Thanis Kartaleon's page

Is it an evil act to use an evil magical item (such as an unholy longsword)?

For instance, let's say a paladin is trapped in a room with an innocent and a monster. The monster will eat the innocent unless the paladin does something. Obviously* the paladin must do something; doing nothing would be an evil act. The paladin has two choices available - attack with his fists, which he knows will be ineffective and not* count as doing something for the innocent, or pick up an evil weapon (perhaps using UMD to emulate the proper alignment) and save the innocent with that. Assuming the paladin does use the weapon, will he need to atone afterwards?

*I'm aware that there are differing opinions on the subjective nature of evil. Assume for the moment that the above is true regardless; I'm only seeking an objective answer regarding the use of evil magical items.

I recently began playing out an idea I had based on the Harrow Cards and Liz Courts' character generation rules for Harrow in Wayfinder #5. Finding time to game with my friend has been difficult lately, so I suggested bringing the game to the boards.

Here's how the first session went (admittedly with more description than I gave initially):

[GM]: Drawing back the heavy, lavishly colored velvet curtain, you enter a darkened chamber. Candlelight flickers from the tops of skulls, incense jars, and from within braziers. They illuminate fantastical paintings of angels and demons, portraits of toiling men and women of all races, and smiling beasts of all types, along with many other strange sights. The thickly-flavored smoke of the burning incense hangs heavily in the air, casting the small chamber in a dreamlike manner. In the center of the room there is a table covered in a shimmering cloth, upon which sits prophetic elements: bones, cards, and a crystal ball. In front, there is a small, padded chair. Behind the table there is a figure cast in shadows. She appears aged, but is draped in layers of silken shawls, so it is difficult to tell.

[Mysterious Fortune Teller]: Ahh, so you have finally arrived. I have waited long for this day. Yes, I know what it is you seek. But first, come, sit. You will drink the chaptka, pay the coin, and I will tell your Harrow.

[GM]: For reasons only your character is aware of - not you as a player - your character does as instructed. The Fortune Teller takes up the deck of Harrow cards, shuffles it thrice, then passes the deck to you. She instructs you to cut it, shuffle it, and then place eleven of the cards face down in specific positions. That done, she lights another stick of incense, and then begins to turn the cards… All Ability scores begin at 10.

[Mysterious Fortune Teller]: The Betrayal. There was something, early in your life, that turned you against the world that would have slain you. In this act of defiance, you found yourself. +1 Charisma

The Tyrant. This… this was your father, was it not? A cruelty knowing no bounds. Despite your defiance of him, you have yet learned from him. You know now how to command obedience from those before you. +1 Charisma

The Sickness. Your soul is made weary by what you have seen. What you have done. You steel your body, thinking that it will guard your heart. +1 Constitution

The Survivor. This is you. All that you have been through in life, it has been an ordeal, yes? A life, surrounded by shackles. And yet you thrive. +1 Constitution

The Brass Dwarf. Though you fight against a world that would choke you, you have found aid. But, time and again, your companions fall, and you are left alone. You ask yourself, why? +1 Constitution

The Juggler represents fate - the fate that brought you here today. It is time for you to slip lose the bonds that remain. +1 Dexterity

The Beating. You have earned your freedom the only way you know - through violence. Do not lose yourself in your strength. +1 Strength

The Bear. Or, perhaps you already have. +1 Strength

The Uprising. I see. You are not lost in your Strength. You have purpose in it. You will need it in the days ahead. +1 Strength

The Trumpet. You know what you face. You have already met this force before. Gird yourself with care. +1 Constitution

The Rabbit Prince. Be swift in your actions. The tide of battle may turn against you at any moment. +1 Dexterity

You believe yourself to be balanced in your actions, neither partaking fully of anarchy nor adhering to any law save your own. You are practically-minded, and only your allies are saved from your wrath. N or NE (player chose NE)

[GM]: The Fortune Teller sets the remaining cards in the deck aside, takes up those on the table and shuffles them. She presents them to you in a fan, and has you select three. The rest she sets on the deck.

[Mysterious Fortune Teller]: This card represents your family… The Betrayal. You were born a bastard - your father discarded you, sold you into slavery… You have no family. True match to alignment: +2 Charisma

This one represents your allies. The Beating. Note how it is misaligned. Your friends are your allies in chains, are they not? When you broke free from slavery, it was with their aid. True match to alignment: +2 Strength

And this card… this represents your enemies.

[GM]: The Fortune Teller gasps and looks hard at you before continuing.

[Mysterious Fortune Teller]: The Uprising. You have made very powerful enemies. I know now why you seek the thing you have come for.

[GM]: The Fortune Teller gathers up all the cards and begins to shuffle them again.

[Mysterious Fortune Teller]: And now that we have delved into your self, we will see your past, your present, and what lies ahead. Is your chaptka cold? Take from that jar, and mix it thoroughly. Now then…

The player chose to make the character a half-orc barbarian. We decided that he was sold to slavery in Rahadoum as a child.

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Next post: The Positive Past

Okay, so I'm having a bit of an issue with player bloat.

You see, I'm running the Rise of the Runelords AP. When it started, I had 2 players, whom I handed the stat blocks in the back of the book, as the idea to run the game came off-the-cuff.

Well, after a rough first session, they wanted to rework the characters, which I was fine with. Since there were only the two of them, I gave them 25 point buy and two NPC cohorts that I would play.

A few sessions later, it was clear that I wasn't having fun running the NPCs. After a punishing encounter that nearly killed them due to some unfortunate environmental factors, I elected to change it up a bit - I removed the NPCs, pumped the PCs to 30 point buy, and allowed them to Gestalt.

And if it had stayed just the two of them, I think that would have been fine; however…

The next session a friend asked if he could play as well. They had just gone to the trouble of remaking their characters as gestalt and really liked the flavor that gestalting brings, so I kept the rules as they were, while bumping up monster stats in the background.

Today, I had two new roommates sign on to my apartment. Both of them (and their friend) are interested in playing the game as well.

I'm not interested in dropping their stats down or removing the gestalting. What advice can you offer me other than increasing monster stats, oh Paizonians?

Two weeks ago, I was running an encounter in RotRL where the PCs were attacked by a group of goblins (I doubt that needs a spoiler). There were six goblins in total, and they all scored higher on initiative than the PCs. They each in turn moved into a flanking position around the foremost character (the party fighter), hoping to rend him to pieces. Instead, I rolled a 1 on EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEIR ATTACKS. We decided that their dogslicers broke on the fighter's abs of steel. The PC alchemist came next in the lineup; about half of the goblins were in a position to be struck by his bomb. He hit his target, but when the save for splash damage came up, I rolled 20s on each goblin's Reflex.

Just a bizarre moment.

Tinctures
Tinctures are a minor buff to the alchemist class, providing them with an equivalent of the 0-level spells that every other primary spellcaster receives. This is not an archetype, and there is no need to remove any other class features.

An alchemist begins play with a formula book containing all tinctures plus two 1st-level formulae of his choice. The alchemist also selects a number of additional 1st-level formulae equal to his Intelligence modifier to add to his formula book.

Tinctures are prepared and used like any other extract, with four specific exceptions.

Here is the list of tinctures:
Create Water
Detect Magic
Detect Poison
Know Direction
Light
Polypurpose Panacea (Ultimate Magic; now a 0-level tincture)
Purify Food and Drink
Read Magic
Sift (Advanced Player's Guide)
Stabilize

Exceptions:
Create Water: This tincture works just like the spell, but with a range of 0 ft. It is "cast" by pouring out the water, rather than by drinking.
Light: This tincture works just like the spell. It only affects the vial the tincture is created in, however. Pouring the tincture out or drinking it causes it to immediately become inert.
Purify Food and Drink: This tincture works just like the spell, except it now has a range of touch. It is "cast" by pouring out the extract into the food or water being targeted. The effects of this tincture only work for the alchemist - for anyone else the food or water remains the same condition it was prior.
Stabilize: This tincture works just like the spell, but with a Range of touch. The stabilizing essence of the tincture allows for other creatures to hold it for up to one round without it becoming inert. However, the tincture only affects the alchemist who created it (allowing for allies aware of the tincture to feed it to a dying alchemist).

I know deities are not included, nor is most of the flavor text or images - what else is not in the PRD?

