Stebehil's page

This question was addressed way back when there still were printed magazines. The answer was a very short "you can´t multiclass with the same class". Period. As others have written, I would stick with that.

You could worship IMO

• one god
• a pantheon
• a philosophy
• several gods with similar portfolios (this one might be a DM call)

Stefan

I am afraid to say that the chillian, south africans, australians and germans are with the french on this one dude. And we english, who consume vast quantities of wine, also agree.

Stefan

The site looks great, just like its been built with RPGers in mind.
Try roleplaying, if at all feasible, but prepare to improvise. Rolling dice on the outside - I would take dice you don´t mind if they get lost in the foliage, if they fall down. But I´d rather try without dice rolling, and only storytelling, if you are not into LARPing (not recommended in public parks, anyway)
Otherwise, as said above, prepare for bad weather, take warm drinks with you, and a set of spare clothes in case you get wet or dirty. I would not wear my best clothes for that hike. Wear sturdy shoes. I would caution against walking on that staircase, tempting as it may be - it looks not too sturdy anymore, especially the middle and upper arches.
Have a look for some fast food shop on your way there - I bet you´ll be hungry afterwards.

Stefan

This really looks great and a lot of fun. Kudos for that! Like WQ said, I can´t imagine this at a german school, at least not without big problems.

Just so you know, our set designer/painter is an amazing German native named Brigitte from Nurnburg. So, you wouldn't be alone. A lot of the set was inspired from my 2 years in Germany.

Stefan

Are you talking about this?
link

Stefan

Well, I just learned that this "rumour" were in fact musings about what GH 4e book "should" contain in the eyes of a regular canonfire contributor. These musings made their way to ENworld as rumour somehow and were republished at the messageboards the link points to. So, these are not even rumours, but rather wishful thinking...

Stefan

I just got this link via the greytalk mailing list:
rumours about 4e ´hawk (text is in English, comments are German)
Now, it is just a rumour (seemingly originally from ENworld, which I don´t frequent), so take it with more than a grain of salt. If a book according to that rumour would be published, what would you think about it?

Stefan

Got the confirmation mail already, thanks. As always, fast and excellent service!

Stefan

...but again a shipment has been seriously damaged in transit. The cardboard envelope was watersogged when I pulled it out of my letterbox, and the corners heavily creased. When I opened it, the two books within turned out to be still slightly damp, the corners creased, the edges wavy from moisture, and one book even has pages stuck together and the cover partially discolored from being wet (over a longer time, I´d guess).

It was order 1270077, with
Pathfinder Chronicles:
Seekers of Secrets—A Guide to the Pathfinder Society (PFRPG)
and
Pathfinder Chronicles:
Book of the Damned—Volume 1: Princes of Darkness (PFRPG).

May I ask you to replace them? It would be great if you could combine them with order 1294113 from today.

Stefan

Remembering the history of the day itself, the day of the armistice at the end of WWI, leads me to thank the soldiers of the allies in both world wars for fighting against the agressor - namely, Germany in both cases. Even in the first world war, the german army committed war crimes, the biggest being probably attacking Belgium and practically destroying the country. The second world wars atrocities are well known. (With that history in mind, perhaps Germanys hesitant stance regarding german soldiers in wars today becomes a little more understandable.)

I thank all soldiers past, present and future who defend freedom and the universal human rights everywhere on the world. At the same time, I still dream that one day we won´t need their services anymore.

Stefan

I found expanded apprentice level rules for 3.5 a while ago. They are found here and might make a good starting point for conversions.

Stefan

That has to be some sort of parody or comedy skit, I don't think anyone is that foolish.

Stefan

I noticed a few things:

- if the player has a degree in history, you should better get your facts right, if not, his enjoyment could suffer (I know mine would).

- Do you have other players? Ask them if they are ok with that story as well. You and your players are the only ones possibly offended (unless you go public with the story somehow, which I would not recommend), so if all participants are ok with that, it should be ok. (If things like
these are ok, they I don´t find fault with your idea.

