Sean Mahoney's page

I purchase the AP modules to run those AP modules. I don't get to run them all, but that is my intent... the possibility. As a result, what I am looking for in the other material in those is that it be useful for me in running that campaign.

Articles on gods that come up in those campaigns, good!

Articles on expanding portions of related play (kingdom building, et.c), good!

Monsters that appear in the adventures, good!

Monsters that don't appear in the adventures, not really useful.

Fiction that has nothing to do with the campaign other than being set in the same part of world, bad. Perhaps if it were a prequel of events in the campaign... who knows.

Basically I am looking for anything in that adventure path module to support that adventure path module. If it doesn't, it feels like a waste of space.

Sean Mahoney

Mergy wrote:

That's why 7 int does not equal an IQ of 70. That's people confusing scaling.

Playing an int 7 character as in IQ of 70 is as reasonable an interpretation as any other. Saying it "does not equal an IQ of 70" is no more supportable than saying that it does. As I said a few posts above, there are multiple completing means of interpreting int attribute scores, and it's not likely that everyone is going to agree on the "right" one, because there is no "right" one.

Agreed.

As a GM, I would just be happy if the player came up with an interpretation that took the low Int into account and called things good. I am not going to get after him unless he starts consistently acting smart.

If you view it like (INTx10=IQ), then 7 is just slow. It not a severe mental disability.

70 IQ would be right on the borderline of Borderline Intellectual Functioning and Mild Mental Retardation (according to wikipedia at least, I am no expert).

The example from movies I think would best exemplify this would be Forest Gump.

Here is the description the wikipedia entry gives... and remember you are on the low end of this:

Persons who fall into this categorization have a relatively normal expression of affect for their age, though their ability to think abstractly is rather limited. Reasoning displays a preference for concrete thinking. They are usually able to function day to day without assistance, including holding down a simple job and the basic responsibilities of maintaining a dwelling.

We Be Goblins is somewhat intended as a sort of prequel to what is going on in the first adventure, but isn't really tied to the AP as a whole.

The downside is that you don't really get to know the NPCs... at least not the ones that will be active in the AP.

On the other hand, it is free. So the price is right.

Worth checking out if nothing else.

Sean Mahoney

Lune wrote:

Master Craftsman allows any class (including NPC classes) to craft magic items.

Yep, this was one of the funniest things I've ever found in pathfinder material. I couldn't be more opposed to it, and it makes so little sense. Enchant the item how? With what spells or enchantments? Bwahaha.

It's to allow for the classic fantasy trope of people who are so good at their craft that their work becomes magical. Or for people who use magical materials and that is how they craft magic items.

Basically, the way that 3E came up with for crafting magical equipment is not the ONLY way that people have had magic items created in fantasy or fiction. Allowing for more flexibility allows people to tell the type of story they want within the rules.

If that isn't your cup of tea or you find it breaks verisimilitude for you and your game, no worries... take it out. On the other hand, if you want a smith who can spend a decade crafting that one amazing sword and it has caused it to take on magical properties, then go for that... both can work together just fine too.

Balance wise there is no issue as it doesn't affect how battles come out or the like. It just gives more options.

But laughing at people who like the option... bad form.

Sean

See that's part of the issue.He's used a personal sheet(spread sheet program) that doesn't transfer over to open office,excel or word. one of the other players said he uses Linux Gnome extensions.

The game master wasn't even sure how to read it.

I don't know of any spreadsheet programs that are not able to do an export to a CSV (comma seperated values) format (assuming he is using a flat spreadsheet). If that is the case it would then be easily importable into Excel or OpenOffice Calc.

Sean

Should initiative still be rolled before it goes off, dispite the spell not giving much indication of being cast at all besides a cluster of missiles abruptly appearing and flying unerringly into the BBEG while the wizard just kinda stands there twiddling his thumbs and looking innocent, or should the spell go off as a surprise round-ish effect and then roll initiative?

Here is what the rules are for casting a spell:

"To cast a spell, you must be able to speak (if the spell has a verbal component), gesture (if it has a somatic component), and manipulate the material components or focus (if any). Additionally, you must concentrate to cast a spell."

In this case the spell does not have somatic, somatic, or material components. But it still requires concentration. That concentration is different than just listening to what the guy says... you are doing something, and the BBEG is aware you are there to do him harm... yeah, definitely initiative.

