captain yesterday's page

i would buy updated books of old AP's, but not a 7th book just to get the updates. thats what the message boards are for:)

Woops. Forgot to put a spoiler tag around some discussion of Reign of Winter...

** spoiler omitted **

leave earth and Baba Yaga as is, there are Thousands of planets that Baba Yaga has put her footprint on, why couldn't Eberron be one?

Kingmaker isnt that bad for inexperienced gamers at all, i recommend Carrion Crown myself or Reign of Winter.
you can't go wrong with either one (tho Reign of Winter involves planet hopping so it might get too strange for some groups on the back end, so far its a really good mix of slavic-russian folklore and old school DnD weirdness (only have first 3 books but each one is better then the last, ignore reviews, things are often better then they say)

Serpent's Skull is also not bad but has no building maps of the lost city, just an overview map of the city (which is spectacular but it needs more maps

My memories tell me Serpent's Skull is pretty ungruesome. If necessary, just say "savages" instead of "cannibals" in Smuggler's Shiv.

Kingmaker is also squick-free, and I imagine there being a lot of fun as they fill in their map of exploration. I've heard some stories of mismanaged kingdoms going belly-up really quickly, but the kingdom building rules are optional to the AP and can be fudged pretty easily by a DM who doesn't wan't his pre-teens too disappointed.

I also think Skull & Shackles is doable. Although not my favorite AP, it's easy to re-imagine it as the kids' PCs are secretly spies for Cheliax (rather than you-know-who) and are sent to infiltrate the Shackles and take down the Pirate King. Guide them to make all their pirating strikes against other pirates and pirate towns and you don't have to worry about your 10-year-olds gleefully robbing from innocent people.

thanks for mentioning Serpent's Skull, that is a very good one for kids with the indiana jones-pirates of caribbean feel to it. 3rd book needs help with maps but kids won't mind the hack 'n slashey feel of 3rd book, also get fourth before running 3rd so there is a smooth transition, also book four has great article bout dungeon deathtraps that helps out a lot thru whole AP)

I have a Game master question, do you award experience points after every encounter or at the end of the session. just curious as to your view, i myself have been at the end but have been thinking about going the other route with Reign of Winter, which is great so far.

besides most people in the first adventure are mostly racist towards orcs or half orcs, on account of belkzen is just a hop, skip and a jump away. mostly they just keep to themselves and gossip or gawk about you behind your back (tho things can go south pretty quick)

Catfolk ninja, awesome!

(Wait, im not nine, where are you takeing me? Not the white padded room! Please not again!)

yeah she kicks major posterior right now, surprisingly she and the halfling bard (with the archeologist archetype from Ultimate Combat) are our best melee combatants, and we have dwarf ranger in the group with 18 str and took 2 handed weapon fighting style. they literally do acrobatics (like the halfling using the ninja as a spring board to jump over opponents) it has been a lot of fun playing with my family rather then people i don't have emotional connections to. less arguments and things go a bit faster cause no one is asking for clarifications and what not.

gotta agree with rot grub, i havent been part of a steady group (other then the wife and kids) for over twenty years (dukes!, just dated myself) jump on in they'll learn with you, its a lot more fun that way (at least in my personal experience) also dont worry bout the rules just roll with it and have fun.

another positive of Jade Regent is at end of first adventure (4th level) the PCs acquire an artifact with restoration and resurrection abilities so less PC death (my daughter would probably cry for a week if i killed off her second character (her first a dwarven rogue from BB, second is a catfolk ninja (she is nine after all)

to be honest the sexuality of the iconics never even crossed my mind til i just saw this thread, still dont know who is what and i don't care, let them live how they want i always say.

mmmm...fjords!

captain yesterday wrote:

i agree with anguish fully (and i have most of the books already released) a changed golarion would be useless to me and i would NEVER buy ANY of the books for a changed golarion, i made the mistake of getting fourth edition forgotten realms, it was such a turn off for me within weeks i sold off ALL my 3rd edition forgotten realms to fund my switch to golarion (and pathfinder) for me 4th ed FR was soooo bad i couldn't even stand to read them anymore without getting mad about how bad it was (the super crappy map was the first straw, no explanation bout half the pantheon just missing with no explanation whatsoever was the last straw.

btw i CANT wait for wrath of the righteous, keep up the good work and steady as she goes, turtle wins the race, yada yada yada.

