Mikhaila Burnett 313's page

Psionics is one of those things that adds something different to the world.

Agreed. I would love to see Paizo take a swing at one of my favorite mechanics.

Hear, hear!

So why not stop telling me to play 4e and actually explain what it is you think the Psionic rules should be so they aren't broken and yet they have the flavor you all want that can't be achieved with existing magic.

Psionics is another form of power. It is not *just* 'a third form of magic' to me. Yes, it has been broken and improperly built and used before, but that's not the nature of my response here. I could share how I feel it could be improved, but that's not my focus either. My focus is on "Why is it here?"

To me, psionics represent a departure from the traditional 'swords and sorcery' model. It is an extension of fantasy, as people play PNP games to indulge in fantasy. Therefore, people want multiple ways to engage their imaginations.

It's the same reason that a lot of things that weren't essential to PNP games have been added. Why new worlds are built. New supplements. Etc, ad infinitum.

Psionics scratch an itch that some people have, while remaining optional.

Simply put, it's a matter of demand. Someone, a long time ago, asked for psionics. The designers provided. And we've had them ever since.

Can psionics be done with magic? Essentially, yes. Is it extra fluff? Yes.

Does that address the concern while remaining on topic?

Critical Fumbles with Weapons
On any attack roll that the dice lands on a natural 1 (automatic miss) the player must make a second attack roll with that weapon against his target if the attack roll misses he has scored a critical fumble smashing his weapon into a solid object and giving it the broken condition; the weapons hit points are halved. Further fumbles with the weapon do not destroy the weapon completely and do not reduce the weapons hit points but may still be destroyed by a sunder.

Interestingly enough, I begin to wonder who's Scrying on my gaming. I literally JUST implemented this when running Bastards of Erebus.

The cleric was put in the box as a message to the local followers of Pharasma, who were getting a little to uppity in their opinions about the Chelaxian nobility and their "association" with Devils. This particular cleric had preached once to often at a local tavern about the so called evils of the House of Thrune or even House Drovenge. This might give the characters pause before they meddle in the affairs of the nobles.

I would have the cleric insane from her experience in the box. Ranting something horrible about the infernal forces that trapped her.

Hmm... if this wasn't becoming a PC, I believe I'd run with this version. As it is, perhaps another encounter.

Thanks for the evil idea!

Hmmm... currently running through said sewers ourselves in my gaming group. DM is running the "slow" progression. Might need to point this out as a method of "padding" for the adventure.

Although... we already have a cleric of pharasma in the party...

There are a number of wonderful ways to build tension that I've crafted. But, if you're a player I think I'll just say... If the sewers suddenly start becoming cleaner, turn around and run like hell.

Mwa ha ha....

Has anyone else dealt with this issue ?

My Beloved Spouse (Kobold chorus: "We love you!") has created a party that, while not totally EVIL, is definitely not 'tree hugging idealistic or even remotely GOOD aligned' (to paraphrase).

Two party members have a G in their alignment. One CG, one NG. Neither are questionable in their character, but both are flexible.

The AP really plays up the "We're idealists" angle a bit more than I'd originally seen. And when I broke out the "We don't want to kill anyone" line in response to the rescue of Arael from the prison convoy, well... that met some strong resistance.

We managed to work things through in the end, but it is definitely the party going their own way with some gentle guidance from the C.O.W. rather than the C.O.W. providing the regulations and code of honor.

Not sure that helps, but it's kinda how I had to deal with things.

IMHO, this really is a bit of an oddly written adventure, given that Paizo's got a reputation for the rather anti-heroic heroes in my experience. A (to my perception) fluffy campaign set in Devilville.. well.. I have my opinion and I'll keep it to myself for now until I can more clearly and politely enunciate it in its own post.

Good luck and happy hunting!

Realistically, curved swords are better for slashing (hence the slightly curved katana blade). It allows for a more fluid range of movement while attacking: Curved swords generally slash. Straight swords generally hack. Both can stab.

Very well said! I would very much like to see a weaponsmith do some analysis on such things, but to get that I might just have to take up smithing myself.

Hrmm...maybe outsourcing to the SCA?

Rather than being an evil cleric that took the box into the sewer, perhaps it was a group of wererats, who were distracted by xxx, and when they came back, the box was gone.

So, now the PCs have a group of wererats and the jilted vampire husband-to-be looking for them.

Hmmm...wererats you say?

Mmm.... I like the chittery-squeaky, it must be said.

We shall see.

The vampire has already received his bride, was about to do the whole drinky-drinky business when one of his many alarms went of/ a henchman called him away. Since he's not got where he is today by leaving things to chance, he woke her from the extra deep trance, dominated her good-and proper, and put her into a trance before heading off to do his business. He instructed the minions to take her to his most secure base #2 and they got shanghaied on the way.