- don´t think too much in character classes when designing this story as RPG campaign - I think that your mix of classes for the three is a bit too much, I especially don´t see anything pointing to a paladin - most likely, they should be either diviners or even adepts (the NPC class), perhaps beefed up a bit. (As an aside, perhaps the whole campaign could work with NPC classes only)

- the most important decision is probably how you handle the religion(s) and its effects - are there the usual D&D clerics? I think this could ruin it for me.

Otherwise, gathering the proper gifts is a nice idea for representing the usual treasure hunt differently.

Stefan

RATS. IN. MY. KITCHEN.

Stefan

ElyasRavenwood wrote:

I just have a quick question about multi classing. If at first level I create a cleric, then at second level, I decide to take a level of wizard, so I have a cleric / wizard 1/1, what do I get for taking a level of wizard? Do I get a spell book and bonded item or do I have to purchase these items? thanks

Have you considered the apprentice rules in the 3.0 DMG? This would allow you to be a 0 level cleric and a 0 level wizard (Orisons, cantrips and a few 1st level spells from both lists). When you reach 2nd level, you become a 1st level cleric and a 1st level wizard.

EDIT: I just found some alternate and expanded apprentice level rules. They look interesting.

Stefan

This is indeed very strange behaviour. I once bought an adventure I was involved in as a player, but that was when I was a teenager and wanted to "win" the game. This is not a behaviour I could accept from mature players. What were they thinking? What´s more, if I explicitly asked my players not to do this, and they did anyway, I would stop DMing for them. But I think I would talk to them, ask what they were thinking, and really consider not DMing for them, at least not this AP. If you as DM set some rules, and they disregard those, chances are they disregard other rules as well. I would not be keen on DMing for people that don´t respect me. I think it has to do with respecting each other, and they clearly didn´t respect you as DM.

Stefan

Congrats to Rob (just got the Mail). Awesome!

And a belated happy birthday to Alison.

Stefan

We've had the rug jerked out from under us several times in the past, losing licenses for various magazines or having game editions change on us despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that we were doing well with those licenses or editions. After a while, it gets old.

Stefan

Well, ever since the Bologna process universities don´t seem to cater to letting the students learn on their own, but are rather focused on students getting their credit points in order to prove their own success in teaching. What´s more, since study fees were introduced in Germany for public universities as well, students who need to earn their own money need to finish the studies quickly, which tends to leave out those students who come from lower- and even middle class families.

I am just finishing (hopefully in January) a MA degree I´m doing at a local university of applied sciences. The course of studies you need to take to get that degree within four semesters gives you a full-time job of 40 hours a week in lectures alone, not counting the self-studies and other things you need. And this is based on the assumption that you have a BA in architecture if you take on this particular MA - woe to you if you have a different BA. It was not so bad for me, as I have a old german engineers diploma in architecture, but still, there needs to be more room for self-studies. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diplom for anybody interested in the old german Diplom).

Inquisitive minds are squished by study courses stuffed with lectures, IMO. This is something really I don´t like in the present higher learning.

Stefan

So North Korea is a nuisance but not worth invading by any of the key players? That about sum it up?

Regarding the problems with the German reunification (I live about 1 hour away by car from the former frontier, and can well recall the controls visited upon everyone going to West-Berlin), not only are the costs extraordinarily high (estimates vary between 300 billion to 1.6 trillion Euro, and are impossble to determine exactly), but there are more problems to it: after several decades, the industry in the former GDR was so run down that it failed completely with the reunification (the reasons for this are manifold), so unemployment jumped up, and many people went to the western part to search for work, especially the young ones or those with higher education. So, those who remain are out of work, not highly qualified, or are in their old age. (I´m simplifying here, of course). Germany has an overall problem with a low birth rate and folks living ever longer, leading to a shrinking and old society. These problems are even worse in the eastern part.

If I imagine now the regime holding to its power two decades longer, the situation won´t get any better with time - the costs would been even higher, and the economic situation even worde. I can easily see why South Corea is not keen on a reunification anytime soon, even if it were a possibility.

