Paris Crenshaw's page

That was my thought, too, Seeker. I enjoyed that character a lot, and I think Callisto would be a good portrayal of one type of an Oracle.

With her headdress, I'm getting a distinct Russia/Eastern Europe vibe from the Oracle...maybe from Irrisen? :D

I'm fine with your portrayal of Diviha. I'm also trying to keep Vissakiel's elven nature in mind without going overboard. I don't want him to be a one-dimensional character.

Sorry to hear Fiani won't be with us. I hope the school workload isn't excessive.

Feel better soon, Lilith!

Will there be feedback for those who made submissions or does no reply mean that everything is okay and no editing is needed? Will we have to wait for Wayfinder 2 to see if our submissions made the cut or are all submissions accepted?

WRT editorial comments, although things might be done a little differently for #2, I can tell you the way this was handled in #1.

The editors who work on Wayfinder are basically volunteering their time. You can request feedback from them via Liz, as she is the only one who will know who edited your work. It is up to the editors to determine if they are willing and able to provide feedback on your submission.

I was fortunate enough to get some feedback by from my editor last time. I was glad to get the critique.

However, Liz may be dealing with a larger and slightly more difficult beast in Wayfinder #2, so she may have different policies/procedures this time.

I can always count on you, Set, to provide really good ideas. And some of your thoughts are similar to what I have in mind for my story.

It doesn't sound like there's much intent to expand on that tidbit of lore, but I wanted to make sure of that before I get too far down this particular rabbit hole.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this.

Paris

Hi, All!

I'm wondering who among the talented folks at Paizo crafted the Pathfinder Chronicles chapter on Irrisen. I am working on a piece of Pathfinder fiction and have some rather pointed questions about the Irrisen cultural hatred of crows. I've done some Internet research on real-world crow myths and have some ideas of my own, but as the Wayfinder guidelines suggest, I want to make sure I am building on canon, rather than contradicting it.

I'd appreciate constructive thoughts from anyone in the community, but I'm particularly interested in picking the brain of that chapter's author, if possible.

Thanks!

Sincerely,
Paris

Hi, Liz.

I just sent in the linnorm bloodline. I'm not sure if you really need another bloodline, but it seemed to fit in with the theme nations for this issue, so I decided to give it a shot.

Thanks!
Paris

I just noticed that the monsters are up on the PRD site! I don't have the Bestiary in my hand (or in My Downloads), yet, but I'll take a look over the next few days and try to modify that Linnorm Bloodline. I mentioned a few posts back to bring it up to speed with all three varieties of linnorms in the PRD.

Would that be a decent crunch addition to the 'zine?

Should we change the name to "Weightfinder"?

I know...Booo....Hissss.

Lilith, I just sent in my fiction submission. Sorry I don't have anything crunchy to offer. I just don't know enough about linnorms to finish that bloodline.

All this talk of bloodlines and the focus of the issue of Wayfinder #2 really makes me wish I had more info on linnorms. I'd love to be able to round out my linnorm bloodline for submission.

Submission is out for editorial review. If all goes well, I should be able to submit it by the end of the week.

I like it. Allowing an alteration to an existing bloodline(and thus making a new style of play for the class) is a good idea.

Nice job!

However, as I went along, I realized that linnorms were different enough to allow for the creation of their own bloodline. I hope I did them justice.

Hi, All. I have a player who requested an alteration to the draconic bloodline to grant him heightened senses. He mentioned possibly getting the scent ability, but dragons don't have it. In looking through the Bestiary Preview, I realized that the crag linnorm does have the scent ability and thought that the linnorms would be a great source for a new bloodline.

I had to base everything off of the crag linnorm's entry, so I'm sure I will have to update things once I get a look at the other linnorms in the Bestiary.

I don't know what spell would be used to change into a linnorm, so I left form of the dragon III on the bonus spell list until I can get a better idea about that. I used bonus feats from the draconic bloodline, so there may be better choices for those, too.

Please take a look and let me know where I'm off base, in terms of power level, etc. I like the idea of a minor version of the death curse for the bloodline arcana, but there may be mechanical issues (difficulty in tracking what opponents are cursed, whether the curse should apply to all damage or just melee attacks, etc.)

Thanks!