This is, again, on my wavelength. I've already outlined that whomsoever hijacked the box was shortly thereafter hijacked themselves.

In other words...

YOU!! Outta my brain!

*giggles uncontrollably*

The trait sounds pretty balanced.

Random other faith traits;

Holy cows Set, that's an INCREDIBLE list!

Meanwhile, the Vampire (there has to be a vampire) is waiting impatiently in his sewer lair checking every once in a while to see if there's a box outside which the Urgathoan clerics promised would be delivered.

VAMPIRE: "My bride! My bride! Where is the bride I was promised?"

Cue "Get me a Mail Order Bride...."

I like the cut of your jib, Sir.

The AP outlines some potential 'future plot hooks' that one might encounter in the sewer. And it's like you're tuned directly into my wavelength on this.

Case in point, and unmentioned in the OP is the fact that an earlier discovery in the sewers was the exsanguinated corpse of a noble. The PC's remain blithely clueless.

Mine is an evil laugh.

Just wanted to ring in and say that I LOVE this idea. Absolutely love it.

Honestly, the way I run it, an elemental is a spirit of that element. It moves through its own element unimpeded as a spirit, its body formed by the element around it at the moment.

Great minds truly do think alike!

Another day, another post about wacky hijinx and a request for "What would the messageboards do?"
Today's installment: The body in the box Player Character.

Framework:
During a run through Westcrown's sewers (Bastards of Erebus), one of the PC's discovers a box. A very well crafted, tightly sealed, wooden box.

As an aside, I highly recommend this strategem for amping up the tension of a low level game...the look on the Beloved Spouse's (Kobold chorus: "We love you!") face was PRICELESS at the prospect of a second level fighter running into a Vampire.

Character takes box back to hideout without opening the box. We joke a bit about nails scratching on the inside of the box, etc. To make an already moderately sized story short, it's not a Vampire. But it is a body. At least, on the initial read. At this point, the character is thinking "This person was shipped back home to be brought back to life" the player is thinking "That can't be, because the body in question is wearing a holy symbol and clerical robes of Pharasma") and the GM is thinking "Mwa ha ha ha ha!! That'll teach you to take home boxes from the Wiscrani sewers" with a side of "I'm sure she can spin this into a story/RP xp award")

The PC's go about their business with the box and its contents sealed back up and unattended. During their frolic, the noble scum Sorcerer buys the proverbial farm in a random encounter with a Gelatinous Cube (CR 3?!?!?) in the sewers (they really LOVE the sewers).

We look at each other and begin the earnest discussion of replacement characters. And then the idea strikes.

Party has no cleric.
Body in box is almost certainly a cleric.
Body wasn't all-the-way-dead dead. (Think Princess Bride - Billy Crystal = crazy delicious)
Body wakes up and is actually quite very alive, having been in some sort of GM fiat sort of hibernation coma of a magical or poison induced nature.

A plan comes together.

So, my dear readers, what would YOU do?

The lines already set are as follows:
Body in box, packed tightly in preserving and aromatic herbs.
Female Half-Elf Cleric of Pharasma, level 2 w/ Repose and Healing domains (The writeup is already underway)
Shipping label clearly shows point of origin as Absalom, destination "Cheliax"
Box is in pristine condition.
Box was intercepted by a priestess of Urgathoa, who had Foul Intentions Of The Worst Kind(TM) before buying it herself in a freak Otyugh accident.

Everything else is, as they say, fair game. Hit me with your best shot.

I have scoured these threads for something akin to this but most are skirmish/sneak attack/sudden strike/ambush related.

I want to make a new feat (or combination of feats) for a ranger archer for sniping.
Would it be terribly unbalanced to make a feat(s) that would give a attack and damage bonus equal to character level and at full weapon range? (Instead of at 30' as for sneak attack type abilities).
It would certainly be less powerful than any sneak attack type ability (particularly at higher levels).
Also it will be limited to single attack per round (like skirmish)with some movement possible but stack damage with the vital strike tree. I could also add it in as a class specific skill/ feat.
In my present campaign I'm not using prestige classes but modifying existing base classes for flavor to suit the players and their respective play styles and my currant campaign.
What are your thoughts on this, homebrew gurus? Thanks in advance.

Actually, there's a really well written, concise feat in the Campaign Setting under the Kyonin writeup. Found this, thought of you.

I think we need a bit more guidance on tunneling.

Yesterday, my druid decided to turn into a medium Earth Elemental and burrow under a portcullis, making a nice little tunnel for the rest of the party to follow along.

Although we covered ourselves with a Fog Cloud, a Hill Giant was busily dropping stones on us from above, so we needed to know how long this would take.

Couldn't really find any help on this.

In fact, the MM seemed to suggest the Earth Elemental could only *glide* through earth rather than tunnel in it, which seemed very counter-intuitive to me.