I just love how people go harangueing about the 4E Forgotten Realms, when I said about five times that I too would hate to see something like that happen to Golarion. Evolution, not revolution.

thats because FR 4th ed was THAT bad, but its not just FR it was dragon lance too. the point is advancing the timeline is NEVER any good, and i think paizo is evolving just fine (if you dont believe me check out council o thieves pt 1, then carrion crown pt 1 then reign of winter pt1, each one evolved from the last. and i constantly see mr jacobs and mr schneider asking people how they can continue to evolve. keep it steady and gradual is my opinion.

i agree with anguish fully (and i have most of the books already released) a changed golarion would be useless to me and i would NEVER buy ANY of the books for a changed golarion, i made the mistake of getting fourth edition forgotten realms, it was such a turn off for me within weeks i sold off ALL my 3rd edition forgotten realms to fund my switch to golarion (and pathfinder) for me 4th ed FR was soooo bad i couldn't even stand to read them anymore without getting mad about how bad it was (the super crappy map was the first straw, no explanation bout half the pantheon just missing with no explanation whatsoever was the last straw.

btw i CANT wait for wrath of the righteous, keep up the good work and steady as she goes, turtle wins the race, yada yada yada.

Turin the Mad wrote:

And the poor goblin can't bite any more from the sound of it. ^_____^

Oh, he/she can still bite, but it's not quite as effective as an Azlanti woman as it was as a football-headed goblin.

that infernal football headed goblin, i hate him, but, oh how i love that lil football headed goblin.

Dont count ship OR plunder as average part wealth unless they flip it at port, look at the items of the rest of the party and YOU (the GM) give him his treasure don't let him go shopping like its awl-shackles or something, if the player's continue to d-bag it up dump them, also an exiled duergar isn't going to leave without robbing the place stupid let him keep the trait or whatever it is just make sure you do the picking and tell the party if they don't like it there is a certain ancient brine dragon who wants all their stuff or it to the gullet for them or just have the Dominator from book 2 rob them stupid and leave them on an atoll without any rum that'll learn em:) the point is, don't let people push you around, you're the one in charge after all:)
just my thoughts, use them (or not) as you like

Jade Regent is pretty good, i recommend having one of the PCs be the last amatatsu instead of how they have it, my daughter just turned 9 and i had same problem with beginner box adventure not enough. also as a bonus it starts (but does not stay) in the same town as the beginner box (you might even recognize some of the NPCs and artwork from the beginner box in the modules)

beyond Jade Regent,
Kingmaker is the best for kids (tho extremely hard to find in book format without being taken for a ride (scratch n dent from paizo would be the cheapest route there)
the feel of Kingmaker is very much old school-king arthur's court-robin hood-fairytale-esque.

Shattered Star is easily edited for kids, a few adult situations in book 2 and book 5 is creepy in a lovecraftian sort of way (tho no in bred country folk mating with aliens, more exploring leng and nightmares and what not)

my nephews are really digging Serpent's Skull and Carrion Crown, tho my daughter not as much (girls are less curious about vampires and werewolves and more afraid of them in experience, which is limited to my own as i had all brothers, who all loved horror, myself included)
Serpent's Skull is more indiana jones with a touch of pirates of the caribbean, tho book 3 requires you to make your own maps of buildings and such (look thru the message boards before investing in it, the reviews are needlessly harsh so take them with a grain of salt. personally i like Serpent's skull and its fun for kids (there are cannibals in first book but if handled cinematically or comically can be a memorable and fun encounter.

