William Sinclair's page

Hello Everybody,

Hello Everybody,

This is my submission that was rejected. I would appreciate any critique or advise anybody has for me.

Thanks for the help.

The Weaver of Lies

The Minotaur Prince of Absalom came into possession of the Rod of Endless Night, an artifact from Qadira. The prince is trying to gather favor with the Pathfinder Society; the prince offers the Pathfinder Society first bid on the item. PCs have been tasked to meet with the prince to inspect the artifact.

John Undertow, an underling of Grandmaster Torch initiates a rumor; the prince has come into possession of a Cheliax artifact with the power to summon a lesser demon. Knowing full well, the Cheliax backed Bloody Barbers would want a Cheliax artifact. The rumor is sure to entice the Bloody Barbers to steal the artifact for their Cheliax backers. John thinks he can swindle the artifact from the Bloody Barbers once they realize it is not a Cheliax artifact. The black market always has a patron willing to pay large sums of money for such Treasures. Selling the artifact without Grandmaster Torch finding out is John’s prime concern.

A band of Bloody Barbers breaks into the prince’s house looking for the artifact. When they can’t find it, the bandits try to force the information from the prince, but the prince says nothing. The bandits cause such a ruckus, the neighbors are roused and constables are summoned to the house. The bandits know they can’t return without the artifact, but time is running out. They extract the prince and move to their safe house to make the prince divulge the location of the artifact. After hours of torture, the prince tells the bandits were he hid the artifact. The bandits sneak back into the house the next day and retrieve the artifact. Upon returning, the bandits realize the artifact is not of Chelish design. The Bloody Barbers no longer want the artifact. The bandits contact Grandmaster Torch organization; John arrives to buy the artifact in the name of Grandmaster Torch. Grandmaster Torch never learns anything about this exchange.

1. Read what you have written out loud, exactly as written. Does it sound clean? Does it roll off the tongue easily? If not, consider rewriting it. Josh pushes to avoid passive voice. I hear passive voice only when I read it out loud. Just an idea.

2. Grab a copy a book called "The Elements of Style" by Strunk and White. I've been using it since I was introduced to it in highschool, and have found it very helpful.

The above idea is interesting, but I think it should be rewritten to come out sounding cleaner.

1. PCs arrive to meet the prince but find his home torn apart and he is nowhere to be found. The PCs search the house for clues. During the search a neighbor walks into the house and offers to tell the PCs all that she saw and heard last night. The PCs find a broken barber knife with the name of a local barber and gain information from the neighbor.

2. PCs travel to the local barbershop. The barber explains to the PCs he has no idea what they are talking about. The PCs can tell he is not telling the truth, he is overly nervous during the conversation. He keeps looking to the door at the back of the shop.

3. A group of Bloody Bandits rush out from the back door and attack the PCs. (optional)

4. PCs travel to the back room. They find bandits and the prince tied to a chair. After defeating the bandits, PCs learn from the prince that the artifact was given to a man named John that works for Grandmaster Torch. The prince tells the PCs where to find Grandmaster torch.

5. PCs meet with Grandmaster Torch. Grandmaster Torch has no idea what the PCs are talking about. PCs learn that John is a hired hand and left for the docks to meet up with a friend from Qadira a few hours earlier. Grandmaster Torch is furious to learn that John was working behind his back.

6. PCs travel to the docks and search for a ship from Qadira. AL-Bashir’s Blessing is docked close to the entrance of the docks. PCs find a way to board the ship; on the top deck a crew of mercenaries plays cards. Fight breaks out with the PCs and Mercenaries.

I look at these proposals the same way that I once watched an HR guy look at job applications. The HR guy found any reason to reject an application, to allow him to narrow down twenty applicants into three to four to seriously look at and investigate. I assume Josh does the same with these proposals.

Seeing "PCs travel" again and again points to a lack of vocabulary, which he may use to auto-reject a proposal if he has a lot to go through. Just FYI. I have no clue if this is actually true, but I would consider using the method if I had twenty proposals and only an hour to go through them.

