If so, what's Threat Vector like?
The last book of his I bought was The Teeth of the Tiger, and I found it disappointing.
Also, the following info from his Wikipedia page:
Spoiler:
Red Rabbit (2002)In the early 1980s, CIA analyst Ryan aids in the defection of a Soviet officer who knows of a plan to assassinate Pope John Paul II.The Teeth of the Tiger (2003)Jack Ryan's son, Jack Ryan, Jr., becomes an intelligence analyst, and then a field consultant, for The Campus, an off-the-books intelligence agency with the freedom to discreetly assassinate individuals "who threaten national security", following the end of the Jack Ryan Sr. presidential administration. This book of the Jack Ryan series by Tom Clancy introduces Ryan's son and two nephews as heirs to his spook-legacy.Dead or Alive (2010, with Grant Blackwood)The story picks up where The Teeth of the Tiger left off with Jack Ryan, Jr. and The Campus trying to catch a terrorist known as "The Emir".Against All Enemies (2011, with Peter Telep)A terrorist bombing in Pakistan wipes out Max Moore’s entire CIA team. As the only survivor, the former Navy SEAL plunges deeper into the treacherous tribal lands to find the terrorist cell, but what he discovers there leads him to a much darker conspiracy in an unexpected part of the globe — the United States/Mexico border.Locked On (Dec 2011, with Mark Greaney)While Jack Ryan Jr. trains to become a field operative within The Campus, his father campaigns for re-election as President of the United States. A devout enemy of Jack Sr. launches a privately funded vendetta to discredit him, while a corrupt Pakistani general has entered into a deadly pact with a fanatical terrorist to procure nuclear warheads.Search and Destroy (July 2012, with Peter Telep) (Cancelled)Threat Vector (Dec 2012, with Mark Greaney)Jack Ryan has only just moved back into the Oval Office when he is faced with a new international threat. An aborted coup in the People's Republic of China has left President Wei Zhen Lin with no choice but to agree with the expansionist policies of General Su Ke Quiang. They have declared the South China Sea a protectorate and are planning an invasion of Taiwan. The Ryan administration is determined to thwart China’s ambitions, but the stakes are dangerously high as a new breed of powerful Chinese anti-ship missiles endanger the US Navy's plans to protect the island. Meanwhile, Chinese cyber warfare experts have launched a devastating attack on American infrastructure.
Indicated that several of his last few books were co-written. Has he been unwell or something?
The Bestiary page 196 says, for lycanthropes
"Melee: A lycanthrope gains natural attacks in animal and hybrid forms according to the base animal."
The stats for a wereboar in Bestiary 2 has the wereboar with a bite attack as well as a gore attack. Boars and dire boars don't have bite attacks. So why would a wereboar get one? The quoted line doesn't mention it either. It's late where I am so pardon me if I missed something!
It's a free-to-play multiplayer game where you can become a powerful lord of the castle, build a great empire with a flourishing economy and battle with your enemies.
If anyone does join (or is already playing), post below or PM me. It'll be good to recruit members to join an alliance, as there is strength in numbers and maybe we can help each other!
Some of the recipies call for corn syrup or light corn syrup. Since these aren't available in the UK, I wonder if anyone has any suggestions for using something else in place of those two?
Some creatures, such as babaus, ooze acid. Is there a way to make equipment resistant to acid- anything in the rules? (I don't mean an item that grants acid resistance to the wearer!) If there aren't any such options in the rules, what would people recommend?
Just in case nobody noticed, people can now (preorder) certain Raging Swan print products directly through Paizo. Check the Products page to see!
(Creighton, I hope you don't mind the shout out! I wrote this in case anyone missed Liz C's posts!)
Thought that title would grab attention!
Today I gifted the PDFs of the Core Rulebook and Bestiary to my friend in Africa. Dave is an old friend of mine whom I met at university. In late 2006 or 2007, he went to Africa on a VSO* (Voluntary Service Organisation) job, and has been there ever since. He’s an old gamer, and before he left the UK gave most of his gaming stuff, including 1e and 2e AD&D books, and a bunch of board games to a charity shop.
