Molech's page

For some reason I'm unable to create this Thread in the apropriate Forum so I'm putting it here and waiting for someone to Move it.

A couple weeks ago a gaming aquantance mentioned he might be interested in playing in The Society if I threw something together again BUT, he's really only interested in playing in a couple areas of Golarion.

No problem at all, I of course responded, cuz even among the few dozen Scenarios I already own there are plenty of modules that take place in the couple areas he wants to game in and -- were I to go to Paizo.com and look for more, I'd find more.

The only trouble is, gee wiz, there's no way to tell where several Scenarios take place unless one actually opens up each Scenario. And sometimes even then the full description doesn't say where the Scenario takes place.

Is there any way you can put each Scenario's location in the header or something so customers can more easily find all the adventures that take place in, for example, Varisia, The WorldWound/ Mendev and Ustalov?

Thanks for your consideration.

In a PC-Build exercise I came across something that concerned me.

The Luck Domain allows a Cleric to reroll a d20 in any situation before he or she learns about the result of the roll. So if the Cleric rolls a five on a Ref Save, for example, the Domain ability allows for a reroll showing the Cleric's luckiness.
Got it. It makes great sense -- well done.

But what about these situations:

The PC Fighter rolls an attack and totals a 23 -- misses.
The PC Rogue rolls an attack and totals a 26 -- hits.
The PC Cleric w/ Luck rolls an attack and totals a 24 -- misses.
Next round.
The PC Fighter rolls an attack and totals a 29 -- hits.
The PC Rogue rolls an attack and totals a 25 -- misses.
....Now the Cleric goes and knows exactly what is needed to hit the 26 AC. So the Player knows after the d20 is rolled and BEFORE the DM says whether it hits or not, if it hits -- thus creating a loophole in the Luck Domain ability to reroll a d20 before knowing if it's succesful or not.

And there's other times, too.
Reflex Saves for the Dragon's Breath Weapon:
The Rogue rolls and says, "I got a 19" -- and takes full damage.
The Fighter rolls and says, "Wohoo, I got a 24" -- and takes 1/2 damage.
So the Cleric rolls, calculates a 20 and since everyone knows a 19 fails....

And what about Knowledge Skills?!
The Wizard says, based on a Knowledge Planes check, that Demons & Devils have SR CR+11 -- even if they articulate it a bit differently, the Cleric -- and more unavoidably, the Player running the Cleric -- knows that means the Hezrou has an SR of 22.

So when the Cleric rolls to punch SR, the Player knows BEFORE the DM says anything if the roll was successful punching SR.

Is this a problem?

What is the thinking behind a different design for "Skill-Bonus" Traits? Knowledge Skill-Bonus Traits are given a +1 to TWO Knowledge Skills; other Skill-Bonus Traits are given a +1 to ONE Skill.

So you can get a +1 to Diplomacy (& it becomes a Class Skill) or a +1 to Sense Motive (& it becomes a Class Skill) ....
But you get a +1 to Knowledge Arcane AND Architecture (& one becomes a Class Skill) or you can get a +1 to Knowledge History AND Nobility (& one becomes a Class Skill).

Does anyone know if there is a web-page somewhere that gives a comprehensive list of all the Traits with a brief description of the Trait's Bonus (exactly the way Feats and Spells are listed in the Core Book)?

For Example:

Reactionary +2 Initiative
Anatomist +1 to confirm Critical Hits
Scholar of the Great Beyond Bonus on Knowledge Skills

This way a person can see basically what each Trait does and then decide to take a closer look at a particular Trait.

Is there a Feat that gives a Bonus to a PC's CMB?

Is there a Feat that gives a Bonus to a PC's CMD?

The Persuasion Feat gives a PC a bonus to Diplomacy and Intimidate. This makes absolutely no sense -- these two CHA based Skills are opposite of each other, yes?! Why are they combined?

Wouldn't the Feat be better designed if it were Diplomacy and some other CHA based Skill -- most obviously Perform? Or maybe Diplomacy and Bluff?

1} How would it affect a game if the Feat were a bonus to Diplomacy & Bluff (or Diplomacy & Perform)?

2} Does anyone else see Persuasion as poorly designed?

Thanks.

What all do we know about the Order of the Gate and from what sources?

