Troy Taylor's page

I feel like I'm late to the party, but congratulations all around. Hard work and a laser-point vision has made Paizo the very best.

You guys are killing me, here.

I can't believe no one has mentioned JIREL OF JOIRY, the very first female sword and sorcery character and one of the finest women ever to wield a blade!

REH's Dark Agnes killed her "fat pig" of a husband Francois at the altar in front of the priest with just a dagger tucked in her bosom. None too shabby with a short sharp blade, I'd say.

I am really, really, going to miss working with Mike. My first published piece took three and a half drafts to whip into shape. Mike was there every step of the way with good ideas on how to improve it. But the editing side is just scratching the surface.
That's Mike.

I had a similar experience to Hal's with Mike editing a Bazaar piece I wrote. Mike spotted something in a query sentence for a Class Acts submission, and suggested that with a different approach it had the potential to be an Bazaar of the Bizarre submission. Three drafts later it turned into the one Bazaar piece I had published in Dragon.

That article would never have gotten off the ground without Mike's advice, encouragement and direction. If there's a greater compliment to his skills as an editor, I don't know what it is.

Mike is a great guy, wonderful to work with as a contributor when he is managing your product and giving you feedback or just making sure you have what you need. I wish him all the best in his new ventures.

But, my best memories of Mike were the rather spectacular deaths his characters received in my campaign some years back when he was playing, one having his brain sucked out of his head from across the room, and another being killed twice IN THE SAME ROUND. That's pretty hard to do, though it's easier when you're being attacked by a howling dragon with a persistent/clinging breath weapon. Ah Reinhardt, poor guy...

raises a salute to honor the fallen, in the classic dwarven style

Remember what we were promised in the promotional vid?

"This, I will pledge to you. While there will be room for refinement ... the game, will remain the same. The game will remain the same!"

D&D and its history of incorporating electronic tools ...

.... the game remains the same, folks.

I need a special rule to have a 1 hp monster?

You can do that already. ANY monster or npc can be a 1 hp creature.

I think the minion is simple something the 4E designers instituted that's been a part of many DMs' playbooks for a long, long time.

The Ogrekin is an excellent example of the kind of template that works.
I think such an approach to could add variety to other iconic monsters, namely hobgoblins and lizardfolk.

My name is associated with this debacle because I spent far too much time and effort lobbying for civility. That my name is STILL associated with the WotC novels forum is more proof, as if any were needed, that no good-intentioned deed goes unpunished. :)

It's unfortunate, because that whole episode was what soured me on the Wotc boards, for good. There was no payoff for trying to have good and legitimate discussion of the novels, because too many posters were just flinging insults and spoiling the whole atmosphere.

Worse yet, there is still no place on the Wotc boards to have a discussion of the products providing the literary backbone of this game, the imaginary adventures that can thrill and inspire yet more adventures at the gaming table.

Yeah, I think Gabrielle could take Conan too.

She's certainly a better actor ....

Xena ... in a heartbeat ... unless she tripped over Joxer.

This season is hitting on all cylinders.

The real bonus is that my daughter has taken to watching episodes with me -- and she's hooked!

Daddy and Daughter time with Doctor Who. Can't beat it.

Long live King Vancaskerkin!

I want black olives, 'shrooms and bell peppers on my Pathfinder Pizza, please.

Xtra large, of course.

Bump.

Er, shameless bump.

Unabashedly shameless bump.

(Blame my inner bard)

As Austin Powers would say:

Oooo, behave.

But thank you all the same.

demons ... devils ... whatever.

My big Shoanti warrior friends will smash them with my sword and send them back from whatever pit they crawled out from.

What would a Shoanti know about dying Chelaxians?

It's the Chelaxians who know all about dying Shoanti.

;)

My reply to your humor is a two-handed great sword I refer to as "Oh, this little thing?"

Troy Taylor wrote:

Frakkin' Chels!

Uh oh. Don't tell me you're one of them Shoanti-lovers, Troy. ;)

Don't trust the city-folk. Chels consort with demons, you know. Look at the mess they made of Korvosa. It's only a matter time before they infect all of Varisia. Stamp out the infection before it spreads, I say.

Something's Cooking is a real gem -- really kid friendly. I loved playing that with my daughter.

Reflex saves against spurting hot pizza sauce. It doesn't get any better than that!

Why Wotc didn't do more modules in that vein, I'll never know. Little people love to roleplay, too.

Yes, I have assurances that this book will eventually happen and that Nick Logue and I will write it....The hardcover will provide a few more glimpses into Tian Xia, to sort of tide us over until the time comes for quasi-Asian awesomeness! :D

If I may ... please flesh out India/Vudra as much as the other locales.

