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7 Rova 4711

The dawn breaks cool and clear with the scent of autumn blossoms on the wind. With breakfast preparing, you pack up your things and make the final preparations for the journey to Kalsgard. As Bevelek and Vankor tie down the wagons and ready the draft horses to move out, Sandru calls you over to confer.

New thread! :o) Last chance to work your level-ups, including the caravan.

How does every great adventure start? In a tavern...

6 Arodus 4711

As on many evenings, you gather at the Rusty Dragon with friends for some drinks and companionship. The late summer air is balmy and heavy with moisture from the sea, but a cool breeze flutters through the open windows with a promise of coming autumn. Tonight is notable because Sandru and his caravan just returned to Sandpoint earlier today, and he has spend most of the night regaling you with tales from the road - most of them 'enhanced' for better entertainment.

Now near midnight, Sandru stands on the bar, dagger out, as he displays a recent duel he witnessed. Ameiko sits in a chair by the cold fireplace, tuning her samisen as she listens to Sandru with a smile. Sitting nearby, Koya runs her finger around the edge of her wine glass. Shalelu is present as well, but she remains silent in her corner seat by a window, as she usually does.

"And as the rogue falls on his back, hands raised in surrender, the priest's rapier at his neck, he squeals 'Yield! I yield! You can keep the pig!' Sandru ends the tale with a dramatic punchline, throwing the Dragon into a chorus of laughter.

As the laughter begins to die, Koya speaks up. "But which were you, Sandru? The rogue or the pig?" she jokes. Laughter spreads again through the tavern, from Sandru most of all. He jumps down from the bar to kiss Koya on the cheek. "How I've missed you, mother!"

Story finished, the tavern breaks into the din of a dozen conversations, as patrons head to the bar to refill their drinks and others beg off to leave for their beds. You have an opportunity to mingle and reaquaint with friends.

Lets start off with a couple rounds of in-character conversations and (re-)introductions, as you mingle in the tavern, as well as interact with your NPC friends, if you desire.

Welcome to the Jade Regent adventure path! My goal is to have a PbP campaign with strong longevity. My experience running these things is that they can take years to get through - I hope you guys are in for the long haul! :)

From what I've seen, the biggest killers in these games are DM burnout and lack of momentum. I will do my best to keep things rolling, adding posts as often as I can. DM posts (especially combat) take a little more work, so may have delays depending on Real Life home and work commitments. All I ask from the players is to check the thread regularly, post often (daily, if able) and keep the momentum up!

Similarly, if one player drops off from posting, and we don't know why, it can be disruptive. Please let me know if you're going to be off the net for any extended period (vacation, emergency, etc).

As far as the game mech is concerned, I'd like you guys to control the "dice" for your called skill checks, combat rolls, etc. If your character is actively using a skill, put the dice roll in your post... pretty standard. I'll work the "behind the scenes" dice, most saving throws and passive skill checks.

Experience Points are going to be notional. Because the PbP games are slow-rolling, I won't add in random encounters or similar time sinks to get the xp count. Instead, I'll tell you when you're leveling, generally based on campaign progress.

I like to use MapTools to build the combat maps, and shotgun those out via email. When able, please private message me a good email address. I promise I won't send you spam! :)

Lastly, I'll use my DM alias profile to keep a campaign journal, track quests and major plot points, NPCs, and house rules. During the campaign, if you have anything you want me to put there for future reference, let me know.

That's all I can think of, for now. Use the next few days to refine your characters and iron out the details. I'd also like to compare NPC relationships, and how those will tie you six together. Feel free to discuss/modify/interpret, as desired. Assumption is that you know (of) each other at the opening scene.

Campaign traits, as they stand right now:

• Harlan Starshine [oracle] - younger sibling to Sandru
  
• Heng [monk] - foster child to Koya
  
• Kvalsir [TBD] - caravan guard for Sandru
  
• Malnival [magus] - student survivalist to Shalelu
  
• Maeve Haela [bard] - childhood crush to Ameiko
  
• Parity [vanguard] - childhood crush to Ameiko
  

Of course, if you have any questions for me, fire away! I hope to get the actual game thread going this weekend!

Welcome again!