Could be handy to know so I can make myself a reference guide when I need to travel light - my poor core rulebook doesn't take kindly to multiple trips across town.

This got a bit long. I hope it all makes sense.

So I am finally getting back into Pathfinder after a long absence. I'm going to start running Rise of the Runelords in a week and a half.

I've read through Burnt Offerings and most of the way through The Skinsaw Murders. A sidebar inside The Skinsaw Murders mentions keeping track of the Player Character's 'sins' for later use in Sins of the Saviors. It brought to mind World of Darkness, which I have been playing quite a bit of recently, and their Vice/Virtue system.

Since I have decided to use Hero Points in my game, I thought of an idea to incorporate the Vice/Virtue system as a method by which the PCs can recover Hero Points. I have also included a separate method to track Sin and Virtue in case a player elects to give his character a bonus feat in lieu of using Hero Points.

Once per encounter, a character may petition to recover a Hero Point for indulging in a Sin. Additionally, once per encounter, a character can use a Sin to add +2 to a related d20 roll. For example, a character might call on their Sloth to convince an NPC to help her (so that they don't have to do it themselves) and receive a +2 bonus on her Diplomacy check.

Once per session, a character may petition to recover all Hero Points (3) for fulfilling a Virtue. Additionally, once per session, a character may call upon a Virtue to add +4 to a related d20 roll. For example, a character might call upon Justice when fighting a bandit and add +4 to his attack roll.

For the first story (Burnt Offerings), players may freely choose any Sin or Virtue. I will record their choices each time. At the conclusion of the first three stories, I will remove two of their least used Virtues and Sins from their available list, so that beginning with Fortress of the Stone Giants, and continuing on through Sins of the Saviors, the characters will have a defining Virtue and Sin.

The Sins (and their opposite Virtues) are Envy (Compassion), Gluttony (Justice), Greed (Charity), Lust (Purity), Sloth (Courage), Pride (Reverence), and Wrath (Mercy).

Envy is indulged when a character has a personal hand in harming a rival or taking something that rival values. Compassion is fulfilled by providing emotional or spiritual support for another, even at personal risk.

Gluttony is indulged when a character does something destructive to himself or someone he cares about. Justice is fulfilled when a wrong is righted at personal risk to the character.

Greed is indulged when the character, through risk, acquires something at the expense of another. Charity is fulfilled by providing physical support for another, even at personal risk.

Lust is indulged when a character satisfies an urge in a way that victimizes another. Purity is fulfilled by abstaining from temptation, even though the character could gain significantly from the action.

Sloth is indulged when a character successfully avoids a difficult task, but succeeds regardless. Courage is fulfilled when the character withstands overwhelming pressure to change his goals.

Pride is indulged when a character exerts his desires over others, at potential risk to himself. Reverence is fulfilled when a character bows to another's wisdom, even at personal risk.

Wrath is indulged when a character unleashes his anger in a situation where it is unwarranted or dangerous. Mercy is fulfilled when a character stays his hand, even though doing so is risky.

• Preface •

Hey all... don't know how many of you remember me; I used to be a fairly active poster, but I abruptly stopped soon after the release of 4th edition. The new D&D was a factor, but mainly it had to do with my group falling apart. I was very discouraged and took the break up quite personally.

I've mainly been playing WoW since then; if you're interested you can talk to me on Silver Hand (Alliance), my name on there is Mylan and I am the guild leader of The Finest Thread (yes, the shop in Stormwind).

But, the itch to do some real tabletop gaming has never left me, and recently I was given a chance to run a game. It's going to happen this Friday, so I figured I should make sure I've got all my notes in order. I remembered all the fun folks on here and decided to post it up.

• Notice •

This campaign is tightly based on the plot from the original Final Fantasy (NES, Squaresoft). Names and locations have been adjusted, and plot spackle added to fit the Eberron Campaign Setting. The intro, up until about level 3 (hopefully), will be of my own devising.

• Setup •

Sourcebooks allowed for players: PH, ECS, DMG*. All other sources must be approved individually.

Characters begin play as level 1 members of NPC classes (Adept, Aristocrat, Commoner, Expert, Magewright, Warrior). Only one non-human is allowed in the party. Ability scores are point buy (15 points; 10x3 11x3 for laziness). No ability score may appear more than 3 times (a min-max limiter). Health and wealth are average for a starting member of the chosen class. Each character gets a bonus 'synergy' feat (+2 to two skills) to help flesh out their characters.

* For the NPC classes only.

• Background •

Elements in bold are pretty much blanks that I need to fill in.

The characters are childhood friends from the hamlet of Byhaven, a Brelish town on the northern edge of the Faded Forest (a stretch of woods about 130 miles in diameter near the border to Zilargo). The chief export of Byhaven is livestock (primarily horses) and oranges. As far as rural Brelish villages go, Byhaven is slightly more religious leaning, with a monastery to the Sovereign Host dominating the Commons. House Vadalis maintains a small outpost here.

The characters all wish they could be heroes; life has allotted them a different fate it seems - or so they think. Each player should have the class their character wishes they could be written down ahead of time. The players should work together on this to decide party roles ahead of time.

The campaign will appear to begin in medias res; however, it will soon be revealed that the characters are listening to the master horsegroom Yelfis, an amateur storyteller, regal them in the pent-ultimate tale in a fantastical epic. The storyteller leaves off as the heroes are about to enter the evil wizard's tower. He is called away to attend to the steed of a visitor to the isolated town, a young knight of the crown named Laren ir'Colworn (Ranger 6).

Byhaven
Isolated Hamlet, Population 289
Leadership: Mayor Pater Morrus (NG).
Economics: 100 gp purchase limit; 1,445 gp asset limit.

Laren ir'Colworn
Male human ranger 6
LG Medium humanoid (human)
Action Points 3
Init +5; Senses Listen +1, Spot +1
Languages Common + 3
---
AC 11, touch 11, flat-footed 10
hp 21 (6 HD)
Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +3
---
Speed 30 ft. (6 squares)
Melee +1 adamantine greatsword +10/+5 (2d6+5)
Base Atk +6; Grp +9
Atk Options Cleave, favored enemy goblinoids +4/humans +2, Power Attack
Ranger Spell Prepared (CL 3rd):
1st - read magic, speak with animals
---
Abilities Str 16, Dex 13, Con 8, Int 14, Wis 13, Cha 10
SQ wild empathy +6 (+2 magical beasts)
Feats Blind Fight, Cleave*, Endurance*, Heroic Spirit, Improved Initiative*, Improved Sunder, Power Attack*, Track*
Skills
Possessions
---
Animal Companion light horse (+2 HD, +2 natural armor, +1 Str/Dex, +2 tricks; Link, share spells, Evasion)
Notes Laren is using an alternate Ranger weapon style, granting him Power Attack and Cleave.

EDIT: Ah, didn't see that you couldn't 'save' posts for later editing down the road. If a mod happens by, care to remove my redundant entries?

This is a test to see if my words are being changed...

EDIT: AHHHHH!

Heh...

I just received a Seasons Greetings card in the mail from Paizo. A bit after-the-fact, but still... thanks!

TK

Summoning

A summoning spell instantly brings a creature or object to a place you designate. When the spell ends or is dispelled, a summoned creature is instantly sent back to where it came from, but a summoned object is not sent back unless the spell description specifically indicates this. A summoned creature also goes away if it is killed or if its hit points drop to 0 or lower. It is not really dead. It takes 24 hours for the creature to reform, during which time it can’t be summoned again.

When the spell that summoned a creature ends and the creature disappears, all the spells it has cast expire. A summoned creature cannot use any innate summoning abilities it may have, and it refuses to cast any spells that would cost it XP, or to use any spell-like abilities that would cost XP if they were spells.

As written, Leomund's secret chest makes no sense. Sure, the chest can be summoned to Ethereal Plane, but as per the rules for summoning effects, nothing that happens to any creatures in the chest there should effect that creature in a permanent manner. Meaning especially that this statement:

Living things in the chest eat, sleep, and age normally, and they die if they run out of food, air, water, or whatever they need to survive.

is a load of bunk (unless the 'living things' entered the chest after it was summoned to the Ether). Sure, they might die on the Ethereal, but being as they were summoned, they will suddenly be alive again and back home 24 hours after they 'perish' or are 'destroyed', or immediately if the chest is recalled before then, with no ill effects from the trip.

