ShadowChemosh's page

I am running RoTRL and have just decided to do away with exp points and level up when it seems appropriate.

Does anyone know of a location of detailed suggestions for when to 'level up'?
...

This is an interesting question I have seen come up a several times. Their is a good thread HERE that goes over this exact question.

At first I thought this may even be a good piece of information to add to my documents FAQ section, but then I started to think about how many different variables their are. Does the group have more or less than 4 players and which version of the game are you running. As 3.5 levels a bit different than PRPG especially when you consider that PRPG has three different level rates.

Maybe I can add a generic level up point based on 4 players and 3.5 and leave any conversion up to each DM.

Later

I have the Hook Mountain Massacre unofficial Errata finally done. This document covers a combination of mistakes I found and those mentioned in this thread and puts it all together in a easy to read format. Or at least I hope its easy to read. ;)

Unofficial Errata - Hook Mountain Massacre

My main site where the above errata and a few other things are available is SGW - RotRL DM's Reference.

Hope this helps out.

I have chapter 3 finally done. =)

I made a few layout changes that I hope makes these pdfs better looking and easier to navigate. I am actually creating these in OpenOffice.org and exporting to a pdf so I don't have as much control as I would with the full version of Adobe. I also updated the first two unofficial erratas.

Unofficial Errata - Burnt Offerings
Unofficial Errata - The Skinsaw Murders
Unofficial Errata - Hook Mountain Massacre

I have the index cards for Skinsaw Murders done and uploaded to my site. You can find monster cards HERE and magic item cards HERE. These are meant to be printed on 3x5 index cards and handed out to your players. The magic item cards are all marked with a ID that matches the location in the module where the item was found.
Note: If you think the monster cards give too much info to your players then simply don't use them. ;)

My main site where all the above and a few other things are available is SGW - RotRL DM's Reference.

I know I have seen a bunch of posts regarding extracting the images from PDF files. Their appears to be a big difference in how Adobe 8 vs Adobe 9 handles this.

I wanted to share that I found a free utility that extracts all the images from a PDF in one go. Just used it on Chapter 3 and it worked great and all the maps came without any room numbers.

Its called the Some PDF Image Extract tool.

About the only bug I found with it so far is that the Directory you ask to extract the images to needs to be one folder deeper than you actually want. For example C:\FolderA\FolderB\FolderC if you have it extract to FolderC it will actually put the images into FolderB.

Other than that it makes getting all the images really fast and easy. Hope this helps others.

Are you going to do this for the last 4?

I am going to, but my players are pretty slow. As they are just getting to Chapter 3 I will be releasing the errata soon. As long as real life stops getting in the way. ;)

....

Artificer- their class reserve could just be removed whole cloth, but I feel there's some room here for improvement. they could be given some sort of at-will power like all the other caster classes have been given, but that might be off-flavor; the artificier has always been a prep-heavy batman that HAS to go into battle loaded down with gadgets and tricks. I am a proponent of removing alot of the expensive component costs from their infusions, though.

Any thoughts, advice, or opinions?

I created a new class feature called an Artificer Cantrip Wand which can only hold cantrip(ie zero level spells). The wand requires a standard action to infuse and it only holds a number of charges equal to artificer class level. The charges only last for a number of rounds equal to artificer class level. This ability can be used an unlimited number of times per day and the artificer can infuse the wand with any cantrip.

This seems to fit the idea that the artificer must infuse into a item and not just directly cast a spell. Plus while more flexible than other casters they have to spend more actions infusing the wand in the first place.

So far this ability has provided a unique flavor for the Artificer at lower levels. The ability has some good combat uses and it also has some fun out of combat abilities also.

If interested here is my full writeup.

There seems to be a problem with the links...

If people are having problems with the above links try the ones below instead. Some times the ShadowGameWorld virtual server link gives people problems. So the below are direct links to the files instead.

Unofficial Errata - Burnt Offerings
Unofficial Errata - The Skinsaw Murders

Glad people are finding these helpful.

I have compiled pretty much everything from the Burnt Offerings(GM Reference) thread and the Skinsaw Murders(GM Reference) threads into a pair of unofficial Errata documents. I sorted them by page number to make it a little easier to find what you need. The documents also have James Jacobs's answers to specific questions from the threads. I plan to hopefully put one of these together for each chapter as I get time.

As I have no artistic ability to create maps or other cool visual addons so I am doing what I can to help other DMs out. Its also my way of saying thanks to Paizo for another great adventure path for me and my players. As my players get to each chapter I plan to compile a Unofficial Errata, but my players are slow and are just finishing Burnt Offering.