Not to be confused with the 6 to 9 other JRAP recruitment threads! :)

I'd like to start up a play-by-post game following the Jade Regent adventure path. I think it looks exciting, and I know there'll be more than a few people interested in this new series! I'm looking for a group of about 5-7 characters.

What I need... Like any good PbP game, the momentum comes from player inputs and interraction. I need players that can post regularly, at least once a day, to keep things moving along. I understand real life things come up, and they have priority. All I ask is that you let me know before you take an extended absence.

For the characters... If you're interested in joining, post your character concept here. Looking for a balanced party, of course, so finding an unfilled niche may improve your chances to make the final cut.

The campaign traits for JR are tied to the four Sandpoint NPCs detailed in the Player's Guide. Be sure to look them over carefully and include details on your relationship to them in your character concept. These relationships will play out through the run of the campaign.

I don't need the fully stat'd character now, but if you want to get a head start, use a 20-point build and average starting gold. Up front, all of the Paizo published products are in play. If you want to pull a class, PrC, feat, spell, etc from an older 3.5e product, ask me first.

Let me know if you have any questions. I'm planning to start next weekend, depending on how many applicants come in.

Also, if you're putting your character concept up for more than one JR game, just let me know in advance.

Put your out-of-game, out-of-character discussion here (including character stats, game mech questions, and random AC musings).

You have all been aboard the Jenivere for some time, as its made its way from distant Magnimar enroute to your final destination of Eleder. As you've progressed further south, you've left behind the cold winter days of the north for balmy tropics.

Some of you have been on the ship longer than others. For example, Zaen boarded off Mediogalti Island, whereas Ki, nominally one of the Jenivere's crew, has been aboard the entire trip.

On the long, boring days at sea, you've had ample opportunity to meet and speak with your fellow passengers (including the nine detailed in the Player's Guide).

Please introduce your character to start the campaign, including physical description, demeanor, etc.

Looking for some advice from my friendly community gamers... I'm planning on starting up a Serpent Skull campaign with some friends, but played entirely via the internet in live-play sessions. I'm thinking a combination of voice-chat (Vent, Skype, etc) and a virtual tabletop of some kind.

I'm not looking for anything mind-blowing - just a tactical map and dice roller, really. Even the map is optional if I can easily display graphics for the players to see.

I've tried OpenRPG in the past (circa 2005), and it always seemed clunky (and now looks really dated). I saw d20Pro, and it looks nice, but I'm curious how usable it actually is - I don't have the time to figure out a new programing language, so I'm hoping the GUI is easy and intuitive. Has anyone here used either of these recently, and/or do you have any recommendations for alternatives?

Appreciate any inputs...

Thanks! :)

Paizo,
No pressure, because I know the Paizo staff is busy as Hells with PaizoCon and GenCon prep, but I saw that you'll have the first SSAP adventure available at GenCon. When do you plan to release the Player's Guide for general consumption? I'm excited to see (and run) this adventure, and want to dig in as soon as possible... :)

Thanks!

Hey all,

This may have already been posted in the past, but I didn't want to wade through the archives.

I'm currently running TFoE, currently 2/3 of the way in. The PCs have cleared the Hextor (Mockery) and Erythnul (Keeper) sections of the temple. While doing so, they've come upon a couple curious keys... Theldrick has a stone key in his chamber, while there is a silver key found on Grallak's body.

In the text for Theldrick's chamber is the following: "The stone key opens the door that leads to the caves of Erythnul. It is marked with that god’s holy symbol." I totally missed this in the fine print the first time through...

There is no such comment in the grimlock section regarding the silver key. I can only assume the silver key is meant to open the Vecna (Shadow) section of the temple.

In the room details for the central cathedral, and in the opening comments for the three areas, there is no mention that the doors are locked, or that any special keys are required.

I'm guessing that this was an editing oversight or was removed for space. It makes sense, if a bit of railroading, to keep the party going from Hex-Ery-Vec, in order.

Anyway, I only just figured this all out, so now my party has two keys with no locks - they are, of course, mysteriously intrigued. I plan to give TFO a third key, the three of which can be used to open up some kind of special treasure at the end, perhaps...

Again, this may all be common knowledge, but I wanted to pass it along to anyone prepping/running TFoE who are similarly comfused by the forgotten keys.