7. PCs travel to the second level of the ship. A Qadiran assassin waits below with John and more mercenaries. The Qadiran assassin does not want to fight the PCs. He wants to return the artifact to Qadira. He tries to bribe the PCs with money to let him go, but if PCs declined he will fight.

He tries to bribe the PCs with money to let him go, but when they decline, he fights.

Though the PCs had a simple mission to retrieve an artifact, the situation quickly spiraled out of control. If the PCs were able to rescue the prince, they have gained a merchant ally. If the PCs retrieve the artifact, the prince offers it as a token of friendship to the Pathfinder Society. Depending on how the PCs dealt with John, they might be able to rely on Grandmaster Torch as an ally in the future.

Bill

Josh,
A quick question about the submission writing.

Do you have a problem with writers using Grand Master Torch in a submission? Specifically, a follow on to #14, and the "favor" owed to him by the PFS? Curious, considering that you apparently planned on using him in #45.

Bill

Sure, no problem. I'm working on a murder mystery proposal now. Hoping to finish it up in the next week or so.

I see a few major issues.

1. Getting a piece of flesh, willing or otherwise, as the main mission seems very gruesome. This might be something for a faction mission, especially for Cheliax, but as a main Society quest, doesn't strike me as koshur.

2. Some of your monsters are unusable in PFS play. Topiary Guardians and Clockwork Dogs are both from 3.5 (MM3 & Eberron, I believe). I could have sworn I read somewhere that PFS wants to avoid new monsters or ones published in other adventures. Plus, I doubt they have the rights to use either of your proposed creatures.

3. I like the use of Torch, but forcing the party to steal from him seems dicey. Besides, they may have the cash. Players can be miserly.

The adventure is a neat concept, but I believe the monsters need to be reworked/replaced, and the initial reasons for seeking out the Minotaur Prince should be redone.

Dementrius,
I don't think one can invert a prismatic sphere. It doesn't mention this ability in the spell description. Besides, only the caster of the sphere can walk in and out, so it really wouldn't need to be inverted to prevent the prisoners from seeing or leaving.

I really liked most of the ideas, but I think the encounters need a little work. While the prismatic sphere concept is an interesting way to trap tomb robbers, it is a very powerful spell, and with the Spellcraft rules, it's a Spellcraft DC 29 to even legally know what it is and how to bypass it (Spell in Effect). Then, you are relying on some big leaps of faith on the part of the party and their ability to "think outside the box". I know that no one in my group would think of half of your solutions, possibly none of them. ie. TPK.

I really enjoy the idea of a salt mephit there to prevent water damage. This is a very interesting use of such a creature.

Overall, I do like this, but I'm not quite sure it screams Pathfinder, since I don't know of any adventures designed to "screw over your fellow Society members and make them look bad". That seems counter intuitive to normal Pathfinder rote.

Also, Chris Kenny makes some excellent points about the need of high level treasure to complete the task. I have a wizard in my game who would fight tooth and nail to not sacrifice a scroll of disintegration, arguing that it should be his to keep and buy later on.

Finally, executing PFS members seems harsh for a mission failure. While not unrealistic given your proposal, it is very dark. PFS doesn't strike me as dark.

Hope this helps.

Bill

Please critique away. Oh, and I spelled Absalom a bit better this time :)

** spoiler omitted **...

First off, the wording of this proposal is a very painful read for me. There were some obvious spelling errors, both those picked up by Word, and those not. Plus, there were some serious punctuation problems. I suggest a good writing book called "The Elements of Style" by Strunk and White. While dry, it does an excellent job of laying out simple rules for composition and punctuation.

