paizo.com Recent Posts by omega9paizo.com Recent Posts by omega92012-11-18T02:39:55Z2012-11-18T02:39:55ZRe: Forums: Adventure Feedback: "The Wrath of Nature" Playtest Reportomega9https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2p648?The-Wrath-of-Nature-Playtest-Report#32012-11-18T00:34:01Z2012-11-18T00:34:01Z<p>Here are two of the characters.
<br />
Rogue:
<br />
https://www.box.com/s/6kzdhrfl11zccuymmkyp</p>
<p>This character never used most of his feats, and forgot some of his human racial bonuses.</p>
<p>Paladin:
<br />
[Spoiler omitted]</p>Here are two of the characters.
Rogue:
https://www.box.com/s/6kzdhrfl11zccuymmkyp
This character never used most of his feats, and forgot some of his human racial bonuses.
Paladin:
[Spoiler omitted]omega92012-11-18T00:34:01ZForums: Adventure Feedback: "The Wrath of Nature" Playtest Reportomega9https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2p648?The-Wrath-of-Nature-Playtest-Report#12012-11-17T22:19:32Z2012-11-17T22:19:32Z<p>Last night I ran the sample adventure in the back of the playtest, and here are some of my thoughts and reactions. This will contain spoilers, so let the reader be warned.</p>
<p>First, a few words on character generation. I had four players from my local gaming circle generate 6th level characters (as per the playtest) on a 15 point buy and standard wealth by level (16,000 gold). These are all players that I trust, and I asked them to distribute their gold across items that would make sense for them to have if they had actually played their character from level one. It is my experience that characters built in a vacuum can be better equipped and more easily min-maxed than naturally built characters, and I tried to prevent this as much as possible in character generation for this playtest. I allowed players to draw from any of the base material for the playtest (core, ultimate magic, ultimate combat, etc.). The party consisted of a rogue focused on feints and tricking opponents for sneak attacks, an inquisitor with a mix of combat buffs, healing, and a crossbow, a barbarian with beast totem and animal fury rage abilities, and a shining knight charging paladin with a lance. The rogue and barbarian both had outflank, and the inquisitor may have had it as well. I do not believe that any character was particularly min-maxed to be strong in a specific area, but I'll post their stats once I get my hands on them so that they can be looked over.</p>
<p>Unless otherwise noted, I did not place any terrain on the map that could affect combat, as the playtest did not specifically mention anything or their relative placements. This may have been an oversight on my part, but I wanted to stay as close to the module as written that I could.</p>
<p>In the first encounter, the agile dire wolf was able to tackle the barbarian to the ground on a charge, doing a fair bit of damage over its two turns. The fact that it went twice before some players got to go at all threw some of them for a loop. Two wolves went after the inquisitor, who was separated from most of the group, and one may have landed a blow due to a particularly good roll. One snake went after the rogue, who dodged the attack, and a snake and the remaining wolf attacked the mounted paladin, doing no damage. The paladin charged the wolf, taking out a large chunk of its health (lances), and later the barbarian would rage and neutralize it despite being prone beneath the big wolf. After this point I fast forwarded to the PC's victory, since the remaining animals had minuscule chances of actually damaging the PC's, would die to one attack, and any damage would be resolved without spending many resources. In other words, there was no longer any threat. Again, this may have been an oversight, but I don't think that it affected the playtest in the least.</p>
<p>The second encounter was largely just reading from the book and upgrading characters. The paladin went Marshal, the inquisitor hierophant, the barbarian dual pathed into guardian and champion, and the rogue went into either trickster or champion. The rogue and inquisitor put most of their mythic resources into having a deeper pool of mythic power points, possibly to the point of min-maxing. I don't recall exactly what the paladin or barbarian took, but I'll have that information later.</p>
<p>The third encounter at the tree's stump was one sided. Because of the PC's mythic initiative and poor initiative rolls for the treant and bears (coming to 5 and 2 respectively), the PC's were able to take down the treant before it even got to act. One of the bears also took a solid hit before going. One bear got three hits on the barbarian, and the other missed the the rogue on a charge. Both quickly died in the second round of combat. The basket of items left by Erastil also approximately doubled the parties wealth, with the bracers going to the paladin, the cloak to the rogue, the bow to the barbarian, and the symbol to the inquisitor. Each also claimed one nectar of the gods.</p>
<p>The fourth encounter at the ravine was the most interesting, as a challenge was presented to some of the players. The barbarian jumped the ravine with a 53 acrobatics (I forget where all the math came from, but this is a player that I very much trust, so I do not find the numbers to be suspect), and shrugged off the lightning bolt I threw at him for reaching the halfway point with a guardian ability. The rest of the party had a tougher time crossing the ravine. The rogue fell off mid way, the paladin attempted to climb down the near side and fell, and the inquisitor would have fallen off had he not had the 1d6 he could add for a mythic power point. He also took some damage from the lightning. They then lowered a rope from the other side, which the paladin and rogue climbed up. The paladins horse was unsummoned and resummoned to get it across the ravine.</p>
