The Drunken Dragon's page

Hello,

I'd like to cancel my Starfinder Roleplaying Game subscription, please.

This is, more than likely, an incredibly unlikely question to be answered, all things considered. However, at the end of Soldiers of Brass, the NPC Nib mentions a pair of figures to express her feelings on the PC's accomplishments. She mentions Grandmother Rat, which is definitely Lao Shu Po. But she also mentions Round Papa, and here's where I get confused?

What being is that a reference to?

I've tried searching this on pathfinder's wiki. No results. Starfinder's? Nada. A search on the forums. Zip. So either my search-fu is lacking (very possible) or this figure hasn't been referenced before or since. And I'm desperately curious: who is Round Papa? Is this a god or an obscure historial figure in ysoki culture. Is it Kofusachi (another Tien god that ratfolk may have preserved across the Gap, and the only one who, visually, might match that description)? Or is it just a throw-away line. It probably is, but given how ravenous I am for little bits of lore, I'm still desperately curious.

So, I've been wondering about Morphic Skin. Specifically, I wanted to ask what is meant by the word "apparent" in the description of the Advanced Morphic Skin:
Found in Armory, pg. 93

"Advanced Morphic Skin offers the same options as the basic model, as well as the ability to change your apparent sex and age, alter your height by up to 1 foot, and gain features of another species of the same creature type (although you don't gain or lose abilities as a result."

Soooooo, here's the thing.

It says "apparent" sex. Does this mean that you alter your sex via an illusion? As in, you gain the primary and secondary sexual characteristics of another sex but close examination reveals otherwise? This seems to be unlikely given that the item's base description (pg. 92) refers to transmutation magic and mutagenic enzymes, implying the change is more substantive than just an illusion. However, what does "apparent" mean in this context? Do you have functional new genitalia, as if you'd consumed a serum of sex change? If the sex you elect to become is capable of bearing young, can you become pregnant? How potent is this mimicry?

I ask because a longstanding player for my campaign has an idea for a character that performs music onstage as a man, but adventures and goes through daily life as a woman. They have so far managed to maintain this by buying serums of sex change in bulk, but I was wondering if this magitech implant could allow them to effectively buy a "permanent" serum (i.e. one that can continue to be customized rather than single-use). And if yes, are the effects superficial or are they faithful recreations like the serum would produce.

Normally, "apparent" implies this is a falsified mimicry. However, given that the primary magic at work here is explicitly transmutation, which produces actual, substantive physiological changes, this seems like maybe the wrong read? What do you all think? Personally I've let the player interpret it however they wanted to be favorable (given that the hopping back and forth between sexes was more a flavor thing and mechanically there is nothing to worry about here), but now I'm more curious from a design standpoint? What do you think was the intent? And how would you interpret this yourselves?

So, I've been trying my (admittedly suboptimal) search fu to try and figure out the Animal Shaman archetypes for the Druid. FAQ's make it clear that the animal shaman archetypes are intended to grant the Wild Shape feature at level 6. So...what does this mean for the druid's capstone ability? If their wild shape is delayed by 2 levels, does this mean animal shaman druids (and other druids with delayed wild shape) never get the at will wild shape? Or is there something out there that clarifies this?

So, we know that Vesk Prime is the homeland of the Vesk. Vesk-3 is the homeworld of Skittermander. And Vesk-8 is some sort of frozen wasteland. But what was most intriguing was Vesk-6, which is supposedly inhabited by cat-people. I'm wondering if there's any more information on this species? Do they not have spaceflight? Have they been so thoroughly conquered by the Vesk that they're near extinct? What/who are they?

The static crackle of an old-fashioned radio app turns on as a bored ysoki waiting at a docking bay tunes into Absalom Station News Radio. They listen to a number of news items, some interesting, some dull, but at the end the omni-present statement interrupts...

And now a word from our sponsors...

1.) "Our universe is expanding, and with it, so are our boundaries. We travel to the edge of space to meet new friends. Co-workers. Family. For every star, there's a person who wants to meet you, and a new experience that can be gained, from something as simple as a quick conversation to something more. And now, for just a small 30 credits a month, Shelynet can help you make those connections.

