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Ran it once, killed one PC (the now-infamous crit with that first attack). So, to state it in a very sensationalist way, I've killed at least one PC every single time I've GM'd this adventure!. I vote against changing it, though: I think the credible threat of death is good for the campaign, and a few known "danger scenarios" is also good for the campaign.
Anyone know why that is? Or the correct way for creating a PC werewolf for Pathfinder. I recommend taking a look at Moon's Folly from Headless Hydra Games. It has rules for lycanthrope PCs, integrating them into a party of ordinary PCs (particularly with respect to alignment), and a lycanthrope-specific feat and trait specifically designed for PC lycanthropes. Might be just what you need. Fair disclaimer, I wrote it.
You could try a few of the thematically connected Pathfinder Society scenarios: the advantage is that you know each of the adventures runs 4 hours or so, allowing you to precisely plan the number of sessions you need. I would recommend the three First Steps adventures, which allows the PCs to pick a faction, then the four-part "Devil You Know" series. You could also run some of the pairings like "City of Strangers", "Before the Dawn", or the three-part "Shades of Ice". The advantage for your players is that they can take their PCs when you're done and play them in other Pathfinder Society events.
It is hard for us to justify looking at doing a second Tier 12 retirement arc when people either aren't playing them or are not reporting the sessions when they are played. I've done my part! Over seven weeknight sessions, our group finally completed the Eyes of the Ten retirement arc. I just finished reporting all four sessions just now.
Doug's ruling matches my intent as author exactly. You gain claws, but could still wrap your hands around a sword if you'd prefer (or cast a spell, or do anything else you could otherwise do). I've had several players understand they can use their weapons, but for roleplaying reasons prefer to use their new natural attacks.
Thanks for writing a mini-Kaidan adventure. I thought it was very cool to see an author outside of Rite Publishing, creating awesome Kaidan content. Very cool! Yeah, that was a lot of fun. "Way of the Yakuza" has so many cool pieces in it, I had a good time picking out a few of them and jumbling them together into a mini-adventure. -Ron
Warning: I'm just a player, and I haven't read how the adventure is written, just how our judge ran it. We lost a PC to the Splatterman and had to retreat and regroup to face him again. That time, it was also touch-and-go until my PC, in a fit of pique, ostentatiously tore out one of the pages in the Splatterman's spellbook. To our surprise, that did him 1d6 damage and enraged him. So we all gleefully passed the spellbook around, ripping out pages. The Splatterman killed a different PC in this second go-round, but the rest of us finished him. It ended up being quite a memorable fight, one of the best of the AP so far (we're nearing the end of the second adventure now).
To drop a quick note about a project inspired by writing this adventure...I just had an article released in Kobold Quarterly #20 called "Make Haste!" that details how to use the "Haste Point" mechanic in designing your own adventure, including several examples (one of which is, of course, pulled right from this product). Thanks, Ron
This adventure also uses a new system (called Haste Points) to track how future events will play out. The faster the PCs get to the Wreck of the Keening Crone, the more advantages they will have!Now that sounds awesome. Is it specific to this adventure, or is there a section on how to use haste Points in any adventure? There is now! I just had an article released in Kobold Quarterly #20 called "Make Haste!" that details how to use this mechanic in designing your own adventure, including several examples. Thanks, Ron
I was just trying to up the sale, not grab the product. Please do pass the product up the line.
Yes, but it's generally natural and cooperative. I had a TPK in a game I was running and excited about. When I started discussing how my players could make a group of new PCs to get back in the action, two of them mentioned they weren't really interested in continuing the campaign. All but one of the other players agreed. So we switched to something else everyone enjoys--even me--and I'm *very* glad that they spoke up, rather than limping along in a campaign they didn't much like.