<p>The fifth and final encounter lasted exactly one round. For this fight I declared that the bones on the ground made the terrain difficult, despite no word of this in the module. This was mainly to prevent the lance paladin from charging it to death, but this ended up not mattering terribly much. Because of the cloak and his mythic attack, the rogue was able to sneak up on the hydra and deliver a number of attacks before it was able to act. And because the hydra was unable to easily perceive him, it charged the paladin (I ruled that its size enabled it to charge over the difficult terrain), which triggered an attack of opportunity. The hydra then landed two of seven attacks on the paladin for about 19 damage. This is all the hydra did. The barbarian landed three or four attacks (mythic attack moved him in range and hit, and full attacks thereafter), one of which crit. We also used Paizo's crit cards deck, which did dazed the hydra. This came to about 60 damage total after DR (mythic power attack is nasty). The rest of the encounter was more or less just the party unloading on the hydra and using mythic initiative to go twice. Even without the dazed condition, the outcome would likely have been the same.</p>
<p>Personal thoughts:
<br />
Mythic initiative is a HUGE bonus. By enabling the characters to go first against most enemies and then again, possibly before the enemy has gone yet, you essentially introduce the "action economy wins" and "rocket tag" aspects that I've often heard associated with higher level play. In the encounters that I ran, anything that could have potentially hurt the PC's was eliminated before it got passed being flat-footed (the treant comes to mind). I think that this could be generalized to most encounters given the current rules set.
<br />
I have to wonder if the playtest was designed to at all challenge a group of level6/mythic 3 characters. The "boss" hydra encounter took a CR6 monster, and increased the CR to 9 by adding three mythic ranks or an equivalent template. However, if you apply this same sort of logic to the PCs, this would be an average (APL+0) encounter, which most parties would steamroll. And this is exactly what happened. In fact, we were discussing the final encounter after the fact, and determined that the barbarian could have soloed the entire fight with little chance of failure.</p>
<p>I like the concept and most of the things included in the mythic playtest, especially since it lets characters do some pretty cool things. But either mythic characters need to be reduced in power, or the next playtest (if there is one) needs more challenging opposition.</p>Last night I ran the sample adventure in the back of the playtest, and here are some of my thoughts and reactions. This will contain spoilers, so let the reader be warned.
First, a few words on character generation. I had four players from my local gaming circle generate 6th level characters (as per the playtest) on a 15 point buy and standard wealth by level (16,000 gold). These are all players that I trust, and I asked them to distribute their gold across items that would make sense for...omega92012-11-17T22:19:32ZRe: Forums: Play-by-Post Discussion: City Creation and Stuff!omega9https://paizo.com/campaigns/v5748p75hohon/discussion&page=2#612012-10-27T15:36:11Z2012-10-27T15:36:11Z<p>You can still help us build the world. More heads are usually better for this sort of thing.</p>
<p>Also, here are the factions that were thought up on the tail end of last page:
<br />
jade court (8,-8)
<br />
they are agressively pursuing their own objectives gaining ground against Raven. They also somehow seem to know just about everyones secrets and weaknesses.</p>
<p>Raven (-10,-9)
<br />
He rules vancouver and would like to keep it that way, His vast network of spies cohorts and puppets keep him informed of everything, also he is a god...which helps.</p>
<p>Gangs (5,3)
<br />
With the exception of any street gangs that we decide to flesh out, the typical street gangs generally just want more; more guns, more money, more territory, etc. Sure, they also want to keep what they have, but like most agents of disorder, they just want to grab whatever they can, and don't have any grand designs past that. They generally don't believe that anything goes bump in the night, even if Sang might have seen an impossibly beautiful lady (probably just tripping), and even if they never did find Trevor (must've been those damn triad wanna-be's).</p>
<p>Vancouverwood (-7,0)
<br />
Business for the Vancouver film industry is good; every show wants to film there, the Vancouver film festival brings in the best major and independent movies, and Vancouver is known throughout the world as being one of the best places for future stars to get their start. And many vested interests want to keep things this way. Being on the line for knowledge of the supernatural shows just how much variance there is in that category. The average nameless film extra or coffee mook likely has no idea who is involved with the industry, while some directors might bring in some Skavis to give their horror movie that extra edge. Hell, the director might be from House Skavis. The man/woman/thing at the top of the film industry is very, very in the know...and is probably on a first name basis with Raven.</p>You can still help us build the world. More heads are usually better for this sort of thing.
Also, here are the factions that were thought up on the tail end of last page:
jade court (8,-8)
they are agressively pursuing their own objectives gaining ground against Raven. They also somehow seem to know just about everyones secrets and weaknesses.