** I know this has been done a few times, but this is my stab at a Pathfinder Artificer. Many thanks to the Ardwright author(s) and inummerable folks on these boards for ideas and inspirations. Plaigarism is the highest form of flattery! ;) I will follow this post with some of my design notes. Please let me know what you think... **

Artificer

Artificers are extraordinary craftsmen who specialize in the workings of magic. They study magic and how it weaves into enchanted items to a level surpassing wizards and clerics. Artificers do not work with magic via arcane or divine paths, but rather have their own ‘neutral’ methods. As artificers progress, they learn nearly every aspect of magic item creation.

Role: Artificers, like bards, are blessed with a wide variety of skills and talents that cross traditional roles. By imbuing their weapons, they can become powerful foes in combat; or, using the wide variety of magic at their disposal, can become powerful casters. In all situations, artificers can significantly enhance the abilities of their companions.

Alignment: Any.

Hit Die: d8

CLASS SKILLS
The artificer’s class skills are: Appraise (Int), Craft (Int), Disable Device (Dex), Knowledge [arcane] (Int), Knowledge [engineering] (Int), Knowledge [planes] (Int), Linguistics (Int), Perception (Wis), Profession (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Use Magic Device (Cha).

Skill Ranks per Level: 6 + Int modifier.

CLASS FEATURES
All of the following are class features of the artificer.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Artificers are proficient with all simple weapons, with light and medium armor, and with shields (except tower shields).

Infusions: An artificer wields magic, but they are more craftsmen than spell-casters. Using their specialized knowledge, artificers have the ability to temporarily imbue items with magical powers – these powers are called infusions.

To learn and use an infusion, an artificer must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the infusion level. Infusions normally do not allow saving throws; in the rare case one is needed, save DCs are 10 + the infusion level + the artificer’s Int bonus.

An artificer begins play with knowledge of all the standard infusions of a level she can use, as listed below (not including those listed from Other Sources and Spell Compendium). During adventuring, the artificer may discover a new or long-lost infusion, and wish to add these to her list. This requires a Spellcraft check, equivalent to a wizard attempting to learn a new spell from a scroll or spellbook.

Artificers can use only a limited number of infusions each day, as allotted on Table 1. In addition, she gains a number of bonus infusions per day if she has a high Intelligence score.

The artificer does not need to prepare infusions ahead of time, like a wizard or cleric, but they must spend 8 hours resting and 1 hour studying to replenish their daily allotment of infusions.

An infusion is considered neither divine nor arcane magic. However, the action of infusing an item functions just like the casting of a spell. Infusions also follow all rules for spells. For example, an infusion can be dispelled, and will not function in an anti-magic area.

An infusion can only be placed upon a construct (including warforged and homunculi) or masterwork item. She cannot, for example, simply imbue an ally with cat’s grace. Instead, she must place the infusion on an item the ally is wearing, such as their boots, creating a temporary pair of boots of cat’s grace. Since the infusions are temporary, they can be placed upon already enchanted items, but similar powers will not stack.

An artificer can apply any metamagic feat she knows to her infusions. Metamagic feats increase the level of the infusion just like a spell, as indicated in the feat description.

Most infusions have long casting times of 1 minute or more. An artificer can reduce the casting time to 1 round by spending an action point.

Craft Reserve: The artificer knows techniques to reduce the cost of magic items she creates. The artificer can use her pool of craft reserve to offset the item creation cost for magic items, up to 50% per item. Each time the artificer gains a new level, she receives a new pool of craft reserve; any leftover from the previous level is lost.

Artisan Bonus: An artificer gains a +2 bonus on Use Magic Device skill checks for any item that she also knows the item creation feat for.

Craftsman Training: At 1st level, the artificer gains a permanent +2 bonus to any Craft skill of her choice. Once chosen, the bonus cannot be changed.

Disable Traps: Like a rogue, an artificer can use Disable Device to disarm magical traps. They can also study and bypass traps if they beat the trap DC by 10 or more.

Dweomer Sense (Su): An artificer can determine if a touched item is imbued with magic. By concentrating while holding an item, the artificer gains the benefits of the detect magic spell for that item. The artificer can do this a number of times per day equal to 3 + their Charisma bonus.