Linnorm
Unlike sorcerers with the blood of the dragon flowing in their veins, you have been infused with the power of Golarion's original dragons, the linnorms. Perhaps an ancestor overcame a linnorm's death curse or even became an ally of these dangerous creatures. Whatever the reason, their strength lies within you, ready to manifest as you develop your power as a sorcerer.

Class Skill: Perception.

Bonus Spells: mage armor (3rd), see invisibility (5th), arcane sight (7th), bestow curse (9th), spell resistance (11th), true seeing (13th), greater arcane sight (15th), form of the dragon III (17th), foresight (19th).

Bonus Feats: Blind-Fight, Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Quicken Spell, Skill Focus (Fly), Skill Focus (Knowledge [arcana]), Toughness.

Bloodline Arcana: You curse those who harm you, just as those who kill a linnorm are subjected to a terrible curse. When an opponent damages you in combat, he must make a Will save or gain vulnerability to your energy type for a number of rounds equal to 1/2 your sorcerer level (minimum 1). The DC of the save is equal to 10 + 1/2 your sorcerer level + your Charisma modifier. An opponent who succeeds at his saving throw is gains immunity to your curse ability for 24 hours.

Bloodline Powers: You are infused with the power of the linnorms. Their power manifests in a number of ways. At 1st level, you must select one of the linnorm types (see the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary). This choice cannot be changed. A number of your abilities grant resistances and deal damage based on your linnorm type, as noted on the following table.

Linnorm Type / Energy Type / Breath Shape
TBD / Acid / 60-foot line
TBD / Electricity / 60-foot line
TBD / Acid / 30-foot cone
TBD / Fire / 30-foot cone
TBD / Cold / 30-foot cone
Crag / Fire / 60-foot line of magma (Pathfinder Bestiary Preview, p 20)
TBD / Electricity / 60-foot line
TBD / Acid / 60-foot line
TBD / Fire / 30-foot cone
TBD / Cold / 30-foot cone

Linnorm Senses: Starting at 1st level, you demonstrate the amazing sensory acuity of these primal hunters. You gain keen senses, granting you a +2 racial bonus to Perception checks. You also gain darkvision, 60 ft., and the Scent ability. At 5th level, your senses become more acute, increasing your racial bonus to Perception to +4 and your darkvision increases to a range of 90 feet. At 7th level, your Perception racial bonus increases to +6 and your darkvision increases to 120 feet. At 11th level, your Perception racial bonus increases to +8, and you gain the blindsense ability.

Linnorm Resistances (Ex): At 3rd level, you gain resist 5 against your energy type and a +1 natural armor bonus. At 9th level, your energy resistance increases to 10 and natural armor bonus increases to +2. At 15th level, your natural armor bonus increases to +4.

Breath Weapon (Su): At 9th level, you gain a breath weapon. This breath weapon deals 1d6 points of damage of the type possessed by your linnorm lineage per sorcerer level. Those caught in the area of the breath receive a Reflex save for half damage. The DC of this save is equal to 10 + 1/2 your sorcerer level + your Charisma modifier. The shape of the breath weapon depends on your dragon type (as indicated on the above chart). At 9th level, you can use this ability once per day. At 17th level, you can use this ability twice per day. At 20th level, you can use this ability three times per day.

Linnorms' Favor (Ex): At 15th level, you gain a fly speed of 100 ft. (average). You also gain the benefit of the favor bestowed upon linnorms by their mysterious benefactor. You gain regeneration 5. This ability improves to regeneration 7 at 17th level and regeneration 10 at 20th level. Lastly, you gain the linnorm's full death curse ability. If an opponent kills you in combat, he must make a Will save or permanently gain vulnerability to your energy type. The DC of the save is equal to 10 + 1/2 your sorcerer level + your Charisma modifier.

Wyrm of the North (Su): At 20th level, your linnorm heritage becomes fully manifest. You gain immunity to curse effects, paralysis, poison, sleep and damage of your energy type. You also gain constant true seeing as per the spell effect.

This is awesome. I'm still running RotR #1 on PbP and won't need this for some time, but I absolutely love the concept of haunts. Your willingness to share these rules before they've even had their final edits is totally cool. Thanks, James.

They wouldn't be out of line, and in fact I considered adding them myself.
The reason I didn't is that the 6th level ability Flawless Stride makes them pretty much redundant.