Sean Mahoney

There are not rules for acting outside of a combat round which has initiative set. If one side is not aware of the other then there can be a surprise round, but there is still initiative.

It sounds like the player wants to act outside of initiative. He can't.

So the only real question would be if there could be a surprise round since the player is trying to get the drop on the BBEG.

My first instinct is 'No'. The BBEG is aware that you are there and intend to do harm, he isn't ignoring you. A stilled silent quickened magic missile is not nothing. Someone watching you for hostile actions can still see the concentration.

Reading over the rules for combat, initiative, and surprise round I am not finding anything that would make me think differently.

Sean Mahoney

I would love more... I don't know that you can have too many.

As for what... well, I would have to leave that to the creativity of the designers. Though a good place to start looking would be at prestige classes... which are not coverable by archetypes nor fit with the world specific model of prestige classes that Paizo seems to be going for and then go from there.

Sean

To answer the OP, the trick would be to get more swift actions. I do believe there are ways to do this... though none are jumping to the top of my head at 2 in the morning.

Sean

Ok... but a 16 Str still gives you a +3 to hit and damage.

Taking my example above you would have a +2 to hit and the same two attacks (even if you use a different spell).

If you are set on the cold theme (which is just fine, themes are good), I would talk to my GM about getting an alternate version of shocking grasp that is Freezing Grasp. Essentially the exact same spell but does frost damage instead. This is slightly worse as you wouldn't get the +3 to hit an opponent wearing metal armor and slightly more creatures are resistant to cold than electricity, but that should work in your favor of getting your GM to allow it.

There really isn't a better, consistent, raw damage dealer for the Magus.

Sean Mahoney

So I am a little confused.

If you are level 2 now, you have a +1 Base Attack Bonus. Additionally, you have a 20 Strength, so you have a +5 to Hit and damage... so up to +6 to hit / +5 to dmg. That is pretty respectable! Finally, you are using a bastard sword, so on any swing you are not casting a spell as well, you can use the bastard sword and get +6 to hit / +7 to dmg (when wielding two-handed, you get 1.5 your str bonus to dmg).

So a normal round casting a spell for you would be:

Start 10 ft away from the enemy

Cast Shocking Grasp

Take a 5 ft step twd your enemy (into melee range)

Take a swing at your enemy at +4 to hit, if you hit do 1d10+5+2d6 (avg 17.5 dmg)

Take a second swing at your enemy a +4 to hit, if you hit do 1d10+5 (avg 10.5 dmg)

So if you hit with both, you are doing an average of 28 dmg / rd as a 2nd level character... not much will stand up to that for long at your level. That is pretty bad@$$!

How is it you are getting the -1 to hit?

Sean Mahoney

The class magus has 3/4 bab.

Well, sure, if you want to get all technical and follow what's in the book, I suppose it is.

j/k I am not sure why I typed full BAB, I know it isn't. Oh well.

The point stands though. Touch AC can actually go down as you go up in levels (bigger creatures have lower touch AC's due to size) so it gets easier and easier and your BAB is going up.

Anyway, previous posters are spot on that there is a Str focused Magus and a Dex one. A good resource that you might find it worth your while to read through is Walter's Guide to the Magus. It gives some insight and fairly indepth analysis into things.

Sean Mahoney

The treasures in each AP are adjusted for 4 member parties. So if your party is larger than that you may need to adjust the amount of treasure. There are several treasure generation websites. Perhaps someone will post a link to one or more.

I am not sure I understand.

The AP has treasure accounted for in for the CR and creatures that it presents. If you had 6 players going against a CR 4 creature it wouldn't increase the treasure that creature drops.

My personal opinion is that the increase party power with extra players is offset by getting slightly less wealth for what are easier (for them) encounters.

Sean Mahoney

I am not a big fan of ranged spells for the magus, but if you did go that route, I think you will still be ok. The rays are touch spells; combined with your full BAB it will become pretty easy for you to hit things as a touch spell with out too much issue.

Sean Mahoney

The previous posters have hit the most Piratical Adventure Paths above.

Savage Tide has the disadvantage of being published in Dungeon Magazine so it is a bit harder to get a hold of. It also isn't really that you play pirates, but you do deal with them a fair amount, get your own ship and sail it to crazy places. It was also created for the 3.5 ruleset and so would need some conversion if you wanted to use it with the Pathfinder ruleset. There is a great community here though who might jump in and help or who may have already done the work... check it's message board area.