* I think the US equivalent is the Peace Corp.
The charity job ended last year and he’s busy with other things now, but while there he met a local widow at his church, and is now a proud father- two with her and her two kids from her previous marriage. A while ago, he downloaded the Beta book and liked it; he’s even run one game for his wife and her kids.
He’s a good guy, so that’s why I bought him the PDFs. I wouldn’t normally post anything like this, but just wondered if anybody else would like to gift him other PDFs. If anyone does, please PM me so I can coordinate. Hopefully he’ll appreciate it as thanks from the gaming community for the charity work he’s done!
I'm interested to know- and hopefully chuckle at- stories where PCs have bought or found cursed items. Not ones about dust of choking and sneezing, or the other "useful" ones; more the items with quirky drawbacks and side-effects, and how that impacted play.
So, dwarves typically use battleaxes, crossbows, warhammers and so on; elves typically use longswords, longbows, elven curve blades and so on. What are traditional weapons for gnomes?
The standard costs for permanent spells, per the core rulebook, are as follows:
9th-level___2,500 gp
10th-level___5,000 gp
11th-level___7,500 gp
12th-level___10,000 gp
13th-level___12,500 gp
14th-level___15,000 gp
15th-level___17,500 gp
16th-level___20,000 gp
17th-level___22,500 gp
18th-level___25,000 gp
The other spells that can be made permanent in the UM are in line with the above, however, the following spells have incorrect GP costs or CL requirements:
loathsome veil is listed as CL 10, 7,500 gp
sanctify corpse is listed as CL 9, 500 gp
symbol of healing is listed as CL 10, 10,000 gp
symbol of scrying is listed as CL 13, 10,000 gp
symbol of slowing is listed as CL 11, 10,000 gp
I just found out about this yesterday, so thought I'd post the following as it will be of interest to some!
Golari-Con
17-18 September, Fan Boy Three's Golari-Con
Fan Boy Three, 17 Newton Street, Manchester, England
We had so much fun at PaizoCon UK in July we thought we'd schedule an entire weekend of Pathfinder Roleplaying, featuring the brand new three part introductory First Steps modules as well as a wide range of other brand new Season 3 modules like Frostfur Captives, Sewer Dragons of Absalom and Ghennet Manor Gauntlet, plus a few Season 1 and 2 favourites that many players won't have played. We're calling it Golari-Con and we'll have between five and seven tables running each slot.
Because of the additional costs in prepping for a mini-convention, we'll be charging £4 per session, £10 for just the Saturday or £15 for the entire weekend.
Interested in playing? Drop an e-mail to dave@fanboy3.co.uk with your character level and what modules you've played.
Interested in DM'ing? You'll earn £1 store credit per player per session just like at our regular events – just drop me a line as above
What: Fan Boy Three's Golari-Con
Where: Fan Boy Three, 17 Newton St, Manchester, England
When: September 17-18
How Much: £4 per session, £10 Saturday, £15 all weekend
Session Times: Saturday 10am, 2pm, 6pm; Sunday 11am, 3pm
The following parts of the Advanced Player’s Guide are NOT legal for play: ...Alchemist’s Brew Potion class ability (he receives Extra Bombs instead as a bonus feat)...”
What feat does a vivisectionist gain instead of Extra Bombs?
So despite listing my collection of Dragon magazines (over 300) on ebay several times, there have been no takers. If anybody wants to pick them up from me, please post below! I’m in Cheshire, if that makes any difference for picking them up or not.
If someone wants to make me an offer for store credit here, that would be welcome. Alternatively, I only have one miniature, so if someone wanted to trade me some of their unwanted minis (say pre-painted ones to represent PCs and named NPCs, and various monsters) that would be good too.
On the other hand, if nobody wants to make an offer as to the above, or wants to pick them up for free, that’ll be OK if it helps get rid of them.
Note I think that Trial is an excellent adventure (which I finished reading last night)! Here's a few thoughts I had about it.
Why did the WW bother going to the effort of controlling the Beast and mucking up the Count’s home, when- given they have a wizard of at least 11th level- they could have got the Seasage item easily without all that effort?