That aside, the concept behind the adventure is interesting, but a vampire/werewolf motif has been very overdone thanks to Hollywood. If you want to approach this again, I would suggest a different type of creature as Thomas William. Also, while we only get 500 words for the quick proposals, I think you should focus less on alternative ways for the party to get into the house to achieve their goals, and more on what they are suppose to accomplish and why. I've run about half of the Pathfinder adventures so far, and most focus more on the "what" and less on the "how". Players will always come up with unique ideas on how to solve a problem anyways, just to throw GMs for a loop. The Pathfinder adventures seem to cover a basic idea of how the adventure might play out, not one or two specific paths of how it should or must go.

While I certainly fail epically sometimes in avoiding passive sentences, I think a lot of this write up is very passive. I think something like

Initial gather information should reveal the mundane aspects to Mr Thomas William, a habitual old man, of good standing, and moderate wealth. Honourable, though elusive.

Parties using Gather Information find that Mr. Thomas William is a habitual old man in good standing with moderate wealth, and has a honorable but elusive personality.

BTW, what is an honorable but elusive personality?

Anyway, I think the concept has some merit, but the pitch was way off. I suggest being much more aggressive with your proposal, clean up some of the grammar and spelling, and try to find something other than a vampire for Mr. William's big "ta da" factor. Plus, you should explain where a field marshal comes into this or drop him all together from the proposal. Finally, where'd the werewolf come from?

Finally, when I need to submit something, whether a proposal like this, or even just an e-mail, I find it helpful to read the piece out loud exactly as written. This way, I’m not just hearing it in my head. I have to listen to it as well, and I can discover things I might not see otherwise. Like I just did about five times with this post.

Hope this helps. Good luck, and keep on trying!

Airhead wrote:

3.5:
Cast detect magic
Cast identify
Learn about the new sword, etc.

now?
cast detect magic
cast identify to add to spellcraft vs. item's DC.
Success = know everything about that item? or separate rolls vs. each attribute? (+3, flaming, icy burst, dancing longsword)
Failure = you know "it is magic."
??
cursed items?? (loadstones, etc.)

Here is the REAL way to execute an Identify:

None of it required Forums, because it's all given (although you have to do some page digging).

How to Identify an Item:
1. Identify it is Magical.
- DC (25) Appraise Check (1 Round)
- If this method is used, no retry is allowed by the same person.
- Only way to determine if the item is just Masterwork.
- Cast Detect Magic (3 Rounds)
- This method will not determine if an item is just Masterwork.

2. Identify the Properties.
- Maximum attempts: Once per 24 Hours per Item.
- Requires Identify or Detect Magic Cast.
- DC (15 + Caster Level) Spellcraft (3 Rounds per item)
- Must be able to thoroughly examine the object.

Spellcraft DCs for Magical/Enhanced Items:
- DC is the Highest of all of the enhancement/magical bonuses.

Weapons/Armor:
MINIMUM Caster Level is 3*Enhancement Bonus
- +1 = CL3 (DC18)
- +2 = CL6 (DC21)
- +3 = CL9 (DC24)
- +4 = CL12 (DC27)
- +5 = CL15 (DC30)

All other items are Spell based. Note that Magical Properties (such as Brilliant Energy) are Spell based. (Brilliant Energy requires gaseous form, continual flame and is A CL16 (DC31).)

For example, a +4 (DC27) Brilliant Energy (DC31) Armor would require a DC31 Spellcraft Check in order to identify that it is a +4 Brilliant Energy Armor. Otherwise, you just know it's magical.

Properties Locations:
- Magical Weapons, PRGCR 470
- Magical Armors, PRGCR 464

Greetings all,

I am dming a group that is transitioning into AoW at a higher level, Champion's Belt, and one of my players had to move away which, in turn, caused another player to change characters to provide the party with a cleric. I made an error and pointed out that the party did not have anyone to turn undead (that's the last time I ever give a hint about anything... shame on me for metagaming). The new cleric, who hasn't played a cleric in 12 years, comes back to me with a Radiant Servant of Pelor. At first, I was welcoming to this character and the character's concept and background, he was the sole survivor of a tpk involving a group that had worked up through the adventures in AoW to try the party into AoW. Last night before I fell asleep, which is when I have my momentary bouts of intelligence, I realize that as a 10th level character he would be able to turn as a 20th level character, i.e. 10 + 4 (great roll) + 1 (improved turning) + 4 (phylactery of undead turning). Now for those of you who know, this can be somewhat of a problem at the end of Champion's Belt. Also, what do I do at later modules when the undead are more powerful but so is he. At 20th level, he could turn a 30 hd monster with a few feats and magic items.

