mearrin69's page

Did this go through? I'm curious as to how it went. I'm a big fan of Watership Down and have the old GURPS B&B book but we've never played it. If it gets used in my group I expect I'll have to run it...which is a shame because I wanna be Bigwig! Oh well, I'll just have to settle for running totalitarian rabbit bad guys...

I think I'm going to break my group in with Mouse Guard first then try to get them hooked on B&B later. Bun-fu might sell it.
M

My group just finished up Runelords and we may go to Hollow Mountain in a followup game at some point. Afraid I can't help you with your plight...because I actually plan to map out the juicier parts of the dungeon in some detail but I don't yet know what path it'll all take.

Be interested to hear what you come up with for your group.

For my part, the hook is that the PCs know the other Runelords may well be on the verge of awakening and they walked away from the Karzoug encounter with an artifact: one tine (greed) of the original Sihedron symbol, broken apart when the Runelords took over from Xin. And...I'm not sure what *that* will be either though I'm sure it's a Major Artifact. Hopefully The Shattered Star will give me some help on it...
M

I have played a paladin only once. In our games, the GM is just as likely to have a goblin turn out to be neutralish as she is to have it be pure, irredeemably evil. So, consequently, my paladin did not kill on sight...he demanded immediate surrender and dealt with the consequences.

And, yeah, the prisoners (if they surrendered) often caused us headaches and some of the other characters often complained about the situation. But, they knew what they were getting into when they signed up for a mission with a paladin (and they very much liked that he was capable of mashing to a pulp anything that *was* irredeemably evil!)

For us, it was a roleplaying opportunity. My paladin was *not* Lawful Stupid...he was Lawful Good. He also, BTW, converted a tribe of proto-fire/sun-god-worshipping goblins to followers of Sarenrae (not his god) and removed them as a threat to his community. That was sort of fun.
M

Edit: Another BTW...this was a series of adventures started off with a Paizo adventure (not sure which one) followed by a converted Red Hand of Doom. When we talk about it these days, it takes a bit for some of the other players to remember exactly which characters they were playing in that game...'um, was it the elf rogue/sorcerer or the elf rogue/inquisitor, I forget'. I always remember the pally, and so do they. He was a superhero, and memorable.

I was at the show...sorry I missed seeing this.
M

Yeah. I'm in for KUG. You guys doing any adventures to go with it?
M

Never played it but I want to! I bought the book some time ago and it's very nice. The system looks playable. Almost wish I had waited for the box, however, because it's pretty sweet. I would love to hear how other players' sessions with this game have gone.
M

Sounds as if the OPs problems have been solved.

As a GM familiars/ACs are hands-off territory unless the player starts using them as meat shields or something. I have players that use these for mostly RP effect and I have no need to target them unfairly. Favorite swords, giant bear damage-dealing animal companions, etc. are open to attack, because they get stuck into the face of the bad guys a lot...but mice in the pocket or kittens hiding behind legs get left alone in my games.

Trikk: Try to be less of a jerk, eh? Insulting someone else's hobby on a hobby board is less than cool...
M

Hmmm...already got all of the core books and APs I need. Will probably take some of my 'spend some money and get yourself something you want' credit and put it toward campaign setting PDFs, however. Think there's a couple I've been thinking about getting.

Christmas had the temerity to fall on our weekly game day so we're not playing. If I see that red suited cat at my place Sunday morning he's going to at least play a game of Munchkin to make up for it. :)
M

I gave the option with the caveat that, if you choose to roll, you have to live with your stats...no switching to PB because you don't like what you got. Worked okay.
M

Just downloaded and looked it over. Some nice stuff in there. I'm still waiting for some borogoves and mome raths and such but I'm pretty happy.