I think the WW must have directly released the rust monsters in H2 (The Precarious Alchemy Workshop), rather than in J7 (The Secret Curios) else the RMs would have first encountered the iron stairs and destroyed them! ;-)
Comparing the Beast’s combat abilities with the big bad, it would seem that the PCs have to help the Beast, or the Beast will die and the PCs will have to endure a tougher fight without him.
Ie. Beast’s AC 24, hp 118, +21/+16/+11 atk (or needs 4+, 9+, and 14+ to hit AP) with hook, average damage 19 per blow (reduced to 9 after DR). So if one assumes roughly that he’ll hit the AP 1.5 times per round with the hook, he’ll be dealing 13.5 average damage to the AP per round, after taking account of the DR. (If it attacks the AP with its slams, it is even less effective against it!)
Ie. Aberrant Promethean AC 25, hp 117, +21 atk (or needs 3+ to hit Beast) with 2 slams, average damage 23 per blow (reduced to 18 after DR). If one assumes that it’ll hit the Beast twice per round, the beast is losing 36 hp on average per round. The Beast thus loses quickly, unless the PCs directly help by attacking the AP and/or buffing the Beast (and not just via the Bloodslave Thrall). I think it's intended that the (majority of) PCs fight the AP with the Beast, correct?
Do alchemists cast arcane spells for purposes of the Arcane Strike feat?
Does the Arcane Strike bonus apply to natural weapons?
Does the natural armor bonus granted by a mutagen stack with the natural armor bonus provided by a polymorph spell and/or that of a monster race alchemist?
Regarding alchemists and polymorph. It seems that a master chymist with the feral mutagen, furious mutagen , and Improved Natural Attack (claws) feat have two claw attacks (for 2d6 damage) and bite attack (for 2d6) not counting damage bonuses from Strength and so on. If they polymorph into a girallon (using beast shape IV) , then they would have four claw attacks at (1d6) plus rend (1d6+(1.5xStr)) damage and the feral and furious mutagens become irrelevant, correct?
Polymorphed monsters retain supernatural attacks that don't depend on their forms, correct; eg. a ghoul would retain paralysis and disease and a green hag weakness, whereas a mummy would lose its despair ability but retain disease?
When I visited California in the ’90s, there was a fudge shop in South Pasadena that made the best fudge ever. Does anyone know if the place still exists?
[Here is my stab at updating the sohei class from the (3.0) Oriental Adventures book and 3.5 update article from Dragon 318 to Pathfinder rules. I’ve made some notes at the end.]
THE SOHEI
Sohei are warrior monks, religious soldiers who protect large monasteries and temple complexes. Unlike inquisitors, who seek enemies of the faith, sohei are more militant and receive very little religious instruction. Instead they are trained in the art of fighting. Sohei defend their monasteries against attacks and advance its political claims in the outside world. They are subject to the leader of their temple.
Role: Sohei mix martial prowess with divine power that grants them spell ability (as they gain experience), the ability to heighten their strength and speed in battle, and protection from mental and bodily harm. Very experienced sohei can shrug off physical damage and ignore certain magical effects. Their spells are useful in battle to grant protection, enhance attacks, and damage foes.
Alignment: Any lawful
Hit Die: d10
Base Attack Bonus: +1/level
Saving Throws: Fort Good, Ref Poor, Will Good
SOHEI SPECIAL ABILTIES
1___Ki frenzy, Weapon Focus
2___Deflect Arrows, frenzy power
3___Diehard
4___Frenzy power
5___Strength of Mind
6___Frenzy power, teamwork feat
7___Damage reduction 1/-
8___Frenzy power
9___Stalwart
10___Damage reduction 2/-, frenzy power
11___Greater frenzy
12___Frenzy power
13___Damage reduction 3/-
14___Frenzy power
15___Teamwork feat
16___Damage reduction 4/-, frenzy power
17___Tireless frenzy
18___Frenzy power
19___Damage reduction 5/-
20___Frenzy power, whirlwind frenzy
CLASS SKILLS
A sohei’s class skills (and the key ability for each school) are Athletics (Dex), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Perception (Wis), and Profession (Wis).