What do I do?

Does anything need to be done?

Am I over-reacting?

But did it break the game? No. I was still the only cleric in a party of 9, and spent almost all of my time running around the battle healing. A cleric of pelor is a very powerful prestige class in this AP, but I don't think it was a game breaker. My abilities were useless in the adventure where the party enters a war between giants and dragons. And there were plenty of undead that I couldn't simply overcome. Your cleric will have his time in the spotlight, but he shouldn't "break" your game.

And, yes, you can use the ebberron action point to modify the turn check, since it is a d20 roll. But, the highest a cleric can go is +4 cleric level, no matter how high their final roll is.

Any word on whether or not there will be a subscription available for the minis?

Why does the darkmantle get 1d4+4 damage? It has no strength bonus anymore, and no Feats that might give it extra damage, nor any special attacks. So, why does it get the +4 damage? And why is it's melee attack bonus +6? BAB +2, Str +0, no feats, which means no Dex bonus to attacks?

Was this an error?

I keep finding more. The Reflex save is wrong too. A magical beast has a base of 3 at 2 HD, and the Dex should make it +5.

And the CMB is wrong, unless there's a way for Small creatures to use their Dex bonus and not loose a -1 due to being Small.

For those who have a hard time consuming these long and heavy books, I recommend an alternative. Get them on audio book. You can get them from iTunes or Audiobook.com for a decent price. You might be able to find them on CD, but 9-10 are all but impossible now.

I listen to them on long drives, and enjoy them immensely. There are two different readers, one for the male parts, one for the female parts. Basically, if a section starts from a male point of view, it's read by Michael Kramer and the female versions are read by Kate Reading. They do a decent job. I find that I can focus a lot more on the story line and enjoy it a lot more than I did just reading them. Plus, it helps me stay awak on long trips.

Sounds like a really cool idea. I'm not sure if anyone has posted on these boards yet about Pathfinder conversions of the Shackled City, but now that I said that they'll be coming out of the woodwork to prove me wrong.

Honestly conversion isn't that hard, especially if you have a PDF copy of the 3.5 file and a word processor. I can convert an NPC with 5-7 class levels in about 5 minutes. Monsters are a lot easier than I thought too. If they aren't in the bestiary, just scroll to the back, and verify the information back there (ie. aberration, undead, etc) is correct for the 3.5 monster, and change it if it isn't. Most stuff doesn't need to be changed. And once you get used to it, it goes faster and faster.

Getting used to some of the new rules, like predatory animals use BAB on all attacks, not just their primary ones (which means no more need for the Multiattack feat) is difficult at first, but it gets easier. The only creatures I've had to pause and work on when converting were dragons, but I've only converted one so far.

I feel the best way to learn a new system is to convert something. It's how I picked up a lot of the nuances in 3.5. I can offer advice if you want. Besides, there's nothing more fun than converting something from an old edition that the party's never heard of and seeing the look on their faces when they don't know what to do!

Hi @all

Already searched the internet, but dind't find anything at all, so here is my request:

Next week, my players will (very likely) defeat Ardimarchus and return to Cauldron, finishing the Shackled City AP. Unfortunately there is very little information in the book of what happens after the heroes's return.

After two years of gaming I want to give the players and their heroes proper respect and a great celebration. There is already mentioning of statues in their honor in the book, but i need something more:

I need a rousing speech honoring the heroes of Cauldron (written by Jenya because she was elected temporary "ruler" until a proper one is determined - but it is not that important that the speech is written from her perpective).