Assuming one does want to update the Scout class, would the addition of Nimble Moves and Acrobatic Steps to the Bonus Feats list be out of line?

I've never read any guidelines for how many bonus feats are "too many" for a class, but those two feats seem to make a lot of thematic sense (as do Wind Stance and Lightning Stance).

Okay guys, give me some feedback. What do you think of the game so far? What do you like? What would you improve? I'd really love to here what you think.

The game is great so far. Our group is more active and interactive than any PbP group I've ever been part of. It's nice that we're keeping things going ourselves.

Meanwhile, David, your posts do a good job of guiding, filling in holes, and keeping us moving without rushing us. I'm able to get a good sense of what's happening from your descriptions so far.

I don't have anything to suggest in the way of improvements, but I hope the opportunity to make suggestions will still be open as time goes on.

I'm looking forward to more of the game. Let the good times roll!

But it's cool! Stop trying to make sense. I want the cool, shiny thing! ;-)

Seriously, though. You make some good points, veector. I like the concept of a Pathfinder app, but the realization of that concept remains to be seen.

However, the point made earlier is that the creation of an iPhone app was an opportunity that presented itself. It makes sense that, should a similar opportunity become available for a different format, Paizo will seriously consider taking advantage of that, too. I doubt that they will limit their market to the relatively small portion of the community that has joined the iPhone collective.

That said, as an iPhone user, I wholeheartedly support the notion of learning more about the proposed application.

Oh, yeah! I forgot that thread started up prior to PaizoCon. Thanks, Ross!

Hello, fellow Paizo-types!

It just so happens that my wife and I will be in Seattle this weekend to attend a reception following a friend's wedding. We had originally planned on hanging out with a close friend, but she's come down with what she suspects is H1N1. She's worried about infecting others and, despite our mutual disappointment, has decided it would be best not to meet up.

That leaves my wife and me with not much to do on Saturday before our social engagement in the evening.

Any suggestions on what to do? We've been to Seattle together once before and have hit the major touristy spots, already. I've spent some time up there when "visiting" the carriers in Bremerton, but we aren't experts on the city by any stretch.

We are probably going to do "the duck" tour, just because it looks interesting and we haven't done that before.

I'm not sure about timing, but it might be cool to meet some of you, if that works out. My wife's not a gamer, though, so I can't devote a great deal of time to doing something cool, like stopping by the Paizo offices, which I'd love to do, some day...do you guys offer walk-in tours? ;-)

Anyway, I'd appreciate advice.

Cheers!
Paris

OCT 31! Ack! I need to get writing!

I was thinking of doing a piece of fiction that builds on what I started with the "Talithia's Tomb"...it may not have looked like a beginning, but that's what makes it fun. ;-)

So glad I saw this post today. And so glad that you guys are doing another issue so soon! Thanks, Lilith and Hugo!

Pathfinder iPhone App? Yes, please!

More info? Yes, please!

C'mon...Mairkurion even wrote a hymn, for goodness sake!

I think even a few beans could be spilled on this one, couldn't they?

Don't make me sick my daughters on you...they can be pretty persuasive when they start whining. ;-)

Awesometastic my fellow gamer foodie! You too, Paris. Just don't believe that guy that said that searing seals in juices - it doesn't. ;)

I think this is a really fun idea. It would be a neat way to bring my kids into Pathfinder gaming and the world of Golarion, too. "Okay, girls! Today, we're going to make a Korvosan beef stew for dinner. We can continue to explore the haunted manor house while it's on the stove."

I'm curious, though. Is there a risk in this project of reinforcing a similarity between Golarion and real-world region? Many cultures of our world are strongly identified with styles of cooking. If we aren't careful, we might overemphasize a connection that doesn't fit with the way Paizo envisions a particular nation. Just a thought.

As a foodie and RPG lover, I'm all in on this one...especially after the recipe for that Varisian dish. I love chickpeas! (Of course, I usually end up turning them into hummus...it's the magic of garlic and olive oil...I can't help myself.)

Vissakiel pulls back on the reins to stop his horse and glances up sharply, seeking the source of the voice. "Who goes there?"

Perception roll: 1d20(19)+2 = 21
How do we handle rolls, here? I just rolled a d20 on my desk. Are we going by the honor system or is there something more formal I should be using?

