices. For those that don't know, Oblivion's folders are sorted into Battle, Dungeon, Explore, Public, and Special.
My idea is to sort all of my various scores/sountracks and gaming music into playlists in a similar fashion. The advice I seek is for what kinda suggestions of "themed playlists" to create. I'll include the obvious "Boss music" to the list.
I had a player ask if his Eidolon contracted a disease if it would stick or fall off on the resummoning (after sleeping). I do realize that it is treated like a summoned creature. Therefore it should fall off.
At the same time, it is the same creature summoned over and over again. This gave me pause. *I was also curious how poison and other ability draining/damaging things would work.
Anyone wanna weigh in on this?
*EDIT = I was referring to how they would work should it stick.
As mentioned above, I have a new player that one of my existing players has brought into our game (just starting a game of Kingmaker with mostly newbies). When I first asked him (the new guy) what kind of character he wanted to play, he pushed for playing a ninja (the playtest version). I was hesitant (we already have a rogue), but granted him the ability to play it, as long as he rebuilt the character with subsequent errata and if anything was immensely broken, he'd have to adapt. So far this playtest, core, APG, and Psionics Unleashed (by Dreamscarred Press) are the only things allowed.
After two sessions he's wanting to go back and swap his race for the Elan so he can use it to become a Pyrokineticist at 6th level (power points are granted by the race). He's wanting to take a bunch of the Psionic feats. The group is predominately role-players, whereas this guy is 110% a roll-player. When the other PCs ask him why he's taking this approach, he becomes very defensive and doesn't wanna discuss it.
My issue with all of this is that it feels like he's trying to munchkin his way into a character more powerful than the others. The rogue already is being out-shined a bit by the ninja's build at lower levels and seems to be irritated and feeling undervalued.
Which brings me to the problem... at this point I'm torn between just granting the character the build, saying no, or just telling the guy I think he needs to find a different group (one more munchkin tolerant). Before making a decision, I have decided to consult the wisdom of the Paizo boards. I feel bad with the idea of dismissing him, but I have two other people wanting into a full game (six PCs currently) and I wouldn't keep him if not for the friendship of the inviting PC.
I'd appreciate any advice or perspectives on the matter. I've tried to clarify the situation, but if more info is needed, I'd be happy to supply it.
Every year people I know make New Year's Resolutions that last until sometime in February. I'm going to list a few that I'm going to try to stick with until at least May. How about you?
What resolutions are you making and how long do you expect them to last?
Review the more products - March (starting classes, less time).
Start and finish Insanity Workout/Diet - Lasts till March.
Just in time for the new year! Hope you all like it!
EDIT: This includes some of the effects being incorporated into the next update for the Advanced Character Portfolio... I guess you could a call this a trial balloon. :)
Before I dive into this topic, I want to mention that I'm not referring to product previews when I use the term free (example: the playtest classes). I'm referring to complete products made by third party publishers that are given away for whatever reason.
I would also like to state that this thread is intended to be about the users and their perspective. If we could keep specific names, companies, or products to a minimum I think that it will help to keep this thread on track. :)
I've asked several people one-on-one recently of their perspective on the subject and receive a pretty diverse array of answers. If a product is independently functional, would you use it?
The most obvious is that the product is free and there's nothing to lose. The second most popular answer is that it's probably too little to be of use. The most puzzling answer is that some people wouldn't bother looking at it (why give good product away?) unless it was a preview.
First, I need to pay with two non-listed credit cards if possible. (Wells Fargo switched over my Wachovia account 3 days ago and still I'm still having issues with them).
Second, I never received the print copy of the APG and it is supposed to be shipping with the Bestiary 2. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't left out somehow. :D
Please contact me at the number listed on my account or let me know if you can't spread the payment over two other cards. Thanks and keep up the good work! ;)
There are two things that I commonly come across in games that are not announced as house rules, but instead misunderstood as part of the core rules. Both things irritate me as they are plainly stated in the book.
The first is the assumption that the presence of light somehow counters darkvision. Another character lighting a torch should not effectively make my character's darkvision worse then their lowlight, unless it is related to colors somehow.
The second is when an attack of opportunity is given to anything and everything entering an adjacent spot. I understand moving through a threatened square or out of a threatened square more then an AoO, but simply moving up to a monster without reach DOES NOT DO THIS. See the picture in the link for reference.
As the title says, what misconceptions make you want to scream?
I would like to begin by apologizing for being out of communication for a while to all those out there waiting for updates or new product. I had some serious events come up in my home life and with family members that I had to see through. I have still been working on the updates to the spell cards and character sheets, albeit much slower then I've ever wanted to.
