...deals with several spells open to some arcane classes and labels them as Good spells, e.g. casting them is an inherently Good act provided they are not used for Evil ends.
It's interesting that when talking about Good spells it feels natural to add the emphasized text, but the reverse is often argued against. I often see people saying that using an Evil spell for good ends is still an evil act, but no one argues that using a Good spell for evil ends is still a good act.
I think one of the coolest bits for me is how thanks to my player's decisions, certain NPCs got a much bigger role than I think Paizo could ever have expected them to. XD
In the very first fight, the PCs ended up capturing Happs rather than killing him - mostly by accident. Several of the PCs, with Evita arguing loudest - wanted to execute him. The party cavalier, however, wanted to keep him alive and try redeeming him; he managed to convince the rest of the party to let him try.
A couple nat 20 diplomacy rolls later and Happs was reconsidering his choices in life. Later, at the Stag Lord's fort he saved Evita's life when Dovan almost killed her. And the rest, as they say, is history. :)
Howl-of-the-North-Wind also played a huge role in this campaign. I originally gave him an only slightly larger role, but Kai's player took a really big liking to him and convinced the rest of the party to keep him around. By the end of the campaign, Howl (and his "spy network" of wolves) had become one of the kingdom's most useful allies.
There is a little bit more to come for this group of PCs; I'll be running them through a level 20 epilogue adventure I'm calling A Conquest in Fire; that'll be just one session though.
I will be running a full-fledged sequel campaign, but it'll be set 20 years in the future and involve a new group of PCs (one of which will be Evita's daughter Sage).
We didn't use the kingdom building rules for all of book 6 so it's hard to remember everything, honestly. xD I don't have exact stats Cambreadth at hand, but it was pretty expansive. It covered basically everything except Thousand Voices and the majority of the Slough (they went around the top of the swamp to avoid having many swamp tiles).
Cities:
Haven - Located at the old Stag Lord's fort, Haven is the capital and by far the most developed city. It is also the center of a portal network developed by the kobold wizard Rishak Scalemind (wizard 5/mage of the arcane order 7/loremaster 5; a PC who didn't participate in the final battle). This portal network allows instant travel between the capital and any other city in Cambreadth, although it can only transport about a dozen people per hour.
Svetlan - Formerly Oleg's fort, Oleg agreed to let the PCs make it a city so long as they made him mayor and named the city after his wife. Svetlan is a relatively undeveloped city, but IIRC is the location of a University of the Arcane Order, founded by Rishak.
Varnhold - Annexed after it's vanishing, Varnhold has had a tumultuous existence. Abandoned no less than twice AFTER the vanishing (once due to attack by Brevoy, the second due to an army of undead lead by Vordekai's reborn Champion) the city hasn't developed much until very recently.
Tatzlhoff - Founded on the site where the party slew a group of dangerous tatzlworms, Tatzlhoff has also had a difficult life. It's citizens were first attacked by the forced of Baron Drelev, and then later put into a magical and deadly sleep by the Nightmare Rook. However, Tatzlhoff enjoys the personal protection of Pax Caducus - he considers it his home town - as well as the order of monks he founded there; they operate out of an impressively large cathedral dedicated to Irori.
Tonguesten - The annexed Fort Drelev was renamed after its capture. Populated largely by merchants and refugees from the Pitax War, Tonguesten is a cultural melting pot; it's not uncommon to walk into its waterfront market and see bog striders, boggards, and lizardmen all aggresively (but peacefully) hawking their wares.
Pitax - Other than being freed from its oppressive rule (and its new ruler having much better musical taste), Pitax is much the same as it was before. A very developed city already, the PCs mostly left it to its own devices. It did get included in the portal network, however.
The kingdom also includes two "cities" independent from the PC's rule - both the kobolds and the lizardmen were taken into the kingdom as vassals and given dominion over their personal hexes.
Yesterday my party finished Sound of a Thousand Screams, silencing Nyrissa's plotting forever and reclaiming their lost kingdom.
Wow has it been a wild ride. From defending a fort in the middle of nowhere from bandits and ruffians to slaying an elder fae who literally had 5000 hit points, every moment of Kingmaker has been absolutely fantastic for me and my players. After running this campaign for three and a half years it has finally come to a close. We'll be talking about this one for a long time to come.
I wanted to thank Paizo for creating the most thrilling adventure I've ever had the honor of GMing (and mercilessly customizing to fit my own desires). I also want to thank my players - both those who were there to the end, and those for whom life got in the way. This campaign wouldn't have been what it was without all of you.
What follows is a tribute to the Six from Cambreadth, the final group of PCs who challenged Nyrissa and overcame everything I could throw at them.
Lloyd Orlovsky aka 'Sky':
CN male half-elven ranger 10/bard 9; mythic marshall 4
Originally a spy sent by house Orlovski to keep tabs on Restov's interests in the Stolen Lands, Sky served the burgeoning nation of Cambreadth as spymaster ("head of accounting", as he preferred to be called). When the current ruler was called away to lead a faction in the Brevic Civil War, Sky eagerly stepped forward to fill his place. Revealing his true identity, King Lloyd Orlovsky ruled fairly but with cunning from his thone in the capital of Haven, seeing the kingdom through many perils - including the betrayal of King Irovetti of Pitax. When the Stolen Lands were stolen away into the faewild by Nyrissa, Lloyd took up the mantle of Marshall, leading the Six from Cambreadth into Thousandbreaths to face Nyrissa's greatest minions. Wielding the Stag Lord's former bow - now enchanted as a mythic artifact of legendary power - King Orlovsky is an archer without peer and a wise ruler. Advised by a mysterious raven spirit and surrounded by friends and associates, Lloyd seeks to lead Cambreadth into a glorious future.
Evita Bydon (originally Evita Dhakar):
NG female human rogue 9/red mantis assassin 10; mythic trickster 4
Evita journeyed into the Stolen Lands in hopes of finding vengeance for the theft of a stolen heirloom - the last memento of her dead parents. Instead, she found love, truth, and a home - things she had given up on in her former life. Between marrying the reformed bandit Happs Bydon, becoming mother of a wonderful girl named Sage, becoming Royal Assassin of Cambreadth, untangling a Red Mantis plot that started before she was born, and killing her not-as-dead-as-she-thought parents with her own hands, Evita has lived a wild and tumultuous life... and she wouldn't have it any other way. In Thousandbreaths she faced her greatest challenges yet, with her husband and daughter stolen away by Nyrissa and every moment fraught with peril. She rose to those challenges and above, however, killing the great dragon Ilthuliak and wielding the legendary fae-slaying sword Autumnsong against the Queen of Forgotten Time. Now, with her family and her home reclaimed, Evita might settle down for the quiet life she never had. Or... she might not.
