Pax Veritas's page

When you consider line of sight, and line of effect... can a caster cast lightningbolt down a corridor if they are in the 5 foot space to the right of a T-section?

I realize usually we draw a straight line from one corner of the PC's space to at least 1 corner of the FOE's space, but it seems like the caster should take a 5-foot step into the center of the T-section in order to be able to pull that off, rather than cast down the line of the wall, while staying behind a stone corner that offers little view.
What does PFRPG say according to RAW, I'm struggling here. Thanks.

............FOE......
XXXXXX.....XXXXXX
XXXXXX.....XXXXXX
XXXXXX.....XXXXXX
XXXXXX.....XXXXXX
..................PC..
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XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
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Question: If a creature such as a Nightshade, Nightwing has ample time to fleece a dead player character's possessions and drain them, how does the GM determine which items are drained completely? Note: Because the character is "dead" the items are really not "attended".

Background: In last week's game one of the PCs died (L14 monk), alone in a room with two Nightshade, Nightwings; this was part of the group's failed two pronged strategy within a castle complex. The monk's body had a number of magical items on him: Amulet of Mighty Fists +3, Belt of Physical Might +4, Boots of Striding and Springing, Bracers of Armor, Everburning Torch, Goggles of Minute Seeing, Handy Haversack, Headband of Inspired Wisdom +6, Vest of Escape.

From the PRD: "If a nightwing attempts to sunder a magic item with its bite, its magic-draining bite renders the item nonmagical for 1d4 rounds (if the item is a permanent magic item), drains 1d8 charges (if the item has charges), or renders it permanently nonmagical (if the item is a one-use item). The item (or its wielder, if the item is attended) can resist this effect with a DC 23 Will save. Damage dealt to an item is applied after the effects of magic drain are applied. The save DC is Charisma-based."

Thanks!!!

Dictum

Question: Can the banishment effect occur even if the initial will save passes i.e. if the create's initial will save passes, but due to the -4 penalty can the banishment still occur?

Background: In this week's game, the game master (me) allowed the banishment of a Nightshade, Nightwing. The creature saved versus Dictum cast by a L14 cleric, but the -4 penality scripted in the text below, suggested the banishment could still have an effect.

PRD: "Furthermore, if you are on your home plane when you cast this spell, nonlawful extraplanar creatures within the area are instantly banished back to their home planes. Creatures so banished cannot return for at least 24 hours. This effect takes place regardless of whether the creatures hear the dictum or not. The banishment effect allows a Will save (at a –4 penalty) to negate."

Post-script: As an after thought, the creature's hp are made from 17d8+119, does this mean it's a 17 HD creature, even though the CR is only 14? (This is just a side question, because in retrospect I might have disallowed banishment based on the following from PRD: "Creatures whose Hit Dice exceed your caster level are unaffected by dictum.") But, I'd still like to know the answer to the first question: can the banishment occur with Dictum, even if the initial will save passes?

THANKS!!!

A while back I asked for advice on using a projector for tabletop Pathfinder RPG. Now, I'm returning to this forum to explain some awesome results:

I installed an inexpensive projector to my gameroom ceiling (Dream land series LCD DG-737/747). On the table, I placed 3x4 foot whiteboard (removable by just lifting it up). I loaded Maptool (freeware from RPTools.net) on my computer. I downloaded hundreds of art bits and image tiles (free on the internet) to my computer. I placed a second 17" monitor next to my laptop to display what the players see, and use Maptool to show me the GM view on my PC. I searched the web for hundreds of great game maps, and found it very easy to create hundreds of my own (for any occasion: swamp, roadside, snow terrain, castles, buildings, towns, temples, massive settings, and dungeons galore)!

The players love it, and I enjoy the freedom to create wondrous maps of any environ, use vision blocking layers to show line of sight for the characters, and it makes battles equally amazing as when using PAIZO's Gamemastery Flipmaps or map tiles. PAIZO's thoughtful inclusion of free .pdfs of their materials upon purchase means I have thousands of maps (from the APs and from modules) that I can use or even repurpose. Additionally the good folks at Cartographer's Guild and other websites such as Dundjinni forums make digital maps and tile bits that are easy to download and use.

So, my fellow Pathfinders, I wanted to share with you how simple it all seems now that it's all up and working. When I reached out to these advice forums I was initially quite intimidated, but Paizonians here made understanding the process very easy. My game table has never looked or played better. I lay down some Steel Squire AOE templates, or rise up Combat Tiers for elevation, or throw down some Paizo Gamemastery cards for treasure, or draw from the Critical Hits or Fumbles Decks. Players use Pathfinder minis (or other brands) including those new cool invisible tokens on top of the digital maps. Sometimes I'll add terrain such as crates, barrels or rocks/crystals, but honestly, the move to digital maps really makes the encounter come to life. Now, please note, when I'm a player I don't really need any of this stuff, but more and more these days I find that most players benefit from the detail shown on digital maps; it helps spark imagination as well as show detail that guides combat, making often overlooked possibilities possible, like jumping on a ledge for higher ground, ducking for cover behind a rocky outcropping, and even hiding out of view of the enemy. Sure this can all be described, and I still do, but the combination of Fog of War effects with vibrant maps, tokens, and other artistic atmosphere makes each combat more compelling.

The diversity of quality maps you can create is unbelievable, and does take up some time. By adding vision-blocking-layers to maps, the players map lights up within their sight range, illuminating corridores, shinging through portculli, and peering through dark dungeon rooms; then, in the shadows hide the beasts who seek to cause their doom.

This testimonial is rare for someone of my years with the game; after 29 years of gaminig, some would expect a guy like me to never go for the technology or the new shiney stuff. I'm just here to say that old schoolers and digital or virtual tabletops are not mutually exclusive. Just like Arneson and Gygax cut floor tiles to make some of their original battle tiles, I'm open minded enough to find the joy of our hobby within cool things that don't "detract" from the game. I'd like to suggest that if you thought "going digital" was akin to selling-out, or like Bob Dylan going electric, just consider that you might not know how much it enhances game play until you try it. And a lot of Dylan's electrical stuff was great too.