Does anyone has an idea where to get "demo-speeches" or does someone did something similar and can send me a pdf or something?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank You.

This is a bit odd, but.

Have your characters ever considered moving into either of Jzadirune or the Malachite fortress?

The only downside of Jzadirune is that you cannot make magic items as easily there. But once the characters have a high enough level, they can just remove the curse on the items and move on. Perhaps eventually just breaking the entire curse itself.

Alternatively, they could move into the fortress and have no such problem (or just make the items there). But this makes them the guards of the underdark entrance.

Are there any other downsides that I'm missing? What other pitfalls should I throw in?

Thanks,
IMarv

Our group had some difficulty with Kazmojen. They first encountered him coming into the great hall through the dining area. When he demanded to know who had interrupted his business proceedings, the group charged without a word. Kazmojen and Prickles were able to effectively flank the leading members of the party since they had spread themselves out thinly. I had Kazmojen making single, two-handed attacks with his urgrosh instead of wielding it as a double-weapon which made for a more effective combatant.

Kazmojen and Prickles were able to tear to pieces each of the party members that came close, frequently switching to the most lightly-armored target they could reach. I could hear the panic in their voices when the hobgoblins, alerted by Prickles eerie howling, started to flood into the chamber in a seemingly endless stream. When one of the six party members was dead and two more had fallen, the retreat was called. The heavily armored dwarven fighter was felled during the retreat leaving two members to escape.

The fallen members were imprisoned and, in a mini-session played out with captive party members, they were able to effect their escape the next morning through a clever ruse and some very effective Bluff checks. Alas, during the escape, the general alarm was raised.

As the escapees reached the elevator, the party members who had survived the first fight were just coming down to rescue the fallen, accompanied by Fario and Fellian for added support. The reunion was short-lived however as the general alarm brought Kazmojen, Prickles, and the remaining hobgoblins charging in to face the new arrivals and escapees.

In this second encounter, the party was caught off-guard and ill-equipped (with the escapees being dressed only in hastily-donned hobgoblin armor and weapons) and again allowed themselves to get spread out along the length of the corridor, providing ample opportunity for the hobgoblins to surround the archer and Kazmojen and Prickles to again flank the remaining party members...

I just can't comprehend the idea that a Paladin is overshadowing the party. Paladin isn't that good of a class (especially without any prestige classes) and it means that either you or the party is doing something wrong. Since you made the mistake of allowing the Ranger to take Favored Enemy (All Outsiders), why don't you explain to us how is the Paladin doing 150 dmg in one round? Maybe you/him misinterpreted the rules.

It would help if you'd tell us more about the party composition.

But if he's cutting through your encounters, well, beef up the encounters. Change feats, add items to monsters (potions, scrolls) that will make the encounter more challenging.

As to your paladin, I'd like to see the number crunch on that. Even with a greataxe (or whatever he is using), power attack, and x3 critical, I don't see how he could consistantly do that much damage in one shot. You could always do some class rewrites, and throw some blackguards at him. Or some evil rangers with favored enemy. Or paladin bane weapons, or unholy weapons. The list goes on and on. There are ways to give them pause, and if you scout them first, and get away, you can learn them legally.

15 Deaths in the Shackled City....not sure if anyone can top that...and I had the misfortune of being a player...I only lost 2 characters...we had two players each on their 5th by the endgame....

Or was it 63...

My favorites were when the barbarian jump off the cliff in that underground cave (don't recall which adventure it was), and gotten eaten by the water demon, because he didn't trust the elevator cage. Then, in that same adventure, the party was heading back up in the elevator, when one of them got mind sucked by the kopru, and cut the rope, drowning all three characters inside the cage.

Devourer's now have flight.

Continue it! I love the intros. I have different voices for the various Venture-Captains. I would be VERY disappointed if you switched to a bulleted introduction. Part of the fun of the scenario is the way the adventure is introduced. Please don't remove it.

