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I wanted to make a group of kobold cultists who worship Jubilex, Demon Lord of Ooze, and their leader. I wanted to make the leader an oracle but nothing seemed to fit. Best I could come up with for the leader is a cleric with the demon and ocean subdomains, describing water spells as slime. Can anyone come up with a better class or archetype?

So, the movies make it seem like pirates just appear out of nowhere in the middle of an ocean, far from any landmarks, attack a ship, and then just sail off in a random direction. And they just circle around endlessly in the water, never going ashore except to raid a town or look for buried treasure. But they gotta have hideouts and stuff, right? I mean, there's always pirate hideouts and stuff in D&D, and in Pirates of the Caribbean there was that one grubby 'pirate town' they always went to. I guess my question is, where's the best place to hide these lairs? Would they be near the shipping lanes, or far away as possible? Could they even be on the same coast as the towns they're raiding, just further down, in a secret cove?

Note that DR is mostly redundant - as incorporeal creature your ringwraith cannot be harmed by non-magical sources of damage. I would grant it something like DR 10/elven steel* or good. Or maybe DR 10/silver and good for non middle-earth games.

Ah, can't believe I missed that. Change it to DR 10/good. Éowyn's sword wasn't silver or Elven-steel, and Merry's sword was forged by Men of Cardolan, enemies of the Witch-King of Angmar.

Finally got to work writing my Ringwraith template, which was discussed in a previous thread. I tried to make it as setting neutral as possible, so you could conceivably having these things running around in Golarion or your own setting. There's no reference to Sauron, The One Ring, athelas, Éowyn, or anything like that. The ringsense ability could be modified to include any magic item you choose, if you wanted to create a Staffwraith, for example. I looked at other templates (mostly the vampire and graveknight) to make sure the raw numbers were roughly balanced. Please look it over and let me know if the CR should be higher. I'm also worried that the "black breath" description is a little too wordy, but it had to be to get it to do exactly what I wanted to do. I didn't want to make it just a curse or a disease (as had been suggested), and I wanted to avoid duplicating the effects of any one spell (although crushing despair and nightmare were inspirations).

As always, I appreciate feedback, though I'm unlikely to make major changes at this point.

Creating a Ringwraith
“Ringwraith” is an acquired template that can be added to any living humanoid creature with 5 or more Hit Dice (referred to hereafter as the base creature). Most ringwraiths were once humans. A ringwraith uses the base creature’s statistics and abilities except as noted here.
CR: Same as base creature +2.
Alignment: Any evil.
Type: The creature’s type changes to undead (augmented). Do not recalculate class Hit Dice, BAB, or saves.
Senses: A ringwraith gains blindsight 60 ft. and ringsense (see below). Ringwraiths cannot see normally.
Aura: A ringwraith eminates the following aura.
Dreadful Presence (Su): A ringwraith radiates a chilling aura that casues all enemies within 30 feet to take a -4 penalty on saving throws against fear effects. Creatures that are normally immune to fear lose that immunity while within the aura.
Armor Class: Natural armor improves by +4.
Hit Dice: Change all racial Hit Dice to d8s. Class Hit Dice are unaffected. As an undead, a ringwraith uses its Charisma modifier to determine bonus hit points.
Defensive Abilities: A ringwraith gains channel resistance +2; DR 10/magic; and immunity to cold. A ringwraith also gains spell resistance equal to its augmented CR +11.
The ringwraith also gains the following ability.
Rejuvenation (Su): If a ringwraith is reduced to 0 hit points, it loses its corporeal form and returns to its master as quickly as possible. It gains a fly speed of 60 ft. (good). Once it reaches its master, a ringwraith is restored to corporeal form with full hit points in 1d10 days. If a ringwraith’s master is dead or on a different plane, the ringwraith instead returns to its master’s last known location or stronghold. Once there, it is restored to full power in 2d100 years. A ringwraith cannot be permanently slain unless the artifact that created it is destroyed, whereupon the ringwraith is also immediately destroyed.
Weapon Resistance (Su): Treat ringwraiths as incorporeal for all weapon attacks. Any non-magical weapon that hits a ringwraith (even if it does no damage) must make a Fortitude save or gain the broken condition.
Weaknesses: A ringwraith gains vulnerability to fire and spells with the good descriptor. A ringwraith also gains light sensitivity. Finally, ringwraiths have trouble crossing running water. A ringwraith must make a Will save (DC 20) to cross, and they or their mounts must move at half speed. For forded streams, the DC is 18, and for bridges, the DC is 15.
Attacks: A ringwraith gains a slam attack if the base creature didn’t have one. Damage for the slam depends on the ringwraith’s size (Bestiary 302).
Special Attacks: A ringrwaith gains the following special attacks. Save DCs are equal to 10 + ½ the ringwraith’s HD + the ringwraith’s Charisma modifier unless otherwise noted.
Black Breath (Su): As a standard action, a ringwraith can exhale the black breath in a 30-foot cone. Alternatively, the ringwraith can create a 10-foot burst with a range of 100 feet. All creatures within the black breath must make a Will save or become shaken. If a creature is already shaken, it becomes frightened. This effect typically lasts a number of rounds equal to the ringwraith’s HD. However, a creature thus effected must then make a new Will save once every minute (10 rounds). If the creature fails this Will save, it takes 1d10 damage and falls unconscious. The creature retains any fear effects, regardless of their source or duration, until it regains consciousness, and natural healing does not occur. Every 24 hours thereafter, the creature takes another 1d10 damage and attempts another Will save to regain consciousness. The save DC is equal to 10 + ½ the ringwraith’s HD + the damage taken. This is a mind-affecting fear effect. It can be ended by a remove curse spell. A ringwraith can use this ability a number of times per day equal to its Charisma modifier.
Mournful Wail (Su): A ringwraith is forever cursed to be an unwilling thrall of its terrible master. It can emit a mournful wail as a standard action. All living creatures within a 30-foot spread must succeed on a Will save or become shaken for 2d4 rounds. This is a sonic mind-affecting fear effect. A creature that successfully saves against the wail cannot be affected by the same ringwraith’s wail for 24 hours.
Special Qualities: A ringwraith gains the following.
Ringsense (Su): The ringwraith can detect magic rings by sense of smell within 10 feet per the item’s caster level. If the magic ring is also an artifact, this range becomes 10 miles per the item’s caster level. When the ringwraith detects a magic ring, the exact location of the source is not revealed, only its presence somewhere within the range. A ringwraith can take a standard action to locate the direction of the source. When the ringwraith is within 5 feet of the source, it pinpoints the source’s location.
Servant of the One (Su): All ringwraiths have a master, usually a powerful spellcaster or demigod, who uses an artifact in the ringwraith’s creation. A ringwraith’s master knows exactly where the ringwraith is at all times and can control its actions as if using a dominate monster spell. If a ringwraith’s master is killed or trapped on another plane, the ringwraith must work to resurrect or free its master, even if this requires years of planning, gathering resources, and manipulating other creatures.
Shadowy Form (Su): Ringwraiths exist partially on the Plane of Shadow. They must be given corporeal form and clothing by their master in order to interact with the material plane. Its corporeal body is invisible, and it cannot remove the clothing bestowed by its master while it is in corporeal form. A ringwraith can voluntarily shed its form to become incorporeal. It loses all powers and abilities and cannot interact with the material plane in any way, save through its blindsense and dreadful presense. A ringwraith in incorporeal form gains a fly speed of 60 ft. (good).
Ability Scores: Str +6, Int +4, Wis -2, Cha +6. As an undead creature, a ringwraith has no Constitution score.
Skills: A ringwraith gains a +8 racial bonus on Intimidate, Ride and Stealth checks.
Feats: Ringwraiths gain Improved Initiative, Mounted Combat, Ride-By Attack, and Toughess as bonus feats.