Also, what would happen if an Ethereal traveler came upon the chest and cast dispel magic after the chest is "lost?"

I think the easiest fix for this is to make secret chest a teleportation effect (with the note that the transport is two-way after a fashion, as per teleportation rules). Thoughts?

Also: Trap the soul, also a summoning effect. It doesn't seem quite right, but there's nothing about it that's wrong, either...

I'm kind of new to the whole LARP thing, and I haven't quite gotten the hang of how the rules work yet. Let me preface this by saying that our Storytellers are using a highly modified version of the rules, so this could all be wrong... (which is sad because it's really hard to get ahold of them out of game so I can learn it the "right" way) Also, I don't have my character sheet with me (we turn them in to a folder at the end of the night), and I don't remember everything that was on it (I'm going to make a copy before game begins again)

I'll describe my character and what I know about stuff - you fill in what I missed. Sound good? Cool.

----------------------
I am playing a homid garou cliath named Gregory "Leaps Through Windows" Barthis. I am a homid glass walker philodox with 2 glory, 26 honor, and 13 wisdom.

My demeanor is that of a bureaucrat, my nature is that of a martyr.

I have 3 each of rage and gnosis and 2 willpower

Attributes: (Balanced merit) 6 Physical (Brutal, Tough, Quick, Tenacious x3), 6 Social (Persuasive x4 and two others), and 5 Mental (Attentive x2, Calm, Discerning, Rational) traits.

Talents: Athletics (1), Brawl (3), Dodge (2), Primal Urge (1), Specialization: Aikido (1)
Skills: Drive (1), Firearms (1)
Knowledges: Computer (1), Investigation (1), Medicine (1), Rituals (1), Meditation (1), Vampire Lore (1)

Gifts: Mother's Touch*, Manipulate Simple Machines, Persuasion, Scent of the True Form, Spirit Speech
Rites: Rite of the Questing Stone, Rite of Dedication, Rite of Cleansing

Merits: Code of Honor: The Litany (2), Innate Gift: Spirit Speech (1)
Flaws: Failure's Dagger (3), Overconfidant: Physical (2), Stigmata (4)*

Backgrounds: Resources (2), Rites (1), Familiar Spirit: Concrete (5)

Weapons: Sapper Gloves (3 bashing), some sort of gun (given to me, haven't really looked it over)

*My Stigmata flaw causes me to take the wounds of those I heal with Mother's Touch. So I am definitely not a healbot. Unfortunately, I still have to pay the gnosis. I'm going to try and get a 2nd level gift that functions the same without the gnosis cost.
----------------------------------

Can't remember past that... I know I had one other rite... anyway.

Challenges:
How do they work? I get really confused on this part. Does the attacker bid a trait or the defender, or both? Can you throw or meet a challenge without any traits to bid? Do more traits get me extra retries in a physical match, or is that dependant on brawl? And how the heck does overbid actually work?

That's my main question right now. Any advice is welcome, though, and I'm sure I'll have more questions later.

Working title: Overbid
When the going gets tough, nothing stops you. Heroes don't have time for this crap.
Prerequisites: Character level 9th; Strength/Dexterity/Constitution 13+ or Intelligence/Wisdom/Charisma 13+
Benefit: Choose physical-based skills or mental-based skills when you select this feat. When making an opposed roll with the skill type chosen, you may expend one action point. If you do so, you may treat your result as if you had rolled a 20 (Your result becomes 20 + any modifiers on the skill being used).
Special: You may select this feat up to twice. The second time it is taken, it applies to the skill type you did not choose the first time.

So, what do you think of this (assuming standard allotment of action points - if you don't know what action points are, check here)?

Okay, say that for your next game you were going to limit your players to a custom list in terms of race, selected from any WotC or Paizo source. What would your list be?

For example, I am considering running a game where all of the PCs would be planetouched - Tieflings and Aasimars from the MM, Elemental Genasi from Monsters of Faerun (with the 3.5 update), and the Anaxi, Cansin, and paraelemental genasi from Dragon 293 (with some minor personal updating).

What would you put the CR on this creature?

Grossly Obese Rat
N Huge animal (augmented)
Init -2; Senses low-light vision, scent; Listen +1, Spot +1
------------------------
AC 11, touch 6, flat-footed 11 (-2 size, -2 Dex, +5 natural)
hp 114 (12 HD)
Fort +13, Ref +6, Will +5
------------------------
Speed 10 ft. (2 squares), swim 15 ft.
Melee bite +16 (3d6+12/19-20)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Base Atk +9; Grp +25
------------------------
Abilities Str 26, Dex 7, Con 20, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 2
Feats Blind-Fight, Improved Critical (bite), Improved Natural Attack (bite), Weapon Finesse (bonus), Weapon Focus (bite)
Skills Balance +6, Hide +9, Jump -4, Move Silenty +2, Swim +16

Based off of the calculations in the Monster Manual, this monstrosity would have a CR no higher than 3... but that's obviously wrong. What do you think?

Some creatures (such as true dragons, couatl, and most angels) are natural spellcasters - they cast arcane or divine spells as a member of a specific class does (for instance, true dragons cast as sorcerers). However, sometimes these creatures have expanded spell access. In the case of dragons, some of them can know and cast spells from the cleric spell list as well as from a few select domain lists, as arcane spells.

Okay, you know that already. Here's the question: If you give a creature that has expanded spell access levels in the class that it naturally casts from (for instance, giving an old red dragon sorcerer levels), does that creature continue to have expanded spell access for caster levels gained from class levels?

Sticky threads are on *the list*, right? Just wondering whereabouts they are, priority-wise...

So, what are the worst uses you could imagine for an artifact (either something you can think up, or something you've actually seen happen in play?)

I was paging through some of the monsters who have swallow whole, and thought - what if one of them swallowed the shield of Prator? I mean, as an artifact, it's neigh indestructable, so the purple worm or whatever won't be able to digest it. Eventually, it'll start moving through the worm's intestines - which won't be at all pleasant - and then it'll reach The End. Ouch.

I could just see my players using the Eye of Vecna as sling ammo...

Say you've got a marilith who focuses on her spell-like abilities. You want her to be a more effective 'spellcaster', so instead of taking Multiweapon Fighting, you give her Ability Focus (project image). What's her attack line read then?

I figure it'll probably be as if she had Multiweapon Fighting normally (as if she was a random 6-armed critter and not a marilith). So, all attacks would be at -4. Yes?

I've never been clear on this - is constrict an attack option, meaning that it applies ANY TIME the constricting creature wins a grapple check, OR is it a special action, one of the options the constricting creature has in grapple?

If you haven't heard of The World Project, please check it out.

I have fleshed out a creature to the World, the Voh Worm. Add any comments you like in the discussion tab.

Thanks,
TK

When figuring word count on a stat block... what counts? I guess the easiest way to answer this would be to tell me how many "words" are in the following stat block:

Crony - CR 4
Male Human Fighter 4
NE Medium Humanoid (human)
Init +3; [/b]Senses[/b] Listen +1, Spot +1
Languages Common

AC 18, touch 13, flat-footed 15; +3 Dex, +5 armor
hp 30 (4 HD)
Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +2

Speed 20 ft. (4 squares) in chainmail (30 ft. base)
Melee +1 spiked chain +9 (2d4+4; 10 ft. reach)
Base Atk +4; Grp +5
Atk Options Combat Reflexes, Power Attack
Combat gear potion of shield of faith (+2), potion of aid, potion of blur, 2 potions of cure light wounds, 1 flask of alchemist's fire

Abilities Str 13, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 10
Feats Combat Reflexes, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (spiked chain), Weapon Finesse (spiked chain), Weapon Proficiency (spiked chain), Weapon Specialization (spiked chain)
Skills Balance -1, Climb -3, Escape Artist -1, Hide -1, Intimidate +7, Jump -9, Listen +1, Move Silently -1, Spot +1, Swim -7, Tumble +2

Hm... My first post of this seems to have been eaten... Ignore it if it rears its head again...

Okay, I just want to see how play-by-post works (and I'm bored), so the first 4 people who reply to this - pick a character. Just go here. Under NPC Stat Block Bank, click By CR. Choose any CR 1 NPC and post the URL to the one you chose here.