Stefan

But then, as i said, i would suggest you to remove the radioactivity thing, and replace it with something equivalent, but more fitting in the setting.
Radioactivity is not very heroicfantasyesque (neologism) ;)

Stefan

Stebehil wrote:

EDIT: Are there any official AD&D2 stats for shadow elves? If so, where can I find them?

They used to be on the Wizards of the Coast website.

Stefan

Stebehil wrote:

EDIT: Are there any official AD&D2 stats for shadow elves? If so, where can I find them?

They used to be on the Wizards of the Coast website.

Hmm... the more I think of it, the more I come to the conclusion that the shaman is best portrayed as a special sorcerer bloodline under the pathfinder RPG rules.

From the BD&D rules, the class had spellcasting up to level 7 - highest spell level for clerics under these rules. It has its own spell list, with a few special spells in it. This calls for a full spell progession anyway. Its spell list was limited - sounds like sorcerer. It had only few special abilities beyond that, which was the norm for BD&D.

A feat is perhaps necessary, like this:

Feat: Mark of the Shaman
This feat must be taken at the creation of the character and cannot be taken later. It shows as a symmetrical purplish birthmark on the face of the character. As soon as the character starts his training as a shaman (i.e., takes his first level of shaman), he gains +1 to his wisdom score permanently.

I haven´t read about the soul crystals in depth yet, but I guess that could be put into it as special bloodline power.

Most of the rest is just a matter of mindset, i.e., fluff.

So much for now,

Stefan

Googling found the following file:

gaz 13 text, which is a html version of the original text file found on wizards homepage. Just for reference.

EDIT: Are there any official AD&D2 stats for shadow elves? If so, where can I find them?

EDIT2: I think that the shadow elf shaman could even be a base class, as it goes up to level 36 originally.

Stefan

Hmm... this brings back the old problem that the Elf in basic D&D was a class also. How do you translate that into 3e?
I would think that the basic requirements for the PrC should be

- some BAB (+2 at most)
- spontaneous arcane casting (in keeping with the Sorcerer base class as favored), 2nd level at most.
- some special feat? Perhaps the disfigurement requires a feat and gives some bonus (like, it gives you +1 to wisdom as soon as you start shaman training or somesuch)

more later, have to go.

Stefan

Well done, I´d say. Sorcerer is probably a good choice for preferred class given their racial background, being exposed to radiation and all this. There was a shaman class in the original Gazetteer which practially begs to be converted into a prestige class - you needed to collect 2000 xp to be eligible for that class, and you needed to divide the xp between regular and shaman advancement. But he gained a bonus on wisdom. With the shaman, you have a mix of clerical and wizard spells, with a very reduced spell list, again calling to something more sorcerer/favored soul-like.

Stefan

Well, I just saw that Cologne hat 40.000 inhabitants around the year 1500, on an area of roughly 5 square kilometers, or about 2 square miles - so, obviously, 20.000 inhabitants per sqm. I´d guess that the population density in the northern italian cities was even higher at that time, and perhaps Paris and London also.
Westcrown with its ruined area and the higher class quarter is probably well served with 10.000 per square mile - these areas reduce the overall density considerably, I´d think.

Stefan

Stebehil wrote:

Well, if things get out of hands, I will just call the internet cops.

** spoiler omitted **

Stefan

~laughter~ I just saved that one! Thanks.

Stefan

I will be visiting the office next week to review files and discuss future GameMastery things...after 3 other attempts with scheduling mishaps, but good work completed anyhows. I just finished the Bandit's Outpost Flip-mat...looksa good.

Stefan

Well, if things get out of hands, I will just call the internet cops.

Stefan

As a relative noob, I can say that these boards are the most welcoming free public access ones I have been on.

I'm a supporter for life.

Stefan

Best wishes to Scott!

If he leaves the RPG industry, it surely is a loss for the industry. I wonder what that means for WOtC/D&D, though.

Stefan

Seeing that Josh Frost felt compelled to repost to the sticky Lisa posted in the OT area in september, and reading that "thread gestapo" thread recently, there might indeed be something going on here. I´m all for heated discussion, but you can stay friendly even in the middle of it.

