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Not sure if this has been reported yet, I'm guessing it has. When I try to make text it actually makes it smaller. I'm certain this was something that got handed over from the UI switch. Just wondering if there's an ETA for a fix? It's nice for a DM to be able to make some text bigger in online campaigns. Thanks!
Hello Paizo Boarders... This is a feeler for players who fit into circumstances very much like my own. I'm an experienced DM who currently has a rather cushy job that provides me ample down time during the work week. I'm looking for people who's schedules would allow them to spend at least a couple hours a day, Monday through Friday (8-4 M, W, F and 8-12 T, Th), playing D&D using the 5e rules via a Discord server. I have a fairly "fantasy cookie cutter" homebrew setting that I like to run all of my games from because it makes history and lore knowledge easy to remember and adapt. Characters would be created using the dice roll method (with some minor modifications), using all the core books and Xanathar's Guide (again with a few modifications, mostly available races). Right now just wanted to check interest and, obviously, similar schedule availability. If this sounds like a game you could and would want to participate in, pop in and let me know. If I get enough interested parties, I might start the recruitment/character creation thread today already. :)
Welcome friends. Let's RP. :) First order of business is probably going to be learning to roll dice here on the boards... In order to do so type:
Then, don't forget, you can preview your rolls, if you have a target you know you're looking for, this helps to know if additional rolls might be necessary.
I'll need to look at your profiles and build things in HL before we get too far here... That will have to happen tomorrow as I know I won't have time to yet tonight. 
A cool breeze blows... 
Speaking of the setting... As mentioned, this is a homebrew setting, somewhat fantasy cookie cutter, but with a few splashes of intrigue here and there. Name of the setting is Eafphqu, pronounced Ee-off-coo. All the particulars are navigable here at the Google site. Please let me know immediately if you have trouble accessing any of the material. I tried to make sure everything was available for public viewing, but I may have forgotten to click that button on a few things. Also on the topic of setting, it is my intent that the PCs chosen for the campaign will be a large part of fleshing out this world, and mapping its "history." Which is my way of saying the players in this campaign will take an active role in the continued creation and manipulation of the world of Eafphqu. That goal is players who are ready, willing, and able to contribute to a deep and complex narrative. Which is why you both were my first choices. First thing you'll need to do is familiarize yourself with the setting materials as it may (read: should) influence your character creation decisions. I'm looking for characters aligned along the neutral to good spectrum of the alignment grid. As I mentioned before, only PHB, DMG, and MM material allowed, with the extra exclusion that only PHB races are allowed, and even then no Dragonborn or Tiefling. As a friend recently put it, only "humans" with various degrees of ear-pointedness. :P For stats I am going to dictate using the dice rolling method; rolling 4d6 and dropping the lowest. I personally like rolling for stats so much that I throw in the bonus of allowing you to roll three sets of six numbers (4d6, drop the lowest, eighteen times total, but each consecutive set of six represents its own array). Rolling does provide the bonus of the potential to have an ability score of 20 at character inception. For starting gear you can either use their choices for starting equipment as listed under the class headings, or you can roll for starting wealth and purchase as desired. The starting wealth table is on page 143 of the PHB. If you choose to roll for wealth, you are obligated to stick with purchasing equipment with whatever amount of wealth you roll. Once you’ve rolled for starting wealth, that’s how you have to go, no take-backs. We are starting at level one and following the character advancement table found on page 15 of the PHB. It will be of utmost importance that character background, including ideals, bonds, and flaws, are not simply chosen at random, but are deliberate decisions by the player in order to create a character that will be both fun and interesting to role play. If there are choices you the player would like to make for any of those items that are not in the stock lists, just ask! I’m very open to creating new and different ideals, bonds, and flaws. Can't wait to see what back stories you both come up with! :D It is my experience that a well displayed set of data in the Race, Class/Levels, and Gender portions of the alias profile make things run much more smoothly and easily for all participants. You guys both know how to do that. I'd like to see "Inspiration []" in the tagline as well. So I can keep track of when I've given it to you, and when you've used it. :) Can't wait to undergo this PbP gaming experiment with you both. I think it will be very rewarding.