Unofficial Errata - Burnt Offerings
Unofficial Errata - The Skinsaw Murders

I also have Monster Cards, which are 3x5 index cards meant to hand out to players. Currently available are Burnt Offering Monsters which are in OpenOffice.org format and pdf. These have useful information to players including a picture, but don't have any actual combat numbers.

My main site where these and a few other things are available is SGW - Pathfinder DM's Reference.

I like the cards. working on any for CotCT?

Sorry not for awhile actually. My players are just finishing Burnt Offering so it will be a long time before I need to do stuff for CotCT.

Just thought I would add to this discussion with some changes I did to the paladin for my games. These have been play tested and so far have worked really well.

Detect Evil: Is per normal rules until level 6. At this level I do allow the Detect Evil to be a swift action and one extra function. When used against a single target the Paladin learns everything as if he had concentrated for 3 rounds. This has really helped out in and out of combat and so far has been pretty balanced.

Smite Evil: The big ability of the class as I see it. I did change this to be per encounter and require 2 minutes of prayer/meditation to get back. Its a standard action so you can only get one attack/smite off a round and for this attack all critical hit rolls against evil foes are automatically successful(so every threat is a critical hit). The extra damage per paladin level was changed to be Holy Divine damage so at least it would always get through DR of a monster. The final change that has really helped is that the attack roll is done with two d20's instead of one and the highest attack roll is taken. I did remove the Cha bonus to hit, but you could get it back by use of a new feat. The 2d20 attack method has highly increased the chance of a successful hit and really gives the ability a unique flavor. Several players have commented on how it comes across as a divine chance increase. Otherwise if the smite misses its used up until the paladin prays/meditates for 2 minutes.

Holy Weapon: This is a new feature, but is similar to what others have mentioned about a always on smite evil ability. Starting at level 2 any weapon a paladin uses is imbued with a spark of holy power. The paladin gains a bonus damage of +1 holy damage when striking a evil creature. It increases to +2 at level 8th level and +3 at 14th level. This ability also sort of makes Detect Evil in combat not needed as soon as you hit a target you get what I call a flash of holy power and you know the target is evil. So it actually serves two good abilities for a paladin. The first is extra damage that again will always get at least 1 point of damage past DR. The second is that you can easily figure out who is evil and who is not simply by hitting a target.

The roleplaying concept behind a paladin is great, but the mechanics are pretty weak. If anyone is interested in the full writeup on my paladin they can see it HERE. So far I have actually had 3 different players use my new Paladin class and really enjoy themselves. I allow lots of additional books including PHB2 and Book of 9 swords(some changes like maneuvers are only once per encounter). Even with these other classes the Paladin, with the above changes, has been fun to play and see players actually smiting targets in combat. Even as the DM it was nice to see the Paladin do paladin stuff in combat and not just be a warrior that could use a Wand of CLW.

For my games I create Monster Cards. These are designed to be printed on standard 3x5 index cards and contain player appropriate information about a monster including a picture. Their is no numerical information on these cards so you couldn't use them to run the monsters, but its nice to hand to a player who makes their Knowledge check. I have these available in two file formats; .pdf(adobe reader) and .odt(OpenOffice.org).

Click HERE to see a list of monsters for Chapter 1: Burnt Offerings that can be downloaded.

You can also click HERE to view my main web page that has the unofficial Errata for Chapter 1: Burnt Offerings available.

Later

I'm living in Chicago and looking to meet up with a game group/larger game community here. Have experience in D&D Kingdoms of Kalamar. Open to other games/venues. Very open to playing pathfinder.

I am running a 3.5 game in Romeoville IL using a Pathfinder Adventure Path, but we are not at this time using the Pathfinder-RPG. We are just getting near the finish of chapter 1 of Rise of the Runelords. We have room for one more player which will bring us to 5 players total. We play Saturdays every 2 weeks from 5pm-11pm.

If interested or wish to learn more email me: shadowchemosh(at)yahoo(dot)com

later

ShadowChemosh wrote:

I know many DMs have a problem with magic item shops, but it really is the easiest way to let players simply sell and buy what they want.

Assuming your players can somewhat suspend disbelief, why not have each of them give you a list of 5-6 items they'd like to see for their characters? As the encounters permit, work an item or two from each list into the loot.

I suggest a list of items much longer than what you'd ever plan to give out, just because the game world isn't McDonald's - players can't just place an order and wait. But I don't think it's too much of a stretch to at least provide something they're interested in once in a while - consider it karma. They're destroying evil; the game world rewards them for it. :)

I have done this in the past and it didn't work out well. I either could never get a list from the players or if I did and used the list they still sold the item as they changed what they wanted by the the time I handed out the item.