Feel free to ask any questions you may have here in this thread!
Thanks again, to those who helped me figure out how to set up my game room, and to those who helped me overcome any inhibitions I had. It's so cool to post the game maps up to our private group on facebook after the game, along with a short synopsis. I couldn't do that without the ease of having gone digital.

Game On, Friends!

My player texts me the following question:

"Empowered - heightened (metamagic feats) ray of enfeeblement. Does that cost 1 3rd lvl spot and casts as 3rd lv spell (saving throw)?"

Can someone, in a nutshell, provide an answer. If anyone can simplify this concisely, that would be great. Thanks for helping.

*rolls 1dZocchihedron*

Wow, a total of 37.

Happy Birthday Erik. Thanks for your many MANY years of service to the gaming community. Time to have a little nip of that Potion of Longevity, eh?

Have a great birthday!

I would greatly benefit from PAIZO making "Layered-encounter-tables". The encounter tables provided in the Pathfinder materials mirror 1st/2nd edition style with creatures listed alone or as 1d6 of them, etc. But we need more layered groupings to effectively plan out a good combat. 1d8 minotaurs doesn't cut it any more, due to the nature of CR balancing and party balancing in the adventure design to provide a richer more interesting, better played combat event.

3.5 and Pathfinder place the party against BBEGs at the end of stories, or at various places through the adventure path.

Do you think we could, as a community create one? It would greatly help GMs who GM often (weekly) prepare good layered encounters.

Again, the d%, encounter, and average CR shown here isn't useful. I can easily handle this stuff:
23–30 2d6 hobgoblins CR4
31–36 1d4 giant eagles CR5
37–42 1d6 ogres CR6
43–44 1 white dragon (young) CR6

In fact, if PAIZO, or AEG or Louis Porter JR Design etc., or any 3pp makes a book full of this -----consider it SOLD, I'll buy it. It would save me lots of time assembling good layers.

But here's what it needs to have:
The BBEG & Book It's In
The Guards (strong guardsmen of the bbeg; middle layer of creatures)
The Minions (things smaller but not too many that muddle up combat)

Are you up to creating a list here as a community?
What to jump in with your favorite, awesome layered-encounter group?
Place your stuff here, and I'll contribute too!!!

Greetings Pathfinders,

As a GM looking through the Bestiary I, II, III, the creatures have Extrordinary, Supernatural, and Spell-like abilities.

Question: In combat, what is the "cost" paid to use these in terms of free action, surprise round or move actions or standard actions or full round actions?

Examples:
Trample (EX): Used as part of a move or standard action? Seems like a move, but with damage. (it says its like a CMB in the rules-standard?

Spell Resistance (EX): Free Action or no action?

Spell Like Abilities (SP): reactivating (free action); otherwise standard action. What if the creature makes multiple attacks--can it use an SP and make a CMB and swing once (if it has three attacks)?

See In Darkness (SU): Are all supernatural abilities free actions?

Grab(EX): Seems like adds a free grapple if hits, so could this work 3 times on a full round action if the creature attaks three times?

Frightful Presence(EX): says "usually" as part of an attack or charge, so variable whether its a move or standard.

Flight (EX, SP, or SU): says its free action if it has wings, otherwise an SP or SU... so does the creature expend a standard to activate, or just use as part of a move action? If so, why distinguish it in the first place?

Energy Drain(SU): implies that it just "happens" if opponent is hit with an attack or ranged. So, are all SU essentially free actions then?

Breath Weapon(SU): The text will say how many times/how often it can be used, but does the breath weapon special attack happen in addition to a full round action or a move-and-standard action?

I don't mind the embarrassment of sounding confused, as long as I can get the help I need to better understand and execute these during combat.

Thanks!

Sounds funny, doesn't it?
This came up in last night's Pathfinder game:

Monk L8 uses his exploit weakness ability to get out of a flooding room trap. Water is between knee and waist high. He identifies the weakness, bypasses hardness and does full damage.

The issue came up when the half-orc Ranger8 was outside the trap, trying to hit the opposite wall. The player asked if he could be entitled to roll 2d20 to see if either would be a "20" to have a "crit threat" against the wall? I saw no need for him to make an attack roll, since he couldn't miss with his axe.

I'm asking if I should have allowed (per Pathfinder RPG RAW) him to roll his d20 dice with a 5% chance of crit on natural 20s?

I ruled to allow him to do so, but I'd greatly appreciate knowing what to do in this situation in the future per the rules.

Thanks all,
Pax

I read this in the FAQ, and I feel kinda stupid now--does this suggest that you can actually use acrobatics up to two times in a round (1st on the move AND also in place of the standard action?

Acrobatics: What happens if I fail the check when using this skill to move through an enemy's square?
You lose the move action and provoke an AOO. (Note: This means you can attempt this up to two times in the same round, once as a move action and once as a standard action.)

Update: Page 88—In the Acrobatics skill, at the end of the third paragraph (which begins on page 87), add the following sentence: “If you attempt to move through an enemy’s space and fail the check, you lose the move action and provoke an attack of opportunity.”

My friends, I have a confession to make.

I don't enjoy playing Pathfinder RPG with all of the members of my weekly group of 5 years. I've been the GM.

Two players are great, the other four are "meh". I've come to realize that those four don't really contribute much to the role-playing, and don't seem to express enthusiasm about much (in or out of game).

I'm struggling to determine whether its just that I want more from my weekly group i.e. a commensurate level of participation and effort that myself and the other two players put in?

Part of me wants to break up the group and start over, part of me wants to help coach the four to become better roleplayers, part of me wonders if this is as good as it gets?

What I'm looking for is the very best homegroup possible. I have 6 players ages 24-54 currently. And the four in question seem to play more "gamist" games in their spare time like Warhammer, Dominion, and Video Games.