Once everyone's ready, I'll run a short dungeon crawl. I will control the horizontal and the vertical (that is, the rolls) for simplicity's sake.

Hopefully I can give good enough descriptions...

Okay, that's all... I'm waitin'.

TK

I am wondering why this article was printed in Dragon. Unlike the Silicon Sorcery article from... #323 I believe (with the 'Riding Bird') this article has absolutely no crunch in it that I can use in my game. And all I got out of it that I didn't already know was that the game is going to be coming out for the PS2 rather than the PS3 (And I have not really been keeping track of this game's development other than some webcomic references, so that should say something).

So, can someone from the Dragon staff enlighten me? I mean, couldn't we have at least gotten the stats for a moogle or something?

TK

For those who have access to WG8 - Fate of Istus, I'd just like to know if the 'dread plague' the blurb talks about is indeed the Red Plague, and if it is the first or second wave of it?

Thanks,

TK

Does anybody have a list of Prestige Classes specific to the human subgroups of Oerth? I know the Fist of Zuoken is a very Baklunish PrC, and of course there's the Suel Arcanamach... anything else? Specifically, I'm looking for Baklunish PrCs, but anything I can add to my List will help.

Thanks,

TK

Hey, I'm just checking to see if anyone has heard of a PrC for pure monks (no spellcasting) that allows them to add energy affects to their attacks. Not looking for it to end in Elemental Apotheosis, though the ability to combine energy forms at higher levels would be a plus.

TK

I like the idea of called shots, though they've never been really implemented well. And after all, it has been intimated that critical hits do the job of called shots just fine.

Well, I don't really think so.

In the Dragon Compendium (Appendix D), it lists a table for critical hit locations; on a critical hit, you would roll on this table to see where your blow landed. Looking between this table and page 27, I came up with the following work in progress:

Critical Hits: Normal attacks (those that do not reduce a creature to 0 or less hit points) assume that the defender is able to shift around enough so that the weapon strikes in less critical locations. Thus, for critical hits, you have gotten past all of the creature's defenses. On a critical hit, a d% roll is made to check the following chart (if an unreachable area is rolled, reroll). You can attempt to target an area on a critical hit, but you take a penalty on the confirmation roll, listed after each area:

01-64 (Nonspecific, -0)
--01-80: Standard critical hit
--81-98: Critical multiplier +1
--99: Apply critical damage to item held in main hand (if none, reroll)
--00: Apply critical damage to item held in off hand (if none, reroll)
65-73: (Head, -8 if within reach)
--01-20: Ear injured
--21-30: Eye injured
--31-00: Head injured
74-78: (Lower Body, -4 if same size or smaller, -2 if larger) -- Leg/Foot Injured
79-88: (Arms, -4 if same size, -6 if different size and within reach)
--01-20: Hand injured
--21-00: Arm injured
89-96: (Upper Body, -2 if same size or smaller, -4 if larger and within reach)
97-00: (Neck, -16 if within reach)
--01-20: Rendered mute
--21-00: Constitution damage?

So, what do you think? Assuming you would use a system like this, what would you change to make it better?

Since archive browsing is down for the foreseeable future, I thought I would ask for seasoned AoW-ers to post links to their favorite threads from the Age of Worms board and the Campaign Journals board.

Stuff like Chris Wissel's tie-in with Alastor Land and the Wind Dukes, the original idea to have the iron balls actually be made of ceramic, the threads concerning the ramifications of thousands of wights in the Free City - if you thought it was an awesome thread and saved the link or can find it again, post it here. I'll do a bit of digging myself...

TK

From the Shackled City archives:

zeal wrote:

I'm looking for the archives and the post by Gary in this thread said that I could browse them by clicking on the archive link at the top of the page. I'm sorry but I can't find this archive link. Can someone advise me please as I would dearly love to find the archives.

We had to temporarily disable archive browsing due to performance problems. We'll fix it as soon as we get a chance. In the meantime, searching still works.

-Vic.

Just looking for an update - I really miss this feature.

TK

Okay, a couple of questions for Eric or James here, and then one for Rob, should he find this thread:

Are any of the NPCs in Diamond Lake meant to be pure blooded (meaning Baklunish, Flan, etc.), and if so does the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (or any other official source) have different traits listed for the human subgroups?

Uncle: I'd like for my PCs to have the chance to meet lots of big name NPCs in Greyhawk at some point. Where would they have to go to meet Lord Robilar, and what would his disposition on the Age of Worms be?

Also, if anyone has any notes to add about running the AoW in Greyhawk that come to mind at this point, feel free to add those in, too.

Thanks!

TK

Maps of Mystery from #127 to #139 (no Maps of Mystery exist for issues #114 to #126). Maps of Mystery are masterfully cartographed by Christopher West:

#127 - Smuggler's Tunnels
#128 - Sewer Stronghold of the Thieves' Guild
#130 - Jungle Trading Port
#131 - Vault of the Deathlord
#132 - Haunted Roadside Coaching Inn
#133 - Underdark Caverns
#135 - The House of Broken Minds
#136 - The Forsaken Rift
#137 - Cinderforge
#138 - Ancient Catacombs
#139 - Darkmaiden's Dance: Merchant Caravel

Similar to the Class Acts Index and Dungeon Adventures Index I created not long ago, here is a Campaign Workbooks Index, covering Dungeons #114 - #139. Enjoy!

The Cast
#115 - Fences and Dealers (Frank Brunner)
#116 - Informants (Russell Brown)
#117 - Five-Second NPCs (Mike Mearls)
#118 - Alert the Watch! (F. Wesley Schneider)
#119 - Spells for Sale (Russell Brown)
#120 - Bounty Hunters (F. Wesley Schneider)
#121 - Employers and Patrons (Alec Austin)
#122 - Atypical Enemies (Chris Sims)
#123 - Sages and Scholars (Alec Austin)
#125 - Seneschals and Majordomos (F. Wesley Schneider)
#127 - Trust No One (Kennon Bauman)
#128 - Wet Your Whistle (Ashavan Doyon)
#130 - Behind Bars (Michael Kortes)
#131 - Specialists (Matthew Goodall)
#132 - Down at the Docks (Russell Brown)
#136 - Company of Thieves: The Order of the Lavender Rose (Ashavan Doyon)
#138 - Strictly Legit (Hal MacLean)
#139 - Healing for Hire (James Lafond Sutter)
The City
#115 - Fifty Fairs and Markets (Richard Pett)
#116 - Abandoned Buildings (Dawn Ibach)
#117 - Graveyard Encounters (Dawn Ibach)
#118 - Instant City Shopping (Mike Mearls)
#119 - Enemies at the Gate (Mark Nemeth)
#120 - The Adventure Begins (Russell Brown)
#121 - Unsung Heroes (Russell Brown)
#122 - A Town in the Aftermath (Mark A. Hart)
#123 - 100 Market Stalls (Richard Pett)
#124 - Smells of the City (Alec Austin)
#126 - Merchant Madness (Ashavan Doyon)
#130 - Have You Heard? (Trevor Janes)
#132 - To the Games! (Richard Pett)
#133 - Cards, Dice, & Skulls (Frank Brunner)
#134 - 50 Unexpected Events (Richard Pett)
#135 - Stronghold Defenses (Stefan Happ)
#138 - 100 Things Found in an Inn (Jason Bulmahn)
#139 - Merchant Madness II (Ashavan Doyon)
The Dungeon
#114 - Lairs with Flair (Rodney Thompson)
#115 - Passages into Darkness (Mike Mearls)
#116 - Four Fiendish Fountains (Frank Brunner)
#117 - A Brief Respite (Rodney Thompson)
#118 - Art and Other Fancy Loot (Wolfgang Baur)
#119 - Sounds of the Underworld (Russell Brown)
#120 - Dungeons with Dimension (Alec Austin)
#121 - One Hundred Useless Items (Richard Pett)
#122 - Essential Works (Hal MacLean)
#123 - Treasure Trails (Hal MacLean)
#124 - Resting on the Run (Chris Fry)
#125 - Beaker of Endless Potions (Matthew Goodall)
#127 - Staffs of Power (Mark A. Hart)
#129 - Familiar Creatures With New Faces (Christopher Wissel)
#129 - Black Sheep (Nicholas Logue)
#130 - Swords of Legend (Ashavan Doyon)
#131 - Chutes and Ladders (Tim Hitchcock)
#133 - The Möbius Scrolls (Matthew Goodall)
#134 - 7 Treasure Chests (Mark A. Hart)
#135 - 100 Bookshelves (F. Wesley Schneider)
#136 - Magic Mushrooms (Hal MacLean)
#137 - Grisly Ends (Hal MacLean)
#138 - Obstacle Traps (Tim Hitchcock)
The Journey
#114 - Spice Up Your Travel (Travis Stout)
#115 - Sylvan Ambushes (Frank Brunner)
#116 - Refugees (Mike Mearls)
#117 - Bridging the Gap (Mike Mearls)
#118 - Pilgrims on the Road (Mike Mearls)
#119 - On the Wild Side: Creating Frontier Outposts for Any Setting (Rodney Thompson)
#120 - Stopovers (Russell Brown)
#121 - Well Met on the Road (Russell Brown)
#122 - Hazards of the Trail (Richard Pett)
#123 - Law of the Land (Russell Brown)
#125 - Guides (Russell Brown)
#126 - Swamp Dangers (Jason Bulmahn)
#128 - Express Travel (Russell Brown)
#130 - Inns and Lodging Houses (Alec Austin)
#131 - Dimension Doors (Nicholas Logue)
#132 - Mythic Locales (Jeffrey Gerretse)
#133 - One Hundred Meals (Russell Brown)
#134 - Courtesans and Confidants (F. Wesley Schneider)
#134 - Unwanted Followers (Russell Brown)
#135 - Polders (Hal MacLean)
#137 - Foraging Finds (Russell Brown)
Critical Threat
#114 - Lassiviren the Dark: Ruthless Assassin (Robert J. Schwalb)
#118 - Larsa Essinel: Dragon Assassin (F. Wesley Schneider)
#126 - Girddrez: Savage Duelist (F. Wesley Schneider)
#127 - Glimmerpane (Hal MacLean)
#129 - Malek: Evil Entombed (Mike McArtor, F. Wesley Schneider, and James L. Sutter)
#132 - Ella Mornel (Christopher Wissel)
#133 - The Marshal: Inevitable Justice (Christopher Wissel)
#136 - Countess Vita Al-Aldora (Ashavan Doyon)
#137 - The Dusklight Caravan (Sam Brown)
#138 - Downer Tarantula: Misfit Miscreant (Kyle Hunter)