Skull & Shackles is very much a pirate themed adventure path (ostensibly), but hasn't been released yet... so I guess it is hard to find until it is. The good news is that it should start it's release soon.

Sean Mahoney

I had a similar post a while back. I was pointed to a great pod cast that discussed all of your questions. My take away was Words of power not better than normal casting just different and in many cases more versatile.

Believe the pod cast was called the gamers guide to pathfinder.

Thanks Mage Evolving!!!

The podcast we did is here: The Gamers' Guide to Words of Power

If you are interested you can find more episodes on other subjects at www.35privatesanctuary.com where we are one of several great podcasts on their gaming shelf. You could also subscribe through iTunes or if you would like I can post a direct feed.

Sean Mahoney

We did a podcast on Words of Power a little bit ago, you might find it useful.

The Gamers' Guide to Words of Power

You might find it useful for understanding the rules of how they work.

I did make a mistake in the podcast though in that it is only energy spells that are turned into rays... not hugely relevant to the magus though.

Anyway, the bottom line for a magus is that they will have more options of touch damage spells than a normal magus would. The down side is that those spells on average do less damage.

I would probably say it isn't worth it to be a dedicated Words of Power caster as a magus but might look at taking the feats that let me do just a few of the spells to add in some interesting ones (like a higher level one that has multiple effects built in).

Sean Mahoney

Remember you can also have your familiar deliver beneficial touch spells, and if you have the Healing hex, IIRC you can have it deliver that as well.

But why would you want to hit an enemy with those?!?! ;-P

Yeah, no need to worry about tricks or handle animal for the familiar.

Really, you shouldn't have to worry too much about it with doing their normal thing (delivering touch attacks) either... at least not until it gets smacked around a few times for trying to do so then says it has had enough and doesn't want to do it anymore.

Actually, I would recommend highly that as a witch you do not use your familiar to deliver touch attacks.

The owl is a tiny animal, which means it has a 0 ft threat range. It has to enter the enemies square to deliver a touch attack and doing so provokes an attack of opportunity. While they do get your HP, they aren't REAL tough... and since they are you walking (flying?) spellbook you REALLY don't want him to die. Best to keep him out of melee combat.

Sean

1) How do I factor skill ranks for my familiar. I know I get the same ranks as my master gets in skill he puts a rank into. I also get skills as the base creature (owl). As I level up, does my familiar gain skill ranks as they gain hit dice and intelligence?

He continues to use your skill ranks (which do go up), but the familiars HD are not changing (only matching yours for the purpose of effects), so he isn't getting more ranks of other skills.

As his intelligence goes up he would get more skill ranks to distribute. But the amount would be based on his own HD, not yours (which doesn't go up).

2) Familiars start at intelligence 6. What does this mean for how you control them using handle animal?

It means that you would use diplomacy if it isn't something the familiar would just do for his witch (and in most cases it would).

Sean

The one thing I would not do is force frightened PCs to flee into the furnace room.

While I didn't force it, that is exactly what happened in my group and resulted in a TPK that had to be rewound and solidified in their minds that I am a deadly GM to play under (I don't think I am that bad, but whatever).

Yeah, barring that, running away from this encounter isn't a huge deal.

Sean

I can say that as I read through the support materials for Kingmaker, I found that the more that I read about Brevoy the more I wanted to have it play into the game.

I LOVE the idea of political intrigue, and I really like the idea of a full scale civil war breaking out.

I would be quite happy with that.

I would also recommend that they go away from the large scale combat for this one and instead focus on what a small squad of soldiers/freedom fighters could do.

Sean Mahoney

The portions of the effects that are morale bonuses do not stack, but the rest of the effects do.

If you look closer at Inspire Courage you will see it is only a moral bonus on saving throws against charm and fear effects. So, if you also have good hope the bonus to those saving throws does not stack.

If you like Inspire Courage for the bonus to attack and weapon damage though, you are in luck... those are competence bonuses (it's in your quote so I won't repost).

Sean

I would ask myself how big a focus I want magic items to be in my game.

If, for example, you want them to go after the items you want on quests, that will take up a significant amount of story telling time. Is that the type of quest that you find fun? (for me the answer is no, I want quests that are the focus, not items that are the focus)

Do you want to spend a bunch of in game time searching for NPCs who can craft the items you want?