But...what's with the kung fu panda? That one's maybe a bridge too far! :)
M

Interesting. I just played a witch to about 11th level. I always played her as actively 'throwing' the hexes at people in a very visible way. I went a little comic with it so it was fun...of course, it may have gotten her targeted a bit more than might have otherwise been the case. She never used any hexes in a social situation (though she did try dominate person unsuccessfully once at a party)...social situations generally bored her. I can see why you might want to though.
M

Awesome idea!
M

Wow. That Jen Haley mini is pure beauty. I'm going to have do dig into her site a bit.
M

I'm not sure about the difference between editions but I have some of the 4E books and they seem pretty solid. Have not played it yet, but plan to someday soon (been painting samurai minis). The books are beautiful, the fluff is pretty good, and the rules are clear and understandable (at least I think so before having put them to the test at the table). Don't know if they'll support the line but I expect you can use 3E supplements with the 4E books with a little modification. Not sure if this helps you or not, since it doesn't answer your question directly...
M

Just going to leave us hanging like that, huh? If we promise to buy the book will you give us more details? ;) My players' characters just rang the doorbell of the Pinnacle last session...
M

I think James is spot on with haunts.

Just ran the Vekkers' cabin encounters in Spires and the haunts were just right...scared the pants off of the players (who feared the worst) but didn't really cause any permanent damage.

There were a couple in Skinsaw that nearly did in some party members...in fact, there's a bit of a lasting grudge between Merisiel and Kyra over one particularly humerous possession. :)

I think they handled the second batch properly...and they served to tell the story of what happened to the Vekkers very well.
M

Must say I'm oddly excited about this product...especially with James' comments about how it's being revised. I've been a subscriber since Dungeon and loved reading RotRL as each issue of Pathfinder came out (still love the APs but no longer on the edge of my seat each month). Took me a long time to get around to running it for my group and they, just yesterday, have finally reached Xin-Shalast. We should be done in a few weeks...but I still think I might buy the hardcover when it comes out.
M

It can be done...I know of a group that plays Harpoon (insanely complex) via e-mail using (I think) PowerPoint slides to keep track of their moves. I think there might be an app or two (Gamebox?) out there that could handle just about any wargame with some work.

If I was going to do it I guess it'd depend on what I wanted to play. For a more complex game where you wanted fog of war and such I'd use a third-party moderator. Knowing me, I'd avoid any kind of real-time app and, instead, draw up the terrain map in Photoshop and then plot the moves/action graphically. The moves themselves can be written out in e-mail or a post.

It seems complex...but folks were playing pretty complex wargames by mail long before the Internetz was a series of tubes, so it's eminently doable. I think the most important thing is that all parties understand and agree to the rules and conventions.
M

Part of brainstorming is taking a critical look at new ideas and discarding the ones that don't measure up.

Not really. You're supposed to withhold criticism and focus on adding or expanding ideas...at least in the methods of brainstorming with which I'm familiar. You can read about the concept here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainstorming

We use a big 'ol mix of stuff on our table. I have a relatively huge collection of D&D minis and our group game room has a ton of metal minis (ranging from really well painted to sloppy to bare metal). We also have a collection of D&D dungeon tiles, molded scenery, trees, furniture, etc.

Even so, we sometimes throw down some dice or stones and draw rooms on a vinyl battlemap. It all depends on what you've got and what the situation requires. When I DM I try to deploy representative minis and terrain wherever possible.

I agree that I've never been a big fan of pog-type tokens or 'cardboard heroes' standup things...but I reckon they're better than MTG life tokens.
M

I suspect it was just an error in the text. The author had a vision for it but it came across inconsistently when he put it on paper somehow.

I just described it to my players as a high mountain lake with the carven face a few hundred feet above it, reached by stairs...but I didn't place the face/lake near the peak.

My players' party had a pretty cool fight with the dragon in among the statues. They managed to get his attention after just a couple of rounds of combat and bargained for access to the portal to runeforge. Of course, they never held up their end of the bargain so he's a little angry about now.
M

That devil's pretty awesome. I haven't looked through your blog in detail...do you detail your figure casting process somewhere? I'd be interested in learning how to do that. I have a ton of D&D minis but wouldn't mind being able to cast some copies that I could modify.
M

Don't know about others but I like seeing your creations. I dig the pile of skulls...always useful in gaming! We used a cast of a pile of bones in our game just last week (dwarf bones in Runelords #6).