Okay, so I'm (finally) gearing up to run AoW (at least, I hope). But before I do so, I decided to hammer out a list of house rules for my game. No, I'm not talking about changes to the RAW, but rather... well, you'll see. Any comments or suggestions are welcome.

AGE OF WORMS HOUSE RULES

Pre-game
* $5 for food or bring food for everyone worth the same. (pizza rolls, 3-liters, pizza, subway, etc.)
* $5 extra per house if you need transportation.
* Any extra $ toward the purchase of props, minis, books, etc. are appreciated and will be accounted for.
* Feel free to request certain food.

Character Creation
* Make two characters minimum (in case of character death)
* Mutually Agreed Point Buy (25 recommended). Try to avoid power creep here, but I leave this up to you, as long as everyone is equal.
* Average starting gold. If you have enough ranks in the appropriate Craft skill to take ten on making an item, you may purchase it at 1/3 normal cost. (round up)
* Any alignment is okay, but don't be "Chaotic Stupid" or "Lawful Stupid." Alignment will be tracked moderately, and you will get warning 1 session ahead of time if I believe your character's actions do not match his alignment. (barring exceptions - exceptional acts might cause immediate change.)
* Backstory - You are stuck in the mining hellhole of Diamond Lake and are about 10,000 gp in debt to mine owner Balabar Smenk. You decide why.
* Game will be set in Greyhawk - Forgotten Realms deities are not available. Full listing of Greyhawk deities is available upon request, but any in the PH and most 'generic' D&D supplements will work just fine.
* Nearly any race/class allowed pending approval, but I need full access to anything before I will approve it.
* Races with racial HD & level adjustments (up to ECL 4) allowed, using Savage Species style progression.
* Intercharacter Relations - Your character must know and be on good terms with at least one other character.
* Action Points may or may not be used (to be determined)
* Regional feats may not be used.
* If you plan on taking a particular character build, let me know in advance. Also keep in mind that during the campaign, certain feats and prestige classes may become available.

In Game
* Most likely time slot - 5pm - 1 am Saturdays. Game must start by 7pm and must end by 1am, barring some exceptions.
* Holidays (Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, etc.) are not game days. If any other days need to be taken off from gaming, you will (hopefully) be given at least two weeks' warning.
* I will attempt to use the rules as written for simplicity's sake. Any time I deviate from the RAW, I will put a note of it on the personal forum.
* I reserve the right to change any rule I deem stupid or unbalanced.
* Leave rules discussions for post-game. I will hear arguments on any particular subject once, then my decision is final.
* Death happens. Try to leave behind a legacy if your character dies, then get over it (that's why I had you make multiple characters). And remember, resurrection is available at higher levels.
* Players may use laptops as long as they do not become distractions, but must use actual dice rather than electronic generators.
* All player dice rolling is to be done in the dice pit - any roll that lands outside of the dice pit is rerolled.
* Every fourth session is open to optional (non-Age of Worms) gaming or discussion.

Experience
* XP points will be generated at the end of the gaming session or when I feel necessary.
* Characters can have different XP totals.
* Session XP will be 10 x Level for all participating players.
* Clean up XP will be 50 x Level for all participating players if kitchen and gaming area are clean† after the end of the session.
* Journal XP will be 50 x Level for all players who post a journal of the session on the forum. No specified length, but reading the journal should be enough to remember highlights of the session and get a sense for the character's personality.
* Inspirational XP will be 10 x Level. Each player can give another player Inspirational XP once per session.
* Pity XP will be 15 x Level and awarded to one player per session by a group vote.
* Other bonus XP may be awarded at my discretion.
* XP might be able to be used to purchase action points (to be determined).
* Character Retraining, as listed in the PHB II, will be allowed on a provisional basis.

† meaning, left in the same state they were before game began. Extra XP if it's even cleaner!

Smenk Debt Ideas
* He helped you cover up a crime.
* He helped you afford your home.
* It is a family debt.
* You have a gambling or other addiction.
* He knows a disastrous secret about you.

Looking forward to your comments,

TK

Okay, well I posted a Class Acts Index in the Dragon forum, and got a cookie for it from Mike McArtor, so I kept at it and wrote up something similar for dungeon adventures. Unfortunately, I only got on the Dungeon boat when Erik took the reins, so I've only got #114 onwards. But this list should still come in handy.

I organised it by level, and included the terrain/type listed, campaign setting if listed, and author. A couple of the adventures were linked but had no linking title, so I provided one for them, marked in italics. I'll probably come back later and post them again, sorted by type and then by author, with another section for linked adventures/adventure paths, but for now I need sleeeeep.