Raven (-10,-9)
He rules vancouver and would like to keep it that way, His vast network of spies cohorts and puppets keep him informed of everything,...omega92012-10-27T15:36:11ZRe: Forums: Play-by-Post Discussion: City Creation and Stuff!omega9https://paizo.com/campaigns/v5748p75hohon/discussion&page=2#562012-10-26T16:47:44Z2012-10-26T16:47:44Z<p>I'm all for throwing groups and the role they play in the city at the wall and seeing what sticks. I think we have four groups so far.</p>I'm all for throwing groups and the role they play in the city at the wall and seeing what sticks. I think we have four groups so far.omega92012-10-26T16:47:44ZRe: Forums: Play-by-Post Discussion: City Creation and Stuff!omega9https://paizo.com/campaigns/v5748p75hohon/discussion#502012-10-23T02:23:31Z2012-10-23T02:23:31Z<p>Gangs (5,3)
<br />
With the exception of any street gangs that we decide to flesh out, the typical street gangs generally just want more; more guns, more money, more territory, etc. Sure, they also want to keep what they have, but like most agents of disorder, they just want to grab whatever they can, and don't have any grand designs past that. They generally don't believe that anything goes bump in the night, even if Sang might have seen an impossibly beautiful lady (probably just tripping), and even if they never did find Trevor (must've been those damn triad wanna-be's).</p>
<p>Vancouverwood (-7,0)
<br />
Business for the Vancouver film industry is good; every show wants to film there, the Vancouver film festival brings in the best major and independent movies, and Vancouver is known throughout the world as being one of the best places for future stars to get their start. And many vested interests want to keep things this way. Being on the line for knowledge of the supernatural shows just how much variance there is in that category. The average nameless film extra or coffee mook likely has no idea who is involved with the industry, while some directors might bring in some Skavis to give their horror movie that extra edge. Hell, the director might be from House Skavis. The man/woman/thing at the top of the film industry is very, very in the know...and is probably on a first name basis with Raven.</p>Gangs (5,3)
With the exception of any street gangs that we decide to flesh out, the typical street gangs generally just want more; more guns, more money, more territory, etc. Sure, they also want to keep what they have, but like most agents of disorder, they just want to grab whatever they can, and don't have any grand designs past that. They generally don't believe that anything goes bump in the night, even if Sang might have seen an impossibly beautiful lady (probably just tripping), and...omega92012-10-23T02:23:31ZRe: Forums: Play-by-Post Discussion: City Creation and Stuff!omega9https://paizo.com/campaigns/v5748p75hohon/discussion#462012-10-20T20:53:46Z2012-10-20T20:53:46Z<p>A big part of the movers & shakers phase is determining where factions are on knowledge of the supernatural and whether they want to change the city or keep it the same, which is easy to do with a diagram of some sort. Unfortunately, this would be hard to do without being face to face. So I think we should use the following system:</p>
<p>If we put the "Current Order" aspect on the X-axis and Supernatural Awareness on the Y-Axis, we get a nice co-ordinate system for where factions fall into society. Using the way its set up in the core book, defenders of the status quo would have a negative X-coordinate, agents of change would have a positive X-coordinate, those in the dark would have a positive Y-coordinate, and those in the know would have a negative Y-coordinate. Scores on both axis's would go from +10 to -10.</p>
<p>Some examples:
<br />
—Your average member of law enforcement would probably be at about (0,5), since they don't have much interest in the power structures of the city and don't believe in the super natural. If they encountered enough nastiness, their Y-score would drop to indicate knowing more about supernatural, even if they don't quite believe it.
<br />
—SI from the Dresdenverse would probably be at (0,0), since they don't care about politics outside the office and have very, very strong suspicions about the supernatural.
<br />
—A group protesting corrupt government and city crime would have high X and Y values, since they want to rock the boat, but have no idea what kind of forces they're dealing with.
<br />
—Mac from the books would score around a (0,-10), since he doesn't interact in power struggles in any way, but he knows pretty much everything thats going on at all times.</p>
<p>Thoughts?</p>A big part of the movers & shakers phase is determining where factions are on knowledge of the supernatural and whether they want to change the city or keep it the same, which is easy to do with a diagram of some sort. Unfortunately, this would be hard to do without being face to face. So I think we should use the following system:
If we put the "Current Order" aspect on the X-axis and Supernatural Awareness on the Y-Axis, we get a nice co-ordinate system for where factions fall into...omega92012-10-20T20:53:46ZRe: Forums: Play-by-Post Discussion: City Creation and Stuff!omega9https://paizo.com/campaigns/v5748p75hohon/discussion#442012-10-20T02:21:50Z2012-10-20T02:21:50Z<p>Since we seem to be on the topic, do we want to set the themes/threats in stone and start to work on important location in the city? Or do we want to do balance of power/movers & shakers/who's in the know first?</p>Since we seem to be on the topic, do we want to set the themes/threats in stone and start to work on important location in the city? Or do we want to do balance of power/movers & shakers/who's in the know first?omega92012-10-20T02:21:50ZRe: Forums: Play-by-Post Discussion: City Creation and Stuff!omega9https://paizo.com/campaigns/v5748p75hohon/discussion#392012-10-19T03:00:12Z2012-10-19T03:00:12Z<p>Looks to cover all the major bases to me.</p>Looks to cover all the major bases to me.omega92012-10-19T03:00:12ZRe: Forums: Play-by-Post Discussion: City Creation and Stuff!omega9https://paizo.com/campaigns/v5748p75hohon/discussion#362012-10-19T01:01:25Z2012-10-19T01:01:25Z<p>I think narrowing down the list of themes is a good place to start. We have quite a few, and will only have three come game time.</p>
<p>Here are my favorites thus far:
<br />
"Everywhere But Here, Anyone But Us"
<br />
"A Bright Green Future"
<br />
"That Which Lies Beneath" </p>
<p>I'll admit a bit of a bias with the first one since I made it up, but I like how it captures Vancouver's lack of a solid, unique identity. It could also show how Vancouver get influences from all over the place, which means that any faction can change the face of the city at any time.