Skull & Shackles is also great for kids with some editing (especially in book 5)

adventure paths to avoid or i know nothing about
Rise of the Runelords, yes its the first ap however book 2 and 3 are pretty gruesome and hadrd to edit out with keeping story intact, also will encounter an area in book you'll want to change

Council of Thieves, a great adventure path (one of my favorites right now in fact) however it is more of a gritty urban path that'll be lost on younger kids

Reign of Winter has that whole dark russian fairytale thing going on and as such is not suitable for younger kids (so of course my daughter is REALLY excited to start it (edit the guardian hut in book one so the girl is rescued at the the end of book 1. also book 2 has a witch that feeds little kids to her troll "sons") just beware with this one.

no experience or knowledge of Legacy of Fire, Curse of the Crimson Throne or Second Darkness.

hope the wordiness helps, have fun adventuring, feel free to drop by with input on your decision or questions (i pretty much only run adventures for my kids, nephews and friends so i mostly GM for younger groups)

this reminds me of our first jade regent adventure we encountered a skeletal champion and bunch of regular skeletons, the problem? only one player had a bludgeoning weapon (a ninja with a kusari-gama) and no cleric, needless to say we almost all died that day.

my recommendation would be to look for what THEME would work best then edit it as needed for your children's sensibilities. my daughter is 9 and very much likes pirates of the caribbean and LOTR (and the hobbit) as a side note to parents when showing movies like those WATCH THE MAKING OF.. FEATURE THEY HAVE ON THE DVDS, we did and no crying or nightmares just excited cries of "i know how they did that!!"

any way with my daughter i picked Jade Regent because the themes fit (epic journey, exploring other cultures) so far i've only had to change one monster in book 1 (an attic whisperer became a mimic), but really its just about knowing where your kids limits would be, then edit away
i recommend (in order)
Kingmaker (do the kingdom building, kids LOVE it)
Jade Regent
Serpent's Skull
Skull & Shackles
Carrion Crown (what 10 year old wouldn't want to fight ghosts, werewolves, aliens or vampires or even a mad wizard on top of a tower)

once you get thru those the kids should be old enough to handle meatier fare like ROTRL or Shattered Star.
have fun with whatever you choose.

So is that the case for all of the mentioned "Areas of interest", as in they are all modules you have to buy?

no, just some of them, Shatterd Star takes a tour round varisia tho (wind song abbey, the lady's light, guilt spur etc) check them out awesome books all!!.

i just noticed that razor coast is out and also he has an article in the upcoming Towns of Golarion so i was just curious when he might once again be gracing your pages with more logue-ishness. just curious:) also welcome back :)

you want to more about brine wall get The Brinewall Legacy from the Jade Regent AP.

i made a stormborn sorcerer who was born in a particularly bad lightning storm, but that one is easy:)

he is an adorable little bunny:)

captain yesterday wrote:

who is aslan?

Aslan is my pet rabbit. :)

i get that he's your pet rabbit, just curious as to where the name is from is all:)

who is aslan?

between 3 critical hits, and a burning hands by our witch, the tengu oni was surprisingly easy. buttersnips the quickling was another story entirely and is still a favored encounter my wife and daughter love to recount

i have a halfling archeologist bard and my daughter has a cat folk ninja so we fold in acrobatics and other shenanigans into every combat. even if it doesn't work its still oodles of fun:)

Hi there, everyone!

So... you know how on the first page of an Adventure Path installment, on page 6 of each volume, we put a table of contents for the adventure along with a sentence or two of description for each part of the adventure?

Well... it strikes me that those annotated tables of contents on page 6 do a MUCH better job at providing an adventure summary than the actual Adventure Summary section we put in each adventure.

To the extent that I'm considering cutting the "Adventuer Summary" section entirely, starting with Wrath of the Righteous, and letting the much easier-to-navigate and process much more quickly version of the summary on page 6 do the job on its own.

What do folks think about this? I can't really think of a compelling idea to keep the dedicated "Adventure Summary" section when we've got those page 6 annotated tables of contents... but I could be missing something.

(AND: no, this would not mean I'm removing the Adventure Background section. That stays there. I'm specifically talking about the section that begins "Adventure Summary" and ends [typically] right before Part One going away.)

Chop away, Oh great and powerful T-REX ! i like the idea of the summary on page six, great idea!!

an urban campaign on the trail of a serial killer or vampire lord.

I am currently running Jade Regent for my wife and two kids (ages around 8-9) and they are having a blast!! i only had to switch out one monster in book 1. we are currently ankle deep into book 2, i would recommend Jade Regent or Kingmaker.