I guess personally I have a harder time with the disbelief of the exact magic item I want just showing up on a NPC then being able to buy and sell magic items. Plus as mentioned a good amount of the gear in RotRL is of the wrong size so the items have to be sold to allow usable equipment to be purchased. Buying and selling magic items are in the rules and I see no reason to go against it, but I am part of a older group of gamers and they only have time to play in one group. This means they get to play one character and limiting their play options does not provide a fun game environment. I am just saying what has worked for my groups and if a wish list works for you thats fantastic. I also understand that by me allowing a magic item shop that it makes me a bad person, but that is my problem. ;)

The only thing that is currently working for me is to add little extras on some of the found equipment, but it does not change the item cost. So for the first time ever I have players actually using the items found as they are a little better than what they could just craft/purchase. So it is finally providing a reason for players to keep the items found and put them to use instead of just selling them all.

For example the +1 longsword from the Mutated goblin in the catacombs was changed slightly. It now gives an extra +2 bonus to hit (above its normal +1), as a swift action, one time per 5 minutes. Tsuto's ring of protection can be used 1/day to absorb 5 elemental damage as an immediate action. So far this has gotten the players excited as a weapon or ring is no longer simply +1, but actually has some other little ability. As mentioned some of my players have been around sense AD&D days and to get another +1 longsword is really pretty boring, but now they are happy to read the index card I hand out to see what the item does. I have actually for the first time seen debate between players on who would like a magic item.

later

I have ran several AP's and even several home brewed campaigns. I have found players are unhappy with the magic items found about 90% of the time. Even when I tried to customize the items given to match what I thought the players would like. They still sold 99% of all items found and either crafted their own or purchased their own stuff.

I know many DMs have a problem with magic item shops, but it really is the easiest way to let players simply sell and buy what they want. I mean an item your group hates maybe the exact item my group loves. So it would be really hard for paizo to put in the 'correct' magic item. At least thats what I have found anyways.

later

As a player and a long time DM I like more options. I think players have more fun with options and that in turn makes DMing more fun. Granted at one time, over 5 years ago, I did only allow the core books. At that time you could gain training in feats, spells, or classes outside the core as the campaign progressed.

This helped me and the players slowly learn all about the additional books without being overwhelmed. I also use to think that that it was the DMs job to keep players that build better characters in check compared to other players. The truth was I learned it didn't matter. Even with core rules only those that can build better characters will and those that can't simply don't care. So why punish those players that wish to use that cool new book?

As mentioned having to keep track of all those new new abilities can be hard, but thats why I have always made players turn in complete character sheets, at each new level, via email to me at least a week before the game. For those abilities that I know can be tricky, rules wise, I go over how I will handle these abilities before the game even starts. This prevents me from suddenly be surprised at a game session when a player uses a new ability or uses it incorrectly. It also gives players a chance to change feats or spells when they find out it does not work the way they wish it does.

Also as others have stated their are abilities that are simply broken when used with X other ability. I have learned its easier to balance out that single ability instead of banning a whole book that could add allot of extra fun for players. So I instead work with my players to balance out the ability. Then once this is done we include it in the groups Wiki that explains how the ability was changed. Granted our wiki has grown pretty big, but its easy to find the info needed.

We have also learned to use the same set of rule changes or house rules across different DMs and games. This helps cut down on allot of confusion on which set of rules are being used when creating characters. If their are any campaign specific rules then the DM simply lets the group know about that small change before the game starts. Otherwise a player can count on a specific set of rules in play.

So far our group has grown to include a good number of books which are:
DMG, MM, PHB, PHB2, Arms & Equipment Guide(Non-Magical Items only), Book of 9 Swords, Complete Adventure, Complete Arcane, Complete Divine, Complete Mage, Complete Psionics, Complete Scoundrel, Complete Warrior, Eberron Campaign Setting, Expanded Psionics Handbook, Magic Item Compendium, Races of Destiny, Races of Eberron, Races of Stone, Races of the Dragon, Races of the Wild, Spell Compendium, Stormwrack, Unearthed Arcana (Small list of allowed Variant Rules).