In the end we opted for 4 rounds. I think an Earth Elemental should be pretty good at shoving earth around.

Digging has lost its importance in D&D since the days of 1st ed. The old DMG had some nice tables about mining, which took into consideration different races' affinity to it, and of course there was always the Dig spell, which has now passed into obscurity.

Proper mining, of course, isn't just a matter of digging a tunnel, and although there was some consideration given to this (and revisited in the later Dungeoneer's Survival Guide) I think it would be nice to have some simple excavation abilities and rates sorted out as part of the environment section of the rules (as an addendum somewhere), *beyond* digging yourself out of a cave in.

What do you think?

Richard

To go line by line here, I will say that I both agree and disagree on the Earth Elemental bit of this post. I agree that an Earth Elemental would be awesome at raw dirt moving prowess. But I disagree that an Earth Elemental's normal form of movement would disturb the earth they pass through. As I see it, elemental locomotion through the Elemental's element wouldn't disturb the element which acts as a transitive location. This wouldn't really come up for any other Elemental than the Earth Elemental, as all other elements are fluid by nature.

As regards the rest of the post, I would LOVE to see these rules. They are long overdue, and would prove useful to GM's and players alike. What Evil Overlord doesn't want to dig his own dungeon? What security conscious Castelan wouldn't want a moat around his newly erected castle? (This actually came up in my Beloved Spouse's (Kobold chorus: "We love you!") game recently when our Deck of Many Things generated keep became more security aware. The archmage decided to use.. er... Shape Earth? One of those less-than-perfectly-suited spells to accomplish what should have been easily handled by Dig.

Help us Paizo-wan-Kenobi, you're our only hope.

I have scoured these threads for something akin to this but most are skirmish/sneak attack/sudden strike/ambush related.

I want to make a new feat (or combination of feats) for a ranger archer for sniping.
Would it be terribly unbalanced to make a feat(s) that would give a attack and damage bonus equal to character level and at full weapon range? (Instead of at 30' as for sneak attack type abilities).
It would certainly be less powerful than any sneak attack type ability (particularly at higher levels).
Also it will be limited to single attack per round (like skirmish)with some movement possible but stack damage with the vital strike tree. I could also add it in as a class specific skill/ feat.
In my present campaign I'm not using prestige classes but modifying existing base classes for flavor to suit the players and their respective play styles and my currant campaign.
What are your thoughts on this, homebrew gurus? Thanks in advance.

Perhaps add in a 'time spent aiming' modifier. Something like the Assassin's deathstrike from 3.x where the character has to study their target and remain undetected for x amount of time for the modifier to trigger. Also a minimum range requirement might apply.

Adding this in the format of (for example):

Sniper Shot(EX)
By studying their target and maintaining a certain distance and detachment, the Ranger may add x amount of damage. This damage is modified by critical on a 1:1 basis. (ie a x3 modifier would provide 3x damage on a confirmed critical hit.

That's just my tuppence.

Glad you like the swords. Jesper takes all the credit for those. Our art orders were pretty much "Shaitan rogue girl" and "Badass efreeti general." Beyond that, we try to give all our artists the room to really express their vision and skill in their work.

It's funny, a lot of the times folks assume we give these huge multi-paragraph descriptions, working out every detail of our art. (We have tried that in the past actually - and it typically ends in disaster.) The truth of the matter is that regardless of how cool the vision a writer has in his head, it's never going to get translated perfectly into art. And, typically, trained professional artists simply have a better flair for making things look cool. So we try to keep our art orders very short. And when finals come in and they match what we need, awesome. And when they don't, well, it's typically MUCH cheaper to change the words of a story, monster, adventure, whatever, than to nitpick at the art.

At the end of the day, the only question is: Does it look like something from a cool fantasy adventure? And in both cases, I think the answer is an undeniable "Yes."

Ah, perfect answer! *hugs a Paizan* And here I thought this was an overarching 'vision' to distinguish Pathfinder IP from other IP artistically.

I love the "Pathfinder/Golarion Sword" style, and have even managed to work it in to my game with a planar traveler seeing a PF Sword and exclaiming on it.

Due to the search string of this, I can't really find a reference to this. So if, this is a duplicate post or inquiry, please accept my apologies.

With that said, there's something that's always amused both myself and my Beloved Spouse (Kobold chorus: "We love you!"). Specifically, this is the prevalence of what we have both come to call the "Pathfinder Sword", also the "Golarion Sword".

By which is meant a sword with an angle or curve (in some cases multiple curves) not commonly found in swords of other fantasy intellectual properties. Now, I understand and accept the khopesh as a well known blade variant. And I totally understand the fact that curves + swords = crazy delicious. But I'm just curious if anyone else has observed and/or commented upon this phenomenon. And where it originates within Paizo.