The artificer can choose to expend one use of a 1st level infusion and apply the identify spell effects to this ability. When doing so, it does not count against her daily uses of dweomer sense.

At 10th level, an artificer can spend 1 use of a 4th-level infusion and apply the analyze dweomer spell effects to this ability. When doing so, it does not count against her daily uses of dweomer sense.

Item Creation (Ex): An artificer can create a magic item even if she does not have the ability to cast the spells that are prerequisites for the item. The artificer must make a successful Use Magic Device check (DC 20 + caster level) to emulate each spell required to make the item.

The artificer can also emulate other requirements (race, alignment, etc.) according to the Use Magic Device skill. Each prerequisite requires its own successful skill check. They cannot emulate feat or skill prerequisites.

The artificer’s caster level is equal to their artificer level. The artificer must still meet the caster level requirements for any item they attempt to create. Infusions do not count as equivalent spells for item creation prerequisites. For example, the artificer must still emulate the repair light damage spell to make a wand of repair light damage, even though they have access to the same infusion.

Trade Secret: At 1st level, 2nd level, and select levels thereafter, the artificer may select a bonus feat. These feats must be taken from the following list: any metamagic feat, Exceptional Artisan*, Extraordinary Artisan*, Scribe Scroll.

At 2nd level, the following feats are added to the list: Brew Potion, Craft Wondrous Item.

At 6th level, add: Attune Magic Weapon*, Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Craft Wand, Rapid Infusion#.

At 8th level, add: Craft Rod, Forge Ring, Improved Humonculus#, Wand Mastery*

At 12th level, add: Craft Construct, Craft Staff, Extra Rings*

(*) Feat from Eberron Campaign Setting
(#) Feat from Magic of Eberron sourcebook

An artificer need not have the level requirements, but must still possess any feat prerequisites to take these feats.

Craft Homonculus (Ex): At 3rd level, an artificer can create a homunculus as if she had the Craft Construct feat. She must emulate the spell requirements as if crafting a magic item and must pay the standard costs (though she can use her craft reserve to offset this price).

An artificer can upgrade an existing homunculus she owns, at the cost of 2,000 gp per 1 Hit Die. If the artificer adds more than 6 Hit Dice in this way, it becomes a Small creature and advances as such (+4 Str, -2 Dex, damage increases to 1d6). The homunculus also gains 10 extra hit points for being a small construct.

An artificer’s homunculus can have as many Hit Dice as its master’s Hit Dice minus 2. No matter how many Hit Dice it has, a homunculus never grows larger than Small.

Retain Essence (Su): At 5th level, an artificer can cull the magical essence from an existing magic item and make it usable in the creation of other items. The artificer can only do this with items that she also knows the appropriate item creation feat for.

The artificer must spend a full day with the item, studying its construction and the weave of magic upon it, and then dissembling it. At the end of the day, the item is destroyed, and the artificer is left with a token of the original item’s power. This token can be nearly anything, but is usually a tiny piece of the culled item.

The item can be used in the creation of a new magic item. It offsets the cost of the new item up to the value of the item culled, if the new item and the original share the same magic school. If the new item’s magic school is different, the token value is up to half that of the original item.

This works in the same manner as the artificer’s craft reserve, but there is no limit on how much of the new item’s cost is offset. It can also be used in conjunction with craft reserve, and with other tokens. The token can only be used to create one new item – any excess value left after the creation of the new item is lost.

Metamagic Spell Trigger (Su): At 7th level, an artificer can apply any single metamagic feat she knows to a spell trigger item (such as a wand). In addition to the metamagic feat, she must also know the appropriate item creation feat for the affected item. When using this ability, the spell trigger item consumes more charges than normal, one for each additional level required by the metamagic feat. If the spell trigger item does not have charges, this ability cannot be used.

Etch Schema: At 9th level, the artificer gains the knowledge to create minor schemas as a bonus feat. This feat can be found in the Magic of Eberron sourcebook, and bypasses the normal level requirement.

Metamagic Spell Completion (Su): At 11th level, an artificer can apply any single metamagic feat she knows to a spell completion item (such as a scroll). She must also know the appropriate item creation feat for the affected item.