I have the Inner Sea Guide so I'm really looking for info in addition to that.

Spoilers Note: Please if there is anything from Curse of the Crimson Throne or the Council of Thieves Adventure Paths do not give me any info one way or another as I am avoiding spoilers for these. Everything else is fair game.

Thanks!

Please cancel my Adventure Path Charter Subscription effective for the Skull and Shackles AP.

I eagerly look forward to renewing my subscription for the Shattered Star Adventure Path.

Continue my Pathfinder Modules and Pathfinder Tales subscriptions.

This is a Hold Monster scenario.
Please comment on whether we've interpreted the RAW correctly:

Round 1:
Initiative 10.... Wizard casts Hold Monster on monster; monster fails its Save.

Initiative 9.... Monster's turn, gets new Save -- fails.

Round 2:
Initiative 10.... Wizard throws Fireball somewhere else.

Initiative 9.... Monster gets new Save, succeeds.

. . . .

What struck us as perhaps not right is that in the above scenario, the Monster gets two Saves in the first round of combat. The initial Save AND the Save when it's its turn in initiative.

This happens differently if the monster acts before the Wizard in initiative order -- but in cases where the monster goes after the Wizard, does he really get two Save attempts before the Wizard gets to go again?

The specific wording in the spell description indicates that the monster does get two Save attempts but it seems odd.

Demogorgon has two heads -- two personalities that struggle against each other making for a greatly Chaotic Demon Lord.

But....

What if one of those two Heads -- one of those personalities -- were actually Lawful Evil to the extreme? Intelligent. Creative. Thoughtful. Wise.

Bad or Brilliant?

I just saw that the Bestiary does not have rules nor a Template for Half-Creatures.

It gives the examples of a Half-Fiend, Half-Celestial and Half-Dragon -- and the Bestiary 2 (or 3?) gives a couple more (Half-Entropic or somesuch, I think). But nothing on how to make Half-Creatures RAW.

How do I make a Half-Satyr / Half-Nymph, specifically (assuming I ignore the line about Satyr offspring always being Satyrs -- or interpret as Satyr-Humanoid offspring being Satyrs)?
Also, a Half-Pixie / Half-Succubus?
And, while I got you here, a Half-Norn / Half-Human?

Thanks

(These are for specific NPCs and NPC concepts that will likely never even need to be stat-blocked as they will be non-combat encounters -- but you never know and I'd love to have some RAW to fall back on.)

. . . . Are backwards.

I'm playing through Carrion Crown now -- no future Spoilers please -- but it seems to me that when we PCs arrive in Illmarsh and (for us) almost immediately learn that the Dark Rider went to the old abandoned manor a mile away (last used, by the way, the night the Lord was murdered and the heir disappeared; hello Whispering Way), that all the other PC groups playing this would also go there before agreeing to investigate the temple to Gozreh for the lying mayor.

For us, when we arrived in the town we immediately went to the temple,... got kicked out,... became suspicious of them,... asked around town and figured the temple was just busy dealing with the problems the townsfolk were worried about,... (saw the Cthulhu out in the lake),... deduced that the "neighbors" were kidnapping people instead of taking the daughters or whatever,... were asked to got to the town hall where we questioned the mayor and learned, after sifting through his lies, that he thinks something's up with the temple and he wants us to investigate it -- oh, and that the Dark Rider we're trying desperately to catch up to went to this old manor that, 70 years ago, was the scene of a murder and has been abandoned since then.

For us it seemed pretty obvious to go to the old house and let the crooked mayor and probably-corrupt temple deal with their own problems. We've got bigger fish to fry than whatever the temple and the "neighbors" are into. Of course we'll go back to Illmarsh if we have the chance and certainly if what we learn at the old manor suggests we need to go back.

But the DM was surprised we turned down the mayor's deputation. AND had to adjust his DM-plans cuz as written the PCs are apparently assumed to forget all about the Whispering Way and the Dark Rider once this shady mayor, lying through his teeth, asks us to go take out a temple to Gozreh that he thinks is up to no good.

Screw you, Dude, we're following the Dark Rider -- but we'll come back if we can, if we have time.

So here's my question, did any other groups run into this or was it just odd that we did it this way based likely on how our DM ran it??