Skill Ranks Per Level: 2 + Int modifier.
CLASS FEATURES
The following are class features of the sohei.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Sohei are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, and with all armor (but no shields).
Weapon Focus: Sohei gain Weapon Focus with a weapon of their choice as a bonus feat.
Ki Frenzy (Ex): A sohei can focus her ki power into a frenzy of berserk energy. Starting at 1st level, a sohei can frenzy for a number of rounds per day equal to 4 + her Constitution modifier. At each level after 1st, she can frenzy for 2 additional rounds. Temporary increases to Constitution, such as those gained from spells like bear’s endurance, do not increase the total number of rounds that a sohei can frenzy per day. A sohei can enter frenzy as a free action. The total number of rounds of frenzy per day is renewed after resting 8 hours, although these do not need to be consecutive.
While frenzying, a sohei gains a +2 morale bonus to her Strength and Dexterity. She gains a 10-foot bonus to speed, and she can choose to make a flurry of blows with a full attack action in melee, making extra attack per round at her highest attack bonus while suffering a -2 penalty to every attack. While in frenzy, a sohei cannot use ant Charisma-, Dexterity-, or Intelligence-based skills (except Acrobatics, Fly, Intimidate, and Ride) or any ability that requires patience or concentration.
A sohei can end her rage as a free action and is fatigued after frenzy for a number of rounds equal to 2 times the number of rounds spent in thefrenzy. A sohei cannot enter a new frenzy while fatigued or exhausted but can otherwise enter frenzy multiple times during a single encounter or combat. If a sohei falls unconscious, her frenzy immediately ends, placing her in peril of death.
Deflect Arrows: At 2nd level, a sohei gains the Deflect Arrows feat, even if she doesn’t have the prerequisite feat and Dexterity score.
Frenzy Powers (Ex): As a sohei gains levels, she learns to use her frenzy in new ways. Starting at 2nd level, a sohei gains a frenzy power. She gains another frenzy power for every two levels of sohei attained after 2nd level. A sohei gains the benefits of frenzy powers only while raging, and some of these powers require the sohei to take an action first. Unless otherwise noted, a sohei cannot select an individual power more than once.
Frenzy powers available are selected from the barbarian rage power lists from the Pathfinder Core Rulebook (any rage power except Animal Fury, Intimidating Glare, Raging Climber, Raging Leaper, Raging Swimmer, Scent) and the Advanced Player’s Guide (any rage power except the alcohol-, brawling-, hurling-, mount-, and totem-related powers). They work exactly like a barbarian’s rage power of the same name, except that they pertain to sohei!
Diehard: The sohei gains Diehard as a bonus feat at 3rd level.
Spells: Beginning at 4th level, a sohei gains the ability to cast a small number of divine spells. To cast a spell, the sohei must have a Wisdom score of at least 10 + the spell’s level, so a sohei with a Wisdom of 10 or less cannot cast these spells. Sohei bonus spells are based on Wisdom, and saving throws against these spells have a Difficulty Class of 10 + spell level + Wisdom modifier. When the sohei gains 0 spells of a given level, such as 0 1st-level spells at 4th level, the sohei gets only bonus spells. A sohei without a bonus spell for that level cannot yet cast a spell of that level. A sohei has access to any spell on the list (see below for list) and can freely choose which to prepare. A sohei prepares and casts spells just as a ranger does. Through 3rd level, a sohei has no caster level. At 4th level and higher, her caster level is equal to her sohei level -3. Use the ranger spells per day table to determine the number of spells & spell levels available.
Strength of Mind (Ex): A sohei of at least 5th level is immune to stunning and sleep spells and effects.
Teamwork Feat: At 6th level, a sohei gains a bonus teamwork feat (described in the Advanced Player’s Guide). She must meet the prerequisites for the bonus feat. At 15th-level, the sohei gains another bonus teamwork feat.
