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Based on my experience in real life, having been in the military and having trained with Rangers and Special Forces (though I was neither), one thing that seems to be almost universally true: the more of a badass someone is, the less he talks about what a badass he is. I expect the same would be true on Golarion and similar worlds. For mages, I might use expressions like, "Apprentice," "Journeyman," "Wizard," "Master Mage" and "Arch-Mage," but that's about as specific as I'd get. I doubt that Barbarians think of themselves as Barbarians. They probably just think of themselves as "The People of _______." Or perhaps, "A Warrior of the _____ tribe." But the really powerful people, the ones of whom you should be leary, are the ones who make no effort to impress you. Because they're the ones who will destroy you before you even know the fight has started. In other news. . .clowns.
At the risk of embarrassing myself: I am still new to Kickstarter, so I'm not clear on something. If I pledged at the Crowdforger ($100) level, but would like to do a couple of things: 1) Add the *print* version of Emerald Spire and the Flip-Mats that go with it (without regard to release date); and
How do I do that? Is it even possible at this point? If I get the print versions through Kickstarter, do I get a discount for being a "Kickstarter" (as opposed to purchasing it some other way)? Is the "fulfillment tool" the mechanism by which one makes the sort of adjustments I'm contemplating? If so, then I need to chill out, because it isn't up yet, right? If not, and if this has been covered elsewhere, then if someone could just provide a link or something, that would be great. I've been re-reading all my emails on this and I've looked around the forums and I haven't found it. Any help is greatly appreciated. I just don't want to miss my chance to up my pledge in order to get these things. (Or, I guess it would be more accurate to say that I don't want to miss my chance to pay for these things on the front end). Thanks!
At this point I'm just confused. Am I mistaken that they said they would give us new blog posts every Friday with pics of some of the new minis? Did they actually say that? If not, then I have only myself to blame for my confusion. On the other hand, if that was what they were planning but have changed their minds, perhaps a blog post to let us know would be in order? Or have they already done that? The long and the short of it is: do I need to stop expecting new blog posts to reveal upcoming minis? I can manage that. It is something to which I look forward every week, but I can adapt if there's a clear answer. I don't hande ambiguity very well.
Mazra wrote: From my count we have seen 32 of the 55 minis in this set. That leaves a lot to be revealed. I agree. As much as I love Paizo and all the awesome things they're doing, I'm not as excited about this set as I was the last two. Granted, I love Rise of the Runelords, so anything supporting that is awesome in my book. But the RotRL set and the initial Heroes and Monsters set had more minis that (for me) will get more use at my gaming table. A lot of these seem too obscure or weird to inspire their appearance in my games. Some of them make me think of Eberron, and that isn't a good thing. I liked the first two sets (and got a case of each) because they had a bunch of classics or monsters that *ought* to be classics. I'm 40 years old and I like my minis to evoke that old school feel. That being said, I know they have to try to make everybody happy and I don't blame them for going a different direction this time. (I'm still not crazy about the Alchemical Golem, though, or the Blue Dragon with all the bling. It makes him look cheap. :-) ) After the Rise of the Runelords minis, though, my main concern is how fragile some of them were. I had a number of them break just trying to (carefully) remove them from the packaging or in handling them normally. I had a Goblin Commando on Dog whose head came off, Ameiko lost her hand, Seelah the Iconic Paladin (from Heroes & Monsters) lost her shield (or maybe didn't ship with one), Azaven lost his staff, and Lamatar Bayden lost. . .his hand, I think. Don't get me wrong, I'm still ordering a case of Shattered Star minis. I'm not an idiot. :-) But I do have some concerns.
Am I correct that there also wasn't a preview last week? Or the week before? (Okay, so maybe that was Thanksgiving, but still). I'm really anxious to see some more. C'mon, guys. I know it is hard to come up with something witty to say about every mini, but we don't really care what you say anyway. ;-) No commentary is needed. Just make with the photos already! Or, tell us they're done and go ahead and take my money. . .
I'm no mathematician, but I think the technical answer is that they both do the same amount of damage, but the one with the larger crit range does a greater amount (a crit) more often. So for any *particular* attack, they are identical, it is just that one causes criticals more often, which, statistically speaking, over time, means more damage than the one with the smaller range. Right?
