In the diagram above, the defender is D. If an attacker is in positions 1, 2, and 8, then at some point in the round, the defender will be facing away from #1.
I disagree.
Let's set aside the fact that 3.x specifically removes the concept of "facing" and proceed from there.
"D" can face position 4 or 7 and see both 1 and 8 simultaneously via peripheral vision. 2 and 8 achieve flanking, but 1 never does. There is a big difference between looking directly at someone and being aware of them. By your argument, 2 is irrelevant and the 1/8 combination on its own achieves flanking if they cannot be viewed simultaneously (such as by a cyclops?)
Jason Rice wrote:
I think my rule change is realistic, but that doesn't mean it's the best rule for game ballance.
Well ... there's realism and there's D&D.
Consider the following scenario using your layout. Attackers are positioned 3/4/9. D is entirely surrounded and is always blind to at least one attacker, yet because of the removal of "facing" they are no longer considered "flanked". Realistically, they are, if anything, "more flanked" than having diametrically-opposed attackers (speaking from personal marital arts experience, here).
I think giving everyone flanking goes too far. However, here are some options (all assume that flanking is not a condition, however):
1) Institute "facing" and give flanking to anyone "behind" the combatant;
2) Offer "non-flanking melee combatants" a +1 circumstance bonus;
3) Offer "non-flanking melee combatants" a +2 circumstance bonus, but not the Sneak Attack or other benefits flanking normally brings;
4) Institute a "180-degree rule" that states that a +1 or +2 bonus is given to all melee combatants surrounding a target if they exceed a 180-degree arc, regardless of exact position (but do not actually institute "facing");
5) Some combination of the above.
Archers never flank anyway, so making it a condition is a serious issue in that regard.
Like I mentioned above, "realism" and D&D are separate entities, but for those with a more simulationist bent (and I readily admit I'm borderline) who want to re-introduce Facing and so forth, that's all well and good. The rules as they exist right now are designed to walk a fine line between realism, simplicity and fun.
I do see a potentially significant alteration in combat tactics and party make-up. Your change encourages Rogue level-dipping, even for the extra +1d6. I also foresee situations where a pair of heavily-buffed party-tanks move into flanking position in order to grant flanking benefits to back-line Rogue archers who then unload onto a single target. This becomes a "rinse-and-repeat" tactic as a single opponent is targeted for flanking each round, and in the confined space of a typical dungeon-chamber would fill up enough space that it would clog the area and prevent opponents from breaking it up.
I don't think instituting an "ancillary benefit" to those attacking a flanked opponent is necessarily a bad idea, but giving it to everyone (particularly if they're the #1 guy above) isn't really appropriate, IMHO.
If a defender has to worry about attacks coming in from multiple sides, then he/she/it should be distracted enough to affect all incoming attacks
You're mis-interpreting the reason flanking exists.
Anyone being attacked by 2+ opponents has to be worried about being attacked form multiple sides, and by your reasoning should be threatened by flankers all the time. "Level of worry" is a non-factor in flanking.
Flanking is entirely about the inability to see 2+ opponents at the same time. Creatures with binocular vision (i.e. all humanoids and most animals) cannot look in two directions at once, so they cannot simultaneously see opponents standing diametrically opposed around them. This means you have to take your gaze off one opponent to see the other, and hence cannot react appropriately to what one is doing when facing the second.
However, using peripheral vision, you are still able to view anyone not diametrically opposed, and can still react appropriately to their threats.
This is the reason creatures with prehensile eye-stalks or many-eyes are generally immune to flanking, because they can see all threats at once and need never "take their eyes off" any opponent.
At -5 points per die from your 10 Con damage, your permanent hp dropped from 95 to 35. On top of that you took 60 points of damage
I disagree with this interpretation. Once damage is dealt it is dealt and done with. Generally speaking, lethal damage is not applied as "persistent" damage to a pool, it simply lowers HP total in the order dealt. Only non-lethal damage is "persistent" in any type of additive pool.
Basically, the energy damage was followed by the CON damage. Lathiira is applying them out-of-order, for which there is, to my knowledge, no precedent in the rules.
He survived the energy damage. That's over and done with. Now apply the CON damage and move forward.
Deathedge wrote:
One player says that I am dead, because the con damage caused me to lose an additional 60 hp.
This is not necessarily correct. You lost a maximum of 60 hp, but perhaps less depending upon your specific die rolls at each level. You definitely lost 36hp, plus an additional 1hp for each HD rolled 2 and 2hp for each die rolled 3+.
Deathedge wrote:
The DM ... found a passage in the DMG that says that even if you take enough con damage that the hit point loss would kill you, you still are alive with one hit point per hit die left (which in my case would be 12hp).
Aside from this being fairly definitive, if poorly worded regarding the obvious and likely case in question, I think a DM-judgement allowing your character to survive, particularly considering his importance tho the party, is not out of line.
FWIW,
Rez
EDIT
Lathiira is probably right. A check of the 3.5 FAQ comes up with the following:
When a character takes Constitution damage (such as from a wyvern’s poison) and his Con modifier changes, what happens to his hit points? Does it simply lower his maximum hp, or does it reduce his current hit points too?
A character whose Constitution modifier changes adjusts both his current and full normal (maximum) hit point totals accordingly. Remember that your full normal hit point total can’t be less than 1 per level (since even a Con penalty can’t reduce your Hit Die roll to less than 1).
An injured character who takes Constitution damage can be reduced to 0 or fewer hit points.
You're quite likely dead, unless you rolled really badly enough times for HP, in which case you might barely survive.
Also, the DM might wish to consider a few House Rules. We've instituted a few to avoid "insta-kills" ... primarily the use of Hero Points, increased Neg. HP threshold based on Size and HD/Level, or a "death's door" rule that lets any character suffering an "insta-kill" be allowed to "hover on death's door" for a round before automatically dying, giving others a chance to "rush to their aid".
Sure, none of these are RAW, but they take away the sting of bad die rolls and balance the higher-level "big damage all the time" problem (aka "I'd rather be at -1hp than 1hp").
What adventures ... create a 'find and fight through the Lost Citadel' ... for 12th level characters, and with maps
Some combination of the following, adjusted for levels, might work:
Void and Tower or Castle Adventures:
Dungeon Issue # - Title - Suggested Total Party Levels - Description
031 - Beyond the Glittering Veil – 27 - A mystic Gate has opened to a dark world, and Shadows threaten the population. Travel through the gate to a lost city of a forgotten psionic race, and put an end to the threat, and the schemes of the Shades who now live there. Involves Psionics, and temporarily grants “Wild Talents” to PCs.
035 - Twilight's Last Gleaming – 45 - Evil beings from the Plane of Shadow are overwhelming the garrison protecting Twilight Pass. But this is no simple “kill the monsters” job, as a Rakshasa has possessed the garrison commander. Journey through a Gate to the Demiplane where the Rakshasa’s body is captive in stasis and end the threat.
043 - Into the Silver Realm – 60 - A red dragon is plaguing the Northlands. But this turns out to be no simple dragon-slaying when the dragon’s lair is actually a Githyanki garrison which includes a permanent portal to a fortress in the Astral Plane.
045 - Prism Keep – 42 - A floating castle of crystal and gems appears in the sky above the town. As you watch a crystal shard falls to earth, opening a bridge to the palace. Investigate the floating marvel, uncover its secrets, end any threats, and become embroiled in an old legend.
049 - Castle of the Blind Sun - 56 - Horses and cattle near your castle are being slaughtered, a neighboring bog has turned into a sylvan forest, a charlatan posing as a healing priestess is on the loose, and as a solar eclipse approaches a mystical castle appears in the mountains.