Frakkin' Chels!

It sound to me like Queen Ileosa needs a hug.

Does she have a lair and a minion .... and treasure!?

(*slap* Ooo, bad Troy.)

That's purrty. Very nice.

Oh, I don't know ... that pistoleer could be using one of those wand-loading guns used in Entombed with the Pharoahs.

We had a two-year license to produce the Ptolus minis, after which we retained the right to sell the sculpts under different names.

Ah, questions.

Written for a future campaign (I hope), but mostly because the backstory (Sabina and Cressida were both in the Guard, both acquaintances with Orisini) was intriguing. I imagined them as fast friends, now rivals, and the rest was fun.

I wish there were a tune. The piece does need work (fix meter, if nothing else; many lines are inconsistent) But there is very little poetry in my liberal arts education, so I'll feign ignorance ;)

I was reading Mike's Guide and Nick's first adventure, and what can I say, the mood struck. I'm really liking the vibe I get from Korvosa.

In taverns the bards of Old Korvosa sing this song ...

Chorus:
In tabards black with silver thread
Dark lasses filled their foes with dread
They danced ‘n fought, and splattered red
Til Ol’ Korvosa cursed their head

Cressida was the wily ol’ arrow
Wise to the ways, no’ of the Narrows
She was the Old Guard’s finest on patrol
Darkly serious, ever brave ‘n bold

Brooding dark, a beauty, a honeydew
Sabina boasted a blade like Orisini drew
Quick to temper, a flashing ember
She took the oath, earned her saber

In tabards black with silver thread
Dark lasses filled their foes with dread
They danced ‘n fought, and splattered red
Til Ol’ Korvosa cursed their head

Cressida and Sabina, what a team they made
What difference tween them? Nary a shade
Dashing and daring, their partnership grew
Back to back they fought, no defeat they knew

No barmaids or wenches to claim as their own
Hot blooded desires had to be sown
Gentlemen callers, looked appetizing, a few
Took noblemen’s sons to bed, adieu

In tabards black with silver thread
Dark lasses filled their foes with dread
They danced ‘n fought, and splattered red
Til Ol’ Korvosa cursed their head

Then came a day, ol’ Neo had to pick
The Guard’s next cap’n, and right quick
Cressida full blooded, wiser by years
Sabina’s Varisian eyes, first of their fears

So Cressida took the Field Marshal’s staff
The office broke their friendship in half
So beneath an autumn Lamashan moon
Bitterness and jealousy did fully bloom

In tabards black with silver thread
Dark lasses filled their foes with dread
They danced ‘n fought, and splattered red
Til Ol’ Korvosa cursed their head

The challenge was offered, and quickly accepted
Steel bared, a blow stuck, 'nother one deflected
Across the ramparts overlooking the ‘Arms
The Zambra they stepped, praising Calistria’s charms

A dazzling display, even Blackjack was impressed
No quarter given, all their sympathies suppressed
Sabina twirled, delivered a near fatal blow
Crouching, Cressida countered, and cut her low

In tabards black with silver thread
Dark lasses filled their foes with dread
They danced ‘n fought, and splattered red
Til Ol’ Korvosa cursed their head

The priests of Abadar would not tell
The extent of injuries, nor the first to fall
Gods’ blessings to cure their bodies so broken
Vencarlo’s gold was the most costly token

Cressida returned to the castle that day
Alone, her heart ached, her king to obey
Sabina, to her mistress, the Queen’s men to be led
Her job, to tuck Illeosa securely in her bed

In tabards black with silver thread
Dark lasses filled their foes with dread
They danced ‘n fought, and splattered red
Til Ol’ Korvosa cursed their head

I would, for one, advise not straying too far from the base document.

Fix things a consensus of fans want fixed, but my vote is not for a wholesale change in the game.

(If that's what I want, then that option will be available this summer ;) )

I think a lot fans on these messageboards are creative folk, and it's a nice idea to play (let's find a way to tinker and get "our" favorite house rule put into this Pathfinder rpg). There are advocates for a good number of alternative subsystems on the boards right now. Any one of them is cool, neat, and could deliver a kick to a particular playing style.

But taken in their entirety, that's a lot of rules changing, and to me, defeats the purpose of the PF rpg. Optional rules are OK, but the baseline document should remain intact. That's the game we know and love.

Submissions for Dungeon and Dragon magazines had this philosophy (for a host of different reasons, I understand), but the intent was to keep the game grounded, keep it familiar, keep it "knowable" -- if that's even a word.

The basic idea -- to keep the 3.5 rules in print -- is best adhered to if they remain the 3.5 rules.