Got my tickets!!!! Now for the hard part.....to see if I can get the time off of work. I wonder if 6 1/2 months will be early enough notice? I doubt it.

William Sinclair wrote:

I must be blind, because I've looked, and I haven't seen the question yet.

Now that Keepers of Secrets is out, is the book legal for Pathfinder Society? Only certain parts, or all of it? I've already got players asking when they can use it.

Did you check out the blog today? It's all about how Seekers of Secrets is completely legal. I get no indication that there are parts which aren't permitted, though if there are they'll show up in the next version of the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play, which should be out soon.

I must be blind, because I've looked, and I haven't seen the question yet.

Now that Keepers of Secrets is out, is the book legal for Pathfinder Society? Only certain parts, or all of it? I've already got players asking when they can use it.

Disciple of Sakura wrote:

Sadly, my suspicions are correct. The noble hippogriff has been excluded from the Bestiary, and isn't even in the Bonus Bestiary. It's a travesty! I love the hippogriff as a monster, and I'm saddened to see it not there. To quote Movies in 15 Minutes: "OMGWTF Horseybird?!!"

In time, the horseybird may soar yet again!

William Sinclair wrote:

Razz wrote:

William Sinclair wrote:

underling wrote:

clever way to rub in that you have yours already. Grrr. Amazon better ship before the November 12th date on their site.

Oh no, I just have the PDF. The book won't be here for another few days.

Since you have the PDF book, what're the new linnorms might I ask?

As per the index in the preview: Crag, Ice, and Tarn. None of the standard ones, but at least they're in there.

Actually.. they ARE the standard ones for Pathfinder. The linnorms from Monster Manual II are not open content, but the idea of a linnorm as a serpentine dragon comes from real-world mythology. We were able to do new linnorms from the ground up, but weren't able to grandfather in the MM2 versions.

William Sinclair wrote:

underling wrote:

clever way to rub in that you have yours already. Grrr. Amazon better ship before the November 12th date on their site.

Oh no, I just have the PDF. The book won't be here for another few days.

Since you have the PDF book, what're the new linnorms might I ask?

clever way to rub in that you have yours already. Grrr. Amazon better ship before the November 12th date on their site.

I've been looking over the new Bestiary, and have some concerns. While trying to understand the new rules for advancement, I got into the question of how many skill points creatures get per level. So, with no table, I went to break down skills for a few monsters and see what was what. That's where I ran into a problem. Below is a monster that I've broken down skill points on, and it didn't add up. If someone can find the mistake please let me know. I've reverse engineered the creature, and came up short.

Griffon

Acrobatics +10
Fly +5
Perception +12

5HD creature

+4 bonus to Acrobatics and Perception
Skill Focus (Perception)
Size Large
Ability Modifiers

So,
Acrobatics +10 (-4 for racial bonus) (-2 for Dex) = +4
Perception +12 (-4 for racial bonus) (-3 for Feat) (-1 for Wis) = +4
Fly +5 (+2 for size) (-2 for Dex) = +5

Assuming each skill is a “class skill” that means -3 to each.

Acrobatics +1
Perception +1
Fly +2

That’s only 4 skill points. A creature gets a minimum of 1 per level no matter now dumb they are. So, what happened to the last skill point?

I did the cloaker and bulette as well, and they added up.

Did I miss something with the Griffon? And, as per my original search, do we assume that the skills listed on the initial creature are all class skills?

Now for the big question...

Does anybody know if we'll be able to influence what mini's are created? I, for one, would LOVE to see the skull ripper scorpion out of Pathfinder #3.

Is there any word on when we can expect some more info on these minis? I saw the greens at GENCON, and would really like to see what you and Reaper have planned for this line of minis.

I use wood sheets, about 1/16" thick. You can get them at any hobby store in 12"x6" sheets. I just mark out a grid on them, and cut out the sizes I need. I have a 4x4 template and a 5x5 one. Very useful when you need a quick Gargantuan or Colossal monster.