Vissakiel takes a moment to breathe in the crisp northern air, then looks to each of his companions.

"Well, since we have no idea what we're dealing with, I think the first thing we need is information. The idea of an entire village of people disappearing overnight. That would require a consolidated and highly organized attack, an act of extreme stealth on the villagers' part or magic of incredible power.

"I think we should travel toward the nearest of the 'cursed' villages and find out what we can from the surrounding communities. We'll likely get more rumor and myth than anything else, but even rumors can sometimes provide us with clues."

Sorry for being so slow. Had a crappy night last night. Here's the list of things Vissakiel would like to gather up for the group:

Let me know if that's a ridiculous amount of stuff. I stayed away from alchemical items, since I didn't think they qualified as "mundane".

For his single potion, Vissakiel will also take a potion of cure light wounds.

Alice and J, thank you so much for doing this. It will be a big help as I convert two of my campaigns from 3.5e to Pathfinder and update my third campaign from Beta to the final rules.

Vissakiel frowns. He thinks to himself, "The annihilation of three villages in a short span of time would qualify as a curse in my book. Still, it certainly bears investigating."

Watching Diviha's surprisingly formal display, the elf can't hold back a slight smirk, but he says nothing.

"It would appear three of us are ready to lend our talents to assist you. I will allow Fiani to choose for herself, and then we should discuss the terms of our contract, O Great King."

I agree with Aubrey. I'm currently running three PbP campaigns in Golarion, and keeping up with all three (to do them justice), is tough. Aside from my own posting requirements, there's also the fact that not everyone can post at the same rate. I have several players who frequently have their actions decided by me, because they haven't posted in several days and I don't want to hold up the story for those who are more faithful about posting.

Even with that kind of accelerant, it took almost a year just to run "Hollow's Last Hope" for one game and it's taken almost that long to run "Into the Haunted Forest". We're well over a year into RotRL and still aren't even halfway through "Burnt Offerings".

Granted, I did a lot of in-character setup and spent a long time focusing on character actions in town (and had a couple of pauses that lasted a few weeks), but the more involved a plot is, the longer it will take to manage via PbP.

I think a series of shorter, but connected, scenarios is a good way to do a faster PbP campaign. It would certainly allow players to get a greater sense of accomplishment, since goals would be achieved more frequently.

I will put some replacement dice in with your next subscription shipment.

Thanks,
cos

I hope you like your new digs and wish you and the other Paizonians great success in the coming years.

With great respect,
Paris

Post-weekend bump. I know you guys are busy cleaning up after the move, but I didn't want the question to get too far down the list.

Thanks.

The game thread is up.

I'll finish up skills and possessions soon.

Dear Cosmo,

Can you check into an order for me, please? I just realized that I never received my Curse of the Crimson Throne dice set. I pre-ordered them back in October, 2008.

We moved in across town December, and then I went on deployment in January. The dice were shipped in March, but were sent to my old address. We had arranged for all mail to be forwarded from the old address, but I didn't get the dice for some reason. I don't know if the current residents returned the shipment or if they kept it.

Did you guys get a return of those dice? Is there any way I can get that shipment re-sent? I don't have any real proof that I didn't receive the dice, so if they never made it back to you, let me know and I'll just try to order another set.

Along these lines, can you please check my standing pre-orders and ensure they are going to the same address that is on my current subscription? I think the only item left is the Second Darkness dice.

Thanks!
Paris

Ooh ooh! Food analogies! Okay, I'm thinking of Paizo products as a pizza. 3.5 was always pretty good as the crust, but PFRPG introduced a new level of quality as a foundation for the finest and most luxurious toppings (setting) you can buy. In short, I love the rules, but the setting really gets my "inner DM salivating".

NOTE: The fact that I saw the pizza episode of "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" on Food Network last night has had no bearing on my use of pizza in the foregoing analogy. ;-)

Roleplaying introductions. You will have all been invited to perform a task for one of the Linorm Kings.

Sounds like an interesting group forming. I know that Craig's character isn't from the northern regions, but is there any intent by others to have their characters hail from there?

Also, when the campaign begins will our characters already know each other or will we be roleplaying introductions? I'm fine with either option.