Or maybe you should consider to run something else entirely after module one. I don't intend to be snippy, but so far you have expressed distaste of almost every element of the rest of the path (charau-ka, gorilla king, serpentfolk uprising). Maybe this "weird africa" kind of theme is not what you're looking for as a whole?

Right?, a lot of complaining but doesn't seem to want any solutions. my advice, try a different adventure path, maybe one that doesn't get him all worked up

You will want to read the whole Adventure path before getting too far into it, it will help zoo much, also hope you like making your own maps of buildings in lost cities (book 3 has exactly two maps, one of the city and another of the entrance thats it)

i wasn't going to get the comic book however my daughter saw your post, loved the art and so now we have a trip scheduled for our friendly neighborhood gaming/comic book store. kudos to paizo and dynamite for the free sneak peak:)

one comic posted of a series of comics over a month or however long period is a sneak peak in my book

my daughter (age 8ish) loves reading the fiction in the adventure paths, that and the bestiaries (of which the coral capuchin is her favorite creature)

Thanks a lot everyone. I'll look into the characters' WBL. Their builds are already pretty optimized already. The party is as follows:

Human Alchemist (Vivisectionist) / Monk (Master of Many Styles) - NG - Flies around the battlefield while Mutagened, looking for flanks of flat-footed opponents to deal super Sneak Attacks. Fights defensively to gain benefit of Crane Riposte. Has stupidly high (~38) AC while buffed.

Dwarf Monk / Cleric of Cayden Cailean (Travel and Freedom Domains) - N - built after the player's original character was killed by the Skull Ripper. This guy also has super high AC (esp vs. Giants). He also makes use of his Domain power (Dimension Door-like ability) to help the Vivisectionist set up flanks. His spells are spec'd to buff his party and debuff his enemies (mostly through Shaken/Fear conditions).

Half-Elf Arcane Archer - NG - More archer than wizard. He has all your typical archer feats (Many Shot, Rapid Shot, etc). Deals around 70-120 DPR. Also tends to be the face of the party. Was originally a Human, reincarnated as a half-elf after being pasted by Papa Kreeg.

Dwarf Druid - N - Caster druid. Spends most of his time as an air elemental. Summons beasties to flank for Vivisectionist or to tie up baddies to prevent them from reaching the Arcane Archer. Usually has Call Lightning up during battle so he can bolt if he's not summoning.

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I like the idea of morale boosting encounters. Maybe the can rescue some of the prisoners taken from Sandpoint. Or maybe I can allow them to stealth about and mettle in Stone Giant inter-tribe politics. Any other thoughts? I'd like to avoid rebuilding if possible as I'm pretty sure my players are already happy with their characters.

dont mean to nit pick here but two things jump way out first one is cayden cailean can't have Neutral clerics (he is CG and N is more then a step removed) also monks can't be NG or N for that matter unless they are martial artists (which they are not), thats all i got.

my perspective of jade regent is somewhat different then most people, in that i've never so much as read a back cover for rise of the runelords or curse of the crimson throne or even second darkness so i had no history with ameiko and company so it was quite easy for me to kind of push them to the back of the caravan so to speak. i will try to add more to them in the last adventure maybe since no one in the party has a desire to be empress or emperor of minkai so someone's gotta take over:).

one member wants to return home in the land of the linnorm kings (with a linnorm head preferably), the witch doesn't care where she goes as long as she gets her dancing hut at 18th level (thank you ultimate magic!) the bard (archaeologist archetype) wants to be a famous explorer, with a focus on local food and spirits (he's a halfling) and the ninja just wants to be a super sneaky ninja (played by my 9 year old daughter so its understandable)

its about time an RPG made THE best animal into a familiar.

Irnk, Dead-Eye's Prodigal wrote:

Actually, according to the Write-up & James Jacobs, Lissala has always been LE. She just has been more L than E, so-to-speak. It does however mention that the church had suffered notable corruption & dissolution with time & by the time of Earthfall most of the priesthood had pretty much switched over from Clerics to Wizards, their piety was so lacking.

Great, that just ruined the deity for me.

i don't get it?, why does that ruin the deity for you?

has their been anything more about pathfinder society in madison? i'm interested in playing, i just run games for my wife and kids. it'd be nice if someone else gm'd

HangarFlying wrote:

Did you watch Felix make his jump?