How do you get the carrot atop the "u"? I just copied/pasted yours.

On a Mac, press option-i, release, and then type u. On a PC, hold down ALT and type '0251.'

For each of the rings, I'd suggest a specific relatively low-key (i.e. "not flashy") but highly useful magical effect because, honestly, Middle Earth doesn't have the flashiest of mages.

For what it's worth, I think the Pathfinder magic system works just fine in Middle-earth, especially when the alternative is to make your own magic system from the ground up. Gandalf DID create a fireball (against the wolves in Hollin) and he did call down lighting (against the Nazgûl on Weathertop), he threatened to turn people into animals, could communicate telepathically long-distance, and as Gandalf the White shot rays of holy light. He just didn't do these things as often as a Pathfinder wizard would because of the peculiar strictures of his Order. To make my campaign feel low-magic without rewriting the entire magic system, I'm simply limiting PCs' access to magic items and requiring them to be level 3 before they can go into a spellcasting class. You still get things that weren't in the books, but I'd rather do it this way than learn or make a whole new game.

Finally, depending on what you're thinking now, I might reconfigure your perceptions of power: look at about 9th-to-14th as your power window. Most of the great mortals in Middle Earth, in Pathfinder terms, seem to hover around 5th, while immortals are around 10th. Only a few, such as Sauron, really get in the range of "near epic", and the Valar seem to be the only things that actually get to epic levels.

I'm using MERP as a rough guide here, dividing everyone's character level by 3. For example, Aragorn is level 36 in their system, so he ends up being 12 in Pathfinder. The Nazgûl fall into the 10 to 20 range, with the Witch-King being the only 20th level (60th level in MERP). I don't always go with MERP, though, because they made Legolas and Gimli level 8 to Aragorn's 36, and I feel the Three Hunters should be closer together in level.

Although now that I think about it, dividing by 5 might work better. Hm.

I would not make them a template. There is only 9 of them after all (assuming your going for a canon game). Make them Unique special Monsters/NPC's.

I want to make each Nazgûl an individual, so I felt a template was the best way to go. Specifically, I want to make ICE's Nazgûl, since I like their backstories, for the most part. A template could also be used to make "lesser" wraiths. The Nazgûl each had their own kingdoms and servants, and some of them might have forged lesser rings to enslave their own thralls. This idea is used in LOTRO for monsters that are called Cargûl. I've got an adventure in mind where the PCs explore an old, abandoned castle that used to belong to Adûnaphel (ICE's name for the 7th Nazgûl), and the PCs end up fighting what is basically the memory of a Nazgûl, so not at full strength.

I always found that Iron Crown got the flavor and feel of Middle Earth dead on. They are a great go to source for their region guides and insights into the power of the major NPC's of Middle Earth.

MERP is an excellent resource but woefully incomplete in places.

I think I would decrease the range of the black breath ability, seems more like it would be a thing they would do only when they were closer up.

You're forgetting when they basically dive-bombed Minas Tirith with the Black Breath during the Battle of Pelennor Fields.

Also bear in mind with the Strength score thing that incorporeal undead do not have a Strength score. Obviously you could make them an exception, but as written, incorporeal undead lack Strength as well as Constitution.

Incorporeal creatures also can't interact with physical objects, yet the Nazgûl wield weapons and wear clothes. So maybe they're not the Pathfinder definition of incorporeal.