In the world, I observe there are some different types of game styles / ways games tend to go:

• Introductory Games (played by kids ages 11-14)
  
• Gamestore Games (participate in public / homebrew)
  
• Gamestore Games (participate in public / organized play (like PFS))
  
• Home Games (homebrew / 1-5 sessions before fizzle out)
  
• Home Games (modules/APs ; enduring campaigns)
  
• Home Games (homebrew / ultimate; 40-50 sessions per year for 6-7 years; characters advance from L1 to L20 in that time; milieu expands with the characters; equivalence of playing multiple modern homebrew APs; characters are developed through role-play and contextual immersion into the fabric of the GMs world.

I'm looking to continue enjoying the last one on the list. My confession is that as GM, I'm struggling to decide which issue I am facing:
> Is it possible that some players just won't be able to advance their role-playing or become better at it?
> Is it possible that in this GM-Player relationship, I simply want and expect more from my players, after years of gaming with them?
> Is it normal for a GM to feel like some players just aren't contributing like others e.g. being quiet through sessions, arriving late, not preparing their character sheets ahead of the session, focusing more on optimization/combat/rules rather than role-play?
> Should I not expect role-play or enthusiasm from all my players?

A few other players have noticed the lack of role-play and "meh" attitude from the others as well, so I know its not just in my head.
Am I just bored with some of them? Am I disappointed that they don't seem to be trying to better themselves and the game? Should I just expect less, and carry on? Am I expecting too much? *sigh*
Please help.

My player was fighting against a Bodak Hydra (5 heads) and wanted to use cleave.

Old school, this was possible... but how does it work with PFRPG?

Greetings,
I usually have new NPCs or monsters "roll in" to the existing initiative count if they enter combat later, in subsequent rounds.

Example: The party is fighting skeletal champions for a few rounds and a wraith arrives on round 3. The wraith usually "rolls in" to the existing initiative count.

Question: I was standing outside last night when the electric meter-reader lady suddenly appeared not far from me. I was caught completely flat footed in RL. Thus, I wonder whether I should be giving new combatants a chance for surprise rounds and an opportunity to attack the PCs using their flat footed armor class until they've acted? Should I just be placing the wraith, for example, in the initiative count but allow it to strike at flat foot ACs on its first turn?

Just wondering... I'm open to the idea that I haven't been doing this effectively all these years. Please let me know what you think, or where I may read more about this in the Core Rulebook.

Thanks and Regards,
Pax

First, the website is amazing but I've been around long enough to remember the "web enhancements" that used to come out for Dragon and Dungeon magazines. They were, by far, the best quality D&D magazines ever. With our move to Pathfinder RPG, I've noticed that the only way to get the high resolution maps is to extract them from the actual .PDFs in our downloads section. However, I'm not seeing the frequency of 1" battlemap art as before.

Question/Interest: Would it be possible to provide whole 1" battlemaps (or non-gridded battlemap encounter areas such as dungeons, castles, etc., in our PAIZO downloads section as a Web-Enhancement feature?

Rationale: The lavish art is equally of high quality and appreciated, but there doesn't seem to be active design and availability for those using a projector in their game room. As I'm sure PAIZO is deeply aware, interest in VTTs, and multi-touch tables is only increasing industry-wide, and I would love to be proud of PAIZOs support in this area on a regular basis. Competitively speaking, providing high resolution maps (gridded or ungridded) of settings for free would give Pathfinder RPG players the added support needed, to finally stop mining the internet of competetitor's maps, while also proudly displaying the Paizonian art-style and design. I am loathe to see certain competitor's map designs, nor use them due to the under-reasoned features such as walls that seem to be less than a foot thick, or caves and dungeons that bear no semblance of ecology or naturalistic design.

In short, I'm looking for set-pice (setting or encounter) maps that are unlabled and either gridded or ungridded for use when playing Pathfinder RPG. I already own all the flip mats, but have branched into the digital realm. Please and thank you.

Regards,
Pax Veritas

Can a caster cast a spell while prone, what penalties?

Can a caster cast a spell while prone, what penalties?

Hello all,
I'm wrapping up The Treasure of Chimera Cove, but I've installed a projector for my game table and would really love a great cave map (something compelling, with a bit of water as needed for the module's conclusion).

Does anyone know of a cave map in either the PF APs or the PF Modules that would work for this module? I've got subscriptions to all of them so maybe there's a full page cave map somewhere I'm missing?

Any help would be appreciated, or links to user-created digital cave map that you would share... game is tomorrow.

Regards,
Pax

*blushes with a silly question*
When I participated in the Alpa and Beta playtest, my players weren't 14th level characters. Now that they are, I seem to have questions about what can be done in a round regarding folks with multiple attacks versus using one of the many combat maneuvers.
Can the fighter try CMB on attack 1 of 3 (or of 4 when hasted) and then get his other attacks? Can CMB be used on one of the iterative attacks such as instead of attack #2. If the CMB is a standard action (or a move action), does this mean it replaces all of the fighter's regular attacks? And if this is the case, why would a fighter ever choose to use a combat maneuver over his regular attacks?
Please help.

I run a monthly Pathfinder RPG game for a different group of players than my weekly game. One character is a necromancer (wizard) who wishes to craft and empower scrolls.

Can someone with a good understanding of RAW, please explain the crafting, empowering, and casting process for these scrolls?

Many thanks!

Hi GMs,

I've got some questions - forgive if these are simple:
> I read through the player's guide, and it seems a TON of advance information. How much of that stuff are you revealing to players? I'm thinking to not use the players guide due to all the stuff in there. Also I'm concerned that since I own (but haven't read) all six parts yet, that the players guide would introduce stuff I'm not as familiar with.

> Has anyone adapted Kingmaker to their own world? I think doing so for Part 1/6 would be easy, but I'm concerned that all the many many references to different provinces, house names, countries etc. might be just too much to convert on the fly with the other modules. Thoughts?

> Would you recommend that the GM read all 6 parts first before running the first one? I can see how I could run the first one without reading the rest... but I'm wondering if I would lose the richness of all the forshadowing, or find myself unable to answer all the questions. Thanks.