Does anybody know how to not make mouseover text go away after a few seconds?

Is anybody running pathfinder in Hawaii, specifically Honolulu area? Gonna be in town for a few weeks, and thought I might be able to pick up/run a game.

Brett Blackwell wrote:

While I would have liked to see some rules for "attuning" to found spellbooks, the significantly reduced prices for scribing spells helps to make up for these missing rules..

Yep agreed. But the campaign we got going (to learn/get used too PF rules) we are plaything the forgotten realms Undermountian 2nd ed box set.

The whole party was tossed in the the place with only a dagger and leather armor and 2 days food/water. Wizads have no spellbook unless they find one.

We started off at level 5 and the party wizard did at least take Spell Mastery but the without the speical inks and / or paper its hard to scribe spells down.

We JUST found a spellbook and a little bit of the special materials for ink just to get a few spells down. Still the wizard is level 6 now and he is still working on getting back to "full power".

Its been a blast. Granted I am playing a dwarven Fighter.....way easier !

Actually, the whole construction of "Monstrous Huge Spider" is something that we really wanted to get rid of. It's much more flavorful if these monsters get unique names depending upon their size. It's also cool if they're not just carbon-copies but with different HD and sizes.

In the real world, as an example, spiders have all sorts of weird abilities. Web spinning. Poisonous bites. The ability to flick poison hairs as tiny darts. Jumping powers. Ability to sail on the wind with webs. Ability to hurl webs to catch foes on the wing. Ability to create "diving bells" from webs and survive underwater. Ambush tactics like trap door spiders use. Camouflage. And more. I'd rather see a large number of different giant spiders with different powers that approach their real-world diversity, rather than cram all giant spider possibilities into one cramped corner of a book that clumps them all into one really flavorless pile of repetitive stats.

Look at the giant spider entry in the preview, for example. We have the standard "giant spider" as the baseline, which is a Medium-sized spider. But the table at the bottom lists several variants, from the Tiny sized "scarlet spider" on up to the Colossal sized "goliath spider." Not only do these names feel a lot more realistic and legitimate from an in-world perspective... but we avoid the use of the always-capitalized size terms entirely. When you talk to a sage about an enormous spider and he writes you a reply, isn't it more interesting to read "Here are the dangers of hunting goliath spiders" than "Here are the dangers of hunting Colossal monstrous spiders"?

In any case, chances are VERY good that you'll be eventually seeing expanded stat blocks for a lot of the differently-sized vermin we mention on the tables for giant spiders, giant centipedes, giant crabs, and giant scorpions.

Enh...

I hate to say this, but Paizo finally put out something I didn't like. Overall, the preview is great. The new art for the Lemure is fantastic. MUCH better than that old art. This one looks a lot more nasty!

I am sad to say, though, that I am disappointed in what they did with the spiders. I mean, it's nice to see some of the old spider's come back. I missed the crab spider and the black widow. But one thing about 3.5 I really liked was the fact that a large spider was just that, Large. A giant spider was gone, replaced with medium IIRC. I mean, you have three different spiders titled as giant, and one is Small, one is Large, and one is Gargantuan. I liked the fact that a Huge spider was a HUGE spider, a Gargantuan spider was a GARGANTUAN spider. It looks like Paizo might have taken that aspect away.

For once, I'm disappointed, but I still plan to buy the product. After all, I'm an RPG subscriber. It's just that Paizo was cleaning up the game with 3.75, and now they appear to be mudding it up again. Paizo, if you want to bring that those old spiders, great! But please, keep the size/name designators from 3.5. It made it much simpler as a DM, for me to know what I was going be to dealing with.

William Sinclair wrote:

Dorje Sylas wrote:

Where was this rule? I can't find it in the SRD nor do I remember seeing it in the DMG as an optional rule. Although there had lots of little side rules tucked inside the DMG to mod your game.