I am working on a Nazgûl template for my Middle-earth Pathfinder campaign. I've never created a template before, so I'm looking for suggestions. It's my intention to use this template not just for the Nine Nazgûl but also "lesser" spirits under their control (such as the Cargûl from LOTRO). First, I'm going to list the general powers and features of the Nazgûl, found in ICE's Lords of Middle-earth Vol. II for the MERP system, and talk about various ways to turn them into Pathfinder rules.

1) Resistant to critical strikes — Ok, this is fairly easy to do. Nazgûl are incorporeal undead, and they probably have some DR on top of that. Done.

2) Shadowy form — Nazgûl are only partially present in the material plane, and the rest of their being exists "in the Shadows outside of the world." Ringwraiths cannot die as long as the One Ring exists. If Sauron is killed (or temporarily defeated), Nazgûl lose their form and retreat to the Shadow-world. They cannot return to the world until Sauron regains his power and summons them. It can take up to 200 years for a Nazgûl to regain its form and full power after that.

The first part sounds like pretty much the definition of incorporeal. The second is a bit like a lich's relationship to its phylactery. If a Nazgûl is defeated in combat and The One Ring is not found and destroyed immediately after (not likely to happen unless you're playing Frodo), then the Nazgûl returns in a matter of days.

3) Appearance - Ringwraiths are invisible. They can only be seen by Sauron, evil Shadow creatures, or someone wearing a Ring of Power. While wearing their own Rings, Nazgûl look like they did in life. Without their Rings, they look like haggard old corpses.

Invisibility is also pretty well-defined in the Pathfinder rules. It's worth noting that Ringwraiths seem to have a strong connection to what would be Middle-earth's Plane of Shadow, and I don't know that there's any specific way to express that in Pathfinder. The Nazgûl didn't have their Rings when they were encountered in The Lord of the Rings—Sauron had taken them, presumably to keep them on a tight leash. If another party of adventurers encountered the Nazgûl at an earlier time, they might actually have their Rings and be more powerful. Not sure how the Rings, each a unique magic artifact, could be hard-coded into the template. Definitely a Nazgûl with a Ring would have a higher CR than one without it.

4) Strength of form — They have the strength and vigor of hardy young Men. They do not suffer the penalties of age, and they do not get tired easily. They do not sleep. They are weak during the day. Non-magical weapons break upon contact with their flesh.

MERP included a lot of stuff under one bullet point. From this I read that Nazgûl should have high Strength and Fortitude saves. They have the Light Sensitivity of orcs. Non-magic weapons that hit them must make a Fortitude save or gain the broken condition.

5) Vulnerability to Nature — Again, they're weak in natural sunlight. They have trouble crossing fresh running water. They are weak against fire.

All stuff that's actually pretty easy to do in Pathfinder. I'll just use the language in the vampire template for the whole running water thing.

6) Effect of Varda — Ringwraiths are weak against the power of the goddess Varda. Just saying her name "Elbereth Gilthoniel" can force a Nazgûl to flee.

Ok, so saying "Elbereth Gilthoniel" forces the Nazgûl to make a Will save or flee. This one seems most problematic to me for a roleplaying game. Any PC who happens to know this fact has a chance to defeat a Nazgûl with a free action. Even though it happens in the books, I'm of a mind to just flat-out ignore this. Any suggestions?

7) Enhanced senses — Nazgûl are blind in the material plane and use senses other than sight to see. Sounds like blindsight to me.

8) Presence — Anyone who sees a Nazgûl must make a Will save versus fear or flee in terror. MERP also says a Nazgûl can deliver a True Charm spell with a gaze. I don't know what that is in MERP, but it sounds like the Nazgûl has a very high-level charm spell-like ability, or perhaps an array of them. Not sure what part of the books this is based on.

9) Black Breath — This is the Nazgûl's most famous attack, described in numerous places in the books. MERP says it can be used 9/day, has a range of 300 feet and a 5 foot radius. Those numbers are obviously not set in stone, but they seem good to me. MERP gives the attack 3 levels of severity, depending on how badly the target fails its save—the target falls into "despair" for 1-100 rounds and the "unwakable sleep" for 1-100 hours; the target "despairs" for 1-100 hours and then "unbreakable slumber" for 1-100 days; the target immediately falls into a cursed sleep and dies from mental torment (unless healed) within 1-100 hours.

Obviously the above includes a lot of MERP terms that I don't know the definition. I don't really know if Pathfinder does tiered saves. It'd be easy to write up, but if no other monsters have it, I don't want to do it. I think this is probably best done as a poison or a disease that gets worse after so many failed saves. Any thoughts on poison versus disease? Also, should it be a Fortitude save or a Will save?

The Nine Rings of Power — Since Tolkien didn't really say what the Nine Rings did, I'm basically free to make up anything. MERP has a short description that uses MERP terminology that I'm not familiar with. Here's what it basically boils down to...
—A whole bunch of spell-like abilities. Here's where I can make all the Rings different if I want and tailor them to each wraith's specific personality.
—Can't be detected by magic/scrying.
—Wearer retains Dex bonus when flat-floted.
—Bonuses to caster level, AC, saving throws, and hit points.

I'd like the template to add +2 to a creature's CR without a Ring (the same as ghost, lich, and vampire), and +3 or more with a Ring.