Do you want the players to decide it will be best to spend their time leaving the area you have set your campaign and search the world for a bigger city?

Do you want to encourage the casters to become crafters? Including asking or taking large sums of down time to craft?

Do you want your players to make decisions about what class to play based on how gear dependent that class is?

If the answer to those is yes, that IS what you want to focus on in game, then I wouldn't let up at all.

Sean

Thank you very much. I don't want to keep up with a bunch of 4E style splat books.

I can't say that I understand this point of view. People can choose not to buy the rules books and only buy the products that they like. People can NOT choose to buy books that are not made. So the guy who wants more rules is out of luck if they stop making them, but if they keep making them then the guy who doesn't want them is in the exact same place... just don't buy them.

I know, I know... the point has been made before, but it really feels like someone saying that people who want more rules are having 'badwrongfun' and should not like it in the first place.

All that said, the reality is that it takes people to write books. If they are not writing rule books then they (presumably) would be working on more fluff content. But the thing is that it really depends on what is making money. If the fluff books don't sell as well (for example, all the people playing in their own world could care less about Golarion fluff, but can potentially use rules), then there isn't enough money to keep as many writers on, resulting in just less output rather than more people working on what you want. Conversely, if the rules are selling well then you have more money to put out the fluff books so you end up with more than you would have otherwise.

What I'd like to see less are books like the monster revisited books, save them for the Bestiaries. the faith books, and the inner sea magic books as well aren't needed in my opinion. I'd much rather see less rules and more fluff.

This I don't get either. The monster revisited books are all about adding the fluff and interest to the monsters. They are not more crunch. If you want fluff why ax these? If it is the beastiaries alone the monsters are closer to just stat blocks than fleshed out interesting creatures.

Same with the faith books. They make the gods into more than just a list of favored weapon and domains to choose from with a little fluff that describes them. Instead we learn about the church, aphorisms, etc., etc.

It just seems inconsistent with the request for more fluff and less rules. If I were a designer I would have no idea what you wanted.

Finally, we all vote with our pocket books and Paizo has no real choice but to listen to that vote. If the fluff stuff sells well, they will make more. If the crunch stuff sells well, they SHOULD make more. If they make fluff books with little bits of crunch thrown in and think that will make all the people who liked the APG, UC, and UM happy... I think they are in for a surprise... most of those people will see it as the part of the game they like is not being supported. If only there were a new game on the horizon promising the moon and that it would support their style of play... hrmm...

I don't think Paizo and Pathfinder are in any real danger from 5E (or whatever they deign to call it), as long as they keep doing what they have been doing (supporting people who want rules, adventures, and pure setting description in seperate products so people can pick and choose). If they decide there is enough support for those rules monkeys and just leave them be then they are saying, "We have enough of your gaming dollars, please spend them elsewhere." I think Paizo is smarter than that. But James' post kind of scares me a little there.

If nothing else, I would love to see a yearly product that comes out and compiles all those little rules bits found in various other products into one place for much easier use. Yeah, yeah, there is d20pfsrd... it doesn't help most of the time when I am sitting at a gaming table. Not to mention it is tough to just sit down and see the new stuff.

Think about it. I am a GM. I do NOT want my players buying all the adventure paths, but if that is where new feats, spells, etc. are going to be then it is encouraging them to do so. Is that really what GMs want? Sure Paizo would love it if everyone bought all their products equally, but I don't think they are counting on that to happen just because "there are enough class options out there now."

Anyway... I for one would be disappointed if we didn't continue to see rules heavy books. I LOVE the adventure paths... but that is not ALL I enjoy.

Sean Mahoney

First, subscribers like—and, in many cases, *demand*—that predictability. I'm confident that changing the line from bimonthly 32-pagers to "however long we want, whenever we like" would result in a net loss of subscribers.

I am glad to see you make this point, as it is a strong one with me.

Honestly if the value of the adventure paths were not as high as they are, I wouldn't put up with even the variability that is in the schedule now. I never know when it is going to hit and that has cause budget issues some months were the charge comes on the single bad day of the month to hit me with over draft fees.

If it was anything else I would just unsubscribe, but the AP is my guilty pleasure.

