Shadowborn's page

I have two groups running in parallel pbp games. One of them is down to three people, so I'm looking for a fourth to round out the group.

This is a homebrew world of mine, with some distinct differences. Things to know/keep in mind for character creation:

• 20 point buy for stats
• Races: Common: Dwarves, gnomes, halflings, humans. Uncommon: Half-elves. Rare: Elves, half-orcs. Non-standard races allowed: Plane-touched (Bear in mind that among the suspicious and paranoid people of the Iron Marches, those that are different are often feared...)
• The group will be level 3 once your character makes his/her entrance.
• Available equipment is highly dependent upon race, so wait until you've read the background and conferred with me before you stock up.

Some background:

The Wounded Earth is a world suffering from the aftermath of an epic catastrophe. Much of the world contains strange phenomena caused by the apocalypse: a section of the ocean boils; a huge portion of the southern coast is a great, stinking morass; a massive glacier cuts through the mountains of the north, breaking up in an icy, inland sea; across the ocean to the south is a malign forest where the trees are said to devour trespassers, and they bleed when struck...

The exact details of the catastrophe aren't known to many, beyond what is written in the sacred book of Baal, the Iron Father. It is known that a massive influx of fiends was the catalyst. In order to save the world from destruction, Baal brought down the Interdiction, which closed the world off from incursion from the fiendish realms. Those already here were trapped, and are systematically hunted and destroyed by those loyal to Baal.

The campaign takes place in the Iron Marches, an area ruled by the dwarves. Their jarls rule individual areas of mountains and valleys. Humans are in thrall to the dwarves who protect these wards in the name of the great god Baal. Baal is the one true god; all others are malign influences whose power has been stamped out in the Marches. The dwarves patrol regularly, their warriors keeping their domain safe from monsters out of the wilds, marauding humanoid bands, demonic and fey influences and others that may harm the inhabitants. Sorcery is considered the product of bloodlines polluted by fiendish influence. Its spontaneous and uncontrolled nature makes it something to be feared.

Wizards are mostly known and respected, mainly because their powers are constrained by arcane study. Since the Interdiction, summoning magics that bring things of fiendish nature from the realms beyond no longer function. In fact, such magic and their practitioners were scourged from existence by Baal's inquisitors. Conjuration magics draw unwanted attention. Most wizards specialize in magic which helps the community, such as abjuration, divination, and illusion.

Humans are a subjugated race. They are limited in their ownership of property and their use of weapons and armor, under the watchful eyes of their dwarven lords. Elves are things of suspicion and mystery, lurking in their forest realms south of the mountains, though occasionally they find opportunity to dally with humans that catch their fancy, or wander too far from the Marches. Gnomes and halflings eke out a living in scattered settlements, or live with the dwarves or humans, respectively.

The campaign won't have much in the way of railroads, so I'll need players who can take some initiative. There are preplanned events that will take place, but how the PCs respond will determine how events unfold.

The current group consists of:

• A half-elf paladin
• A human druid
• and a human monk

Here's links to the discussion and play threads for more background:

Discusson thread.
Play thread.

So thanks to someone else on these boards, I found this article on avclub.com. Here's the preface to what is going to be an ongoing series:

Nerd Curious is a yearlong monthly series in which Todd VanDerWerff tries the nerdy things he missed as a kid, either due to lack of access, time, or ability. He has a rough schedule planned out, but feel free to use the comments to suggest more nerd experiences he needs to have.

I liked his insights into what it is about D&D (and RPGs in general) that is so addicting. All in all, a pretty good article.

Ia! Ia! Cthulhu is chocolate!

Given that I'm resurrecting this post after two years and there was never a reply, I'm going to presume this project was mothballed. Too bad. I'm currently running Beyond the Vault of Souls and am looking to find or design two more scenarios to bring the number of gems sought to five.

I'd appreciate this thread not being subsumed by the stickied kingdom building post, at least while I'm still using it. It'll be easier for me to sort through replies that way. Thanks.

I'm running a Golarion campaign and the party has just finished with Crucible of Chaos. If you're unconcerned with spoilers, read on.

So my general question is this: How do I adapt the rules to such unique circumstances? I've a few ideas of my own, but I thought I'd pick the collective brain of the boards and see what pretties turn up. Thanks in advance for your help.

I really think the Off-Topic Forum could use some attention and inspiration. I'd like to see posts in OT made by regular Paizonians (or free-roaming trolls, or just rarely used aliases) on things like:

• What do you like to eat while gaming?
• What sorts of things are found in Paizonians' medicine cabinets?
• Threads about the everyday things that go on in a particular person's job. I'm sure that would be exciting.
• Assorted fan fiction
• More threads espousing the admiration of celebrities, or even reality show contestants
• Sports other than football (where's the lacrosse love?)
• A lot more FAWTL forums (because there are so few of them and they're really interesting)

I'm sure the regular addition of threads such as these would make the Off-Topic forum a much more fun and welcoming place than it is now.