That's not true, Enevhar. If you read Lords of Middle-earth Vol. II there is information on all the Nazgûl. Tolkien did not give the Nazgûl names or say where there original kingdoms were, but MERP provided all that information and gave each Nazgûl a backstory. A lot of them returned to their old kingdoms when Sauron returned in the Third Age and ruled there briefly. Most of them were south of Mordor, in Khand, Harad, and Umbar. Hoarmûrath was the only one that had a kingdom in the north. I'm guessing his backstory was written after the maps were already drawn and they never had any reason to add it.

Thanks. I thought it was further north, above the Grey Mountains. Still can't find it on any stinkin' map, though. MERP's maps are pretty useless for the most part.

Does anyone know the exact location of the Land of Urd and the Forest of Dír? These were the lands of Hoarmûrath the Ringwraith when he was mortal. They're somewhere in "the North." Also, if anyone can point me to a site that has ICE's interpretation of Middle-earth as one big map image, I would be grateful.

Thanks, Lightbulb, I'll have to take a good look at these articles later. I'm not sure that there's anything in them that pertains to Pathfinder movement rules, though. :)

New question-- what about army movement? How do I determine how fast an army moves, using the overland movement rules in the Core Rulebook? Can I assume that a trained army can hustle and do a forced march without too much trouble? What about horses? If it's a small force (say a detachment of knights or a company of rangers), can I assume that every unit has a horse, and would they be light horses or heavy horses? I don't really understand the difference.

For the OP let me see if I can give my take (I am not a military guy, so this is just a guy who enjoys history but has no particular specialty there).

Thanks Sean, that really gives me a lot of ideas to work with. You rock! And the war is mostly background for the PCs. The PCs are not soldiers, they are adventurers involved in a quest to find artifacts and stop Sauron from destroying the world. The war is background. They will be involved in some battles (like I said, their first mission is to save the Captain of Gondor's armies) but mostly they'll be trying to figure out how to stay away from the marauding armies so they can get their jobs done.

Wasn't Aragorn involved in this war in disguise, or was that a later war?

This campaign is taking place 250 years before The Lord of the Rings. Aragorn has not even been born yet.

To address what everyone else is talking about, yes, Middle-earth is a terribly unrealistic place when you take a good look at it. It's very sparsely populated, there's really no trade routes or economy to speak of (there's some in the North with the dwarves traveling from Erebor to the Blue Mountains and back again), and Tolkien doesn't really go into details about governments, day-to-day lives, levels of technology, etc.

MERP tries to fill in some of these gaps by saying that Gondor trades with the Grey Havens (the Elves) and Umbar (when they're not at war). The first doesn't fit with Tolkien's writing because in the Third Age, Men were supposed to be "estranged" from the Elves, but at least it's an attempt.

Tolkien DOES say that Gondor (and Númenor before it) were mighty seafaring powers. Gondor's power waned throughout the Third Age, but at one time they were basically able to send ships anywhere and do what they liked with them. About 800 years prior to my campaign, Gondor DID send a fleet of ships led by their Crown Prince to land at the Grey Havens and assist the Elves in destroying the Witch-King of Angmar, who had completely decimated the Kingdom of Armor by that point. By the time of MY campaign, Gondor's naval strength is much less. My guess is they are able to patrol the waters along the coast and the island of Tolfalas but little else.

Pelgargir and Dol Amroth are both port cities, and they wouldn't have port cities if they didn't have a navy and/or some kind of sea trade.

So gnomersy I get that you're saying the war as Tolkien describes it is unrealistic? Because all Tolkien talks about is the invasion by sea. Of course, it's possible that Umbar didn't send any land forces because their goal was simply to harass Gondor and keep them from sending aid to Rohan.

Gondor is supposed to be pretty weak militarily at this point in history, so I don't know if they would be able to send an army as far south as Umbar. They had sacked Umbar a couple times in the past, when they were stronger, but this is far into Gondor's decline. They'd have to be in pretty dire straits to even consider it.

Would Gondor try to reclaim their ports first? How long would that take? How long would it take to muster all those 40 thousand men? I'm trying to find a plausible way to stretch this conflict out for 8 months. (u_u);;

Well, they're 3rd level but really more 2 1/2 level because I'm making them all take an NPC class. The reason being that Middle-earth is a bit more mundane than your average fantasy realm. They also don't have a lot of access to a lot of magic and healing. That's the kind of campaign it is. The campaign will go to about 10th level, but they'll be far from Gondor by that point.

I'm looking for advice from people who know a thing or two about warfare. I have compiled a lot of data for this particular campaign but don't exactly know what to do with it. My campaign is set in Middle-earth in the year 2758 T.A., but you don't necessarily need to be a Middle-earth expert to help me out.

The campaign starts in this area, and most of the war takes place on this map
http://users.abo.fi/jumppa/Atlas_of_Middle-earth_-_maps/the_white_mountains .gif

Tolkien says in this year "three great fleets, long prepared, came up from Umbar and Harad, and assailed the coasts of Gondor in great force; the enemy made many landings, even as far north as the mouth of the Isen." Of the outcome, Tolkien only says that Gondor had "overcome" their enemies by Spring of the following year. This particular war is important because it kept Gondor from sending aid to Rohan, who was having troubles of its own. The devastation caused by both wars and a harsh winter in Rohan is what led the Steward of Gondor to give Saruman the Keys to Orthanc.

I'm trying to figure out some sort of timeline for how the war would play out, so that I can put the PCs in the middle of it. Gondor is a pretty big area to invade, even if you do have three great fleets. I don't actually know anything about war, and I suck at war strategy games. I have no idea how big a fleet might be, where they would attack first, how Gondor would react, how fast Gondor's armies could communicate with each other, etc. This is a low-magic setting, so no flying carpets or sending spells.