Vah-kanta:
TN female elven witch 19; mythic archmage 4
Sent by her coven to stop a great evil threatening the Stolen Lands, Vah-kanta never would have guessed how her life would change forever. After a short time adventuring with the founders of Cambreadth, she found herself whisked away by the Old Beldame - a witch whom she originally believed to be responsible for the very evil she was sent to stop. Instead, she uncovered a plot by her coven to manipulate her and her twin sister Lauranna into serving Nyrissa in kidnapping the Stolen Lands. Reunited with her friends after a great battle - but not before the Old Beldame was killed and Lauranna kidnapped - Vah-Kanta killed the members of her former coven herself and then set her sights on Nyrissa. Eventually forced to slay her own sister - or at least the twisted monster Nyrissa had made her - Vah-kanta became consumed by vengeance. In Thousandbreaths, at last, she would find her redemption - sacrificing herself to allow Nyrissa to be destroyed. Now, returned to life and reunited with her sister she finds herself free of the shackles of revenge for the first time. Where she will go from here - besides possibly pursuing her burgeoning romance with the swordsman Yoshi - is anyone's guess.
Pax Caducus (Formerly Kai the Wanderer and Lee the Sinister):
LN half-fiend monk 17; mythic guardian 4
Of all the founders of Cambreadth, perhaps none have changed so much as Pax. Originally a wandering monk struggling with a split personality - an evil sorcerer named Lee - Kai's mind fractured more and more over the course of his adventures. The discovery that Lee was the original personality and Kai the insane fragment nearly shattered him. Finally he reached a breaking point upon being captured by Anais, a twisted night hag in the service of Nyrissa. Using an eldritch ritual she reshaped his body into a fiendish warrior of immense power. In the crucible of her torture, however, Kai and Lee finally reconciled with each-other, fusing their minds and becoming the mighty Pax Caducus. Pax slew the night hag and fled back to his friends - who almost repudiated him for his new, horrible form. Determined to prove himself and win back the trust of Evita - whose daughter he was the godfather of - Pax had magical shackles forged to contain his demonic powers and swore an oath of nonaggression. Despite this, he found himself forced to fight with everything he had to reclaim his kingdom - even at one point breaking free of his shackles in order to save Evita's life. Now, in the aftermath of Nyrissa's death, Pax has been cleansed of his demonic influence and given new form once again. What he will do with this newly clean slate remains to be seen...
Yoshi Minamoto:
LN human samurai (sword saint) 19; mythic champion 4
Already a swordsman of great renown, Yoshi traveled across the Crown of the World to the distant lands of Avistan to demonstrate his skill in the legendary Rushlight Festival. Recruited by King Orlovsky to ensure Cambreadth's victory in the festival, Yoshi proved an asset beyond anything the rulers of Cambreadth could have dreamed. Proving himself in battle against the forces of the traitorous Irovetti, Yoshi found the challenge he'd always searched for. Deep in the depths of Irovetti's palace, however, he made a discovery that would change his life: The legendary sword Briar. Forging a bond with the elder-forged blade that was unlike anything he'd ever known, Yoshi reached a level of skill few even dream of. When Briar told him of her wish to put an end to the threat of Nyrissa, Yoshi knew he'd found his calling in life: The battle that would define him as a swordsman. After fighting his way through the countless challenges of Thousandbreaths, Yoshi finally was able to confront Nyrissa. Putting his life on the line, Yoshi slew Nyrissa with Briar's help. Unfortunately, Briar was forced to sacrifice herself to return the Stolen Lands to their rightful place. With the bond that had defined him broken, Yoshi is now adrift and purposeless... except, perhaps, for the quiet attraction he has found himself developing towards a certain elven witch.
Hawkrum:
CN half-orc barbarian 3/oracle of Gorum 16; mythic hierophant 4
Brother of the original ruler of Cambreadth, Hawkrum was part of the expedition Restov sent into the Glenebon Uplands. The rest of his party slaughtered by Irovetti, Hawkrum was held captive for years in the hopes that he'd be a bargaining chip against the nation of Cambreadth. Finally set free of his imprisonment with Irovetti's fall, Hawkrum reveled in the chance to wade into battle against whomever proved convenient. Spurred on more by his faith in Gorum and a desire to one-up his brother than any loyalty to the founders of Cambreadth, Hawkrum nevertheless proved a mighty ally. Many were the times the Six from Cambreadth would have fallen without Hawkrum's powerful divine magic and mighty earthbreaker. Finally, Hawkrum faced the greatest battle of his life in the all-powerful elder fae Nyrissa... and couldn't have been more happy. With her defeat, Hawkrum is anything but satisfied; rather, he has already set out in search of his next battle and an even greater foe...
Name: Nyrissa, Queen of Forgotten Time
Race: Elder Fae
Classes/levels: Mythic Incarnate Demiplane
Adventure: Sound of a Thousand Screams (Mythic Rewrite)
Location: The Fable
Catalyst: Overconfidence. Sheer overconfidence.
The Gory Details: After her once-pawns and now hated enemies - the vile group known as "the PCs" - received an infusion of mythic power from a powerful fae and honed it fighting Nyrissa's strongest minions, the ever-paranoid Queen took desperate measures: She fused her essence with that of the Fable, becoming a living demiplane. Confident in her nearly limitless power (And her 5,000 hit points) she allowed the PCs to challenge her. Unfortunately, she severely underestimated just how powerful level 19/mythic tier 4 characters are. The fight lasted 4 rounds.
@Salamandyr: I had a very narrow theme in mind when designing this class. I wanted a class that focused on a weapon with an empty off hand, dervish dance style, but did not use dervish dance. So the opportunity to represent other kinds of swashbucklers was lost there.
The lack of armor is really just a style thing for me. Fighting without armor takes more panache, you know?
I agree on the mobility thing and I'm working on that. Although the Precise Strike line is somewhat mobile due to the emphasis on Vital Strike, and I'm already considering giving a class feature that allows spring attack + vital strike.
Move + full round attack is a VERY powerful ability (just ask anyone whose played with the Mythic rules) and I don't hand it out lightly. But it could be appropriate here, I don't know.
@Ciaran Barnes: Diplomacy I don't really see as fitting the theme of the swashbuckler, and intimidate I'm kinda torn on. It's halfway between appropriate and not appropriate. Stealth I do think is appropriate, especially for a class that has a sneak attack-like ability. Sleight of Hand, while inappropriate for picking pockets, is the skill for concealing a weapon on your person and therefore kinda appropriate there. I could see dropping Sleight of Hand for Intimidate, though.
Just finished reading your suggested re-write, and there are definitely some things I really like. I do like the style being three-tier and improving at BaB break points. I will probably shuffle things around to make that happen. I originally didn't want to put the style at 1st level because it makes the swashbuckler a strong dip, but that was before I switched it from light armor to no armor.