Two of my PCs died on the 2nd plane of Hell (Dis).
Do they get sucked into the River Styx? Do they become Lemures? What happens to their souls?

Has our gaming become so influenced by video games, that a player would quit a character just based on game mechanics? Are we completely split as a gaming community? I never thought mechanics were more important than personality and story.
Have a look at what one of my players has said about his PFRPG L13 wizard. Has ROLL-playing replaced ROLE-playing for good?

* * *

"While its true that my character chose to die to give his companions a few more seconds- this was NOT the hero Boromir taking arrows to buy time for the hobbits. My character made that choice the way a red-shirt chooses to take a phaser blast for Captain Kirk- because he has no kung-fu like Sulu and no Vulcan death grip like Spock. He is not a hero, but a nameless, faceless mook who could be replaced by anyone of the other 400 crew members and he dies, because he has nothing more useful to do. If you want to bury him as a hero, be my guest- but his death felt stupid and pointless to me, there was nothing heroic about it."

"Don't tell me that my character is supposed to be a hero- his abilities and interaction with the other characters will dictate his role. If he has the capability of performing heroic deeds, he may evolve into a hero, if not- perhaps he will just be a disgruntled taxi driver."

"After a look inward, my character found that 18 more seconds of the fighter's heroic sword was more important to the world than anything he could cast, swing, speak or invoke. With nothing to contribute, he envisioned himself a red-shirt rather than a hero- and he behaved accordingly."

"Whether the game mechanic or my inability to work with it is to blame, the result is the same: I cannot create what I envision as a Wizard with the tools I have available to me. I still maintain (although phrased slightly more tactfully) that any Wizard created within the framework of the CORE RULEBOOK is useless to me. Nearly everything that my character could do can be accomplished with a few scrolls in the rogue's backpack or a cheap NPC."

"In my experience, there are parallel ways to accomplish every skill and spell available to a Wizard and even the possession of a familiar is not unique. Call me a poor player if you wish, but I am unable to fashion a Wizard into anything but supporting cast. Each time I got excited about a new spell or ability, I ended up frustrated with it's drawbacks and dissappointed with it's party benefit compared to other classes I have played. The Wizard is NOT a viable character class.

"After staring long and hard at my character sheet (and I had a week to do so), I determined that the most useful thing that my character could do in the current situation was to stay in a position far from the other party members and soak up as much damage and as many attacks as I could, to buy time for members of the party with more significant offensive capabilities. I stuck to the plan and found my character woefully inadequate for the task of defeating any enemies, so I used the only other advantage that I had available to me: 103 targetable hit points."

"I understand that a Wizard is not meant to be an offensive powerhouse, but (as we are supposedly not under the constraints of a video game) I fully expected to be able to transform my character into one, given that our current task was to walk into hell and extract items from the principals there. I was not able to do this, despite my best attempts. With a DEX of 22, Mage Armor, Shield spell, an expensive Ring of Protection and +6 Natural Gianty-Armor- I still ended up with an AC that was easily bypassed (and several less than others in the party). With the nastiest 'top level spells' I could muster, I was only able to deal a bit of damage to some minions, while the attacks of subordinate enemies easily felled my fully-beefed wizard in a couple of rounds. On top of that, with each spell I cast, my usefulness diminished significantly while an archer or fighter can fight at FULL efficiency until they perish. It became evident that damage magnet was the best I could hope for."

"Whenever I, as a player, notice this much disparity between characters at a single level I begin looking at several possible causes:"

"- My knowledge of playing the Wizard Class is incomplete. It is certainly possible to make them as effective as other classes, but I'm not doing it correctly. Perhaps some prestige classes are better suited to what I was trying to do with my character. Guess I better hit the books."

"- Players are not playing their characters according to the class rules, leading to a wider than normal disparity in AC, CMD, Attack bonuses, etc. This happens when players continue to take shield or buckler benefits, even when fighting with two handed weapons; players add +5 to a power attack but forget to subtract it off their AC when attacked later in the round, etc."

"- The Game Mechanics are not balanced, leading to classes that lag behind their counterparts at certain levels. Everyone knows that low-level wizards are not as effective in battle or as robust as other classes. Perhaps these gaps appear at other levels as well. (Maybe at the NEXT level, wizards get some killer battle spells?)"

"- Magic Bloat. A +4 Vorpal sword, for example, significantly boosts a fighter's level. Beef his strength up with a Belt of Giant Strength and a few properly (or improperly) stacked feats and you have a 10th level fighter easily defeating ELs designed for a 15th. If the encounter levels are increased to be a challenge for Mr. super-fighter, then the unbuffed 10th level members of the party become fodder."

"In three out of four of these areas, the disparity and complexity increase as levels get higher- contributing to my general distaste of higher level campaigns. For the sake of argument, we'll say that all players are appropriately equipped and playing their characters correctly within the boundaries of sound, well-balanced game mechanics. That leaves us with me, or rather my lack of Wizardly prowess and brings me to the second topic:"

"Wanting to Stay Dead
I did my best to pump my character for combat and still fell way short of the mark. Essentially, I Min-Maxed a Wizard and the pinnacle of my efforts with was bested in moments, by supporting actresses. Accepting as a given that combat is NOT my strong suit, I looked at other character traits- does my character have a saving grace that warrants resurrection? Since I've never wanted to be a support caster, the majority of my spells are offensive in nature, leaving little of usefulness outside of combat. The Inquisitor has a comparable Knowledge Planes roll, the cleric is my equal in Knowledge Religion, the fighter excels with Knowledge Engineering and the Archer knows Dungeoneering and Spellcraft at least as well as I. What unique ability makes the wizard useful to the party?"

"Teleport. I'm a taxi? (as long as the party doesn't mind landing in a lake- I'm not very good at teleporting either ;)"

"My character is bland and generic, without much agenda and acts mostly as a sounding board for the cleric. He was not given the same care as as my monk or rogue, through no one’s fault but my own. So, without being able to contribute significantly to battle, knowledge or story- he's consequently not much fun to play. That's what it boils down to- he's not fun anymore. Not to be an RPG snob, but if I'm going to pour my hard-earned free time into D&D, I'd best enjoy a character who plays a significant role in battle, skills and story. That's the only time that it’s fun."