052 - My Lady's Mirror - 40 - A companion to “Lady of the Mists”. Monsters and villains are loose in the castle-palace of Lady Avancia Freitstein, released from a Mirror of Life Trapping. But appearances can be deceptive, and the Lady has not earned the name “The Dark Rose” without reason.
059 - Seeking Bloodsilver – 15 - Journey to a ruined fortress-wall that guards a mountain pass and thence into the “Shadowlands” to recover a lost weapon reputedly made of the rarest “Bloodsilver”.
060 - Nemesis - 60 - An investigation into the disappearance of a tiefling turns ugly when the trail leads from Sigil into the Abyss and becomes embroiled in the power struggles of the marilith and one demon’s quest for revenge.
068 - Al-Kandil - 24 - A magic lamp contains not a genie, but a trapped sorcerer who pretends to be one until such time as he can escape the prison by tricking someone into replacing him.
081 - Divisions of the Mind - 50 - A beholder has stumbled upon a mysterious floating crystal palace. Luring adventurers into its lair, it bargains with them to investigate the lair of a Ulitharid (Greater Illithid) with a severe case of Multiple Personality Disorder who hates mind flayers.
092 - Interlopers of Ruun-Khazai - 52 - A hundred year-old psychic storm has wound down, revealing a Githyanki outpost thought lost. Both Githyanki and Githzerai raiders seek to claim it, but Ruun-Khazai’s former master hasn’t left and is preparing a special reception for them. Avoid becoming caught in the cross-fire and becoming fuel for the next psychic storm the master is brewing to protect his domain.
093 - Storm Lord’s Keep, The - 84 - Many towns and villages have been completely destroyed by a terrible storm that is next set to descend upon the village of Ruvian. Defend the townsfolk from a Storm of Vengeance and flights of half-dragon/half-roc mounted Storm Giants who engage them. A famous local bard can tell you of the Storm Lord who dwells in the great castle atop the thunderhead. Put an end to the giant’s wrathful raids, and perhaps learn of the terrible loss which has enraged him, or the dark secret he protects.
095 - Jackal’s Redemption, The - 36 - As a nearby wizard’s tower begins phasing in and out of the material plane, the wizard himself has been missing for months as red fiendish creatures raid the nearby countryside and kidnap locals. Enter the tower and travel to Gehenna to overturn the plans of the fiend who seduced the wizard and put these events into motion.
099 - Temple of Boccob - Any-Single level temple features a central chapel / sanctuary ringed by a variety of sub-chapels, living and research areas. Could easily be re-imagined as a fortified temple.
107 - Test of the Smoking Eye - 40 - Cauldron Series: Journey to the Abyss and complete the Test of the Smoking Eye to claim dominion over the plane of Occipitus, part of Celestia that fell into the Abyss.
123 - Quicksilver Hourglass - 120 - An ancient goddess of a dead pantheon sought to destroy the Prime Material Plane by constructing the Quicksilver Hourglass. Fueled by the divine essence of an allied demi-god of aging and death it would age all living things by millennia in only minutes. Lost in a time-void for eons, now the hourglass has been found by a vampire who seeks to activate it to slay the living so that he may rule an empire of the undead.
132 - Library of Last Resort, The - 64 - Age of Worms pt. 9: The druidic Order of the Storm sacrificed itself to defeat Dragortha and steal his phylactery, thereby averting Kyuss’s last attempt to invoke the Age of Worms. Journey to their extra-dimensional sanctuary and complete a series of tests to prove you are worthy of the knowledge of the phylactery’s location, but you must beat others who arrived ahead of you.
136 - Gates of Oblivion - 72 - Lacc, the city of monoliths, on the Plain of Shadow is expanding to consume world after world. Destroy the three Gates that power it and slay the lich who heads a nihilistic oblivion cult to end the threat to your world and free others overtaken thus far.
148 - Wells of Darkness - 72 - Savage Tide pt. 10: Begin striking deals with demons and free an imprisoned Succubus Lord to learn the secret to defeating Demogorgon and stopping the Savage Tide.
My bad ... was typing to quickly and not proof-reading while also focused on getting a house insured.
Point = 0 D
Line = 1 D
Plane = 2 D
Space = 3 D
I know better :-(
As for the equation, you should be careful about using terms like "exact" and "proper". My function was "exact" but what specifically is "proper" should be in the rule books, and there seems to be some debate on that.
Personally, I still like Paul Watson and AdAstra's suggestions best for pure elegance and simplicity.
our DM believes that the treasure in the game (including the loot in the grave) are accurately foreseen by the designers of the game
You DM is half correct. The treasure and types available in any published adventure should be balanced by the designers to APL.
However, the designers cannot foresee nor plan for every combination of party make-up or PC action/reaction that will occur, much less anticipate all of the "out-of-the-box" situations that will undoubtedly arise to overcome their challenges.
There are some groups with high Diplomacy that routinely cut deals and/or alliances with monsters they are otherwise meant to slay. It's just the nature of that party and Players. While this should still count as "defeating the enemy" for the purpose of XP and may yield more interesting RP opportunities in the future, the side-effect is that PC-gear and wealth levels can be dramatically reduced.
Frankly, a good adventure should be a little over-loaded with treasure, IMHO, under the assumption that PCs will not loot every square inch of the published scenario. It's akin to the practice of over-booking airline flights by about 5%, since there are almost always a few passengers who fail to show up at the last minute.
It is thus incumbent upon a good DM to be the keeper of the balance. If the party kills every monster, loots every trove and grave and barrow, picks the pocket of every NPC, and pulls the doors out of every dungeon to sell the hinges for scrap and the panels for firewood, then the DM must find ways to either tax the excess wealth out of their pockets or else cut back on available treasure in following scenarios.
Conversely, should the party cut a deal with the tribe of goblinoids serving the BBEG rather than slaying them, then with their reinforcements assault the BBEG's home and force him to flee without a fight rather than face their united strength, they have succeeded in their goal and deserve XP, but have failed to pocket the wealth of the tribal minions, plunder the weapons of the tribal Champion and Chief, nor acquire the spellbook of the BBEG. Again, it is incumbent upon the DM to make up the difference, either bumping the treasure in upcoming scenarios or else having the local Baron give them a cash reward for helping restore his lands and running off an enemy too powerful for his men-at-arms to arrest.
Either way, the more the party deviates from the "designer-predicted plot line" either through out-of-the-box solutions or fumbling and failure or even going entirely off-the-rails, the more the DM must put effort into balancing these elements.
If your DM fails to accept this line of reasoning, I suggest you search the archives of the STAP forum. Several threads therein address the issue of magic items and treasure in this AP in which the PCs are often in the wilds and away from civilization and opportunities to craft or purchase magic-items they need. Responses from James Jacobs and other designers specifically suggest that the DMs freely disregard the published treasure and magic items, which are written for an archetypal "Core-4" party and replace them with items useful to the specific PCs playing the AP. I think you can't get more on-target advice from an unimpeachable source than that. If your DM won't listen to them, he won't listen to anyone.
Would it cost extra, would the DC for the skill check be higher
I would do neither. Have it the same price as a similar ring. Basically, you're using one piece of jewelry instead of another.
Personally, I think an amulet of protection makes more sense than a ring from the "item-slot affinity" argument, and a cloak even more so. I'd certainly not charge more for it or make it harder to craft.
Long edge + 1/2 shortedge (round down) is close enough for gaming purposes.
+1
The "longest" distance (i.e. hypotenuse) you could have relative to either height or length (i.e. leg) would be an isosceles triangle, where if the leg measures 1 then the actual "range" distance measures ~1.4 .
The formula given above is a good and fast approximation for distances.
FWIW, we have an archer in my campaign that is starting to use the invisible and flying tactic with great frequency.