Is that a cast of the D&D Minis mushroom guy or your own design?

You're inspiring me to maybe work on some scenery too. I'm, someday, going to run a L5R game and it'd be cool to have a bunch of Japanese-style scenery (that's something we have *none* of in our game room).
M

You might actually get me to play one...

I can't possibly be the first person with a thread on this? Didn't see any. Edit: Probably 'cuz I'm blind...
M

The best guide to Sandpoint is still found in Pathfinder #1. The book is out of print, buy you can still get the PDF for $14. There is also the Rise of the Runelords Player's Guide, which is a free PDF or $2 for the hard copy. Between those two, you should be all set in that respect!

Duh! Here I am all old skool...of *course* the PDF is available! :) I was only thinking about print versions. Definitely recommend getting the Runelords #1 PDF. Everything you need to know about Sandpoint right there.

This is all very cool stuff. Thanks for sharing.

I got the beginner's box as part of my sub. Now I'm off to kidnap some children to play it with. ;)

Eh. Just kidding. Don't alert the authorities!
M

I'd wait, I think. It might be fun to dig into it with them and, as you note, you can preview everything via the PDF. If old enough it might be fun to put together the pawns with them.
M

Sandpoint is detailed in volume #1 of Rise of the Runelords and maybe in one of the modules. I don't think you can lay hands on RotRL anymore (at least until the collected edition comes out). The Iconics are detailed variously in the back of the adventure paths (four different ones in each series, generally) and I think some of the modules have them as well. I think there were a set of blog posts with their stats at different levels and backgrounds, but I could be mistaken (and I don't have a link to share with you in any case). If anybody has any specifics I hope they'll post them for you. Good luck!
M

I would appreciate a copy if it's no bother: michaela at acaciarg.com. Thanks!
M

We just started this final book on Sunday. Our party consists of three 16th-level characters (Kyra, Merisiel, and a wizard) and three 10th-level characters from another adventure (dwarf crossbow master, human inquisitor, and dwarf fighter) who are there at the behest of a dragon playing the 'game' and hoping to win with the loot from Xin-Shalast (the culmination of another adventure we've been playing). Kyra and Merisiel are the only ones that have been with the party from the start.

Titus Scarnetti, indebted to Kyra for saving his family (and some incriminating documents) during "Fortress", agreed to bankroll the expedition in exchange for a 10% cut...and, with Titus, that *is* the 'friends and family' offer!

The group ported to a town in the foothills (I surmised there must be a 'last-chance' mining supply town) and spent 2 1/2 days hiking up the Kazaron to the Vekker's cabin. No encounters, though they did come across some Yeti footprints. Snow started lightly the first day and ramped up from there. That was the result of a pretty cool sequence of rolls on the random weather tables...by the time they got to the cabin they were thinking they might want to hole up there for a couple of days until the weather let up. They changed their minds when they learned more about the Vekkers history and how the same series of events led to the 'Vekker Party' incident played out by the haunts.

The group's Shoanti guide (oddly named "Aldo") stayed on watch in the downstairs watch room while the rest of the crew progressively tripped the haunts in the cabin. Unknown to them he went outside to look around and fell victim to the tree...and provided a great hook to the final big haunt (they thought it was him banging on the door). We finished up with Silas' plea to return his brother's body in exchange for information on how to reach Xin-Shalast.

Next week is the body recovery/wendigo seige. Some failed saves have them a tiny bit worried about madness and falling into the same trap as the Vekker party...so the reconciliation scene and wendigo attack should be pretty interesting. Hopefully we'll have enough time to do that and make it to the ice fens.