Currently, we PCs have only just started to enter this old manor. We followed the Dark Rider's horse tracks and found his horse in the stable and found where he was in a fight and lost. We are gonna search the rest of the manor first thing next session and since the Dark Rider's horse has apparently been abandoned and the Dark Rider looks long-gone, we'll have to go back to Illmarsh to learn more and hopefully find out what to do next to track down the Whispering Way.

But this seems badly designed. Whispering Way guy didn't even really enter the town as far as we know -- he went straight to this old manor where he must've been betrayed by other Whispering Way guys and got killed. Hopefully we'll find the Whispering Way in town but it doesn't look like it'll make any sense.

Check me on this, according to pure RAW:

Your weapon's damage dice are rolled twice (for x2 weapons) and ALL your bonuses are doubled.

...with all your usual bonuses...

.

A So your STR damage is doubled. (It's called a "bonus" in the book.)
B Your Weapon Specialization Feat damage is doubled. (It's called a "bonus" in the book.)
C Your Power Attack Feat damage is doubled. (It's called a "bonus" in the book.)
D Your Overhand Chop, 2-Weapon Ftr Archetype damage is doubled. (It's called a "bonus" in the book.)
E Your Favored Enemy damage is doubled. (It's called a "bonus" in the book.)
F Your Smite Evil damage is doubled. (It's called a "bonus" in the book.)

Etc.

So....
Ran-1 / Pal-4 / Ftr-4, Greatsword Critical Hit:

4d6 damage
A +12 (18 STR = +4/+2, doubled)
B +4 (Weapon Spec +2, doubled)
C +12 (Power Attack BAB=9 = +6, doubled)
D +4 (Overhand Chop=double STR not 1 1/2 STR,... +2, doubled) {1}
E +4 (Fav Enemy (Undead) = +2, doubled)
F +16 (Smite (Undead)=Double Pal Lvl = +8, doubled) {2}

So all totaled:
4d6 + 54

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{1} Overhand Chop: The regular STR has already been done at 1-&-half so this Archetype bonus only adds 2 more (then doubled). +4 STR is usually +6 and that is already doubled in A. So the Overhand Chop only gives 2 more (then doubled).

{2} Smite Evil: Damage is equal to Pally Lvl (4 in this case) or DOUBLE Pally Lvl if vs Undead, Evil Dragons or Outsiders. So the example is 4 + 4, doubled.

This spell sucks.

It always has.

Sure, if there's only one PC it's no big deal but any time there's more than one PC -- HELLO -- this spell sucks. What the hell is the point of casting Nondetection on yourself so the BBEG can't easily find you if all the BBEG needs to do is cast his Scry on the dumb-ass full BAB PC and he knows where we are and what we're doing!

So....

Why not make Nondetection like Water Breathing (another 3rd level spell):

Nondetection:
Duration: 2 hours per level -- to be split up evenly between all the recipients.

So a 12th level Wizard can cast it on himself for 24 hours.
OR
cast Nondetection on each of the four PCs for 6 hours.

A 5th level Wizard can put Nondetection on the party of 4 for 2 1/2 hours.

SPOILERS...

I see a pretty big problem in Pett's otherwise excellent adventure.

We PCs are asked to find evidence, one way or the other, about the Beast's involvement in a handful of crimes he's accused of because the Judge is certain that it will not be a fair trial otherwise.

So here's what happens:

1: The Beast is caught at the university after doing about a million bucks of damage breaking-and-entering and the Seasage Effigy has been stolen.

2: Now the Beast is also charged with murdering some bumpkins in the swamp.
-But look, we found the Dark Creeper & Skin Stealer who are really responsible. We the PCs show.

3: Now the Beast is charged with burning down an asylum and the involuntary manslaughter that goes with it.
-But look, it was a fight between the Skin Stealer and the doctor he was conspiring with. We the PCs show.

4: Now the Beast is charged with killing some children; he even laughed at the little girl's murder.
-But look, that nasty little kiddy kidnapper-rapist-murderer that turned into a Wight did it, not the Beast, who actually tried to help. The Beast was crying, not laughing, for his friend cuz she's dead. Let's Speak w/ Dead! We the PCs show.

Oh Frabjous day, Calloo Callay!
The Beast is innocent afterall. F.U. to all the jerk citizens; the Beast can go to Daddy at his castle. He's free.