Shelynet. The universe is vast, but who said it had to be lonely?"

2.) "Tired of your old cybernetics shortin' out on ya? Tired of havin' to go down to your physician to have this and that part replaced and fixed, over and over again? Tired of shellin' out money to keep those rusty old bits operational? Well, no more! Come on down to Trusty Sal's Discount Parts Warehouse! We offer the finest in budget cybernetics, with the best and brightest surgeons the galaxy's got to offer. Got old gunky parts? We'll trade them in for new ones at an affordable price! Got an unusual or unique part you need ordered? We'll have it shipped to you in 5 days or your money back!

Trusty Sal's: Don't fall apart! Come see Sal."

Academic discipline, that is!

I had a thought when I was looking over the Life Sciences/Physical Sciences/Medicine/Culture skills, and I wondered what the distribution of different scientific fields would be in the game. The skills chapter mentions a few, but they are by no means not comprehensive. So I wanted to throw this out to you guys:

Which fields of science match which skill?

Here's a few I didn't see listed

Psychology: Probably best to put this under Life Sciences, since a society with this much advanced tech would basically turn Psych into a variant of biology. But I could also see it going under Medicine if we're talking psychiatric care (or Physical Science, since psychiatry and pharmacology overlap).

Mathematics: Physical Sciences, mainly because physics appears to be put under this category. This includes the different subdivisions, such as calculus, statistics, trigonometry, geometry, etc.

Sociology/Anthropology: Culture. For the former, I think it fits better than psych for Culture, since it studies patterns in populations (and social psych and sociology as very heavily intertwined)

But here's more questions: where do you put knowledge of civic engineering? What about biomedical? How about public health? Now what about communications, or literature, or philosophy? Where do those fit in? I'm legitimately curious, because what with Starfinder being a futuristic game these are all things that could come up, and in my games, 100% will...

So, according to the text of the Walk the Void ability, a Star Shaman Mystic is immune to the "harmful environmental effects of outer space and vacuum." When I cross-referenced this to some of the environmental effects of outer space, it mentioned immediate suffocation and depressurization damage. I'm 100% certain that Walk the Void would protect a mystic from the damage (and probably the stellar radiation from being in the naked void of space, and the cold...you get me), but does it protect them from the lack of oxygen? Is "lack of oxygen" an environmental factor in respect to Walk the Void?

Incidentally, I'm aware that Walk the Void's specific effects would not refer to other circumstances, such as breathing underwater or what have you? But if a mystic with that ability were to take a space-walk, would they need to breathe, or would their abilities protect them?

Thoughts?

So, recently a condition of Permanency stood out at me, and I'm trying to determine if, by RAW, there is a way to circumvent it. According to Permanency, you must be a minimum caster level in order to make certain spells Permanent. Let us us Enlarge Person as an example, which requires one to be CL 9.

Say, for example, I was a Barbarian or something who is currently level 6. Then, let us say for the sake of argument that I wanted to be Large size. According to what I've read, the use of a Scroll of Permanency created by a 9th level caster (the minimum required level to make Enlarge Person) permanent is a DC 29 Use Magic Device check. Then, assuming I got someone to cast Enlarge Person on me, could I then use that scroll, assuming I succeed on my UMD check, even though I'm not level 9? (assuming I've paid the necessary 2,500 gp. extra diamond dust in addition to the scroll's price). Or is the minimum caster level of the spell in reference to the person "casting" the spell (i.e. the user of the scroll), and would therefore be impossible even with a successful UMD check?

In other words, can a character use UMD and a scroll made by a 9th level wizard make a spell permanent even though they themselves are not the minimum caster level for it?

Hello, fellow denizens of the Paizo community. I have recently moved to a new town (Norman, Oklahoma) and was looking for a group (either existing or merely players) that might be living in the area interested in a game of Pathfinder. The type and style don't matter much to me, I just want to meet new people (and preferably an able-bodied DM).

Thank you for your time.

Good evening, gentlefolk.

I come to you with a bit of a conundrum. My friend is going to run a campaign over the summer, you see, and I will be playing a rogue for the first time since...well, years. That said, I haven't got all that much inspiration to draw on, so I beg you for help.