Apparently, TSA > Ninjas.

Inspired by a post on the creative process thread, I thought it would be fun to see what people can make out of a randomly generated magic item name.

So...

Go here.

Pick and generate an item that would fall in the wondrous item category.

Do your best to write up an item inspired by that name that someone would actually want to use.

I got "Chaotic Sandals of the Glorified Invocation of the Benevolent Journeyman."

...

Wow. That's a mouthful. I'll get back to it after dinner.

This is always the part of Round 1 I dread the most. I've stated elsewhere that last year it felt like I spent as much time working out the price of the item as I did creating the item itself. While we have a table that gives general guidelines, it seems like pricing is less of a mathematical endeavor and more of an exercise in creative guesswork. Just looking at the listings of wondrous items in the Core Rulebook seems to support this, as there are plenty of items that don't follow the math on the table.

Example:

Boots of Teleportation vs. the Helm of Teleportation. Two items that do the exact same thing the exact number of times per day at the same caster level. Yet the latter has 150% the price of the former. Now I remember that in 3.5 there was a chart showing how items with certain powers were tied to a certain item slot location, and that it cost more to put those powers in an item kept in a different slot. Yet there's no mention of that in the PF Core. People coming to PF without a solid 3.5 background are likely to be confused.

There are others I've come across where I try to do the math and end up just scratching my head.

Why am I posting this? I suppose partially to vent my frustration at this part of the creative process. I also wouldn't be adverse to hearing the thoughts of others on this portion of the process. Heck, if one of the judges wants to throw their two coppers worth in as well, I might do a cartwheel.

There are, of course, other examples of this (feel free to share in this thread), but this one left me speechless:

EU bans claim that water can prevent dehydration

Sure, our so-called public servants here in the U.S. think that a smear of pizza sauce counts as a vegetable serving, but I'm pretty sure they still know that water is wet.

In the Golden Empire, it is well known that Emperor Engelbert II is an avid hunter. It is said he is the best tracker in the land, able to track an owl through a cloudy sky on a moonless night. Before he ascended the throne after the death of his father, he spent many years abroad, hunting and slaying countless fierce and wondrous creatures. What is not well known is that his adviser, confidant, and lifelong companion, Count Malthus, constructed a great subterranean complex to provide the thrill of the hunt for the Emperor now that rule of the Empire keeps him near home.

You are one of the many unfortunate beings abducted and brought here by the Count's men, languishing in your cell until it is your turn to be the Emperor's prey. But now, a glimmer of hope. A chance to be free. Unarmed and alone, you are easy prey for the Count's men. Yet if you can work together with your fellow captives, perhaps through ingenuity and use of your natural abilities, you can escape the Deadly Menagerie. Will freedom be yours?

I'd already recruited enough players, but apparently my absence for a few days caused most of them to wander off. If you're interested, jump in with a character idea. I've already got two players with characters ready to go.

Guidelines:

Ability Scores: Epic fantasy point (25 points)
Racial Points: 10-30 points
Allowed Classes/Archetypes/Feats/Spells: Anything from the Core Rulebook or the Advanced Player's Guide
Starting Levels: 10 point race build = 5th level; 20 point build = 4th level; 30 point build = 3rd level

So here's our thread for general feedback and discussion. Anything we go over here I'll formulate into coherent and hopefully useful feedback for the playtest forum.

I'll start off by asking about your initial reaction to the race generation system itself. How was it? Did anything initially strike you as good/bad/odd/confusing?

You are a prisoner. Taken from your homeland and transported unknown distances, you have ended up in a strange place. Here you have been incarcerated. The place is full of animals, monsters, and strange beasts. There are also other intelligent beings, strange folk speaking stranger tongues, all torn from their homes and brought here.

The guards often take you from your cell, off to rooms where you are tested. You have been chased by beasts, shot at with weapons, and afflicted with magic. They have been testing you. Improper responses bring swift reprisals of pain and then a return to your cell. Still, a spark of hope remains, kept alight and carefully guarded until a time comes when you can seize a moment to try and reclaim your freedom.

Here we go. Go ahead and start by giving a physical description, perhaps an internal monologue or some background on your character. Once you've posted, I'll start you off in your cell with some background and a little something extra for your character.