Actually could that have been under the training rules, which are gone for everyone.

Ah, my bad. It's not a core rule. It was in Complete Arcane. It requires a Spellcraft DC 25 + level of the highest spell. I guess this would explain why it's not in the Pathfinder Core Rulebook. It's not OGL.

So Bill I "assume" we follow Complete Arcane on this one? If no I let you tell ryQ.

Can I have your stuff?

Where was this rule? I can't find it in the SRD nor do I remember seeing it in the DMG as an optional rule. Although there had lots of little side rules tucked inside the DMG to mod your game.

Actually could that have been under the training rules, which are gone for everyone.

In 3.5, a wizard could spend two weeks of down time and attempt to attune to a spellbook that he finds. Did this rule get dropped from the new core rule books or just forgotten?

Is a wizard now required to always spellcraft a spell from a foreign book and then copy it into his own (or onto another page of same spellbook) in order to memorize it without having to spellcraft it?

Joshua J. Frost wrote:

And these are things I'm not going to reveal. Pathfinder Society is young and growing--I don't want to discourage people by saying, "Your faction is the worst!"

I figured it was something like that.

Do you happen to have the page and or paragraph the society rules explain that. I can't find it.

On page 22 of same handout, it lists the procedures for a day job, and the skills used in said check (ie. Craft, Perform, Profession).

On page 14 of Pathfinder Society 2.0 rules (Season 1), there is a list of all disallowed feats, including all craft feats. And again, later on, the same rules for a day job.

I couldn't find anything that specifically says that you can't craft mundane items. I guess the question should be brough up to Josh Frost for clairification, but as far as I'm concerned, I won't allow crafting of mundane items simply for ease of paper work. Unless we're told otherwise or someone can find something specific, I guess its up to each GM.

I was running through the list of blackguard spells, and looking at the 3rd level spells.

Where is protection from elements located? It's not in any of the books, and I haven't seen an errata anywhere for it. Is it supposed to be there, or maybe actually suppose to be protection from energy?

Anybody know or have an offical answer?

Thanks!

Just finished painting mine. Picked it up at GenCon. Looks great!

So this one was interesting.

I finally got around to running this for my group last night. It went fairly well, except that the sorcerer kept insisting on resting. Needless to say, they didn't rest. My only complaint would be that it was kinda hard to logically insert Acts 2-4 since most rooms only connect to the main hall. I kept having to have monsters burst into the main room from other areas. All in all, the party had fun and the clerics saved the day (one was a pregen level 7). Never did manage to crit anyone with a heavy pick, though. I wouldn't mind seeing more adventures using the cult of Zyphus.

One question - how did megaraptor zombie get four attacks when zombies are limited to single actions?

When can we expect our games from GENCON to be posted on our accounts?

I'll send you an email about this!

If you sign up for the subscription, it will automatically cancel your Bestiary pre-order. And the above comment about choosing your first subscription product is correct.

I hope you join us! :)

I want to start a subscription to the RPG line for pathfinder, but I'm afraid if I do, I'll be shipped another copy of the Core Rule Book, which I've already bought at GENCON. Is there a cut off time for when I can set up this subscription, and know I won't get an additional copy shipped to me? Also, if I sign up for the subscription now, could I cancel my preorder of the Beastiary, since I'd know get it under the new subscription?

Thanks!

I really have to disagree. This is my first time playing an RPGA style format, and I have to admit that I was VERY hesitant. But, ingave it a fair shake and have really enjoyed it. I like the treasure distribution system and wish I could realistically put it in my campaign as my group suffers from the greed issue.
PCS is for fun. Just that, plain and simple. If someone wants to cheat, they'll find a way. Just enjoy it for what it is and have fun. It's up to the GMs to do their job properly and check their players. Expect them to do so and move on.

My group might not have won, but at least I had the best line...
"Your pocket was picked by a cleric!"
Great job, guys! See you next year.