Cool feedback, thanks! Here's some counter-feedback:
The dodge bonus from Stance is meant to make up for the lack of armor. I considered the Canny Defense route, but a) Didn't want to screw first level swashbucklers, b) Didn't want to make them MAD by requiring Int for AC, and c) Didn't want to copy an existing ability.
The +3 AC bonus means that a 20 Dex swashbuckler has the same AC as a normal 20 Dex character in Studded Leather. A lower-Dex Swashbuckler loses out to someone wearing a chain shirt. Up to 26 Dex, the Swashbuckler loses out to someone wearing elven chain. Past 26 Dex, however, the swashbuckler wins the AC game. I had considered making it only +2; not sure which is more balanced. I do prefer a flat bonus to adding a second attribute to AC.
I hadn't considered having Parry combine with fighting defensively; it's not a bad idea, but it's already a really wordy ability and I'm not sure I want to add to it. Also, it's more of an alternative to fighting defensively - it's not about protecting yourself, it's about aggressively deflecting attacks. You are right, however, that it should deny Dex to AC rather than cause flat-footed.
Swift Defense is a couple things. It's another free feat so that Swashbucklers can easily get Mobility and Spring Attack. It's a shield bonus to AC because that thematically fits with the theme of deflecting attacks, and because swashbucklers really have no way to GET a shield bonus to AC. It's mostly to keep their AC semi-competitive with someone doing sword-and-shield, since their fighting style is sword-and-no-shield.
Thrust is supposed to be a variant of sneak attack, and supposed to stack with sneak attack for more underhanded swashbucklers who want to grab rogue levels. A flat bonus to damage might be mechanically better, but is in my opinion less "Cool". It also fits nicely into existing mechanics - if it's a damage bonus you gain in all the same situations that a rogue gains sneak attack, why would it not work like sneak attack?
I think 1.5 Dex to all damage would be a bit much, simply because if you take Pinpoint Strike you probably dumped your Strength to all hell and are min-maxing the heck out of your Dex. Also, each of the style options is supposed to be roughly equal to a feat, "plus a little". In this case it's Dervish Dance, plus bonus damage when you make single attacks, which Pinpoint Strike is focused on.
Cunning Riposte is definitely the mechanically weakest style. However, it's also the most thematically strong. One of my goals with this class was "if there's any debate about whether or not this is Guybrush Threepwood's class, I've done something wrong". And the iconic image of the swashbuckler effortlessly disarming his foe is strong. :)
Hone Defenses is kinda based on the original version of Swashbuckler having a scaling bonus to AC. I also wanted to do something unique that wasn't just a copy of the Monk AC ability. The point of turning a shield bonus into a dodge bonus is that a) It's a nice way to boost your AC if you are getting a shield bonus from somewhere else, and b) Dodge bonuses apply to touch AC. I actually originally designed this ability with the thought of the swashbuckler being able to focus their defense on dodging rather then deflection for when they are fighting a mage.
On the upgraded Pinpoint Strike, I did have it originally just giving Vital Strike. However, I changed it for the (somewhat edge case) of a multiclass swashbuckler/something else who already took Vital Strike and has the BaB to qualify for Improved by swashbuckler level 10.
I didn't want to add deflect arrows to the parry ability because I didn't want to further complicate it, AND because I wanted it to be a separate defense rather than dependent on the swashbuckler's very limited number of parries per round.
Greater Parry means the swashbuckler gets one free parry no matter what he is doing. Each round, whether he readied to use parry or did something completely different, he can spend his immediate action to parry one attack.
Flawless Strike is not the most amazing ability, I agree. It does, however, allow a cool "lockdown" combo: If your opponent has low Fort, you can reliably stagger them every round... and then Greater Parry the one attack they can get against you. It also means that the swashbuckler can auto-hit monsters with really high AC. Basically the swashbuckler is supposed to be REALLY good at one-on-one fights, and this seems to fit that theme. I might add a line that the attack ignores miss chances; it's supposed to, but that wording is probably unclear.
Yeah, I could change the capstone to be ANOTHER style upgrade, that's not a bad idea. The free attack after an attack was such a cool ability, though, that I wanted all swashbucklers to have it. It also does benefit all three styles: A pinpoint strike swashbuckler has very limited attacks per round, and needs all the extra he can get, and a cunning riposte swashbuckler can use the free extra attack to perform a combat maneuver. Good catch on needing to add "at highest BaB".
I also agree that something to do with better mobility would be nice, but I'm not sure where to put it. I don't want to flood the class with styles, and I want each style to be a very strong choice.
In response to Xzaral: The megadungeon Rappan Athuk has a particularly EVIL variation on that.
Rappan Athuk Spoilers!:
There's a room where the floor is a chess board, which a complicated poem that hints at some sort of puzzle involving the chessboard. Every square of the board is trapped, the whole room changes based on how you move across the board, etc. The kicker? There's no "solution". It's just a trap. You "win" the room by walking on the lines between the squares and just leaving. The double kicker? There's a room full of bored evil priests who get their kicks by scrying adventurers trying to figure out this room. xD
On the OP topic: Chess-based puzzles are rarely as fun as they sound on paper, in my experience. Mostly they just result in a lot of groans from players. A subversion of that - what appears to be a chess puzzle turning into an all out brawl - could be fun, though.
Originally based on the Adamant Entertainment swashbuckler, but heavily modifier to the point of basically no longer being recognizable, this is my take on a swashbuckler base class.
Swashbuckler:
Alignment: Any
BaB: Full
Strong Saves: Fort and Reflex
Hit die: d10
Class Skills: The swashbuckler's class skills (and the key attribute for each skill) are Acrobatics (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Escape Artist (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (Nobility) (Int), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Stealth (Dex), and Swim (Str)
Skill Ranks per Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A swashbuckler is proficient with all simple and martial weapons. They are not proficient with any armor or shields.
Stance (Ex) Several swashbuckler abilities refer to a "stance". A swashbuckler is considered to be in his stance, and gets the benefit of these abilities, when he is wearing no armor, wielding a piercing melee weapon that is covered under the Weapon Finesse feat, and wielding nothing in his off hand (he may hold an item, such as a potion, in his off hand but may not equip a weapon or shield). A swashbuckler in his stance also gains a +3 dodge bonus to AC. A swashbuckler does not gain the benefits of being in his stance while helpless, pinned, or unable to attack with his weapon.
Parry (Ex) While in his stance, a swashbuckler may ready an action to parry an enemy's strike. When he is attacked in melee, he may make an attack roll against the enemy attacking him. If his attack roll is higher then that of the attacker, their attack is considered a miss regardless of the swashbuckler's AC. If the swashbuckler's parry roll exceeds the enemy's attack roll by 5 or more, the creature provokes an attack of opportunity from the swashbuckler. If his parry roll exceeds their attack roll by 10 or more, the enemy is considered flat footed against the swashbuckler's attack of opportunity.