The Use Magic Device skill check DC is 20 + (3 times the modified spel level). This ability can be used a number of times per day equal to 3 + the artificer’s Cha bonus.

Skill Mastery: At 13th level, an artificer may take 10 on any Spellcraft or Use Magic Device skill check, even when they normally would not be able to do so.

Metamagic Mastery (Su): At 15th level, an artificer can apply any one metamagic feat that she knows to an infusion she is about to cast. This does not alter the level of the infusion or the casting time. An artificer can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + their Cha bonus.

Any time an artificer uses this ability to apply a metamagic feat that increases the infusion level by more than 1, she must use an additional daily usage for each level above 1 that the feat adds to the infusion. Even though this ability does not modify the infusion’s actual level, an artificer cannot use this ability to cast an infusion whose modified level would be above the level of the highest-level infusion that she is capable of casting.

Master of Artifice: At the height of her ability, the artificer learns how to imbue massive powers into a single, unique item, creating an artifact. The powers and creation process for this artifact will be approved and determined by the Gamemaster, and will often require extraordinary resources, time and a possible quest. The artifact becomes the sole possession of the artificer, to remain with her until death, and hence to be her mortal legacy.

Artificer Level Table:

The Artificer

** Lacking some table skillz here. Artificers use the moderate BAB progression, and have good Will saves. The infusions/day progression is the same as the Bard spells/day progression. **

Level - Special
1 - artisan bonus, craftsman training, disable trap, dweomer sense, item creation, trade secret, craft reserve 100 gp
2 - trade secret, craft reserve 200 gp
3 - craft homonculus, craft reserve 300 gp
4 - craft reserve 400 gp
5 - retain essence, craft reserve 500 gp
6 - trade secret, craft reserve 750 gp
7 - metamagic spell trigger, craft reserve 1000 gp
8 - trade secret, craft reserve 1250 gp
9 - etch schema, craft reserve 1500 gp
10 - craft reserve 2000 gp
11 - metamagic spell completion, craft reserve 2500 gp
12 - trade secret, craft reserve 3500 gp
13 - skill mastery, craft reserve 4500 gp
14 - trdde secret, craft reserve 6000 gp
15 - metamagic mastery, craft reserve 7500 gp
16 - craft reserve 10000 gp
17 - craft reserve 12500 gp
18 - trade secret, craft reserve 15000 gp
19 - craft reserve 20000 gp
20 - master of artifice, craft reserve 25000 gp

Artificer Infusion List:

ARTIFICER INFUSION LIST
Infusions are all found in the Eberron Campaign Setting sourcebook, except as marked. Infusions marked with * are found in the Pathfinder RPG as spells; note required changes (if any). Infusions from additional sources are listed, and marked as follows: DM – Dragonmarked; MoE – Magic of Eberron; FoW – Forge of War; RoE – Races of Eberron; SCoT – Sharn City of Towers; SoS – Secrets of Sarlona.

1st Level
Armor Enhancement, Lesser
Energy Alteration
Enhancement Alteration
Erase* [infusion version’s range is ‘touch’]
Hold Portal* [infusion version’s range is ‘touch’]
Inflict Light Damage
Light*
Magic Aura*
Magic Stone*
Magic Vestment*
Magic Weapon*
Repair Light Damage
Resistance Item
Skill Enhancement
Spell Storing Item
Weapon Augmentation, Personal

Other Sources
Ablative Armor MoE
Indisputable Possession MoE
Knight Unburdened FoW
Metamagic Scroll MoE
Natural Weapon Augmentation, Personal RoE
Pending Potion MoE
Summon Marked Homunculus DM

Spell Compendium
Animate Wood
Appraising Touch
Energized Shield, Lesser
Hurl
Instant Locksmith
Shieldbearer
Silent Portal

2nd Level
Align Weapon*
Arcane Lock*
Armor Enhancement
Bear’s Endurance*
Bull’s Strength*
Cats Grace*
Construct Energy Ward
Continual Flame*
Darkness*
Eagle’s Splendor*
Fox’s Cunning*
Inflict Moderate Damage
Make Whole* [infusion version’s range is ‘touch’]
Obscure Object*
Owl’s Wisdom*
Repair Moderate Damage
Toughen Construct
Weapon Augmentation, Lesser