<br />
I like the moral ambiguity of "A Bright Green Future." It shows that even the monsters of the city can have some positive role to play in it, which presents a nice and tasty moral grey area to everything. For example, the party could end up sacking the Jade Court, only to see all the parks and wild areas fall apart. So if all supernatural elements go, so too goes the city.
<br />
"That Which Lies Beneath" is great for representing how great the city seems - until you peel back that first layer on the top. Then you have the Jade Court, Skinny, and all manner of things that bump in the night that are as much (or more) responsible for running the city as humanity. And, of course, there's always the Big Bad Sleeping Thing.</p>I think narrowing down the list of themes is a good place to start. We have quite a few, and will only have three come game time.
Here are my favorites thus far:
"Everywhere But Here, Anyone But Us"
"A Bright Green Future"
"That Which Lies Beneath"
I'll admit a bit of a bias with the first one since I made it up, but I like how it captures Vancouver's lack of a solid, unique identity. It could also show how Vancouver get influences from all over the place, which means that any faction can...omega92012-10-19T01:01:25ZRe: Forums: Play-by-Post Discussion: City Creation and Stuff!omega9https://paizo.com/campaigns/v5748p75hohon/discussion#342012-10-18T03:03:20Z2012-10-18T03:03:20Z<p>For organizations sake, I complied all of the themes, threats, and locations that have been mentioned so far. Should make things a little bit easier.</p>
<p><b>Themes</b>:
<br />
—"Good as Gold at Half Price": Vancouver as Hollywood North, gold rushes.
<br />
—"Deadman's Island"/"Tread Lightly on Hallowed Ground": First Nations holy site, close to nevernever.
<br />
—"Noble Lie": Looks like a utopia. From it.
<br />
—"World Crime Superpower": Self explanatory.
<br />
—"Nice place to live"
<br />
—"A Bright Green Future": Jade Court presense, and they're environmentalists.
<br />
—"Fading Jewel"/"Slow Decay"/"Not What it Used to Be": Vancouver in a state of decline.
<br />
—"That which lies beneath": Undercity around china town, Jade Court stronghold.
<br />
—"Good By Day, Foul By Night": Self Explanatory
<br />
—"Vancouver: Daydream of the World"/"Everywhere But Here, Anyone But Us": Vancouver as a city without its own identity.
<br />
—"The City that Dreams"/"Prey it does not awake": Big Bad Sleeping Thing locked somewhere in the city, and keeping things that way is a priority.</p>
<p><b>Threats</b>
<br />
—"Crumbling Throne": Ambitious minor factions could unseat ruling powers.
<br />
—"Bathed in Blood": Nastiness without explanation in Blood Alley.
<br />
—"New Problems"/"A Lullaby Above Sharpening Blades": Skinwalkers deteriorating political status, and rising of Big Bad Sleeping Thing.
<br />
—"Old Gods, New Business"/"I have a proposition to make": A businessman-like deity of some sort is looking to use movies as a way of keeping itself strong.</p>
<p><b>Locations</b>
<br />
—Skytrain
<br />
—Wherever they hold the Vancouver Film Festival
<br />
—Stanley Park
<br />
—Playland Park
<br />
—Museum of Anthropology
<br />
—Dr. Yat-san Classical Chinese Garden
<br />
—Nitobe Memorial Garden
<br />
—Chinatown/Undercity</p>
<p>Also want to add the Theme/Threat "Vancouver Standoff" (a play on mexican standoff) to show the tenuous relations that our three major factions have. I didn't add it to the above list because its new as of this post.</p>For organizations sake, I complied all of the themes, threats, and locations that have been mentioned so far. Should make things a little bit easier.
Themes:
--"Good as Gold at Half Price": Vancouver as Hollywood North, gold rushes.
--"Deadman's Island"/"Tread Lightly on Hallowed Ground": First Nations holy site, close to nevernever.
--"Noble Lie": Looks like a utopia. From it.
--"World Crime Superpower": Self explanatory.