Damage Reduction (Ex): Starting at 7th level, a sohei gains damage reduction. Subtract 1 from the damage the sohei takes each time she is dealt damage from a weapon or a natural attack. At 10th level, and every three sohei levels thereafter (13th, 16th, and 19th level), this damage reduction rises by 1 point. Damage reduction can reduce damage to 0 but not below 0.
Stalwart (Ex): At 9th level, a sohei can use mental and physical resiliency to avoid certain attacks. If she makes a successful Fortitude or Will saving throw against an attack that has a reduced effect on a successful save, she instead avoids the effect entirely. A helpless sohei does not gain the benefit of the stalwart ability. (Note that unlike the inquisitor ability of the same name, a sohei can benefit from this whether they are wearing armor or not.)
Greater Frenzy (Ex): At 11th level, when a sohei enters frenzy, the morale bonus to her Strength and Dexterity increases to +4, the penalty she suffers on attack rolls from making a flurry of blows is reduced to -1, and her speed increases by 20 feet during her frenzy.
Tireless Frenzy (Ex): Starting at 17th level, a sohei no longer becomes fatigued at the end of her frenzy.
Whirlwind Frenzy (Ex): At 20th level, when a sohei enters frenzy, the morale bonus to her Strength and Dexterity increases to +6, she suffers no penalty on attack rolls from making a flurry of blows, and her speed increases by 30 feet during her frenzy.
SOHEI SPELL LIST
1st-level: Bane, Bless, Detect Chaos/Law, Divine Favor, Doom, Endure Elements, Magic Weapon, Protection From Chaos, Resistance, Shield of Faith, Virtue [+ Attraction and Weapon Bless from Oriental Adventures]
2nd-level: Animal Messenger, Bull’s Strength, Delay Poison, Lesser Restoration, Remove Paralysis, Resist Elements, Shield Other [+ Warning from Oriental Adventures]
3rd-level: Discern Lies, Dispel Magic, Greater Magic Weapon, Magic Circle Against Chaos, Prayer, Protection From Elements [+ Castigate and Mental Strength from Oriental Adventures]
4th-level: Death Ward, Dispel Chaos, Divine Power, Freedom of Movement, Neutralize Poison, Order’s Wrath, Restoration, Spell Immunity [+ Discern Shapechange, Fatigue, Remove Fatigue, and Sustain from Oriental Adventures]
*********************************
Notes:
Replaced the (Concentration) and Iaijutsu Focus skills with Athletics and Perception.
Replaced the “mettle” ability with a modified Inquisitor’s Stalwart ability.
Eliminated access to certain barbarian rage powers because they don’t seem appropriate as sohei frenzy powers.
Replaced Defensive Strike bonus feat and blank 15th-level with two bonus teamwork feats.
Spells: What would be good replacements for the Oriental Adventures spells?
In my opinion, sohei are a nifty little class that has more of a defensive outlook, as opposed to the more offensive outlook of inquisitors.
Any other comments?
Hi! I’d very much like to see an article like #18’s “Demon Lords of Golarion”, but based on the Infernal Dukes and Whore Queens listed on the IBC of in Princes of Darkness. However, I’d prefer to know the Duke’s/Queen’s goals and what their clerics get up to rather than know what the fiends look like or what their realms are like.
The following is meant to be a guide to helping put together more personalised lists. The spoilers include the summons included in the Pathfinder core rulebook, and I've spoilered them to help make this look more organised! Enjoy! :D
Analysis/observations:
Don’t count the +1 CR modifier for applying the celestial or fiendish creature templates for purposes of CR range within spell-levels; for example, the CR 8 dire tiger still counts as a CR 8 creature for purposes of Summon Monster VI, because CR 7 and 8 are the CRs for that spell level.
For Summon Monster spell levels 5 through 7, outsiders have 7-9 HD, which is an indication of extra spell-like abilities and other special abilities.
Mephits have low HD for CR, while the drone giant ant also has low HD for CR. CR should trump anomalies like this.
“x [HD] for elementals” refers to the classic elementals, ie. air, earth, fire and water elementals, not all creatures that happen to have the elemental subtype.