Examples:
http://paizo.com/image/product/catalog/PZO/PZO9022_500.jpeg
http://paizo.com/image/product/catalog/PZO/PZO9024_500.jpeg

Anyway, I just thought I'd share a perspective.

This might not be a great time to be an elf, but it will certainly be an interesting one. Unfortunately, in your case it is probably mostly past - several centuries are enough even for the elves to get off their collective keisters and decide what they want to do. Maybe, however, there are still many elves that have viewpoints the majority consider aberrant - from religious fundamentalists to jaded urbanites. Chances are, the majority will be rather... upset at the halflings.

BTW, what happens to the gnomes?

In all honesty, I'm still working on fleshing out how the Elves are going to.. well.. do whatever they will. A lot of this thread has been dedicated to learning better ways to make the races click better with the world.

As I see it currently, there are probably less than 30 Elves outside of their own little homeland. While they're not second class citizens elsewhere in the world, many of the primary races do feel sorry for them. I've yet to decide how the Elves feel about such. But I'm getting an idea, thanks to you.

As for the Gnomes, well, you're not cleared for that Citizen. (By which I mean I've not quite figured that out myself just yet)

Mikhaila,

You should really post questions like this in the Customer Service forums, as they don't necessarily look in here for such things... but the answer is that when you sign up for a sub and A) it's your only sub or B) you elect to have your subscriptions ship separately, the system generates an order for your starting volume. At that time, your card gets authorized—but not charged—to ensure that your card *can* be charged for that item when it comes time to ship. So everything is functioning properly, and your card has not been charged.

That's two for two today, Vic! Thanks! In future, I will remember all that you have said here today, and again would like to thank you for putting my mind at ease.

I'm still waking up, or I'm pretty sure I would have filed that into the CS forum.

Cheers!

Well, hey! That was the placeholder description.

I've just updated the description to match the finished product, so that typo shall bother you no more.

Woot! Another blow against grammar and typoes!

Have I mentioned that I love Paizo and their incredible staff? If not, I will now.

Paizo,

Sadly, I have not received my most recent Pathfinder Adventure Path subscription, which included both issues #24 and #26. I spoke with my local post office and they have no record of the package. They did say that, if you could give me the article number of the shipment, I could contact their customer service department and they might be able to track the package down.
I know it's supposed to take 4 to 8 days for delivery, that's why I waited until day 14, just to be sure. Please, anything you could do to help is greatly appreciated.

DogBone
ghoff@carolina.rr.com

I ran into a bit of a snag with the arrival of my copy of Sixfold. Took 15 days in total. Not sure that's any reassurance, but the USPS sometimes jumps the shark.

Hrm, there are a lot of really great sources for information on Centaur PC's in legacy sources. (e.g. the Dragon magazine archives have several good articles)

I built a Centaur for a recent 3.0 game, and the LA was actually +5 as implemented there. (Which SUCKED, in case that needs saying.)

One thing that might need to be addressed is racial hit dice. A 0 level Centaur is still going to be more butch than a 3rd level human wizard for straight blow-by-blow damage. You could swap the natural AC for that.

Also, there might be a penalty to Stealth checks (Hi! I've got hooves and make noise!)

Otherwise, very good writeup. Brava!

In fact, that's what a lot of SF and Fantasy should aim towards as well - creating a setting and environment that people want to be part of. That's the difference between a once-read flash in the pan, and things that people talk about 20 years later, rediscovering over and over.

Very good point, and well said. I started writing fantasy fiction back in High School, and have taken a long hiatus. I did a lot of sci-fi worldbuilding a couple years back, but I'm happy to be back writing fantasy.

And with the help of you and the rest of these forums, I think I might have a shot at something good.

Thanks again!

Overall, very good write-up. Well-balanced, good on the look-and-feel. I agree that going heavy on the physical and light on the mental base stat mods might be a BIT unwieldy, but I still like the build.

Were I to make suggestions:
Take out the mandatory 7th level feat and replace it to optional. Not all Minotaurs should HAVE to go mature. And in adventuring games, maturity isn't always handled by age or level or any arbitrary thing. (e.g. A 19 year old minotaur has just as much chance of making 7th level in a week as a 25 year old minotaur... having maturity as a function of level, therefore, seems a bit off to my perception)

Add at least one racial skill bonus (as previously suggested in this thread) I'd go with Dungeoneering and/or Survival.

Maybe a racial enemy. Though I'm not sure which race, honestly.

Also, just as a 'fluff' thing, add in a flat bonus to saves vs. Maze

That's my two coppers

Mikhaila Burnett 313 wrote:

And no, "Blood Elf" isn't terribly original, nor is it descriptive of what Blood Elves in WoW are. They... haven't got a thing to DO with Blood.

[serious tangent alert!]