A swashbuckler must be aware of an attack in order to deflect it. He does not need to be able to reach his attacker to make a parry attempt, but must threaten them to be able to take an attack of opportunity. As long as the swashbuckler did not move on his turn, however, he may take a 5-foot-step after successfully deflecting the attack and before making the attack of opportunity.
Weapon Finesse While proficient in all martial weapons, dexterous swashbucklers are particularly effective with light weapons. The swashbuckler gets Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat.
Swift Defense (Ex) At second level, a swashbuckler gains a +1 shield bonus to AC while in his stance, and also gets Dodge as a bonus feat (even if he doesn't meet the prerequisites).
Thrust (Ex) At 2nd level, the swashbuckler learns how to exploit an opening, dealing extra damage. The swashbuckler may thrust when he is in his stance and his opponent is denied her Dexterity bonus to her armor class (whether the target actually has a Dexterity bonus or not) or is flanked. This extra damage is 1d6 at 2nd level, and increases by 1d6 for every 3 swashbuckler levels, to a maximum of 7d6 at 20th level. Should the swashbuckler score a critical hit with a thrust, this extra damage is not multiplied. The thrust bonus stacks with the rogue’s sneak attack and similar abilities.
Swashbuckler's Style (Ex) At third level, a swashbuckler chooses a particular style of combat to pursue, gaining benefits depending on the choice. Once made, the choice of style cannot be changed. A swashbuckler only gains the beneifits of his style while in his stance.
Pinpoint Strike: A swashbuckler who selects this style may choose to add his Dexterity bonus instead of his Strength bonus to the damage of his melee attacks. When making a single attack as a standard action, or when taking an attack of opportunity granted by the parry class feature, the swashbuckler may instead add 1-1/2 times his Dexterity bonus to damage.
Rapid Flourish: With this style, the swashbuckler may make an extra attack at his full base attack bonus whenever he makes a full attack routine. If he does, all his attacks that round take a -2 penalty. This ability functions similarly to a monk's flurry of blows, save that instead of needing to use a special monk weapon the swashbuckler must be in his stance to gain this benefit.
Cunning Riposte: Upon selecting this style, the swashbuckler gains Improved Disarm as a bonus feat, even if he doesn't meet its prerequisites. In addition, when making a disarm attempt as an attack of opportunity, the swashbuckler gains a +2 bonus to his CMB.
Uncanny Dodge (Ex) At 4th level the swashbuckler retains his Dexterity bonus to armor class even when he is considered flat-footed.
Evasion (Ex) At 5th level the swashbuckler is adept at avoiding unusual attacks. If he makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, he instead takes no damage. Evasion can only be used if the swashbuckler is wearing light or no armor. A helpless swashbuckler does not gain the benefit of evasion.
Hone Defenses (Ex) At 6th level, the swashbuckler's shield bonus to AC from the swift defense ability increases by +1. Additionally, the swashbuckler may convert his shield bonus to AC into a dodge bonus (which stacks with any existing dodge bonuses) for 1 round as a swift action.
At 12th and 18th levels, the shield bonus to AC increases by a further +1. Finally, at 18th level, the swashbuckler may convert his shield bonus into a dodge bonus as an immediate action.
Find the Mark (Ex) A 7th level swashbuckler is almost supernaturally aware of chinks in his opponent's defense. Whenever he confirms a critical hit while in his stance, he may add his thrust damage even if the target is not denied her Dexterity bonus to AC or flanked.
Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex) A swashbuckler of 8th level or higher can no longer be flanked.
This defense denies a rogue the ability to sneak attack the character by flanking her, unless the attacker has at least four more rogue levels than the target has swashbuckler levels. Similarly, only a swashbuckler of at least four levels higher may apply her thrust damage when flanking.
If a character already has uncanny dodge from another class, the levels from the classes that grant uncanny dodge stack to determine the minimum rogue level required to flank the character.
Improved Parry (Ex) The swashbuckler's ability to deflect incoming attacks improves at 9th level. The swashbuckler may always take an attack of opportunity upon successfully parrying an attack (as long as the target is within reach) and the attacker is considered flat-footed if the swashbuckler's attack roll exceeds the attacker's roll by 5 or more.
Additionally, the swashbuckler may ready an action to parry as a move action; as a full-round action the swashbuckler may ready to parry the next two attacks of his choice. This is an exception to the normal rules that readying is a standard action.
Swashbuckler's Panache (Ex) At 10th level, a swashbuckler's skill with their chosen style increases, granting them one of the benefits listed below based on the combat style they selected at third level. Alternatively, the swashbuckler may forfeit the listed bonus in exchange for choosing a second combat style from the level 3 list. As with swashbuckler's style, these benefits apply only while the swashbuckler is in his stance.
Pinpoint Strike: The swashbuckler gains Vital Strike, Improved Vital Strike, or Greater Vital Strike as a bonus feat (their choice, but they must meet the prerequisites of the feat). When making any form of Vital Strike, or when taking an attack of opportunity granted by the parry class feature, the swashbuckler may add double his Dexterity bonus to damage.
Rapid Flourish: When making a full attack, the swashbuckler may make a second additional attack at his base attack bonus -5 (he still suffers the -2 to all of his attacks that round). In addition, each time the swashbuckler sucessfully strikes an opponent, he gains a stacking +1 bonus to all attack rolls against that opponent until the start of his next turn.
Cunning Riposte: The swashbuckler receives Greater Disarm as a bonus feat without needing to meet the prerequisites, and his bonus to disarm checks when making an attack of opportunity increases to +4. In addition, upon disarming an opponent the swashbuckler may choose which square within 15 feet to have the disarmed item land in; if an ally (or the swashbuckler) in that square has an empty hand, they may make a DC 10 Dex check to catch the disarmed item.
Improved Evasion (Ex) At 13th level, the swashbuckler’s evasion improves. In addition to taking no damage on successful saves, the swashbuckler now takes only half damage on failed saves.
Deflect Arrows (Ex) At 15th level, the swashbuckler may use his weapon to deflect ranged attacks. This ability functions as the feat of the same name, except that the swashbuckler uses a weapon instead of his bare hands and this ability can only be used while the swashbuckler is in his stance.
Greater Parry (Ex) A 16th level swashbuckler can effortlessly deflect incoming attacks. He may parry an enemy's attack (as if he had readied an action to do so) as an immediate action.
Flawless Strike (Ex) As a full-round action while in his stance, a 19th level swashbuckler can make a single, perfect attack. This attack automatically threatens a critical hit (and is automatically a regular hit if the roll to confirm the critical fails). If the critical is confirmed, the target must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 swashbuckler's level + Dex modifier) or be staggered for 1 round.
