Rift's page

EMA may be gone, but his sheets still live...

You just have to look (I've found all of the ones I use)...

-That One Digitalelf Fellow-

That said, I'm going to give Spellgen a try later this week and post here if it works out. If not then I'll start working on putting all the spells in one sheet and ask one of my more compu-wizard buddies to make a handy site out of it like EMA's.

Now that EMA's site is six feet under, I've sadly ran out of a convenient place to aquire complete and detailed spell sheets.

My current task of building a lvl 17th wizard without the aide of a hardcopy of the Spell Compendium is surely to drive me to the brink of sanity.

So my question is; are there any other good places to get these kind of (complete, updated)sheets or am I doomed to make these myself?

Rift,

Everyone seems to be especially fond of crossbows, that's fine, so am I.

I did some stats on a twin-crossbow setup for static positions. Back in the day I had to explain these things but now I realize that the Dark Elf reapers from WHF do that for me. My version works with a dual shoulder held stock much like in some WW2 anti aircraft machineguns and use a higher tripod to aim up.

Linkage.

Three man crew(or one if magicly enchanted to crank the shafts and reload itself, both are seperate enchantments). One to aim and two to reload and keep the bolts cranking into the weapon. Each weapon fires once per attack and the damage is modified to include this below.

Damage; 2d10 or 2d12.
Clip; 2x9 or 2x4.
Range; 150

These weapons have difficulty hitting ground based targets however and need their sights replaced(-8 penalty if fired unmodified) if they wish to have any effect.

There is also limited room for alchemical tracers in the weapon, feeding off a 30 clip on top of the weapon. These tracers give a +1 to attack and should the target remain stationary after the first shot(s) then the tracers will provide a +2 bonus to attack in the next round. This bonus is lost if the target is not fired upon during a round.

Cost for the weapon: 2.500.
Bolts: Standard per 10
Tracers: 5gp per tracer.

It's not game-breaking, just powerful. I allowed it for a newbie we had in our game, I wanted the wolf to be able to defend itself and her so I gave it both the animal companion benefits and the size increase.

2d6+11 for a single primary attack isn't that bad at lvl 6, and it trips like a pro, but that's about it. That and it can be used as a mount in an emergency but you try sneaking a horse the size of a small horse into town without trouble.

Hope that helped a bit and good luck.

Hit em with the kitchen sink!

If you present the PC's with a time-based situation(which is what you are doing) then you should not be afraid to let it actually happen. I'm sure that your big showdown is planned to the detail and that you'd like your players to actually go through with it but it is not worth the trouble they're giving you now. For that specific reason I never script encounters too much unless I am absolutely certain that my players will be doing it the way I imagined, which doesn't happen a lot. I'll have the specifics of the encounter listed qua baddies, loot and general tactics but that's about it.

Just kindly remind your players that the clock is ticking and if they do not act in an expedient manner...unleash all hell and let them suffer.

Phew, I guess I was losing it a bit in the face of this challenge.

I've got 5 players in my current campaign and only one of them has has expressed disinterest in his estates(actively) but then I've been fighting with that guy about just everything in my campaign. The rest are keen on improving their cities, armies, militia's(however small they may be) and businesses. I've figured out a way to give them an income from those things(and expenses) that isn't horribly complicated to keep up with it.

Now, the only thing I have a bit of a problem with is city and town incomes. Most of my players have set a 10% tax so I'll go with that...

Tyreen has 1.600 adult citizens, assuming we even everything out and every one makes 30 silver a month(30 days in a month), that would make for 4800 silver a month. Of course they will have to extract some basic costs(guards, personal servants) but does this figure sound reasonable?

I have gotten myself into a bit of a situation and I've coming looking for wisdom from the good forum folk at Paizo.

My players recently got their hands on grants of nobility and the patches of land that come with those. Saving the kingdom in face of invasion, rescuing the members of the royal house, the works.

Now there is a problem that I thought I could handle but it has clearly gone above my head and it is making me doubt my own decisions namely; taxes. Is there a fast and hard rule for determining taxes for cities and villages? How do you deal with toll on roads and rivers? How much income do mines generate? Do you tax individual goods or just lump it all together? If there's a book or something like it that deals with these matters then I'd like to know and I'll see about getting it into my collection as soon as possible.

I thought I could make this DM fiat but to be honest I have no idea where to start, the only thing I know is that a commoner makes 1sp per day(which includes growing some of his own food and making clothes, etc) but how much does a craftsman make, or how do you deal with religious organizations and their 'gifts'(taxes)?

So to sum it up.

-Taxes for cities and villages.

-Toll on caravans. People and goods? If so, how much and which goods?

-Toll on river barges. People and goods? If so, how much and which goods?

-Income from mines and quaries. Respectively iron and a small diamond mine.

-How much taxes for guilds(churches)? If any at all.

All opinions on the matter are welcome and thanks in advance for the help,

Rift,

Your original flavour text described an opponent being lulled into a false sense of security and bravado by your 'defenceless' stance. I think I see the image you are aiming for; the scene in 'Seven Samurai' where the kensai reluctantly accepts a challenge from a local tough, who leaves himself wide open to a mortal blow.

One problem I see is that it is a full attack action; therefore, cannot be used as a readied action, only a delayed action.

This means that you cannot interrupt an attacker who tires of your conversation, or who rushes you, thinking you unarmed.
You have to withstand their attack attempt, and then make a single strike back.
Even allowing that you make a single powerful attack for maxed double damage, you may still be better off (depending on the opponent's AC)simply performing a Quick Draw, then clobbering him with your 3 regular attacks?

I think it needs to be reduced to a readied standard action, in order to perform in the way it is intended, which would still remove the potential of performing iterative attacks, whilst allowing for a move action before or after the strike (to meet the attacker half-way, or to drop him and run from his allies).

Thoughts?

Well, the skill says that both armor check penalties and encumbrance penalties count double.

So in your case -6(Medium load), -2(Studded leather), -4(Heavy shield) would make -12. How that thing comes to -15, I've got no clue.

I use battlemats and miniatures for all my games. Why? Because it eliminates certain 'whine' effects that your players throw at you when their imagination does not conform with yours.

Does this turn my games tactical? Yes, it does. But I can simply fix that by favoring the players that go for the whole cinematic thing. My other players know by now that if they go; "I charge the orc." and move their miniature that it won't net them anything but what they just declared. Give me something cool to work with, and you might just find yourself doing those extra five points of damage to kill the BBEG just because you made a leap of faith off a cliff when he was flying past.

But to finish my 2 copper here,

You (old) people whine too much. Live and let live.

Week of the unintentional redundant posts.

Try Avariels. I believe they're from Races of Faerun and I can't remember how high their LA is but its worth a shot.

It works for every weapon, except for light weapons. Short version, the RAW-crew will probably stamp right over me again but I don't care.

Simple suggestion; Wendigo's?

I'll bet there are very few people who have the same favorite book.

1) The Stronghold Builder's Guide.

First book I ever bought and it turned me into a huge fortification and siege freak. Still lovingly used every campaign, treasured in its own special box because its almost falling apart.

2) My healing (3)D8's.

Nobody touches these dice without permission. Nor are they ever used for anything else if I'm playing a character that can heal. Pink, blue, red. My other D8's are free game.

A one is never a critical failure for skill check. Problem fixed. That and you can argue that most tasks(while not under stress) can be preformed quite easily(take 10-20).

Want to climb a ladder? Sure. Want to climb a ladder in hurricane force winds? Skill check. Want to loot dead bodies completely? Sure. Want to snatch a few coin purses from dead hobgoblins before the party sees you? Your slight of hand versus their spot check.

D&D requires a lot of common sense, if you stick to the exact letter of the rules it won't make a lot of sense.

/2 copper.

So let me get this straight, you decided upon a way to handle this(all of you), rolled the dice and confirmed the results. If he starts whining after that, tough cookie.

You're the DM, your word is law. It doesn't matter if you don't stick to the rules as long as you do it consistently.

Name: Quaron Silversword.
Race: Moon elf.
Class: Wizard.(War Wizard)
Level: 10.
Setting: Rift&Aldaris's Homebrew

Besieged in a old church with almost two-hundred Hextorites outside the doors, the party fortified themselves for the night.

When the Drow infiltrators came, Quaron, despite advice offered his own Arcani(bodyguard) was caught alone and sixty-feet away from any nearby help. Although there were many Drow surrounding him, Quaron fell to the fell-powers of the Drow cleric, snuffing his life-force out in one mighty swoop.

Name: Hiro.
Race: Human.
Class: Monk.
Level: 10.
Setting: Rift&Aldaris's Homebrew.

During the battle of the Dessarin Valley, the PC's, the armies of Gryphon and Alvar clashed. Outnumbered 3:1 and attacking Alvar forces in heavily entrenched positions, the PC's decided to launch a lightning strike on the enemy's HQ.

The enemy commander, Field Marshal Godfried, was waiting for them. Hiro was killed by Godfried a split second before Captain Daneco ran the Marshal through with his broadsword. Hiro's body was retrieved by Captain Sheeb and after the battle was won(albeit at a high cost) offered the chance to return to life. Hiro's soul was content however and decided to stay with the honored ancestors of his clan.

Kael'thas Sunstrider

I mean, I don't have a lot of druid related advice, but this might help too. I mean no offense but it bothers the heck out of me when I see people use the names of famous characters for their own.

And if that one doesn't suit you, just try some random google'ing for name generators.

Good luck with the druid, remember to feed the Oehoe.

If you can get your hands on a copy, the Power of Faerun and the Stronghold Builder's Guide have some really interesting idea's on how to deal with this situation.

Ironically enough I'm currently doing a similar thing in my own campaign where my players have been given grants of land for blunting the invasion of their southern neighbor. The war isn't over and neither side has the strength currently to push the other so that leaves the players dealing with bandits, deserters, Hextorite warbands, displaced farmers, a pissed off druid and rogue dragons in an effort to establish themselves as the 'true' power over the region.

What always works for me is to reward players for the efforts they make, if my players want to establish mines in the nearby mountains I will present problems(brigands, infrastructure, manpower) but if they manage to pull that off they will reap the rewards(even if I didn't put any useful minerals in those mountains in the first place). Of course its acceptable to let some of their plans fail, if they want to change the course of a major river through rocky soil, they can try, but failure is the final result without some major magical nuclear holocaust.

Finally, once they're established, threaten what they worked for. But don't overdo it or they won't be willing to leave their lands anymore for fear of losing it while they're away.

Let us know how things pan out, I'm interested in knowing how your players will handle it and if they're enjoying it.

We did, it was really great but I'm completely knackered since I just got home from that particular session. It was a miracle that the party got along with each other since I finally pulled a 'Shadowbane Inquisitor Undercover' on them, didn't even have to execute anyone for demon-consorting.

That made a fifth day of D&D'ing in total(Four different parties, I DM'ed two). Sleeeeeep!

I'm currently running two parties in the same homebrew, on 'my' continent. My buddy Niels runs another party on a completely different continent at the same time and we do some talking whenever someone screws up big. Because of that the players have introduced plot for others they didn't even know they were creating. Its fun and for us not all that much work(because we live an hour away maybe).

But on the internet? Duno, sounds dodgy and prone to drop-outs.

Rift is the last name of my first ever RP character. I had to think of an alter-ego for Games Workshop's worldwide 13th Black Crusade and I wanted something that sounded different. I have no clue how I ended up with Vespasius but the last name Rift I picked because its so uncommon as a nickname, plus I wanted my Astarte to be different. These days I prefer Rift, but I'm also known as Vesp. Rift is such a troublesome nickname to google on, its worth the trouble I have with it myself.

In CS:Source though I'm known as LC, 'the vegetable terror'. Go figure.

Fiendish cows.

Well you can either talk with her about it or you can keep suffering your little fantasies. ;)
And in the end, if she's being disruptive to the fun of the rest, she has got to go, the greater good means more then a single individual.

Apathy just means you're going to break first.

Traken wrote:

Most of the time, we don't even know what the character's names are (or even race).

Ouch.

Just remember that you are nobody's 'Walking Potion(tm)' and if you want to play a complete battle cleric then you should go for that. Play the class in a way that you like and if the others don't agree they can shove it.

Me. I love to play clerics, yes I like to be a healer but I've also got needs. Needs that include smashing/killing/being the hero/etc and I will play to get those things. Need healing? Buy a potion/wand/character level. That and setting aside 10% of the total party loot for healing gear usually keeps those people well stocked, those things are the only healing-related thing that I owe them since they paid for them.

So yeah, give your party the finger and play whatever you want! Cleric powah!

Stronghold Builder's Guide. Great book, hours of fun. Shame its 3.0 but I'm sure you can work around that.

Rift wrote:

Knight/Rogue

Sorry to stray from the path a bit, but knight/rogue? Is that the PHB2 knight? Wouldn't work too well I'd think because those knights have to fight fair (those poor losers ;-))

You know, this whole 'whacking' thing is slightly unnerving. I feel violated.

Anyways. If I have a paladin and a rogue(Knight/Rogue in my new party) I will stick with the paladin most of the time. Meaning I do not encourage openly pissing him off because that just leads to party conflicts, they have it bad enough without another player trying to push their buttons. On the same hand, both of these players have been dating for over three years so they would probably pull it off.

Kill the rogue. Paladins rock.

*wink*

Kobold Cleaver wrote:

My group (consisting of an elf paladin, an elf wizard, a tibbit rogue, and a kobold necromancer)met when we were all driven into a crypt on a stormy night. We named our group, 'The Company of the Crypt'. We're still playing in it.

That's from one of those free adventures on the WotC website - that's WotC's best resource...

I like the posse option a lot. It's a positive reason for strangers adventuring together.

I just started off a new party with that adventure a few days ago, its awesome for pushing them forward and getting them to bond. A noble Knight(human), kleptomaniac Rogue(halfling), silent Druid(half-elf) and a overenthusiastic Ranger(elf). The players are all highly experienced roleplayers(larp) and they all concluded that they wanted to stick together because of what happened that night.

I might be wrong but try this link.

Should take you right there.

Yes, they can make fortitude saves, the only difference is that they are immune to most things(undead) and use their CHA modifier instead of their CON modifier on the fortitude save.

I'm going to think about this, if we make this a 10 lvl PRC we can up the ability later to make it truly nasty against vampires.

Maybe improved grapple when it comes to staking? Ranged increment on stakes? Discount on stakes at the local Shoppe?

The only thing that jumps to mind is the Hunter of the Dead(Complete Warrior) but that class is geared towards undead in general. If its an NPC you can probably up the power(or even give him a few new ones) on each of the abilities a bit if you make them vampire specific.

I reserve the right to veto everything my players bring to the table. It really hinges on what I feel is balanced or not and what would work and what would not. I'm quite willing to make compromises but I have limits.

But a safe bet is using the core 3 books, everything else is playing with fire(and your character concept).

Rez, just a little note. Memory works on wisdom, not intelligence.

Heroes of battle.

Clickie.

I don't care at what level its written really, as long as it includes all the major events of a character's past.

Minimum at any level is 1 page and 2 pages is enough(I encourage my players to write more).

Rift wrote:

TMI.

On-topic please.

There was a topic?

TMI.

On-topic please.

Molech wrote:

Yeah -- DO NOT ALLOW familiars, companions, cohorts, even intelligent weapons! Encourage someone playing a Druid not to focus on summoning; I'd argue not allowing druids to have an animal companion AT ALL.
-W. E. Ray

At least you aren't saying that druids have to worship a god--I hate it when people say that.

6 is the max, at that point the DM has to split his efforts too much and D&D turns into a waiting game. As a personal favorite, I think five players is the perfect number.

I like FR. Why? Because the history of some of the places, the people that live there and the cool organizations that call it home. Mainly the Sword Coast/North all the way east to the desert of Aunaroch is my 'playing field' and so far I've entertained two groups in it for about a year.

As for the novels. Meh, my campaign, my history, my rules. If the fanboys want to play a true FR campaign they can go and play by themselves.

Heck, I even play a LARP character that comes from the FR, Neverwinter to be precise and yes, I've seen a 'good drow' player crop up once. Then again that player was stuck in a drow house that was fully evil and was trying very hard to hide it. So...

For Neverwinter and the Lord's Alliance!

Dire goat.

Call it a 'Battlegoat'.

(evil being you, abortion clinics, or dryer lint, depending on with whom you speak)

OK, this is a topic which can be discussed to no end, so I'll take to examples from my current campaign.

Example 1: Heroes have defeated a bunch of hobgoblins, and two surrendered. They refused to cooperate during interrogation, so the druid killed one with a Call Lightning. That made the other talk. Druid in question is True Neutral.

Example 2: The rogue (CN) is grappling a lizardfolk who tries to escape. The lizardfolk surrenders to the rogue (they both speak draconic). The druid arrives. The rogue tells the druid "Kill him", and doesn't tell him he has surrendered. The druid slashes him with a scimitar.

My question is, is killing surrendered enemies evil? Or is it just chaotic? Does the fact that these two were "monstrous" humanoids mitigate the circumstances? I don't really think the CN rogue was out of line, but the N druid is maybe starting to garner some chaotic traits.

And what about good party members witnessing this? In my opinion, good characters should not allow captured enemies to be killed (unless they are devils or demons, that is).

Thoughts?

And it doesn't matter if their subtype reads 'humanoid' or 'monstrous humanoid' its the fact that they're capable of surrendering that matters. And on the same note, tricking someone else into killing a prisoner is an evil act, you could say the druid is in the clear because he didn't know.(unless the signs were obvious that the lizardfolk surrendered)

Rift wrote:

The fact that all of us were final year students helped, plus the mix of courses was incredibly mixed(4 VMBO, 2 HAVO, 1 VWO, 2 Athaneum+) and that some of the people with us were the best(Athaneum+) students the school had at that time.

Netherlands?

Nobody told me it was on saturday, although all my players went together.

This calls for some TPK's.