Some raw data. Gondor has a population of about 400 thousand, with roughly 30-35 thousand living in Minas Tirith (the capitol). After Minas Tirith, the second largest population centers are Pelargir and Dol Amorth, which are both port cities able to deploy sizable naval forces. Most people live in Lossarnach, Lebennin, along the coasts, or along the River Morthond. West of the River Morthond, the land is mostly uninhabited (only about 5000 people for that large area). Another important strategic location is Tolfalas, where Gondor maintains a watchtower and token naval force. We know that at least part of Umbar's forces traveled to the Mouths of the Isen, far outside of Gondor's territory. It's likely they were not part of the war but went to help the Dunlendings that were invading Rohan at that time. It's possible to travel from Gondor to Umbar by land, crossing the River Poros, and while Umbar has invaded Gondor by that way at other times, Tolkien doesn't mention any land battles occurring in this year.

There's a road that goes from Minas Tirith through the heartland of Gondor and ends at Erech. In LOTR, it took Aragorn (with an army of Rangers and undead) about 7 days to travel from Erech to Minas Tirith by horse and then by ship. He was in a Big Hurry and was partially aided by divine powers. There are several important bridges along this road that could hinder an army's movement if destroyed.

The campaign has already started and it is summer of 2758 T.A. Umbar has been harassing Gondor's coasts for years now, so news of ships sacking coastal towns is nothing new. However, the PCs are just starting to get the sense that a major invasion has begun. In addition, the Steward's son Beregond is currently captured by orcs in the wilds of Anfalas, and one of the PCs' first missions will be to rescue him. I intend for the war to be happening around the PCs without them getting too involved, as they will have missions of their own.

I do have access to a lot of the old MERP books, which I absolutely love. They are good at filling in details that Tolkien left out. However they're very dense and don't always have the information that I want, especially if the book is set hundreds of years before or after my campaign.

I built this guy for a one-shot module. I'm playtesting on Friday. He will attack with four shadow rats (Tome of Horrors Complete page 504), making the whole encounter EL 5. The PCs are 3rd level. At this point, I'm checking to see if there's anything I should tweak (ability scores, feats, tricks, weapon choices).

Dimos --- CR 3
XP 800
Male fetchling ninja 4
LE Medium outsider (native)
Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +4
-- Defense --
AC 16, touch 14, flat-footed 12 (+2 armor, +4 Dex)
hp 27 (4d8+4)
Fort +2, Ref +8, Will –1
Defensive Abilities shadow blending, uncanny dodge; Resist cold 5, electricity 5
-- Offense --
Speed 30 ft.
Melee mwk wakizashi +8 (1d8+2/18–20) or
Mwk dagger +8 (1d4+2/19–20)
Ranged mwk shortbow +8 (1d6/x3)
Special Attacks sneak attack +2d6
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 4th)
1/day—disguise self (humanoid only)
-- Statistics --
Str 14, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 6, Cha 12
Base Atk +3; CMB +5; CMD 19
Feats Improved Initiative, Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics +11, Appraise +5, Bluff +7, Climb +9, Diplomacy +5, Disable Device +10, Disguise +9, Escape Artist +10, Intimidate +5, Knowledge (local) +5, Knowledge (nobility) +5, Linguistics +5, Perception +4, Sense Motive +2, Sleight of Hand +11, Stealth +13, Swim +6, Use Magic Device +5
SQ ki pool (3 points), ninja tricks (shadow clone, vanishing trick), no trace +1, poison use
Combat Gear leather, masterwork dagger, masterwork katana, masterwork shortbow; Other Gear disguise kit, black smear poision (2 doses), thieves’ tools, 200 pp, 250 gp
-- Special Abilites --
Poison Use (Ex) A ninja is trained in the use of poison and cannot accidentally poison himself when applying poison to a weapon.
Black smear—injury; save Fort DC 15; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 Str; cure 1 save.
Shadow Clone (Su): The ninja can create 1d4 shadowy duplicates of himself that conceal his true location. This ability functions as mirror image, using the ninja’s level as his caster level. Using this ability is a standard action that uses up 1 ki point.
Vanishing Trick (Su): As a swift action, the ninja can disappear for 1 round per level. This ability functions as invisibility. Using this ability uses up 1 ki point.

Okay. Should the damage be lower if it's also bull rushing or grabbing the PC? I figure I can roll a d100 to randomly determine bull rush vs. grab. And maybe a Strength check to alter the path of the chain?

Not sure if this is the right board for this, but here goes. I'm writing an adventure that takes place in an abandoned factory and features a fight that takes place on a catwalk over a large room filled with industrial-sized vats and other discarded equipment. (Think when Batman met the Joker the first time)

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to have this big, heavy hook on a chain dangling from the ceiling that could be swinging around and knock people off the catwalk or even catch on their clothing and swing *them* around. If one of the PCs was clever, they could grab it and throw it at the bad guys, or grab on and ride it to the other side of the room. Just a fun prop to make a rather bland encounter more exciting.

I was just wondering what the best way might be to represent this thing in game terms, without making it too complicated and slowing down the game. What would be appropriate attack and damage values?

This is meant to be a CR 4 encounter.

Looks that way. Is this the wrong forum for typos?

Good to know. Looks like I'm going with fighter/sorcerer then.

In the wraith statblock in Bestiary (p 281), it says:

AC 18, touch 18, flat-footed 14 (+5 deflection, +3 Dex)

I can't figure out why it has a flat-footed AC of 14. Shouldn't it be 15? Or am I missing something?