I also instituted a -4 non-proficiency penalty for a flying archer, since they are used to having their feet on the ground, being able to brace themselves in certain stances when shooting (particularly if using long- or mighty-bows) and generally shooting arcing across flat distances. I imagined it is disorienting to suddenly be a flying archer. A feat expenditure (similar to Exotic Weapon) will eliminate this.
Myomoto Musashi, the renowned historical Japanese swordsman, first killed a man at fourteen
Miyamoto Musashi was, by all accounts, an unusually large youngster and at the age of 14 physically larger than most grown men. Probably had the build of a running back.
When I have time I'll beef up the list a little with some other stuff.
Hmm ... there was more than I though in the first lists, but here are a few more Maps of Mystery, a couple Gazetteers and an adventure or two that would work in a Pirate Themed campaign:
Extra Pirate Stuff:
033 - That Island Charm - 55 - One of several ships missing along a local trade route has returned, claiming to know the location of an island where the cargos have washed ashore. What begins as a salvage operation becomes a game of wits and survival to avoid becoming just more slaves of a morkoth and its marid minion.
070 - Map of Mystery - Any - Area map of the Sea-Duchy of Lionwalk, consisting of three main islands in the Sea of Bret, encircled on three sides by the Nation of Anok, the Old Kingdoms, and Bret Minor.
071 - Priestly Secrets - 16 - Giant rats are plaguing a small town and a holy chalice has been stolen. Find out what ghasts have driven the rats from the secret pirate caverns. Follow-up to the “L” series, “Bone Hill” and “Assassin’s Knot”.
079 - Map of Mystery - Any - Curved coastline along the Sea of Andaria. Includes the Everwood Forest, Iron Heights Mountains and Lands of the Troll-King. Cities marked are Nimbet (forest), Kraymoor (swamp) and Andaria (river mouth on plains). Several large islands are in the Sea/Bay, and “The Abandoned Keep” is marked.
080 - Fortune Favors the Dead - 25 - A swashbuckling Spanish-styled treasure-hunt to locate the four pieces of a map to hidden gold and a religious artifact.
084 - Map of Mystery: Unnamed Peninsula - Any - Large Peninsula geographic map without any named locations. Includes a dense mountain range in the north, with plains and lakes in the south. Connected to continent off-map to the east, but could become an island. Small outlying islands to the west.
085 - Guildport - Any - The large town / small city of Guildport straddles the mouth of a river along a lake or ocean. A wide variety of buildings, towers and even an arena point to a diverse citizenry. Features include a town wall on three sides, expansive harbor, private island in the bay, a collection of “outbuildings” and a farm visible.
094 - ( Hidden Cove ) - Any - A ship rests at anchor in a hidden cavern harbor and probable pirate lair.
106 - Pirate Sea Cave Stronghold - Any - Exceptional sea cavern stronghold features defensive ballistae, prison cells, secret harbor, shipyard cave, secret cave, treasure chamber, officer’s chambers, etc.
114 - Isle of Dread: Gazetteer - Any - Re-visiting X-1 the Isle of Dread for 3rd Edition.
114 - Torrents of Dread - 24 - Fortunate to find safe harbor in a storm that won’t end, the adventurers must put ashore to make repairs, but find the local villagers afraid of the cursed storm and the ill-fortune it brings. Their matriarch has been slain by her son, the Zombie Master is missing and one of the clans has been destroyed by mudslides. Locate secret tunnels beneath the village while searching for the Zombie Master and put an end to his alliance with evil kopru who use the storm as a monstrous portal.
118 - Box of Flumph - 04 - A family of generally innocuous but rather smelly Flumph have “infested” a local salt mine. Now a rogue is removing them to sabotage the operations of a patron’s rival. Local authorities and a shortchanged thieves’ guild know he’s in town and everyone wants him ... but so far no one knows about the Flumph. But he did leave one crate behind in his haste to quit his hotel room.
130 - Jungle Trading Port - Any - A stockade wall surrounds a sizeable fishing village and trading post built at the mouth of a river on the edge of a jungle and the banks of a lake or coast of a sea. Ancient ruins lie in the nearby jungles.
131 - Alhaster - Any - Once a final hold-out against the Bandit Kingdoms, for the last 20 years the city has been ruled by the fallen paladin Prince Zeech. Though he believes himself acting in the public interest, his misguided iron fist and borderline madness has truly destroyed all freedom and turned the city into another den for smugglers, pirates and slavers. Yet, Zeech himself is but a pawn of his chief counselor, a masquerading vampiric silver dragon devoted to heralding in the Age of Worms in his city.
137 - Siege of the Spider Eaters - 04 - A pirate village has been assaulted by monstrous spiders and half of the population are missing. However the assault is merely a response to the unprovoked attack of the spiders’ lair and the missing villagers are disguised aranea returning to help defend their ancestral lair. Journey to the spider lair and choose sides.
139 - Darkmaiden’s Dance: Merchant Caravel - Any - Modest but accurate merchant vessel.
139 - Sasserine w/Poster Map - Any - A city of traders, adventurers and even a few pirates located in the southern tropics on the edge of wild jungles and savage seas.
140 - Bullywug Gambit, The - 12 - Savage Tide pt. 2: Still tracking a missing nobleman for his sister, the infiltrates a hidden pirate cove expecting to find an abducted noble. Instead, they find the entire cavern complex overrun by strangely mutated and savage animals and humanoids. Clearing the complex, they learn that a tribe of bullywugs is on the way to Sasserine to attack the manor of their employer, and must rescue her and her trapped surviving servants before the frogmen kill them all.
141 - Sea Wyvern’s Wake, The - 20 - Savage Tide pt. 3: An ocean voyage to resupply the colony of Farshore on the Isle of Dread starts easily enough, but with stops at dangerous outposts, investigation of ancient ruins, ocean storms and a deadly sargasso the trek goes from good to bad to worse. A final storm leave the ships destroyed and their occupants shipwrecked on the wrong side of the island.
143 - Farshore: City of Hope - Any - Gazetteer of Farshore, a settlement colony on the Isle of Dread. Details major locations and NPCs, as well as Victory Points for political, structural and economic upgrades.
143 - Tides of Dread - 36 - The party arrives in Farshore to find it under attack by pirates. Fend off the scouting party then spend the next few months repairing and preparing the town’s defenses before the entire fleet arrives. Includes a combination of RP, mini-quests and other ways to gain “Victory Points” which enhance both physical defenses and combat potential as well as morale.
146 - Scuttlecove: City of Chaos - Any - Pirate city of the Crimson Fleet
I bust the legos out which they have customized to their liking
That is what I loved about playing with Legos ... Players could customize them and personalize the min-figs to suit their PC. Making characters was always a lot of fun, and personal. Unfortunately, min-figs on a 2x3 base to keep them balanced are just a little too large for a 1" grid.
I'm reminded of the scene from Tin Cup where they are discussing the time that Kevin Costner's character shot an entire round of golf using only a 5-iron. Don Johnson's response is, basically, "sure, but why would you want to?"
Think of a DM's tools like a golf-bag. Some of the tools are big and clunky and very valuable for initial set-up of a scene bot not for details or finishing or getting you out of problems. Some are ideal for dealing with specific problems but not much good otherwise. Some are well-suited to the finer points both not the big slam action.
My point is, playing with a limited set of clubs doesn't make you a better DM or a better gamer, it simply means that you're not using all of the tools available to you. Granted, you could play the game with a reduced set of clubs in your bag, or even forget the bag and caddie entirely and just play the entire course with a single club ... but why would you want to?
There are those people who are so stuck on their miniatures and battle maps that they are taking their drivers and woods to the green, and those who are always trying to tee off with putters. The trick to good DMing is to know what tool to use at what time and how to maintain balance.