Nope. Never heard of this.

EDIT: Just checked it out... Pretty awesome!

i watched it with my wife and kids, its pretty awesome world when you can watch football on the tv and someone jump from 24 miles up across the room on the computer. in this particular instance, technology rules!!

serpents skull is actually best if you drop last two and combine some ideas from 3 and 4, you'll need to put some effort into it but its fun.

of the paths i'm familiar my favorites, SPOILERS!!!!!!!

Kingmaker- River Runs Red. grigori, you magnificent bastard. also crazy fey

Serpent's Skull - Racing to Ruin. one of my favorites, let the pc's chart their own course, still used 90% of the adventure and it was a blast.

Carrion Crown- Trial of the Beast. how many adventures do you get to be a lawyer/detective then assault a mad scientist's cliff side castle? simply awesome

Jade Regent- Night of Frozen Shadows- ninjas and vikings, written by Greg a. Vaughn. yes!

Skull & Shackles- Tempest Rising- simply awesome

it should be noted that as of now i only have first four of skull and shackles

From the gazetteer of Minkai in Tide of Honor (by tito leati): Historically, the Sugimatus were peacemakers and the imperial family most in touch with the needs of the people. Historians have granted members of this dynasty titles such as the Empress of Pleasant Rains, Emperor of the Sake Sea, and the Six Springs Empress. rather then being intimidating titles, these names reflect eras that number among the most peaceful and bountiful in Minkai's history. Most members of the sugimatu family were poisoned over a period of years, making it the first of the five families to fall.

i hope that helps, your gm might be of more assistance.

What are good books for first world reading?

Look for Gnomes of Golarion, also the last chapter of Kingmaker (Sound of a Thousand Screams) has a super spectacular article about the First World. finally the Inner Sea World Guide has some info about both the first world and gnomes. all of them are worth their weight in skymetals (especially gnomes of golarion, found in the players companions)

cynarion wrote:

James Jacobs wrote:

I'd rather build products my customers like and then try to branch out to new customers as a side quest than try to build products to catch mystical new customers and do things to appeal to the current customers as a side quest.

The thing that has fascinated me in reading through this discussion is the question in the back of my mind (and, I'm sure, in the back of several Paizo staff minds as well) about the tension between market-directed product development--building what customers like--and the creative imperative to set an agenda and go with it, critics (and customers often) be damned.

What this discussion has given me is an impression of where Paizo sits on that continuum.

James, does Paizo have a 'mission statement', or similar? If you do, can you share it?

No... "Mission Statement" is corporate technobabble.

We're here to make games that people like, and that includes us. I guess that counts as a mission statement? As distasteful as I find the idea that I just made up a mission statement...

i propose a new drinking game:a shot for every time you can trick james jacobs into saying mission statement in a single post;) i agree tho, mission statements are distasteful, why box yourself in?. keep up the good work

this thread is the best, thanks to all.

i dont ban anything, mostly because if i do, everyone wants to know why, and also then everyone is drawn to whatever class is banned. so to save time and frustration i put everything on the table, voila, no arguments, everyone has fun.

In just the first book, I lost two characters, and if you saw their ability scores, you would be in awe that they could die like chumps.

** spoiler omitted **

** spoiler omitted **

** spoiler omitted **...

I once fell into a spiked pit holding alchemists fire in each hand, then my brother fell down trying to rescue him because he couldn't see the pit by candlelight because he was too cheap to buy torches, it didn't end well. this was after another brother died from a rot grub infestation when he cut his own arm off trying to prevent them from spreading up his arm (didn't work) sigh, i miss undermountain.

Are you a fan of weird al yankovic? if so, what is your song and video? (they don't need to be the same). my daughter (who is a HUGE weird al fan) wants to know:)

What are the Interactive Maps features?

interactive maps are all the maps from the ap gathered together in one pdf, you can have it as gm view with secret rooms visible, or players view with those hidden. you can turn off tags and all too.

And how does one get them if I only have dead tree versions of the AP?

with 14.99 of course;) for me its worth it if they fixed some scale issues