Listen, I know that when things aren't working right, I'm one of the first to complain, often, and loudly... :P So I wanted to jump in and say a big hearty "Thanks Paizo!" I'm sure the new website roll out has been very difficult behind the scenes, and I know there have been a few glitches, but: I really like the new layout, my speed of posting and updating has much improved, and I haven't lost a post in over a week. So! THANKS PAIZO!!! Keep up the great work. :)
--Rydwyrna – Aldelday, 19 Laureoth, 146 R.R.-- Summer wanes, and the market streets in Rydwyrna have been full to overflowing for weeks. Anything a person could want to buy, or steal, is hawked by vendors along Republic Way, or in the tent bazaars that always pop up on the grassy acres inside the wall in districts one, two, ten and twelve. The capital of the Republic of Byrthelm, like the Republic itself, flourishes with prosperity and, for the most part, peace. Though the border villages still deal with occasional skirmishes with the Highlanders and Elves, orc raids are far more prevalent, and troublesome, but that’s nothing new either. The Orders have plenty of soldiers to take care of such things. Just yesterday you watched one of the famed Hippogriff Ranger squadrons take flight off of the tower of the Order of the Wild. Such is the way in Rydwryna, there is a little bit of adventure everywhere, but it isn’t the adventure in the city that has piqued your curiosity of late. While passing through the sea of people near the Midvale Market tents you overheard rumors of a strange happening in the province, animals dying in their sleep, young, in the prime of their lives, and with no wounds or marks to give reason for their deaths. Commoners are exaggerators, though, and you put little stock in such gossip. What you do put stock in is Republic silver, and when you saw the notice placed on one of the senate’s official news posting boards: Able bodied adventurers sought by Senator Akassa. Rich reward offered for service. it required you take notice. The senate posts decrees and notices of tax collection on the boards all the time, but rarely do they call out for adventurers to do their questing, that’s what the Orders are supposed to do. What could cause Akassa, the young, and, by all accounts beautiful, senator from Midvale to seek outside the Orders for capable men and women? The notice said: For more information come to the common room of The Black Pegasus Inn on the evening of the 19th. And so, here you are, the Black Pegasus is one of the ritzier of Rydwyrna’s inns, with no less than two-thousand square feet of common space. Sitting just outside the wall of Castle Redwood, it caters to a noble clientele, but today it’s full of all manner of thugs and thieves, warriors and wizards. It’s clear the owner had an inkling things would be busy, as he has a full complement of well-dressed, in that classy sultry way, barmaids and barmen moving to and fro taking orders and keeping tankards full. The house special is the honey mead, hmmm, with honey harvested in Blueblossom Haven a pastoral farming community from Midvale. That can’t be a coincidence. Twilight has yet to settle on the city, and it is apparent that just about everyone in the place is eager for more information about this “rich reward for service.” As of yet though, no official spokesperson has made themselves known. Perhaps a drink will help pass the time?
Out of character discussion thread.
Out of character discussion thread.
Welcome one and all to a new venture for me. As the title says, this campaign will be using the 5e rules (full disclosure, it will be my first foray into DMing with these rules), Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, and Monster Manual content only, with some extra exclusions because of the setting. Speaking of the setting... As mentioned, this is a homebrew setting, somewhat fantasy cookie cutter, but with a few splashes of intrigue here and there. Name of the setting is Eafphqu, pronounced Ee-off-coo. All the particulars are navigable here at the Google site. Please let me know immediately if you have trouble accessing any of the material. I tried to make sure everything was available for public viewing, but I may have forgotten to click that button on a few things. Also on the topic of setting, it is my intent that the PCs chosen for the campaign will be a large part of fleshing out this world, and mapping its "history." Which is my way of saying the players in this campaign will take an active role in the continued creation and manipulation of the world of Eafphqu. That goal is exactly why the title also makes clear that I'd like players who are ready, willing, and able to contribute to a deep and complex narrative. I’m hoping to get players with a mind for creative role-playing, and a desire to contribute to a long-running story. It is also why I desire to have players that are capable of posting on a very frequent basis, minimum of once a day, and then with time enough to post more than just a quick snippet of character action and requisite dice rolls. As I said, I want those ready and willing to partake of a grand narrative. Which is not me saying that the campaign is all about social interaction and nothing else. Certainly there will be combat, and sometimes, as it should, combat will be the very way that the narrative is fulfilled, but my imagining of the campaign is that even combat will be displayed creatively with flourishes of colorful writing. Still here? Good. First thing you'll need to do is familiarize yourself with the setting materials as it may (read: should) influence your character creation decisions. I'm looking for characters aligned along the neutral to good spectrum of the alignment grid. As I mentioned before, only PHB, DMG, and MM material allowed, with the extra exclusion that only PHB races are allowed, and even then no Dragonborn or Tiefling. As a friend recently put it, only "humans" with various degrees of ear-pointedness. :P For stats you have options, all of which are laid out in the PHB. The three choices are: taking their standard array: 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8; using the 27 point buy method (described in detail on page 13 of the PHB), remembering that if you use point buy, as the rules say: Using this method, 15 is the highest ability score you can end up with, before applying racial increases. You can't have a score lower than 8. Or, the third, and by my way of thinking the preferred, though don't let that sway your choice, method, rolling 4d6 and dropping the lowest. I personally like rolling for stats so much that I throw in the bonus of allowing you to roll three sets of six numbers (4d6, drop the lowest, eighteen times total, but each consecutive set of six represents its own array). Rolling does provide the bonus of the potential to have an ability score of 20 at character inception. For starting gear you can either use their choices for starting equipment as listed under the class headings, or you can roll for starting wealth and purchase as desired. The starting wealth table is on page 143 of the PHB. If you choose to roll for wealth, you are obligated to stick with purchasing equipment with whatever amount of wealth you roll. Once you’ve rolled for starting wealth, that’s how you have to go, no take-backs. We are starting at level one and following the character advancement table found on page 15 of the PHB. The campaign will most likely start in Rydwyrna, the capital city of the Republic of Byrthelm, though, depending on the makeup of the party, I might change that. Certainly, if the majority of the characters are members of one of the six Orders, Rydwyrna will be the primary choice for starting point. It will be of utmost importance that character background, including ideals, bonds, and flaws, are not simply chosen at random, but are deliberate decisions by the player in order to create a character that will be both fun and interesting to role play. If there are choices you the player would like to make for any of those items that are not in the stock lists, just ask! I’m very open to creating new and different ideals, bonds, and flaws. I will, very much, be basing my final decisions for inclusion in the campaign on how fleshed out I think a character’s background is. Part of that process will include reading a background for the character written as a narrative. It doesn’t have to be a novella, but if it’s anything less than a well thought out paragraph, I won’t even give the character consideration. Like I said, heavy narrative focus. :) It is my experience that a well displayed set of data in the Race, Class/Levels, and Gender portions of the alias profile make things run much more smoothly and easily for all participants. Therefore I will also be giving preferential treatment to submissions that have that done already. I do not want to stop people who are new to Play by Post from submitting. It is my strong desire to increase the number of participants in this great hobby, including the venue of play by post, so I strongly encourage and welcome those who have never participated in a play by post game before to apply. I will do my best to try and help in whatever way I can. I'm hoping to find players that have the perseverance to stick with this for the long haul, keeping those that were recruited going strong for years to come. Of course, I'm also a pragmatist, and know that the best laid plans of mice and men... I'm excited to hear from those that would like to participate. I will have quite a bit of downtime over the coming U.S. Thanksgiving holiday (four days), and will be checking back often to address any questions that might pop up. Hope to hear from you soon!