BTW, I've pre-rolled encounters for the trip. The first one I rolled was an adult white. Looking forward to rolling under 15% on the encounter dice so I can try to fit that in. May not result in combat but I maybe want it to do a high fly-over patrol sort of thing and scare them a little. Merisiel rolls crazy high stealth but some of the others are less fortunate so it'll make them scramble a bit...especially Kyra, who's flying on a rug with the only slow dwarf.
M

Edit: I'll add that Kyra and Merisiel were both granted title and land (the farms vacated by the ghoul plague in "Skinsaw") after the events in "Hook Mountain". Kyra has formed a cult...erm community...devoted to Sarenrae that is farming and taking in strays (including the goblin child rescued from Thistletop and the 'goldfish people' from the fountains in Runeforge). They're working on a book of the history of Thassilon, in conjunction with Quink. Meresiel has started a vinyard and general party site, devoted to all forms of gluttony and debauchery. Some day I anticipate the two towns will go to war...

Final Edit: One of the 'goldfish people' was actually a wizard's cat familiar that was baleful polymorphed...failed his fort save but not his will. Imagine being a cat in a goldfish's body for millennia, surrounded by real goldfish. Oh, the pain...

Looks good to me. Nice job!

We have a large collection of this sort of stuff in our game room and it's awesome to have on-hand when you're setting up a map on the table. We generally throw down some D&D dungeon tiles as a base and then add in furniture, rubble, piles of skulls (yes, we have some), and whatever else seems appropriate to build up the scenery. I think it lends some interest and sometimes lets us do what you describe...incorporate the scenery into the story/battle.
M

What an odd thing. I was going to take a look but...
M

BTW, I should add that I'd consider that membership only *if* one of my group's members didn't have a very awesome 10'x20' gameroom already. We're luckier than most, however, so I can see the appeal of a club...if we were playing at my dining room table I'd definitely go for it.
M

There is at least one pay to play club I've heard of in Portland, OR...but most of the game stores here have space for free gaming. One of the best, Guardian, has a huge play space, refreshments (for purchase), and even an over-21 section in the back where you can buy beer. Not sure I'd rent access to a club by the hour...though I might consider a monthly/annual membership for a nice space with accessories.
M

That's the one. Edge of Darkness is the second one we played. It was quite good with some minor modification...and some reconstructive work because of funky editing/formatting.
M

I had two players with two characters each. One psyker and we really enjoyed the chaos that resulted from that. It could definitely be overpowered but she played the character well...and it was *very* afraid of the Warp so the powers were used sparingly. A lot of things could be overpowered in the setting, really.

BTW, anybody ever try Inquisitor with role-playing elements on top of the table-top game? It always seemed like it might be fun...but there was no game balance to speak of in that one. It makes a decent source book for DH.
M

I ran a short DH game with two players and enjoyed it very much. Used two of their adventures - don't remember the names of them but the first was the intro adventure in the Gorgonid Mines and the second was the one with the crazy heretek making zombies. I'll say that their adventure editing could use some work but the core rules seemed solid to me.
M

A book.

If you must have a fad-gadget, get one with lots of power to run Paizo's pdfs.
-Kle.

The OP explicitly said he'd rather not drag a bag full of books and printouts to his game and was thus looking for an alternative.

Oh, and by calling them 'fad' gadgets you're implying they have no use whatsoever. Luddite much? Let me see your book get on the Internet to check errata or find that ruling you remember James Jacobs posting on the forum. You have one of those fad-gadget PCs I guess, and even got it connected to that even more faddish Internet? What's up with that?

Sorry...not trying to start a fight but your comment wasn't really all that helpful and I, probably among others, am interested in hearing suggestions on portable devices that might help our gaming experience (fad or not).
M

Edit: Let me add something possibly to the useful to the conversation...feeling guilty after taking the troll bait: I don't find any of my 'fad' gadgets (yet) are proper book replacements. I still carry my often-used books to games. I do often create my own PDFs with stats I'm going to use for that game, notes, and so on to reference during play. I'll look up stuff in less-used books in PDF and look at the PFSRD online, etc. but I still have my core book to flip through during play. I just don't find PDFs as handy as a book for looking things up regularly.