Some Additional things I found.

pg15 Grayst Sevilla
Grayst is listed as a Level 4 fighter, but BAB is +3 and Attack bonus is only +6. Intimidate is listed as +7 with a 10 Cha so only at level 4 could this skill be +7. So I am pretty sure its meant to be a level 4 fighter.
-BAB should be +4
-Grapple should be +7
-Unarmed Strike should be +7

pg37 Goblin Ghouls
-Move Silently should be changed to Hide +9. This seems to fit as the goblin gets +5 from Dex and +4 from Size to hide not Move Silently.
-Paralysis should be DC10 not DC13. Its a Cha Bonus which is +0 and half of one hit die should be zero. Giving a final total of DC10 not DC13 left over from the Ghoul Bat

A picture which is Fluff should never be used to regulate rules of the game. No where in the description of the Klar does it mention that you can hold items, use an off-hand weapon, or use a two-handed weapon. If it doesn't say it in the description then that simply means you can't. To put it another way ask the player to show you in the Klar description where it says she can use it with a two-handed weapon or be able to keep the +1 shield bonus while using it as an off-hand weapon.

Your players seems to be mixing the rules of a buckler with a the rules of a klar. If you feel generous you could maybe allow a Klar to keep its +1 shield bonus while being used as an off-hand weapon if the character takes the Improved Shield Bash Feat, but truthfully its not a shield bash so by core rules it should not work.

Not to be mean in this question, but who is running the rules for your game the DM or the players? ;)

Hope this helps.

Do ranged touch not count as touch spells ? a ranged touch spell cast within 5 feet is fundamentally the same as a touch spell.

I would have said they do in which case acid orb, disrupt undead, ray of frost would all qualify for arcane channeling. allowing 1d3dmg acid or ice extra unlimited and extra 1d6 vs undead unlimited.

Nope sorry Ranged Touch spells are different than Touch Spells. A Duskblade can't Arcane Channel those spells(Acid Splash, Ray of Frost, Disrupt Undead) into melee attacks.

Besides a Range Touch Attack spell that is used within 5ft of a creature would provoke an AoO unlike a Touch Attack Spell which doesn't. This is because you are using a ranged attack within a threatened area. Which helps shows how the two types of spells are very different.

So as Kalyth said the only spell to worry about is Touch of Fatigue. After having played tested this for a long time, over a year now, the only real downside is the poor DM that has to make all those extra saving throw on those hits. Those extra d20 rolls do start to add up after awhile. Otherwise what Kalyth said is pretty much correct.

later

I used pretty much all of Wingclipper's Revenge (sorry, I can't remember the issue #)...

Wingclipper's Revenge Dungeon #132 (Mar 2006), page 20.

2. I don't know the exact ruling on whether or not 'you can see something happening' with Spell-like abilities. There is little written on the mechanics of them and that is the problem if they are going to be so affluent. I guess that's the point....if they are going to be common we need updated mechanics on how they work. I'm not even sure if they provoke or not until I do some research.

One of my players has Teleport as a Spell-like ability and it can wreak havoc since it can't be countered or noticed until he uses it. And at that point he can be a thousand miles away.

While true you can't counter spell a Spell-like ability in all other ways it works exactly like a spell. So it produces an AoO and others can ready an action against it also. It takes just as long to cast as the spell of the same name. Its a spell that does not worry about Armor or require material components and so far does not seem to powerful in my games.

See the SRD linked here or the DMG for full info on Sp.

Still room for one more player...

My RotRL game is placed in Eberron and I took a more simple method. I changed Sarlona to be Varisia lands as both are suppose to be the ancient cradle of human civilization. I am using both Eberron religions and Pathfinder ones together to also express how different these ancient lands are from Khorvaire. So why their are a few temples dedicated to the Church of the silver flame in example they are very rare in Sarlona/Varisia and just taking hold compared to the older and better established Pathfinder religions.

Another difference was I actually removed the influence of the Dragonmarked houses as I made Dragonmarks into Sinmarks instead which are associated with the seven primal sins. So varisian tattoos are accepted, but Dragonmarks(ie Sinmarks) can get a PC stoned to death or chased out of towns.

Understandably this changes some of big themes of Eberron, but we have played several Eberron games in the past and my players are having fun with the difference style game. I also removed most of the influence of the Inspired from Sarlona and was able to fit the land maps pretty easily into the Sarlona continent.

Opening for one more player still...

Well my group has been using unlimited cantrips for a long time now and we did leave Cure Minor Wounds in the game, but with a small change. My change is meant to allow low level PCs, level 1 to 4, to regain all to most of their HPs in between combats. At low level it can be really dangerous to go into combat with less than max HP. On the other hand we didn't want to remove the need that Wands of CLW would be needed as game balance requires the expenditure of resources on the wands.

Cure Minor Wounds, Repair Minor Damage, and the Dragon Shamans Vigor aura are changed as follows: You can be healed to a maximum number of hit points equal to double your Con Score or one half your full normal hit points. For example lets say you have 20HP with a 12 Con score you can be healed to a maximum value of 20HP. If you had 60HP and a 12 Con score you could be healed to a maximum value of 30HP as thats greater than double the 12 con which is 24.