In the Golden Empire, it is well known that Emperor Engelbert II is an avid hunter. It is said he is the best tracker in the land, able to track an owl through a cloudy sky on a moonless night. Before he ascended the throne after the death of his father, he spent many years abroad, hunting and slaying countless fierce and wondrous creatures. What is not well known is that his adviser, confidant, and lifelong companion, Count Malthus, constructed a great subterranean complex to provide the thrill of the hunt for the Emperor now that rule of the Empire keeps him near home.

You are one of the many unfortunate beings abducted and brought here by the Count's men, languishing in your cell until it is your turn to be the Emperor's prey. But now, a glimmer of hope. A chance to be free. Unarmed and alone, you are easy prey for the Count's men. Yet if you can work together with your fellow captives, perhaps through ingenuity and use of your natural abilities, you can escape the Deadly Menagerie. Will freedom be yours?

I'd like to participate in the Advanced Race Guide playtest, so I thought I'd gauge interest in a short pbp run to try out the new rules. Potential players can either work up their own races, or I can create something based on the desires of an interested player.

Guidelines:

• Ability Scores: Epic fantasy point (25 points)
• Racial Points: 10-30 points
• Allowed Classes/Archetypes/Feats/Spells: Anything from the Core Rulebook or the Advanced Player's Guide
• Starting Levels: 10 point race build = 5th level; 20 point build = 4th level; 30 point build = 3rd level

So if you're interested start with either a race build or an idea for me to work up. Then we'll see where it goes from there.

I'm surprised the show got through a whole season without anyone starting a thread about it.

Anyone else enjoying this show? I'm liking it so far, but so help me if they pull a Heroes and introduce time travel then I'm done. Doesn't seem likely though, since most of the powers displayed seem to be more "low fantasy" than a lot of the stuff done in Heroes.

Dear "daywalkers",

Congratulations, you've jumped on the cutting edge of Pathfinder play by grabbing hold of the latest new playable race to hit the market. I'm just wondering if you've thought this racial choice through.

I'm a cleric of Pharasma. I realize you're not undead, you mean me no harm, and you really want to be a contributing member of the party. However, you're rapidly becoming a special needs case that is cramping my style.

This whole "healed by negative energy" thing is really a pain. Normally, I can prepare any sort of spell I want. With all the channeling I can do during the adventuring day I hardly have to worry about spontaneously casting healing. Now you've come along, and I feel like I've become some goatee-wearing alternate universe version of the 2nd edition walking medi-kit. I'd like to prep some good spells for this upcoming part of the adventure, but I've got to make sure I have enough inflict spells packed away to keep you up and in the fight...both of you. The cleric-to-damphir ratio is way off whack here, and you're seriously harshing my mellow.

Might I suggest that you start taking all that treasure and investing in some negative energy dealing goodies of your own? Potions are affordable at our low level. (No, I'm not taking Brew Potion to keep your costs down; it's bad enough I'm taking Versatile Channeler, and that won't be for another two levels.) Maybe once you've recieved your legacy you can each buy yourselves a wand of inflict light wounds to give to me. Then I can get back to being the bad-ass undead slayer I was meant to be.

Seriously, guys, you need to work with me. There isn't a whole lot more of this I can take. If there isn't more cooperation on this matter, I swear I'm going to commit suicide and be replaced with a hagspawn witch. That'll teach you.

Love and hugs,

Your party cleric

When you're working up a homebrew campaign, or picking out an AP/series of adventures to run, what are your preferences for the puppetmasters, the big bads orchestrating everything behind the scenes?

Any particular races/classes/archetypes that you like to use? Anything you hate using?

How do you string your players along? Where/how do you implement the reveal, when the curtain gets pulled back and they see who their enemy has been all along?

So did anyone else catch the pilot episode? I thought it was pretty good, so I'll be giving the series a chance. It was certainly a lot better than the remake of V.

Yes, I know, the movie isn't going to be out for another two weeks, but with the latest trailer and more information coming out about it, I have to admit I'm a bit torn here.

The pros: Good director, decent screenplay writer. The special effects look fairly spot on for a summer blockbuster. Iconic X-Men characters making their appearance on the big screen for the first time.

The cons: Here's where my fanboy rage wants to take over. How far off the original storyline are they going to run with this movie? Mystique as an X-man? A girl with insect wings as Angel? Shouldn't she go by a different name and be in the Avengers movie? I'm glad to see other characters like Banshee and Moira MacTaggert making an appearance, but this seems like a can of mixed nuts to me. Havok, but no Cyclops? Why is Emma Frost being remade to replace Iceman?

So what about the rest of you X-Men fans? Are you going to give the movie a shot? I'm leaning heavily towards waiting for the DVD release and giving the theater a bye.