I'm trying to create an undead barbarian/sorcerer as an NPC. Don't ask why. Are there any feats or character options that make this work? My chief worry is that undead don't have Con scores, so an undead barbarian is only getting some of the normal benefits of raging. Can a sorcerer cast spells while raging (i.e., does it require 'patience and concentration'?). If not, is there something that would allow such spellcasting? Thanks.

Greetings, folks!

We are a small, but dedicated gaming group in Eastern PA seeking to grow larger. We have been playing together for about 2 1/2 years. In addition to Pathfinder Society, we also support Living Forgotten Realms and D&D Encounters. In short, we try to accommodate the interests of everyone. We are also seeking to add other Living campaigns as well. We also occasionally run special events like board game days and one-shot RPGs.

The Portal Comics & Gaming is located in Bethlehem, PA, approximately 1 1/2 hours drive from Philadelphia and New York. In addition to selling roleplaying games and board games, The Portal caters to Warhammer, War Machine and Magic: The Gathering players. They sell graphic novels at 20% off every day. Soda and snacks are sold on-site and convenient restaurants are nearby.

Our group has a mailing list at
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and a Warhorn page at
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If you want to contact The Portal directly, information is below (we are not employees of The Portal, merely dedicated patrons):

The Portal Comics & Gaming
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http://www.theportalcomicsandgaming.com/

Thank you for your time and interest!

I get what you are trying to do, and to try to get the "feel" of middle earth is something I did a long time ago.

Obviously you don't get what I am trying to do or you wouldn't be commenting on the magic system. I am not redesigning the Pathfinder magic system to fit Middle-earth. I am simply making it a requirement for spellcasters to multi-class, so that their spellcasting levels are never more than half their total character levels. They can still cast grease and enlarge person and the like.

No, it doesn't exactly fit the lore of Middle-earth. Trust me, I have been obsessed with Middle-earth since I was 11 years old and I am more in love with the lore of Middle-earth than is perhaps healthy. But I also didn't want to re-design Pathfinder magic from the ground up. I wanted to play Pathfinder, and I wanted to run a game in Middle-earth, so this is the compromise I chose.

I'm happy with that compromise.

If folks could please comment on my system (see 4 posts above this one), rather than suggesting radically different systems, that would be helpful. The campaign starts next week.

Hope and Dread System

Terms

Hope Points: Hope is what makes a hero PC in Middle-earth special. It represents a hero PC’s ability to bring light to the darkness. NPCs generally do not get hope points. A PC starts each level with a number of hope points equal to his level times 2. A PC may spend and earn hope points during play, but his total hope points can never be more than twice his level. When a PC gains a level, he gets a fresh pool of hope points and any unspent hope points are lost.

Max. Hope Points = Level × 2

Hope Level: A PC’s hope level is equal to the number of hope points she currently has.

Dread Points: Dread represents the power of evil in Middle-earth. Dread points are associated with black sorcery, ancient evil, and the servants of the Dark Lord Sauron. There are two types of dread points: pervasive dread and permanent dread. There is no limit to the number of dread points a PC may have at one time.

Pervasive Dread: Certain areas in Middle-earth are tainted with evil. A PC gains dread points when entering the area. These dread points go away one hour after the PC leaves the area.

Permanent Dread: Some attacks will deal dread points directly to a PC. These dread points are permanent and will not go away on their own. Permanent dread points may be removed by a remove curse spell or any higher-level spell that removes curses. A PC who is treated with athelas (150 gp) while resting for 24 hours may make a Will save (DC 10 + dread level) to remove one permanent dread point.

Dread Level: If a PC’s dread level is equal to her current total dread points minus her current total hope points. If this would result in a negative number, the PC’s dread level is 0.

Dread Level = (Permanent Dread + Pervasive Dread) – Hope Points

Spending Hope Points

• A PC may spend any number of hope points he currently has to modify an attack roll, skill check or saving throw. The points may be spent after the roll is made. For each hope point spent, add 1d4 to the roll. The result can never be higher than the result of an unmodified natural 20.

• A PC may spend any number of hope points she currently has to increase the save DC of a spell cast by her. The points must be spent before the spell is cast. For each hope point spent, add 1d4 to the save DC of the spell.

• A PC may spend hope points to enhance a cure spell. The points may be spent after the spell is cast. The number of hope points spent cannot be higher than the level of the spell. For each hope point spent, cure 1d4 additional hit points.

• A PC may spend 1 hope point each time she takes an 8 hour rest to regain hit points at twice the normal rate.

Regaining Hope Points

A PC regains hope points when:

• The PC scores a critical hit against an enemy.

• An enemy rolls a natural 1 on a save against a spell cast by the PC (or anything the PC did to force a save).

• Consuming certain magic items, such as lembas or miruvor.

Dread Effects

• Whenever a PC’s dread level is 1 or higher, he becomes shaken.

• Subtract a PC’s dread level from the save DC of any spell cast by the PC.

• When a PC receives magical healing from a cure spell, subtract the PC’s dread level from each d8 rolled (to a minimum of 1).

• When a PC rests while dread level is 1 or higher, he regains hit points at half the normal rate.

• If a PC’s dread level is equal to her character level, she must make a Will save (DC 10 + dread level) each time she is attacked or be frightened for 1d4 rounds.

• If a PC’s dread level is equal to twice his character level, he becomes panicked for 1d4 rounds after which he is cowering. This effect can only be ended by removing dread points.

Thanks, Jubbly, you had some very insightful comments. You're right, keeping things simple is the goal here, and balance is always an issue. Keep in mind that in my system, Hope and Dread are pools of points, not a sliding scale like they are in LOTRO. There's no Hope level, just a pool of Hope points to be spent.