A Binder is a base (20 level) class from 3.5's "Tome of Magic." As DM, I would insist on being able to review those rules before deciding whether to allow it. It isn't terribly powerful, but it could be if the player neglects to tell you about the drawbacks and limitations. You would need to be conversant with those rules to keep him in check. ETA: Ninja'd by Jeraa!
I'm glad I found this thread. I have a different question about wands. Suppose you have a character who is *not* a spellcaster of any sort. And this character has UMD as a skill. My understanding is that he can use a wand, provided that he makes the skill check. Is this correct? Number two, it appears to me that the difficulty for this character to use a wand is always "20". It doesn't matter what type of spell it is (i.e. what class) or what *level* spell (1-4), the difficulty remains the same. Is this correct? Thanks in advance for any clarity!
Aelryinth wrote:
/Best Emperor Palpatine voice I can muster--"*Actually* it is *you* who are mistaken about a great many things!" /Voice Ahem. Well, I was wrong on only one point--it *does* cost you an extra +1 to your armor. However, on page 13 of the 3.5 Magic Item Compendium (First Printing, March 2007), I clearly see the Nimbleness enhancement, right between "Mobility" and "Quickness." Nimbleness
(Flavor text) "This suit of armor looks much less restrictive than others of its type."
Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, cat's grace.
So, there *is* such a property, it *is* in the MIC, it *does* increase the maximum dex mod and *does* decrease the armor check penalty. It may not be what the OP is looking for, or as good as other suggestions, but I do think it sounds like a fairly useful property, especially for a lot of Dex-based characters. As for your suggestions on pricing that Hawkfeather property (and I'll note you were the only one to try to help me on this so far--so thank you!), I'm curious why you'd price it as a level 2 flight spell when (to my knowledge) there *is* no second level flight spell. Right? As for figuring it as a fifth level caster using the "Fly" spell, with the duration split up, I'm pretty sure that the duration is a minute per level--so by the time, say, a wizard, can cast it, he gets 5 minutes right out of the gate. Even if I assumed only 3 minutes, divided up evenly, this is still much longer than 5 rounds at a time (and thus more expensive!) Am I just being obtuse here? Can anyone do the math (and show your work!)? BTW--is there anything comparable to the Nimbleness property in the Pathfinder rules? (Where else have you seen it printed?) What about Hawkfeather Armor?
If your GM will allow it, I'm pretty sure there is an armor ability from 3.5's "Magic Item Compendium" that increases a suit of armor's max dex bonus (and also decreases the armor check penalty). If I remember correctly, it doesn't even cost you an extra +1, it is just an extra expense, but I could be mistaken. I actually have a quasi-related question for you magic item expense gurus: I have a suit of +1 Studded Leather Armor. I would like *one* particular ability from 3.5's "Hawkfeather Armor." It is a suit of +1 Studded Leather Armor that allows one to Fly (as the spell) 3 times a day, for *only* 5 rounds each time. It also has some other decent features, but they don't really interest me. Is there any method by the RAW, or by the Rules as Implied, (by "rules" I do mean Pathfinder, naturally) to add that limited flight ability to my existing suit of +1 Studded Leather, without adding the other--unrelated--features? (This also appears in the Magic Item Compendium, among other places). Under the old rules, this suit with all of its abilities costs just over 12,000gp, which sounds about right, but I'm not sure how to cherry pick the limited flight power in a way that complies with Pathfinder. Can anyone point to something in the rules, or give me a ballpark idea what it would cost to upgrade my current armor with this one ability? I guess it would start by figuring in use of the "Fly" spell, but then should be discounted for the 5 round flight limit. (Albeit, 3x/day). Can anyone help?
TwoWolves wrote:
^This. On its own I still think it is a very good spell--just remember it isn't for the BBEG, it is for the mooks. Especially when they cluster up. Fireball time for sure. But it really shines if you have the right feats. Even something as basic as a single "Sudden Maximize" or even "Sudden Empower" can brighten any mage's day. (I haven't closely examined these in Pathfinder, but I'm assuming they still work like they used to). Sure, you can only do it once per day, but if you *save* it for situations where it is actually needed, it can be a game-changer. While I'm on the topic, I have never encountered the problem some folks here describe wherein the party goes out and blows their entire wad on the first freakin' encounter of the day (and then camps? Really?) Maybe it is because we're old school, but in the games I both play and GM, people hold onto their most powerful stuff until the situation looks pretty bad and then they unleash on the threats that actually merit it. If they tried that whole, "Yeah, I know it is only 10am, but we just unloaded everything we had on that level 1 commoner who threatened us with a rusty screwdriver, so we're going to camp" business, then they could pretty much expect something far, FAR worse to come visit them while they were camping. And just to add insult to injury, I'd make it something against which an empowered fireball would have been *really* helpful... To waste everything and to give no thought to conservation of resources just sounds like something a 14 year old, with no ability to plan ahead, would do. There's a reason it works differently than it does in computer games. Plan ahead. Know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em. . .or something like that.