I like my iPad for it...stocking PDFs, images, video, notes, etc. I'd probably wait for the 3 at this point, assuming that's within your timeframe. I also still use my laptop but the iPad's really great for player handouts. Running a Star Trek game now and it's rather like a PADD, so perfect for in-game use.
M

GURPS does this as well. You gain character points to spend as you adventure but your character generally starts at a competent level (for your particular game world) and doesn't gain power exponentially during play.
M

Just received these. 15 figures for $63.23 (including S&H) makes them about $4.21 each. I think that's a pretty good deal. Victory Force was no muss-no fuss to order from. I ordered late on the 25th, they processed the order and shipped on the morning of the 26th, and I received them today (the 28th)in the mail (that's from KS to WA). That's about as fast as I get Paizo stuff...and they're just up the road from me!

I ended up with nine males, four females, one alien-headed figure...and the Klingon conventioneer (which looks fine for in-game use as shipped).

The molding is pretty good - not as nice as Reaper but not as bad as some...including a lot of GW Citadel minis I've bought over the years. The bases are higher quality than standard GW bases (which have gone quite flimsy lately). Getting them cleaned up now.

I need to make a Bolian male mini and there's a bald guy, so not much work needed on that one. Some of the figs already look like Vulcans. The biggest mod I'm planning at the moment is to put antennae on one of the females and paint her as Andorian - I have two of the same figure so I'll move the pose a bit and may change her equipment. One of the players' characters is a half-Klingon but I haven't spoken with her about how Klingon that PC will look...could require some work there.

So. Thanks again for the suggestions!
M

Cool. Some of those look like aliens already! Thanks.
M

I just bought two of the Victory Force spacefarers packs, a few female crewmember singles, and the "Klinger warrior" single from the convention goers pack. Thanks for the referal! I'll try to remember to post some pics when I get them painted.
M

I read it the same way you do (speak Mandarin, but not native) *but* it's said more like "...ong" than "...ang" and I think "wang" is generally the way folks refer to a certain male body part, not "wong". Am I wrong about that?

Still, it sounds fairly intentional.
M

Note: Sorry, my written pronunciation technique kinda sucks and I don't know IPA or anything. Anyway, I see "wang" and read it in Mandarin as "wong" (like "long") but I think non-speakers will tend to read it as "wang" (like "bang"). Then again I see "xing" in a school zone and I read it as "zing". :)
M

The uniform on that one is almost perfect, actually. We had thought about superhero figs, because the outfits are usually smoothish...but they're usually oddly (well, for real people) proportioned and well-muscled. Well, the captain is a gung-ho tactical officer type so maybe he has a crazy PT program onboard..."Okay, kids, 100 laps around Deck 4. Let's go!"
M

Guess Immahafta run a ToS game then... :)

I'm going to take a look around at 40k Imperial Guard and other "buildable" figures to see if there are any that might convert well. Also going to check out some of the military figures available; there might be some that have fairly non-descript uniforms, though the figures are usually a little smaller than RPG gaming minis.
M

You're right...the hats are my main sticking point. I can probably mod up some of my 40k head bits. I think I have a lot of those. I'm reasonably proficient with green stuff and can put on Andorian antennae, Vulcan ears, and such. I don't have any female heads but might be able to work something out.

I'm still looking around online and have found a couple of places that have ST-looking minis (down to the two-colored tunic). Looks as if WizKids might follow through with a minis battle game, but I can't seem to find any details on that other than a blurb on startrek.com.
M

I was just looking at the WizKids stuff last night. I'm really hoping they do something with it.

On Heresy: Nice minis lines. I couldn't get your link to work but it looks like you were talking about the government inspectors? They might work if I swap out the heads for no-caps and file off the pouches. Thanks for the link! Pricy to fill out even a tiny part of the crew, of course.

Thanks guys!
M