That's what happens.

BUT WTF about the stolen effigy and the damage at the university?!!!
Duh! He was captured there.
Red-handed.
Dazed and Confused for so long it's not true.
He did it.

Fine, we learn LATER that the Whispering Way used some device to take control of him and they're the guilty ones, but WE DON'T KNOW THAT (at least can't prove it) at trial!

What did we miss?

(Or did Pett and Jacobs miss it?)

Okay.

I really don't want to get Skull and Shackles. I don't like pirates. I don't like gaming on the open seas. I don't like any of the six plot outlines for the various volumes.

But I kinda want to keep up my Charter subscription and am really anticipating Shattered Star. And I love Ricard Pett (Vol 1 author) and Greg Vaughan (Vol 2 author) and -- despite the trash that is The Ruby Phoenix Module that came out a month ago, love Tim Hitchcock (Vol 5 author).

More importantly, I really enjoy Robin Laws' fiction.

But I don't want an article on Besmara or Torag, Vols 1 & 2 respectively. Nor an article later on on how to play huge naval battles in Pathfinder.

But I do sorta want the article (in Vol 2) on what's under the seas in Golarion. It sounds like it could be really good.

So, "To be" or not "To be" -- do I cancel my charter subscription 'till Shattered Star or not?

At the bookstore the other day a passerby in the isle and I were talking about some books and shortly after I recommended Worldwound Gambit and the Pathfinder Tales line in general, he suggested The Name of the Wind (and a Warhammer novel titled The Red Duke but I wasn't so interested).

I am, however, interested in what other Paizonians say about The Name of the Wind -- what it's basically about and how detailed and dynamic the characters are, if the style of writing is complicated or simple, introverted or full of action -- that kind of stuff. And how good you think it is and why.

Anyone who's read Rothfuss and has an opinion who'd like to share your impressions, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks.

Just wondering how you would react to this if your DM decided from now on, this would happen:

Whenever the PCs encounter a Dragon (for a fight) the DM will say "You see a Gargantuan Dragon" and we'll roll the initiative and the DM will NOT say what color the Dragon is until the PC with the Knowledge Arcane check comes up in initiative and rolls it, uses a Free Action to say, "It's Red so that means fire Breath Weapon."

I'm thinking about doing this. How would you react, knowing in advance that when you see a Dragon you may not know it's BW 'till you're told by another PC?

Obviously Paizo hasn't made any of Casmaron's maps official yet (save for western Iobaria in "The Varnhold Vanishing") but I'm curious nonetheless....

The Windswept Wastes
This area -- and Ninshabur -- is located a bit south of and on the western side of the Castrovin Sea, correct? So one could travel from the bottom of the World's Edge Mountains in far eastern Taldor straight there.

Iblydos
These are the isles located south of the "C" in "Casmaron" on page 204 of the Inner Sea Guide, correct. So the obvious way to reach Iblydos is by sea straight from Jalmeray.

The Isthmus,
between the eastern edge of the Castrovin Sea and the ocean separating Casmaron from Tien Xia -- what is that???

When will we have any info on AP #12, vols 73-78?

Even a mere and indefinate sentence like "We're thinking of something in one of the bigger Golarion mini-settings such as Cheliax, Taldor, Absalom or Andoran"... or "We're thinking of going back to Garund, maybe Osirion or even southern Garund off the map."

Might Paizo initiate a dialog in the near future to consider changing the model for its flagship product, the Adventure Paths, now that the gaming industry, changes led by other companies, is heading for a major overhaul?

I see two possibilities:
Paizo will keep its publishing model and ride the "stability" platform to get new customers unhappy with other companies' new stuff.
Or,... Paizo will begin deciding if "soon" will be a good time to consider moving from Adventure Paths to something else, about the same time other companies publish their new stuff.

For my own preference, I hope paizo considers moving away from Adventure Paths. Publish Shattered Star and maybe one final one in Absalom & The Spire of Nex, then begin a new model after volume 72 (12 full APs).

That will be GenCon 2013, the most likely date when other companies will finally publish their new gaming models. And Paizo introduce its shiny new flagship publication to replace the Adventure Path.