Thanks, Avatar-1, for GMing this. Let me take a stab at your questions. I presume you resolved these at your table, and I don't think any of way of resolving them would've been wrong. But here is my take: Author's thoughts behind spoiler tag:
1. Does ability damage heal normally once a player goes bestial? As in, when resting overnight, do they heal 1 ability damage as normal, or does that not apply? There is only one mention of the overnight healing not happening, and that's right at the end of the book, and even that says they just "heal [the ability damage] normally". I assume this ability damage does not heal naturally until the template is removed, as explained at the end of the adventure. But a ruling otherwise--that it heals naturally just like any other ability damage--is sensible, too. I've had a few parties use lesser restoration to remove the ability damage, and I've allowed that. 2. Where is the water source on Falbin's home? Does he have one? It's a farm! This seems critical, considering it's an obvious course of action. The party struggled here, with the low-int low-wis fighter trying to use his hands to cover it with dirt! And a waterskin only has so much water - maybe 1 square worth. Good point! The map is tightly focused on the garden and house. I'd put a well just "off the map" if the PCs are looking for one, but getting water up out of a well is time-intensive and probably not the best course to put out a raging fire. Honestly, I don't expect many parties to put out the fire, but instead concentrate on saving the gnome. 3. What happens if they're unable to put the fire out? It can easily spread too far for the PCs to be able to do anything if they're trying fairly mundane methods and the rolls aren't in their favour. The adventure mentions this: "The fire does not spread outside of Falbin’s garden because of the wide gravel lanes surrounding his property, but Falbin’s house may eventually catch fire as well." So Falbin loses his house and garden, but it doesn't burn Wispil to the ground. 4. The bestial template says if it gets too low, your character is removed from play. But what's stopping you buying that spellcasting service when the scenario ends? You're not dead, are you? Nothing's stopping you. That's the only way to keep a PC stuck with the template at the scenario's conclusion in play: purchasing a break enchantment spell. 5. The river: how deep is it (can you walk along the bottom?), how high are the banks (do you have to jump down/climb up if you swim across?), and where are the "intersecting tree branches" (which aren't on the generic river map)? And secondarily, the water is placid, but requires a swim check with a DC normally for rough water? Your first three questions are up to the GM to adjudicate; I would say you can't walk along the bottom, or else a swim check might not even be required; the river is also described as "deep." I hadn't pictured the banks as high enough to require any jumping or climbing. The intersecting tree branches are all up and down the river; in every river square, I would say, although they obviously aren't marked on the pre-printed flip mat. Regarding the Swim DC, I selected 15 because the river isn't "calm"--as it's in motion, being a river. "Rough" seemed the better approximation for a DC here.
Thanks much! Ron Lundeen
Quite a few people missing a technicality here, I think, although the answer still appears to be "no." Quote with applicable highlights: Named magic items—including specific armor and specific weapons—are not upgradeable. Non-magic specific armor and specific weapons may be upgraded normally. Magic armor and weapons may be upgraded to named versions if they are the same basic material and shape as, and meet but do not exceed the enhancement bonuses of the named versions. Wondrous items whose names include a +X value (such as bracers of armor, headband of vast intelligence, amulet of might fists, etc.) may also be upgraded following the rules for upgrading magical items on page 19 of the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play. Rods seem to be none of these things, so much of this FAQ is inapplicable to rods. They definitely aren't armor or weapons, and they aren't wondrous items. The question is whether rods are "named magic items". I think the answer is probably no, in this context, although others might disagree. Therefore, the general rule permitting upgrades would apply, but unfortunately that isn't written in a way to apply easily to rods. So I say, "unclear, unaddressed in the rules." And therefore not permitted.
It's hard to convince me to buy 3pp stuff because my DM hates the stuff. I also have a DM that just flatly refuses 3PP stuff. He started this refusal early with Pathfinder; I proposed a few neat rules from Adamant Entertainment's Tome of Secrets and he shot them down without looking. Like others here, as DM I'm happy to include anything my players give me that I review and approve first, including entire rules subsystems. I haven't been "burned" by doing so yet. I've recently started to do a lot more Pathfinder writing, and Tome of Secrets has since become a mascot for me: I keep in mind that, no matter how good my writing is, some DMs will absolutely never look at it because it's "3PP". Keeps me humble, I suppose. :)
I've played a couple of witches, and find the types of opponents you describe to be difficult to affect directly. In those situations, I rely on buffing party members that can dig in with them (generally, the tank) via the fortune hex, healing, or (if brave) dimension dooring the tank right up next to the enemies for him to get a full attack. What is your UMD like? At your level, a wand of scorching ray allows you to contribute but is not out of reach cost-wise. One clarification, too: if your character has played 40-plus scenarios, he's well past retirement level!
Sorry for a response that may be a little later than you need. I've not yet run a game for anyone more deaf than myself, but my wife plays and is legally blind, so I've got some accommodation experience and understand the need to be flexible. Some suggestions: Spoiler:
To the extent visual descriptions work best, if you can display Briar Henge as a hedge maze that is brown, dead, and thorny; that might get the visual across.