Chapter One: Shadows of the Past

The village of Dunshale has been living under a shadow. Five years ago, threats from outside the realm attacked. Then a fiend was discovered hiding in its midst. The Inquisition moved upon it; the thing and those allied to it were purged with the fire of Baal. Soon after, the Thane's own son was murdered in the village inn. This sparked an uprising, followed by bloody retribution from the warriors of the Jarl's fortress. Martial law reigned for the next two years. Now, things have slowly returned to some semblance of normalcy, but the shadow remains. Fear and suspicion rule the lives of Dunshale's inhabitants.

It is a day for celebration. The harvest is in and the storehouses are full in preparation for winter. It is time to give thanks for the year's bounty, and to celebrate with feasting, singing, and dancing. There will be games of chance, competitions of strength and skill, and general revelry. A calm before the storm, you might say.

I'll put more background on the festival in the discussion thread. For the time being, we'll assume that Stilgar is hosting some or all of the party at his chapel. Each of you will get personal background information, then I'll provide you with the information Stilgar already has to work with, so you can decide what avenue of investigation you wish to pursue.

Chapter One: Winter's Shadow

It is a brisk autumn day; tomorrow is the High Harvest Festival, one of the five major holidays celebrated in the region. The local silos are brimming with harvested grain and bushels of apples are stacked high in barns. Everywhere in the village there are people making preparations for tomorrow's celebration.

The village square is being prepared for the Harvest Dance. Villagers are decorating the three great oaks with lanterns and garlands of holly. Nearby, long trestle tables are being set up outside the Huntsman's Rest with barrels of cider and ale. The smells of baked goods drifts on the breeze; various folk are preparing food for the feast, as well as for various contests that will be judged by the town elders. Children in masks run giggling through the lanes.

In the nearby field where the militia drill, the festival games are being prepared. There will be an archery contest, a foot race, as well as several games of chance and contests of strength and skill.

During the festival, it is tradition to wear a mask. These are crafted of various materials and range from simple to highly artistic. The masks depict animals, humanoids, or monsters. According to tradition, these masks provide protection from the evils of the world (in the case of scary masks), or infuse the wearer with a quality of the creature the mask depicts. At the end of the evening's festivities on High Harvest, the masks are taken to the bonfire at the center of the green and burned: a sacrifice to Baal, giving up ones fears and hopes to the Forge-father so that one may receive his blessings.

Also, each of you has been given a small gourd. The gourd is hollow and carved with an impish or ghoulish face that smirks, grins, or snarls. Inside each gourd is a small burnpot, which will cause the carved face to glow from the light inside. These are gifts from Old Tom, the village Warder. These tokens, when lit, are said to provide protection from the evil spirits that are abroad now that the season of life is over. They are everywhere, most sitting on doorsteps, in window sills, or hanging from the eaves above the doors of homes.

Your spirit lanterns are a bit different, however. In them, each of you finds a small note and a tindertwig. The note reads:
Your assistance is needed. Come to the house of the pearl after dusk, the day after the festival. Seek the red rooster to guide you.
The note is unsigned, but bears the symbol of a hand stamped in its bottom corner. This is obviously a missive from the Hand of Jorin. You know that the "house of the pearl" is code for the shrine to Daena hidden in the woods west of town. However, you do not know how to get there.

TRAILER!!!

Sorry, I couldn't resist. It's just nice to know that Grieco is still getting work.

An Introduction to the Iron Marches

“Baal preserved us, passing to us—through His might—the Divine right to rule.”

Through Baal’s cunning and strength, the Dwarven people survived the great wounding visited upon this Earth. They emerged from their subterranean strongholds to carve a great kingdom from the northern mountains. So the Iron Marches were formed.

“The land was forged, hammer to anvil, and the gifts of Baal were hidden within His creation.”

The Iron Marches are a vast expanse of mountains that encompass approximately 300 square miles. The region is riddled with valleys and lowland rivers that provide fertile land well-suited for growing wheat and other grains. The slopes of the vast mountains are well forested. Boar, deer, game birds, and other wild game are abundant, as are bears, eagles, and great hunting cats. The latter can be a danger to the sheep and stout highland cattle that free range on the slopes. The mountains themselves hide great veins of metal ore and gemstones.

“The will of Baal is the hammer of his faithful and they shall reap the rewards and riches of His creation.”

The Iron Marches are the ancestral homeland of the Dwarves. They live deep below the earth in fastnesses carved from the living rock. These fastnesses and Baal’s cunning allowed the Dwarves to survive the Wounding with little effect upon their communities. The humans that lived upon the surface did not fare as well. Baal led the dwarves to the surface and bestowed upon them the protectorship of the human race. As such, the Dwarves rule with benefice over their human charges, providing for them the word of Baal and the chance to get as close to the true god as a non-dwarf can be allowed. The Dwarves rule as Jarls and feudal Thanes over the humans, who till the land and herd sheep and cows. This is the will of Baal.