Without giving up too much info...every time you move, there's a chance for a random encounter.

Sure, but that is one random encounter in a 12 mile area... your GM is NOT constrained to have the encounter appear around the corner with no warning. The screen shouldn't flash and you are suddenly in combat.

If the GM is doing his job of bringing the encounters to life (and I think that is the #1 job of GM in Kingmaker), then you should have more opportunity for a forward scout in this campaign than any other Paizo campaign.

But... like others have said, it IS GM dependent. For my money, I would plan on it being a good option. If it doesn't work out I personally would probably bow out of the game and move on as it doesn't sound that interesting to have a bunch of random encounters that don't really fit into anything so much as just happen.

Sean

It really does come down to your GM philosophy. Do you want to tailor encounters for the group or is having a group that is great at some things and has a tougher times with others fun when they have to overcome those issues they aren't as good at?

For my vote, I would say don't customize your encounters to them. If they want to play an all ranged party, that is fine, but they need to be aware this will make some situations tougher and others easier.

As their GM I would talk to them, let them know that you see this weakness and ask if they are comfortable accepting that challenge. If so, great. If not, ask them what they want to do about it.

Sean

The problem with screen shots, as mentioned, is that they are at screen resolution (72 dpi) and don't look great printed. If you are going to do this, zoom in as far as you can still have it look good on the screen (ie as big as possible), then take the capture. If you can then reduce the size while letting it raise the dpi then you preserve the most you can.

Sean

The deal is that whatever program the file is moving through is not able to handle transparencies properly and so turns them into whatever the background color is.

If it is Photoshop doing this then it may be as easy as changing your default background color, but I am guessing that it is actually whatever extraction process you are using.

As for removing the background it should be pretty easy in Photoshop. You would want to make the picture on a layer instead of the background (to allow transparency), use the magic wand selection tool with 0 tolerance and click on the black. You may need to then modify the selection (I like using masks, but whatever you are comfortable with) depending on the picture, but in most cases that 0 tolerance will make it only select the added black.

Sean

Not sure if anyone had mentioned this but you were stating that aid another sucks unless you could perform it as a swift action. Enter the Bodyguard feat which let's you hand out aid another bonuses to AC for the lousy cost of an AoO.

The only problem I see with bodyguard is that the person you are aiding needs to be adjacent to you. So even if you have reach or are large, or whatever, they still have to be adjacent to you. That kind of limits it a bit since you couldn't help a flanking buddy for example.

On the other hand, a normal Aid Another (or the swift version if that trick works) lets you do so as long as you are within melee range (so significantly larger potentially), and you can help a flanking buddy as you are hitting the same target.

Still, not bad when combined with the bonus.

Sean Mahoney

A couple of ways.

First, realize that storing uncast spells as scrolls at the end of the day (well, as many as you can), is just storing money. Because the sale price of the spell (1/2 price) is the same as the creation price (1/2 price), you can always sell them and get your money back. So when you have them in scroll form you have the choice of 'paying' for that perfect spell right now. It's worth having a lot of scrolls.

Next is to think about spell selection for scrolls. Not all spells are good scroll spells, and others work beautifully.

What you are looking for is:

- Duration of instantaneous, 10 min/lvl, or hrs/lvl. Things that are mins/lvl tend to be too short to make it worth your time and money... but sometimes they are so niche that they are worth it.

- No save. This could be a spell that has no save or just one that is cast on people who won't save (buffs). Either way it doesn't matter that the spell is not using your casting stat and has weak saves.

- Unique, low frequency use abilities. Things that happen out of combat that are PERFECT once in a while, but not worth memorizing every day.

- Things you are not planning on casting a ton of. Wands are better deals per charge (assuming you craft wands), so if you have something like Cure Light Wounds that is just better in a wand, go that route.

Sean Mahoney

Dayer and Deacon above can easily net 150+ damage per round at 15th-level. I'm doubting any single attack build can top that.

This an a couple of other comments on damage got me thinking...

It's not really a build and it is a one shot thing rather than per round... but a lvl 15 Luring Musketeer w/ Order of the Warrior, a +5 Double Hackbut, and Deadly Aim would do something starting at 264 pts dmg from one shot.

This assumes a crit, but the chances of that are REALLY high as it is an auto threat and would be against touch AC out to 150 ft.

You could probably bump that up fairly significantly with out much effort.

