The Globe of Invulnerability spell says like Minor Globe except it stops 4th level spells. Minor Globe says it can be dispelled by Dispel Magic. It does not make sense to me that a Globe that will stop 4th level spells can be undone by a 3rd level spell. What makes sense to me is that it would take Greater Dispel Magic. Any advice on this? Thanks
I am also an HLC user who has been happy for years. I purchased all of the data packages (at least the Paizo ones). I tried HLO and I found it difficult to use. For me it did not seem intuitive. I made one character and felt it was a horrible experience. I recently received an email reminding me that my membership needed to be renewed. I don't think so presently.
I do not see how healing is a problem. With channeling the parties in my groups are usually almost fully healed in the middle of a combat. And is rarely in too bad of shape at the end of the battle. I would actually advocate for the channeling to be taken out of the game. I am not sure about the spells being underpowered, but someone should not be knocked unconscious and then jump up and be ready to fight again. They should need rest and recuperation.
Dead's man chest was printed as a 3.5 book, and updated a couple of years ago, as PDF only, when the earlier environment books were published - and that version was not published in hardcover. I have the original book... I have been asking for the Pathfinder version to be printed since it came out. So, let's do that $40K.
What I like about FGG (besides they make fantastic products) is that most of the work is already done before the kickstarter. I understand the Blight is behind, but a lot of kickstarters get behind. I watch people who plan to use something that has not been produced yet, and then it is behind they get very upset. I never plan to use something until it arrives personally. I have backed every FGG kickstarter, and they usually come out quickly next to other kickstarters. 6 years or ago or something I paid into a kickstarter with a small company for a monster book. They had not done any work at all until the kickstarter was done. I doubt at this stage I will ever see that book, and don't get me started on Throne of Night, which I also doubt will see the light of day at this stage. This is why I like the Frogs. They have the product essentially written when they do the kickstarter. Now if Richard Pett delivers them a full set of encyclopedias that has not been developed yet, and needs editing, layout and such; and the main book cannot be done until other parts are finished, well then (even though written) that one might take a little longer than anticipated. As Tom has said, these are written and will likely need layout and such, and I will always support the Frogs in eveything they do. And if you ever get the chance sit down and talk to Greg, or Skeeter, or Bill. I happen to live close to the main pond, and when Tsar came out I went there to pick up. I was graciously welcomed, we had a nice talk, Greg offered to sign my book, and Bill served me some BBQ'd salmon. I really enjoyed meeting them, and talking with them. They are a class act.
I am not much of a PDF reader for books like this. I was trying to use the PDF for a couple of game sessions because my group happened to show up in Bard's Gate about the time I received the PDF, but looking through the book yesterday was fantastic. It has so much more than the D20 book had. It is likely the best city book I have seen. I am very happy, and wish I had another month before my next game session so I could actually read every thing. Thank you Bill, Skeeter, Greg and all the Frogs...
I have run part of Second Darkness, but the group self-destructed (not the AP) in the third chapter. I have played in Legacy of Fire through the beginning of chapter six, and will finish that in 2017. Of the two my preference would be for Second Darkness to be fixed, and updated. One of the issues in SD is that there was a place where the AP stopped, and picked up again a level later. I think ended at 4th and picked up again at 6th. This was something Paizo played with during the AP, and the other experiment was set pieces that were not really part of the AP but a side adventure, related but not part of the main story. You almost have to do the set pieces to keep up the progression for the AP. I think SD, besides the general issues others have pointed out, could really use an update to integrate the whole AP better, and to fill in the gap they had. I liked the AP in general and would love it to be fixed. As mentioned long ago JJ mentioned wanting to fix what was wrong with that AP, and I would love to see him get the chance.
I think FGG has a basic philosophy of game design that goes back to the beginning of D&D. In the early days it was more a game of exploration and discovery rather than a game of stories and logic. I know that sometimes those old adventures did not make a lot of sense with placement of monsters, and sometimes it was distracting. But the essence of a game of exploration can make for an amazing game. My group has a mix of those who started with 1st edition, and those that started with 3rd edition. Those that started with 1st edition get the Lost Lands in a way that the later starters don't quite get the same way. What I really like about all the work is that it is such a sandbox. Unlike an AP it does not matter if the group abandons an adventure to do something else. My group was just doing Barakas, and the jumped right into the caves in the hills. They ran into trouble, and needed to go back to town to actually survive (almost lost half the party), and when they got the help they needed, which took most of their money, they were asked if they could do a task for the local priest. They decided they would take up that task and they got on the road. I doubt they will ever make it back to Endhome from there. It is a very long trek to do what the priest asked them, and it will likely take three or four game sessions to get there. I cannot see them then heading back that 2000 or so miles to continue in Endhome. At that stage they may go onto Tsar or who knows where. It kind of doesn't matter where, there is adventure everywhere. About Barakas I would say that mostly things hold together, in the actual caves and dungeons of Barakas there are areas where there are related creatures, like a group of Hobgoblins in several rooms, or goblins, or ratfolk. And at the same time a room or two can have something totally unrelated to the creatures around them.