Peerless Swashbuckler (Ex) At 20th level, the swashbuckler practically becomes one with his weapon. While in his stance, he cannot be disarmed. Once per round upon making a successful attack, the swashbuckler may make an attack as a free action (even if it isn't his turn).
Had a really nasty brute rogue played in a campaign I ran. 18-str Half Orc (pure rogue) who took the Scout archetype - getting free sneak attack damage on a charge is very nice, and half-orc means you are proficient with one of the best two handed weapons (falchion).
Campaign petered out so I don't know how she'd have done at high levels, but up to level 5-ish she was providing some of the best damage in the party.
That's basically the case. I had a character who was of Rogarvian blood in my Kingmaker campaign, and except for the rare politics with Brevoy, which don't really factor in heavily, it didn't really come up.
In fact, I was so disappointed at the lack of plot hooks for characters of Rogarvian blood that I'm writing a sequel campaign to Kingmaker entirely focused on what happened to the Rogarvian bloodline. :)
Funny that this thread should turn up now, as I'm just starting to seriously work on my post-Kingmaker plans, which are... extensive. xD
My party just entered the House at the Edge of Time and thrashed the Zomok - which was a much nastier encounter than the regular book because I'm running book six with the mythic rules. My PCs just hit what is effectively the "level cap" for book six at level 18/mythic tier 4. 2-3 more sessions and I expect them to be finished with Nyrissa.
In the short term my plan for an epilogue is going to be running the return of Choral, using a modified version of this as Choral's lair. That should take the party to level 20 and provide a nice finisher to the campaign.
After that, we are going to be taking a break from Kingmaker for a while. Behind the scenes, though, I've been working a full-fledged sequel campaign set ~20 years in the future; the idea mainly came around because one of my PCs really wants the chance to play as her character's daughter.
Another option, if you are specifically looking to shut down spellcasters, is the third party (Super Genius Games) class Witch Hunter. Had one in my Carrion Crown game and she basically curbstombed every encounter that involved casters - especially since at higher levels you are a full-BaB class with a high Will save who can Dispel Magic AND force any caster you threaten to take a -6 penalty on checks to cast defensively.
On the flip side, if you are looking for straight counterspelling, in the same game I had an oracle of Asmodeus who took the feat Ordered Mind, which is basically Improved Improved Counterspell. :p Being able to counterspell with a spell of the same level instead of one level higher means you should be able to shut down most spellcasters 100% of the time if you can make your spellcraft checks. Make sure you take Skill Focus Spellcraft to make up for the higher DC, and Improved Initiative to make sure you go first.
Ideally, be a Sorceror who worships Asmodeus and has the Arcane bloodline so you can take a Greensting Scorpian familiar for another +4 initiative. Then just make sure you know as many different schools of spells as possible and you'll be able to spontaneously cast just the right counterspell for the job. :)
I am currently running book 6 of Kingmaker with some Mythic spice added in. One of my PCs is the most unkillable... thing... I have ever seen. To all those who say monks suck...
This PC has a current AC of 50 - 54 if he spends a ki point. Both his touch and flat footed are over 40. His lowest save, Reflex, is a +17 - and he has improved evasion. Being a master of Crane Style, he can deflect one melee attack each round. Being a mythic guardian, he can deflect ANOTHER melee attack each round. He also has both the feat Snatch Arrows and the mythic ability Snatch Spell. His CMD is well over 40 - and that's probably his one weakness, honestly.
He also has SR 25 and DR 5/epic. As far as contributing usefully in combat? His unarmed attack routine isn't the greatest, but he reliably hits with a few of his 7-8 attacks (and he's a qingjong monk with Blood Crow Strike, so he can fight at range). Much more intimidating however is that he's built to be a grapple monster - he has almost a 40 CMB when grappling, and thanks to monkish speed, mythic points and Rapid Grappler is capable of pinning and hogtying an enemy from 100 feet away in a single turn.
Needless to say, building encounters with this in mind has become challenging. :p My mindset has become, even if I can't do anything about him, he can't protect the whole party at once. Since he loves playing up the defender role, this actually ends up being a lot of fun for him as he tries. :)
54. It takes less time to reload a crossbow than it does to fire it (light crossbow, anyway).
55. If you are rich enough, death is pretty much just a minor setback.
56. It is impossible to attempt to conceal an object on your person unless you are a skilled pickpocket.
57. You can train for months with a given weapon and never get any better at using it. But you can slay a few monsters and suddenly be a master of a completely different weapon that you've never touched before.
58. Don't get me started on the drowning rules. It takes ~18 seconds for an unconscious person to die underwater, but it can take a couple minutes for a garrote wire to have any effect on the target.
59. Sudden deceleration is only damaging if you were moving downwards. If you ready an action to create a wall of force in front of a dragon flying at full speed, the dragon simply stops moving.
60. While we are on the fly rules, every 6 seconds flying creatures get to completely change direction without taking any time or effort to do so... but changing direction in between these 6 second intervals is difficult and taxing.
I have not found that house rule to unbalance the game, actually, having used it for two games a week for over a year now. Usually it affects nothing. Occasionally my players are grateful for it, because it makes sense. Every now and then my Wizard giggles at his ability to throw three fireballs in the same round... and then I remind him that those are 7th level spell slots that could have been intense maximized fireballs (or, you know, actual 7th level spells) and he calms down.
I also disagree that rules are bad just because they come from 4e - 4e was a poor RPG, but had some good ideas (AC increasing with level is another of them).
Even at-will invisibility takes a standard action to activate.
The only way she could attack and go invisible in the same round is if she had the feat Quicken Spell-Like Ability so that she could go invisible as a swift action, but even then the feat limits it to 3 times a day, I believe.
Having run into a situation where my wizard player had used his Swift action (as an Immediate the previous round, actually) and then wanted to cast a spell he only had prepared as a Quickened spell... No, I was not going to tell the Wizard "you have a full round of actions available but you don't have enough time to cast a spell that takes the second-smallest unit of time available in this game to cast".
So yeah, if someone wants to burn a move or a standard for an extra swift, I am all for it. But that is a house rule, RAW is no-go.
This makes me think of the homebrew setting I'm working on. The nomadic desert tribes of this setting are heavy into ancestor worship (kinda like the Mud People for anyone who's read Sword of Truth) but the kicker is they believe that giving the spirits of the ancestors new forms with which to defend their descendants is a great honor.
So the leaders of the nomads are all necromancers who raise undead as guardians of their tribes.
Yeah, I don't feel undead should always be evil, either. :)
The main limitation on ressurection magic other than cost is that nothing can stop you from dying of old age; ressurection stops working at that point (hence, liches).