--"Nice place to live"
--"A Bright Green Future": Jade Court...omega92012-10-18T03:03:20ZRe: Forums: Play-by-Post Discussion: City Creation and Stuff!omega9https://paizo.com/campaigns/v5748p75hohon/discussion#312012-10-17T19:18:26Z2012-10-17T19:18:26Z<p>By "skinwalker," are we talking a native shapeshifter like Listens-to-winds or are we talking a shagnasty/naagloshii? It would make a bit of a difference.</p>
<p>If its the first, the big bad sleeping thing could be a particularly nasty and shaggy Naagloshii. If the person keeping BBST down is a Naagloshii, then whatever is being sealed away would need to be something scarier than it. Like, a LOT scarier. I can only think of a few things that could do it.
<br />
—An insane/malevolent deity of some sort.
<br />
—An outsider.
<br />
—A true Dragon.
<br />
—Something from Native or Chinese mythology.
<br />
—Some combination thereof.
<br />
With any of these, just deciding how it got sealed away is a little bit of an issue, since they're all supernatural heavyweights. If the thing comes from asia, it could give the Jade Court a potential reason for letting whatever-it-is out.
<br />
In either case, I think that the BBST should be sealed away in Siwash Rock in Stanley park, which is neutral ground under the Accords.</p>
<p>Throwing in a name for the threat/theme: "A Lullaby Above Sharpening Blades."</p>By "skinwalker," are we talking a native shapeshifter like Listens-to-winds or are we talking a shagnasty/naagloshii? It would make a bit of a difference.
If its the first, the big bad sleeping thing could be a particularly nasty and shaggy Naagloshii. If the person keeping BBST down is a Naagloshii, then whatever is being sealed away would need to be something scarier than it. Like, a LOT scarier. I can only think of a few things that could do it.
--An insane/malevolent deity of some sort....omega92012-10-17T19:18:26ZRe: Forums: Play-by-Post Discussion: City Creation and Stuff!omega9https://paizo.com/campaigns/v5748p75hohon/discussion#222012-10-13T19:43:23Z2012-10-13T19:43:23Z<p>I like idea. Things falling apart seems to be a major theme that we all have going on.</p>
<p>Did a little research on points of interest in Vancouver via Google. Here's the most noteworthy things that I found.</p>
<p><b>Stanley Park</b>: One of the "great urban parks of the world," Stanley Park is a large island covered in forest in the middle of Vancouver. Its 1000 acres large (Central Park in NYC is 843 to give you an idea of how huge this place is), and has a LOT going for it. Points of interest include the Lost Lagoon, which should spawn plenty of ideas, Siwash Rock, a 32 million year old pillar of rock in the middle of the ocean that natives claim was once a man who was transformed into an "indestructible monument to clean fatherhood/a reward for selflessness", a hollow tree thats about 800 years old, and a variety of totem poles and other monuments. </p>
<p>We could have any number of things going on here. Maybe things just sort of disappear around Lost Lagoon. Siwash Rock could be a major key to keeping whatever is sleeping in that state. The Hollow Tree could be a place of power for certain types of magic. Given the relative isolation of the place, it could also be a meeting place for the supernatural community, especially for negotiations; it could even be accorded neutral grounds. Which would make the "freak windstorm" that severely damaged the park in 2005 potentially very, very significant.</p>
<p><b>Playland Park</b>: Playland park is your average large amusement park, with lots of rides, games, and other attractions. It also closes for the winter season. To me, this screams stronghold of the Winter Court, since a creepy, abandoned childrens park covered in a few feet of snow seems to be the sort of place that they would decide make their own. That, and running through a blizzard that wraps around the rides and disorients everything while being hunted by winter court horrors would make for an interesting game. Oh, and they have a house of mirrors. What <i>can't</i> you do with that?</p>
<p><b>Museum of Anthropology</b>: Part of the University of British Columbia, the Museum of Anthropology frequently brings in new exhibits that contain artifacts from around the world. Which basicly turns this place into McGuffins'R'Us. And if the curators are in the know, that can completely change place in the greater scheme of things. If its aligned with the White Council, maybe its a front for where they study and store magical artifacts. Maybe a Dragon owns it, and uses it to show off its hoards of treasure to the mortal and magical community alike. Lots of potential here.</p>
<p><b>Dr. Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden</b> and <b>Nitobe Memorial Garden</b>: Someone had previously mentioned having the Jade Court having a major role in environmental protection. If we go that route, these could be among their holdings. Or maybe a sect of Buddhist/ninja vampire hunters (the first is park is Chinese, the second Japanese) use one of these as a base of operations for fighting the Jade court. Either could be a lot of fun.</p>I like idea. Things falling apart seems to be a major theme that we all have going on.
Did a little research on points of interest in Vancouver via Google. Here's the most noteworthy things that I found.