TK

Any Level
#138 - Challenge of Champions VI (Johnathan Richards)
1st level
#114 - Mad God's Key (Urban & Dungeon Crawl; Jason Bulmahn)
#118 - Box of Flumph (Urban; Tim Hitchcock)
#124 - Age of Worms: The Whispering Cairn (Dungeon Crawl; Erik Mona)
#130 - Within the Circle (Forest & Dungeon Crawl, Forgotten Realms; Sam Brown)
#135 - Funeral Procession (Urban; Mark A. Hart)
#137 - Siege of the Spider Eaters (Rural & Dungeon Crawl; Tim & Eileen Connors)
#139 - Savage Tide: There Is No Honor (Urban & Dungeon Crawl; James Jacobs)
2nd Level
#123 - Salvage Operation (Dungeon Crawl; Mike Mearls)
#128 - Shut In (Urban; F. Wesley Schneider & James L. Sutter)
#138 - Urban Decay (Urban; Amber E. Scott)
3rd Level
#115 - Black Ice: Raiders of the Black Ice (Wilderness {cold desert} & Dungeon Crawl; Wolfgang Baur)
#117 - Fallen Angel (Urban & Dungeon Crawl, Eberron; Keith Baker)
#119 - Unfamiliar Ground (Dungeon Crawl; Christopher West)
#122 - Final Resting Place (Dungeon Crawl; Michael Kortes)
#125 - Age of Worms: The Three Faces of Evil (Dungeon Crawl; Mike Mearls)
#131 - The Beasts of Aulbesmil (Rural & Forest; Skip Williams)
#134 - Home Under the Range (Underdark; Michael Kortes)
4th Level
#120 - The Obsidian Eye (Warm Desert & Dungeon Crawl; Nicolas Logue & Brendan Victorson)
#121 - Fiend's Embrace (Cold Swamp & Dungeon Crawl, Greyhawk; Stephen S. Greer)
#132 - Wingclipper's Revenge (Temperate Forest & Swamp; Christopher Wissel)
#136 - Tensions Rising (Temperate Mountains & Dungeon Crawl, Eberron; Ryan Smalley)
5th Level
#116 - Palace of the Twisted King (Warm Desert & Dungeon Crawl; Phillip Larwood)
#126 - Age of Worms: Encounter at Blackwall Keep (Temperate Swamp & Dungeon Crawl; Sean K Reynolds)
#127 - The Hive (Dungeon Crawl; Phillip Larwood)
#129 - Murder in Oakbridge (Urban, Eberron; Uri Kurlianchik)
#133 - Chimes at Midnight (Urban, Eberron; Nicolas Logue)
6th Level
#114 - Isle of Dread: Torrents of Dread (Jungle & Dungeon Crawl; Greg A. Vaughan)
#122 - Fiendish Footprints (Temperate Forest & Dungeon Crawl; Tito Leati)
#137 - Tealpeck's Flood (Dungeon Crawl; Peter Vinogradov)
#126 - The Menagerie (Urban; B. Matthew Conklin III)
7th Level
#115 - Steel Shadows (Urban & Dungeon Crawl, Eberron; Keith Baker)
#120 - Forsaken Arch (Dungeon Crawl; Timothy J. Haener)
#123 - Shards of Eberron: Crypt of Crimson Stars (Temperate Plains & Dungeon Crawl, Eberron; James Wyatt & Andy Collins)
#124 - Shards of Eberron: Temple of the Scorpion God (Dungeon Crawl, Eberron; James Wyatt & Andy Collins)
#133 - Ill Made Graves (Cold Forest & Dungeon Crawl; Kevin Carter)
#127 - Age of Worms: The Hall of Harsh Reflections (Urban & Dungeon Crawl; Jason Bulmahn)
8th Level
#125 - Shards of Eberron: Pit of the Fire Lord (Dungeon Crawl, Eberron; James Wyatt & Andy Collins)
#126 - Black Ice: The Clockwork Fortress (Dungeon Crawl; Wolfgang Baur)
#132 - Caverns of the Ooze Lord (Rural & Dungeon Crawl; Campbell Petney)
9th Level
#121 - Styes: The Styes (Urban; Richard Pett)
#128 - Age of Worms: The Champion's Belt (Urban & Dungeon Crawl; Tito Leati)
#134 - And Madness Followed (Urban; Matthew Hope)
#139 - Requiem of the Shadow Serpent (Dungeon Crawl, Forgotten Realms; Anson Caralya)
10th Level
#130 - The Palace of Plenty (Cold Hills & Dungeon Crawl, Oriental Adventures; Tito Leati)
#135 - Chains of Blackmaw (Urban; Nicolas Logue)
#136 - The Coming Storm (Dungeon Crawl, Greyhawk; Greg A. Vaughan)
#138 - Styes: The Weavers (Urban; Richard Pett)
11th Level
#117 - Istivin: Touch of the Abyss (Urban & Dungeon Crawl; Greg A. Vaughan)
#118 - Istivin: Shadow of the Abyss (Urban, Temperate Wilderness, & Dungeon Crawl; Greg A. Vaughan)
#129 - Age of Worms: A Gathering of Winds (Dungeon Crawl; Wolfgang Baur)
12th Level
#116 - Kamyn-Dhun: Death of Lashimire (Temperate Coastal & Dungeon Crawl, Psionic; Tim Hitchcock)
#119 - Istivin: Wrath of the Abyss (Dungeon Crawl; Greg A. Vaughan)
#131 - The Hateful Legacy (Alpine Forest, Greyhawk; Greg A. Vaughan)
13th Level
#121 - Secrets of the Arch Wood (Dungeon Crawl, Forgotten Realms; Skip Williams)
#123 - The Amarantha Agenda (Temperate Forest; Phillip Larwood)
#126 - Vampires of Waterdeep: Blood of Malar (Urban & Dungeon Crawl, Forgotten Realms; Eric L. Boyd)
#127 - Vampires of Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Crypt (Dungeon Crawl, Forgotten Realms; Eric L. Boyd)
#130 - Age of Worms: The Spire of Long Shadows (Urban & Dungeon Crawl; Jesse Decker)
14th Level
#117 - The Winding Way (Dungeon Crawl; Nicholas Logue)
#119 - Tomb of Aknar Ratalla (Dungeon Crawl; Jack Flynn)
#120 - Lost Temple of Demogorgon (Dungeon Crawl; Sean K Reynolds)
#128 - Vampires of Waterdeep: The Fireplace Level (Planar Dungeon Crawl, Forgotten Realms; Eric L. Boyd)
#138 - The Mud Sorcerer's Tomb (Dungeon Crawl; Mike Shel)
15th Level
#118 - Throne of Iuz (Temperate Forest & Dungeon Crawl, Greyhawk; John Simcoe)
#125 - Kamyn-Dhun: Seekers of the Silver Forge (Aquatic & Dungeon Crawl; Tim Hitchcock)
#131 - Age of Worms: The Prince of Redhand (Urban; Richard Pett)
#137 - Man Forever (Urban, Forgotten Realms; Jason Nelson-Brown)
16th Level
#114 - Shackled City: Thirteen Cages (Dungeon Crawl; Chris Thomasson)
#124 - Maure Castle: Chambers of Antiquity (Dungeon Crawl; Robert J. Kuntz)
#132 - Age of Worms: The Library of Last Resort (Wilderness; Nicolas Logue)
17th Level
#129 - The Twisted Run (Urban & Wilderness, Forgotten Realms; Wil Upchurch)
#139 - Maure Castle: The Greater Halls (Dungeon Crawl, Greyhawk; Robert J. Kuntz)
18th Level
#115 - Shackled City: Strike on Shatterhorn (Dungeon Crawl; Christopher Perkins)
#122 - Root of Evil (Dungeon Crawl; Mike Mearls)
#136 - Gates of Oblivion (Plane of Shadow & Dungeon Crawl; Alec Austin)
#133 - Age of Worms: Kings of the Rift (Dungeon Crawl; Greg A. Vaughan)
19th Level
#126 - Shackled City: Asylum (Outer Planes {Carceri} & Dungeon Crawl; Christopher Perkins)
#134 - Age of Worms: Into the Wormcrawl Fissure (Temperate Canyon & Dungeon Crawl; James Jacobs)
20th Level
#135 - Age of Worms: Dawn of a New Age (Urban & Dungeon Crawl; Tito Leati)
30th Level
#123 - Quicksilver Hourglass (Planar Dungeon Crawl; Anson Caralya)

Hey All -

I got a bit bored and decided to create an index of the class acts articles. Here they are, up to Dragon 338 (the end of the old style Class Acts). I organized them by class, and included some small notes when necessary:

Barbarians:
#323: Civilized Barbarians (flavor)
#324: Barbarian Culture (flavor)
#325: Flaws for Barbarians
#326: Strong Strategies (advice)
#327: The Canny Barbarian (advice)
#328: Barbaric Mounts (alternate animals)
#329: Support Your Local Barbarian (advice)
#330: Implacable (optional class)
#331: Archaic Armaments (savage weapons)
#332: Vision Quests (feat)
#333: Change of Environs (feats)
#334: Council Elders (flavor/feats)
#335: Nasty, Brutish, and Short (background benefits)
#336: Herbal Remedies (mundane items)
#337: The Free People (flavor; feat)
#338: Giants in the Saddle (optional class)
Bards:
#323: Instruments of the Masters
#324: Flaws for Bards
#325: Skills and Knowledge (advice)
#326: Magic & Music (advice)
#327: Bards From History (flavor)
#328: Heavy Metal (advice)
#329: Using the Universal Language (alternate skill use; flavor)
#330: Songs of Peace (advice)
#331: The Multiclassed Bard
#332: Where Did You Go To College? (flavor/background benefits)
#333: Temple-Serving Bards (flavor; feat)
#334: Back to School (flavor/background benefits)
#335: Bardic Magic Items (magic items)
#336: Blasphemous Utterances (feats)
#337: Harbinger (optional class)
#338: Focused Performer (feats, bardic music modifications)
Clerics:
#323: Heed Your Calling (flavor)
#324: Peace Out (flavor)
#325: More Faith, Less Fight (advice)
#326: Flaws for Clerics
#327: Tokens of Faith (alternate holy symbols)
#328: Peripheral Beliefs (character traits)
#329: Tokens of Faith II (alternate holy symbols)
#330: The Multiclassed Cleric
#331: Tokens of Faith III (alternate holy symbols)
#332: Martial Symbolism (flavor)
#333: The Rage Cleric (optional class)
#334: Variant Turning (divine feats)
#335: Essential Cleric Spells
#336: Essential Spells 4-6
#337: Essential Spells 7-9
#338: Religious Titles (flavor)
Commoners:
#330: Flaws for Commoners
Druid:
#323: Teach Your Old Companion New Tricks
#324: Flaws for Druids
#325: Druid Meets World (advice)
#326: The Wild Side (advice)
#327: Animal Allies (flying squirrel, moose, giant seahorse)
#328: The Storm Druid (optional class)
#329: History of the Druids (flavor)
#330: Boosting Your Animal Companion (advice)
#331: Environmental Weapon Lists (flavor)
#332: The Society (flavor; feat)
#333: The Mounted Druid (advice; elks)
#334: Animal Accessories (mundane items)
#335: Totem Druids (optional class)
#336: Dark Side Druids (flavor/advice; feat)
#337: Druid Organizations (background traits)
#338: Animal Magic (magic items)
Fighter:
#323: The Thane (optional class; feats)
#324: From Battleground to Background (background benefits)
#325: Tools of the Trade (advice)
#326: Two Swords are Better Than One (advice)
#327: The Multiclassed Fighter
#328: The Roman Legionnaire (flavor)
#329: The Knifer (advice)
#330: The Celtic Warrior (flavor; feat)
#331: Marine Munitions (mundane and magical items)
#332: Flexible Fighters (style feats)
#333: Cultured Combatants I (Perform based feats)
#334: The Janissary (optional class)
#335: Cultured Combatants II (Perform based feats)
#336: The Black Fist (flavor)
#337: Viking Raider (flavor; feat)
#338: The Pikeman (flavor, feat)
Monk:
#323: School of Hard Knocks (flavor)
#324: Optional Class: Wild Monk
#325: Monk Magic Items
#326: A Matter of Style (flavor)
#327: Ranged Monks (advice)
#328: The Multiclassed Monk
#329: Principles of the Monastic Code (flavor)
#330: Monk Styles (flavor)
#331: The Sidewinder Monk (optional class)
#332: Monk Lore (flavor)
#333: Monks in the City (advice; feat)
#334: Worldly Styles (monk styles)
#335: Chaos Monks (optional class)
#336: Pressure Point Attacks (feat)
#337: The Metered Style (monk style, feats)
#338: Backgrounds (background benefits)
Paladin:
#323: Not Your Father's Do-Gooder (flavor)
#324: Flaws for Paladins
#325: Dealing with Friends and Allies (advice)
#326: The Historical Holy Knight (flavor)
#327: Pigeonholed Paladins (flavor)
#328: Paladin Domains (alternate class feature)
#329: Daydream Believers (gnome advice/flavor/alternate class feature)
#330: A Paladin By Night (advice; feat)
#331: Knightly Effects (flavor; mundane and magical items)
#332: Wyrmslayers (flavor/advice/alternate class feature)
#333: Preferred Prayers (advice)
#334: Paladins of the Desert (flavor)
#335: Paladin Lore (flavor)
#336: Why Do You Serve? (background benefits)
#337: Purification Feats
#338: Solstice Knight (substitution levels)
Ranger:
#323: Gear for Greeners
#324: Optional Class: Wild Defender
#325: Tracking and Trailing (flavor)
#326: Optional Ranger Combat Styles
#327: Building a Better Archer (advice)
#328: Arranging the Ranger (advice)
#329: Flaws for Rangers
#330: Flights of Fancy (alternate arrows)
#331: Rangers Militant (flavor)
#332: Trophy Hunting (feat)
#333: Ranger Lore (advice)
#334: Nowhere to Hide (flavor/advice)
#335: Favored Enemy Feats (feats; powerplay)
#336: Mystic Ranger (optional class)
#337: Standing Orders (flavor)
#338: The Elk King (flavor, magic item)
Rogue:
#323: Wilderness Rogues (flavor)
#324: A Rogue of a Different Color (flavor)
#325: The Multiclassed Rogue
#326: Optional Special Abilities for Rogues
#327: Art of the Sneak Attack (advice)
#328: Rogue Law (flavor)
#329: The Story so Far (background benefits)
#330: Merchant Rogues (flavor)
#331: Be a Lover, Not a Fighter (advice)
#332: That Which Does Not Kill, Part I (optional special abilities)
#333: Unseen Sisters (flavor; feat)
#334: That Which Does Not Kill, Part II (optional special abilities)
#335: A Second Skin (advice, feat)
#336: Rogue Lore (flavor)
#337: Honor Among Thieves (flavor)
#338: Dwarf Rogues (substitution levels)
Sorcerer:
#323: Beyond Blood (flavor)
#324: Picking Feats and Prestige Classes
#325: Sorcerous Strategies (advice)
#326: The Well-Equipped Sorcerer (advice)
#327: Flaws for Sorcerers
#328: Not Your Typical Spellcaster (flavor)
#329: The Multiclassed Sorcerer
#330: Sorcerers are Special...ists, too (alternate spell access)
#331: Familiarity Breeds (alternate familiar abilities)
#332: Claim Your Birthright (alternate class feature)
#333: Knowstones (magical item)
#334: The Bronze Solaris (flavor, feat)
#335: Aquatic Fey Kin (bloodline feats)
#336: Poltergeists (alternate class features)
#337: Spell Grafts (feat; grafts)
#338: Unusual Spells (expanded spell access)
Wizard:
#323: Specialist Familiars
#324: Optional Class: Filidh
#325: Apprentice Tricks (advice)
#326: The Necromancer's Primer (advice)
#327: Survivalist Spells (advice)
#328: Wizardry 101 (advice)
#329: Swarm Familiars
#330: Verbal Components (flavor; power play)
#331: Wizard Affections (flavor)
#332: Alternative Spellbooks (flavor)
#333: Flaws for Wizards
#334: Multiclassed Wizards
#335: Disposable Arcana (alternate scrolls)
#336: Dark Pacts (feats)
#337: Halfling Wizards (substitution levels)
#338: Grimoires (flavor/mundane items)

Hey all,

I just got a brand new MacBook (whee!), and I was wondering if there were other mac users on here who could point me in the direction of some nifty utilities I could use while DMing...

Thanks in advance,

TK

Okay, so, I've always had this problem with the Perform skill. Namely, that it can easily outPerform the other moneymaking skills (Craft & Profession). (Well, Craft can catch up, but it takes a while... a long while)

So, I wanted to brainstorm some ideas on the Perform issue. To start us off, here's the guts of the Perform description, straight from the SRD:

Perform (Cha)

...
Check
You can impress audiences with your talent and skill.

Perform DC Performance
10 Routine performance. Trying to earn money by playing in public is essentially begging. You can earn 1d10 cp/day.
15 Enjoyable performance. In a prosperous city, you can earn 1d10 sp/day.
20 Great performance. In a prosperous city, you can earn 3d10 sp/day. In time, you may be invited to join a professional troupe and may develop a regional reputation.
25 Memorable performance. In a prosperous city, you can earn 1d6 gp/day. In time, you may come to the attention of noble patrons and develop a national reputation.
30 Extraordinary performance. In a prosperous city, you can earn 3d6 gp/day. In time, you may draw attention from distant potential patrons, or even from extraplanar beings.

A masterwork musical instrument gives you a +2 circumstance bonus on Perform checks that involve its use.

See also: epic usages of Perform. (It can be used as Diplomacy to influence attitudes)

Action
Varies. Trying to earn money by playing in public requires anywhere from an evening’s work to a full day’s performance.