And for ease from the preview thread for the Northlands Saga... The Northlands Saga Complete (KS)
The four initial adventures were well received by those who got them but ended up being overshadowed by larger projects that kept diverting the attention of the company and the customers, so they never got the attention or sales that they probably deserved. Eventually Ken started working on other games for Cublicle7 and told me that he wouldn't be able to complete the other Northlands adventures that we had talked about or the campaign guide that he had been working on. Wanting to get him what we could I asked if he would send me the notes and partial manuscripts that he had been working on to see if we could finish development. He sent me what he had, and no surprise--it was brilliant. He had a nearly complete manuscript for a campaign guide, complete or nearly-complete manuscripts for another half dozen adventures and notes and outlines for a handful more. Something had to be done. For the last year I have been developing, rearranging, adding to, hiring out to other writers, and writing myself to get this thing done. It is awesome and it is huge...and it is nearly done. Here's what it consists of:
As I stated on another thread: this is not just typical adventures dropped in a setting with guys that have horned helmets (because of course they didn't actually have those!--except in the operas), this is some legit retelling of the Norse culture in a fantasy game setting. If you're interested in your game involving things like wyrd, the holmgang, the Things and Althings of the Northlands, rules of hospitality that have real bite and matter in-game, mind's worth, and the choice to give up the ghost in exchange for a legendary death when you feel your end is nigh, then this will be the campaign/adventure path for you. Bonus: it connects within a couple hundred miles of the northern end of the Sword of Air regional map, so it fits seamlessly with your Slumbering Tsar, Rappan Athuk, Stoneheart Valley, Barakus, and assorted other Frog God Games games. So it's going to be a big book. I'd guess somewhere around 7-800 pages. That's around a 0.8 on the TSBS. A big book fully worthy of its material, and I'm excited about it and to finally get Ken his due.
I would add that the other thing about FGG products is the old school feel. I have been running Rappan Athuk, and Stoneheart Valley for about a year, and these are adventure of exploration. There is no world ending motivation to complete something right away (not that there may not be consequences for not completing something). For me the PCs are able to explore what interests them. And there are compelling things to explore. My PCs have more things to explore than they will likely ever be able to do. I have not read the first adventures of the Northlands that were previously published but everything I have read from FGG has been amazing. My suggestion to anyone who has not been introduced to FGG products. Buy the PDF of one of the currently published adventures - The Lost City of Barakus, Rappan Athuk, Slumbering Tsar, or the Sword of Air. If reading one of those adventures does not get you excited about FGG then let them go, but I cannot imagine that. Or grab the first couple of the Northlands tales in PDF and read those.
I think there are a lot of problems with the Vigilante, but overall I like the idea. My last rogue (I love rogues, slayers, and others of the stealthy kind), took levels in sorcerer because it allowed the use of wands without the UMD check (at least some wands), and spells to assist his roguishness. I liked this addition to the class. I planned only to take a couple of levels but then ended up taking more for other spells, again to assist with my roguishness, not combat spells or even utility spells but spells like detect secret doors, reduce person, and invisibility. I agree with a lot that was said about the social identity. I like the idea but making it mandatory for the class is a problem. It seems like it could work with an adventurer who took his social identity in town but where was that identity while he was out adventuring with the party. Or would it work better with the whole party had social identities. It is an idea but I think it is a hard one to put together. I like the idea of combining class ideas as it was done in the Class Guide, and I like the idea of doing it as it was done in the play test but agree with a lot of people, that the classes should be close in power to classes from the advanced class guide. I think this is a much better option than multitasking as I did with the rogue. Multiclassing dilutes the character too much, and these classes should be a good solution to that issue. Having the vigilante does bring the idea to me that maybe a whole party based on stealthy characters is possible. Stealth is so often ruined by the armored characters following the stealthy one, or the stealthy one must move so far out in front of the party to scout that he dies before his help can arrive. So, a vigilante, a slayer, a inquisitor, and another version of vigilante might be a way to put together a viable party build on stealth. Like it over all but it sill needs some tweaks. I will add, that I have read and played many of the playtests but this is the first time I have commented on any of them. I am very interested in the vigilante coming into it's own.