I'm a writer, and a big fan of "flavor text" to set the scene. I assure you, my games are very immersive, whether with scripted or off-the-cuff descriptions. Nevertheless, I find that using physical representations is particularly helpful in keeping battle scenes clear. Often we simply use whatever's at hand to denote "relative position", and sometime we drag out the battle mat for specific locations. Sometimes it's just all in my head, and I'll tell my players after each action, "okay, so this is what I'm seeing ..." just to make certain I understand their intentions correctly as well as to make sure they're following my mental positioning when I have to make a judgement.
Battle mat and minis, dice and tokens in "relative position" (last session overturned glasses of different heights were pulled from the pantry to denote flying opponents atop their base) or just using a "mental picture", I do whatever I feel is most helpful to move the scene forward in the most enjoyable (and usually swiftest) manner. Sometimes a mat slows things down, and sometimes it's invaluable for speeding things up.
And just because you're using a mat and miniatures doesn't mean that your description of the setting, the scenes and the actions of NPCs can't be vivid and immersive. In fact, nothing breaks Players out of immersion like a fight over exactly where an opponent is located or who could do what based upon the position they thought they were in but the DM thought differently or who is or is not facing or flanking whom because no one know precisely where they were because there was no map.
I've never played a game that was totally map-free. In 1st/2nd we were hand-drawing them as we dungeoneered, and at one point I dug out my old Legos for minitures and hallway building just for approximate location. With 3.x I moved to tokens and grid-maps and exact positioning and have never looked back. Sure, I still maintain a balance of the various methods and I don't like 4th Ed. and WotCs "delve-style" over-reliance on mapped encounters, since I see this as "all-driver" play.
But avoiding maps entirely in simply handicapping yourself for no good reason.
"Cover" and "concealment" are terms stolen from military usage.
Concealment blocks vision, or the ability to view a target. It provides a miss-chance and will benefit a Hide check. However, it does not necessarily block a projectile (or any other form of attack) and can be entirely insubstantial.
A bush or a tapestry or a smokescreen (or morning fog) all equally provide concealment.
Cover is hard protection that blocks a projectile (or other form of attack). In game-terms, it provides an AC bonus. However, it does not necessarily block vision.
A brick wall (even one of those lattice-like decorative ones) or a boulder or a tree all equally provide cover.
Note that, in military terms, a brick wall provides both cover and concealment, but in game terms that wall only provides cover and a Hide check circumstance bonus.
Also, a thick sheet of plexiglass can provide cover without providing concealment in military terms. The gaming corollary again differs slightly, where a variety of force-effects ... whether sci-fi force-shields or D&D Abjurations ... can alternately provide either a cover bonus to AC or a shield bonus (or rarely an armor bonus).
Although, Caineach says that concealment is "soft" this is only generally and not necessarily the case. An Conjuration spell that manifests as a thousand highly-polished adamantine mirrors whirling about the caster and causing reflections that make her difficult to pinpoint might also, because of their hardness, also provide a "hard" AC benefit. In this case the theoretical flying mirrors spell might offer a shield-bonus to AC as well as partial concealment resulting in a 20% miss-chance.
Perhaps a better analogy might be some sort of distorting force-shield (such as the one represented in the 1984 movie Dune). Such a shield would provide not only concealment in the manner of a blur spell since you can't clearly see and pinpoint the target, but would also provide an AC bonus, probably here in the form of an armor-bonus akin to a mage armor spell.
Did you develop the Mud Sorcerers beyond what is in print?
This is a thought. WotC may own the IP directly related to the published MST adventure, but they don't own what they didn't print.
A little tweaking of details and names could result in a nice 3PP AP. Certainly the core ideas are there in the backstory to develop into something epic and AP-suitable for future publishing, whether through Paizo or some other company.
Im playing a pirate campaign and would like any pirate type adventures
out of the Dungeon Magazines
I just did a search for "pirate" as well as anything with a seaside, marine or sub-marine setting and came up with 62 good candidates. However, I'm pretty busy and don't have time to format the list so for the time being here are some links to prior threads on the subject:
Follow that link to more links into threads that you might find helpful. My list of adventures is post #6 in the "Sea-based Adventures" thread.
When I have time I'll beef up the list a little with some other stuff.
Murkmoldiev wrote:
I would like to run a game in the Plane of Faerie
No linkage, so here's a list of stuff that might work or could be adapted:
Faerie Adventures:
Dungeon Issue # - Title - Advised Total Party Levels - Description
034 - Euphoria Horrors – 08 - The cries of a distraught child ring through the woods as he searches for his lost play-companion “Drake”. The search for his missing friend leads to a tribe of tasloi who have become addicted to the Euphoria Gas breath-weapon of Drake, the faerie dragon.
042 - Legacy of the Liosalfar – 04 - The Miller has gone missing in the deep forest. Search for him, and stumble upon a gateway to a Fey Realm.
049 - Two for the Road - 09 max - Traveling from town to town, you purchase a camp-wagon. You are long gone before learning that it is “haunted”.
054 - Witch's Fiddle, The – 13 - A band of Faerie musician has been attacked by a “witch” who stole the fiddle of one of the satyrs. Recover the instrument and bring the thief to justice, but remember that ever story has many sides and never judge a book by its cover.
058 - Bad Batch of Brownies, A – 02 - Druid solo adventure: The Brownies of the Apple Wood are suddenly causing no end of havoc. A comic-relief adventure featuring well-intentioned brownies, a well of many worlds, and a recent visitor to the brownie’s grove who rides a “hog” with a “chick” on the back and hates the “lid” that the law makes him wear.
073 - Faerie Wood – 10 - Along a deserted road a gnomish artist sells master-carvings of wooden faeries, sprites, and other woodland creatures. Beware of purchasing one, however, for the living faeries of the wood are enraged by the “artist’s” methods which involve a magic wand.
132 - Wingclipper’s Revenge – 16 - After a satyr’s revels result in the death of a mortal girl, her ranger brother swears to eliminate the fey presence in the woods. They fey desperately try to fight back, attacking any non-fey in or around the wood. Unravel the mystery and bring justice to the affair.
If Wizards really wanted to prevent competition for 4Ed, then why did they create the OGL license at all?
Well, you have to understand that the OGL was created before there was a 4th Edition and thus it was no competition. Perhaps it was instituted because there were still a few old-school gamers working there at the time, or perhaps because they honestly thought it would grow their own business by making D&D/d20 mechanics the de-facto mechanics of all mainstream RPGs, and thus themselves the exclusive providers of the "Core Rules" (though 3PPs could and did publish the SRD independently).
The concept is basically the Windows approach. Before Microsoft produced Windows, Bill Gates was begging Steve Jobs to license the Macintosh OS to third-parties. Had Apple done so, "IBM compatibles" and Windows would never have existed, and 90%+ of the world would have a MacOS compatible machine today. But they didn't and now, for better or worse (or worse) it's a Windoze world. Sure, Apple did try licensing in the early 90s, but it was not an irrevocable license and they didn't put their material into the public domain, hence companies like Power Computing were unable to continue producing computers (even OS 9 ones) based upon it after Jobs' return and Apple putting the license in preparation for the big release of OSX.
Give the abrupt yanking of Paizo's license, I'm sure the 4th Ed. brand managers are livid about the decisions made by their predecessors regarding the OGL. The current licensing is, to my understanding, much more stringent and will likely be pulled when 5th Ed. arrives. IOW, at some future point 3PPs will still be able to produce 3.x material but not 4.x but might be able to produce 5.x.
Either way, "keeping OGL out there" was not a business decision by the 4th Ed. guys, and if they could get rid of it I'm sure they would in a heart beat.