Slavery is not a life I would wish on anyone, and yet it is my parents' slavery that made me who I am today. Cliche, I know, rags to riches, the oldest of stories. Though I would not call my existence now riches, not in comparison to the free flowing wealth that exists in Caliphas, the city of my youth. My story is a long one, as is fitting for an elf, since we are such long lived creatures. As such I will try to keep the details to a minimum for now, perhaps I will expand on things later. As I said, I grew up in Caliphas, the child of slaves; the second child of slaves, I have an older sister Celadrie, remember that, because it is of some great importance later. Children of slaves know nothing but slavery from birth. I am lucky I suppose, some masters would have had my sister and I killed at birth, or had us destroyed in the womb. So our birth was a gift our master gave us. Ah, but you see, when an elf is the slave of a human, they change masters rather quickly in relativity, for humans die before they’ve reached a century, and the master of kindness, Alezar, that allowed our birth, gave his wealth to a son, Tiberiu, that was spoiled, selfish, careless. Elves age slower than humans, obviously, so Tiberiu and I were “of an age” as the expression goes, for a few years, but then he grew quickly, and I stayed young. Tiberiu never respected me, but at least when he was young, he wasn’t malicious, while Alezar was alive my family was treated well, as far as the lives of slaves go. When Alezar died, and Tiberiu took over his wealth and work, everything got worse. I must backtrack though, so some of what follows will make sense. Alezar was a master sculptor. He made some of the best works on display in the most wealthy mansions in all of Ustalav. As part of his work Alezar, as his father, and his father before him had, used chemicals to cut the stone, to add color, to soften it, and myriad other uses. I was always drawn to watching Alezar in his workshop. A little of this, a pinch of that, a dash of this, a drip, just a drip, of that and boom! Magic happened. I could have sworn, then, that Alezar was capable of bringing the stone to life. Alezar always indulged me, he even tried to teach me, or, more rightly, he taught Tiberiu and I was allowed to listen quietly. Chemicals can do amazing things, magical things, and I was hooked. Alezar was also an avid reader, his personal library was only surpassed in Caliphas by the Quarterfaux Archives themselves. While Alezar was alive I was allowed to borrow anything in his library I wished, and I was always very careful with his books. Books are treasures. As I said, when Alezar died, everything changed, for the worse. Tiberiu closed his workshop and library to me, not to our family because those rooms still needed be cleaned, just to me because he knew I got enjoyment out of them. He routinely had all four of us whipped when the mansion wasn’t cleaned to his liking, or the food my mother cooked wasn’t pleasing to him. Where Alezar was benevolent, his son was malicious. Where Alezar was humble, his son was entitled. So it was that when my parents deemed me “old enough,” I was in my thirties, but still, by human standards just a teenager, I was allowed to leave the manse, and I did, on every possible occasion. You’d expect that I went to the seedier parts of town, right? Expect that I went out and drowned my sorrows in drinks, women, gambling? But you forget, I was a slave. We were paid in coppers only, if at all. That we were clothed, fed, and had a safe place to sleep was our payment. So there were only a few places I could go that didn’t require money. I’m sure you can guess one of the places I went. Yep, the library. Books became my solace, in truth, they still are, but then they were one of my only joys. I exhausted the meager library of Caliphas in a few scant years, reading the way a glutton consumes food. This left me only the Quarterfaux Archives, but no slave is allowed there, not willingly anyway… The Archives are as much an academy as they are a library and storehouse for relics and artifacts. I knew I could never get in, but it didn’t stop me from strolling around the building, and strolling often. I don’t know what I hoped would happen. Maybe that one of the pampered noble brats would accidentally drop a book and I could pick it up? Maybe that the knowledge would just flow out of the windows and into my waiting mind? What I did not expect was to watch a thief, a thief that I knew because he was a slave in a mansion in our same district of the city, break into one of the Archives back doors. The decision I made then was one of the most defining of my life; I followed Njorn into the Archives. I slipped in the door just behind him and grabbed his black cloak by the hem. “What are you doing?!” I whisper shouted at him.