Stanley Park: One of the "great urban parks of the world," Stanley Park is a large island covered in forest in the middle of Vancouver. Its 1000 acres large (Central Park in NYC is 843 to give you an idea of how huge this place is), and has a LOT going for it. Points of interest include the...omega92012-10-13T19:43:23ZRe: Forums: Play-by-Post Discussion: City Creation and Stuff!omega9https://paizo.com/campaigns/v5748p75hohon/discussion#202012-10-13T04:59:21Z2012-10-13T04:59:21Z<p>Personally, I think it would be most interesting for the person/thing/faction at the top of the food chain to have been performing any sacrifices or rituals to keep the sleeper sleeping. That way if/when they fall from power, people will go "oh shit, we needed him..."</p>
<p>Building on that idea, maybe there are those who remember from some long existing pact that ______ is supposed to be at the top of the ladder for a reason, even if that reason has been forgotten.</p>Personally, I think it would be most interesting for the person/thing/faction at the top of the food chain to have been performing any sacrifices or rituals to keep the sleeper sleeping. That way if/when they fall from power, people will go "oh shit, we needed him..."
Building on that idea, maybe there are those who remember from some long existing pact that ______ is supposed to be at the top of the ladder for a reason, even if that reason has been forgotten.omega92012-10-13T04:59:21ZRe: Forums: Play-by-Post Discussion: City Creation and Stuff!omega9https://paizo.com/campaigns/v5748p75hohon/discussion#162012-10-12T16:16:43Z2012-10-12T16:16:43Z<p>Tilnar: Would "Everywhere but here, everyone but us" catch the feeling that you're going for?</p>
<p>Jolt: I like that idea, especially since I read somewhere that the city tries to keep the nightlife to a minimum (restricting bars and clubs that can open, etc.). Maybe there are individuals in the city government that are in the know and trying to keep people safe, even if it detracts from the "fun" people can have in the city? Maybe the clubs and bars that do open and stay that way are linked to the supernatural community (territory?) in one way or another?</p>
<p>JM: I'm always a fan of great big cthulian nightmares being threats that lurk in the background, so I'll second the idea.</p>Tilnar: Would "Everywhere but here, everyone but us" catch the feeling that you're going for?
Jolt: I like that idea, especially since I read somewhere that the city tries to keep the nightlife to a minimum (restricting bars and clubs that can open, etc.). Maybe there are individuals in the city government that are in the know and trying to keep people safe, even if it detracts from the "fun" people can have in the city? Maybe the clubs and bars that do open and stay that way are linked to...omega92012-10-12T16:16:43ZRe: Forums: Play-by-Post Discussion: City Creation and Stuff!omega9https://paizo.com/campaigns/v5748p75hohon/discussion#102012-10-12T15:19:37Z2012-10-12T15:19:37Z<p>So, to reflect things breaking down in Vancouver, "Crumbling Throne" as a threat and something like "Slow Decay" or "Not What It Used To Be" as a theme?</p>So, to reflect things breaking down in Vancouver, "Crumbling Throne" as a threat and something like "Slow Decay" or "Not What It Used To Be" as a theme?omega92012-10-12T15:19:37ZRe: Forums: Play-by-Post Discussion: City Creation and Stuff!omega9https://paizo.com/campaigns/v5748p75hohon/discussion#62012-10-12T13:35:42Z2012-10-12T13:35:42Z<p>Thought I would repost this here, since its highly relevant.</p>
<div class="messageboard-quotee">omega9 wrote:</div><blockquote><p> Since it seems that people aren't crawling over each other as much to get into the game, I'm gonna start mining for things that can be used to Dresdenify Vancouver.</p>
<p><b>Vancouver is really rainy in the winter</b>: In winter, Vancouver can get rain up to 50% of the time, which means a LOT of snow and freezing rain. I'm thinking some influence on the city from the Winter Fae is a shoe in here. Especially since there also seems to be a very artsy side to Vancouver. Maybe a Leanan (not THE Leanansidhe) claims Vancouver as her own six months out of the year?</p>
<p><b>Vancouver is "Asia West"</b>: Vancouver has the highest Asian population of any city in North America. Personally, I think this opens a lot of cool doors. The presence of the Triads, Yakuza, or other organized crime element can provide a good mortal threat/organization. Seeing how elements of oriental mythology interacts with native Canadian supernatural forces could make for a decent plot device as well. We could also use the Jade court, if we knew anything about them beyond the fact that they exist.</p>
<p><b>Vancouver is a nice place to live</b>: This is the Dresdenverse, so either this will have to change, people are completely oblivious, or something big is keeping the peace. I think this could be worth toying with.</p>
<p>This is all I have for now, but I'll keep searching.
<br />
Thoughts? </blockquote><p>The part about Vancouver being a really nice place to live may not be entirely true, since its is also known as a "world crime superpower." So in one form or another, we should really have an organized crime faction.