"Real Life has challenges, inequities and setbacks. There is no reset button so we soldier on with whatever dignity we can muster. One of the best things about D&D is that the ONLY real rule is that it should be fun. When D&D life gives you lemons, you don't HAVE to make lemonade- you can just go to the pub, have an ale- then punch a nasty looking half-orc when you get bored. And if you're not happy with your life in D&D, you CAN have someone else’s life. Grab a blank character sheet."

"If your unhappiness occurs at a higher level- find a different game (and that is what we're talking about here, right? A game?) D&D not happening? Go play Monopoly."

"Perhaps it IS primarily a video game mentality to press the reset button when things aren't going well, but one thing is for certain in either type of game: if you're not having fun playing the game, do something different. "

"Speaking of Video Games...
The language that I chose to voice my umbrage was the language of video games, but if you review the causes I list above: (my own lack of skill, player cheesing, improperly designed game mechanics or equipment bloat), ALL of the things I mention are the areas where RPG and Video games overlap. In fact, my specific issues with my wizard's configuration are from the only space where RPG and video games are the same. I'm not advocating that RPG should be more like a video game, essentially I'm upset that RPG is too much like a video game when it comes to building a character. I couldn't seem to build an effective wizard within the video-game-like boundaries imposed by Pathfinder. With effort on my part I could give my wizard more RPG depth- but I do not believe that I can make him a viable combatant nor will his skills ever provide any unique benefit to the party because the numbers won't let that happen."

Background
From a rules perspective... there are times when the GM absolutely needs to mask the identity of an NPC.

Main Question?
How would you do this against L13 players who will travel with the NPC? Assume the players have decent ability stats and access to Arcane/Inquisitor/Cleric spells and abilities...

Example:
If a powerful (CR20) demonlord wanted to travel with the players (for a time) by impersonating an NPC bard, how would you mask the NPC's identity enough to fool the players?

Scenario:
Malcanthet, Queen of Succubi (see Fiendish Codex I), reveals herself as the bard the players traveled with. As a GM, I'd like to take the extra step to ensure this can be explained with the rules for a few players who need that sort of thing. At first I thought about possession, but I actually need Malcanthet to appear instead of the NPC in the final location. Then I thought about disguise +40, but the players already tried true seeing and discern lies etc. and did not detect her previously (over the weeks they'd traveled with the NPC bard.) So my thought is at the last moment she stepped in (disguised) and joined the party in the NPCs place. But the wizard had arcane sight with permanency set to his eyes, and would have seen her powerful magic aura.

Bottom Line:
As a GM, how would the fool-proof disguise take place per RAW?

Hey all,

Last game the villain cast Hold Person on the fighter who was holding a rod. What would need to happen to telekinesis that rod out of the player's hand? Is the hand then assumed to be loose enough to pull the rod out? If the player's STR is 22, and the spell pulls up to 25 lbs., is there a chance of being unsuccessful, or is this an easy thing to do with a HELD target?

I ruled that using Giantform II doesn't affect his ability to cast spells, assuming the giant form still has 2 hands etc.

Also, does the damage from a club go up by 2-dice levels since Giant form II is huge?

Please advise.
Pax

Amazon? Ebay? Used? New? Low-end and scrappy? High-end? Distance from the table? Which projector works best with Paizo's PDF Maps that come with the adventure paths and other supplements? Use Map Tool with it? Use 2 computers? Best experiences with projectors? Basically, please advise!

I've got about 5 hours until we start playing-the mega adventure path is coming to a head in Dispater's throneroom on L2 of hell.

Question: Can you provide some reason Malcanthet (Queen of Succubi) is the one who has been pursuing the Rod of 7 Parts this time?

Question: Would Dispater, upon learning it was Malcanthet and not the Queen of Chaos pursuing the rod, want to keep her as his slave? That is, would a devil like Dispater make "use" of Malcanthet's 40 charisma beauty for his own purposes if he could? Has there ever been liaisons beetween devils and demons?

I have some ideas, but I'm too close to the story to think objectively. Thanks for any input.

Greetings Pathfinders,

In last week's game, a number of Fire Trolls from PAIZO's Dragon Compendium attacked 2 characters who were split from the rest of the party. Space 10, Reach 10.

As the GM I had trouble with the last Fire Troll being able to move and reach the party due to space constraints.

Question: Would it have been plausable for a troll to take 20 feet of movement, and then use its last 10 to SQUEEZE into the last square and use 1 attack against a PC?

Or, is using "squeeze" a faux pas when it comes to using monsters to their fullest against the adventuring party?

So the question is two-fold, could it be done, and should it be done? I'm a big believer in both technical RAW and gaming norms as well.

Can you remind me how to read the "Attacks" line in the Bestiaries. Some of these creatures have bite/claw/claw/tail/etc., and they aren't separated by an "OR" statement. Can they move and still get all the attacks listed? Thanks.

What are some features you would describe to players to really hit the mark in describing Hell (1st plane Avernus)??

• Stygian smell
  
• Sulfurous smell
  
• Broken arrows and shields on ground
  
• Demon/Devil blood coating the ground
  
• Random fireballs falling from sky
  
• Troops of devils 2d6 marching
  
• River Styx with lemures
  
• Cracked ground, dry, blood-red sky
  

What other descriptions can make the feel of gameplay in hell awesome?

Important Question: Is there any PFRPG guides on planar travel when it comes to which planes must be traveled through to get to others?

Specifically: It looks like the path to hell leads from prime, to astral, to air, water, earth, fire, then Avernus (in that order).

Context: I'm aware that a GM can do whatever he wants. However, I'm looking through The Great Beyond, and don't see any typically Pathfinder RPG guide that indicates whether James Jacobs would have players travel through all those planes first to get from the Prime to Avernus. Has anyone heard, or can interpret, how James might handle this?