I was part of the Razor Coast thing too, one of the differences here is that Gary has already put out an adventure path. Part of the trouble Nick ran into was he had not done the publishing side, Gary has. I think we will eventually see this, and hate mail never helps anything. I hold out hope. One of my first kickstarters was some small monster manual from some obscure company. I was new and interested in what the guy had to say. The estimated deliver was over two years ago, and the guy seems to be moving forward but. I really don't care anymore. For me so much good stuff has come out since then. It was a poor choice on my part but I am good. I do not send the guy hate mail, or go after him. I have quietly gotten to a place of not caring whether I see it or not. If the amount you put into a kickstarter is too much for you to afford if it fails, then you should wait for the book to come out and buy it then. There will always be disappointments.
Yes, there is a lot coming out in the next couple of years. What I love about the Frogs is that they do a kickstarter to print a book but all or most of the work is done before the kickstarter. The current one originally said it would be out in July and even if it turns out to be August or September that is so much better than so many other companies, who sometimes have not even written anything or much when they do the kickstarter. I could name some folks here but will forego that...
I put the map on the wall, actually both maps together, and just having it there they look at things like the Dragon Hills and wonder what is going on their. Greed can be a strong motivator. If they decided to go find out what that, or anything else on the map is about I would let them go with no comment. They will get themselves in plenty of trouble just having that map stare at them every time we play.
I think one of the main ideas in the Lost Lands work is that sometimes they PCs run into things that they cannot handle. I have a group in Bards Gate right now, they were resting from adventuring but had not completed the previous adventure. They wanted to sniff around for rumors and other opportunities. I brought in the guy who asked them to help with the problem at the grave yard. They scared off the people in the graveyard that night and got an offer to meet Kaden. They were guided into the swamp to meet him and then went back to Bards Gate. They then went off to finish the previous adventure with thoughts and talks about Kaden and his mission to the coast. They also have a person who built a character that is very interested in the Desolation. I have stopped worrying about CRs. I did say they probably wanted to be 7th level before going to the Desolation. In these adventures 7th level characters are faced with rats and stirges, and then faced with CR11 horrors they probably should run from. It is more like it would be in the real world. I think modern gamers have been programmed to expect only things they can handle (usually) in the order that they can handle them. They do not get skeletons at 10th level or CR 16 encounters. They get what they expect. In the old days, and Bill is a very old days kind of gamer, it is more about exploration than it is about following a story. What I like about the whole thing is that my group can drop what they are doing and they can go on to the Desolation, or follow Kaden's quest or back to Rappan Ahtuk. That whole book is not intended to be an adventure you run them straight through. It is almost a campaign setting with encounters. The main story thread may never be completed. They can go where they want based on some rumor, or get on the path of the Sword of Air story line. I look forward to the Sundered Kingdoms. I will be running my in the Lost Lands for years to come, and may not run another adventure path for many years (although I will play them and collect them). I am sure we will explore Tsar, the rest of Rappan Ahtuk, Endhome, everything in the Sword of Air.
My two cents... Rappan Ahtuk is a huge sandbox. As are many modules set in the lost lands. My group got to the third level of the main dungeon and got teleported out. They are in Bard's Gate and exploring a local dungeon there. Trying to recover a priest who disappeared. While in Bard's Gate they have been exposed to several other possible adventures to go on. The point is they are deciding where they will go, I am not driving them in any way. They will eventually decide to go back to Rappan Ahtuk or they will follow one of the other threads they have pulled on. Bill is an old school player and DM of D&D. He runs his games in OD&D. The industry has evolved over decades. The early days of D&D were more about exploration than a plot driven save the cheerleader, save the world kind of thing, which is more of an AP thing that is totally plot driven. As someone who started playing in the 80's, I like the old school, Keep on the Borderlands, Lost City, Tomb of Horrors kind of play, and Bill brings all of that to the table. In the old days the game was more lethal. There was fear in the characters, caution. They did not rush in but walked forward with their 10 foot pole tapping the floor. They checked for traps everywhere. The had puzzles to solve. They often had to run in terror from something so horrible they knew they were about to die. It is all about the exploration. If a present day DM wants to run this dungeon, have them bring a second character, warn them they may go from rats to something too difficult to handle and let then wander where ever they want to go. Do not lock them in to the dungeon. Have other places to go, other things to do. Get all of the current Lost Lands products and create a whole world of places to go.
Marco, These are not a Paizo product. They are a Wizkids product that is licensed through Paizo to make Paizo creations into minis. Paizo does not have control over the release of the product, although they work with Wizkids and therefore, have a ball park date that might be a moving target as it is in this case.