** spoiler omitted **
[/tangent]

Huh, I should have paid better attention while running all those quests. I know a good chunk of Azerothian lore, but by no means a LOT. Thanks for stepping up with this.

*grins* I guess it's a silly thing to aspire to, but at the end of this project, I'd like to see the world I'm writing live and breathe like Azeroth and its environs. I am such a dork.

It's an interesting world. One legal question that immediately arises: If killing a pregnant halfling woman is immediately punishable by death, what happens if the killer happens to be another pregnant halfling woman? Seems like being perpetually gravid is an easy shield from all sorts of consequences. What does the paladin do when the cannibal headhunter necromancer who set fire to the village then animated the smoking corpses is also a pregnant halfling female?

*facepalm* Ah, the joys of a 'cut and dry' bit of law. Nothing is ever black and white, and I hadn't thought of this ramification. To this point, this has been a bit of an exercise in thought for me. With the intention of perhaps myself and my Beloved Spouse (Kobold chorus: "We love you!") being the only actual players. As I've now presented it to others, and am taking feedback, I realize that I actually want this world to have the verisimilitude of a well-built world. Back to the drawing board on that one.

You've swapped things around so your orcs are basically elves and your elves are basically orcs, which is fine, though I sort of wonder at the orcs being listed as having "ferocity" or whatever it was if they're basically taking the old elven niche.

Hmm, I don't really see the Orcs and Elves roles being swapped on a large scale. In my wife's game, Elves are all poncy little twerps with a cultural alignment of Lawful Neutral who until recently 'ran everything'. But I've never gotten that vibe off of 'default fantasy'. Regardless of that, I am pretty much overhauling what it means to be a member of these races. "Ferocity" or the PFRPG equivalent isn't going to apply to Orcs. It MIGHT to Humans, but that's still up for debate.

Having awful things happening to races without a patron is an interesting thing, but it also leads to an interesting wrinkle: consider Ur Priests. Could an elven Ur Priest, via stealing some power from the halfling goddess, regain an elven lifespan or any of the other kewl powerz the other races get? This would give the elves something to do, rather than be the insipid flighty people who've been moping and dying since their god died. The impetus to either steal power from other races gods, to regain something of what they lost, or to kill those other gods, to level the playing field, is an interesting one.

I like the way you think and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

But seriously, yes, that is a definitely valid train of thought. Were an Elven Ur Priest (or whatever they end up being on this world) to steal power from another deity, they'd gain a bit of that deity's racial portfolio. By which, an Elven Ur Priest stealing from Ilfander would gain most, if not all, of a standard Tinrisian Halfling's lifespan.

As re: Racist gods, you're right. The one thing not yet mentioned is that while Halflings USUALLY worship Ilfander and Dwarves Hafesh, there is no proscription against one worshipping another race's deity. I've not yet really dug into what the deities of this world mean to their races and in relation to other deities beyond "This is Ilfandra's world because Zie made it" with the subtext that the other Powers are here at Zir sufferance. In the offline version of this, it is clearly stated that Ilfander was actually a mortal adventurer once. A VERY long time ago. And when Zie ascended to deific status, Zie brought along Zir entire party.

As for the OP, "elf" and "dwarf" are, in themselves, mechanical abstractions for races that give you bonuses to X and Y, penalties to Z. Thus, I have no problem with your elves and dwarves being called elves and dwarves, respectively.

Very good point. I hadn't considered this from anything outside of the 'preconception' of the race. The mechanics are definitely getting integrated with the draft I'm working now, but it is still a mechanic.

What imo is a bit trickier is some of the fluff they come with. Elves having short livespans and little drive for reproduction... well, psychologically it sounds a bit counterintuitive. It could work if their entire race has a serious depression problem (and you're ok with them disappearing within a century or two), but normally reproduction serves a psychological role as well - ensuring your own future by creating offspring.

Hmm, had not considered that. I do rather see them as racially depressed, but depressed to that degree would indicate something larger than depression. I'm fence-sitting on the matter, waffling between "cursed by the demise of their deity to fade away" and "struggling against said fade" This comment has given me much food for thought, and is greatly appreciated.

*: I have read that some medieval steppe societies were like that, with men moving out to herd animals in the spring and coming back in the autumn, and women remaining in the villages and cultivating the land. It might be an interesting way to develop a society, and can provide for some fascinating traditions.

And yet once more, another great bit of feedback. To this point, I've been working in broad brush strokes of design. It's time to get some of the fine details down. And I believe that I might just take this one as a fine detail. Making it so that a portion of each clan remains on a settlement while the rest nomad about a bit makes for some wonderful fluff. Very serious thanks!

To sum up, if you have Elves that are "not quite Elves" then you can still call them Elves, but if you have Elves that are "most definitely not Elves" then you may want to consider using another name to avoid confusing your players.