So far this method has worked very well for our games allowing the adventure to continue after the cleric has spent his 2 or 3 cure spells at low level. It also is helpful to get back to half hit points at mid to high level, but it still requires other resources to get back to full so resources are still tracked and used.

A group of gamers in Romeoville area is looking for a couple of more players. We try and game every 2 weeks from 5pm to 11pm on Saturday's. The group is 30+ with guys and gals.

As a group we do are best to create and run interesting fun games that consists of roleplaying, combat, puzzles, mysteries, politics, and overall mix style of games. Some sessions may be more roleplaying then combat, and some sessions maybe more combat than roleplaying. On average we tend to lean a little more towards action, but that does not mean pure hack and slash just that we try and keep things exciting and moving forward.

Currently we are running through WotC's Slaughtergarde campaign which is a very dungeon crawl intensive module. In the past we have played Eberron campaigns(high magic), paizo adventure paths(lots of roleplaying), and a homebrewed Darksun world that was very low magic. These past campaigns have lasted as long as 15+ months while others as short as 2 sessions. So we would like a gamer that will be happy with different style games and having more than one character.

We play using 3.5 D&D with a good number of extra books and we have made some fun enhancements to improve game play. An example of a enhancement is giving wizards and sorcerers classes a d6 instead of d4 hit points and changing some abilities or feats to actually be encounter based instead of daily based. At the same time if you wish to play using pure core 3.5 rules you would have no issues being able to do so in our games. Any and all such enhancements are fully documented on the groups wiki website.

We are looking for fun gamers who are interested in playing cooperatively with other gamers. This group enjoys working as a team while having a good number of laughs, but at the same time everyone is interested in both their characters and the story line. If you enjoy creating effective characters with interesting character backgrounds then this is the group for you.

If you are interested in playing evil characters, having inner party conflicts, or wanting to spend hours each game arguing over rules then this is not the group for you. If you have no interest in the campaign setting or storyline and only worry about your next power then again this group is not for you. I am not saying those are bad ways to play the game, but only that you will not enjoy the play style of this group.

If you're interested or have questions please send me an email: shadowchemosh(at)yahoo(dot)com

Sweet thanks.

I have used DMF since the Age of Worms adventure path, and its a life saver. Keeping track of the adventures key points is very efficient. Most important is keeping track of combat with all the different buff spells, durations, different types of attacks, and spell casters spell lists is made so simple in DMF.

So if I don't even have to input the AP dataset my life as a DM may have just become too easy. Hope my players don't learn about this. =)

I compiled pretty much everything from the Burnt Offering(GM Reference) thread into an unofficial Errata PDF document. I sorted it by page number to make it a little easier to find what you need. The document also has some of James Jacobs's answers to the more general Rise of the Runelords answers he posted in this thread.

I had wanted to be able to do one of these for each chapter of RotRL, but medical reasons are preventing this from happening at this time. Hope at least chapter 1 helps others out. Its also my way of saying thanks to Paizo for another great adventure path for me and my players.

Unofficial Errata for Chapter 1: Burnt Offerings

It is?
Where does it say that?
If that is your house rule, that is fine. But it is not actually the written rule of the game, no matter how "obvious" it may seem.

Under the Knowledge Skill -- SRD Link.

Untrained: An untrained Knowledge check is simply an Intelligence check. Without actual training, you know only common knowledge (DC 10 or lower).

... My job as DM includes trying to teach new players how their character can achieve the goals they set for them by a slightly more intelligent allocation of skill points. Or would you prefer a vast simplification of the spell system as well to protect new players of clerics and wizards from their inexperience? :)

...

Why its a very noble goal to want to teach players about the game. The reality is very few want this or are going to learn it. More than likely you will frustrate people instead. Very few adults want to be told that how they do something is anything other than perfect. By having the system simply prevent the mistake in the first place my job no longer includes 'teaching', but instead presenting a fun game session to players.

I argued your very point that players should simply learn more about the game or I should spend more time teaching. Maybe I am just not qualified to 'teach' correctly as I rarely change a players mind about such things as skills. So for those of us that don't have adnvanced degrees in 'teaching' I prefer a system that simply does the job for me.

No offense taken by the way as I know others will disagree with me, but I wanted to put my view point into the discussion.

As a player I would rather have skill points then Trained/Untrained skills. I also agree their is a bit of a weird filling when a 12th level PC takes a new trained skill and has 15 ranks in the skill. On the other hand I don't see it much different than a level 19 fighter taking Improved Toughness(or toughness from pRPG) and suddenly gaining 19 hit points. Or worse a barbarian taking a level of wizard and gain spellcasting and a spellbook. To me suddenly learning a spellcasting class abilities is worst than suddenly being really good at climbing.