Marcus Aurelius wrote:
When we were kids our GM would cut our PC's throats before each gaming session and expect us to resurrect ourselves prior to play
Wasn't just the old days. My GFs character in our current 3.5 campaign followed a hard day of adventuring with a night-long stake-out to protect a seamstress who was being stalked. She decided to hide in a pile of pillows and bolts of silk cloth. I had her make a check to avoid fatigue and falling asleep in the comfy (Python reference) pillows ... she failed. I gave her a chance to hear the thieves enter the establishment and wake up ... she failed miserably. I gave her a retroactive Hide roll from the thieves, but being a Wizard she blew that. So there she was sleeping comfortably in a pile of pillows as a bunch of murdering thieves crept about the shop. She got coup de graced by having her throat slit and died, spending her singular Hero Point (as opposed to a wussy Action Point) to barely survive.
However, her PC still has a scar across her neck. On the plus side, the party saved the seamstress and out of appreciation she sewed the wizardess a masterwork "Charisma dress" that gives her a +2 circumstance bonus to Cha checks when she wears it (usually to fancy social gatherings). It has a high collar.
Sorry that wasn't an SL/MST story, Mike, but these threads go where they will :-)
you're saying that it's in the best interests of your party to pop the stones off a piece they find and sell those for full value, and then sell the gold setting at full value for its weight (assuming the jewelry isn't masterwork)?
I don't know why it's gem-set gold jewelry if it's not masterwork. If the piece is complex and time-consuming to manufacture, then the material cost is only a small portion of the value.
I think, based on weight and the trade-value of iron, that I once calculated that a chain-shirt was 10% material cost and 90% labor cost. Same could go for most jewelry.
And don't forget mark-up. The end-seller merchant is not always going to be the craftsman, plus there's all those other fees, taxes, security hirelings and costs that need to be paid, and that income has to come form somewhere.
Or, just forget all that and remember that D&D economics doesn't work anyway and don't worry about it.
Strange. Still in my Recent Posts but somehow no longer in the thread ... lost amid the discussion of diapers.
I have often wished there was some sort of PM/mailbox option here. Occasionally in this friendly/family Paizonian community, users will want to contact others off-Board but not broadcast their private email to the public, much less potential spam-spiderbots.
It would be nice if there were a way to send someone a message privately without necessarily even giving them, much less everyone else, your email address.
a bone trebuchet and cast animate dead on it - so it reloads itself
Cool concept. I agree w/Abe that it wouldn't function per RAW, but that's what spell research is for. I take it for granted that the rule books only contain the standard versions of the most common spells used by adventurers, but in-world variations and even single purpose adaptations are plentiful.
We're talking about magic, not real-world physics. The spells overlap but do not stack (as much for mechanical simplicity as anything else).
I'm not trying to precisely recreate reality ... [but] am often impatient with the notion that magic is simultaneously unfettered by physical rules
I'm definitely in your "simulationist where it works" camp. However, note my final parenthetical. Just like we don't allow stacking of armor bonuses, such as strapping a breastplate over leather armor, even though both logic and science says we should, we also don't stack the effects of spells like light.
I'm not going to go to the trouble of coming up with a mystical, meta-physical explanation for why it doesn't work. The answer is more simple ... I'm too lazy to do the math for that kind of stuff every time it comes up.
Kind of like the way we hand-wave the highly unrealistic rules on falling-damage and move on to the next round of combat.
If I were to HR it, then I'd say each compounded light adds half as much as the previous one, so R=20'/40', 30'/60', 35'/70', 35'/75', 40'/80' (limit). I don't know off-hand how that works in terms of physics given the 1/d^2 and the expanding volume of sphere, but it makes for pretty easy mechanics that are a fair approximation of "reality", and that's really all I need.
In general, a character can sell something for half its listed price, including weapons, armor, gear, and magic items.
SNIP
Would the ring then sell for ...
The answer to your question is ... it really doesn't matter.
The D&D game is one of adventuring and the economic side of it is really screwed up to the point of being non-functional.
I like to keep my game world and the PCs in it poor. I let them sell loot for 10-20% of "book value", particularly if they are selling it in large quantity, because they are presumably going through a broker who will then re-sell it to various merchants who will then re-sell it to end-buyers who won't pay full-value for used gear.
Ultimately, it doesn't matter if the PCs sell their stuff for 1% or 1,000% of the "book value". What matters is that their total net-worth be at a level balanced for their level and the difficulty of the encounters they will be facing.
If you have to let them sell their loot for high value to make up a short-fall, so be it. If you have to cut the available treasure in a dungeon or have them suffer some sort of calamity or natural disaster that sucks their coffers dry every once in a while, so be it.
I realize this isn't the "what is the rule" answer you are looking for, but it's an important point to keep in mind. PC wealth, gear-value and D&D Economics (including downtime activity, Craft and Profession) is much more an issue of the forest than the trees.
FWIW,
Rez
P.S. There exist two kinds of gems in my world, "jewelry" stones and "trade" stones. The former sell for whatever you can bargain for them, but the latter (usually semi-precious in the 5, 10 and 25 gp values) are standardized and trade like cash, or can be changed for coin at a 3% fee from a money-changer.
I have often wished there was some sort of PM/mailbox option here. Occasionally in this friendly/family Paizonian community, users will want to contact others off-Board but not broadcast their private email to the public, much less potential spam-spiderbots.
It would be nice if there were a way to send someone a message privately without necessarily even giving them, much less everyone else, your email address.
That's the real trick to building a great army. Compounding broad-based but inexpensive force-multipliers across a mass of conscript-mooks. As true in a magi-culture as a techno-culture.
SNIP
I haven't worked this completely though, but it appears to me that you'll get a short chain of perhaps 15-30 guys that work, then peter out.
Nice use of the word "founders" w/o adding a misplaced "l".
You nearly nailed the flaw in this plan. It does hang on initiative.
Basically, the army acts on a roll of 1, because 5% of the army will roll that and everyone else down the line will have to delay until that number. Statistically, this happens some time around archer #14.
This means that ~97.5% of the opposing force gets to go first (Init. 2-20 and half of init. 1) and thus has the potential to eliminate a significant number of the archers before they can even act.
A few of the archers will fall, creating gaps in the line. Assuming that archers get hit 25% of the time based upon an AC of 15 and that 1-in-8 hits are an "insta-kill" then there is a 3.125% chance any given archer will get insta-killed. Odds of a gap reach 50% precisely at archer #16.
5' steps will allow "next" archers to reach and pick up the bow, but before long there will be a 10' gap that requires a move action to cross. Note that only 2 archers need to fall in the entire line to create this 10' gap after the second drop, since a 5' step only closes a single gap and then must be cumulative in the entire down-line.
Suddenly the tactic comes to a screeching halt.
Best case "statistically likely" scenario is 13 archers acting before the enemy (who also rolled a "1") and then another 16 before the first "insta-kill-gap" and another 16 before the next "insta-kill-gap" for a total of 45 shots from the bow per round before a 10' gap (with all other "down-line archers" using move, double-move or run actions to close ranks for the next round).
Against an opposing force of 1000 archers, the enemy achieves a 25% hit-rate with a 12.5% kill-per-hit rate. However, their total damage is higher, with a total casualty rate of ~14%, or 1125 hp of damage (assuming 1d8 arrows against 8hp 11 Con. Warriors). Conversely, the +3 bow only has a +15% hit probability and the 8hp damage cap hinders it severely, because once an enemy is dead then excess damage is irrelevant. Even if all shots are hits you still only have a total casualty rate of 4.5%, but with only a 40% hit probability and a damage-cap then in real terms the damage inflicted is only 144hp or a 1.8% casualty rate.