I would require everyone to use the same method. If dice are involved, I would insist that I personally observe the rolls. It isn't that I don't trust my friends, I just know that I, myself, would be tempted to re-roll if I got crappy scores. I doubt I'm unusual in that regard. I vastly prefer 25 point buy, but then, none of us are "power gamers" and we aren't looking to squeeze out every advantage. We don't have any 7 charisma guys wandering around with us... For me it usually yields an 18 in my primary stat and +1s in most everything else, maybe a +2 somewhere, and probably one stat at a 10. That just how I roll. (No pun intended)
I'd love to see a set based on Second Darkness, personally. (Now that RotRL is going to happen--that would've been my #1 choice!) I may need to go back through my old APs and see which ones would make for good sets... Of course, Skull and Shackles sounds really promising in that regard as well...
Callarek wrote:
Not to derail, but I didn't think it was possible to make a potion of Mage Armor because it has a range of "personal." Am I way off base here? (Note, Potions of Shield of Faith are a different story). Also, I have scoured the books looking for a list of potions but haven't found one. Am I just completely overlooking it, or is it omitted because there are too many possibilities to make it worth listing?
Given the circumstances, I'm not too concerned about the other two goblins being re-paints. You can never have too many Goblins anyway. Ever. Perhaps the absence of the Goblin Mystic in this set just means we'll see him or her at a later date. Meanwhile, we have more Goblin mooks to throw at the PCs. I call it a win-win situation.
As others have said, there are many better, more efficient and reliable ways to gain information. As I noted, torture has a well-documented history of yielding false information, because it reaches a point where the victim will tell you whatever he thinks you want to hear just to make it stop--even if he doesn't know the answer to your questions. So, I'd say torture has a very marginal reliability rate. But, maybe your BBEG prefers it over more reliable methods just because he or she enjoys harming other people. As I said, I would probably give a circumstance bonus, +2 at least, possibly more, to an intimidate check, but I'd also consider having the torture yield some false answers. However, given that all this apparently takes place "off screen," I'd decide that the BBEG learns whatever information would make the story most interesting. Or if I think it would be more interesting for him or her to gain some false information, that's how it would go in that case. I certainly wouldn't leave something up to the dice if it happens off screen--not in this case anyway. Perhaps the victim gives false info out of fear and lack of actual knowledge and then dies from the torture. Maybe the villain's preferred method of torture accidentally destroyed the mouth and jaw, so speak with the dead is not an option and the BBEG is left with whatever she gleaned before the victim died. (BTW, finding the mangled corpse of the victim can be a powerful motivator for Good characters to want to lay the smack down on the BBEG).
Avalyn wrote:
Won't go into combat...what if combat comes to them? An adventurer's life is full of peril--certainly he shouldn't be able to casually decide, "Gee, I guess I'll enter combat now that I can do it on my own terms." Sometimes (read: usually) sh*t happens. What about ambushes? What about Archers or Arcanists? The party's opponents aren't pawns on a chess board--they can think for themselves. If I were GM, many of their opponents--even the lower intelligence ones--would think, "What's that one doing? Just standing there drinking potions? Easy prey!!! Let's take him out first and thin their numbers!!! C'mon everyone!! Get him!!!" And then I'd have them dog-pile on him. Painfully and with much enthusiasm. Guess what? The very next time he tried that--same thing, baby. Wash, rinse, repeat until he gets the message that battle is f*cking battle--it is messy and chaotic, not casual or (usually) optional. What kind of support is he giving his "allies" while they risk their necks as he quaffs his potions? I'd nip that in the bud. To answer the original question, though, *Options* never bother me. That's why they're called "Options." If anything, what I don't like is the *absence* of options. But that's why I steal wholsale ideas and classes from my 3.5 books. They were around for years, with a metric buttload of options. So if I feel constrained, I look no farther than my own bookshelf.
gang wrote:
That sounds familiar. Unfortunate, but familiar. My buddy and I are taking turns GMing, and I think we're going to modify this to suit our preferences (and as a nod to 30 some years of history of the game that came before). I don't think they necessarily need anything to distinguish them in terms of the numbers or rules, we're just looking for fluff, cultural distinctions, etc. One thing I think we've decided is that when some of the Elves departed Golarion way back when, only to return much later, the Elves that left were probably Grey Elves and the ones who stayed are probably the Wood Elves. Not sure about High Elves, though...