Perfectly phrased and excellently summarized. I guess I'll have to figure out which applies. In the current revision, they are "Not quite Elves" but over revisions they may become "most definitely not Elves"

Kudos!

Re: Kender

Y'know, I'd never thought of that. Then again, I seem to be showing a true color of myself with this. I always am guilty of assuming that since *I* know something that *EVERYONE ELSE* knows it too. So with this, you've shown me a proper path for this.

Just stick with the tried-and-true unless you've got something truly original. And, if you do have something truly original, try to figure out a nickname in addition to the requisite overly-fancy official name. Kinda like World of Warcraft's "blood elves" vs "sin'dorei" (except of course that the blood elves aren't terribly original).

Thank you, that puts this in perfect context. I'm a recovering WoW addict.

And no, "Blood Elf" isn't terribly original, nor is it descriptive of what Blood Elves in WoW are. They... haven't got a thing to DO with Blood.

Your Elves sound pretty Elvish to me. LotR defined Elves as being in a racial decline by the time Frodo took the Ring to Mordor. They were leaving this world and "Going West". You simply changed that decline from metaphorical to practical. If they are still graceful, have pointy ears, use swords and bows and still have a civilization older than most they are still Elves (just aren't happy keebler elves).

Your Dwarves still sound very Dwarven too, just because they don't mine and spend their lives in caves chasing gold doesn't make them non-dwarves. Raymond E. Feist's view of Dwarves in "Magician" had Dwarves as primarily Farmers and Warriors, very few actually toiled away in the mines. They preferred the sun, open fields and tending to their flocks to toiling away in mines. They still had origins in the dark places of the world, but even Golarion's dwarves strived to live in the light. Beards, clans and a propensity for grudge holding is still dwarven.

Hm, hadn't thought about that LotR angle for things. Mostly, I think, because I've been trying to avoid dipping into 'traditional' fantasy. (In case that wasn't somehow obvious)

As for the Dwarves, I think you've just provided me some new reading material.

I really do appreciate this comment. Thank you!

Having been in a homebrew scifi where various racial expys are used, you can use different names but be prepared to spend a lot of time telling players "Well, they're (standard fantasy race) with a few differences." ie "They're drow but instead of living underground, the star of their system is a red supergiant, providing limited light to the surface," etc. Races do have expectations that you can defy or modify, but if a race is clannish, short, and bearded, just call them dwarves; if they're tall, slim, and have pointy ears, they're elves. Changing the names are just going to confuse people.

Thanks! This is exactly the kind of feedback I'm looking for!

Sorry to post so much, but I keep having different things come into the forebrain that merit a seperate post.

With that said, I'd like to discuss worldbuilding a bit more.

The source reference document for my world can be found at http://worldoftinris.wordpress.com/2009/09/08/initial-overview-wip

In my previous post, I discussed my beloved Halflings on my homebrew world. Now I'm moving on to the rest of the races in a comparative analysis.

As I see things, Elves on this world really get the short end of the stick. Sub-normal-fantasy human lifespans, no racial deity, harsh living conditions in their home islands and other factors. They're rather in a Charlie Foxtrot situation after their racial deity's death several centuries previous. Since then, their lives have grown shorter, the reproductive drive/ability has faded, and the entire race is in the twilight years of its existence.

My Beloved Spouse (Kobold chorus: "We love you!") has pointed out that this trend seems to make these Elves almost unrecognizable as Elves. Sure, they have pointy ears. They use bows and live rather tree-huggy lives. They speak Elven. But she suggested that I not CALL them Elves because they 'violate the preconceptions most players have of Elves' (paraphrasing, but close to verbatim quote).

Moving on from Elves, you may also next notice that the Dwarves of this world aren't really Dwarven. Sure they have beards (even the women!) and they're very clannish. But they're not miners, they're farmers. They have a democratic society. They're nomadic. There are SOME that are curious about 'traditionally Dwarven' things like archaeology, but this is a very recent trend spawned after one clan stumbled across a 'dig' while farming. (This being not in the source doc yet, but in my brain)

So, my Beloved Spouse (Kobold chorus: "We love you!") thinks these individuals shouldn't be called Dwarves.

So, I guess this brings us to the question again. What do you fine people think? Each race DOES have its own 'native name' for itself, as currently outlined. But should I use the traditional fantasy names? Should I change them? Should I document elsewhere in the source that X race is actually an analogue of Y race with a different name? (ie list the racial equivalents in a system reference document like a 'GM's guide' rather than the 'player's guide' such as an entry in the GMG stating "Barnatim are Orcs")

This brings us to the audience participation part of this post. What do you all think? Am I changing too much? Should names be altered to protect the innocent?

Constructive input is very welcome and appreciated.

Since people tend to value their personal space, expect lots of urban sprawl. Also could have a flavor of "manifest destiny" and "small-man'd burden".

Ooh, like this lots. Thanks!