I can only support what the 8th dwarf wrote - help that this place stays nice and provides a comfortable environment for all the gamers.

Stefan

Lisa Stevens wrote:

Warforged Gardener wrote:

Still hiring editors? I'm willing to relocate from Florida if it will help Paizo get back on track. My bachelor's degree isn't doing me much good here anyway.

Nope, the new hire will be here in a few weeks, so everything should be good. We also have two new interns starting on Thursday, so help is on the way! But thanks for volunteering!

-Lisa

Is the new hire currently moving from Eastern Europe?

Stefan

James, please don't rush anything out. I think most of us prefer quality products than rushed-out ones.

Stefan

Not to get too nitpicky, but you might want to take different levels of slavery into account - a thrall or serf is probably differently treated than a slave. It is an ugly topic, however, and I can fully understand if you don´t want to get too close to real-world history with that.

Stefan

In my campaign, I had the ghosts of all important dead NPCs who were on the "good" side appear after Kyuss was defeated. Alastor Land, Balakarde, Maralee, Zosiel, Icosiol, the druids from the library of Last Resort and some of my own NPCs appeared and thanked the PCs for their efforts.

Some of them had a personal message for the PCs, e.g. the druids asked the druid PC to create a new order of the Storm to protect the world from future harm.

The last one to appear was Lashonna, in dragonform. She thanked the PCs for saving the world and fulfilling the ideals she once strived for, before she was corrupted. She also appologized for the evil she committed and expressed her gratitude for being freed from Kyuss' hold. Her soul was free once more and she rediscovered her old ideals in the hereafter.

On this note we concluded the campaign.

Well, that leads to another interesting question: Is even Kyuss himself redeemable? Was there a point in history when he was not evil? Or would this be too much, do the PCs need an ultimate villain to defeat?

Stefan

Well, first of all, no matter how small it is, it is a group effort - there is no way you can do that on your own. Organize a few like-minded individuals (I would recommend no more than five for the core team).

You would need rooms for this - a school could serve well. Don´t try to organize it at home. Of course, renting rooms is costly, so you will need to calculate the thing. How many gamers might attend, and how much are they willing to spend? If you find rooms, what are the regulations of the place? Who can be called in an emergency? Where do you find necessities like cleaning implements and - toilet paper (don´t laugh, its crucial.)
Perhaps start with doing it on a saturday only - organizing sleeping places can be a real nightmare. Who carries the financial risks if the thing foes belly up? Do you need some special insurance for that kind of event?

Next, you probably need some food and drink - even if only some basics, like coffee and sweets. Are there any regulations on reselling that kind of stuff?

Gamemasters are of course crucial - don´t plan with you and your fellow team members being the GMs. It just won´t work out. Try to get ahold of folks offering game rounds early. Then, you have to organize a timetable for the game rounds. If you got any table top/miniature gamers in the mix, they need a LOT of space.

Is there any FLGS that might want to sell stuff there? That draws attention, but needs more space.

You need some more helpers for all kind of jobs, like collecting entrance fees, manning an information desk, serving coffee, collecting trash - gamers produce an inordinate amount of trash. You are the supervisor of it all, and you will be quite busy all the time. Expect to improvise a lot.

After the thing, you will have to clean the place (beware of the toilets), and see that nothing is left there. Especially the trash.

Just a few ideas from my own experience with organizing LARPs and helping at a few P&P conventions.

Stefan

However our next party is likely to consist of two rouge-fighters and a cleric... So I am brain storming.

Other than that, the build for this bard looks quite cool, and it could be quite a fun character to play - combining the dwarf with the bard image is not easy, but the image you have in mind could work quite well, I think.

Stefan

I can very well imagine that online games are addictive - which is the precise reason I stay well away from WoW and other games. I spend way too much time in the net anyway, and with any games, it would only get worse. You don´t need any additional substances to get hooked. IIRC, there were even a few deaths in Asia somewhere from playing some game too much and neglecting basic needs like eating, drinking and sleeping.

That said, even if it was DDO these parents got hooked to, it still was a cheap attempt at bashing D&D in general - obviously, it is easier to convey "D&D is bad" than to explain what MMORPGs are and why they can be addictive.