Okay...after looking over the available info, I'm thinking I might try playing a snow elf (normal elf stats but a member of the distant tribe of "Snowcasters" north of Irrisen). I'm thinking of playing a sorcerer with either the fey or arcane bloodlines and perhaps taking the "fey foundling" feat from page 81 of the Campaign Setting. I kind of like the idea of a fey bloodline/fey foundling sorcerer with either the Magical Knack or Magical Lineage trait. However, an arcane bloodline character with the magical lineage trait would be a good combo, too.

More thinking to do.

You might want to check out Sorcerer of Zo for a more free form rules system. Stating up the Pixie Hollow fairies would be a snap. Sorcerer of Zo is based on Prose Descriptive Qualities (PDQ) which you can check out for free to see if you and your daughters like it.

Hi, Guys!

I'm glad I rediscovered this thread, and that it's provided others with useful information.

I thought it worth mentioning that after a long hiatus, my daughters and I have resumed our adventures in Brightwood (the enchanted world of the Faery's Tale adventures).

My daughters (now 7) had asked to play again, so I purchased the Haunted Castle adventure from Paizo and ran it for them this past weekend. As always, we had fun, but I found that the adventure had more combat than they were ready for that day. The BBEG soundly trounced them on their first encounter and they had to retreat to rest for a day to replenish their essence. They did eventually defeat the evil in the castle, however, and we did have fun.

As for the paper minis, for those who don't already know, I purchased those, as well, and found that I didn't particularly like the style of the artwork. The computer generated art just didn't evoke much excitement for me or the girls. It might be okay for others, but it wasn't my thing.

For my girls' latest game, I had them create characters based on the Schleich elf figurines that they have (here's an example of one). I'm also trying to wrap my brain around the idea of creating characters to simulate the Pixie Hollow fairies, as my daughters are HUGE fans of the movie and books. In fact, one played a sprite (simulating an "animal talent" fairy), while the other played a pixie (simulating a "water talent" fairy).

It's still a good game and definitely a fantastic way to introduce kids to RPGs.

Cheers!
Paris

Montalve wrote:

lynora wrote:

Okay, I finally got this one finished. So sorry about the wait. Some drawings happen in an afternoon, and others are a little harder to pin down. This was definitely the latter.

>>Nasim<<

he looks pretty cool Lynora :D

Thanks. :)

But even people who are writing creator-owned fiction usually stay within certain boundaries. There are exceptions, of course, but generally speaking, a 100-125K-word book is easier to sell than one that's a great deal longer.

Getting back to the thread topic (sorry for the derailment): I've said all along that I respect Channa Ti, but still can't say that I really like her as a person. After all, most of us tend to like people who are approachable and friendly more than we like people who are constantly guarded and ultimately pragmatic to a fault.

I think she would be fascinating to talk to, though. I imagine being around her would be like my experiences with several martial arts masters I've met: really interesting people who engender respect but have a very small, carefully chosen, "inner circle". Their knowledge and skill make others want to be part of that inner circle, even though we know that that we have very little in common with them outside of the art.

With this last installment, I'm also beginning to see the characteristics of a true Pathfinder emerging from her, at last. It was probably always there, but I'm just now seeing how her innate curiosity gets her in trouble. Revenge is a big motivator at the moment, but I get the feeling there's an element of curiosity about the situation that drives her in this, as well. She HAS to know what happened and why...I think in the end she's going to learn things she'd rather not know.

I'm really glad to get back to this thread. I had to stay away for a bit, because I couldn't download my PDF copy of the lastest adventure path, so I didn't want to risk spoiling the story for myself.

Elaine, thanks for sharing your above thoughts on format. I certainly agree that the imposition of word limits can have a positive impact on the quality of a writer's work. The catch is that you have to put more work into the writing for that to be true.

For example, I'm a member of a writing group called the "Wiley Writers". Although I'm extremely junior in terms of the number of works written and published, I've learned a heck of a lot by interacting with other professional and semi-pro writers.

One of the first things I discovered is that most of publishers of fiction (both online and in print) are looking for stories with a particular length. They may not give an exact number of words, but markets usually have a set of guidelines for how long they want their stories to be. Keeping the word count down controls the publisher's costs (since they often pay by the word), allows them to plan for the number of stories they can publish in a particular issue (for webzines or other periodical publications), and optimizes the number of authors represented in a particular publication.