The uber-bow archers suffer 31.25 insta-kills plus additional casualties, while the opposing force suffers only 18 insta-kills and no additional casualties. At this rate, even if the uber-bow force is magically healed every round excepting only insta-kills, it is still entirely eliminated within 32 rounds, while the normal archers suffer only 442 casualties, or less than 50% of their force.
Of course, as the uber-bow archers take damage round-by-round the gap-rate goes up as insta-kills are not longer required, and the chain length shortens dramatically. Meanwhile, the disparity grows. At the 1125 hp vs. 144 hp per-round-casualty-infliction-rate, the uber-bow force depletes its total of 8000 hp in the 8th round, while inflicting 7 full rounds of insta-kills against the normal-bow force for a mere 1008hp of damage assuming full-length chains the entire distance (which would require re-rolling Init. each round and still achieving "best-case" results).
This assumes only ranged-on-ranged combat. If Infantry can charge the archers and get into melee, then not only will 97.5% of the enemy act first, but the archers provoke unless they can step back, and that only exacerbates the gap problem, particularly once infantry gets into the gaps. Throw in a little cavalry to cover the open-space faster (light cavalry being the historical bane of archers) and you have a disaster on your hands.
Nice idea, but functionally you're actually better just giving them ordinary bows.
And yes, I know that the math is slightly off after the first round due to delaying and cumulative hp damage resulting in a higher "drop-rate" and several other factors, but I mentioned that in the text and am focused on making a point, here, anyway.
Epic Meepo wrote:
a character bouncing off of rocks while falling down a steep slope only falls a few feet at a time. But that character takes damage based on the total distance fallen in the round, not the distance between each of the rocks that broke his fall.
Logic, mechanics and semantics flaws.
Only one rock actually "breaks" the fall. Once the fall is broken, then the character is no longer falling and the damage is applied.
Also, with the non-reality-physics-based additive method in which falling damage is applied, the damage between each "mini-fall" and the damage applied in the "total fall" are the same value. In reality a person can bounce down a 200' steep grade and survive while a 200' dead-fall would kill them.
I disagree with applying damage to the bow, because the drop is not enough to cause damage. It's like a DR thing, and a wooden bow (much less a magic one) can absorb the shock rather than suffer a repetitive stress fracture like a more brittle rock or crystal (which would be largely irrelevant if it were magic, anyway).
This idea came to me after seeing the racial weapon feat and realizing humans didnt have any racial weapons
You might be able to just make the argument with your DM that "for my PC concept and backstory, it's a cultural-thing", since that is the argument for racial weapons anyway.
Remember that many of the so-called "exotic" weapons that normally require a feat to use for "normal" PCs are just plain ordinary weapons that do not require feats if the user is from the originating culture or society and grew up with them.
Anyway, if you DM is amenable, that argument might not only win but save you a feat slot. Otherwise, you might be able to work a trade, such as big-honking club for normal scimitar, again as a "cultural thing".
What have you done in games you run - anywhere; homes, conventions, elsewhere - to really inspire dread in your players.
As an old school Vampire: The Masquerade Player and Storyteller, I really enjoyed this game of "personal horror" in the way it was originally meant to be explored. The problem, as I see it, with Horror is that it is a very small and very personal thing, making it difficult to really execute in a pre-published scenario, much less a con-setting with strangers.
My greatest successes in inspiring horror were in small groups with people I knew well enough to know what buttons to press. I drew them in with their personal likes and desires and preferences and then, with a malevolent bait-and-switch turned that they loved into what reviled, frightened or terrorized them personally. The single mother whose child not only when missing but of whom all record began to disappear, the independent but often lovelorn rebel seduced by their seemingly ideal fantasy of a mate only to face the requirement of thralldom, the doting son who is reviled and outcast by his mother.
Failing the opportunity / possibility to use elements that will play upon the personal fear of the Players or touch the well-developed IC lives and concerns of the characters, I think you have to fall back on the classic elements of the Horror genre:
• Small groups
• Isolation and inescapability
• Supernatural threats
• Attack by the unknown and indefeatable
• Feelings of helplessness, powerlessness and impotency
• Slow whittling away of companions
Granted, that last one is a little difficult to accomplish in an RPG setting without killing off PCs, but I've used beloved mounts, pets, minions, cohorts and such for said purpose.
Sketchpad wrote:
One of the big things I use is seclusion.
Ok ... got ninja'd a little on this. +1 to a lot of what Sketch said.
KenderKin wrote:
PCs with darkvision, etc have a hard time being "afraid of the dark" which is actually the unknown....
Where the next thing is just out of sight, where the spot/search have penalties...
Agreed ... the great thing about "darkvision" is that there's always something else with slightly longer range, who can camp just outside your vision but can be watching and stalking you when you can't see them, and letting them know they're doing it the entire time.
This player is what one would call a "vet" to this genre
:-)
He probably misses the gold old days when you could blind someone by casting light on the bridge of their nose or when you could wipe out the monsters hiding in ambush down an entire hallway by bouncing lightning bolts off the walls.
I once frustrated the p!$$ out of a DM who thought he had my MU up a creek by packing monsters down a zig-zag hall. I simply turned to the wall at a 45-degree angle and fired. Angle-of-Incidence equals Angle-of-Reflection and the rest is history. By coincidence, I'd noticed that the hallway zigged and zagged in all the right places that a singe shot at "that section of wall right there" could ricochet through every square in the passage. End of encounter, I'll take my XP now, thanks.
It's perhaps worth noting that the DM had missed the part of the spell description where lightning bolt bounces off walls. He couldn't understand why I was firing into a section of wall 2 1/2 feet to my right with no target right there.
P.S. In my own defense, I generally scan through the main page, Tab several threads that interest me and then go back and read them and Reply. Today was a busy day of reading, so I'm sorry if I forget the details of the Subject line by the time I get to reading the post.
I had a particularly crafty player ... what do you all think about this?
I think this trick has been around since 1st Edition and I've seen it in many forms. I have a current old-schooler in my Group who put "stops" in the tube so he could roll the light stone back and forth to chance the "focus" of the beam and the amount of spill-light, depending upon the circumstances.
But since the OP was being specific about Victorian d20
Was not. OP was very much not specific about mechanics, but just asked for a Victorian "feel" ... aka "fluff". Never says "d20" anywhere in the post.
Besides, I still argue that mechanics are pretty much irrelevant for setting, except when they are inexorably tied together with concepts that are so setting-specific that they are difficult to replicate with "standard" rules from other settings.
Mechanics are for adventures, "fluff" and "flavor" is for settings.
The only issue I can see is if the captured creature were enlarged beyond Large size, as the Iron Bands can only contain a Large or smaller creature.
I agree with this. The bands automatically re-size to capture the target, and if the target changes size or shape (such as via polymorph) then the bands would adjust accordingly, up to the limit of Large size.
Escape in the method given is a nice try, but would not work.
The same does not hold true for mundane methods of binding. The PCs in my last group bound a captured orc, not realizing he was a werewolf. He shape-shifted into wolf form when they weren't looking and slipped free of his bonds to attempt to escape.
Actually, neither were mine, but I assumed you were looking for setting and background, not adventures, and good fluff is good fluff regardless of the system for which it was written.
The following list seemed appropriate to the Shadowrun crowd based upon hits on "assass" ... "infil" ... "spy / spies" ... and ... "murder"
Note that most of these will require some adaptation. Many deal with the after-effects of assassination or preventing/countering assassination. Obviously, you could turn the tables and have the PCs play the "bad guy" role as the assassins, even making them "good" and the target someone "evil". Several Critical Threats and NPCs are thrown in as well for fun.
Also, note that most of the Dungeon APs or Story Arcs, or for that matter any adventure with an "evil cult" or "secret society", could be adapted for the purposes of becoming an infiltration scenario. I once ran the Slave Lords A-Series in this manner.