With that said I rarely ever get to be a player and have DMed for over 4 years now with multiple groups. As a DM I like the new system in pRPG better. Over these many years(and groups) I have seen way too many inexperience players put one or two points into many skills. Trying to be a 'jack of all trades' character. The problem comes soon after level 2 as they simply can't get anywhere near the DCs. So those skill ranks just became useless and have no real value on their character sheets anymore.

The worst areas are search, open locks, disable device, spot, and stealth. As a DM I either have to adjust DCs way down or I have to listen to players complain about how they can't ever do anything as the DCs are way too high. Even if the real problem is how they built their characters.

I have tried many times to explain that 99% of skills should simply be maxed out every level and to NOT put one point into a skill. Yet time after time players put one point into a skill and by level 3 can't ever get the skill to work. They usually at this point have one or two points in a dozen skills and none of those skills seem to work. This tends in some players to build frustration and a constant asking to change their characters. Which if allowed to change they build the same mistake again in to their next character.

With this in mind I actually have decided that I do like the Pathfinder skill system as it protects players from their own inexperience. Creating a NPC just became simple in this new system. I can look at a DC listed in a module and know by my players level if this DC will be easy, hard, challenging or impossible to hit. When having to come up with a DC on the fly I can simply decide how hard I want the DC to be and then easily come to the correct DC value without worry or having to look up a character's bonus.

I also think with the ability to learn new skills every even level that the problem with low skill point classes(fighter or cleric) also gets solved nicely. The other issue I have seen is we often have one player forced to take rogue so the party can find and remove traps. In this new system a player could just take one level of rogue and then say the rest fighter. This way he could play out a slightly different build, but still fill the role of trap finder and remover. Which in my book is another win to the system.

To sum up I think I am at a stage where I think the game system should protect players from their own inexperience. While at the same time this makes my job as DM a little easier and I am ALWAYS up for that.

.....

At this time, I think I want to see more feedback about the system in actual use. I look forward to reading the reports.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer

For what its worth here is my feedback. I figure others will be in total disagreement with me, but this is how I see things. Your new system is harder for me to use than original grapple. In the old system everything was a simple opposed roll and you either won or failed. After reading Grapple once I was easily able to run player after player through a grapple without ever looking at the rules again.

Now I have to refer back to a chart and compare my roll to a DC and then figure out how much I beat the DC by. This means I have to have this PDF document open all the time or have Grapple printed and on my DM screen. On top of this I have to keep track of a +5 Circumstance bonus that must be tracked across different rounds.

I also think this new system is more dangerous in some ways. The first being that if the AoO hits the grapple does not end where it would in 3.5. In the new system you can only attempt to escape a grapple once a round? So a 20th level fighter only gets 1 attempt in your system instead of the 4 he would get in 3.5.

The last is I can't tell from whats written is how a Monk is affected by this change. It sort of looks like a Monk would not get a -4 penalty as its unlikely to have his hands full which is good. It looks like the monk gets to do his full unarmed attack damage if grappled, but has to make an attack roll instead of a grapple or CMB check. So he doesn't get the bonus from Improved Grapple while trying to do damage. I personally don't agree with that.

The only thing I really liked is that a new CMB check must done each round to maintain the grapple so its no longer automatic like it is in 3.5. This I may roll into my house rules as I think that is a small change that can help balance the dangers of a grapple. I also agree with the bonus from Sizes that you have and I had already changed it in our games to be very similar.

For each full-round or standard action you take you lose one 1round. You can hold your breath for Conx2.

SRD Link Swim which matches whats in my DMG.

Conx2 has always worked really well for my games and I have run about a dozen different underwater encounters. If you remember to track the additional cost of standard and full-round actions PCs run out of breath pretty quickly. Especially if you remember turning a Standard Action into a Move action still counts as a Standard Action and causes you to lose an extra round.

Some very fun/freighting moments for my players has been when one PC was dragged under by a huge crocodile or a ghoul and the party now has a limited amount of time to save their fellow who struggles each round trying to get free.

....

Rest assured, this is a concern that I will be addressing. That said, do you have any suggestions.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer

Sense you asked I did a re-write of the Paladin for our group as it was simply not taken for many of the reasons listed above. My new version tried to keep the same core LG Paladin feel without making too many radical changes to the class.

If anyone is interested click HERE to check it out. I am not saying this is a perfect fix for all groups, but figured I would share. If nothing else maybe it will give others some ideas.

You can get a +3 in every use of Survival with Skill Focus (Survival). For just tracking, it should be a +5 (or maybe even more).