Try Again
Yes. Retries are allowed, but they don’t negate previous failures, and an audience that has been unimpressed in the past is likely to be prejudiced against future performances. (Increase the DC by 2 for each previous failure.)

Not to knock on the actual adventure paths or anything, but did these acronyms remind anyone of STDs? I sure wouldn't want to contract scap... that sounds pretty nasty.

What does the Paizo staff think of the adventure path acronyms?

TK

I've been meaning to post this for a while, but:

In an old issue of either Dungeon or Dragon (possibly up to 3 years back? I can't find it...), there was an article by James Jacobs about the use and overuse of classical monsters, such as Mind Flayers, Drow, and the like. I seem to remember the article ending with a (half?) joking reference to a "Half-Dragon Succubus Vampire Pirate with a horde of slavering Fiendish Dire Rats!" (or something like that)

Also, I was strolling around in the archives and came up with >>this<<. If you haven't before, pay particular attention to Saurstalk's post on page 2... (And what's funny is that in that same thread, James assures us he thinks that "demons... aren't going to be the focus {of AP 3}."

Sure.... ;)

Hope this hasn't already been brought up - I'm behind on reading the STAP threads, but no blips showed up on the search-radar.

TK

As much as I do like the three word game from time to time, it gets a bit, well, silly. Three words are simply not enough to express anything more than basic direction, which can be of course completely skewed in a way you did not expect with the next post (which is of course part of the fun). So why not a three sentance game?

The ground rules for this being as follows:

* Each post must be 3 sentances long. No more, no less.
* Only one post per person per day.
* Viewpoint may be changed as needed. (i.e. "GM viewpoint" - description of scene, NPCs reacting to PCs; "player viewpoint" - character X does Y)
* Refrain from the silly or inappropriate.

So, without further ado, here's the first 3 sentances:

"The guard looks up in your direction and squints, his pale green eyes becoming thin slits underneath huge, gray, bushy eyebrows. "Pray tell, sir," he rumbles in a slow drawl, "what business brings you to these gates at this hour?" His tone is neither unfriendly nor trusting, and his left hand rests lightly on the grip of his truncheon."

I'm considering revamping the original Temple of Elemental Evil supermodule (inc. Village of Hommlet), and I thought I'd share some of my ideas.

The original module did not have any real hook to start the game other than "hey, there's this place you can go to to beat down on some bad guys." which has its place as a hook, but, well... come on.

Rather than assuming the PCs are one of a growing horde of adventurers going after this random bandit hideout in the boondocks of nowhere, I am going to assume my players live in Hommlet.

The village is getting tired of all the recent bandit raids, and has received no real relief from Verbobonc or Enstad. They decide to take matters into their own hands, and muster the town militia. The PCs are asked to join in the hunt for the bandits' hideout, which the militia leaders assume (correctly) is the abandoned moathouse just a few miles away.

I think this could be a prime opportunity to use some of the rules presented in Heroes of Battle. The militia would comprise of 40 armed and able folk. Along the way to the moathouse (rather than right in front of it), the group gets ambushed by a rather large number of monstrous frogs. Then, when the group reaches the moathouse, I can use the bandits to their full strength, and possibly even equip them with a seige weapon or two (ballistas I'm thinking), which they would have had set up to fight off the obviously harsh marsh wildlife.

That's what I've got so far... thoughts?

I've got a little system I'd like to share with you folks for generating more detailed townsfolk.

Once you've got the general town breakdown generated, you roll on the following table for each NPC above 1st level (obviously for towns with more than 50 NPCs above 1st level, this takes a good amount of time - though I think I have an idea for that - but this works great for thorps and hamlets):

Table 1
% roll result
01-80 NPC is not multiclassed.
81-95 1/2 of NPCs levels (rounded down) are in a different base class. Roll on Table 2.
96-00 1/2 of NPCs levels (rounded down) are in a paragon/prestige class of choice. If there is no suitable viable choice, levels are in the NPC's favored class.

Table 2
% roll result
01-80 Levels are in a random NPC base class.
81-90 Levels are in the NPC's favored class.
91-00 Levels are in a random PC base class.

If the NPC has no favored class (such as humans or half-elves), then results for favored class might default to whatever class is in the most abundance in the town breakdown.

There's more to it than that, but that's the basics. Thoughts?

I'm writing an adventure I wish to submit to Dungeon, and we all know that Paizo does love Greyhawk, so I figured I'd get a cool point by making sure the adventure fits within the setting's history. And that, is where you come in. I need a kingdom, preferably set in a mountainous region or that includes a mountainous region big enough for a county. It needs to have either no history written for it so far, or a tumoltuous one where, for the last 300 years or so, no male monarch has been able to rule for long before being violently removed. Is there such a place in canon Greyhawk, or some place similar that I can adapt to? It would also be of help if this kingdom was geographically close to another one that is more solid, politically speaking, and perhaps more ancient.

Thanks in advance,

The Woefully Uneducated,
TK

So, I've decided to take the plunge and submit a query. However, I have a couple of questions to ask first, if someone on the Paizo staff would be willing to take the time.

Do NOT: Create a feat or a magic item that allows a nonspellcasting character (of a nonspellcasting class) to

cast a spell

Does this include an item that has a property similar to spell storing?

For maps, would a single .psd with the maps on individual layers work, or is there a specific format wanted?

We do not accept

adventures that ... ask the PCs to slay good characters or monsters.

What about a creature using a compulsion effect to force good (or neutral) npcs to obstruct/fight the party?

Asked in the order they came to me. Any comment is welcome.

I picked up this game recently, and it's so fun making new characters.

I took a shot at making a few of the D&D iconics, and a few of them turned out pretty good:

Alhandra (The best build so far): Female Knight
Head: Twisted Headband (8,21)
Hair: Short Hair (7,26)
Mid Torso: Cloth Tunic (8,7)
Upper Torso: Dodge Armor (8,18)
Arms: Viking Braces (8,21)
Shoulders: Barbarian Pads (8,18)
Neck: Witch's Cape (2,26)
Waist: Leather Tasset (8,21)
Lower Legs: Leather Pants (36,15)
Feet: Pirate's Boots (5,23)
Face: 12
Eyebrows (7,26)
Lips (3,16)
Eyes (7,26)
Skin (4,15)
Voice: Woman
Weapon: Soul of Raphael - Queen's Guard

Vadania: Female Pirate
Head: Pegasus Headband (5,7)
Hair: Long Hair {Type X} (32,9)
Lower Torso: Leather Body Suit (36,4)
Arms: Hunter's Braces (8,13)
Shoulders: Shadow Pads (7,27)
Neck: Prayer Necklace (7,5|14,5)
Waist: Demonic Belt (24,8)
Upper Legs: Tied Pants (36,5|2,21)
Feet: Leather Leg Armor (4,27)
Face: 6
Eyebrows (32,9)
Lips (32,6)
Eyes (1,27)
Skin (4,13)
Voice: Woman
Weapon: Chinese Sword - Falchion

Ember: Female Monk
Hair: Ponytail {Short} (1,27|10,16)
Chin: Tattoo (26,4)
Lower Torso: Scale Bustier (2,15)
Waist: Spy Belt (10,16)
Upper Legs: Prayer Pants (16,2|18,24)
Shins: Cloth Leggings (10,15)
Feet: Leather Sandals (10,16)
Face: 6
Eyebrows (1,27)
Lips (6,25)
Eyes (1,27)
Skin (2,2)
Voice: Girl 2
Weapon: Soul of Kilik - any

Mialee: Female Sage
All (9,22)
Hair: Shaggy Layered (7,27)
Lower Torso: Type X Body Suit (36,16)
Mid Torso: Dancer's Jacket
Arms: Dodge Braces
Shoulders: Shadow Pads
Neck: Ragged Cape
Waist: Leather Tasset
Feet: Taped Boots
Face: 8
Eyebrows (7,27)
Lips (4,15)
Eyes (26,27)
Skin (12,15)
Voice: Woman
Weapon: Chinese Blade - Rune Blade or Soul Calibur

The male characters in general did not turn out well at all, unfortunately.

Has anyone else done something like this?

If a creature has the ability to use a certain spell-like ability, does this count toward gaining entry to a prestige class that requires the ability to cast that spell?