That's the business side of the number limit, of course, but that limit forces you to choose your words and story elements carefully to maximize the value of everything you put into your writing.

When I wrote my entry for "Wayfinder", I knew going in that I had to produce a 1500-word story. By shaping the concept of the narrative before I began writing, I was able to prevent a large amount of "over-writing". After the first draft, I think I had about 2000 words in front of me...maybe a bit more.

I had to consider carefully what aspects of the prose were really necessary and which ones were just extra words. I could easily identify some of the things to cut or change, but other choices were much harder...especially in the cases where I liked the turn of a particular phrase or the way I had described an object. There were times when it almost hurt to cut something out.

I got through it, though. Ultimately, the work made the story tighter and clearer. The editor did his job of furthering that process. In the end, I'm fairly happy with the printed product, even though there are some things that I really would have liked to include. My nemesis was time...I would have liked to spend more time working on both the concept and the writing.

If I had started earlier and given myself more time, I think I could have made it better...and doing so probably would have reduced the word count even more.

All of this is to show that, for us amateurs, the word count limit can be a really good way to learn disciplined restraint and to make the most of the words we do have. Once you're an established author, you may be able to convince someone to lift the limit and give you the freedom to explore a bigger concept. Right, Elaine? ;-)

Hey, Guys.

Thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately, due to a combination of factors, I decided to cancel my travel plans. I'll be missing out this year.

I'm still bummed about it, but I hope everyone who attends has an absolute blast.

Cheers!
Paris

(i.e. sometimes heroes use dirty moves too... especially when the aim is to kill traitorous bastards THAT OUTNUMBER YOU!!! [read: if you're a simple adventurer fighting against the establishment; i.e. old rich men with ARMIES protecting them] This whole alignment crap is way too limiting and often gets in the way of good sense, so I now adopt the "I'll let the DM figure this out for himself" attitude and play my PCs in the most realistic manner I can)

However, my take on the discussion here is that it's less about alignment and more about acting in accordance with the teachings of your character's deity.

Someone earlier used the phrase, "What would Gorum do?" The alignment system is pretty subjective, I'll admit, but I think many can agree that Gorum would frown on killing an enemy in his sleep.

EDIT: Summary=I agree with Lord Fyre. (I got pulled away from the computer while typing the above post. ;) )

well no one said anything about fair fight... just fight :P

ok no tricks of the weak like poison and the like... but ambushes... and dirty tricks are all open to Gorum... he just want struggle, not just bloodsheed

but aye Rovagug or Norgorber would understand such cleric better

That kind of temptation and turn toward evil would be fun to play out, especially if the player is actively seeking redemption. However, it would present a significant challenge and might risk alienating the rest of the group.

Actually, once Gorum has cast the poor priest aside, I'd suggest a meeting with someone who truly understands how difficult such rigid codes of ethics can be. I mean, Gorum expects all of this "honor in battle" and similarly ridiculous adherence to a farcical notion that there is such a thing as a "fair fight."

Eligor, however, certainly understands the value of appearing to be honorable, brave, and noble, but doesn't actually require his followers to be all of those things.

And in Golarion, Eligor can grant spells and domain powers, just like any divine power can, so long as a character is willing to agree to a few guidelines. Really, your soul was going to spend eternity in servitude to Gorum, before. That blood-thirsty warlord would probably just put you on the front lines of some pointless planar war or something.

Join Eligor's armies and you'll have immortality on Golarion, as people sing your praises while you get away with doing whatever you need to do to survive and get ahead. Don't worry about the afterlife so much...that'll take care of itself, won't it?

I'd suggest, however, that you let everyone continue to believe that you worship Gorum. I mean, no one needs to know what really happened in that tent, do they?

For details on the thaumaturge class and the worship of the Demon Lord, Eligor, see Green Ronin's Book of Fiends

See...it's stuff like this that drives me to subscribe to all things Pathfinder. I've tried to explain it to my wife, but she just gives me that "I love you, but you're totally insane" look before shaking her head and walking away.

Keep up the good work, guys.

BTW...love the "Mad Arab" reference, Todd. ;)

Custom-made RPG products. I think the appropriate quote would be, "It's good to be the king."