Also, I would assume that anything that can kill a god is already so far beyond mortal ken that mortal magic just wouldn't work.
9000 gp for 5 extra points of resistance against some types of magical attacks, or 8000 gp for 10% less chance to get hit by all melee and ranged attacks and many spells, including many spells that cause fire, acid, or electricity damage?
Alright, this seems a little convoluted. The Internal Alchemist's Breath Mastery ability replaces the normal Throw Anything class feature. Throw Anything reads:
All alchemists gain the Throw Anything feat as a bonus feat at 1st level. An alchemist adds his Intelligence modifier to damage done with Throw Splash Weapon, including the splash damage if any. This bonus damage is already included in the bomb class feature.
Relevant line bolded. The relevant section of the Bomb class feature reads:
On a direct hit, an alchemist’s bomb inflicts 1d6 points of fire damage + additional damage equal to the alchemist’s Intelligence modifier.
So, the question is, does losing Throw Anything cause the Internal Alchemist to lose the bonus Intelligence damage from their bombs, or is that damage "hardcoded" in the bomb class feature?
I find synthesist to be scarily powerful, mainly because they have the same issue that 3.5 Druids do: You don't care about your physical stats, except Con.
This means you can totally dump Str and Dex (because your synthesis form gets much higher values) allowing you to have high casting stats and silly-high melee stats. As far as the argument about being weak when you lose the synthesis, that is a moot point because ~it never happens~.
Fused Link reads: "Starting at 1st level, the synthesist forms a close bond with his eidolon. Whenever the temporary hit points from his eidolon would be reduced to 0, the summoner can, as a free action, sacrifice any number of his own hit points. Each hit point sacrificed this way prevents 1 point of damage done to the eidolon (thus preventing the loss of the summoner’s temporary hit points), preventing the eidolon from being killed and sent back to its home plane."
Because there is no limit on how often this ability can be used, the synthesis is only lost when you are finally KOed. You can pour all of your natural hit points into maintaining the synthesis. For a high-Con Synthesist, this means you have twice as many hit points as any other character of your level.
Having run a campaign with a 12th-level synthesist, along with several other highly optimized characters (a very nasty Kineticist, a Gunslinger with 6 high damage attack a round, and an Oracle that would just never die due to stupid high AC, saves, and HP), I found that the Synthesist was the unbalancing factor.
My party has somewhat subverted this by having a clever and extremely skilled crafter. They have the Big 6 items, but most of them have secondary items "tacked on" (ex: Cloak of Resistance that also functions as a Cloak of Elvenkind, or the ever-popular "Circlet of Persuasion and Also +4 Charisma" xD ).
Now, the ability of a highly skilled crafter to effectively double the PC's money (especially when said crafter sleeps in a Rope Trick and uses Shrink Item and similar tricks to carry all their crafting supplies around) is an entirely different can of worms that I am currently dealing with. :)
The main problem with the top diagram, especially with reach weapons, is that it creates the ridiculous issue that if you come at a monster/character wielding a reach weapon diagonally you can sidestep their reach. Because apparently ogres suck at geometry so badly that diagonals confuse them out of attacking you. xD
So I have always ruled that in the case of 10' reach you do get the 4 corners even though that's 15 reach. Better to have your reach slightly inflated than to create nonsensical holes in it.
I actually have a PC doing this in one of my games, although the intelligent magic item is actually a construct as well.
He built the flesh golem and the second construct as a pair, with the smaller construct being kind of a spinal cord-shaped burrowing snake that digs into the flesh golem and assumes control of it.
Basically has allowed the flesh golem to be a full party member, so the PC (a mad scientist-type witch) can stay locked up in his laboratory hundreds of miles from the PCs and watch everything through scry. :D
Carrion Crown spoilers:
The laboratory in question is actually Schloss Caromac, which the PCs "inherited" from the Count after helping him with his flesh golem problems. :p They seem to have made a habit of taking fixer-upper property as they go actually; Ascanor Lodge now technically belongs to them as well, and considering no one really has a claim of ownership to Undiomede House...
Well obviously the idea was originally invented by Terry Pratchett in his book Small Gods; any other use is plagiarized from Mr. Pratchett. Including uses before that book was printed, thanks to quantum L-Space mechanics.
/irony
In all seriousness, the idea probably has real world historical roots, although I'm not learned enough to say where.
The only problem is this discovery, which provides the sort of thing you're looking for.
Personally, I think it's dumb to require the discovery for a sling... slings traditionally delivered clay incendiary jars.
That discovery specifically calls out bows, crossbows, and firearms while not mentioning slings, so I don't see it as ruling out the possibility of using a sling.
I'd probably allow it, since you are trading accuracy for range.
So I'm running Carrion Crown, and one of my players is a heavy mad-scientist type character (his idea of a lockpick, which we call the locktopus, is a betentacled construct/wondrous item that tries to crawl away from you and hide in a corner if you use it too many times). He recently submitted to me this idea for a construct he'd like to build, and as it's quite complex I was hoping to get some advice on how balanced it is. Quoted below is the entire writeup as he sent it to me.
Wichtelmaschine:
The following is the Wichtelmaschine, a custom helper construct that I'd like to build. Full stats follow, but here are the Cliff's Notes:
* Tiny Construct, not battleworthy, that looks like a bipedal taxidermy project involving a dog, a monkey, a woodstove and a lot of rubber tubing.
* Has a few utility spells like detect magic, scoop and spark (for use in the lab), plus crafter's fortune and identify a total of 5/day. The creature is a true spontaneous caster with its creator's spell list, but never gains more spells known nor any more spells per day. Being a caster is the construct's major feature, and a necessary one to make it capable of crafting.
* Can assist with crafting in three ways:
A) It has a Lab Assistant ability that permits it to take over half of its creator's daily crafting time, freeing the master to do other things. This application works for all magical crafting and for any mundane crafting in which the wichtelmaschine is proficient (in this case, alchemy, clockwork and one more TBD).
B) The wichtelmaschine can also craft independently. It has Craft Wondrous Item and three mundane crafting skills, all of which it can use unattended at its master's command. The creature is a pretty competent crafter, but nowhere near Milos' level. This application doesn't benefit from any of the master's abilities.
C) The wichtelmaschine has the Cooperative Crafting feat, which permits it to assist its master on a project to double the daily gp value of crafting he can do. This does require the wichtelmaschine to have the relevant item creation feat or craft skill; it doesn't work for all magical crafting as Lab Assistant does. Cooperative Crafting is mutually exclusive with Lab Assistant.
* The wichtelmaschine's major weakness is that it can go "berserk" during extended crafting and become obsessed with a side project, making it useless to its master until the it is permitted to build its random device. It's mostly flavor, but also a break on leaving the construct at home to work on months-long crafting projects while the party adventures.