As I said before, that night changed my life. On our way out Njorn told me about the guild of thieves he’d fallen in with, how they had things they could teach me, and I was always curious to learn. Always knowing that knowledge was one thing no merciless master could take away from you. So it is I came by some of my more, unsavory, abilities. I’m not necessarily proud of my years with the thieve’s guild of Caliphas, but I don’t regret it either. A good archaeologist needs a broad skill set, and the skills they taught have come in handy entirely too often. Besides the fact that they had a well stocked alchemical lab, and they let me experiment there whenever I wanted. I owe Njorn and that thieve’s guild a lot, so much that I am still repaying it, but that is another story. The book Njorn had stolen and given me was a treatise on dwarven architectural design. Fascinating! I never thought building materials, ways and means could be so interesting, but it was, and I desired more. And so I stole more. I was a regular entrant at the archives, though not one that checked in on the regular roster of spoiled aristocrat students. So my life went as such for quite a number of years, I worked during the day, went to work for the thieve’s guild at night, and snuck into the Quarterfaux Archives in between. Even with Tiberiu’s malevolent tyranny ruling over us, I was, for the most part happy during those years. Then came the end. Remember my sister, Celadrie? She and I share our mother’s dark hair. Celadrie also shares her curvacious body. A truth that did not escape Tiberiu. Tiberiu was a true playboy of Caliphas. He had a different girl, seemingly, every week, but my sister was the one prize he could never attain. In truth, as a slave, he could have taken her whenever he wanted. Rape of slaves isn’t even a crime, in most cultures it’s considered poor taste at worst. But no, Tiberiu wanted her willingly. He wanted her to want him, for all the petty and superficial reasons all the other girls did, money, wealth, status, power. None of these impressed Celadrie. Why should they have? If my sister was of an age when Alezar was alive, I think she would have given herself to him willingly, but she would never give herself to Tiberiu. As the years passed the tension and anger built up in Tiberiu, until one day, drunk and fuming, he took my sister against her will. I had enough alchemical knowledge at that point to heal her wounds, and knew enough from my books to have the right words to say to calm her fears. What I did not have was a potion that would still the baby growing in her womb. What a wretchedness to have inside?! Yet she loved the child, ever since she felt it moving inside her. I do not understand such things, but the love of a mother is fierce. Our own mother had taught us that, and I would not begrudge Celadrie her child. I would not, but Tiberiu would, and did. So it was I learned first hand one of the adages my friends in the guild oft repeated. Death is just life reversed. Strange, but I now know what they meant. Tiberiu sent an assassin to end my sister’s life, to be rid of the shame that grew inside her. To be rid of his only heir. See it? If my sister gave birth to his heir, the child would be half-elf, it would live long years, and instead of slaves, my family would be free, and my sister would be the mother to the heir of Alezar’s family fortune, and family business. So it was that by one death, our lives were reversed. I killed the assassin. Rather easily actually. Elven senses are rather keen you know, and I heard him sneaking along the alleyway by our family quarters. I had been playing with several different concoctions the night before and had a nice one all ready to go. I spit magical resin at his feet as he tried to climb in the window, and he stuck fast. After that it was as simple as nock, draw, loose. The guild had taught me to use a bow with some efficiency, as well as rudimentary skill with a sword. That assassin’s death provided all the knowledge and evidence I needed to keep Tiberiu in check until the day of his death. I told him plainly, as I dragged the assassin’s body into his bedchamber that night, “you can lose your fortune tomorrow, or you can lose it after a good long life. The choice is yours.” He made the better choice, and the remainder of our years with Tiberiu were much changed. It seems growing old, being a father, these things will change a man, and Tiberiu softened in his old age. He actually married my sister, making their son his heir by law as well as by blood. Celadrie loved Tiberiu, in a fashion, as he grew old and she stays young. My nephew’s name is Khulai, and he is a brilliant lad. A magnificent sculptor. My family still live in that manse in Caliphas, and I go back and visit them as often as I can. What do I do? Ah yes, I guess that is the reason we’re both here, isn’t it. I’m an explorer at heart. When I reached my hundredth year, all the things I’d learned in books lead down the road that all knowledge must lead, experience. I had read about so many wonderful buildings, cities, magic, monsters; in short, life. I am still an explorer, and I guess that’s why I’m here. You said you’re making an expedition to the Emerald Spire. I’m guessing you’ll be heading to Fort Inevitable soon? I think my skills could be of great use to you. My knowledge alone could be invaluable, not to mention my ability to open locks, and find and disarm traps. I’d only ask my fair share of any treasure that’s found, as is standard with these contracts. So, what do you say? Can an old elf investigator join the crew?
While the newcomers to town are finishing their breakfast and being welcomed by some of Falcon's Hollow's friendlier folks, a lanky, young, half-elven girl bursts in the Jak'a'napes' front door. Her long, thick, dark-brown hair is pulled into a loose braid, but wisps of hair shadow the entire crown of her head. She is dressed in simple cotton outfit of various greens and browns, at her side is a sharp shortsword that is clearly well taken care of. Her piercing blue eyes search the crowd. Kimi! Hails Jak from the kitchen. What can I do for you young lady? He says with a smile that spreads from ear to ear. The girl looks to him, and her intense focus softens just a bit. Good morrow Mr. Crimmy. She says with respectful formality. How many times do I have to tell you to just call me Jak!? Kimi rolls her eyes but doesn't retort. Lady C sent me to get the envoy from Almas. Word's already reached her that they're here. She says, scanning the crowd once again, this time her eyes find Goruck, which causes one of her eyebrows to tilt up. That them? She says pointing at the table where Kairon, Lunarinus, and Goruck sit finishing their breakfast.