This also means that the final 2 APs would be more traditional, a Varisian "Rod of 7 Parts" campaign and an "Undermountain/ Greyhawk/ Ptolus" campaign -- right during the year long open playtests and greater industry dialog.

Hopefully a 96 page, softcover, perfect-bound book on high-quality paper featuring 2-3 independent adventures, one of which can be part of a longer campaign, and 1-2 gaming articles, plus comics, an editorial, book and game reviews and great art.

Does anyone know where the names "Baatezu" and "Tanar'ri" came from, etymologically?

Who among Dave Cook, Dr. Rateliff, Tim Beach, Jeff Grubb, Steve Winter, etc., etc. proposed those to be the names for demons & devils and, more importantly, how did those names become accepted for publication (as opposed to other names)?

Thanks for any insight!

I don't feel these two should be allowed to work together. I don't think Weapon Focus should work with Ranged weapons because of Point Blank Shot.

A Full BAB Fighter gets Weapon Focus and his +1 BAB.

A Full BAB Archer gets Weapon Focus, his +1 BAB AND Point Blank??

Plus the Archer gets to stay 30 feet from the combat while the Fighter has to stand toe-to-toe in melee.

Anything I'm missing?

I'm trying to find a bit of time to design some new Medium BAB Classes and am hoping for advice on things I should consider.

Like the Bard and the Inquisitor, these Classes would have 2 good Saves and up to six Spell Levels. Some would have 6 Skills Ranks per Level like the previous, some would have 8 or 4 like the Rogue or Druid or Monk.

One is a Medium BAB "Paladin": Divine Spells, 4 Skill Ranks, a few of the Pally Features. Considerations to maintain Balance are appreciated.

Another is a Medium BAB "Pathfinder": Arcane & Divine mix of Spells, 8 Skill Ranks, Feats as Class Features in-line w/ the Fighter progession (Lvl's 1,2,4,6,8...) -- the Feats are Skill Feats & non-Combat or Casting Feats (Improved Init, Fleet, Skill Focus, Dodge, Gr Fort, etc., etc. -- no Weapon Focus, Power Attack, Combat Casting or Spell Focus). The "Pathfinder" would also have something like Bardic Knowledge and some Features including Evasion, Uncanny Dodge, Rogue Talents and the like. This Class is intended to replace the Bard -- unless one plays a Bard purely for Bumping other PCs, which this Class has nothing that does that. Compare with Bard, Rogue, Akashic, Fighter. Game Balance considerations, please?

To all Paizonians who, like me, are far far away from anything resembling family -- Merry Christmas!

Shout out if you're alone today, too!
We'll have a Happy Paizo Day.

Your top 10 FAVORITE D&D illustrators of ALL time...

1} Keith Parkinson
2} Wayne Reynolds
3} Branko Bistrovic
4} Dave Trampier
5} Damien Mammoliti
6} Erol Otus
7} Kieran Yanner
8} Jeff Easley
9} Dave Sutherland
10} Anthony Waters
11} Matt Cavotta

(My list goes to eleven cuz sometimes you need that little bit extra when you really want to Rock.)

(NOTICE: Any list with Tony DiTerlizzi can not be considered legitimate.)

Gygax originally created 6 demons: Type I: Vrock, Type II: Hezrou, Type III: Glabrezu, Type IV: Nalfeshnee, Type V: Marilith and Type VI: Balrog.

But the Tolkien estate (or whomever) wouldn't allow him to use "Balrog" (or Ent or Hobbit, etc.).

So Gygax, still wanting an uber powerful, pure Chaos Demon, tearfully put aside the Balrog and decided to make the King of the Formorian Giants, Balor, his Type VI demon, balor.

But for me, well, Balor is a proper name, the name of the Demon Lord / King of the Fomorian Giants -- rival of Kostchtchie, murderer of Surtur.

And I like that Type VI demons are Balrogs.

Question: Is "Balrog" still a "No way, No how" monster for Pathfinder, or is it possible we'll be able to see a Balrog in our beloved game?

What are Giants, exactly?

Well, lemme ask a different question first so you see where I'm going with this -- Do you see the difference between the "Flavor" of the Fire Giant on p128 of the Bestiary (pure Elemental: Fire subtype) and the Frost Giant (humanoid-looking) on p129?