* The creature is CR 3, but is priced as a CR 4 construct since its battle stats don't adequately reflect its usefulness. Its creation cost is 4000 gp, making its price somewhere around 8k.
Wichtelmaschine
This tiny, bipedal monstrosity has a dog's head and a body stitched from other several other small animals. Tubes running with fluorescent fluids criss-cross its body, and it moves with the halting precision of a mechanical clock.
Wichtelmaschine CR 3
XP 400
Neutral Tiny construct
Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent; Perception +0
DEFENSE
AC 15, touch 13, flat-footed 14 (+1 Dex, +2 size, +2 natural)
hp 27 (5d10)
Fort +1, Ref +2, Will +1
Defensive Abilities construct traits
OFFENSE
Speed 20 ft.
Melee 1 bite +5 (1d4–2)
Space 2-1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Sorcerer Spells Known (CL 5th; concentration +7)
1st (5/day)—crafter's fortune, identify
0 (at will)—detect magic, mending, open/close, scoop, spark
STATISTICS
Str 6, Dex 12, Con —, Int 15, Wis 10, Cha 12
Base Atk +5; CMB +1; CMD 12
Feats Craft Wondrous Item, Skill Focus (Spellcraft), Cooperative Crafting
Skills Craft (any three possessed by creator) +9, Perception +0, Spellcraft +10, Stealth +9
Languages Common or builder's primary language (cannot speak); rapport
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Spells
A wichtelmaschine casts spells as a 5th-level sorcerer, but with a class spell list identical to its creator's. It does not gain any additional abilities, such as a sorcerous bloodline, and it never gains additional spells known nor spells per day.
Rapport (Ex, Su)
Though it cannot speak, a wichtelmaschine's grunting verbalizations are perfectly comprehensible to its master. Even when this supernatural ability is not functioning, the wichtelmaschine retains an extraordinary ability to make its general meaning known to its master through grunts and body language, thanks to their fundamentally similar psyches.
Lab Assistant (Su)
Wichtelmaschines have a special link to their masters in the laboratory. When its master is engaged in mundane or magical crafting, a wichtelmaschine can use this ability to free its master from work for up to half of the total crafting time he or she would otherwise have to spend each day. For example, a wizard brewing a standard potion of Cure Light Wounds (which takes 2 hours to brew) could enlist her wichtelmaschine's assistance and spend only one hour on the project, leaving the wichtelmaschine to attend the project for the other hour. Likewise, a cleric forging holy symbols could set her wichtelmaschine on the task and spend only four hours per day at the forge, yet still make the usual weekly Craft check at the end of the week. An adventurer working at half efficiency due to being in the field may offset this penalty by using a wichtelmaschine, but gains no other benefit.
Using a wichtelmaschine in this way requires careful arrangement of tasks and some oversight, so it is impossible to "double up" and achieve more than 8 effective hours of crafting per day. Masters who wish to speed up crafting in this way may command their wichtemaschines to craft independently, of course.
A witchtelmaschine need not possess the relevant item creation feat to assist its master in crafting a magical item; however, it must possess the relevant Craft skill to assist its master in mundane crafting. Wichtelmaschines with the same master will not cooperate. Any task to which they are assigned will make no progress, whether or not they use this ability.
Inspiration (Ex)
Every day that a wichtelmaschine spends working on a single crafting project (either assisting using its Lab Assistant ability or crafting independently using its own feats and skills), it has a cumulative 1% chance to become inspired. An inspired wichtelmaschine hits upon an idea for an object to build and loses interest in everything else; DMs should roll secretly on the chart below to determine the nature of the item. The inspired wichtelmaschine immediately ceases work on its current job, informs its master (giving its master a chance to take up the job and avoid losing all progress or ruining materials), and begins acquiring materials in any way that it can, from begging to stealing to cannibalizing its former creations. Once it has acquired materials, it begins building. Until it has finished its random project, a wichtelmaschine cannot and will not craft anything else, nor can it use its Lab Assistant ability. If its master decides to indulge it and take up the project, however, a wichtelmaschine will permit its master to craft the item and use Lab Assistant to speed the process.
The cumulative chance for inspiration resets every time the wichtelmaschine ceases work for a day or switches to a new project.
Random Inspiration
01-20 Choose a mundane item associated with one of the Craft skills the wichtelmaschine possesses. Roll randomly for the item's price on the table below, then select an item within that price range (or as close as possible, if no such item exists):
01-33 0-50 gp
34-66 50-200 gp
67-90 200-1000 gp
91-00 1001+ gp
21-99 Roll for a random Wonderous Item.
00 An elaborate suicide device costing 500 gp to build. The wichtelmaschine's brain has awakened and now craves death. Immediately upon completion, the device activates and irreparably destroys the wichtelmaschine.
Construction
A wichtelmaschine is a humanoid clockwork within a "skin" made of preserved hides from small mammal, usually with the head of a dog, fox or small bear. Tubes of flowing alchemical liquids run through the entire body, connecting to a glass case concealed inside that holds a humanoid brain. The materials to construct the body cost 500 gp all together.
CL 7th; Price 3000 gp
Construction
Requirements Craft Construct, animate dead, crafter's curse, crafter's fortune, detect magic, identify, mending, open/close, scoop, spark; Skill Craft (leather), Craft (clocks) or Craft (alchemy) DC 12; Cost 4000 gp.
My personal spin on this? Have the traitor be a PC. Definitely not something everyone can pull off, or that can work all the time, but brutally effective. As Edross said, there is a line of seperation between PCs and NPCs because the players known an NPC is an NPC. Players instinctively trust PCs, even when given little to know in character reason to do so.
A good friend of mine running a 3.5 game had his girlfriend "express interest in seeing what the game was about" and show up for a one-shot to play a "throwaway character".
At the end of that session, when she royally betrayed us and turned out to be a major villain in disguise, BOY were we surprised.
And it works even if the betrayal is more subtle. This was an intentional goal of mine with the Kingmaker game I'm running - several of my PCs secretly work for organizations that, while they are not directly antagonistic to the party, might not always have eachother's best interests in mind. In fact, one of my PCs is unknowingly doing the bidding of the main bad guy (and the great thing is, if my players read this, they wouldn't be able to figure out who I'm talking about... ^^).
A player in one of my games played a gnome illusionist who made a living as a traveling stage magician named "The Mystery of Inky Strange". Yes, that whole thing. Anyone who just called him Inky Strange was likely to "volunteer" for one his magic tricks...
Slightly off topic, but one of my players in Kingmaker is a bard/ranger who goes by the code name Sky; his true name (and allegiance for that matter) is a closely guarded secret. When the party came close to blowing his cover, he pulled an amazing double-bluff (bluffing the players as well as the characters) and somehow managed to convince the party that his name was Arthur Pendragon without ~anyone~ recognizing the name and calling his bluff.