“And He shall bid His faithful: ‘Destroy the blasphemer, and put to the flame he who opposes My word.’”

The word of Baal is law. Outsiders are not to be trusted. The Dwarven regulars are called upon at times by the Jarl Moot to defend the Iron Marches from incursions by the Narok, barbarians from the Plain of Moving Ice to the northwest. Likewise, they patrol the border along the Dreaming Vales and the Everhaunt, mysterious and wild forests, to keep the taint of the fey from their lands. The Order of the Flame, the Inquisition formed to eke out and destroy threats to the Marches, conscript those humans that give themselves to Baal. This is the hand of Baal; ever vigilant, they ferret out blasphemers who follow dark fiends and wish to harm human and dwarf alike. The fires of the Inquisition will cleanse the Iron Marches of any infection that comes from the Sinking Lands to the South and of the taint of the fey-folk that dwell to the South and East. The Inquisition will embrace those who show no sin and no corruption, bringing them to swear fealty before the Jarl Moot.

So I tried this a couple years back, only to have it fizzle. I've had an itch to give it another go, so I figured I'd see if anyone was interested in a PbP of this particular flavor.

I'd like a party consisting of 4-6 relatively experienced role-players. Pathfinder Core Rules mainly, with the possibility of stuff from the Adv. Players Guide being used. (I don't really have solid roles for the APG classes in this campaign, but if you can sell me on it, I'll probably go with it. Characters will be built using a 20 point buy. Special rules regarding races and classes will be used, as explained in the little gazetteer I'm posting. Character concepts and backgrounds are encouraged, and I'll gladly help make them fit into the scenario with additional background information. Right now, acceptable races and classes are different as standard as follows:

Standard Classes: Barbarians won't be used; clerics will have differences depending on whether they are followers of the "true" god Baal, or one of the pagan religions; paladins will require a different type of roleplay from the standard, as they will be rebels and outlaws; all wizards are specialists and to start they will likely be limited to Warders (abjuration), Seers (divination), and Vision-makers (illusion).

Races: Common: Dwarves, gnomes, halflings, humans. Uncommon: Half-elves. Rare: Elves, half-orcs. Non-standard races allowed: Plane-touched (Bear in mind that among the suspicious and paranoid people of the Iron Marches, those that are different are often feared...)

3)The Wounded Earth is the brainchild of myself and a longtime friend. I'll post a small gazetteer that explains things in more specific detail, but here's a general overview:

The Wounded Earth is a world suffering from the aftermath of an epic catastrophe. Much of the world contains strange phenomena caused by the apocalypse: a section of the ocean boils; a huge portion of the southern coast is a great, stinking morass; a massive glacier cuts through the mountains of the north, breaking up in an icy, inland sea; across the ocean to the south is a malign forest where the trees are said to devour trespassers, and they bleed when struck...

The exact details of the catastrophe aren't known to many, beyond what is written in the sacred book of Baal, the Iron Father. It is known that a massive influx of fiends was the catalyst. In order to save the world from destruction, Baal brought down the Interdiction, which closed the world off from incursion from the fiendish realms. Those already here were trapped, and are systematically hunted and destroyed by those loyal to Baal.

The campaign takes place in the Iron Marches, an area ruled by the dwarves. Their jarls rule individual areas of mountains and valleys. Humans are in thrall to the dwarves who protect these wards in the name of the great god Baal. Baal is the one true god; all others are malign influences whose power has been stamped out in the Marches. The dwarves patrol regularly, their warriors keeping their domain safe from monsters out of the wilds, marauding humanoid bands, demonic and fey influences and others that may harm the inhabitants. Sorcery is considered the product of bloodlines polluted by fiendish influence. Its spontaneous and uncontrolled nature makes it something to be feared.

Wizards are mostly known and respected, mainly because their powers are constrained by arcane study. Since the Interdiction, summoning magics that bring things of fiendish nature from the realms beyond no longer function. In fact, such magic and their practitioners were scourged from existence by Baal's inquisitors. Conjuration magics draw unwanted attention. Most wizards specialize in magic which helps the community, such as abjuration, divination, and illusion.

Humans are a subjugated race. They are limited in their ownership of property and their use of weapons and armor, under the watchful eyes of their dwarven lords. Elves are things of suspicion and mystery, lurking in their forest realms south of the mountains, though occasionally they find opportunity to dally with humans that catch their fancy, or wander too far from the Marches. Gnomes and halflings eke out a living in scattered settlements, or live with the dwarves or humans, respectively.