Other Sources
Construct Essence, Lesser RoE
Elemental Prod MoE
Fortify Metal or Stone SoS
Lucky Blade MoE
Natural Weapon Augmentation, Lesser RoE
Reinforce Construct MoE
Suppress Dragonmark MoE
Swift Ready FoW

Spell Compendium
Energized Shield
Gembomb
Iron Silence
Quick Potion

3rd Level
Armor Enhancement, Greater
Construct Energy Ward, Greater
Daylight*
Dispel Magic* [infusion version’s range is ‘touch’]
Inflict Critical Damage
Lesser Globe of Invulnerability*
Metamagic Item
Power Surge
Repair Critical Damage
Shrink Item*
Stone Construct
Suppress Requirement

Other Sources
Arcane Seal SCoT
Dragonmarked Weapon DM
Adamantine Weapon MoE
Blast Rod MoE
Lucky Cape MoE
Spell Snare MoE
Humanoid Essence, Lesser RoE

Spell Compendium
DIamondsteel
Giant’s Wrath
Glowing Orb
Listening Coin

4th Level
Break Enchantment* [infusion version’s range is ‘touch’]
Fabricate* [infusion version’s range is ‘touch’]
Item Alteration
Iron Construct
Minor Creation*
Secret Chest*
Wall of Stone* [infusion version’s range is ‘0 ft’; casting time is ‘1 minute’]
Weapon Augmentation

Other Sources
Censure Elementals MoE
Concurrent Infusions MoE
Humanoid Essence RoE
Natural Weapon Augmentation RoE

Spell Compendium
Fantastic Machine
Wall of Gears

5th Level
Animate Objects* [infusion version’s range is ‘touch’]
Bear’s Endurance, Mass*
Bull’s Strength, Mass*
Cat’s Grace, Mass*
Disable Construct
Eagle’s Splendor, Mass*
Fox’s Cunning, Mass*
Globe of Invulnerability*
Hardening
Major Creation* [infusion version’s range is ‘0 ft.’]
Owl’s Wisdom, Mass*
Total Repair
Wall of Iron* [infusion version’s range is ‘0 ft.’; casting time is ‘1 minute’].

Other Sources
Construct Essence RoE
Dominate Living Construct RoE [infusion version’s range is ‘touch’]
Dragonmarked Weapon, Greater DM
Inflict Light Damage, Mass RoE
Repair Light Damage, Mass RoE
Slaying Arrow MoE

6th Level
Antimagic Field*
Instant Summons*
Phase Door*
Repulsion*
Temporal Stasis*
True Creation
Weapon Augmentation, Greater

Other Sources
Golem Immunity RoE
Humanoid Essence, Greater RoE
Inflict Moderate Damage, Mass RoE
Natural Weapon Augmentation, Greater RoE
Repair Moderate Damage, Mass RoE
Spell Snare, Greater MoE

Spell Compendium
Awaken Construct
Body of War
Heart of Stone

Hey everyone!
Is there anywhere, or does anyone have, a quick index to the Wormfood articles run in Dragon magazine? I scanned the forum but didn't see anything like that...

I'd like to see if any of them will be useful for my AoW campaign. I don't want to get all the PDFs and find half of them are "meh".

Thanks in advance!

Couldn't find an errata thread, so I figured I'd at least post it.

Part of the problem was already mentioned here: LINK

The entire third and fourth paragraphs are written in a confusing manner. I understand the intent, but may cause brain explosions in a new comer.

For example, Instead of gaining a spell of the listed level, the wizard can instead choose a spell of a lower level, which he can then prepare twice per day (except for 2nd level).

WTF! - way too many uses of "level" in that sentence. Obviously, the paranthetical refers to class level, not spell level, but...

Also, wizards gain bonus spells at all even levels except for 8th (4th level spell). I'm guessing this is because they gain a specialist ability at 8th, but just checking to make sure. It seems like a hole, even if intended.

IMO, the whole bonus spells section is clunky and confusing. I'd almost rather have no bonus spells, and add more spell-like abilities, similar to the domain powers.

Thoughts?