Due to some unforeseen financial concerns I have had to take up other work and have been more pressed for time. I am not however giving up, I've just slowed down a bit.
I will not be able to do the all the cross-promotional products I originally wanted to, but I will be happy to let any publisher use my spell card templates to create a set to accompany their products as soon as I finish.
Thank you all for your patience and I hope to make it up in the future. :D
I felt like this answer was a little off topic to the thread it was in. How do you run your puzzles and challenges?
What Brian is responding to:
Our gaming time breaks down into something like this:
35% puzzles/challenges
25% combat
20% roleplaying
15% exploration
5% explaining prototypes and suggestion
While combat is still important, it's never the most important. Maybe it's because we have a lot of fans of the Zelda and Soul Reaver, but they really like short puzzles that can be bypassed when they're too hard. It could also be that we have an alternative social system that works similar to combat (mechanically). Players still defeat their foes, but having ongoing rivals and foiling each others schemes (the foes vs players that is) seems to have a better effect them a dead forgotten body.
I'm not saying the other way is wrong, I've had some fun times hack-and-slashing. I know of many games that have long term playability with mostly combat. I know there are other systems that may be better for this, but we're all really fond of using Pathfinder.
If social interaction had mechanics similar to combat, perhaps there would be more games with people participating instead of a lone "face-man". It'd also be great if the people releasing puzzle books focused more on teaching how to create good puzzles and less on "here's a puzzle, if your players bypass it, get furious because it's wasted".
I love combat and having players battle through foes... we just like the other stuff a little more. :p
Brian Bachman wrote:
Interesting. Haven't seen quite that emphasis on puzzles from many groups. I like them, too, and was a big fan of the old Dungeon magazine Challenge of Champions series as an occasional break from the usual dungeon crawls and deadly combats. As a group, however, puzzles sometimes lead to trouble, as the riddles and puzzles I or my fellow GMs design that seemed blindingly obvious to us when we designed them, frequently stump the players completely. To forestall the obvious question, we have several really bright people in my group, some with lots of fancy initials after their names. Puzzles are just tricky that way. How do you deal with it when a plot-crucial puzzle or riddle has the group completely flummoxed?
Our initial approach to puzzles is to want the players to solve them while occupying them with critical thinking. Usually when writing the puzzle I make sure to include at least three clues that can only be gained via the characters using their in-game talents (skills, combat, spells, etc).
Borrowed example from Zelda: Phantom Hourglass:
there's a room with 4 levers that must be drawn in order to open the door. Link has to read three clue locations to tell him which order to go in. At each clue location there is an enemy that can easily be dispatched with a sword stroke or two, but would be annoying to leave alive.
Clue One: Lever #1 is pulled after #4.
Clue Two: Lever #4 is not first.
Clue Three: Lever #3 is last.
The puzzle can be solved without all three clues by guessing or trial and error, but it becomes easily solved with all three clues. If the Lever #3 is last, and neither the Lever #1 or #4 is first, then Lever #2 is first. Since Lever #1 is pulled after #4, Lever #4 must be second. Leaving Lever #1 third and Lever #3 last.
If you're writing your own puzzles, I'd recommend starting with the solution and reverse engineering it. Choose a puzzle structure (the way the information is presented) and start setting up how much information all the final clues assembled will give. Remove a piece of information or obscure a part of the puzzle to make it a clue. Keep doing this until you have at least three. Choose the rewards for the puzzle.
treasure allotment:
I don't recommend giving out incremental treasures when a puzzle or challenge can't be bypassed. Wait until the end because you never know how many hints will be needed to succeed. On a puzzle that isn't mandatory, give out a little with each clue to keep them motivated (something hinting at the end to build excitement). This way if they never solve it they got a little something for their trouble. Limit the time on these puzzles if they begin overtaking your game... in all things balance is essential.
If the puzzle is mandatory to the storyline, the players will need to have ways to keep simplifying it until it is solvable. If it's not mandatory (a prize for collection the clues throughout the quest to be solved at the end), then don't allow it to be simplified to the extent listed above. It'll cheapen the experience if the players know it'll always be cracked, but it's important to allow story points to be passed.
I recommend buying a few puzzle books for starting. I go to the used book store here and find em all the time. Adapting just takes a little time and they're usually marked for how hard they are. Avoid anything that takes you (the GM) more than half an hour to solve without hints.