Same game has a dwarven druid named Vorn Goldschlager.
Basically if I trip and have Ki Throw, do I get my AoO before I move my target with Ki Throw? If so, then I could definitely see getting an AoO for Greater Trip, moving with Ki Throw, and then getting a new AoO for Vicious Stomp.
That is too cool to not work. Initiate trip, elbow to the face, throw to the ground behind you, stomp on head. That is the kind of stuff monks should be doing all the time. :)
To maintain stealth you must have cover or concealment against the person trying to find you. If you have neither of these (and no Hide in Plain Sight or similar) your attempt at Stealth fails... at least in regards to that person.
Ah. Beat me to it. The ability is not useless if one assumes undead keep their immunities. There are several humanoid-only spells that aren't mind-affecting.
Although one would think that the line "some undead are susceptible to your mind-affecting spells" indicates that the ability is intended to make some undead susceptible to mind-affecting spells you cast.
Spelling out the math of what Jadeite is trying to say, since (no offense) he doesn't seem to be effectively getting his point across. Look at this:
Celestial Armor - Price 22,400 gp; Cost to create 11,350 gp
Mithral Full Plate of Speed- Price 26,500 gp; Cost to create 18,500 gp
Normally, the cost to create a magic item is 1/2 the price of that magic item. However, this is only true for the cost of enchanting an item. For example, to create a +1 club from scratch costs 1300gp - 300gp for the masterwork club, and 1000gp for the 2000gp-value enchantment. That club then has a price of 2300gp - slightly less than double the cost to create it.
If you look at the price of the celestial armor versus the cost to create it - and the same for the full plate of speed - you will see that the cost to create is not half the price. The ONLY explanation for this, since the cost to create a magic item is always half the price of that magic item, is that there is a nonmagical component that is being paid for, just like that +1 club.
With a little bit of algebra - or some guess and test - you can find that the "cost to create" for the celestial armor must be 300gp that is not doubled because it's a nonmagical component + 11,050gp that is doubled because it's the cost of the enchantment, giving the full price of 22,400gp. Same with the full plate of speed - a 10,500gp nonmagical component, and a 8000gp cost of enchantment, adding up to a 26,500gp price.
Therefore, in my opinion, it is reasonable to assume that the nonmagical component of celestial armor - i.e. the physical armor itself before you enchant it - has a value of 300gp.
EDIT: I will concede, however, that it makes no sense what-so-ever for gold-and-silver chainmail to be priced the same as regular masterwork chainmail. But the math does seem to indicate that is what the devs used for the price.
I believe there is wording somewhere (or maybe this is 3.5 lore I am remembering) that when you kill a demon/devil on the Material Plane, all that happens is it is banished back to hell/the abyss and cannot return to the material plane for one hundred years.
If that is still true in Pathfinder, then I would say dimensional anchor does not help any more than it prevents a mortal's soul from leaving their body and going to the Outer Planes.
All the way into Varnhold Vanishing, more near death experiences than I can count, and we FINALLY have a death... of a temporary character.
Name: Daeva
Race: Centaur
Classes/levels: Polearm Fighter 4
Adventure: Varnhold Vanishing
Location: Cave of the Mad Shaitan (see below)
Catalyst: Frontal assault on a well defended location
The Gory Details: First it bears mentioning that the dungeon this takes place in is a creation of mine; the party has had several notable run-ins with the Thawn giants, and so I decided to create a subplot based around them. The short version is the previously peaceful-ish (willing to trade, at least) Thawn have been taking over by a cult to the Elder Gods led by an insane Shaitan. Bokken, also a larger-than-expected character in my game, has hired the party to forcefully reverse their change in management so that he can start selling potions again to what remains of the Thawn after the party is through with them.
Daeva was the greatest warrior of the Nomen centaurs; the centaur priestess sent her with the party after the party druid was nearly assassinated in the middle of the centaur camp by a soul eater, and the party rogue vanished under mysterious circumstances.
This had not been a good day for Daeva. To start with she found herself face-to-face with a very angry great mother trapper after the party took a wrong turn in the cave; she hit -3 but was saved in the nick of time. 17 CLW later and she's back to her full 95 hit points... for an encounter and a half. Not two rooms later and she's trapped on the wrong side of a deadfall while two snipers behind a stone barricade pot-shot her down to the single digits. The party manages to get through the partially-collapsed tunnel and break the barricade, killing one sniper and forcing the other to retreat. By now, however, the surprisingly well-trained thawn are quickly getting ready to turn their defense into a counterattack, so Daeva only receives a couple potions worth of healing before charging back into the fight. While most of the party gets tied up fighting a pair of spearmen in a tight corridor, Daeva and Artemis, the bard/ranger's pet tiger, sneak around another path hoping to flank.
While they did succeed in surrounding the two spearmen, they also ended up engaging the main body of the enemy force, and Daeva's hit points simply weren't up to the task. An attack of opportunity dropped her back to single digits, and a follow up blow brought her straight to -22 and quite dead. But her noble sacrifice (or at least the fact that the enemy spearman attacked her instead of the also dangerously-low monk) ensured the party's victory. ...For now, since they've still got four rooms to go. :)
I'm still going with it making more sense that the "purchase" cost is the cost to purchase a scroll.
My logic is this: How much does it cost a wizard who has no access to another wizard to add a spell to a spellbook? First he has to buy the scroll of the spell he wants, and then he has to scribe the scroll into his book. To create an entire spellbook, he has to buy every scroll in the spellbook and then pay to inscribe each of those spells.
Basic D&D economy says that things sell for half as much as they cost to buy (doesn't that statement just make perfect sense? ;) ), so the sell value of the new spellbook would be half of (the cost to purchase a scroll of every spell in the book + the cost to inscribe every spell in the book).
Yes this means that if a spell has an expensive material component, that adds to the value of the spellbook, but this makes sense; again, to create a spellbook without relying on an existing spellbook, you have to buy a scroll with which to inscribe, and scrolls cost extra for their expensive material components.
Doing it this way is more expensive than borrowing the spells from another wizard; it makes sense to me that the value of a spellbook would be determined by the more costly way to create the spellbook, especially when it is also arguably the easier way (in my mind, finding a town that sells 5th level scrolls will always be easier than finding a 9th level wizard who has all the spells you happen to need).
It refers to the cost of purchasing a scroll. Basically spellbooks have a "price" equal to the total cost to create them, spell by spell, and a sell value of half that.
For example, a first level spell in a spellbook has a "price" of 25gp (cost of the scroll) + 10gp (cost to scribe the scroll) = 35gp, giving a spellbook containing only a single first level spell a sell value of 17gp, 5sp.