Sean

My cohost, Barry, and I did a podcast episode on the Cavalier that includes the Samurai that you might find useful for inspiration. Give it a listen!

The Gamers' Guide to Cavaliers

Sean Mahoney

My current group seems to think I have one of the more lethal games they have run in. I am just running Carrion Crown straight. I had to back out one TPK and have had two other deaths... they are now in the beginning of the second adventure.

My previous experience running has been about 1 death per adventure (this was in the Shackled City Adventure Path).

I never try to kill characters but I don't really mind if I do... things should be tough, but acheivable.

I do try to avoid TPKs... I feel if I have one, that either the player or I have made a HUGE mistake.

Sean

My suggestion is don't do it.

People will tend to play the type of game that they enjoy. If you are punishing them instead of helping them have fun... well, I am not sure that sounds like an enjoyable game.

And I know that there are a lot of people who like to reward good RP with XP, but it doesn't make sense to me. Again, if people are playing in a way they don't enjoy what is the point? Are you just trying to get people who care about XP only to game your way?

For me... RP is it's own reward. If you and other players at the table are RPing and it looks fun it will draw the others in or it just isn't their thing. If you don't want to play with people who don't enjoy the exact same aspects of the game then move on.

I know this comes across a little harsh, and I am sorry for that, it isn't my intent to single you out but more rail against a trend I have seen.

Sean Mahoney

So what do you think about Vital Strike as a defensive feat?

What I mean by this is that while you do less damage doing a Vital Strike rather than a full attack... it is entirely likely that your foe does as well. If you have a character who is using vital strike and able to move away (tumbling, mobility, sprint attack, etc) then your enemy has to move up to continue to be in melee with you and thus is taken down to one attack (assuming they want to be in melee).

This is particularly effective in two very common scenarios:

1) Your enemy is getting more attacks at a higher chance to hit than if you got multiple attacks... so if you get +6/+1 and he gets Bite/Claw/Claw/Wing/Wing/Tail (or whatever), then you loosing one attack that is +1 to his losing 5 attacks is a fantastic defensive trade.

2) You just happen to be travelling with a group of people. You choosing to only get hit by one attack rather than many means you take less damage while your ranged friends lay down the damage. Sort of a tactical fall back.

Sean Mahoney

the remaining members are outfitted with a WBL roughly 2 levels above themselves. And one had saved up the equivalent in BP to buy himself a mansion.

Two very interesting things here.

First would be that it cause a disparity in WBL and needs to be dealt with. Typically I would suggest changing the treasure given out in adventures to make this even out over the next three levels (with less treasure gradually). However, in the case, you next line, "...one had saved up the equivalent BP..." makes me wonder if the better idea isn't to ask the players who are over wealthed to turn the extra into BP and spend it that way (not as gold for personal power).

I guess I don't see someone getting a mansion as a bad thing (or wizards tower, or whatever). As long as the extra wealth isn't affecting their adventuring ability then it is just fine.

Then I would change all further stipend to BP (or fractions of BP) to be used to create their own personal wealth that doesn't effect their ability to adventure.

Sean Mahoney

Well, I have no idea what flavor you are looking for, so I will just throw those out that will help in melee.

Animal Domain - Feather Subdomain (take boon companion feat)
Destruction Domain - Power but at a cost
Nobility
Travel - hard to beat +10 move
Archon Sub-domain
Demon Sub-domain
Ferocity Sub-domain
Rage Sub-domain - access to rage powers as a result... very good

OMFG THESE ARE AWESOME!

I am going to have to second this sentiment. These are fantastic.

I would be EXTREMELY interested in seeing anymore you come up with (though what you have here will give me more than enough to help bring my players back into interest after the 2 month break we have had due to the holidays).

Fine work, and good show!

I would also be very interested to know how you typically present these (are they sent in document format, acted out, etc?) and your players reactions.

Sean

mplindustries wrote:

Power Attack is the most important feat for a monk. Seriously.

This is about the worst advice I can imagine for a class which specializes in making lots of attacks at lowered attack bonuses -- chisel those bonuses even more by taking "feats than make you miss", and you make yourself useless.

You do realize that monks in Pathfinder use full BAB if the flurry, right? They get a -2 from full BAB when flurrying, but that is often still better than if not flurrying (depending on level). So yeah, they can afford a small minus to hit for a big bonus to damage (the bonus from power attack helps each time they hit).

