The Expansionist

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Organized Play Member. 23 posts. No reviews. No lists. No wishlists. 2 Organized Play characters.


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So my players looked at the route, looked at me, and then said, "Yeah, we want to teleport there." What keeps them from doing that? I mean I could come up with some Deus ex Machina but I would like a logical reason.


So Earth Supremacy states, "In addition, you gain a +1 insight bonus on melee attack and damage rolls whenever both you and your foe are touching the ground." How is ground being defined? I know it is nitpicking, but I feel there is a difference between the ground as in any surface that is part of the gravitational plane (so the plowed field, the floor of an inn, etc) and the ground as in any natural occurring surface (grass, natural rock, sand, etc).


I am getting ready to run the Serpent's Skull AP with some old friends from college. Since we now exist over several time zones, this will be done with Maptools. Many of my players are new to the setting and want a quick background of the world so they can develop their characters. Now the Players Guide for SS does a great job of getting players in touch with where they are going, but not with where they are coming from. If we were all in the same town, I would just pass around my Paizo library until they found what they wanted.

So to be brief (TOO LATE!) is there a short handout on Golarion somewhere that I can give to my players, or do I need to do my own write up using the Campaign Setting book?


So I am creating a 6th level wizard using your guide. A friend used your ranger guide and swore by it.

I have two race options that I am juggling with... elf or tiefling. My stats (including my 4th Level +1 bump) are:

Str 12
Dex 14
Con 14
Int 16
Wis 11
Cha 8

Both racial options seem to have their pros and cons so I thought I would have someone else weigh in on it. Thoughts?


Nice item all the way around. The ability to reuse it, its need to be refilled, and its low price makes the Sublime Phial a great item. I can easily see a niche for it as a magic item that a low level party can find and put to use.


The following is my Character Background.

The real Matt L: Teaches High School English in rural Missouri. His wife is working on her doctorate in Asian Ethnomusicology, but we have not gone to Japan (her number one choice) yet.

The Matt L superhero:
Matt L (born 1983) has taught both history and English. When his wife Carol, working on her doctorate in Asian ethnomusicology, went to the Philippines, her husband joined her. Now he teaches conversational English to high school children who want to go to an American college. The pay is good for the country, and it helps support his wife during her studies. They both live in a small, but decently furnished apartment wit their three cats. During the day he works with his students, and at night he tells his wife he is tutoring for extra money.

This is not the truth. No one else knows. Not his family. Not his friends. In high school, Matt began to notice his Cross Country time drop dramatically. His coach just thought he was finally putting forth some extra effort or had a change in diet. Matt realized that neither was true, as he stopped feeling tired after running six miles and still managed to get the best time on the team by a full minute and a half. One night during his Junior year he finally pushed himself to go as fast as he could and realized that something was not right. He did not run Cross Country his senior year, citing a need to focus on his grades as the reason. In truth he was afraid his super speed would be found out. He kept his powers secret, never using them for any purpose, as both his home town and the city he went to college had no real crime to fight. It was not until he moved to Chicago for a few years that he realized he could no longer keep his powers to himself.

Donning an outfit reminiscent of a World War I flying ace, Matt takes to the streets of Manila to crack down on crime. The locals have began calling him Mangindusa after a god in Filipino Mythology who, among other things, was responsible for punishing criminals. His superhero efforts have all been minor in nature, busting a few drug dealers, and stopping some purse snatchers. No one of real significance has ever met up with Matt, and he is OK with that. While he feels he needs to help out others, he has read enough comics to know that taking on the big bads, usually leads to trouble for the hero and those closely connected with him. He never uses his abilities during the day in case of being found out, though he was tempted once when he was running late for work. He currently struggles with telling his wife the truth about his double life.


deranged wrote:
I am interested. I am thinking of Crusader. The class looks very interesting to me.

That's fine, though I would warn you that I tend to place a lot of the action in my campaigns in cities, dungeons, or other closed in areas, so your mount may not be the best. I would be happy to discuss alternatives to it and your mount charging abilities, if you wish.

You are right, that does put a damper on things... However would a size small character (and thus a medium size mount) work for the setting?


AlQahir wrote:
I'd really like to play as well. I would like to make an Archon if you are allowing third party material, if not I would like to play an Inquisitor.

I am playing an inquisitor in a low level game right now. I am having a lot of fun with it. Allows the party to have someone who can heal in a scrape, but still puts up one heck of a fight. High recommend it.