Thank you Greg. What I like most about FGG kickstarters is that they have more often than not done the writing already and the product is ready to go in a relatively short period of time. Sword of Air was one of the slower books (60 more day?), but in between we got the Lost City that came out very quick. I am waiting on at least one kickstarter from about three years ago (never again with that company) and another seems to have completely stalled out. With the second one the books of this publisher are very good but the writing was not done prior to the kickstarter and it has stalled completely. With FGG, they do a kickstarter to curb the expense of publishing quality books (signature stitched - that was for you Bill) and not to write and develop the whole project. I am totally in on every Greg has talked about. I wish for the campaign setting earlier but we take what we can get. Greg and Bill and all the other Frogs. Thank you for the products you have and will give us. I am about four sessions into my Lost Lands campaign and plan to adventure there for a very long time. Already it has been a brutal, fun and frightening ride...
I believe the next one will be the Northlands Saga but don't know when they are planning that. And the one after that I believe will be the Blight adventure stuff. Then I hope to see the campaign setting. I was looking at some old posts and I believe Greg said that the Campaign setting would be out late 2014 at the very earliest and that was optimistic. so with that little ray of sunshine I am hoping to see it before the end of the year. I am really looking forward to the regional map that includes everything.
My PDFs were released today (meaning my package shipped). They are working on it, and can of course only do so many in a day. What I have noticed is that several years ago it did not take as long to get the subscriptions out. My assumption here is that they have many more subscriptions than they did before, and of course this will continue to go up over time, and it will slow things down. I do not really worry about when I get my stuff. I know that most months I will get a shipment and it will arrive when it arrives. I am a very happy Subscriber.
It takes them a couple of weeks to get all of the subscriptions out, so you may be before the street date or after the street date. If you look at the current month subscription thread in the customer service it tells you the shipping dates and the street dates of the minis and everything else there are subscriptions for.
Yes, Misroi - I like that it is a love letter to the Against the Giants series from 1st Edition. (Also Iron Gods to S3). I hope that we get some more of these homage APs in the futurte. Not an overwhelming amount but I like the nostalgic feeling of them. I look forward to other "love letters."
I have run five sessions as one offs when we could not do our regularly scheduled campaign. In a couple of months when we finish Serpent Skull we will be taking it on full time. I am using the Lost Lands. I like that the whole thing is gritty... I started them at Zelkor's Ferry and led them to the Mouth of Doom, partly because I was a one off (5 one offs). I let them start at 4th level. They have cleared out the Mouth of Doom and last session took the tunnel... They lost one character in the first four session and three in the last session. They made some mistakes that day and paid dearly for them. When we really begin the campaign I will let them have a choice. Continue where they left off (in over their heads) or start in Endhome as first level characters. We are using the slow advancement experience point chart. And I am working out how we bring new characters in. Last time I said that if their character died it would come in a level lower. I might make it a level lower than the group. I have one player who loses his characters often and will soon be 1st level and likely never make it to second... I have some thinking to do about this. On the other hand he is very risky in his play. Goes off my himself (4th session almost died to a poison dart) and takes preemptive action that forces the group to fight when they might not. The last session it was his second death, by starting a fight with an Inn Keeper who was actually tougher than he was and the rest of the group did not back him up... Lesson, just because it is an Inn Keeper does not mean you can one shot him. It might be that he is not only tougher than he looks but tougher than you are...
This morning looking through the message board I see the title of this thread and I thought. The Kickstarter began on April 1st and I have my book before the end of July. I love how the Frogs do these things, and I know that often they have done a lot of the writing already and all the other factors, but thank you for not making me wait for year. My first Kickstarter was a monster book for Pathfinder. I am not sure how long it has been but I will go with a couple of years and I do not have the book yet. It has been so long that I really don't care anymore about it. I know Kickstarter is not a preorder kind of thing and not all projects make it to market but the Frogs are unique in my Kickstarter experience with how fast they often get things to us. Thank you...
I dropped by Bill's pond today. I picked up what was there from my kickstarter and a couple of other things. So, what I saw. The physical maps, they are there... The Lost City of Barakus books (except the leather SW version). Dunes of Desolation. Cyclopean Deeps, SW version only (so far). I got home late so I have not had the opportunity to look through anything (much) but I did peek at the regional map. I also saw a cute mail person who was picking up 50 to 100 boxes to be shipped out. She was very pleasant. Things are on the move at the pond. I would not worry, everything is under control. When RA came in I helped pack for a day. I know how big a job it all is...
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