Kakarasa vs WKG:
I use the avatar Kakarasa instead of Wicked K Games when giving my personal perspective. That's not to say we won't do a puzzlecraft book one day. ;)
I've found this thread quite interesting. I thought I'd add my two cents... Our gaming time breaks down into something like this:
35% puzzles/challenges
25% combat
20% roleplaying
15% exploration
5% explaining prototypes and suggestion
While combat is still important, it's never the most important. Maybe it's because we have a lot of fans of the Zelda and Soul Reaver, but they really like short puzzles that can be bypassed when they're too hard. It could also be that we have an alternative social system that works similar to combat (mechanically). Players still defeat their foes, but having ongoing rivals and foiling each others schemes (the foes vs players that is) seems to have a better effect them a dead forgotten body.
I'm not saying the other way is wrong, I've had some fun times hack-and-slashing. I know of many games that have long term playability with mostly combat. I know there are other systems that may be better for this, but we're all really fond of using Pathfinder.
If social interaction had mechanics similar to combat, perhaps there would be more games with people participating instead of a lone "face-man". It'd also be great if the people releasing puzzle books focused more on teaching how to create good puzzles and less on "here's a puzzle, if your players bypass it, get furious because it's wasted".
I love combat and having players battle through foes... we just like the other stuff a little more. :p
Brian Bachman wrote:
Interesting. Haven't seen quite that emphasis on puzzles from many groups. I like them, too, and was a big fan of the old Dungeon magazine Challenge of Champions series as an occasional break from the usual dungeon crawls and deadly combats. As a group, however, puzzles sometimes lead to trouble, as the riddles and puzzles I or my fellow GMs design that seemed blindingly obvious to us when we designed them, frequently stump the players completely. To forestall the obvious question, we have several really bright people in my group, some with lots of fancy initials after their names. Puzzles are just tricky that way. How do you deal with it when a plot-crucial puzzle or riddle has the group completely flummoxed?
Our initial approach to puzzles is to want the players to solve them while occupying them with critical thinking. Usually when writing the puzzle I make sure to include at least three clues that can only be gained via the characters using their in-game talents (skills, combat, spells, etc).
Borrowed example from Zelda: Phantom Hourglass:
there's a room with 4 levers that must be drawn in order to open the door. Link has to read three clue locations to tell him which order to go in. At each clue location there is an enemy that can easily be dispatched with a sword stroke or two, but would be annoying to leave alive.
Clue One: Lever #1 is pulled after #4.
Clue Two: Lever #4 is not first.
Clue Three: Lever #3 is last.
The puzzle can be solved without all three clues by guessing or trial and error, but it becomes easily solved with all three clues. If the Lever #3 is last, and neither the Lever #1 or #4 is first, then Lever #2 is first. Since Lever #1 is pulled after #4, Lever #4 must be second. Leaving Lever #1 third and Lever #3 last.
If you're writing your own puzzles, I'd recommend starting with the solution and reverse engineering it. Choose a puzzle structure (the way the information is presented) and start setting up how much information all the final clues assembled will give. Remove a piece of information or obscure a part of the puzzle to make it a clue. Keep doing this until you have at least three. Choose the rewards for the puzzle.
treasure allotment:
I don't recommend giving out incremental treasures when a puzzle or challenge can't be bypassed. Wait until the end because you never know how many hints will be needed to succeed. On a puzzle that isn't mandatory, give out a little with each clue to keep them motivated (something hinting at the end to build excitement). This way if they never solve it they got a little something for their trouble. Limit the time on these puzzles if they begin overtaking your game... in all things balance is essential.
If the puzzle is mandatory to the storyline, the players will need to have ways to keep simplifying it until it is solvable. If it's not mandatory (a prize for collection the clues throughout the quest to be solved at the end), then don't allow it to be simplified to the extent listed above. It'll cheapen the experience if the players know it'll always be cracked, but it's important to allow story points to be passed.
I recommend buying a few puzzle books for starting. I go to the used book store here and find em all the time. Adapting just takes a little time and they're usually marked for how hard they are. Avoid anything that takes you (the GM) more than half an hour to solve without hints.
Kakarasa vs WKG:
Although I use the avatar Kakarasa when speaking from my own perspective, as a company Wicked K Games may one day design a puzzlecraft book to solve the need for a puzzle makers book. Thanks for reading all of this... :p
The Visual Alignment Tracker is now live! We decided to make this product free to say thank you to the online community on these boards.
This system creates a balanced approach to handling PC alignments and alignment changes. As the players make decisions, their alignment score gradually changes to reflect these actions. The tracking boxes maintain the PCs score totals and the point values translate into coordinates on the gridded graph. The two printable charts and color reference page included make managing all of this quick and easy. By constantly shaping the player's alignment, it encourages them to consider their character's ethics while roleplaying.