Artists in the D&D monster books have been consistently illustrating Giants as more "humanoid" looking. But there are a handful of illustrations over the years of Giants seeming more Elemental.

Wolfgang Baur's Fire Giant daughter (Dungeon 39) seems more "humanoid" -- albeit with very "Pathfinder-esque" First World, Fey feel. While Wolfgang Baur's Pathfinder Stone Giants seem like Earth Elemental Giants, essentially Easter Island megaliths.

The famous King Snurre is a humanoid-looking giant.
The more recent Snurreson is an elemental-looking giant.

We have had Shadow and Sun Giants.
We have had Fog and Jungle Giants.

. . . .

All this has gotten me to thinking about breaking Giants down into two categories: ancient, "linnorm-style" Giants that are Elemental subtypes, and the traditional, humanoid-but-still-Fire or Frost-Giant.

So,...

What exactly ARE Giants?

More importantly, what can I name the ancient race, the "elemental" Giants?

I don't like how Humans (and H-Elfs & H-Orcs) get a +2 to any one Ability Score -- which is better than a +2 to two Scores with a -2 to one Score.

I figure if I can get a balanced Human at +2 to two Scores and -2 to one Score, it would serve as a template to "fix" H-Elf & H-Orc and make the Races more equal.

I wanted to share my proposal and see what the other Lords of the Boards say.

Human

+2 to one Physical Ability Score and +2 to one Mental Ability Score
-2 to one Ability Score

1 Bonus Feat

1 extra Skill point each Level

1 extra Trait from any type

1 extra Language in addition to Common (can choose any non-secret language)

.
.
.
.
So, my thoughts on this are that, because a Player can better customize his Ability Scores (and the extra Trait & Language), more Players will choose Human.

BUT -- I don't think that those Human Racial Traits make a better Race than Dwarf or Elf.

Thoughts?

Was there a name for those Halflings, either an ethnic racial name or tribal/ region name?

Thanks!

The Bestiary has a sidebar for powerful Known Devils as it does for Angels, Demons and other Outsiders.

But the Book of the Dmaned: Vol 1 only has four of those Devil "lords" listed.

Why is there nothing on, for example, Nahemah, Orobas, or Xaphan in Princes of Darkness?!

Or, to take it from another angle, what is "special" about Rubicante that Wes included him in Princes of Darkness?

Baalzebul, Dispater & Moloch are obviously in BotD v.1 and it's understandable why Glasya-Labolas is not: he's a dude while the "Glasya" we all know and love is a chick. But what gives with not having Astaroth in the BotD v.1?! Some of us would like to know about Zagan.

If you were to decide the Yeti and Sasquatch were two different monsters of the same Type or Subtype, what would some of the differences be?

I've always felt that the idea of a vampire getting a chick pregnant and having a Dhampyr offspring, half vampire/ half human, was incredibly stupid. Almost as dumb, even, as a Dragon vampire.

But the idea of something like a Dhampyr is cool -- as well as very old in real world myth.

So I have a new idea for the basis of the Dhampyr but it's a bit incomplete and was hoping to chew it a bit here with other Lords of the Boards.

Dhampyr:
A half-vampiric-human resulting from an ancient Divine Curse against heresy, apostacy or other anti-Divine crime.

Ages ago the Divine god of Light (Sarenrae, Lathander, Mishakal...) cursed the first mortal with vampirism as punishment for crimes against the Divine, unfortunately causing the plague of vampires in the Material Plane.

Avatars and High Clerics of the god of Light, in recent ages, have punished apostates and heretics likewise with a similar curse, that of the Dhampyr, a weaker version of the vampire.

While vampires are undead, reproducing through blood sharing in death, dhampyrs are alive and reproduce naturally, through copulation.

Dhampyrs' racial stats are not changed from the Bestiary 2.

(Just, what level Cleric spell would be Curse of Dhampyrism? What would it look like? And -- is this a good idea?)

Looking for opinions:

What are some implications of allowing a Gestalt Sorcerer / Sorcerer PC?

The PC would have two Bloodlines and at each appropriate level would recieve the features of both.

The PC would get Spells Known and Spells per day for both, thus doubling the number of known and per/day spells.

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Comparing this PC to a Gestalt Sorcerer / Wizard -- or a Sorcerer / Monk, they seem equitable.