Hmm, incredible feedback Slim. I originally threw the War in for flavor, and now I see that it really is going to be a lot bigger deal in future revisions.

With a war affecting the majority of younger men (similar to real world combats, the leaders of the armies would most likely have been the elders of the race) and possibly/probably females as well, that makes a major impact. I'm thinking of editing so that the gerontocracy arose from the war, with the younger population being both thinned by the combat and also having come to see their elders as de facto leaders. Mmmf, I think I like this idea more and more!

Re: tech and magic post-war. I basically have already scripted it that the Halflings have a great fear-respect of the weapons of their combat. Most towns would prominently display siege equipment, leaving it to disrepair but maintaining it enough in a "Never again" and/or "Never forget" sort of fashion. While I am enamoured of the idea of something akin to Hazard Magi (from Thieves World), I think I'll avoid that. I want this to be mostly original content, and borrow sparingly from other sources if at all.

You have given me much to think on, and I will definitely remember this when time to credit my sources comes about.

Re: Kevin Andrew Murphy... I like your ideas. Given your feedback, I'm just going to throw open the reference document that I'm working on right now for the world in question.

It's over here:
http://worldoftinris.wordpress.com/2009/09/08/initial-overview-wip/

Very much a work in progress, but it shows where I am in the world building as well as addressing some of your feedback.

I hadn't yet gotten to the other 'non-primary' humanoids like Goblinoids and the like. Would love to hear your thoughts, as well as those of others.

Afternoon all,

I'm working on writing my own homebrew world, and I'm doing some WILDLY variant idea implementations. The biggest, in some estimations, is that Halflings on my world are the dominant race and as currently written live up to approximately 1500 years. This has, as written, led to a gerontocracy (rule by the eldest). Additionally, the Halfling race also reproduces incredibly quickly (one year gestation, almost always results in a multiple birth, and so on). This is reasoned by Divine Mandate.

Essentially, the world itself was called from nothingness by an erstwhile Halfling adventure-cum-Greater Power. As such, (S)He cast the dominant race in Zir (pardon the use of gender unspecified pronouns, it's part of the mystique of this particular Power) own image. QED, Halflings are prodigious, long lived and basically take an admixture of racial roles normally filled by other races rolled into one. (ie, the lifespan of Elves and the rapid spread of Humans)

In a readover by my Beloved Spouse (Kobold chorus: "We love you!") she points out that my post-Great-War semi-Utopian Halfling society doesn't match with how people work. By which she means any race that lives that long wouldn't behave as I've written them to. And any race that prodigious wouldn't behave that way either.

Which, I guess, brings us to my question.

Putting aside one's preconceptions of Halflings as they have been written in fantasy and gaming to this point, how would you envision a race such as described above behaving?

The factors that should enter into the equation:
1) Divine Providence. These are LITERALLY the Chosen Ones of the world's Great Power. All other races (which I won't get into on this post) are allowed to live here by this Power's sufferance.

2) This is a race that has just (within the past millenia) come out of a Great War (Think American Civil War, much larger scale, fantasy typical weapons)

3) This race inhabits a belt of land surrounding the planet's equator, and has an incredible amount of space over which to spread before encountering any resource depletion or urbanization difficulties.

There are other factors, but 3 is a good number.

So, let's hear all your feedback. Keep it constructive please, but be honest.

Bards can heal in PFRPG. Which... umm.. whiskey tango foxtrot? But it is what it is.

Okay, so I've read passing references to kitsune in the Dragons Revisited book and in the Golarion campaign guide. Have they been mentioned anywhere else? Hopefully with game stats?

And if they haven't, is there any intention to ever stat them up -- and would they be done as a PC race (like the 2nd edition hengeyokai) or as a creature more like the 2nd ed. Foxwoman of Hu Hsien?

Thanks for any help.

While not officially PFRPG, the resource "Kitsunemori" is a wonderful resource for Kitsune PC's. It's a bit heavy on crunch in places, and the setting is distinctly NOT Golarion. But... well... Kitsune!

My GM just recently gifted my beloved Kitsune (chorus: "We love you!") with a Deck of Many Things. So far, it has lead to my Ranger jumping straight to level 7 without passing go, the Kitsune being granted what my GM calls a "Nine Tails Stealer" (Nine Lives Stealer longsword), and seeded a trip to Castle Amber when said Kitsune drew "Void".

I LOVE the Deck of Many Things. It is THE premier and definitive awesome 'minor artifact'.

Love it. Could use some work, but I think all my potential comments have already been mentioned. Nevertheless, I think this is an incredible idea.

RtToEE: Half-crystal-dragon rogue/sorcerer with pseudodragon companion, deep dwarf necromancer/monk with his dead brother's skeleton as a familiar, human paladin/favored soul who went insane and served both Hextor and Demogorgon. Best Moment: Paladin murders NPC, pays daughter for burial, breaks into daughters store, plants evidence on wizard and sorcerer.