It is also easy to say "bad parents", but any addiction normally is a sure sign of something else being amiss, as the addiction normally is the symptom, not the cause. This is no excuse for neglecting their kids (there cannot be any excuse for this), but denouncing them as "bad parents" does not help them, their kids or anybody else with an addiction. And chiding any addict for his lack of self-discipline is no help either.

Stefan

Scientology is acknowledged as a religion in the US - at least tax-wise. It is acknowledged in a few European countries as well. In Germany and France, it is seen as a sect. In Germany, the Verfassungsschutz (a federal office for the protection of the constitution - I guess it would be part of the FBI in the US.) has them on their watchlist, as they are seen as being probably opposed to some tenets of the German constitution - a "honor" they share with extreme right and left political parties and movements. So, their claim to be a religion can be seen as disputed, depending at which country you look.

But after all this, they seem rather small fish, and probably not worth too much hassle. I doubt they will get any momentum anytime soon.

Stefan

I have no advice to give, but that sounds rather cool. Teaching the young one math skills and the basic principle of action = reaction, or rather, that he is responsible for his actions, surely is a good thing. Don´t be too afraid that you might ask too much of him if you gradually introduce greater complexity - the kids are often fast learners, and you will notice when it overwhelms him. He will grow with the challenges, I think.

Stefan

** spoiler omitted **

Stefan

Stebehil wrote:

"So, when Julius Cesear said that the die is cast, I guess he was rolling for initiative!"

Stefan

Brutus must have had a higher Dexterity.

Stefan

My part-time job is being a gopher/dogbody/lunch cook for a former co-worker's 96 yro dad on Mondays & Fridays. His vision is pretty bad, his hearing is fading, and he has early Parkinson's. On Wednesday late morning, he was home alone and fell in the bathroom, breaking his hip. When someone got home from work around 3PMish they found him and took him to the hospital. The hospital put him on pain meds, but didn't IV him till very late Thurday night, so he was dehydrated and his kidneys started to shut down.

This morning, I found out he was sufficiently rehydrated enough for surgery on his hip on Saturday, which went exceptionally well according to the doc. They then transferred him to a rehab facility where he can recover from surgery and get someone who will make him do the work to rehab his hip.

I'm out of a job now, but I'm thrilled that he is doing so well and has such promising prospects.

Stefan

"So, when Julius Cesear said that the die is cast, I guess he was rolling for initiative!"

Stefan

My guess would be that these dice might have been used for some religious ceremony, like divinations - the symbols that can be seen on it might point in that direction. The circle with the point in the lower left could be a sun smybol. "Alea iacta est", as Caesar is reported to have said before he crossed the Rubicon. This is interpreted as being a saying of gamblers at that time, but it could as well be seen as tempting fate.

I think the history behind the auction is interesting as well: "Acquired by the current owner's father in Egypt in the 1920s." Am I the only one that thought of an Indiana Jones-like story behind that? Egypt in the 1920s surely is quite a legendary time and place of its own right.

Stefan

Stebehil wrote:

Just got the call from my FLGS that the book is finally there! Well, I picked up the German translation monday... Still, having two rulebooks is ok to me - I´m the rules guy in our group, as well as DM, so having two books should help playing.

Stefan

Pfft.... My Store here in germany now has 12 of them...

Problem is they have had 12 for many weeks now.

Oh and only americans can buy them DOH!

Stefan

Just got the call from my FLGS that the book is finally there! Well, I picked up the German translation monday... Still, having two rulebooks is ok to me - I´m the rules guy in our group, as well as DM, so having two books should help playing.

Stefan

James Jacobs wrote:

Enchanter Tom wrote:

Does anyone know when the open playtest is going to start? I have a player who is anxious to try out the summoner.

We haven't nailed down the start date for the playtests yet, but we push it back a day every time someone complains about the oracle's name. :P

Slight problem with that, James. It means you're starting the playtest at least three weeks after the book goes on sale, just from the complaints so far.

James, you made my day with that comment :-)

Stefan