A couple weeks ago some gaming buddies and I were talking about what the funnest level was to play -- and on a tangent, what Classes would comprise the funnest PC party.

So, if you're DMing the perfect party in the perfect game, what level would the PCs be -- and which Classes?
(Or, if you're not DM and control all the PCs, what level would you want your PCs and what Classes?)

For me, 16th level is PERFECT.
(Even low casters get their big spells. You get that 4th Ability point. You can dip into other Classes & still get what you want. You can really get the PrC stuff you want.... Most importantly, you can use almost the entire Monster Manual. CR 20s are okay. Low level monsters can have lots of Class levels & templates. Medium level monsters can have a few Class levels. Level 16 is PERFECT.

So, as DM, my perfect group would be 7 Gestalt PCs of 16th Level:

Cleric-16
Paladin-10 / Fighter-4 / Inquisitor-2

Fighter-16
Barbarian-14 / Ranger-1 / Paladin-1

Inquisitor-16
Monk-12 / Rogue-2 / Shadow Dancer-2

Scout (3.5 CAd)-16
Ranger-13 / Fighter-3

Summoner-16
Warlock (3.5 CAr)-16

Magus-16
Fighter-4 / Rogue-8 / Dragon Disciple-4

Sorcerer-16
Witch-16

Can any of the FR experts help me a bit with The Fugue Plane, specifically what it looks like or what features, sounds, physical or political geography it has -- ESPECIALLY parts with Nothing to do with Kelemvor or Jergal?

The FRCS pretty much ignores any kind of description whatsoever and I'd like a bit of descriptive Fluff.

Thanks!

For fun I decided to go see who's been favoriting a few of my posts -- but I can't. The website always sends me back to the Messageboards when I click the thingy.

What's the best way to assign Layer Numbers to the Abyssal Lords of Golarion in our Homegames?

I agree that Paizo can't really number their Abyssal Layers the way they've been done in the past -- Pazuzu on #1, Socothbenoth on 597, etc., but it would be nice to have a general guideline on how to decide where Ahvoth-Kor, the jungle realm of Angazhan is in the Abyss in relationship to, say, The 88th Layer which belongs to Demogorgon. Or to have some principal to follow on where we might, in our Homegames, put Akigyiat, "one of the deepest known anchor realms, said to be the den of the... Qlippoth."

In the 1981 Fiend Folio is the Berbalang. Does anyone know if there are any adventures in Dungeon (or elsewhere) that feature berbalangs?

Thanks!

The more I read posts about MMO-RPGs the more I think I won't like the MO part and it got me thinking,....

Lisa said that they're doing an MMO because Ryan approached her with the proposal of an MMO as opposed to something else -- and said had something else been proposed yesterday's announcement would likely have been for that.

Well, "something else" sounds appealing to me and I was wondering about other types(?) of games there are.

Could (would) GoblinWorks, a couple years down the road when the MMO is up-and-running, design a second game that you buy or subscribe to that is essentially the same as what they're doing now, just without the other subscribers' PCs in your game?

A game where someone who's on everyday that I don't know and don't care about is gaming next to me, affecting my game (potentially negatively!), it's not appealing.

I'd be interested in trying out the sandbox / theme-park game where my PC is the only character not run by the computer program. Or, even better, one could by the game (or subscribe) and get a membership number and have an option to allow or disallow other membership numbers.

That sounds perfect -- I could play and I'm the only PC, or I could to choose to let a few of my friends run their PCs in the same game-world.

Has this ever been done or thought of?

Bear with me a bit as I'm a complete noob to MMO-RPGs; I've read over the GoblinWorks FAQ and one of my big concerns also seems to be one of the areas that GoblinWorks & Paizo have put considerable development into and I figure you'll have the answer, despite the project being so new.

Regarding the economy of the Pathfinder Online world:

One of the great parts of the game Monopoly is that there is a finite amount of money and a limited number of Houses and Hotels. So, even if you can afford to put Hotels on your Boardwalk and Park Place, if there aren't any left to buy, you can't and you'll die poor, miserable and lonely from a venereal disease in real life.