Thanks abundantly,
Pax

All-
Let's face it, in light of fast Hollywood movies and rush-rush mmorpg gaming, the culture of gamers of this generation tend to expect a swift pace of game. But how long are your games "actually" taking? How much is achieved, for example, in 3 hours? What is "normal" per number of encounters, Encounter Level, or CR level? What is the pace of your game?

Handed out the card from PAIZO's Wonderous Treasure #44, now I need to explain it. Does anyone know a page number to reference what this does?
If not, what should it do? Game is tonight. Thx.
Pax

Hey Pathfinder peeps,
In my Pathfinder RPG game, when the player of the Inquisitor (L13) looks at his sacred book, chained around him, he sees the vision of not an evil person, but rather a map of a whole city!

Question: Without knowing all the details of the campaign, if the Inquisitor's god indicates the whole city is corrupt and must be destroyed, can you provide some creative advice on story line options?

Example of advice I'm looking for in two parts:
Meaning - The city is run by diabolists or a demon worshiping syndacate of evil merchants.
Solution - The lawful Inquisitor and the PCs must bring down the syndacte rulers that has corrupted the entire city.

Another Example:
Meaning: The city must be destroyed and all its people, every last man woman and child.
Solution - The LN Inquisitor PC, in the name of his LG god, sets about poisoning the water.

What other imaginative advice options can you think of?

A great player in my Pathfinder RPG campaign is playing a Necromancer (Wizard). He is L7, and seems frustrated that he doesn't have more power of undead, to control them, or destroy them.

He's scribing scrolls and taking some metamagics but something seems missing for him. I've boosted his caster level against the dead by +1 even, via an in-game magic tome, but I'd like to see him fully realize his vision for the Necromancer.

Question: Can anyone provide an awesome write up of a 7th level Necromancer in Pathfinder RPG, perhaps showing me some optimal character choices to better please the player?? Can the community help me with some feat choices, metamagics, or other enhancement choices for him? He really is a great player, and I'd like to help him see his character more fully optimized.

From a rules standpoint, the resurrection of a character bestows 1 permanent negative level (a bunch of -1s to a bunch of things).

In the event of a L1 character dying they need restoration to be case immediatly following their resurrection, else they are dead permanently.

Over the years, I haven't run games with many character deaths, so I wish to know if this Negative Level game mechanic implies a character should not be raised more than their own Level number of times?

If so, would it seem reasonable, as a GM, if I made the permanent negative level truly permanent, and disallowed the use of Restoration to remove it? I feel this would still drive the PCs to fight to stay alive by avoiding death, which wouldn't seem to easily remedied.

I am aware that resurrection scrolls etc. are rare, and am not asking about how I should make my milieu lower magic in setting. I'm asking if the word "Permanent" can be treated as such, and if this seems reasonable?

Let me know what you think.
Pax

The placement of a fireball, or a wall of fire, or a web affects both the casters enemies and his own party, right? Once the magic is cast it persists, and even after the death of the caster to the end of the duration of the spell.

So... glitterdust blinds friend and foe, and lightning bolt catch anyone on that line. This means, for example, an enemy can't somehow walk through their own Web spell, and everyone within order's wrath takes damage per their alignment.

Are there damaging AOE spells that specify friendly versus foe in terms of the effect? Which ones?

Unpopular Viewpoint: There's something missing in organized gameplay.

Growing up in the 1980s, many of us saw ads in various product inserts for the RPGA. Back then, the local group I gamed with, and for that matter, nobody in the town or greater city area had anything to do with them. Game stores, if we had 1, didn't involve themselves in any kind of organized game play.

In the 1990s, I was still aware of the RPGA and the existance of other game conventions like GENCON and a few relatively local conventions. Still, most who played the game, weren't members. And getting to understand the value of joining was a bit sketchy, even after reading about them. We didn't have that much of the internets back then, although we could sense organized game play was still occurring.

And much to the chagrin of my fellow Paizonians, I am sure, most people who played the game didn't think too much of them. Most didn't even think highly of them. It always seemed to us, over those decades, that playing the game with close friends, and in the natural style of the DM who was running the game, seemed to trump any lure of attending a game run by a stranger, and according to rigid rules.

In the 2000s with the advent of easily accessible .pdfs I was able to view some historical documents from Gary's tournaments! My friends and I, and other gamers were aware of tournament-style games, because several old modules had tournament characters in the back of them. Gleep Wurp was always my favorite name from those lists.

And then, the game had changed.

It moved from the realm of total imagination and a bucket-load of ambiguity, toward a streamlined entity choc-full of sensible refinement that was codefied, and although complex, perfectly reasonable. It seemed the "game" no longer had "scarequotes" and it became much more of a codefied game. The ice monsters had damage resistance against cold! And the precision of movement coupled with the variety lured me back in, I dare say, to play more often than in college. But still, no memberships, no dues, no excess rigidity, and no signature forms. We played without any worry as to what level of treasure we were allowed to have by any centralized high-command. And I never heard of anyone playing in organized play that had earned anything of amazing worth in real life.. perhaps a free book or something, so there seemed still no incentive.

Now, in the 2010, I actually play more often than ever. I would have never believed I'd be running a weekly game with six players, a monthly game with 6 different players, and also be a player in other groups. The fact is... almost 30 years have passed, and there's been no understanding on my part as to what the charm of organized play is.

Then in the latter half of the 2000s I became disenchanted with wotc entirely, and swore fealty to PAIZO the "day the Dungeon died" (magazines). When wotc removed all the legacy .pdfs from sale in the darkness of one sudden night, then released the iron-clad first version of the GSL, I was absolutely through. So joining any kind of organized play with them was forever a non-issue. Then came Pathfinder Society. I'm like member #40 or something.

I support PAIZO through my purchases and have in other countless untold ways. I'm aware that mini-4-hr modules of some kind exist. I'm aware that there's a form to be filled out when attending, and one for game masters to fill out and send in somewhere. But I still don't understand it, something seems missing.