Mended Wall’s Character Creation Guidelines We are starting at level 1. Stat Generation
Alignment
Races
Classes
Two Traits and one Drawback
Starting Wealth
Posting Your Character
I’ll be posting a dot from one of my PBP characters here, so you can see what I’m talking about. I do believe that covers everything. If I remember something, or somebody points out something I missed (which happens pretty often actually) I’ll adjust the rules as necessary. As always, if at any time you have questions, don’t hesitate to ask, either here in the discussion thread, or just PM me. Looking forward to some great characters! Oh!
Cheers! And Happy character creation.
As the title implies, I'm looking to start up a PBP campaign for PBP newbies. I have just a teensy-weensy bit of PBP GMing experience, and only slightly more as a player, but I am willing to GM a campaign for a group of interested PBP virgins. This would be using the Pathfinder ruleset, in the Golarion setting. I'm thinking we'd start with a low level module like D0 Hollow's Last Hope, which I have actually run at a real table before. But, the finer details can be agreed upon by the entire group once the group has been established. Also, as noted in the title, right now this is just an interest check. Right now I just want to hear two things: 1) I am a PBP newbie, 2) I am interested in being a player in your newbing noobs campaign, should it go past the interest check phase. Thanks!
Good morrow community. Well it's been over a year now since I moved to North Central Iowa, right about where I35 and Hwy 20 meet. Since my "local" FLGS is over 45 minutes away, I've had the darndest time finding people around me that are table top gamers. If this sounds like you, give me a holler, either here in this thread, or just shoot me a PM. Looking forward to hopefully finding a game to join, or would even be willing to GM a game for others, though it's been a while since I was a dedicated GM, so I'd have to shake off some rust. Hope to hear that anyone is out there...
Okay, I know I'm not the only one that finds Pathfinder's skill system to be at times absolutely ridiculously broken, and not at all narrative friendly. It can lead to moments like this (watch until you hear the DM say, "oh, you fail." What I want to know is, do you think it would be possible to replace this and this with pages 57 - 62 of of this document? This is not a joke, and I'm not trying to start a popcorn thread or a flaming edition war. I really want to know if the community, that has proven over the years to be much smarter than I am, thinks this is a feasible way to run skills while keeping all else in Pathfinder the same? The one thing that struck me right away was a difference that needs addressing is the way proficiency in a skill is run, but taking the proficiency bonus progressions from the class guide (earlier in the document) you could easily break them up into: Martial, Utility, and Caster progressions and apply to the wealth of Pathfinder character options as table agrees and go from there. Martial and Casters would get to choose two skills that get their proficiency bonus, and utility characters would get four skills to choose to add their proficiency bonus onto.
I did/do, and the helpful people in the community pointed me to all the various resources out there. I decided to put the collection of links and tidbits here, just in case there were others that wanted to explore this new ruleset and see what it has to offer. So, first, you'll want to take a look at the D&D 5e SRD. In addition to that, Wizards has what they call the "basic" rules as separate PDFs. Taking in all three of those resources gives you basically :P the complete 5e ruleset to work with. I don't know about you guys and gals, but I always use Hero Lab for character creation, and you can still do that with 5e. HL has the SRD version of the 5e ruleset for the $29.99. If you purchase that and then go grab the 5e community package, you'll have a very thorough (not entirely complete, but it's getting there) set of character and monster creation data at your fingertips. Hope this is useful to those that want to give the 5e ruleset a try. If anyone has any other free resources for 5e please post the links here. Cheers! MW12
Just saw this series today, and was in the middle of Episode 2 when I thought to myself. "Really?" No DM is that bad. I mean we all have bad days, and we all have those brain-fart moments, but on my worst day I could come up with a reasonable encounter with as little information as the terrain and climate. This is exactly what random encounter tables were created to solve. And yes, I get that it's supposed to be comedy, but even comedy should be remotely realistic.
FAQ -- Are spells with a range of personal capable of being made into potions, or not? Explanation of rationale for the question: Creating Potions says Spells with a range of personal cannot be made into potions. However, there are several NPCs listed in various Paizo official books, including the NPC Codex, that have potions of personal spells listed in their stat blocks. This monk from the NPC Codex for example, has a potion of see invisibility listed amongst its combat gear. Please tap the FAQ button for this, so we can get an answer.
I just want to make sure this works. If my character is an elf and takes Reactionary and Warrior of Old, that provides a total of +4 on initiative roles, correct? If you add in the feat Improved Initiative that is a sweet bit of initiative bonus. :)
I'm just wondering what the rationale is, if anyone knows, why potions cannot be made of spells with a personal range, or "you" as the target. I mean, potions are personal you are the one drinking the liquid...? Is this just legend stuff, hangover from 3.5? Anyone want to jump on the bandwagon and have Paizo put an errata in unchained to take away that limitation? Potions are already limited to level 3 spells and under, it certainly wouldn't be game breaking to let them have a potion of See Invisibility, now would it?
Simple question, is throwing a net onto an opponent an acceptable "attack" at the end of a charge? If so, is the opposed strength check to control the trailing rope made immediately after a successful hit?