Spoiler:
Dungeon Issue - Title - Advised Total Levels - Description
032 - Ghost Dance - 30 - The Rover nomads need the aid of outsiders when one of their tribes succumbs to an evil force and begins murdering their fellows. Investigate the strange behavior, free the people from the infiltration of an evil priest from the Horned Society, and undo the affects of his alignment-reversal magic.
036 - Granite Mountain Prison - 25-The leader of the opposition to the tyrannical Theocracy of Interlaken has been arrested and sent to the “inescapable” Granite Mountain Prison. Rescue him soon before the resistance crumbles and any hope of overcoming the oppression of the High Council fades.
040 - Draven Deeps' Menace, The - 26 - Koalinth raid local shipping, causing trouble for the city’s economy. The Prince’s arch-mage has prepared a magical explosive which will destroy the caves of the monsters if placed close enough. Unfortunately, no one knows about the sea-elves who also live “close enough”. Infiltrate and deliver the “nuke”.
045 - Artist's Errand, An - 35-A family heirloom necklace of a reigar has been taken as a “souvenir” by an ex-lover and she wants it back. Of course, some things she’s not telling, like the fact that the necklace is a powerful talisman. Other things she doesn’t know, like the fact that her former lover is a disguised spy from a space-faring Drow nation.
047 - Assassin Within, The - 20 - An assassin is stalking the household of Hakim ibn Rashad, Professor of Natural Philosophy. Protect the professor and his family while uncovering the mystery of who would want him killed.
057 - Cure a Kingdom, To - 45-Plague has struck the kingdom, brought by the dark hand of a god of disease. His followers have made their demands, but are known to cultivate a plant that will cure the disease. Infiltrate their temple and recover the ingredient, but be aware that the plague is only one move in a larger game of chess.
065 - Unkindness of Ravens - 19-Investigate a series of murders, leading to an undead sorcerer-scarecrow who is assassinating the wereraven protectors of the manor.
066 - Operation Manta Ray - 40 - Infiltrate a Pirate City, survive a run through the pirates test dungeon, and then contact and extract a deep-cover naval operative.
075 - Into the Nest of Vipers - 09 - A town is dying from a poison that resists magical healing. The evil “Viper” brigands are throught responsible.
083 - Alterations - 4 - What should be a simple package pick-up in the slums of New Greyhawk turns into a mystery of death when the location turns out to be inhabited by undead. The geneticist and the necromancer you were to meet are both missing, but instead there is a strange, insane mutated “millexium mouther”.
088 - Thirds of Purloined Vellum - 04 - A merchant has arrived with a precious cargo and priceless contracts, but his assistant and contracts have gone missing, and someone is trying to have him murdered. Find the missing contracts and solve the mysterious crimes.
089 - Rivers of Blood - 16 - A powerful chieftain has been assassinated, and now a rival clan threatens to destroy his people. Help the chieftain’s strong wife bring her people through a haunted swamp to safety and allies in a larger town, but be wary of traitors in addition to marauders and monsters.
099 - Phyx - 54 - A choker trained by the drow as an assassin has gone renegade, and now partners with a Gray Render to defend a section of the Underdark while building a loose band of followers under his protection.
100 - Hungash - 28 - Hobgoblin Wiz9 - An assassin who likes to use fly spells and hover invisibly above targets before dropping fireballs onto them.
105 - Racing the Snake - 24 - Impersonate a merchant heiress and act as decoys to draw off an assassin until she can reach safety and marriage in a neighboring city. A series of encounters in a chasm “short-cut”.
114 - Lassiviren the Dark - Ruthless Assassin - 48 - Assassin and power-behind-throne
115 - Steel Shadows - 28 - Warforged are being murdered and their bodies carved apart (with pieces removed). Local Warforged suspect humans, while humans speak of ghosts. Investigate the mystery and reveal the twisted sanity of a seemingly mild-mannered warforged trying to construct a perfect and pure member of its race (not crafted by human hands) and the powerful nobleman seemingly behind the experiment.
117 - Touch of the Abyss - 44 - Campaign Arc - Istivin, City of Shadows - As the city above goes mad, infiltrate the “Deeper Dungeons” beneath Krelont Keep and discover that the Marchioness has imprisoned her mad husband, lest the city learn of his condition and crumble. But the Marquis has been chosen by the dark Malgoth to serve as its Voice, and will not let him go.
121 - Styes, The - 36 - Investigating the serial killings of the Lantern Man leads to a mad cult in the derelict district known as the Styes. Herein a rogue aboleth manipulates the cultists and dominates a man to perform the murders, keeping the local population in fear and feeding the emotions to a kraken it is nurturing.
127 - Glimmerpane - -Glimmerpane is an “infiltration” mirror of opposition, creating loyal duplicates.
127 - Hall of Harsh Reflections, The - 28 - Age of Worms - Doppelgangers infiltrating Free City politics try to eliminate the PCs.
135 - Chains of Blackmaw - 40 - The son of a wealthy merchant has been framed and imprisoned due to the influence of a powerful criminal syndicate to which his father refused to yield. Infiltrate the prison and save the boy before he is murdered and the rescue him while averting a riot and escape by the villains.
140 - Bullywug Gambit, The - 12 - Savage Tide pt. 2 - Still tracking a missing nobleman for his sister, the infiltrates a hidden pirate cove expecting to find an abducted noble. Instead, they find the entire cavern complex overrun by strangely mutated and savage animals and humanoids. Clearing the complex, they learn that a tribe of bullywugs is on the way to Sasserine to attack the manor of their employer, and must rescue her and her trapped surviving servants before the frogmen kill them all.
146 - Serpents of Scuttlecove - 60 - Savage Tide - Infiltrate the home port of the Crimson Fleet, interact with its competing factions and then attack the home base of the Fleet itself.
147 - Aundarian Job - 20 - The party must infiltrate a bank vault and recover an artifact in the safe deposit of a murdered wizard before a vile cult uses it to release the imprisoned Rajahs of the rakshasa. It is supposed to be an inside job, aided by a blackmailed clerk, but after the party is admitted he begins having second thoughts.
147 - Dread Pagoda of the Inscrutable Ones - 40 - Seeds of Sehan - Infiltrate the Pagoda of the Yak-Folk to learn their connection to Sehan and Green Welcome, then foil their plans to invade and enslave the region.
148 - In the Shadows of Spinecastle - 36 - Goblinoids overran the Bone March years ago, and now only the County of Knurl serves as a haven for humanity. The Count relied upon reports from a deep-cover spy within the capital of Spinecastle to defeat goblinoid patrols and raids, as well as tasking his agent to search for relics lost deep beneath Spinekeep that might help him restore his lands. But reports from his agent has ceased. Infiltrate the city and discover what happened to the missing agent.
150 - Fiend-Sage - 64 - A molydeus demon that has become vizier to an undead lord, researches in his vast libraries and runs a network of spies, agents and informers.
Campaign-infiltration options:
SCAP - Cagewrights
AoW - Triad and other cults
STAP - Pirates or cults
Istivin - Drow agents
Seeds of Sehan - Sehan Cult
In my Groups, both surrender and flight are relatively common.
If the PCs are outmatched they will engage in a "tactical advance to the rear", and this happens from time to time. I try never to put them in a situation where they are trapped, and one time I did about a year ago when they were clearly outmatched I fudged the BBEG down a little since I quickly realized the fault lay in the encounter design and not PC tactics or even bad rolls.
If the opponents are attacking the party, they will generally flee when a significant portion of their numbers fall (2/3rds) or when their champions and leaders are all down or fleeing themselves.
If the opponents are defending against a PC attack they might flee or surrender or fight to the death depending upon their intelligence, wisdom, and attachment to the location in question.