So usually I stay out of this, but I was outright angry to find that in addition to the recent added privacy changes, that Facebook opted every single user into the Instant Personalization Pilot Program. What that means is without even informing it's users, it's selling all of their information to third party companies! If I was given a choice in the matter, I would probably let it pass.
I know a big company like that only cares about 3 things:
Having users log in
Revenue from advertisements, and
Mining as much data as possible to sell.
Am I mad that they're trying to make money? No, they're a business. Am I pissed that they didn't ask? **** YES! I'm sure there are some people that are wondering what I'm talking about, but if you want to see for yourself...
Go to your privacy settings, click on applications and websites, in the section marked Instant Personalization Pilot Program.
I have a simple question... since the user of an oil is considered the caster and the target of the oil is the object, since the object cannot apply oil to itself (lest it be a creature) would the target need to include "touched" in it?
For that matter, wouldn't any oil need to be targeting a touched creature/object in any two party scenario (excluding potions to be fed to the target)?
I might of missed something... but I'm not sure... :p
This is probably pretty obvious, but when using Giant Form II, it says it functions the same as the first, except you can take a huge form. The stats are better for Giant Form II. I'm thinking that in order to get better stats you have to be huge, but I have a player disagreeing per RAW that since it functions the same as Giant Form I that he can be Large and he would still get these stats (the Giant Form I stat boosts apply instead here IMO). Am I wrong here or is he? (Just looking for a second opinion).
EDIT: This would also apply to the Forms of the Dragon too...
I was just curious as in the APG Witch class the owl grants greater globe of invulnerability at level 6. Is this supposed to be globe of invulnerability or is there going to be a new spell? My searchfu is not helping today.
Ready to supercharge your spellcaster? We are developing a set of spell cards to include both verbal and somatic components that can be printed from home onto 4x6 cards. The current design would include double sided printing (the back including the full description and the front including all other info). Each spell card will be marked to show class access (for all core classes including APG classes).
All 700+ spells in the SRD would be included in this project...
So now we begin! What featurs would you like to see in this? What layout ideas do you have? What would be a fair price point for this? We have a prototype created, but we're always all ofr improving our products for the community!
Lastly, if you just like this idea, a nod is always welcome! :D
I was going through the Final Fantasy Compendium the morning and I came across THIS.
Which made me wonder... Squares has used mindflayers over all these years. Would it be possible to argue that the IP of mindflayers is shared with Square meaning they could allow Paizo to develop these iconic monsters?
I recently was approached by one of my players who is a HUGE fan of the Final Fantasy genre. He has a little bit of 3rd edition experience as a DM, but has only player pathfinder as one of my players. While most of his 3.5 games were run gestalt, I recommended not doing so in pathfinder right off the bat. A week later he came to me with his idea... I told him I could see some major problems with it, and I would mull it over and see if I came up with anything productive. I'm not sure if anyone has any ideas, but I decided to consult the wisdom of the boards before getting back to him. It all sounds like a TON of extra work to me. This is what I wrote down from his preposal:
Having the classes set up like the job classes of FF Tactics:
Each player has a main current job (class) and a activated secondary job (class). The maximum class level is equal to the level a character on the slow progression path would have, HOWEVER players gain levels as per the fast progression path. Hit Dice and skill points are set by the current chosen job. The class skill list of the secondary job are still considered class skills for the +3 trained bonus.
At the begining of a session each player declares their main and second jobs. For the rest of the session these are the classes they will use (this should be ready to go before the group meets). The main class dictates everything normal about a class. The secondary class grants any gained class abilities in that class. All class restrictions from both classes apply (including alignment restrictions). As experience is gained, it is gained in the main class as a PC of that level as if there was no secondary class.
If a player wishes to sacrifice levels in a class toward another class, they may do so, but they may never gain another level in that class. The max class levels still apply. The payout of XP from the sacrificed class to the new class is halved. He mentioned needing certain classes to unlock other classes, but I was not privy to that information.
He also mentioned getting rid of XP points and instead using points per CR kills, but I convinced him that was a bad idea pretty quick. As far as I can tell, it will only be the GM plus 3 other players total.
I know, I know, this is a bit crazy. I'd like to see if anybody here can lend some thoughts to a way to positively improve this. If you feel like ranting against how _____ it is, I'm well aware and am not going to be bothered by it. Any perspective I take away is useful. He's gonna run it either way, and it may crash and blow up in his face as it is. I'd hate for him to blame pathfinder and decide he only wants to run 3.5 gestalt as this is his first real big mod experience.