The campaign won't have much in the way of railroads, so I'll need players who can take some initiative. There are preplanned events that will take place, but how the PCs respond will determine how events unfold.

"Oh, haha, Shadowborn," you might be saying, "very funny." However, if you think about it, this is a reasonable pairing, given the similarities of the two characters. If you take the time to think it through, you'll also come to the inarguable conclusion that there can be only one winner in a match between these two titans: Might Mouse.

Discuss.

Or I suppose I could just ask one of the members of the Razmiran Faith Barge Union #107...

I'm working on a piece of short fiction and am trying to put some polish on it with details.

Can anyone tell me the name of the venture-captain in charge of the Pathfinder lodge in Magnimar?

Just out of curiosity, how do you pronounce "Celwynvian?" I've stuck to my usual method of using a soft 'c' sound at the beginning of elven words, but thought I'd see if anyone else is doing differently.

From the director that brought you the downfall of Sarah Michelle Gellar's career with his live action Scooby-Doo movies come: Those That Shall Not Be Named on the Paizo Forums.

Well, they inevitably will, just not by me. I expect to see this thread running blue real soon.

Or more precisely, what is it that compels gamers to want to make good versions of thoroughly evil creatures to use as characters? I've seen this come up time and again with players, DMs, and even the writers of gaming material. So what is it that compels people to do this in a game where lines between good and evil are clearly defined in the very rules of the game? The opposite, having normally good creatures be evil, doesn't seem to come up nearly as often.

I'm not really looking for a clear answer to this so much as trying to promote discussion.

Check out the glass armonica, created by Benjamin Franklin. Granted, it isn't something you'd go packing around in a dungeon, but that performance at the queen's birthday party on the other hand...

I'll have to stick one of these in an adventure the next time I've got a bard in the party. It will have to have some type of magical amplification system built in though, which apparently was the main problem with the original model. Listeners complained that it sounded great, when it could be heard.

Take two, since the post monster seems to have eaten the first thread:

I'm starting my group on the Second Darkness AP, and one of my players wants to try the oracle. Since the playtest is over, I figured I'd post here for advice. We're having trouble figuring out what role she'll be playing in the party, and how she should develop her regarding spells/feats/skills over the course of the AP.

The character in question is a human (from the Velashu Horselords) and has wind as her focus and clouded vision as her curse.

The rest of the party consists of:

Elf Ftr (multiclassing to Wiz, then Eldritch Knight)
Elf Wiz (multiclassing to Ftr, then Arcane Archer)
Elf Rog
Human Ftr (sword & board)
Human Rog
Tiefling Clr (Calistria)

So the question is how to design the oracle to best compliment this group. How should she focus her development? Those that have already playtested the oracle would be especially welcome, but anyone can chime in if they have ideas. Thanks in advance.

THE GOLD GOBLIN JOB NPCS
(All enemy NPCs have been listed with ongoing spells/abilities factored in)

Angvar Thestlecrit
Male human wizard 2
NE Medium humanoid
Init+6; Senses Perception +1
Defense
AC17, touch 12, flat-footed 15 (armor +1, Dex +2, shield +4)
hp 10 (2d6+2)
Fort +1, Ref +2, Will +4 (+5 vs. charm/fear)
Offense
Speed 30ft
Melee club +2 (1d6+1)
Special Attacks Hand of the Apprentice (5 times/day)
Spells prepared (CL 2nd)
1st--hold portal, magic missile, shield
0--detect magic, flare (DC12), ghost sound (DC12), open/close
Statistics
Str 10, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 15, Wis 12, Cha 10
Base Atk +1; CMB +1; CMD 13
Feats Combat Casting, Improved Initiative, Scribe Scroll
Skills Appraise +7, Bluff +2, Diplomacy +2, Knowledge(local) +7, Spellcraft +7
Languages Common, Infernal, Varisian
SQ familiar (snake named Iskish)
Combat Gear wand of shocking grasp (9 charges),scroll of pyrotechnics, scroll of shrink item
Other Gear club, bracers of armor +1, spellbook, belt pouch with 33gp in house chips

So I'm watching "Dinoshark." The info on the cable guide says: "A dinosaur-shark hybrid terrorizes a resort in Mexico, and its up to a young fishing boat captain to stop it." This thing is so bad its funny.

So what will it take to get a half-dinosaur template into the Bestiary II? This could really take off. Think of all the things you could cross dinosaurs with...

I'll be starting my group in Shadow in the Sky soon. I've already begun to Pathfinderize the various NPCs in adventure, and the monsters where needed. I've even made myself a good long list of Ghoulette insults, including several specifically tailored to individual PCs.