I am interested. I am thinking of Crusader. The class looks very interesting to me.


This is my first time working on a MnM character from the ground up, so feel free to check the math. Also, when did we acquire our powers? At the same time as the Zombie menace? Earlier? Do we even know about the Zombie threat yet? Thanks. When I get these answers I will have a background for you.

tr 10
Dex 18 (8)
Con 12 (2)
Int 12 (2)
Wis 10
Cha 13 (3)

Saving Throws
Toughness 4
Fort 3
Ref 4
Will 3

Combat
Attack 4 (8)
Defense Defense 4 (8)

Powers
Super Speed 4 (21) [with Wall Run and Rapid Attack]
Strike 6 (6) [used to represent the speed of his fists]

Skills (6)
Bluff 3
Computers 1
Craft [Art] 1
Craft [Structural] 1
Diplomacy 2
Drive 1
Knowledge [History] 3
Knowledge [Current Events] 1
Languages [American Sign Language] [This from an Int mod of +1]
Perform [Acting] 2
Profession (education) 3
Sense Motive 3
Survival 2
Swim 1

Feats
Defensive Roll (1)
Dodge Focus 2 (2)

---


I am almost done, but I am having trouble making heads of tales of the "Speed" power. It says I move up the Time and Value Progression Table (page 70). I don't see how this deals with speed as it only mentions time. Now I will admit that I have not taken physics since high school, but last I checked I need both distance and time to give me speed. Any one know how to interpret this?


Assuming there is room for me, I am thinking of a speedster character. If not that, then maybe healing. Thoughts are always welcome.


*after picking my jaw off the ground*

Heck ya I want to play!


Excellent. Thanks for the quick response. The game, from the initial play, was fun. If you decide to do other battles (such as the Dismember the Alamo) I would encourage an example of play section. Just a thought. Keep up the good work!


My wife got the game for her birthday and we have a rules question... how does the pointer work. If it points to the side, do they attack their own troops? What happens if your soldier is on the right flank and the pointer points right? Does that person attack empty space? I have reread the rules and cannot find the relevant information on how exactly the pointer works.....


I found this on one of my favorite sites:

http://loadingreadyrun.com/videos/view/456/Pathfinder

Just thought I would share...


Aaron Goddard wrote:


Then go play 4th edition.

Knock is a great spell. As a DM I encourage my players to memorize spells other than just direct damage. Some times a rogue can't open a lock, some times its too powerful.

Do you whine when the barbarian crits with his scythe before you can sneak attack?

Just because someone else can do what you do doesn't mean they shouldn't be allowed to.

1. If I wanted to play 4e, then I would not be here. Please do not insult my opinion on an open forum dedicated to making a system we can all love (or at least tolerate and feel a part of). I will try to pay you the same courtesy.

2. Please remember that I am not criticizing the ability for the Wizard to pick a lock via magic, but rather the ability for him to do it without rolling AND that the mechanic for whether he is able to succeed (i.e. size being the determining factor) is silly, in my opinion.

3. No I do not whine when the barbarian crits and kills something before I can. To crit, the barbarian must roll dice. There is a possibility of failure or success.

In short if the scenario I posted went something like ".. and then the wizard cast a spell, made a check and made the DC" I would not complain about it. The suspense was still there.

What I want out of this discussion is just a spell that is better made.


I can see your point, and don't disagree with the idea of a spell that can help get past doors is useful. What I disagree with is the way the spell is executed. What determines the ease that a wizard opens a door is not its DC, but its size. This, in my opinion, is a poor way of doing it. As for Dimension door and teleport, they are higher level. A third level wizard does not become equivalent in trap opening skills as a 20th level rogue with these spells, because he does not have them.

With just a change to the nature in which the spell works, I believe a much better spell can be produced that allows others to open locks, but does not make it a sure thing OR based on the relative size of the door itself.


So there my gnome rogue was, in the middle of combat, trying to open a lock so we could escape from a monster we were not powerful enough to defeat. The lock was hard, but not impossible. This was a time for my character to shine! I just had to wait for the wizard to go. After that I would leave everyone in suspense as I rolled the d20. What a great moment....

And then wizard casts knock and the door opens automatically. No roll, no suspense.... just an open door.