<p>I like Jack's Crumbling Throne idea, and I think we should use it even if we change the details. For example, there is a neighborhood in Vancouver that is known for having a young and artsy population that is in the process of having its tenants pushed out and the apartments torn down to be replaced by "higher quality apartments for higher quality tenants." Drawing on the Leanan idea, maybe someone or some group are trying to push the Leanan out of Vancouver, and this is that conflict playing out in the mortal sphere.</p>
<p>We need to do something with the Vancouver Film Festival. Even if we rip off Jim Butcher by having the splattercon events play out there, that's still the potential for an awesome game.</p>
<p>On a slightly relevant side note, the idea of undead canadian hipsters amuses me.</p>Thought I would repost this here, since its highly relevant.
omega9 wrote:Since it seems that people aren't crawling over each other as much to get into the game, I'm gonna start mining for things that can be used to Dresdenify Vancouver.
Vancouver is really rainy in the winter: In winter, Vancouver can get rain up to 50% of the time, which means a LOT of snow and freezing rain. I'm thinking some influence on the city from the Winter Fae is a shoe in here. Especially since there also seems...omega92012-10-12T13:35:42ZRe: Forums: Recruitment: [Interest Check] Dresden Files or Kerberos Club (FATE Edition)omega9https://paizo.com/campaigns/v5748p75hohon/recruiting#452012-10-10T02:51:17Z2012-10-10T02:51:17Z<p>Since it seems that people aren't crawling over each other as much to get into the game, I'm gonna start mining for things that can be used to Dresdenify Vancouver.</p>
<p><b>Vancouver is really rainy in the winter</b>: In winter, Vancouver can get rain up to 50% of the time, which means a LOT of snow and freezing rain. I'm thinking some influence on the city from the Winter Fae is a shoe in here. Especially since there also seems to be a very artsy side to Vancouver. Maybe a Leanan (not THE Leanansidhe) claims Vancouver as her own six months out of the year?</p>
<p><b>Vancouver is "Asia West"</b>: Vancouver has the highest Asian population of any city in North America. Personally, I think this opens a lot of cool doors. The presence of the Triads, Yakuza, or other organized crime element can provide a good mortal threat/organization. Seeing how elements of oriental mythology interacts with native Canadian supernatural forces could make for a decent plot device as well. We could also use the Jade court, if we knew anything about them beyond the fact that they exist.</p>
<p><b>Vancouver is a nice place to live</b>: This is the Dresdenverse, so either this will have to change, people are completely oblivious, or something big is keeping the peace. I think this could be worth toying with.</p>
<p>This is all I have for now, but I'll keep searching.
<br />
Thoughts?</p>Since it seems that people aren't crawling over each other as much to get into the game, I'm gonna start mining for things that can be used to Dresdenify Vancouver.
Vancouver is really rainy in the winter: In winter, Vancouver can get rain up to 50% of the time, which means a LOT of snow and freezing rain. I'm thinking some influence on the city from the Winter Fae is a shoe in here. Especially since there also seems to be a very artsy side to Vancouver. Maybe a Leanan (not THE Leanansidhe)...omega92012-10-10T02:51:17ZRe: Forums: Recruitment: [Interest Check] Dresden Files or Kerberos Club (FATE Edition)omega9https://paizo.com/campaigns/v5748p75hohon/recruiting#232012-10-08T18:02:15Z2012-10-08T18:02:15Z<div class="messageboard-quotee">AlanM wrote:</div><blockquote><br />
<br />
omega9: I can figure something out that'll work (hopefully)! The question there is what does he gain by eating the magic, and why/how does he eat it? </blockquote><p>What he gains and why he does it have similar answers; he gets a hell of a buzz, with stronger magic giving him a longer trip. Different magics have differing effects as well, and if his arcanophagy addiction is having any other effects on him than getting him high, he's oblivious. This started after nearly ODing on some Three Eye (rising conflict/first adventure, anyone?).
<p>As for how he "eats" the magic, he just kind of sucks it up in the same way that a thirsty person sucks lemonade through a straw.</p>
<p>Dundjinn: Maybe your character is a young upstart who's looking to join the Wardens (maybe you already have the sword!), so he goes out of his way to "fight the good fight." Its an idea.</p>AlanM wrote:omega9: I can figure something out that'll work (hopefully)! The question there is what does he gain by eating the magic, and why/how does he eat it?
What he gains and why he does it have similar answers; he gets a hell of a buzz, with stronger magic giving him a longer trip. Different magics have differing effects as well, and if his arcanophagy addiction is having any other effects on him than getting him high, he's oblivious. This started after nearly ODing on some Three Eye...omega92012-10-08T18:02:15ZRe: Forums: Recruitment: [Interest Check] Dresden Files or Kerberos Club (FATE Edition)omega9https://paizo.com/campaigns/v5748p75hohon/recruiting#82012-10-08T00:07:42Z2012-10-08T00:07:42Z<p>Dresden sounds like fun, so I'll toss my hat into the pile. I don't have any preferences as to what city we base the game in, so long as its easy enough to familiarize with and has lots of juicy bits to play with.</p>
<p>As for character concept, I'm thinking a guy who is addicted to eating magic. Not sure how to do that mechanically though.</p>Dresden sounds like fun, so I'll toss my hat into the pile. I don't have any preferences as to what city we base the game in, so long as its easy enough to familiarize with and has lots of juicy bits to play with.