Feel free to add templates, which may adjust the relevant Summon Monster spell that the creature involved would belong to. For example, adding the half-dragon template (+2 CR) to a cheetah (CR 2, on the Summon Monster III list) would become CR 4, and hence could be summoned via a Summon Monster IV spell.
If adding the half-celestial or half-fiend templates, don’t reduce the CR modifier by one if the creature has five or more HD (this absorbs the +1 modifier for celestial/fiendish creatures of 5+ HD).
However, don’t add templates (other than the celestial/fiendish one!) to creatures applicable for the Summon Monster I spell, and don’t add more than one +1 CR template (other than the celestial/fiendish one!) to creatures applicable for the Summon Monster II spell.
Feel free to add class levels to the intelligent outsiders, or extra HD as well if you want.
This post is meant to help DMs create more unique summons for their NPCs and/or player characters if they wish. If a player makes a particular request, remember that you don’t necessarily have to approve everything, or let the player specify particular all feats, spells etc- the gods move in mysterious ways, after all! ;-) If a DM approves a particular concept, they should also ask players to put together stat blocs for any summoned monsters in advance to help speed up play, but if the DM wants the summoned creature to be more mysterious, then he should prepare the stat block in advance. DM’s don’t have to approve an advanced giant half-dragon (total +4 CR) summons.
Other spells that are really cool (IMO): deflection, gallant inspiration, instant enemy*, and unwilling shield.
* However, I’d change the target line of this spell to merely “one creature”, and ignore the “that is not your favored enemy” part. If a ranger has Whatever +8 and Aberrations +2, it’d be a lot sucky if the BBEG turns out to be the latter and he can't use the top bonus.
I also think it’s great that there are some new spells that benefit only good characters; ie. tough doodas to neutral PCs.
The “monk (still broken)” thread got me thinking. Just how are PCs supposed to hit super-high AC opponents, and still maintain balance?
A 16th-level “warrior”, with good BAB, 26 Strength, +5 weapon, and Weapon Focus has an attack bonus of +30. Fighter levels will add +4 attack (Greater Weapon Focus, +3 weapon training), barbarian +3 attack (Rage bonus to Strength), ranger up to +8 (favored enemy), and so on.
A 16th-level “adventurer” (eg bard, rogue) with medium BAB, 22 Strength , +5 weapon, and Weapon Focus has an attack bonus of +24.
The warriors should easily hit the following CR 20 monsters: balor (AC 36), pit fiend (AC 38), red wyrm dragon (AC 40), tarn linnorm (AC 36). The adventurers will find it harder to hit those CR 20 monsters. If the PCs encounter a monster of AC 48 or higher, then the adventurers will only hit on a 20, but the warriors will have a hard time of it, especially with second and later attacks- are spells meant to be the strategy used to take down such foes? Even the CR 20 monsters named above would have a hard time hitting an AC 51 PC for example (less so the dragon) unless boosted by buffs or certain magic items.
Of course, greater dispel magic used to shut down ongoing spell effects and magic items temporarily would help the meleeists/archers immensely, so perhaps that is the only way to reduce such ACs. Hmm... perhaps I’ve answered my own question! Well OK, not quite. If the PCs are able to easily fight AC48+, then I guess that they’d easily wade through typical balor and tarn linnorm ACs.
Out of the Adventure Path books and Gamemastery/Pathfinder modules, which ones would you say are horror adventures (other than AP #2- Skinsaw Murders and Carrion Hill)?
I've an idea for an adventure I'd like to run at a convention sooner or later, using pre-generated PCs. When it comes to items, are costs of wands, potions etc increased (as per 3.5) or has the rule changed? If so, I can't find where it is in the PFRPG book. Can anyone help?
Hi folks, I'll be off to Paizocon UK in about three hours.
Aside from heirloom weapon, what's a good trait for a greatsword-wielding fighter? (What do they do, and where are they?)
Into which class groups will the new classes fall into (referring to table 2-4 on page 297 of the Bestiary), including the magus? Will antipaladins count as part of the monks and paladins group?