What I'd like to know is what, if any, side treks or in-town encounters did you make for your PCs while they were working at the Gold Goblin? Any fun nights on the job? Introduce your PCs to any interesting NPCs?

I'm sure my players will find their own ways to have fun which I'll happily accommodate, and I have a few ideas of my own, but it would be good to see what other DMs have done.

Hmph. Meh.

Anyone else watch this on Sunday and Monday? I really enjoyed it. Far and away the best mini-series I've seen on Syfy (it still grates typing it that way.) It was an interesting re-imagining of Wonderland. I'd recommend checking it out if/when they rebroadcast it.

Alice on imdb.com

In the case of one school in North Carolina, they're learning that money can buy them better test scores.

This one boggled my mind: conception of reality fail

My thoroughly chaotic and often confused mind recalls reading something on here about the pdf being a free download for those who preordered the Core Rulebook.

Am I mistaken in this? Or did that change with the addition of the Pathfinder RPG subscription? Or am I just misapplying the subscription deal? Or am I just rambling on pointlessly and asking too many questions?

Thanks.

A mighty cleaving weapon allows a wielder using the Cleave feat to make one additional attack if the first attack hits, as long as the next foe is adjacent to the first and also within reach. This additional attack cannot be against the first foe.

The wording here seems a bit obtuse to me. It sounds as if the character wielding the weapon must have the Cleave feat in order to utilize this ability, and it allows an additional cleave attack beyond the one granted by the Cleave feat. Is this correct? If so, does that mean that a weapon with this ability offers no advantage to a character without the Cleave feat? A comparison to the wording in the 3.5 DMG seems to support this reading, but it would be good to have a clear ruling.

Our RotRL campaign is taking a hiatus this week while our DM and another player are in Seattle. I'm cooking up a one-shot adventure using pre-gen, 10th level Pathfinder characters. My five players will have the opportunity to pick from 10 characters, one of each class (excluding paladin, for reasons that will be fairly obvious) and each will have a male and a female name, depending on which gender they choose.

The scenario is this: The PCs are all prisoners in Nidal, slated for execution. In this case, that means transport to Ridwan where the Zon-Kuthonites can practice their sadistic rituals on the characters; execution may take a very, very long time...

However, a member of the Umbral Court has other plans. These people are perfect for a suicide mission in order to recover certain relics needed for an obscure ritual. If they succeed, then their sentences will instead be exile from Nidal. At this point, a free pass out of the dark country will be all they want. (Old grognards may recognize this hook from the old 1e Ghost Tower of Inverness...)

Each character will have a background sheet explaining their general motivations and the reason why they have been imprisoned and sentenced to death. So my question for you: What have these poor souls done to deserve such a fate? The roster is as follows:

Barek, CN Kellid barbarian from the Land of the Mammoth Lords (no female version of this one)

Galadon/Euphemi, CG Taldan bard from Galt

Devor/Kifah, LN Half-orc cleric of Pharasma from the Shackles

Tengluki/Trig, NG Gnome druid

Irakli/Maddela, LE Half-elf fighter from Varisia

Gendo/Reika, LG Tian monk from Absalom

Kaleb/Bellis, CG Halfling ranger from Andoran

Variel/Opara, CG Elf rogue from the River Kingdoms

Igmar/Torra, N Dwarf sorcerer (earth bloodline) from the Mindspin Mountains

Pavo/Pavanna CN Chelaxian illusionist from Cheliax

I've already got a few ideas for some of them, but I'd like to see what bubbles up from the primordial generative ooze that is the Paizo community.

*edit* My player showed up, nevermind.

Chapter One: Winter's Shadow

It is a brisk autumn day; tomorrow is the High Harvest Festival, one of the five major holidays celebrated in the region. The local silos are brimming with harvested grain and bushels of apples are stacked high in barns. Everywhere in the village there are people making preparations for tomorrow's celebration.

In the nearby field where the militia drill, the festival games are being prepared. There will be an archery contest, a foot race, as well as several games of chance and contests of skill.

Each of you has been given a a small gourd. The gourd is hollow and carved with an impish or ghoulish face that smirks, grins, or snarls. Inside each gourd is a small burnpot, which will cause the carved face to glow from the light inside. These are gifts from Old Tom, the village Warder. These tokens, when lit, are said to provide protection from the evil spirits that are abroad now that the season of life is over. They are everywhere, most sitting on doorsteps, in window sills, or hanging from the eaves above the doors of homes.

Your spirit lanterns are a bit different, however. In them, each of you finds a small note and a tindertwig. The note reads:

Your assistance is needed. Come to the house of the pearl after dusk, the day after the festival. One will be sent to guide you there.