In short, I hate the knock spell. I hate how it opens a door based on the size of it. In essence you could have the smallest, most complicated lock on the planet with DC 50, and a level 3 wizard could open it. Conversely you could have the largest door known to man, built to let Colossal Red Dragons through three abreast with a DC of 5 and a 20th Level Wizard would stare blankly at it. Knock is a horribly worded spell. I would love to see it changed in Pathfinder Beta to something where the spell caster must make a caster level check with the DC equal to the lock. This allows arcane casters a way to get around locks, but not take all the fun from a rogue that has invested skills in opening locks.


Tarren Dei wrote:
KaeYoss wrote:
lastknightleft wrote:


Not quite as needed, but then when you look at that chart in the PH it has lots of space that's just sitting unused.

Rent it out.

Longsword; 15gp; 1d6; 1d8; 19-20; 15gp; Get your "long sword" at www.naughtyknight.com; 4; 15HP

Am I the only one who went immediately to check out www.naughtyknight.com?

No.....

Was I the only one who was let down when the URL led to nothing?


Wow! Demonhide armor! I cannot wait to see the items people come up for this one. As for me I had best get my brain juices flowing if I am going to even have a chance on this one!


Ok so not really, but I think that a medieval/fantasy styled gun or two would not be too bad. They are rare in occurance, but we are seeing more of them with Monte Cook's Ptolus (a great game by the way that I love playing in) and World of Warcraft RPG. A pistol and blunderbust would cover most of the firearms used in fantasy societies with some tech in it. Just a thought.

Also if you want to add some suspense to your game AND have your game be a little bit more organized I have a suggestion. Select what item cards you will be in various chests ahead of time. Go ahead and put them, along with a slip of paper mentioning any gold/silver/copper/whatever into the envelope. When they see the chest give them the envelope to open. If the chest is trapped, I like to write it on the inside of the envelope. When they open the chest/evelope they get a message like "TRAP! Roll a fort save." My players seem to get a big kick out of it. Also it makes them more mindful to be careful.

Also while I am here, just wanted to say that I really like the item packs and finally got my local gamestore to start carrying them. I know of two other games that now use them as well in our small college town.


Ring of Thyris (DnD 3.5)

History: As the wizard Thyris began to age the subject of his mortality began to weigh on him. Having spent years as an adventurer Thyris had bested man and beast, staring down death and surviving to live another day. Now, however, it seemed his battle with time was coming to a clos. Still Thyris, known for his stubborn nature, began to plot on how to escape death's grip once more. Immersing himself into research Thyris found his solution, become a lich. For a phylactery Thyris chose an old ring, his first piece of treasure from his adventuring days. Having destroyed a lich in his youth, the wizard realized that the resting place of his life force was also his biggest weakness. In order to hide the rings true nature Thyris cast permanent nondetection. On top of this he imbued the ring with fire shield. At last Thyris had the final piece he needed in order to become a lich. He reveled in his immortality. Time passed and Thyris began to go out adventuring again, overconfident in his abilities. One day his luck ran out. Taking on what he assumed to be a mere elf, Thyris soon found himself face to face with a gold dragon. In a blaze of fire Thyris was no more... for a while. The dragon snatched some of the liches baubles to add to his horde, including Thyris's phylactery. When Thyris came back a week later in his study, he searched for his phylactery, but with one problem. The nondetection spell he imbued the ring with in order to hide its true nature also kept him from scrying it. Meanwhile the gold dragon, not realizing what he had and assuming it was only some minor magical item gave it to one of his hatchings to start off their horde. Thyris is still searching for the ring to this day.

Plot Hook: The party recently helps a young gold dragon out of a jam, he rewards the party with a very special trinket. He tells them it is a ring of fire shield and that it was given to him by his father. Meanwhile Thyris has been constantly searching for the ring and has employed a group of rogue's to scour the countryside for the ring. If a member of the party wears the ring one of the rogues sent by Thyris notices it and reports back to his employer. Thyris is now hot on the party's trail, hoping to reclaim his phylactery before anyone realizes what it is.

Description: When identified the caster can tell that the ring casts fire shield 3/day as if cast by a seventh level caster. The nondetection spell keeps most people from realizing that is also doubles as a phylactery.

Faint abjuration; CL 7; Craft Wondrous Item, Craft Ring, Fire Shield; Price 153,600 ( 120,000 phylactery + 33,600 fire shield 3/day)