Doing lots of hits is good, but the goal is lots of damage... hits lots for lots of damage does more than just hit lots by itself.

It was solid advice.

For the same reason I would agree that Str is probably the best stat for a monk.

Sean

Really most of the details of the game are not relevant to whether or not the game was a success. Bottom line, when you asked your group that this was designed for if they had fun they said yes. Believe them.

If you know them to lie to you often... well, stop playing with them, life is too short to deal with that. And if not, don't doubt them.

As for the guest guy... sounds like he was a bad fit for this group. Letting someone in who is whiney and not fun to hang out with is not someone you should game (or go to the movies with... see note earlier about life being too short).

There are even people that you enjoy hanging out with that are not going to be good fits in a group. It's okay to protect the cohesiveness and fun of the people already there and not let others in.

You had whole threads on designing this game, you worked on it a TON. Having a guest just show up out of the blue and expect that it be tailored for his type of fun when he is obviously not doing what the adventure calls for is pretty ridiculous.

In my opinion, the only fail part was taking on the responsibility for this guy's fun and then not delivering... shouldn't have taken it on.

Sean Mahoney

I'm a firefighter IRL, and I know RL isn't always a good measure of how to do things in game, but 100 gpm isn't really all that much for fire. If it's a small room and contents fire you'd be fine, but if you had a large room with a lot of stuff, or a whole building, you'd never put it out.

Agreed.

Likewise, if you had something 5' x 5' on fire (a sizeable bonfire or a queen sized bed that is fully involved would be roughly this size), then 2 milk jugs full of water isn't really going to do much to it.

Sean Mahoney

A difference in power levels among the group CAN definitely be a problem but is not necessarily so. The big thing that you need to do is determine if there is even a problem. Does it bother the people at the table? I am assuming it does at least bother you as you are posting this.

Next, the optimizers are not to blame for the problem. This is basically a disparity in involvement in the game. If you have someone who is not willing to involve themselves in a game and then gets mad at people who do because they do better at aspects of that game... that person has a problem.

They have choices:

- Don't ever play games with people who understand the rules better than you, application of the rules to a complicated game just ruin your fun. I don't get that attitude but it's valid I suppose.

- Ask for help. If those optimizers enjoy the process and challenge of creating builds (and many do), they will be more than happy to help create a build for you. Don't expect this to be quite as good as theirs though. Not because they will hold back, but because they are just more excited about their own character and will put more into it (that excitement is what got them to play that character).

- Come to accept that you can be happy contributing to a team even if you are not the highest performer on the team. Imagine a football team with people quitting or complaining that they couldn't make as many touchdowns as the best performer on the team... it seems silly, everyone plays their part even if everyone isn't getting the spotlight for it.

- Pick a different area to be good at than combat. Invest yourself in the story and find ways of moving it forward and enjoy that you are doing that and be ok that when you aren't doing that other people are having their turn (I have people who only show up for combat and sit quietly letting others RP when it is time... it's the same thing). The trick here is that you actually have to be willing to invest yourself in the game... not just expect it to come to you and somehow still be the best at everything.

Sean Mahoney

My non gaming stuff - How Stuff Works, Stuff you missed in History Class, The Nerdist, Astronomy Cast, Star Stuff, The History of Rome, A History of WWII, The Pritzker Military Library, Monster Talk, Skeptoid and the Skeptics guide to the Universe.

Gaming - Chronicles, Know Direction, FTB, D&F and the new Gamers Guide to Pathfinder.

Wow! This is extremely similar to my own list (though Gamers' Guide is more there to test that the feed is working since it is my podcast), though there are a couple I have to check out.

I am just about caught up with the total of what is there for the History of Rome, so I am excited to check out A History of WWII. For another history podcast I didn't see on your list, I highly recommend Dan Carlin's Hardcore History and maybe Today in History.

Your science/skeptic stuff would lead me to recommend: Evolution 101, Logical Fallacies, Logically Critical (has ended, but is still good stuff), PediaCast (if you have kids it is great, otherwise...), QuackCast (fantastic skeptical podcast focused on medical supplements, complementary and alternative medicine... or SCAM), Science... Sort of, and Vital Signs. You might also check out Scientific American's 60 Second Science and 60 second Psych.