By all means, fix those things that seem to vex a lot of players. But I'm not sure a wholesale reworking of classes, feats and skills is what will serve you in the long run.

Author or co-author of Fiery Dragon's BattleBox, rules bits of Counter Collection 2, 3, Summoned Creatures, Undead and Counter Pack 3: Eldritch Horrors & Occult Investigators. Article published in Dragon 273.

I would like Craft (knots) be considered on par with the Professions usage, though, because they are linked to different ability scores (Int and Wis), I can see the logic of making a distinction.

Perhaps someone RL experience could explain whether there is a real difference between decorative and utility knots.

Everytime I tinker with Concentration and Spellcraft, I see why they are separate.

I also agree that Spellcraft jives with Kn. Arcana, but I also think it should be apart of Kn. Religion. In other words, the idea that your given method of spellcasting should be melded with your requisite knowledge: divine for religion, arcane with arcana.

1. Use rope while mountaineering -> Climb
2. Use rope for ship's rigging -> Profession (sailor)
3. Use rope to tie someone up -> Escape Artist
4. Use rope to set a snare -> Survival or Craft (trapmaking).

I yield to the majority of respondents on this one. Clearly, the days of Use Rope as a skill are numbered.
Still, I would like to address the issue of backward compatibility, and which of the (many excellent) suggestions on skill consolidation made here make the most sense from that standpoint.
To review, here are the suggestions on where to place “use rope” in the PF rpg skill list. What is your preference, and why?
STR: Climb
DEX: Escape artist
DEX: Newly configured Theft
DEX: Create Legedemain (incorporating Sleight of Hand and Use Rope)
INT: Craft (knots)
INT: Knowledge (Dungeoneering)
WIS: Survival
WIS: Survival (urban)
WIS: Profession (sailor, farmer, soldier, engineer)
There also was the suggestion to take a feat approach:
FEAT: Knots and Rigging (General)
These alternatives also were mentioned
Logan Bonner Rule: Hand-wave all Use Rope checks
Grappling hook: Ranged attacks against static DCs
Binding: Use Alpha grappling rules
Let’s discuss which option seems best to meet the backward compatibility goal mention in the Alpha document.
Thanks

Time heals all wounds ...

Actually, I like Thraxus' take on using the modern rules.

I was a combat engineer in the Army. One of the things I learn as part of my training was knots and rigging. That said, I really do not feel that this requires a specialized skill.

But I'll take you at your word that it isn't a specialized skill, though it certainly sounds that way.

And thank you for your service and sacrifice to the nation.

Stephen:

What a wonderful roleplaying opportunity.

You only lost equipment. The player is OK, and now has to improvise. I mean, bad things happen in dungeons ... and true enough, it sounds like your team did everything they could to ensure the rope was secure, but it still went south.

How often have you watched a movie and seen something like that happen?
I mean, when Willie Scott tosses Indy gun out the window of the moving car, he has to go the entire movie without a firearm. But Indy persevered!

I wouldn't call it it stupid loss. I'd call it an adventure.

Here is my problem with Use Rope--it's not that it's necessarily useless, but that it is too universal. Use Rope is a component of Survival, Theft, Craft(Traps), Climb, and many other skills.

There is something to what the OP says.

It's not that we don't appreciate the hard work Jason's done. Making these suggestions, after all, has spurred discussions on these boards in such a vibrant way.

(And gotten us away from the pro-4E / anti-4E discussions that went nowhere, I might add).

But truly, a Paizo-produced 3.5 book would be a welcome additon to my gaming library and gaming table.

If you must tackle something, skewer those problems that Jason identified in his introduction: grapple and polymorph, and leave it at that.

-- I would say that providing options: from alternative classes and races to interesting uses for skills and new feats -- were all what made Dragon magazine really cool. Taking that approach, and including options as sidebars and what, would really be neat, and make the PF Core Book a greater value than snatching up someone's old 3.5 book on ebay.

While I'm willing to entertain that Survival may encompass rope skills ... the fact is that there are character type for whom Survival doesn't fit thematically. (urban rogues, bards, swashbucklers).

Yet, these guys may need to Use Rope too.

I admit, Craft (knot) has potential. But to me, that's just another way of saying Use Rope, which is more universal in its approach.

Thank you Demiurge, for trying to think out of the box on this one. But, c'mon, the words ranged and grapple for the same task really don't fit together do they? ;)

The Rules Compendium had an excellent sidebar on Use Rope:

Logan Bonner wrote:

Use Rope checks are really annoying to fail. Failing a Use Rope check means falling (maybe to your death) or having an enemy escape (also maybe to your death). Yet they come up rarely enough that it's hard to justify buying ranks.