Is this so in Pathfinder Online?
Let me spell out what I mean: If my PC enters an area in The River Kingdoms like one from "Stolen Lands" and builds a keep and a small village, gathers himself an army, and developes a manufacturing industry -- are those resources -- the soldiers, blacksmiths, wenches, lumber, that particular hill, lake & woodland, all used up? Or Is there an infinite number of NPCs and hills & rivers?

Ultimately, how does the gentleman who plays four hours per month not become overwhelmed by the gentleman who plays eighty hours per week?

Thanks.

Five years ago my gaming buddies dragged me to hell and forced me to play World of Warcraft(?) with them. I don't like video or computer games. I made a PC, Benjy Compson, and played for 30 minutes during which I accomplished walking 15 steps forward and then 15 steps backward and then 15 steps forward, over and over again. For half an hour. Never left the room where you're suppose to get your first mission -- never even got to the guy that gives you the mission.
I hate video & computer games that much.

But I LOVE Pathfinder
And I LOVE Golarion.

So,...
How does it all work:

Does a customer first go to Goblinworks.com and subscribe for $X per month?

Does a person need any kind of special hardware? Does a person need to buy the software? Or just download something?

If I try it and hate it, how easy is it to get rid of?

Can a person buy based on how many hours he's active?
I can see myself trying this if I can pay a little bit and only get access like, less than 10 hours per month.

Can we ignore parts of Golarion? With PFS I can guarantee I'll never ever, ever see The Mana Wastes or Numeria, ever. Can I do that in Pathfinder Online?

If it's Sandbox-like, how does that work? If I want Molthune to conquer Nirmathas and I build a PC to "do that," am I competing against other people from around the world who have a PC in Nirmathas? (Who I don't even know and will never know?) Or is the game I buy only adjustable to my PC and subscription --in other words, in an MMO-RPG, is each individual subscription a world unto its own, allowing or disallowing other subscriptions? Could one check an "isolate me" preference or an "isolate me from everyone except x, y, and z subscriptions" who are friends who also have subscriptions?

If it is "the whole world" and I make a PC from Taldor and the rest of the world makes PCs from Qadira, what's to stop them from killing the Taldor I love?

Please help me understand what an MMO-RPG is.
I've played D&D exclusively for 30 years, all tabletop roleplay, all D&D. Never computers. I could really use some help.

Thanks.

My son,

Short have been the days that I raised you since your mother's death in your nativity. I write this epistle to you in rememberance of her. So to must you continue, on these empty pages, to scribe letters to us here in Varisia as you travel afar with Desna.

I give to you my gift, a warning: Not all lands are like our Varisia, not all woods are like our Ashwood, not all towns are like the Ilsurian you know. Your mother's people in Urglin, you have been taught, are the pigspawn of Rovagug, but worse things there are than orcs.

And remember that Desna put her mark upon you from before your birth. I remind you lest in your youth you forget: Desna sent to me dreams of your mother's flight from Urglin, and bade me to find her in the Ashwood before she reached Ilsurian, for the men there love not orcs. And bade me to give my nephew to her. And bade him to plant in her his seed. You are marked by Desna, my son, this you may not forget for Her tattoo on your neck was given you in the womb.

You will find this journal in a day hence, on the road Desna provides you, and remember us. Let Desna guide your journey with dreams and may you find many answers along your path to the questions you seek, whether weal or woe.

Another Top Ten List request.

Who are the greatest and most famousestness Evil Powers in D&D's history -- avoiding the mere NPC BBEGs that were included in Dragon 359's list.

1} Asmodeus

2} Demogorgon

3} Tiamat

4} Vecna

5} Tharizdun

6} Bane

7} Lolth

8} Takhisis

9} Graz'zt

0} Lamashtu

(And since I'm the OP I get to have an Honorable Mentions list, too)

Orcus, Gruumsh, Rovagug, Mephistopheles, Erythnul, Cyric, Shar, Incabulos, Beelzebub & Dagon

I'm bringing this back.

I don't at all feel that being able to cast limitless 1HPs each day breaks the game.

It makes lower level adventures a bit more easy to survive and in higher level adventures it is completely pointless one way or the other.

And after a fight, when there's another fight coming soon, the PCs have to choose whether to use their Happy Stick or stronger -- or really weak Cure Minor Wounds. 1 HP per PC per round is not that much: 6 HP per minute I can deal with even if it's limitless.

What do you guys think?

If any of you playtested it, what happened?