As for character concept, I'm thinking a guy who is addicted to eating magic. Not sure how to do that mechanically though.omega92012-10-08T00:07:42ZRe: Forums: Product Discussion: Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Ultimate Magic (OGL)omega9https://paizo.com/products/btpy8k8r/discuss&page=15?Pathfinder-Roleplaying-Game-Ultimate-Magic#7112011-05-14T17:54:53Z2011-05-14T17:54:53Z<p>Can anyone tell me what kinds of goodies the bladebound magus archetype gets, and if there are any new feats that mesh with the magus well?</p>Can anyone tell me what kinds of goodies the bladebound magus archetype gets, and if there are any new feats that mesh with the magus well?omega92011-05-14T17:54:53ZRe: Forums: Ninja Discussion: Round 1: I must object!omega9https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2lrpy?I-must-object#72011-01-25T15:48:18Z2011-01-25T15:48:18Z<p>If you're not too keen on the fluff of a class, then refluff it.</p>If you're not too keen on the fluff of a class, then refluff it.omega92011-01-25T15:48:18ZRe: Forums: Gunslinger Discussion: Round 1: Questions regarding the Gunslinger and her new toysomega9https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2lrll?Questions-regarding-the-Gunslinger-and-her#52011-01-25T02:27:58Z2011-01-25T02:27:58Z<p>I guess that you could combine signature Deed with Lightning reload to full attack without resource use, but you shouldn't have to wait until 11th level to do that.</p>I guess that you could combine signature Deed with Lightning reload to full attack without resource use, but you shouldn't have to wait until 11th level to do that.omega92011-01-25T02:27:58ZRe: Forums: Homebrew and House Rules: Let's design this creature's stats as a group activity! :)omega9https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2lmds?Lets-design-this-creatures-stats-as-a-group#22012-11-15T23:01:25Z2010-12-21T04:28:51Z<p>BY no means a complete block, but heres what the picture brought to mind.</p>
<p>Umbral Corrupture
<br />
CE Medium Undead
<br />
Init +???; Senses Darkvision 60, Life Sight, Perception +???
<br />
Fear Aura</p>
<p>Defense:
<br />
AC: ???
<br />
HD: 20d8+???
<br />
Saves: ???
<br />
Defenses: Instantaneous Discorporation, Channel Resistance +4, DR 15 Magic and Good, Immune Cold</p>
<p>Offense:
<br />
Speed 30 Ft.
<br />
Melee: 2 Claws + ??? (2d6+??? plus Marked for Corruption; see text)
<br />
Special Attacks: ???</p>
<p>Statistics:
<br />
???</p>
<p>Fear Aura: Creatures that come within 30 feet of an Umbral Corrupture must succeed on a DC ??? Will save or become shaken. If this save is successful, that creature is immune to the Umbral Corruptures Fear aura for 24 hours.</p>
<p>Marked for Corruption:
<br />
When an Umbral Corrupture successfully makes a melee attack against an opponent, the target must make a DC??? Will save or be suffer the effects of a Bestow Curse. If the save is failed by 5 or more, the Umbral Corrupture can possess a target with its Mark using its Instataneous Discorporation ability.</p>
<p>Instantaneous Discorporation:
<br />
For a number of rounds per day equal to its charisma modifier, an Umbral Corrupture can become incorporeal and invisible as an immediate action/immediate reaction. It can end this effect as a move action. Alternatively, an Umbral Corrupture can use this ability to possess an enemy suffering from the effect of its Marked fro Corruption ability.</p>
<p>Possesion: An Umbral Corrupture Is able to possess its victums, slowly causing them to undergo a horrid transformation into an Umbral Corrupture themselves. Each day, the possessed creature must make a will save equal the DC of the Umbral Corruptures Marked for Corruption ability. After each failed save, the curse progresses one step along the following progression; if the save fails by 5 or more, the curse porgresses by two steps instead.
<br />
1) The possessed creature has a perpetual feeling of unease, and suffers from minor hallucinations.
<br />
2) The Umbral Corrupture can cause the possessed creature to become shacken at will, and can cause mild hallucinations.
<br />
3) The Umbral Corrupture can cause the possessed creature to become frightened and suffer the effects of a Nightmare spell at will. The Umbral Corrupture can also cause the possessed creature to suffer from major hallucinations.
<br />
4) The Umbral Corrupture can cause the possessed creature to become panicked at will, and can attempt to dominate the possessed creature (Will DC ???)three times per day.
<br />
5) The Umbral Corrupture can cast Phantasmal Killer on the possessed creature once per day. If the possessed creature dies in this way, it rises in 24 hours as an Umbral Corrupture.</p>
<p>————————————————-</p>
<p>Origin: ???</p>
<p>Behavior and tactics: Umbral Corruptures feed off the fear and panick that they inspire in their victums. They especially enjoy driving those who consider themselves mighty or regal into a terror induced madness, and because of this they are one of the few types of undead that will actively attract and hunt down adventurers.</p>
<p>In combat, