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Posts
 Recent Posts
Heavy Metal, Constitution is the key. I played a barbarian "tank" for our Council of Thieves game and had a lot of fun with it, with nearly 200 hp, AC 28 and DR 5/- at lvl 13. Look for AC and +Con, and feats and items that let you use your Con for other stuff. My offense was a Furious Silver Earthbreaker with Power attack and Furious Focus (APG) and a +4 Str belt. "What does Bull do this round?" "I hit it, hard" Defense was the best +Breastplate, ring, and amulet I could find, along with the AC and Dex ioun stones. Guarded Stance rage power is awesome. At lvl 12 your AC is actually better raging than not raging. Try the feat combo of Endurance and Steadfast Determination (from the PHBII). Lets you add your Con to your Will saves instead of your Wis. With rage and the feat Raging Vitality, you do the math. My Will save was better than the cleric's. Build does have two flaws: Lots and lots of HP's means you need lots and lots of healing. Also, straight energy damage kicked my butt. Reflex save was respectable, but with no defense against it the DM targeted me just to take me down a peg. For a spin on the whole bruiser archetype I also focused on my Cha, with Intimidating Glare rage power at low level for economy of action. The feat Cornugon Smash from the Cheliax Companion lets you roll for demoralize on any target you hit with a power attack. At lvl 12 or 13 the rage power / feat combo of Dreadful Carnage and Terrifying Howl is superb. Knock a guy down, get a demoralize roll against everyone within 30 feet. If they fail, they are shaken. On next round Terrifying Howl. Everyone within 30 feet that is shaken must save or become panicked. Nice. Other than that, I got a lot of use out of the Strength Surge rage power. Its the barbarian get out of jail free card. -"Bull" Abrams. Quote: "They just dropped my favorite pub on my head! Someone's gonna pay..."
Like many of you, I like to paint minis for important NPC's in my campaigns, and I've hit a wall. I cannot find minis for Aerys, Jask, or Gelick that I am happy with. Female sailors, dreadlock casters, and gnomes of any kind are in short supply. What have you all used? Ryn, who thinks NPC hostages work better represented by minis than by dice...
I know the designer and have had the privilege to play test most of these items. They really add a whole new dimension to the gaming table for those of us who are artistically challenged, and the Gelatinous Cube mini is really, really sharp. I would like to welcome Dark Platypus to Paizo.com! Ryn, who's geeked at a friend's success...
LOL, Bison vs Efreet, might beat my summon nature's ally story. Spoiler:
During the Age of Worms campaign my druid had great success with Earth Elementals. Near the bottom of the Fire Giant fortress we were ambushed by a Marilith. With the party near out of spells, I pulled a hail-mary, summoning in three huge earth elementals who grappled the demon into submission, while we straight damaged it to death. Ryn, who likes pile-ons
I am disappointed with the new challenge mechanic. At first level, 1/day you get +1 damage for an encounter. While this is similar in power to the Paladin Smite, the paladin gets a sizeable bonus to hit and AC while smiting, while the Cavalier grants a small bonus to the party and takes a -2 penalty to AC for his trouble. While I think this ability will be great at mid to high levels, I do not see my upcoming Cav using it before 3rd or 4th level. It just isn't comparable to Smite Evil or Rage. It doesn't need to be to make the class good, but I'd like it to have some utility at low level. Ryn, who still loves the class, just not the challenge
Thanks Jason, the character that I'm dreaming up is a Dragoon, flank-and-spank build. The tactical feats look very nice for this. Ryn, who just got a blue post...
The Baba Yaga shows up a lot, even sending Hellboy to her demi-plane of Russian folklore as punnishment for his taking her eye. There he is hunted by Koshchei, a Russian warrior given immortality by a dragon who may have served as a basis for one of the open content demon lords. And we all know how James loves his demon lords! Also, Baba Yaga is one of the principal antagonists in "Fables" at the moment. If you're not reading Fables and you like fantasy comics, then you should be. Bill Willingham is a genius. Ryn, who knows that when a winter wolf is the GOOD guy, you're in trouble...
For some quite good Baba Yaga reference points, look to the Hellboy comics. Mike Mignola has a great fondness for folklore of all types and heavily leans on it for his story arcs. Needless to say she shows up more than a few times, most notably as Rasputin's matron. Ryn, who reads too much pulp horror comics...