My house rules for Use Rope work as follows. Don't. Yes, you secured the grappling hook, and it holds your weight. Yes, you tie up your enemy, and the bonds are secure.

Logan understands it, he just doesn't "get it." Hand-waving use rope is no more acceptable than hand-waving combat, in my book. Exploring the dungeon is part of the adventure too.

It's more than just killing monsters. It's learning how to survive in the deep, dank places of the earth. And securing things with rope, crafting your own traps, securing a perimeter are all dungeon craft skills. PC need these to survive a dungeon crawl.

Now, I understand, not every playing group's adventures focus on the dungeon. Fair enough. But the heart of D&D is the dungeon crawl (Age of Worms, Savage Tide, White Plume Mountain), and ensuring that the PCs have the tools to meet the challenges of dungeons and caverns and tombs, means knowing how to use mundane equipment.

Ahhhh, finally a kindred spirit in Swirler.

Grab a 10 foot pole and a length of 50-foot rope and we will plumb the depths of the greatest dungeons while eveyone else sees their knots slip, then fall over and into the caverns of doom .....

Consolidate skill list, if your must.

By all means knock out cross-class skills.

But beyond that, my real feeling is that you should keep skill points. Let players customize their characters as they wish.

Certainly, the skill list system in Alpha could be used as an "option" by DMs, or in some campaigns -- probably those free-wheeling quick'n dirty or beer'n pretzel games -- where players want something simplified. But leave it at that, an option.

I think players deserve the chance to make their characters as detailed as they wish. They certainly have their choice of feats -- why make skills any different?

With respects to all, especially for joining this thread, and making your suggestions:

Selk: While use of professions is a good -- no, make then an excellent and often underused -- way to emulate skills, I think there are fewer sailors and farmers in my dungeons than you suppose. I presume the average thief was neither farmer nor sailor (though a fighter could easily be profession soldier with that in their skill set).

As for climb and survival, the rules -- as written -- don't support your application of use rope. Ascending slopes (a very physical/athletic endeavor) and making your way in the wilderness don't automatically presume the skill of rope handling.

Stephen: Those are all good gamist alternatives to get around rope handling, but ultimately they are work-arounds for a much more elegant game mechanic, a simple d20 skill check. (Nor does being a grappler simulate good rope skills, I think.)

Using rope is a basic dungeoneering skill, necessary for exploring caves, caverns and deep tombs. I use it, and I think retaining it for both utility and flavor is important to the game.

But I think each of you for your suggestions. It's great to see different ways people game.

Now, Craft Knot I like. I like that alot.

Take 20? Not if there was a bugbear chasin' them over a side of a cliff, or they had to climb a wall during a seige or you needed a good opposed roll for an escape attempt.

Use rope gets used ALL THE TIME in my games. You never know when a knot might slip through a shoddy use rope skill.

Potentially losing Use Rope as a skill makes me sad.

I like skill points -- as a player.
I hate skill points -- as a dm.

I don't know which way to turn. :)

I'd like to see class skills done away with, with one caveat.

New players -- PF rpg is all about finding new players now -- really could use a list of "suggested" skills by class. This helps guide their choices because at this point, they don't have game experience to fall back on to know what good skill choices might be for a particular character.

Nic's a special guy ... no question there.

But you know, no one talks about what big-hearted, generous lug he is.

I mean, you read in his adventures about the lunatic inquisitive and the man-eating incestuous ogres, and you think, what a swell guy.

And all that's true. But there's a deeper, more meaningful side to Nic Logue. The kind, well, he's too bashful to talk about. But he's modest that way. And who can blame him?

Nic's nuts about theater, you know. And here's where his tale gets really touching.

Cuz, it takes a special kind of guy, like Nic, to hang out backstage -- with all other creepy theater people -- where he shares his specialness. With arms like the black pit-spawned Evard's black tentacles, Nic reaches out to those aspiring stagehands, draws them into dark corners, and shows them the ropes.

To think of the wisdom that Nic imparts to his fellow thespians ... it makes you shiver. A full body shiver, to be sure.

In so many ways, Nic gives back. And not just to the gaming community. But to all those communities with communicable diseases. I'm touched when I hear such stories.

I don't know if they're true. But when I think of Nic, his balding head from a receding hairline, like mine, sweating from hours of intense DMing, I know there's a connection. And I too, want to reach out, and be like Nic.

Reading Nic's adventures strengthens that connection. I must have more. More adventures.

So here's to you Nic. Keep touching people-- with your adventures. And we'll keep playing -- along with you.

With a wink and smile -- Happy St. Paddy's Day!