Because I tend to balance encounters upon a knife-edge, the PCs have often fought opponents to a stalemate, one time actually negotiating a cease-fire and mutual withdrawal with a BBEG that went on to become the major villain of a particular story arc. More often the BBEG flees and the party is unable or unwilling to pursue. This got to be a major problem in a prior campaign because it happened so frequently that the party ended up very short on treasure and magic items they were supposed to loot from bad guys who ended up fleeing.
Anyway, as in real life, it's pretty common in my games.
During our session my bard used ventriloquism several times, in order to camouflage his spellcasting, making the verbal component appear 40 ft away, which effectively turned all spells to silent spells.
I'd allow this, but the spells aren't silent, just misplaced. Anyone in the area get's Listen/Perception checks to hear the spell being cast, but just thinks the casting is coming from elsewhere ... unless they also succeed on a check to see the caster's mouth and can lip-read or have a high enough Intelligence and familiarity with magic to figure out what's going on.
alyflex wrote:
A side question to the above is, can ghost sound be used in the same way?
No. The PRD is not explicit about this, but the sounds produced by ghost sound cannot reproduce actual conversation or comprehensible words. Instead, they just sound like the "background noise" of a conversation echoing down a hallway or muted through a wall.
As such, they cannot reproduce any specific words, much less magical ones.
Similarly, ghost sound cannot be used to converse or communicate.
alyflex wrote:
The next question; is a ray considered a weapon
Probably not, but this is a little more tricky. A ray is an "attack" but not a "weapon". If the ability specifically aids "weapon damage rolls" (which would include natural weapons) then it clearly excludes other types of damage.
OTOH, since rays require an attack roll and are capable IIRC of inflicting both Critical Hits and Sneak Attack damage, there's no reason a DM couldn't rule that they are weapons for the purpose of this effect.
DM Judgement, could go either way.
alyflex wrote:
start combat with a scorching ray which my bard had readied a pyrotechnic spell on. Can me and my allies close our eyes, at the moment the pyrotecnics is fired, since we know that it is coming?
As mentioned, the duration of scorching ray is instantaneous, meaning that the bard needs to know the spell and have a readied action and properly time their own casting.
If other party members want to close their eyes, that's fine, but if the AT closes eyes then the ray pretty much automatically misses the target and the nard definitely needs their eyes open to target the ray.
All that said, the ray still might not be a valid target due to the whole duration issue, much less the "magical fire" concern.
Finally, anyone with their eyes closed puts themselves and a terrible flat-footed AoO-provoking way with regards to any opponent who threatens them or even acts later in the round and makes their Save, and any opponent with Intelligence, much less spellcasting ability, has a chance to figure out this effect is coming and either avoid it (closing their eyes) or take advantage of the party's self-imposed blindness.
alyflex wrote:
Finally our gamemaster thinks that all the detect spells are too powerful.
I'd say this is simply because the DM is inexperienced with the rules and counters of detects. Many caveats are mentioned above, including the need to concentrate in order to pinpoint. DM can be foiled with magic aura and it's pretty routine in my world for this spell to be used to "cloak" magic items or effects. You can't detect a "moving target" with the spell since you can't ever pinpoint them. Once a dungeon has been cleared of threats detect magic or detect secret doors is great, but otherwise the DM needs to realize that the best threats work in tandem.
Magical traps that are easily foiled by detect magic or detect traps (or even mechanical ones in the latter case) don't work best on their own ... they work best when another threat such as a secondary trap or a horde of monsters are rushing at the intended victims and pushing them into the trap without time to search ("oh dear, we're being charged by a hydra (which of course is not an illusion) but fortunately there's a half-wall over there we can jump behind to impede its movement and gain cover from it's troglodyte minion archers!!!") or when the party is chasing the opponent ("look, the evil necromancer is fleeing ... he must be low on hit-points and running out of spells ... hurry, don't let him get away!!!"). The great thing about most good traps is that the magical ones can be keyed to bypass specific individuals or groups while the mechanical ones are avoided if you know which side of the hallway is "safe" and which floor-tiles to avoid while pretending to flee and getting a party of foolish heroes to chase after you.
Otherwise, any good dungeon will be constructed with leaded and/or anti-detection/anti-teleportation/anti-planar/anti-divination enchanted walls. This sort of thing is pretty routine and even hand-waved with great frequency. It's wrong to have every square inch of a dungeon constructed that way, but key rooms might have "extra protection". As a matter of design, the DM needs to give the party Fair Warning, however, specifically designing a chamber in which they will try the effects and they will know the effects failed, or finding the journal of a prior adventuring party (probably among their remains) who discovered this fact "a little too late" for at least one of their members (not all, since someone needed to write it down). Another give-away could be a self-resetting mechanical spear-trap that didn't fully re-set on account of the corpse still stuck to it, but that though it's still clearly active doesn't detect.
Think of the opening sequence to Raiders of the Lost Ark and you will see how many of these elements can function even in a non-magical setting.
No. I don't have the quote handy but this was addressed specifically by James or Jason or someone official in another thread recently.
Temp HP overlap using the "first in first out" method. IOW, the highest value temps go away first, whether from damage or duration, then once you have equal-value temps the oldest ones duration-out first but if you take damage they both get nailed.
In fact, I could arguably do this with ALL of my magical gear without having to spend a single gp.
AND
James Jacobs wrote:
You could theoretically increase the caster level for a wondrous item or other magic item, but that'd need GM approval and would increase the base cost of the item as appropriate.
I see no reason that you can't change CL for any item, and in fact have allowed my party to upgrade items over time. It makes them more fun and more "personalized".
But like James says, the cost must increase as well. Price is inherently a function of Caster Level, since the cost of an item is Base Value * Spell Level * Caster Level and the "Book Value" costs given assume a flat CL, but if you vary it you will have to pay accordingly.
That's the reason for not doing it. There will be exorbitant expense involved for relatively little return, other than protection against dispelling.
Regardless of metamagic or use of higher slots, you can't recall a regular 2nd level spell in a 2nd level slot with a Pearl of Power (3rd).
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LazarX wrote:
The Pearl of Power recharges specifically a spell slot of the level which it was made to do. So it could bring that spell back ONLY if it had been cast from a third level slot...i.e. Stilled, Silent, Heightened, etc.
Or simply not even meta-magicked, but simply cast through that slot.
No, you can't use a PoP(3) to recast a spell cast in a 2nd level slot, but the question becomes can you use it to recast a 2nd level spell prepared in a 3rd level slot w/o meta-magic or anything else.
For example, the PCs are in a non-combat, urban, RP-oriented murder-mystery scenario, so the party Wizard makes heavy use of detect thoughts ... such heavy use, in fact, that she is routinely preparing DTs into higher-level slots just so that she has plenty of them available for the party's investigations.
Now, there is no meta-magic applied to the spell (duh, Heighten would be obvious if she had it, but for the sake of this example let's assume the game is otherwise RAW and she doesn't, 'cause I know a lot of people Bonus/Auto it) but rather just plain old lower level spells cast through higher level slots.
Can she now gain yet an extra casting of DT via her PoP(3)?
I'd say yes, since the PoP is keyed to slots.
FWIW,
R.
P.S. I don't see that allowing PoPs to recall spells of lower-level slots is inherently unbalancing in any way, so long as you throw away all remainders to avoid the scenario Krome suggests. Don't know that I'd allow it, though. In fact, I had an NPC villain with a trio of PoPs topping his personal staff in the last story-arc.
Unarmed attacks are natural attacks, but Jason said they could not use it. I allow it in my games since monks need all the help they can get.
Considering that I've met plenty of martial artists who've spent years beating their hands against trees and rocks and ordinary makiwara to toughen them up, I have no problem allowing this feat for monks, or anyone with Improved Unarmed Attack.
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