Okay I started this thread to get the logistical chatter of the upcoming bouts away from the M/C Disparity dialogue. Since this was really my aim with that thread after all. :) Rules for the specific 1v1 match between my created fighter, and Jiggy's created Wizard
Hit points will be max HD at 1st level and average (rounded up) thereafter. So you get 10/6/6/6/6/6/6 and I get 6/4/4/4/4/4/4. Stats are standard 15 point buy. Do we want to follow the standard percentages here for wealth, or do we want to assume that our characters have been bread and honed for this particular type of fight, and therefore will have items specialized for this kind of combat? Table: Character Wealth by Level: can also be used to budget gear for characters starting above 1st level, such as a new character created to replace a dead one. Characters should spend no more than half their total wealth on any single item. For a balanced approach, PCs that are built after 1st level should spend no more than 25% of their wealth on weapons, 25% on armor and protective devices, 25% on other magic items, 15% on disposable items like potions, scrolls, and wands, and 10% on ordinary gear and coins. Different character types might spend their wealth differently than these percentages suggest; for example, arcane casters might spend very little on weapons but a great deal more on other magic items and disposable items.
Can this item be crafted? How much would it cost? Would it even work, or would it render itself useless? Ring of Continual Antimagic Field...
Okay, so I have this idea. The idea that a lot of the martial vs. caster disparity argument is coming from an analysis of the numbers, and theory-craft, but not necessarily from actual game play experience. It's not a tested thought, but just go with it. What if we (and by we I mean someone else with way more PbP GMing experience -- I'll eat popcorn and watch) started a PbP campaign that was just simply an arena of combat. On one side we have people who create martial characters, and on the other casters. Then we drop the approved characters (I think there should be some kind of community approval protocol) into the arena, roll for init, and let the sparks fly! Good idea? I didn't put this in PbP recruitment, because I'm not even sure I, or anyone, would want to, so at this point it's nothing more than an idea, it's not even really an interest check.
I'm asking because there are a lot of people on these forums that I'd trust based on years of reading their advice and opinions. I have only briefly skimmed the rulebooks in a F(not local)GS, and things seemed balanced, and fairly easy to adjudicate. Just wondering what people's experience with it is. One of the major reasons I ask, is that the fact that their is no digital character creation software is kind of a major barrier for me, and I'm wondering if it is as big of a barrier as I'm making it? So, to any and all that have created a character and played some 5e, what's it like?
[Rant]I've seen more than a few things over the past couple of days, two today specifically, that lead me to believe there's some unwritten consensus on the optimal "baseline" of character creation. This one particularly irks me.
Seriously? Why not? Because it would be mechanically inferior to every other weapon in the same damage and crit range? What if I wanted to create a character that was a true fencer, and used his rapier wit, and his actual rapier to right the wrongs he found across the land? Why? Why does so much of this discussion community just go along with stuff like that? Or not balk at it? Is every game set up with a baseline standard of optimization, and no one can fathom that there could be some seriously meaningful, fun, and awesome games being played with characters that are completely wonky mechanically? Inquiring minds want to know.[/rant]
Good morrow Paizo community. I have a player interested in playing (which has piqued my own curiosity) a character with an intelligent sword. I have very little experience with such things, and have actually avoided intelligent items, even in published material, because of my own insecurities about running such things. I've reached a stage in my GMing "career" where I feel like I'm ready to dip into this part of the game. So! I need your stories! I need to hear from players and GMs alike on how playing in a dedicated campaign with an intelligent item works! Does it work? Is it more hassle than it's worth? Do you have some great stories from your table that wouldn't have happened without an intelligent item? Do you have a horror story from your table that wouldn't have happened without an intelligent item? To the GMs, tell me about the energy and time required to run a game with a dedicated intelligent item. Is it too time consuming? Is it just like running an NPC, but less fun? More fun? How about intelligent item abilities? Are they difficult to track and remember? I know that's a lot of questions, but I really want to get some thoroughly fleshed out details as I work towards making this decision. I am absolutely going to base my decision to include or not include this intelligent item on the feedback I get here. So don't hold back! Thanks!
This is actual text from a module by a third party publisher. I won't mention the publisher or the module name as I don't want this to be a bash session, especially because I'm going to be doing a small amount of bashing myself... :) A secret door is set into the north wall, disguised as part of a simple fresco created by a dwarf artisan. It is opened by twisting the anvil one quarter turn clockwise. The anvil itself is heavy and can only be turned by a strong person (DC25 Strength Check). First off, there's no DC given for the perception check to find the secret door, or the mechanism that opens it. Thanks for the great story elements about the fresco and the artisan, but I need mechanics for PCs to find this door. Secondly, telling me that the anvil is heavy and can only be moved by a strong person is great info, but it doesn't take into account the actual mechanics of what's about to happen there. As a GM if three PCs told me they were all going to "put their backs into it" and twist the anvil, I'm going to say, "okay," because the actual weight of the anvil isn't given, so I have no idea whether my PCs' strength scores allow them to push/drag the weight. Telling me it's a 25 DC check only tells me that if I have a PC with a +3 STR bonus who takes 20 and has somebody else successfully Aid Another, they can move it. So, my question to the GMs out there is, (assuming the PCs make the DC 20 Perception check I will assign to find and operate the door) how many would hand wave the turning of the anvil to open it? Or would you require the PCs to actually take 20 and roll any and all the Aid Another checks necessary to move the anvil? Also, a note to the web devs: I'm not asking for advice, which is why I put this in General Discussion. I know what I'm going to do. I just want to see how that relates to what other GMs would do in the same situation. I'm gathering anecdotal evidence, not seeking to form a new opinion. :)