Regarding the template, PCs are not restricted in their ability to use weapons, cast spells, etc. They have the ability to use claw/claw/bite attacks, but don't have to. Thanks, Ron Lundeen
I haven't read "The City and the City", but since "Iron Council" is the third (and, in my opinion, the worst) of a series, you should probably avoid it. I just finished his "Kraken", which was quite good, but trying hard to be "Neverwhere", I think.
This is a great idea...but I had it first. :) I initially envisioned a template that would have multiple options based on the kind of animal. A "brutish" animal would get a bonus to Con and to natural armor, but a penalty to many skills. A "clawed" animal would get a bonus to Str and claw attacks, but a penalty on all non-natural weapon attacks. In the end, it was just too complicated--applying even a simple template at the table is already complicated. There are a few suggested animals within the template description, and I make the PC afflicted with the template roll a d6 to see which animal type he or she looks like. Generally, the PC takes it from there as a roleplaying cue, but I use the result as the GM, too (having the lycanthrope hunter attack the wolf-looking PC, for example, with a cry of "Eat silver, werewolf!"). I really like the idea of a short handout to give to the PCs with the template changes--that will make it easier on affected PCs, I think. I'll definitely do that in the future. I would have no problems with taking this the further step you indicate here and propose roleplaying quirks as well. Unofficially, of course. :) Thanks, Ron
So long as the player can give a pretty logical explanation fir the tool, I'd let it fly. Masterwork tuning fork for Perform Sing for example. However I still haven't seen a very good explanation for a reactive social skill like sense motive. At best it would be a book that you might be able to reference later to get an "aha" moment. But who knows maybe some intrepid PC will come up wih a wonderful tool! My masterwork tool for Sense Motive is a set of artificial eyebrows, arched to provide that "Oh, REALLY?" look. Humor of course, but I'm also one to pay the 50 gp per skill I want an extra +2 in and call it good. Even social skills, if I've got a social character. If challenged on my masterwork tools--which hasn't yet happened--I trust I can come up with something inventive then. We're roleplayers, after all!
Agreed - thou most of my characters in light armor (bard/rogue/that sort) use a Barbed Vest, and I'd feel funny putting spikes on my armor and a barbed vest on over the spikes... so I just go with the spiked gauntlet.Or armor spikes. Either way, you've got to threaten your adjacent areas in order to help out your teammates, *especially* if you aren't a melee type. Or you could go with a barbed vest over armor spikes AND spiked gauntlets. So. Very. Metal. :)
Not actually necessary with Tide of Twilight, because the closest connection is: Spoiler:
In Tide of Morning, the Pathfinders recover a druidic lorestone. Tide of Twilight starts out with "Our agents recovered this druidic lorestone a short time ago..." If you played the same PCs in both, the advantage is your PCs can say, in character, "yeah, that was us!" And there are some intentional thematic similarities throughout Tide of Morning and Tide of Twilight as well, some quite obvious if you play them back-to-back.
In practice, I've never seen anyone purchase anything off their chronicle sheet. Well, that's not 100% accurate, the only things I've seen people purchase are wands with a limited number of charges, they're great. But besides that, no. Same here, except that I've seen some characters buy poisons, too.
The simplified skill list looks interesting. I'm assuming this is the limited list of skills available in the starter game, and that the starter game does not provide a full listing of skills (including for such strange-sounding or odd-application skills like Fly and Use Magic Device). [sarcasm]
I've been a increasingly disgruntled with the complexity of the Pathfinder Core Rules, and the Beginner Box preview has me thinking that running a game limited to the Beginner Box rules might make for a faster, more streamlined play experience that I'm looking for. * Streamlined monster stat blocks
Even as an experienced Pathfinder player, I might be interested in running a campaign that it "Beginner Box Rules Only" to see if it recovers the lively pace I'm seeking. (I thought Essentials would do this for 4E, but it didn't actually speed play that much.)
I think there are bigger problems with this. The "one item" restriction is not really a functional restriction at all: you actually get 10% off of everything you buy, ever. The method is to buy items that are fungible and sell at its full value (like gems or trade goods), and not items that sell for half (like most items). Say you're sitting on 4,500 gp at the end of a scenario. Use it to buy a 5,000 gp gem, as that single item only costs you 4,500 gp. Then you use that gem to buy a piece of chalk and get 4999.99 gp in change, which you can then use to buy whatever you want (including lots of smaller items). I think the restriction that you can't buy spellcasting or material components with your discounted purchase isn't enough. It should also state that you can't purchase anything that you are able to resell for full value.
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