Homebrew: Kobold fire sorcerer, aquatic elf avatar with 3 intelligence, minotaur gladiator, orc pirate.

Second Darkness: Hobgoblin rogue (merchant), goblin scout, gnoll cleric/ranger of Achaekek, tiefling rogue/sorcerer. Best Moment: Burning Clegg Zincher's tent in a weaponless battle.

"The Ogre Campaign": Three brother ogre fighters. One wields a Huge repeating crossbow, one a wounding three-headed flail and full plate, and the other a katana and wakizashi. On a quest to destroy the church that wiped out their clan. Best Moment: Tie between throwing a town guard over the city wall, and breaking down the wall of a merchant who refused to sell them potions.

You, Sir, have style. I bow to your superior kung fu.

(Granted, I also have a Kobold Swashbuckler/Cleric of Bahamut in another game... but I figured rambling about ALL my weird crews would be waxing too far afield)

Bravo!

Over here I posted a bit of waxing poetic about my current Game. I mentioned the wacky mix of characters from across the D&D/OGL multiverse. (Elven epic wizard/fighter/thief/gate crasher, Dwarven evoker wizard/astrogineer, Gnome archivist/sorcerer, Bariaur planar ranger, Kitsune bard/nogitsune, Half-demon sorcerer, Halfling rogue)

I'm just curious what odd, eclectic, fun and otherwise weird combinations of characters other people have come up with in their own games.

See, Modrons I understand, demons, angels, devils, etc, I get.

How the heck does ultimate embodiment of ~All That Is Chaos~ translate into... Psychotic Frog?
Does anyone have any insight into that? Paizo guys? Anyone who might've read an article on the design of Slaads I missed?

I wonder if I can poke the R&D article-writer guys at Wizards to see if they have any info on it.

... I guess a psychotic frog would be pretty random the first time you met one.

In the current Golarion canon, it would appear that Slaad have been replaced by the Protean critters. I think those make much better sense, given what I've read of them to this point.

Beyond just the Pathfinder Core Book what are you using in your home game for sources of Feats or similar rules additions?

My wife and I are playing in her homebrew universe, in combination with some published universe material. Given that it's a plane-spanning, multiverse jumping hootinanny, we use a LOT of different sources for material.

For the main GMPC, we're using a wizard(universalist)/fighter/thief of epic level, and he's pretty much textbook PFRPG.

For my first (of many) characters, we're using a flat stock of wizard(evoker) and will soon be adding the Astrogineer PRC from "When The Sky Falls" (from which we're already using the engram rules and which will play a moderate part in the game overall)

Next up is my Gnome (textbook PFRPG race) Archivist/Fey Bloodline Sorcerer. Archivist is from Heroes of Horror, the Sorcerer is straight up PFRPG. Eventual goal is to spec this character out by adding on Mystic Theurge (because it really fits the character)

Then there's the Bariaur Planar Ranger. Bariaur rules combined from the OGL Fanbook for Planescape and the D&D 3.x Planar Handbook (or is it Manual... I always mix those up) and with the Planar Ranger variant from Unearthed Arcana. Otherwise, she's built on PFRPG ranger. Significantly doubt she'll be multi-classing.

Next is the Kitsune Bard/Nogitsune. The race and the Nogitsune class are both drawn from an OGL fanbook called "Kitsunemori" with some of the equipment from Oriental Adventures. I'm thinking (somewhat jokingly) of adding Cleric to the mix, and pledging her to a homebrew trickster deity.

Then there's the other GMPC, a Alou Demon Infernal Bloodline Sorcerer. Mostly textbook PFRPG, and I'm not sure where my wife pulled the racial stuff honestly.

And last, but not least, there's the newly added PFRPG Halfling Rogue with rules from the traits enhancement book. She's... a bit in over her head, and is currently one of my favorite 'pure RP characters'

There's discussion of adding a PFRPG built Druid, a Modron Outcast Psion (again from the OGL fanbook for Planescape, with material from the wizards.com web release on Modrons) and other wacky hijinx.

In other news, I've been wanting to post about this group for a while now. This is the first chance I've gotten. I am rather fond of this little band, and would like to know if anyone else has fantastic tales of their own motley crew of disparate worlds/books/resources.

Ooh, my favorite "Bad" guys. I have always loved Paladins, but I secretly (shh!) adore the Anti-Paladin. The concept of this yang to the Paladin's Yin is greatly anticipated.

The old-school vibe of the name is very good in my opinion, as it truly does represent the opposite side of the shiny "Lawful Good and Violent About It" coin.

*does a little evil happy dance*

Minor nit to pick. In the description it reads: "The lodges is sealed".

*scurries off to proofread more*