I am in agreement here also as the Ranger should be better at tracking then a scout or a barbarian. Otherwise you totally negate one of its class abilities as few others in the past where willing to spend a feat on Tracking.

My first reaction was to say Tracking gives +10, but that is too much. I think +5 is a good bonus and would only apply to Survival for tracking uses only.

....

1. Use rope while mountaineering -> Climb
2. Use rope for ship's rigging -> Profession (sailor)
3. Use rope to tie someone up -> Escape Artist
4. Use rope to set a snare -> Survival or Craft (trapmaking).

While not a simple solution this makes the most sense to me and what I plan to use for my group.

As for climb and survival, ........ making your way in the wilderness don't automatically presume the skill of rope handling.

Awhile ago I removed Use Rope from my games and merged the ability to tie knots into the Profession skill and Survival. My reason for adding Survival was the comments from my players that where either girl scouts or boy scouts. Both noted how they learned to tie knots.

My final reason was watching just one episode of Man vs Wild and watch how many times he ties a knot or ties vines together to form a rope. After watching that it certainly seemed like a logical use of Survival.

Thanks that helps me at least put the different differences into a valid light and I had kind of assumed some of those changes where done on purpose. I will put these notes into the unofficial errata on the Tentamort and Bunyip.

....

As for the complicated tentacle slicing subsystem... that may be cinematic, but it's not really well supported by the rules. If you allow called shots and damage to specific limbs like that, you really should also include the opportunity for characters to cut off arms and legs from other monsters too. It's only fair.

I have to respectively disagree a little about the slicing subsystem. This is already in the 3.5 rules system and seems to work very well, but granted I forgot to say its actually now a Sunder Attack. Specifically with regards to cutting off Hydra heads or the tentacles of a Giant Squid. Plus I think its a good reward for players that have taken the Sunder Feat as they can attempt to put it to a very good use. I enjoy as a DM and player having these extra options, but granted it does add extra rules into a combat that maybe is rules heavy with grapple(though I personally disagree).

If nothing else I wanted to let other DMs know about this so they can decided for themselves if they wanted to use it or not. Besides the only reason I know all these rules like this is the year and half long Age of Worms Adventure path campaign I ran. The ability to cut a giant squids tentacles is the only thing that saved one of my players PCs from certain death in Hall of Harsh Reflections. So really all my comments like the above are Paizo's fault for having such a wide variety of monsters & rules in their modules. ;)

For anyone interested here is how the 3.5 rules would work for cutting off the tentacles.
An opponent can attack a tentamort's tentacles with a sunder attempt, using slashing weapons only, as if they were weapons. A tentamort's tentacles have 10 hit points each. If a tentamort is currently grappling a target with the tentacle that is being attacked, it usually uses another limb to make its attack of opportunity against the opponent making the sunder attempt. Severing one of a tentamort's tentacles deals 5 points of damage to the creature.

Also note that the tentamort is completely blind and only has blindsense (not blindsight).....

This sort of brings up a whole set of questions. As the abilities listed in pathfinder have several differences to the writeup for the Tentamort in the Tome of Horrors I, pg 252.

For example the Tentamort in the Tome of Horrors I is listed as having Blindsight not blindsense. It gets 2 Tentacle attacks a round with 10ft reach. The Sting can Only be used against creatures grappled so the +4 to hit simply washes the -4 to hit with a weapon in a grapple.

The Pathfinder write up also leaves out the whole Constrict info and that the constrict damage is 1d4+2 and that you can slice off a tentacle by doing 10 points of slashing damage directly to a tentacle(AC17). I think thats important as it gives a very cinematic way of releasing some one stuck in the grapple.

Also the whole Liquefy Organs ability was changed from almost guaranteed death, ie 1d6 con damage per round, too just two rounds of con damage which I think is better. Paizo also added a Fort save where their was originally only an attack roll. So this shows me that some of these changes where done on purpose to make the creature a little less nasty.

Is their any chance Mr Jacobs could give us some feedback on what changes where done on purpose and what where maybe mistakes? I think the whole Blindsight vs Blindsense is an example where I think it was just a typo.

I updated the Errata/Corrigendum to take into account all the new updates in this thread. Including the note about making the potions into elixirs. I had forgotten that little detail about goblins afraid of words.

I also added a note that the Tentamort writeup has the creature listed as having a 10ft reach with its stinger, but according to the Tome of Horrors its the Tentacle. Plus after looking at the picture it makes sense that its the tentacle.

Unofficial Errata for Chapter 1: Burnt Offerings(Updated 2/10/08)

I love the calendar, erian_7, but I'm having trouble figuring it out.