Most games are much more cautious than this, but Tracy Hickman did a fantastic article on just what that little used ability is for: Kicking in doors! He posits that sometimes games can get too methodical, that we start to think of our groups and characters as modern special opps... very conservative, careful, and tactical. The article claims that sometimes you have to kick in a door to jump-start the action. The barbarian class is all about taking risks. Trap sense is there to add an incentive for this type of play. With the new rage mechanic it gets even better; rage for one round (increased str, hp and saves), kick down the door and absorb the trap. RAWR! I wish I had a link to the original text. It received a lot of attention on the Dragon Magazine boards (both good and bad) and I think it is one of the best gaming "op-ed" pieces I've read. Keep Trap Sense. It is a great ability for both the rogue and the barbarian, for VERY different reasons. Ryn, who hasn't typed RAWR in too long...
First off, a big thank you to everyone at Paizo and in this community for keeping D&D alive! As for my one change, I would make monk special weapons deal monk unarmed damage. Too many martial arts films are about a quest for a sacred staff, kama, etc and that flavor is lost at mid-high levels with said weapon still only doing 1d6. Also, this change will help alleviate the disparity between monks and the other "martial" classes in terms of hit/damage ratio. A +5 kama is much more affordable than an amulet of mighty fists +5. Ryn, who likes his monks.
I don't have a problem with Animate Dead having consequences, but as a DM I prefer to let my players have fair warning beforehand (e.g. "Animating the dead is about as socially acceptable as necrophilia and cannibalism"). As a player, I'd be a little irked if casting a given spell caused grief to my fellow party members (e.g. waves of dragon attacks) without some kind of warning from the DM beforehand. Have an important NPC point out that Animate Dead is an evil act (though so is Death Knell...) and that a large skeleton will be hard to hide from the town. Get the PC's discussing this in character. Think "12 Angry Men." If they all decide to animate the dragon, then no one can feel bad when the inevitable dragon flight comes for their baby. Ryn, who likes consequences
Maneuvers as AoO's are a common occurrence in my games, stemming from the fact that AoO's do not provoke AoO's (I cannot remember where I read that, but it is in there somewhere I'm sure). If they do not provoke AoO's in return, this opens up the field for fighter-tupes who want to do something flashy and do not have the feats or actions to pull it off. We started encouraging flashy play while playing Eberron, and it has sort of stuck. Ryn, who's thinking of the six-fingered man "Kill the dark one and the giant, but leave the third for questioning." Inigo had something to say about that...
Tell me, how it is it viable compared to a two handed weapon style, the current version that is... (A) Barbarian, 2-handed, Overhand Chop, greatsword 2d6+(2x str) (B) Barbarian, 2-weapon, TWF and Double Slice, hand-axes (1d6+str, both hands) (A) With the 2-hander you save a feat and do more damage per hit, but run a higher chance of doing no damage at all. (B) With 2-weapon, you do less damage per hit, but your potential damage is the exact same as with the 2-hander (2d6+2x str). Double Slice, as written, solves the TWF problem. Ryn, who always liked paired axes
I agree that the Curveblade may not be the best choice for the elven weapon. What about something like the Yuan-ti Serpent Bow from Secrets of Xen'drik? It is a curved longbow with a blade along the lower edge. You can freely interchange melee and ranged attacks in a single round. Ranged 1d8/x3/80 ft range and melee 2 hand 1d6/19-20/x2. Very Lord of the Rings. As the orcs charge the elven lines the elves cut them down with arrows, then meet their charge by slashing at them as they approach. Ryn, who always just liked this weapon
If you want to run the mod as part of the path, unless the PCs are higher level than the adventure calls for or you pull punches at least one of them will probably not make it on to continue the rest of the path. D2 was designed as a delve adventure. Delve adventures are designed to kill PC's. I'd seriously consider toning down D2, padding it with friendly NPC's (who can then do most of the dying) or waiting for a higher level. Thematically, D2 is a great add-on. You could even add in a side-plot to include and foreshadow the champion of greed. But you must be careful in the adventure's execution. Ryn, who swore he wouldn't kill a PC this time around.