Lastly I think he said he would be starting this in a month, so I'm hoping to have anything useful together within the next three weeks. Thanks in advance all...
I know this is a stupid question, but are all the Golgarion Spells not open content? I'm making spell reference cards and wanted to make sure I was in the right as to whether or not to include this. I own all of the Curse of the Crimson Throne Books, and they say the contents are not open. Thanks in advanced.
I just wanted to open this up for opinions because after getting a good look at what can be done with autohyp, it seems like it could be CON baased. This is something I'd like to hear other sides of the argument on. These all seem like they function from enduring things. Perhaps it is mind over body?
Ignore caltrop wound (Ignoring damage and enduring pain)
Memorize (mental endurace)
Resist dying
Resist fear Fear (okay, this is Will here)
Tolerate poison (Fort all the way)
Willpower (basically ferocity)
I can see why this may have originally been a WIS based skill, but in converting it to pathfinder, would you change this? I'm on the fence myself.
If you've ever played Zork II then I'd love to hear any ideas. The only things that they'd be starting with are:
Sword of Elven Workmanship
Familiar Brass Lantern
This of course is for a homebrew game, or perhaps even to be used in a few overnight session at a local gaming store. I was thinking of doing a bit of a remake of this, similar to how SyFy rewrites Alice and Tin Man... any thoughts?
I was watching the ever entertaining Alton Brown on Good Eats just now, and I thought to myself 'Why not strat a food related thread?' We all know the cliches of gamers eating Cheetos and Funyuns while chugging Mountain Dew. I wondered if anyone else out there had a gaming tradition like my group. Every game someone brings food to snack on, on a rotational basis. Sometimes players take the quick route and buy food trays or get pizza. I think it'd be great if people discussed what they're snacking upon and )for those of you up to it) maybe throw down a few recipes for others to try. I'll start it off...
Creamy Nacho Dip
This recipe is a hybrid of two other simply dips, that seems to do amazingly well together. I apologize for not knowing exacts on some of these, this idea was off the top of my head. Here goes:
One large block of Velveeta Cheeze (reduced fat okay)
Two cans of Rotel tomatos (I like the one spicy & one mild)
One block of cream cheeze (no fat free, low fat okay though)
One pound Jimmy Dean Ground Pork Sausage (reduced fat, yet again okay)
Optional - One small drained can of chopped black olives and/or jalapeno peppers
Start by cutting the Velveeta and cream cheeze into 1/2 inch blocks. This doesn't have to be perfect, just approximate. The small size helps with the upcoming step. Mix the two cheezes together in a large microwavable non-plastic bowl (large enough to contain all ingredients and still fit into the microwave) with the rotel (with any optional ingredients) and mix well. Cover (whatever you prefer - saran wrap, paper plate, splatterguard, etc) and set aside.
Brown the sausage in a pan much like you would ground beef, except half way through drain the liquid grease. (I use a spoon, tilt the pan, and scoop the hot grease into an empty can (usually the olive can). Make sure it's thoroughly cooked through. If you have any questions on cooking sausage, google it! :D (sorry, I have to draw the line on details somewhere.) After the sausage is cooked and broken up into small pieces (yes, do this) add to the cheeze mix stirring a good bit.
Microwave the mix for four minutes. Some cheeze should have melted, take it out and mix it up. Keep microwaving for in two minute bursts until the cheeze is melted well. One it's fully melted and mixed, either refridgerate and remelt later or serve. This can also be made in the crock pot, and canned cream of mushrooms can be substituted for the cream cheeze I'VE HEARD, but haven't tried.
I hope some else out there has a chance to enjoy this simple mix, and I look forward to hearing what everyone else does.
The one thing I keep coming across that drives me crazy is the misconception that in 3.5 or PFRPG stepping into a monsters square provkes an AoO. Am I somehow misunderstanding something or is this just not clear enough?
Provoking an Attack of Opportunity: Two kinds of actions can provoke attacks of opportunity: moving *OUT* of a threatened square and performing certain actions within a threatened square.
In 3.5 Skip Williams clarified this, see Common Misconception #1 in the link below...
http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20041026a
I wouldn't make such a fuss, but I see it on a regular basis in posts, and I wonder if people are house ruling it in or just don't know...
This is a meetup group for houston gamers. It's mainly on the north side, but free and open to anyone willing to participate. If you're looking for more local gamers (to Houston), join us here. If you have any questions, I'm the organizer. I totally support Paizo too, and I'm trying to get more PFRPG going vs 3.5e.