Who do you think is an archetypal rogue? It can be from any source, books, t.v., media, even your own characters if you like. I'm interested in all sorts of opinions so i can draw inspiration. Tell me why you think these characters make good rogues, and if these characters were of your own make, how did you play them? How did they interact with the party? How did NPCs respond to them and how did s/he respond to NPCs?

Howdy y'all.

A couple of days ago I found and dusted off my DVD copy of Gurren Lagann, and after rewatching some of that, on top of finding a very interesting animation on the internet, I've decided to run a big sweeping adventure campaign, the kind that will take my PCs all across the world in search of some fantastic treasure.

But before I begin, I wanted to scope out on the forums a little for some ideas. Basically, what I'm looking for is input from you guys: what in your mind comprises a great sweeping journey? Windy deserts? Heaven-piercing mountain ranges? Haunted, centuries-old forests? Fast and narrow urban sprawls? What? Gimme all your best ideas and experiences.

On top of that, if anyone has any recommendations for adventure pathes or modules that have a similar bent, or even inspiration from other media (movies, books, etc.) that deals with this topic, feel free to share that as well. I'm all ears folks. What do you think makes up a really epic quest?

In Katapesh, there is a small area where large pillars of rock stand that seem to do nothing but attract magical lightning. The thing is...this isn't the first time such a thing has been cited in Golarion lore. I don't remember the exact locations, but I know that in several other areas in the Inner Sea there are, hidden in the wilderness, great upthrust stones which attract lightning and absorb the power within for some unknown purpose.

My question is two fold? Can anyone name all of them? (including the source where they found this) And second, what do you think they mean? Are they connected somehow? Are they the same type of thing, or is each of them separate and different, but are simply designed in a similar fashion.

Looking for players for a Rise of the Runelords Campaign in Acton MA. Anyone interested.

My gaming group needs a few more people to round it out, and we're looking for other gamers in the nearby area. If you live in the area of attend Umass Amherst (ideal) and are interested in a game of Pathfinder, shoot me a message.

Howdy y'all. Well, a thought has just occurred to me, and I felt like i might as well ask.

How do you all design your dungeons? What process do you use? Where do you get inspiration for your works? Do you generate randomly, or do you build them yourselves, or do you prefer to use APs and such instead.

On a slightly related topic, does anyone know a good dungeon generator for pathfinder?

Howdy y'all...

well, I was working late last night on a small campaign I hope to run next semester, and realized there was a glaring flaw to it: I have absolutely no idea what the inside of a typical gothic castle looks like. So here's my question: does anyone know where I can find blueprints or references to what an inside of a realistic castle looks like? With servants quarters, kitchens, and everything?

A typical question, I know, but yet one that's always made me curious. Which race do you prefer to play in games (this is Pathfinder focused, but you can state your favorite race in general in RPGs that you've seen)? Why? What are its merits? Do you have any preferences because of stats, or because a fondness for the concept?

And on the opposite end of the spectrum, which races do you particularly dislike. Why do you dislike them? Have you ever tried playing as them before, or have stayed away?

Discuss.

We've all been in one, or, from the GM's perspective, created one. A situation so dire that it seems like the players will need every good roll, every skill, every spell and item and ability they've got just to survive. An encounter of tremendous proportions, in other words.

So my question is, does anyone have any examples? What's the toughest situation your GM has ever put you in? GMs, what's the toughest situation you've ever devised. How'd you (or your players) survive? Did they? Thought?

Howdy y'all.

Here's my question. I'm in a pretty dangerous campaign (and I mean dangerous...only one PC has survived all the sessions, nearly everyone else has had to remake a character on at least one occasion), so I thought to increase my chances of survival, I'd try and optimize my sorcerer. I'm currently thinking Ratfolk Sorcerer, Arcane Bloodline, with the Sage archetype from Ultimate Magic so that I can both have a slightly more useful 1st level ability, as well as take advantage of the Ratfolk's intelligence modifier and yet still play a sorcerer? Any opinions on what feats to choose? Spells? Items?

In any case, thank you all in advance for you time...