One addition I am pondering for "Spires" is adding a safe zone within the lower city. This would give the PC's a relatively safe base of operations, allow for some culture clash roleplay, and when the zone untimately falls to a rune-giant assault give the PC's something to protect. The explanation involves some spoilers for Hook Mountain, so tread carefully... Spoiler:
For this "safe" culture I like the Maftet from PF #15. During Hook Mountain the PC's are going to encounter a group of Maftet as they hunt a Lamia Matriarch. The PC's will get to further interact with them later as they enter the creature's territory in order to open up the sluice gates under Skull's Crossing. This should set up the creatures as potential allies but not necessarily as friends. I think that this could add to the general feel of "Spires." Native cultures that are not instantly hostile (or mind controlled, or undead, etc). What do you all think? Would this disturb the exploration feel of the lower city? Ryn, who'd like to explore where monster cultures interact
The concept is that each character pays a nominal fee per game session to cover daily expenses, such as drinks, meals and accommodation. The amount you pay depends on what standard of lifestyle you wish to live. Not a bad idea. Most games I've ever been a part of never take these costs into account, even going so far as to not track expenses in taverns, inns, gather information, etc. With an easy to track system like this, it would be easy to say "As we start this next leg of our adventure, your living expense cost is X" Ryn, who's Dwarf spends 100gp per adventure on cigars and brandy
Legendary animals are a 3.0 attempt to give high-level druids decent animal companions. Under 3.0 there were no rules for animal companion advancement, you just received more HD of companions as you advanced in level. So instead of having 8 dire apes, you got one legendary ape. The legendary animals were also smaller than their dire counterparts due to comments that a huge-sized dire tiger or bear took up too much room in a dungeon. As a direct result of the 3.5 animal companion rules, the legendary animals were never adapted to the updated rules. As a fun aside (and shameless PFRPG plug) check out the new beta rules on animal companions under the Cleric/Druid/Paladin playtest forums under "[Design Focus] animal companions" Ryn, who always wanted a legendary horse
This may come across as a bit "rail-roady" but what about the old; "So, you have Lycanthropy. Your PC is now an NPC for three nights a month." Lycanthropy is a curse, and a bad one. Curses should not = power boost. Take the frenzy idea (a good one I think) one step farther and with a failed will save you actually turn into a monster. Who eats people. People you know. Ryn, who loves werewolves.
Yup, this sounds pretty neat! In our campaign we have a dwarf ranger with Crossbow Mastery, FE giant +4 and the Big Game Hunter feat. He dishes out the damage from 80 feet away. No giant bane yet, though... Ryn, who like oddly effective builds
A most emphatic ditto! We just finished up the Graul farmstead, and I have never seen PC's cringe so much, or fret over what they might find in the next room... Kudo's to Paizo and Master Logue for a most disturbing ride! Ryn, who now shudders and every "playpen"
As for multi-classing saving throws (and BAB) my group fixed this problem by not looking to the class table for the numbers, but to the base table. Each class has either good, average, or poor BAB, and good or poor saves of the three types. As an example: You are a Ranger 2/Rogue 2/Cleric 3
Perhaps this example isn't thought through thoroughly enough, but leaves you with +5 BAB and +4/+5/+4 for your saves, where using the old system you'd have +5 BAB and +6/+7/+3 This prevents the combinations where all you end up with is ridiculous saves and no BAB that are so common to Elan-esque multiclassing, and also negates multiclassing just to receive the +2 from first level over and over. Ryn, who once saw a Cleric 2/Ranger 2/Wandering Mystic 2 with +4 BAB and +6/+6/+6 saves...
Although Cheliax is currently ruled by devil-associated folk... the bulk of Cheliax's people are not evil. The Council of Thieves Adventure Path (debuting in Pathfinder #25 next Gen Con) is set entirely in Cheliax, and should serve as a great window into how this nation works. James, I have to say that I cannot wait for the Council of Thieves Adventure Path. AP #4 doesn't sound quite up my alley so I may cancel my subscription for that one, but I will definitely be back for Thieves. Ryn, who has too many adventures to run, and has to find time to work so he can buy them
I would also suggest that Alignment is another of the sacred cows. Of all the changes from 3.x to 4e, this one left the worst taste in my mouth. D&D is a game of fantasy heroics, and nowhere else is that as clear than in the alignment rules. Goodness is a THING in D&D, and evil is a stain on the world. Anything without the nine cardinal alignments is not D&D, and therefor they may be the one true sacred cow to the game. Ryn, who has always been a fan of shining paladins and depraved demons
I hit this particular snag converting over a Behir to 3.p. Improved grab stays as is, and on the subsequent round, the baddie gets another option to add to the carriers on a successful grapple. In the case of the Behir, it gets two options... Also, for converting over bigger and smaller monsters, the size bonus/penalties got nerfed. Make sure you make the proper adjustments. Ryn, who just likes Behir
I am so glad to hear that you guys will be printing another tavern! The original has been the Rusty Dragon in our RotRL game for so long that I was worried about using it for CoCT. Now the PC's will have a second home. For me to invade with Grey Maidens and the like... Ryn, who can never get enough maps.