It says that the Swallowtail Festival is on Wealday, Arodus 31. But it also says that the day before is Toilday, Arodus 29. That is, unless I'm reading this incorrectly.

My copy also only has Arodus going up to the 29th on its own calendar page, and the 31st can be found at the beginning of the Rova page.

Is my copy flakey, or am I misreading, or is this a simple copy mistake?

Help, please.

This is an issue it appears with OpenOffice.org opening this excel sheet. Well at least this is the same exact issue I am getting with the calendar when I open it with OpenOffice.org.

I have changed the sheet so that it opens in OpenOffice.org(Version 2) now correctly. For those that don't have any office suite I created a PDF version below also.

OpenOffice.org Calendar Spreadsheet
PDF Calendar

I found a similar issue for one of my players. I finally read the info for the Windsong Abbey(Pathfinder#3 pg69). It seems the best option at least for my game.

Just wanted to mention that the PrC Extreme Explorer from the Eberron Campaign Setting(pg79) fits the whole Pathfinder society really well. Well at least I think it does.

Here is an excerpt about the class.
Whether motivated by a thirst for knowledge about ancient civilizations, a hunger for the long-lost secrets of tremendous arcane power, or simply a lust for gold, extreme explorers subject themselves to tremendous danger to achieve their goals - and somehow manage to escape in one piece, often by the skin of their teeth. The extreme explorer is the iconic action hero: courageous, resourceful, determined, and just plain lucky.

I compiled pretty much everything from this thread into an unofficial Errata PDF document. I sorted it by page number to make it a little easier to find what you need. The document also has some of James Jacobs's answers to the more general Rise of the Runelords answers he posted in this thread.

Hope this helps others out. Its my way of saying thanks to Paizo for another great adventure path for me and my players.

Unofficial Errata for Chapter 1: Burnt Offerings

I just wanted to mention that the Potions of Speak with Animals and Tree Shape, from the Goblin Druid Gogmurt, can't be made. You can't have potions with spells of range personal.
SRD Link

Its not a big deal and can be fixed by changing them into scrolls, but if others have players from the AoW AP they may figure this out pretty quick and call foul. In AoW Filge had created an Injector to overcome this issue with potions. Which is why I know my players will realize this right away.

ANYway... getting the horse off the island likely requires that the bridge be reinforced, which basically equates to simply disabling the trap. So you could reinforce the bridge with a DC 15 Disable Device check (since the DC is below 20, and since Disable Device is usable untrained, you don't even need a rogue to do this; it's just an Intelligence check for someone who has no ranks). Most people could take 20 on this check and the bridge'll be fine for leading or even riding the horse across it

I have to point out that Disable Device is a Trained only skill. So you need at least one rank to use it and you can't take 20 with the skill as you only can try again if you fail by less than 4.

Personally I think the use of Knowledge(Architecture and engineering) would be a better skill, or at least an alt skill, to be used to reinforce the bridge structure.

My players finished the Temple of Hextor about 2 weeks ago. I was worried about TPKing them from all the messages on this forum. One factor in their favor was that they had 6 players instead of 4 and they all built effective characters. My players went down the elevator expecting a large and dangerous encounter at the bottom, and they prepared correctly including having a silence spell pre-cast so that they effectively cut down the guards ability of alerting the temple. This allowed them to take on the temple in more of a piece meal fashion.

The skeletons and cultist where quickly taken down by the Cleric of Heironeous and the half-orc fighter/barbarian with power attack and cleave. They readied against the Beast when it busted down the door and Beast lasted a whole 2 rounds(only hitting once) before it was torn to pieces. My players heard the description for the Main Temple area and the first words out of their mouths was that it sounded like a gladiatorial arena and a bad place to get trapped. Hence no matter what I tried they would not step one foot into the temple.

After that they simple busted down the barracked doors in area 6-10 and systematically killed everyone in the temple. They gave as good as they got, and in the end they stood in victory over the temple. No one ever went to negative(some got close), and no one died. The players went away happy after a 6.5 real life hours combat session. Over all I thought it was a great area, and all of my players agreed.

If the players can separate out the battles then the individual EL's are way lower than the party. In this case the use of a single silence spell drastically changed the flow of battle to the PCs favor. Though their use of the silence spells in the Caves of Erythnul is not working out as great as the parties spots are not high enough to see the Grimlocks before they attack from ambush.

They are currently about to finish the Caves of Erythnul, and then they will be on to the Labyrinth of Vecna. Do to the nature of how my players game I am going to need to increase the power of the 'Ebon Aspect' as a single creature vs six fourth level players will not last long at all.

Any ways just wanted to share my players and my experience with the Temple of Hextor.
Later