In terms of how they effect the challenge of an encounter, keep in mind that I put Hope points into the game firstly to make up for the lack of magic. PCs can only have half their total level in spellcasting classes. That means a 10th level character can only be a 5th level wizard, cleric, or whatever. Hope points prop up the characters by taking the place of the healing and buff spells they would normally be receiving. Conversely, Dread points remove that crutch out from under the PCs' feet, so to speak.

Let's say that the threshold for dread points is called "Despair." A PC has despair when his dread points is equal to or greater than his level. If a GM wants to make an area spooky, simply have the area inflict dread points on the PCs' equal to roughly half their level. This won't affect them right away, but they'll get less of a bang when they spend their Hope points. If a GM wants to make the area really terrifying, increase the dread points to the PCs' level.

Let's say when a PC has despair, he is forced to make a save v. fear whenever the following happens: he acquires dread points (including the one that gave him despair), he is revived from an unconscious state, he rolls a "1" on an attack roll, or an enemy rolls a "20" to save against something the PC just did. A PC who fails the save is shaken for 1 round. I don't think any more extreme effects need to be hardwritten into the rules. Rather, a monster could have a power that lets it turn a shaken PC into a panicked PC.

As for reducing the PC's hit points, I know that's something dread does in the video game, but I think that's too much for a pen-and-paper RPG. Dread is already reducing the PC's incoming healing, and I think that's enough.

To the rest of you, please stop trying to suggest other systems. I've considered all those other systems (including the upcoming The One Ring by Cubicle 7), but my players and I want to play Pathfinder. I appreciate the input, but that's not what this thread is for. Please take that conversation somewhere else.

Just out of curiosity, is there any reason you're not simply using the Lord of the Rings RPG? That manages to capture the feel of Middle Earth extremely well.

The mechanics of Midnight are certainly also extremely applicable to a ME setting. Midnight is, after all, more or less lifted straight fromMiddle-Earth with the difference that Sauron won.
I'd recommend using the magic system of Midnight if you do want to run PF. I'm not sure how to update the Wildlander class to PF, but I also think that it works significantly better for that kind of feel.

Thank you Elrostar. I don't own the Decipher Lord of the Rings RPG, and I wasn't very much impressed by it when I did own it. And I do not feel that the magic system in Midnight is mechanically any closer to Middle-earth than regular D&D magic is. So I'm not using it.

I'm going to be running a Middle-earth campaign this summer using Pathfinder. I'm using a number of house rules to make it feel more Middle-earth-y, such as restricting advancement in spellcasting classes. A character's level in a spellcasting class cannot be greater than half his level. I had considered converting the character classes, magic, and herb-gathering rules from FF's Midnight campaign setting, but this seemed a simpler solution.

Another thing I'm trying out is Hope and Dread points. These were inspired by The Lord of the Rings Online, and you can Google it to see how it works there. Here, Hope points are similar to Action points. They let the characters be more heroic and overcome their limited healing and magic capabilities. Dread represents the power of Sauron, the ability to instill fear in the hearts of Men (and other races). An idol erected to Sauron in some lonely place might give off Dread points. A Ringwraith's Black Breath or a stab from a Morgul blade might give a character Dread points. Any land that Suaron has touched with his black hand and left tainted could be a source of Dread points. Dread points deaden or negate entirely the effects of Hope points.

A PC starts with Hope points equal to twice his level. (This may be woefully inadequate.) The pool replenishes whenever a PC levels up. Any unspent Hope points are lost. Ways to regain Hope points might be explored.

Generally, any time a PC spends a Hope point, he can add 1d4 to a roll. A PC can spend any number of Hope points at once. A PC can spend Hope points to enhance an attack roll, a skill check, or a saving throw, but NOT a damage roll. Hope points only increase the chance that a PC will succeed at something, not the degree of success. A PC can never spend Hope points to succeed at something that would have been impossible without them (that is, wouldn't have succeeded on a natural 20).

A spellcaster PC can spend Hope points to increase the save DC of one spell by 1d4 for each Hope point spent. The same concepts as above apply (can't increase degree of success, can't do the impossible).

Whenever a PC receives natural or magical healing, the PC can spend up to one Hope point per level of the spell (or one Hope point per 8 hours of rest) to regain an extra 1d4 hit points.

This one's really iffy--a PC may spend all the Hope point he currently has to save himself from death. Probably need more specific rules for that one.

I'm a little less clear on how Dread points should work, how one acquires them, how one gets rid of them (a saving throw most likely). For each Dread point a PC has, a d4 becomes a d2 when spending Hope points. (So if a PC has 2 Dread points and spends 3 Hope points, he rolls 2d2 and 1d4.) If a PC ever has Dread points beyond a certain threshold (I'm thinking, equal to his level or more), they should have negative static effects on the PC, but I'm not certain what those are.

Some ideas: the PC behaves as if Encumbered; incoming healing is reduced by 1 hp per Dread point (or by 1 hp per Dread point over the limit); penalties to attack rolls, skill checks and saving throws (particularly saving throws against fear effects).

How a PC gets rid of Dread is uncertain. Some Dread are tied to locations, like an evil idol or a spooky cave, so they should go away as soon as the character leaves the area. Others behave more like poison, like a Ringwraith's breath or Shelob's bite.

I'm sure this seems like a big, complicated mess to most of you and probably a whole lot of work for nothing. If any of you manage to read this far, I'd appreciate some advice, as long as it's not "Don't do it."