The note is unsigned, but bears the symbol of a hand stamped in its bottom corner. This is obviously a missive from the Hand of Jorin. You know that the "house of the pearl" is code for the shrine to Daena hidden in the woods west of town. However, you do not know how to get there.

Okay, here's where we can discuss the campaign and where I'll repost pertinent data for player reference.

You're only a mouse-click away from articles by Spokane's Gaming Guru. Looking for gaming advice, a review of a product, or where to go for games in the Spokane area? Check out my tabletop gaming page in the Spokane Examiner.

I just started this (hence the reason there's only one article up) this week. Hopefully I'll get enough traffic to make it pay off. There will be new articles up on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Coming Monday: a review of Zombies!!!, the game, 2nd edition, and where to grab it.

Now this is truly annoying. Knock it off.

I've got the itch to DM again, but the co-DM of my group is running us through Rise of the Runelords at the moment. I've also been dusting off a homebrew campaign of mine and reviving it with Pathfinder goodness. I figured I'd make use of the forums here to run a game. So here's the deal:

1)I'm a 29 year D&D veteran, DM for about 27 of those years. However, this is my first pbp attempt. So, if any players have suggestions to better expedite the experience in this format, feel free to provide suggestions.

2)I'd like a party consisting of 4-6 relatively experienced role-players. Pathfinder Beta rules will be used, until such time as the official rules are released. Characters will be built using the epic fantasy (25 points) point buy. Special rules regarding races and classes will be used, as explained in the gazetteer. Character concepts and backgrounds are encouraged, and I'll gladly help make them fit into the scenario with additional background information. Right now, acceptable races and classes are different as standard as follows:

Standard Classes: Barbarians won't be used; clerics will have differences depending on whether they are followers of the "true" god Baal, or one of the pagan religions; paladins will require a different type of roleplay from the standard, as they will be rebels and outlaws; all wizards are specialists and to start they will likely be limited to Warders (abjuration), Seers (divination), and Vision-makers (illusion).

Races: Common: Dwarves, gnomes, halflings, humans. Uncommon: Half-elves. Rare: Elves, half-orcs. Non-standard races allowed: Plane-touched (aasimar, genasi, tieflings, etc.) Bear in mind that among the suspicious and paranoid people of the Iron Marches, those that are different are often feared...

3)The Wounded Earth is the brainchild of myself and a longtime friend. He should be emailing me a document that contains a gazetteer for the area I'll be running the game in, but here's a general overview for those that might be interested:

The Wounded Earth is a world suffering from the aftermath of an epic catastrophe. Much of the world contains strange phenomena caused by the apocalypse: a section of the ocean boils; a huge portion of the southern continent is a great, stinking morass; a massive glacier cuts through the mountains of the north, breaking up in an icy, inland sea; across the ocean to the south is a malign forest where the trees are said to devour trespassers, and they bleed when struck...

The exact details of the catastrophe aren't known to many, beyond what is written in the sacred book of Baal, the Iron Father. It is known that a massive influx of fiends was the catalyst. In order to save the world from destruction, Baal brought down the Interdiction, which closed the world off from incursion from the fiendish realms. Those already here were trapped, and are systematically hunted and destroyed by those loyal to Baal.

The campaign takes place in the Iron Marches, an area ruled by the dwarves. Their jarls rule individual areas of mountains and valleys. Humans are in thrall to the dwarves who protect these wards in the name of the great god Baal. Baal is the one true god; all others are malign influences whose power has been stamped out in the Marches. The dwarves patrol regularly, their warriors keeping their demesne safe from monsters out of the wilds, marauding humanoid bands, demonic and fey influences and others that may harm the inhabitants. Sorcery is considered the product of bloodlines polluted by fiendish influence. Its spontaneous and uncontrolled nature makes it something to be feared.

Wizards are mostly known and respected, mainly because their powers are constrained by arcane study. Since the Interdiction, summoning magics that bring things of fiendish nature from the realms beyond no longer function. In fact, such magic and their practitioners were scourged from existence by Baal's inquisitors. Conjuration magics draw unwanted attention. Most wizards specialize in magic which helps the community, such as abjuration, divination, and illusion.

Humans are a subjugated race. They are limited in their ownership of property and their use of weapons and armor, under the watchful eyes of their dwarven lords. Elves are things of suspicion and mystery, lurking in their forest realms south of the mountains, though occasionally they find opportunity to dally with humans that catch their fancy, or wander too far from the Marches. Gnomes and halflings eke out a living in scattered settlements, or live with the dwarves or humans, respectively.

So that's about it. If you'd be interested, let me know. I'll try and get things together and have the party complete and ready to play ASAP.

Any chance we can get a preview of the menu for the banquet?