I am looking for a post from Mary Yamato (i think) about making Fort Rannick more dynamic less static, with adjustements for patrols One thing I did was take a page from The Hills Have Eyes. I added two patrols of Ogre Degenerates (Classic Monsters Revisited)to Fort Rannick. Each patrol is made up of two Ogre Degenerates, each with five levels of rogue, Stealthy, Skill Focus: Stealth, and the Nightstalker feat from Classic Monsters Revisited. This ends up with a +15 Stealth check. I also added Brutal Throw and a couple throwing axes each. These patrols are so deranged that even the base Kreegs fear them, as they are sneaky, brutal, Utterly Psychotic, and have throwing axes! Ryn, who looks forward to killing Vale with an axe from the dark...
My only comment is on Perception. If you're going to merge Spot and Listen into one skill (which I support) then stop with the "applies to touch perception" or "smell perception only" or "sight perception only" junk. The way we have fixed Perception in my playtest is to make it cover all the senses simultaneously. You make one roll to see if you hear/see/smell/taste/feel anything. Similarly, we have abolished the racial bonuses to perception. Elves/Halfelves still get their +2 (that now applies to all rolls) and the rest got changed. Dwarves lost Keen Senses, as they already have a host of skill based abilities; stonecunning stays as written. Gnomes get a +2 bonus on appraise checks. Halflings get a +2 bonus on sleight of hand. This abolishes the question, "Is the perception check smell or taste based?" Ryn, who is not smell or taste based
Sharpshooter - get your dex bonus to damage with x-bows, and use sneak attack at any range (only if you aim) This feat exists: Crossbow Sniper (PHB2) - add half your dex modifier to damage with crossbows and deal precision based damage out to 60 feet. I have played around with crossbows for several characters, mostly bards and artificers with heavy repeaters, and had little success. For our RotRL playtest I am playing Harsk, and crossbow mastery from the PFCS really opens up crossbows as a viable weapon. With a dip into fighter for weapon spec and a flat +hit/+damage build he is really kicking out some damage. He also doesn't need a high str score, as is the case with archery builds, and his focus on straight enhancement bonuses to his bow means that when he gets Deadly Aim he will still hit effectively. Without Crossbow Mastery, none of this would be possible. Please add this feat to the PFRPG, as it has been the cornerstone of a great and memorable character. And what dwarf would be caught dead with a bow? Ryn, who likes crossbows that fire like tommyguns...
I've never personally liked the scythe as a standard weapon in the game. It never felt right as a martial weapon, or one so effective (x4 crit) and always seemed tacked on so the necro-clerics had a fun toy. But that is a discussion for a later playtest... As for Devastating Blow and it's prereqs, our RotRL playtest barbarian picked up a greataxe instead of a falchion or greatsword and has had great fun with it. As far as I'm concerned, mission accomplished! Also, Galenmir from FotSG is going to hurt, a lot... Ryn, who has always favored high threat range over high multiplier.
...oh, and 4 skill points per level to the Sorcerer would not hurt at all ! I have never understood the "underpowered" nature of the sorcerer. Being able to cast on the fly more than makes up for the slower spell progression, and players in my games have always favored the sorcerer over the wizard. That said, I agree whole-heartedly with The Wraith. The Sorcerer has never lived up to it's "outcast, self-taught" background to me. 4 Skill points a level and an expanded skill list (Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Survival?) would shore that up nicely. Ryn, who likes his outcasts
Agreed. Perhaps it could take the place of the Combat Trick talent (which may be too broad), or be added to the already stellar list. Doublestrike, maybe? Two-chiv? Ryn, who thinks that maybe knife-fighters are not fighters at all...
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