For gaming you may like: Flagons & Dragons and The Podge Cast (from former Fear the Booters, so similar feel)

Anyway... I really appreciate there even being a few new ones on a list that already has so many I like... means I am pretty likely to like them as well.

Sean Mahoney

There isn't anything saying that they do, so they wouldn't get max by RAW.

I do seem to recall a phrase somewhere about them being an average member of their race... meaning you get the stats listed in the MM instead of rolling them and would then also get the average HP listed there as well. I am not positive about that being in Pathfinder and not from a legacy edition.

It's a fair issue to bring up with the GM in a game that has house ruled HP as max for PCs though... does that house rule extend to a companion?

If I had that house rule and was the GM, I would base my decision on what I am doing for the monsters. If I am leaving them at average HP or rolling for them, then I wouldn't extend it to the animal companion. But if like many GMs who do that house rule, they do the same for the bad guys (making longer fights on both sides), then I would indeed extend it to the animal companion.

Just my opinion though

Sean Mahoney

unfortunately Itunes does not appear to have that episode stored anymore guess it is too old.

HERE is a direct link to the file. It's a great podcast, if you like them I would suggest checking out more of their stuff (even if you skip the GM only parts if you aren't running those modules.

It isn't really germane to which module to run, but if you DO find you like Pathfinder podcasts, and I can be so bold as to recommend my own, you might check out The Gamers' Guide to Pathfinder.

Anyway... for what it is worth, I too would recommend this module. If you are brand new to the game and have a new group this will work great, and if you are a veteran player with a veteran group you can punch up the RP and tactics a lot... add to it the things you want and play up the parts that you enjoy as a player and you should be golden. There is even sequels if it works out well.

Sean Mahoney

I would suggest looking for people who are into related activities or hobbies and approach them individually. You are looking for things like playing World of Warcraft or other Fantasy MMO's, Magic: the Gathering or other collectible card games, or even who like to read fantasy books or even watch fantasy movies.

If you can find 3-4 who are interested you are golden, but it even possible to get things going if you only find one.

Since you don't want this to become public knowledge, don't actually hold it at the school. Most schools will have policies that anyone can join any clubs being held there, so you may or may not want to deal with that right away. So just play at your or another members help.

The big selling point is getting them to understand it is a game that more like a novel where you can choose to have your character do whatever you want them to.

Hrmm... what else... I guess the last piece of advice would be to embrace who you are... people will tend only tease people about things that they think bothers them, if you aren't bothered by being called a D&D nerd, then they likely won't bother. Finally, it is called Pathfinder, so it isn't as likely people will connect it with D&D unless they actually know something about it... which means... yeah...

Sean Mahoney

(I am an optimizer and hate splitting classes as a general rule).

Not sure that makes sense to me, but whatever makes you happy.

I want him to be able to have his sward and pistol out at the same time. I see visions of close combats on ships stabbing the guy in front of me and then shooting at a guy coming over the side farther down the ship. How can I make this work?

This is tough.

The main problem here is that you need a free hand to reload your gun. Unless you come up with a free hand somewhere (alchemist getting an extra arm, prehensile hair as a witch, etc.), it isn't really going to happen.

The people who dual wield guns are typically using weapon cords to drop one as a free action and then do the reloading then pick it back up. I guess you could do the same thing and have weapon cord on the sword and keep dropping and picking it up as you reload as a free action... but the visual is... well, not heroic IMHO. If you go this route, I would have a talk about skinning this to look like you would like (i.e. not having your character look like he is dropping it all the time, but some sort of device like the weapon cord that takes the same actions, costs the same, but just lets you reload with out dropping the sword... but you still have to take the exact same action to re-ready the sword). The goal here is to pair the rules that work with what you want it to look like without changing any mechanic at all, so it has no effect on play, just aesthetics.

Other options would be:

- Getting an advanced firearm that holds more rounds so you don't have reload as much (think six shots will get you through a fight?)

- Get a brace of pistols and toss them after they are used. This is the historical and very piratey way to go... but also very expensive. You would need some quick draw going to make this work right.

EDIT: I guess I should say that what you described above works just fine as is... I am just assuming you want more than one shot with that gun as a gunslinger. There is no handedness in the game, so as long as you aren't attacking with both in the same round you don't need to worry about two weapon fighting or main hand/off-hand stuff.

Sean Mahoney