First of all, I realize that there are other threads about Mr. Martin, and this fantastic book series, so if the webmaster wants to just dynamite this thread upon completion I get it. I felt like this deserved it's own thread because it will start with my musings on my second reread (so third time through) of Game of Thrones (just started it again today). I could go on and on forever, but I'm going to start the discussion with two things. Martin's subtlety, and his, what I would call, sideways world building. First, on his subtlety; I'll freely and shamefully admit, that it took me this third read to realize that Gared from the prologue is the deserter from the Night's Watch beheaded in the first chapter. Martin subtly mentions Gared's missing ears and fingers as a point of proof of the cold in the prologue, and then casually mentions Bran's noticing of said physical traits in chapter one. Brilliant. There's a story told in the gap there. There's a story told in what Martin doesn't tell us about how Gared escaped the others and got beyond the wall, and made it all the way south of Winterfell. That's brilliant subtle craftsmanship. Second, sideways world building. I never noticed until this read, how Martin creates a world that is both horrifying and yet hopeful in just two chapters. The Others? Yeah, frightening, the stuff of nightmares. The stuff that every good gamer lives for. Their description oozes magic, and their weapons are clearly otherworld stuff. The very name of the enemy "the Others" creates a sense of a world outside of the physical world. Martin's world taketh away. Yet, in chapter one Martin's world also giveth. A dead direwolf, sigil of House Stark, killed by antlers, six pups born from a dead or dying mother. One amongst them an albino, an outcast, to fit the children, bastard included, of House Stark. Clearly this offering of canines that grow as big as small horses is for some purpose?! Clearly these pups are discovered by the children of House Stark to some end? Clearly there's magic in the world that is benevolent. Martin gives us a world with zombies, and direwolves... A world we all know well. Later Martin gives us a world with dragons. A world we all know well. (By we I mean gamers, if you don't want to be lumped in there, I apologize). Yet he builds that world in so sideways a manner as to almost make us forget the daunting task that such worldbuilding requires! Ever attempt to create your own campaign setting? Yeah, it's hard work. Yet, in the prologue and first chapter of this series I already feel a complete world at play, one that I'm dying to learn the intricacies of, but not in a Silmarillion style history book (no offense to Tokien, I love his work, and he was my gateway to the drug that is RPGs.) No, I'm dying to learn the intricacies of this magic world from the point of view of the characters that live in it. Amazing. The sheer fact that I can approach this series for a third time and marvel at it all the more, amazes me. If you have not given this series a try, or, if you've watched the HBO series, and avoided the books, I highly recommend you pick it up.
Silent Image says that it can take up four 10 foot cubes, plus one 10 foot cube per level. As I imagine that on a grid map it is four 5 foot squares connected, 2x2, to each other, in width, height, and depth. At first level a caster can connect five of those same sized cubes to each other. That's a pretty darn big area. Am I correct in my understanding of the geometry there?
This thread is where out of character discussions, rules discussions, and character creation discussions should happen.
Welcome to the great wide world of Golarion. Let the adventure begin.
Does anyone else find the trap rules horribly difficult to wade through and apply to actual trap design? The last time I read through them and tried to design a simple mechanical trap I had flashbacks of high school trigonometry and my complete ineptitude to not only understand the words coming out of my teacher's mouth, but to discern any practical application thereof. Is there a guide somewhere, or a 3PP book that dumbs down the language or makes the formulas for CR determination actually make sense? Sort of a Trap Designing for Dummies book? If there isn't, to all 3PP out there, I would pay handsomely for such a book. Also, just so we're clear, I don't want a book full of traps someone else designed. I want a book that actually makes it easier for me to design traps and know that they are mechanically balanced to work within the Pathfinder system. Thanks for listening.
Even before the massive thread was going around, I had a player in a game that has a reach weapon, not a longspear, but the spirit of the weapon is the same. After discussions, much like those taking place in the thread of a similar name, we decided to houserule it. When the character uses the spear to attack at 10' he, obviously, threatens only at 10' for that entire round. If the character should "switch grips," which is how we've taken to referring to it, mechanically speaking, he must do so at the beginning of his round in the initiative, as a swift action, and cannot then switch back until the beginning of his next round. Once "switched" he can use the weapon to make attacks at 5'. Those attacks take a -4 attack penalty, and do 1d6 + strength bonus damage. Once the character has switched grips he only threatens at 5'. This is our table's way of providing for the use of the butt end of a spear as a weapon, which we believe adds a bit more realism to the weapon's use. I wondered what tweaks, if any, other GM's would make to this rule. Any and all advice for improvements would be appreciated.
As I'm in the midst of building some aquatic encounters (thanks to those that offered great suggestions), I was looking to trade out some feats on a Dragon Turtle, and in my research found out that there is no official Paizo monster feat that is the equivalent of Flyby attack for swimming creatures. There is a feat from Tome of Horrors by FGG: Swim-by attack, that is exactly what I want. Suffice it to say, I'm flabbergasted. With so many excellent aquatic based creatures, to not have the equivalent of flyby attack seems ludicrous. Is this something that a lot of GMs out there are using from ToH, or just house-ruling?