With the advent of the Beginners Box in October, and with Pathfinder Society in full swing at conventions such as GENCON, I attended a Pathfinder event. And, my friends, my review was less than adequate. I sat down at a table as the GM barked out for some special ticket he had to collect, then proceeded to shallowly run encounters with no depth, meaning or flavour - and did I mention, with no roleplaying!

I received texts from other friends at the table who planned to leave the table early. I asked them to hold on, saying, "I wish to understand this." The game itself is awesome, but a bad GM can break any semblance of fun. This session included in-game Pathfinder Society npcs, devoid of life. We were dragged by the nose through a few encounters, then time was up. My friends were relieved the ordeal was over.

What's missing?

I've wondered whether "organized play" means some kind of shallow tournament competition? I've tried to figure out if organized play just means you're playing the game at tables in a room with others playing games at the same time? I'm not sure if organized play means getting participants to play a whole lot under a sub-ruleset that places some restrictions on which books you can use, what spells the pre-gen characters have, etc. I'm not sure what is earned or what kind of organized play experience I should have expected.

I'm okay with saying, "we had a lousy GM" who's intention was to run a game just like any of us would. I've read the form that the basic organized play sends out, but its kinda goofy looking to me, and I must be missing a lot of context.

I do understand that organized play, helps a game company meet their customers, and promote their games - this I see as a positive. I also recognize that organized play can somehow be fun if collectively they affect some kind of event in the published game world; a novel idea. Still I wonder - what's missing?

For example... am I missing a monthly newsletter with tabletop games in my area? I could use that. Am I not being sent some membership perks to get or see new stuff before it hits the shelves? Dunno if I even need that. Should I be using some kind of membership discount somewhere? I already have a discount from PAIZO for my subscriptions. Is there a website or database somewhere where I can meet other Pathfinder RPG enthusiasts such as myself? I could use that, especially since game stores don't have LFG bulletinboards anymore, if they ever did.

I guess I really wish to understand the draw more clearly. And with that understanding, I would do more. If I received free monthly 4-hr game module to run at gamestores, I'd probably start gathering groups to come learn Pathfinder. I could do this anyway, but it brings me no closer to understanding organized play.

Maybe its just a social setting to help norm gamers to playing the same way, and to have a common language about mechanics and stuff. But if that's the case, I still don't see the draw. If membership in an organized gaming system were somehow more relevant, accessible, fun.. I could see it being a great springboard to introduce new players to the game. Conversely, if I could see the existance, or sign of life, of any organized play at gamestores or anywhere locally, I would be sure to find interest in it. Perhaps most of these are located in towns or cities where the most product is sold, and other areas are not sought after? I could understand that, but that doesn't seem sensible.

And there's one final thought to this lengthy story... it has always struck me that organized game players, in the few arenas where I've seen it happen, tend to express the rules, rules, rules, rather than holistically playing a roleplaying game. In the few times I've witness this type of play, purchased boosters of minis were involved, or the group tended to be more concerned over a familiar's spell mechanic than any kind of real "mood" of playing a fantastical game with spells and dragons! This was always a turn off to many folks I knew, and frankly the one sticking point that I would dislike. I know you cannot change people, but I would become active in a society of gamers who were adherant to any mantra set forth by the game company that said, "keep the mood of a roleplaying game, tell/play the story and rules come second".

Help me understand organized game play better?

L12 Fighter was turned to stone by a Beholder Hive Mother (backward compatibility with PFRPG, from Lords of Madness). He was then disintegrated, but survived with just a few hitpoints. Next he was a victim of cause serious wounds - and this finally killed him.

That was the end of round 1. lol

When we play next week, what options do I have to raise his character? He only really died of cure serious wounds so raise dead should work? Or can True Resurrection be found on a scroll? What would it take the L12 Cleric to cast a scroll of resurrection - do such things exist?

Are there any restrictions on who can be raised based on the way they died? What happens to all the character's belongings... his handy haversack... his vorpal weapon... are they all disintegrated? Do they get a save?

My players would like me to do something special for Haloween. Classic tropes include the players as goblins, Castle Ravenloft, or somesuch...
I've toyed with the idea of running a killer dungeon, with ample character sheets as backup, Ghostwalk by Reynolds, or even an adventure that mashes up all the fun tropes: zombies, pirates, robots etc. Witches and liches are always two popular enemies around Halloween. Perhaps even taking a page from Erik's article, "Monsters of Suck", I could make a classic killer dungeon with all the sucky monsters in it that never see gametime. Enveloper... Carbuncle... lol

It just feels like there's a great idea out there somewhere...
Any advice? I'd like it to be memorable and fun.

The next encounter in my Pathfinder RPG game places the party in the central lair of a Hive Mother Aberration. She's 15' and about CR15. She'll have henchmen and lakeys such as chaos beasts and grells.

Referencing some information from Lords of Madness (backward compatible with Pathfinder RPG, I'm using the Hive Mother Beholder.

She possess a 260 ft cone of Antimagic.

QUESTION: It says even her own magic is surpressed within it, and she can choose to have the cone active or off each round, and does so by closing her central eye. I wish to run this encounter RAW with good precision. What does this mean for me as a gamemaster?

Does the cone function on just one side of her (where the eye is facing)? If so, does she turn around to attack her foes with other rays from eye-stalks?

Does this mean she closes her central eye when using the rays from the eye-stalks?

If she uses a ray power, then activates the cone next round, are the effects of her own rays negated?

Can she use her eyestalk rays and the anti-matgic cone at the same time?

I don't think I'm misreading, so I need your help to get the execution of this final battle down right. Calling all GMs familiar with Hive Mother in Lords of Madness, or with familiarity running creatures with anti-magic cones, please....

Thanks,
Pax

XP.
Simple system, right? Been dishing out xp for years, right?
Well, I'm having an issue I cannot seem to solve.

When the players were L1-10, it seemed the face value of the monsters/encounters etc. provided a sensible amount of xp.