Do I get to keep my free ammo and guns? I already sold my musket (at half price) to buy a masterwork musket. Do I get to keep all that?

Does "end of playtest" mean I have to stop playing my Pathfinder Society gunslinger?

I took Evil Eye as my first hex. I took Arcane Strike and Combat Casting as my 1st level feats. Are those good, or could I do better?

I was thinking Neutral Good or Chaotic Good for alignment.

Of course deity matters! I said all my characters worship a deity. It's important to know. And I have Hero Lab. That's useful for making a legal character but it doesn't necessarily make it a GOOD character!

I was trying to make a Witch the other day when I realized I haven't made a 3e/Pathfinder character in years and I have no idea what I'm doing. Help!

I wanted to make a Taldane Human Witch named Arthur, named after the Uncle Arthur character from Bewitched. And I haven't watched Bewitched in years, I just liked the name. I just like the idea of a male witch with slicked back hair and coattails.

What ability scores should he have (besides Intelligence)? What deity should he worship? ALL my characters worship a deity. I think they're the most fascinating things about a setting. Should I bother giving him a weapon? Does he need a spell component pouch? What other class tools and miscellaneous items does he need?

Can't believe I used to know how to do all this stuff and it's just gone!

Thank you. Have a nice day.

One of the items in your order lists as Usually ships from our warehouse in 8 to 17 business days. Your order was placed 1/17/09 and today is the 13th business day so your order should ship within the next few days.

I have checked each item. Most of them say "Usually ships in 5 to 11 business days." I didn't see any that say 8 to 17.

Also, by your count, Saturday is not a "business day." Is this correct?

This has been 'pending' for a couple weeks now. When is it going to ship? What's the delay?

I'm pretty sure she's Rushuna Tendo from the anime Grenadier. (in disguise!)

Saying "the queen is crazy" is a lazy justification.

Ah, well, perhaps I am lazy then. Some of us don't have the ability to see as deeply into an NPC's motivations. Much less make it come across to the players at my table. My players could understand a crazy woman, though, judging from the comments they make about their wives and girlfriends.

Well, so long as you make it clear that Ileosa (or the entity controlling her) is truly insane, then I suppose it justifies anything she does. So the Gray Maidens really have nothing to do with the queen's jealousy and are just another means of asserting control of Korvosa?

I'm really not understanding the Gray Maidens, as described in Pathfinder #8. So, like any female villain, Queen Ileosa is jealous of other attractive females. A bit cliche, but so far so good.

So why is she taking strong, beautiful women from the Korvosan military? Heroic PCs and NPCs aside (who always have dazzlingly perfect hair even in the worst conditions!), women in the military and law enforcement are not likely to be stunningly beautiful or remain that way for very long. Not after a few years of working up a sweat swinging a sword every day and getting into fights. You'd think Ileosa's jealousy would be directed more towards noblewomen with whom she interacts regularly.

Then it says that women who don't pass "the Queen's examination for strength and beauty" are secretly killed. Why? Why summon women to serve you and then kill them because they didn't pass the test to be in your secret army? If they don't have the "strength and beauty" to be in the Gray Maidens, there should be no harm in letting them go before they have a chance to really learn anything.

And finally, if Ileosa is in fact a lesbian, wouldn't she rather have an army of attractive, loyal eye candy that serves only her? Rather than heavily scarred women who wear concealing steel helmets? Sabina is at least as attractive as Ileosa and is allowed to show it off. Any male ruler who has an eye for women wouldn't be content with just one hot chick in his employ (see King Eodred).

The Vancaskerikin family to me sounds like a combination of the names 'Vanderboren' and 'Smallcask' that appeared throughout several Dungeon APs. Someone at Paizo just likes the word 'cask.'

Even if Queen Ileosa was evil from the start, simply being inside her head (as a DM) for so long creates a sense of attachment. A lot moreso than I had with, say, Karzoug, who was absent for most of the adventure path. I'm not saying that Ileosa shouldn't die a horrible and well-deserved death at the hands of the PCs, just that every now and then I find myself secretly thinking to myself "if someone just took away her weapons and made her stand in the corner, she'd get better." And then moments later I snap back to reality.

Was she planning to murder the king before she became possessed? I thought she was just going to wait for him to die of old age, a la Anna Nicole. I'd like to know more about the nature of her possession, but I expect that will all be detailed when the PCs actually have to face her (I'm just reading Pathfinder 7 now).

It feels ironic to me that the more detailed an NPC is, the more I become attached to them and the less I want them to die. By the time I finish reading an adventure path, I'm more attached to the villains whose behind-the-scenes lives I've been following than my PCs. (I suppose it might help if I ever had players who could create interesting PCs) In RotRL my heart went out to folks like Nualia and Orik Vankaskerkin, who were really the victims of poor choices more than anything else. I'm starting to get that feeling with Ileosa, who doesn't seem like she was much more than a stupid, spoiled teenager before she opened "the wrong box" under Castle Korvosa. Oh well, just sharing thoughts.

Leovinous wrote:

The other hottie is the is what i am assuming is the paladin on page 71 named pos...nothing like crossbows and and short skirts...lol

Oh yes, that Justiciar (which I guess she is) is quite hot, too. She can totallc compete with the three hotties from Edge of Anarchy (the Queen, Sabina and Trinia).

*sigh*

I took one look at this blonde cowgirl and immediately thought of Ryusuna Tendo from Grenadier. And if that's the sort of anime that inspires the art design at Paizo, I... I don't know how I feel. o.O;;

(For the record, Ryusuna is one of my all-time favorite anime babes, but... GAH!! x.X)