Joana wrote: Yes, it's out of print. Available in PDF form, though. Joana, thanks for the info! I couldn't find it, though. Would you mind giving me a link? (I'm totally going to buy this and comb through it for ideas for the Elf "Scout" I'm currently playing). :-) Thanks again for the info!!!!
Aleron wrote:
Why not change the fluff on Oracles and replace it with the fluff from Favored Souls? Easy peasy. (It's what I plan to do).
No offense, but I hope there aren't any aquatic elves in Golarion. They just seem...silly. Plus, I do like a distinction between Grey, High and Wood Elves, but so far (AFAIK) there hasn't been any official recognition of any such distinctions. IMO, that's where the whole sub-race thing ought to start.
Why buy Adamantine/Silver Arrows? Because I'm worth it. :-) Okay, I'm a lawyer by trade and I think I can clear up something by reading it like a lawyer*: Looking at the description of Cold Iron weapons on page 154 of the Core Rulebook it says that "Weapons made of cold iron cost *twice* as much to make as their normal counterparts." On page 143 we see that 20 arrows cost 1gp. Therefore, 20 cold iron arrows cost 2gp. (This was sort of acknowledged above). Looking now at page 155, under alchemical silver items, it says "Ammunition +2gp." Hmm. Hence the question of whether it is per arrow or per 20. Ah! But we see under the description of Adamantine items it specifically says, "Ammunition +60gp *per missile*" This tells us the good people at Paizo know how to clarify and when they mean *per arrow* they explicitly say so. Therefore, the logical conclusion is that 20 Alchemical Silver Arrows cost 3gp. You're welcome. ;-) Btw, if you're curious, by the same logic, 20 Mithral Arrows cost 1,500gp. Ouch! *I recently had to figure this out myself, because I'm playing a Scout that I "converted" from 3.5.
As GM, I would give you a circumstance bonus depending on the type and extent of torture. As with the others, I wouldn't need a detailed description, just a general idea. As GM, I would also keep in mind that torture has an amazing tendency to produce false confessions, so I'd make the NPC particularly likely to say anything (even if he doesn't know the answer to your question) just to make the torture end. As GM, I would also take a close look at your Alignment. If the second word isn't "Evil," I would mentally nudge it a few solid steps in that direction--maybe not irredeemably so, but it would definitely impact your "karma," if you will.
I'll have to post my full kit later, but I almost always carry a change of clothes. And I like a winter blanket *in addition to* a bedroll. (I've done enough winter camping in real life to know that anyone who isn't a masochist wants all the snivel gear he can reasonably carry--at least, in the winter months or cooler climates). ETA: Oh! I didn't see any mention of Iron Spikes, door stops or Mallets. Just a few of these can come in really handy in the right circumstances. (Of course, not all my characters have the same take on the adventuring life, so the list can vary a bit).
Beckett wrote:
I was a fan of the Favored Soul as well, but I think in most respects the Oracle is better. The only thing I don't like is the requirement to have a "curse" or whatever it is called. I certainly don't think the class is unbalanced without it. (Or maybe the list is woefully short?). The worst thing about the Favored Soul was that it had a bad case of MAD. The Oracle fixes that, at least.
Let's see... Five 5th Level PCs:
Human Wizard (Universalist), Quarterstaff wielding; Half-Elf Oracle of Flame, Heavy Mace & Shield wielding; Elf Scout (from 3.5's "Complete Adventurer") Longbow user; Half-Elf Factotum (from 3.5's "Dugeonscape") with Longsword---OR---Elf Spellthief (from 3.5's "Complete Adventurer") with Rapier. Just my personal dream team.