Now that the players are 11th, I feel like the xp allotment earned is low.

I've used matrices like this before:
xp from monsters: ___
role-play award:
story award: ___
completing a quest arc award:___
etc. awared ___

But of all the many ways I can offer xp, at the end of the night for characters in the 11th-15th range, the xp seems low.

Yes, I've added more monsters, mobs, killables to the mix.
Yes, I've added challenging +1 APL and +2, or +3 APL encounters to the mix.

Still, xp just doesn't seem to feel like it did when it was given out to the lower levels.

As a player of the game also, I know how it feels when the GM gives out xp and it feels like a good amount for the quest/adventure/session.

Now as a GM when I give out xp awards... its feeling a little lame.

Yes, I've tried adding in different awards. I've tried a slope of +25% and even +50%. But now I'm thinking +100%, meaning double xp for levels 11-14. That "feels" right.

I'd like to know if any of you experienced xp issues, and any suggestions you have, or whether you do the same?

Thanks!
Pax

Hey incredible people of PAIZO... a few party buff questions...

1) Bless, Aid, Protects, Resists... I seem to recall in Pathfinder RPG that characters can only have 3 active buffs at once? Can anyone remind me if this is true?

2) Just as clerics have the ability to trade a spell for a healing spell, can wizards cast a resist fire for example multiple times? It just seems like they should be able to use spell slots to ensure the whole party gets resists, or at least a few more than just 1 person if they have the spell memorized once.

3) Any advice on giving out scrolls or potions in-game as a GM? How often are you all giving out treasures like this? For a long time it seemed myplayers weren't using their precious rounds prior to combat for buffs, and now that they're almost 12th level... their opponents have all kinds of nasty abilities/and attacks.

4) Should an encounter pre-suppose that the party has a buff or two. If not, what impact do you think it has on the CR level or overall encounter level?

5) Are party buffs affected by a beholder, or Hive Mother Beholder's anti-magic aura? Are magic shields with DR10 fire negated in their presence? Other than prismatic ray, what other spells can function in a beholders anti-magic aura? How is this determined?

Thanks everyone!
Pax

I need the creative minds of these boards to solve for x.

Question: Why would demons or aberrations or the Queen of Chaos want with darkwood from Darkmoon Vale?

Situation:
Over the course of a campaign, valuable "darkwood" from PAIZO's darkmoon vale has been traded for $ by the lumber constortium and shipped to a far-off coastal kingdom for some malevolent purpose. Now has come the time in the campaign when I must answer "why". Can you think of ideas?

Ideally: I'd like for the location of the purchased lumber, and its use to be revealed in the same place where either Miska the Spider or the Queen of Chaos has her minions. I need to link the "use" of the darkwood to either their location, or the location that leads to the Queen's swamp. Can you solve for x, to help the campaign reach a great ending? What great dark purpose would shiploads of darkwood serve?

I have a game tonight in 5 hours. I realized the Duergar in Pathfinder Bestiary are 1/3 CR. I need tough bastards like the ones found in DDO: Stormreach for an entry cave for 11th-12th level players.

Narrative: The party finds the center of a beholders underground compound is protected by a contingent of Duergar and Drow. This happens prior to confronting the aberrations to soften the party up. The Eberron matierials for v.3.5 are backward compatible for Pathfinder RPG (therefore I already have great drow stats), but I need a statblock for advanced elite Duergar. Forman, guards, minions etc. I'd like the contingent, once slayn, to reveal they are a special unit sent by a recurring villian to help protect and support the lair.

As a favor to me due to tight timeline, can you please post suggested stats for three types of Duergar? (i.e. boss high CR, guards lower CR, minions lower still CR?) I'd welcome anything you can post immediately. I'm thinking 1CR10 +2-4CR8 + maybe 12CR6s ??? Or anything you see fit.

Please, and sincere thanks if possible!!!

Pax

P.s. If these exist in existing v.3.5 materials, please just name the sourcebook and page for reference. =)

Setting: Stormreach, Xendrik Eberron
System: Pathfinder RPG
Frequency: Monthly group 5pm - 1am
Character Level: 6 players all at level 4
_________________________________________

Question: Here's tonights game outline with brief description. How could I make the storyline more compelling, or am I good to go with improvisation based on this general plan?

I. Characters in Stormreach, few weeks downtime from last adventure. Exposition: characters contacted by a group of "widows" who grieve that their significant others haven't returned from an expedition in Xendrik jungles heading to the fabled ruins of the ancient giants Pra'Xirek. PCs must front 1000-2000gp for an airship to the drop off point where the previous party headed.

II. Undead horrors, hook horrors, trolls, drow, jungle beasts. Set up the setting with an overnight climate/terrain change typical of Xendrik. Remorhaz in sudden winter?

III. Trail to Drow infested temple/caverns beneath. More drow, monsters, traps, etc. Mini-dungeon. Discover part of the party is dead. Find map to Pr'Xirek, and legend of fabled treasure beyond belief. Learn that 1 drow knows how to get into the floating citidel of Pra'Xirek - maybe take him captive?

IV. Approach Pra'Xirek; hill giant infested. Undead giant skelletons; floating building in air above harbor ruins. Navigate way to floating citidel. (or stop short if not able to get up there) 1 drow knows a portal to the floating citidel.

V. Floating citidel. Primarily empty major room with stairs up. Use Paizo AoW map insert from dungeon mag for 6 pivoting cannith crystals numbered 1-4 each. Final battle room houses tomb of the giant king of Pra'Xirek. Discover remains of the rest of the adventuring party here.
Turning crystals following a numberical riddle on tomb will open portal to Stormreach, but also awaken Skeletal guardians. Big battle, big treasures!

VI. Return to Stormreach, sell, trade,bring news of the party's deaths to the widows. No rewards, but the characters will have found riches beyond belief in the king's tomb.

_____________________________

So, how does that sound? Is there anything I should consider during the hook portion to ensure the adventure occurs/players accept the mission? Thx.