All right community. I'm counting on all you bright, experienced minds out there to help me out. I'm going to need to start building some encounters for a group of 7 adventurers. I realize specifics are necessary to help with knowing what is appropriate, so the party looks like this:
2 level 5 Rogues
They'll be sailing (I think on a Longship) up the Profit's Flow from Macridi to Kerse, then out of the Gulf of Accord across Lake Encarthan to the Tourondel River, finally all the way down the Tourondel as far as the river allows exiting in the hills of the Mindspin Mountains, on their way to Kaer Maga. I'm thinking I'd like to throw 6 to 8 total encounters on them at varying times of day and in varying types of weather throughout the course of the whole journey. That's where you come in. Help me come up with 6 to 8 great monsters/encounters. Think about those aquatic encounters your groups have had over the years that you still remember today. Can't wait to hear what this great community comes up with. Of course, I'll be shamelessly stealing all of your good ideas. Have at you!
I may be a complete idiot, and or I might just be a GM that needs everything written somewhere, but after a brief search I didn't see anywhere in my Inner Sea World Guide where it mentions which direction any of the rivers flow. Is this something I am assumed to just know based off of my general knowledge of geography? If so, my general knowledge of geography tells me that most rivers flow in a generally southerly direction (with exceptions of course). My general knowledge also, though, tells me that most rivers flow out of the mountains and into larger bodies of water or just dwindle into marshland. For waterborne vehicle encounters the general flow/current of the river will have an effect on the speed of a vehicle. Which makes it kind of important for a GM to know in which direction, and approximately how fast, a river flows. Is there any source that talks about currents of the various rivers of the Inner Sea region? Also, just because it felt appropriate:
Improvised Weapons emphasis mine says Sometimes objects not crafted to be weapons nonetheless see use in combat. Because such objects are not designed for this use, any creature that uses an improvised weapon in combat is considered to be nonproficient with it and takes a –4 penalty on attack rolls made with that object. To determine the size category and appropriate damage for an improvised weapon, compare its relative size and damage potential to the weapon list to find a reasonable match. An improvised weapon scores a threat on a natural roll of 20 and deals double damage on a critical hit. An improvised thrown weapon has a range increment of 10 feet. This is a very semantic question, but it is possible this rule could be read as applying a -8 to a character's attack bonus. The "and" is what gives me pause. The clause before the "and" says the creature is to be considered nonproficient with the weapon, which provides a -4 penalty all on its own. If the "and" were replaced with "therefore" I'd say that's all you are applying, but since the word "and" is used, it leads to a possible reading of an additional -4 penalty on top of the nonproficiency penalty. I've always just run it as a -4, but now that I look closely at the rule I'm not sure that's correct. So what's the correct penalty to apply?
Okay community, I'm counting on somebody (or somebodies) out there to be a lot more tech-savvy than I am. I'm also counting on you to have some time on your hands to devote to this great hobby of ours. It's happened enough times now, over the years, that I've needed to populate a town with businesses, and NPCs. It's not terrible work but it can be tedious and monotonous. There are several separate tools out there already. Things like:
What there is not, however, is something that does all of these things at once. Something that randomly creates a map, complete with a legend where specific businesses are numbered and named. Then provides a table of descriptions for the businesses wherein the proprietors and notable NPCs are named/described/linked to a stat-block. Is this possible? I'm guessing it is. I'm not sure how much work it would be, but I'm guessing if someone could devise such a tool the community at large would be very grateful. They might even find it in their hearts to donate money freely to the developer/developers of such a program (much like they do for Kyle Olson's Combat Manager). So, is there anyone out there that could accomplish this task? Likewise, are there other members of the community that would use such a program, and maybe even donate money/buy such a thing? I know that if this program existed today, I'd donate money, and or purchase it right now.
I might be completely losing my mind (no, wait, that's probably a certainty, but I digress), but I could have sworn there was a statement in the Core Rulebook somewhere that said a GM has the capability of providing ad hoc circumstance bonuses to various rolls based off of game play. Did I just make that up? I have scoured the rulebook for about the past hour, and I can't find anything like that anywhere. The only thing I could find that was even somewhat like it was under the Cheating and Fudging or GM Fiat sections of the Gamemastering chapters. Is this just a phantom rule I've carried with me from a previous version, or something I dreamt up and put into practice without good cause?
Augury has listed as the focus component(s) "(a set of marked sticks or bones worth at least 25 gp)." Under components in the Magic section of the CRB it says:
My guess is that the marked sticks or bones are tossed out upon the asking of the question that the spell augury is designed to answer, and that they "show" in some manner one of the four possible results as listed in the description. However, it does not explain that to be the case anywhere in the description. Can the fluff of tossing these sticks or bones be assumed by their listing as the reusable focus component of the spell?
Just like the title says. I'm polling to see if I'm the only one that would buy this product. As a GM that runs a very sandbox-y campaign I'd use the ink off of a product like this. Especially if it were a book that had pages full of various region maps, and included a complete poster as well. So, would you purchase this product?
Before I start, I don't want any posters jumping in and saying why don't you just handwave it with a couple encounters. Just assume, for the moment, that I'm a completely out of his mind GM, and I'm actually going to force my players to roleplay every day and night of travel from point A to point B, with a percentage of built in encounters, a percentage chance for random encounters, and myriad stops at notable Inner Sea locations. When measuring distances using the Inner Sea poster map, what is a good ratio to use to determine actual travel miles versus as-the-crow-flies miles? Yes I realize that's an entirely ambiguous question. What's point A; what's point B; are they traveling by foot; are they traveling by horse; horse-drawn wagon; boat; ship, etc. ad nauseum. Ignore the specifics. If you were forced at gunpoint to come up with a ratio like 2:1 or 3:1, what ratio would you use to transfer as-the-crow-flies miles into actual land traveling miles? Thanks
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