master arminas wrote:
No, I agree with you, the original Warmage is *very* limited in his spell list. But for me, that's part of the appeal. He is pretty much a one-trick pony--but arguably, so is the Fighter or the Scout and a number of other classes--but they're still fun to play. I think the folks who created the class saw his limitations as part of the "balance" in allowing him to cast in armor--eventually in medium armor. When you talk about "god wizards" I *think* I know what you mean--if I were GM I'd prevent that by requiring the player to provide me with a list of spells prepared for each day. If it isn't on the list, he can't cast it. Period. Problem solved. Of course, at some point--and I'm not sure where that point is; I think it is a sliding scale--a "Warmage" stops being a "Warmage" if he can cast all sorts of spells with few limitations. Then he's just a Sorcerer who can cast in Armor. *shrug*. As I always say, though, to each his own. I like my Warmages limited and my Wizards "limited" to the list they give me.
I think with the changes you've made it is a totally different class--which is okay, obviously. I would prefer more of a 1:1 conversion--which also happens to be easier. Let's see...take the standard Warmage, update the skill list to the Pathfinder skill list, calculate CMB & CMD...hmm...Then I think you're done. :-) That's what *I* would do, but I like the Warmage as is--limitations and all--I think that's part of the charm. And that's (in my mind) what the Advanced Learning Class Feature is for--to get those two or three spells that the particular Warmage feels he just can't do without. I wonder if by expanding the spell list as you do, does his power also increase? If so, is that a bad thing? I may take a look at my books and see if I can post a more specific "conversion" later on.
lordzack wrote:
So...it sounds like we agree, then. If the reason is that guns are "anachronistic," then that's not a very valid reason. If it is simply a matter of personal taste, then that's good enough. Is that what you're saying?
As a follow up question: Assuming normal Two Weapon Fighting--e.g. Two Shortswords, Longsword & Shortsword, Quarterstaff, etc. Is there any way under the rules to do better than -2, -2 on one's attacks? I've been pouring over the rules and the best I can find seems to be -2, -2, if the character has the Two Weapon Fighting Feat and the off-hand weapon is light. (And with a quarter staff, the opposite end is treated as a "light" weapon, right?)
I think Selune is similar to Desna in some respects--both have to do with the moon, at least.
I've never heard of Kossuth or Joramy.
When someone mentions that he doesn't like firearms in his fantasy campaign, I think it is not very helpful to point out when they were used in Earth's history. I think most people have no problem with female characters being equals to their male counterparts and being able to take on roles such as Knight, or business owner, or what have you. Isn't the mayor of Sandpoint a woman? If we were to compare this to Earth's history, this would be a huge anacronism. But we're not bothered by this because it doesn't interfere with our notions of the types of fantasy worlds we like to envision--if anything, it makes *more* sense. But, while guns might make sense, even apart from any references to Earth, for many of us, guns just don't feel right. There is no right or wrong answer to this. It is more a question of aesthetics. If you like them in your campaign, with swaggering gunslingers on every corner, ready to test their skill against anyone who looks at them sideways, that's cool. Similarly, if you disallow them entirely, that's cool, too--as long as your players know that going in. I'm more in the latter camp. Of course, my concept of fantasy has always been heavily influenced by Tolkien more than anything else. But, as I say, to each his own. You can have ray guns and trains and sentient robots as pcs if you want--it just isn't my cup of tea. But neither way is "correct" or "incorrect." Just my opinion. :-)
Tiny Coffee Golem wrote:
Hence why I said, "if you set it up right." I think I would just install it in the character's permanent home. Long ago there were chairs designed to accommodate a chamber pot--take one of those chairs, have a six foot pipe leading down to a place where the Bag of Devouring is fixed over the end of the pipe, place the chamber pot chair (whatever they're called) above the pipe (maybe have a funnel below the chair to catch any...you get what I'm saying), and there you go! Easy peasy. Permanent Toilet, no smell, no waste to worry about--in some ways it is better than a moden toilet. Now, if they only made an Endless Roll of TP...
Ellington wrote: . If you already have the Dungeon Master's Guide from 3.5 or you're already a seasoned GM, you won't need the Gamemastery Guide. It's a decent read and has some fun tables and lists, but it's probably the most disappointing book so far. I really like the various NPCs of various levels, all statted up and everything. I expect that could come in handy...
Cheapy wrote:
Yes. Along with Rich Burlew, it appears. Great book, in my opinion.
I know this is far from canon as Pathfinder legal, but 3.5's Dungeonscape (page 30) has:
I don't know if this helps, but perhaps one could extrapolate from here?
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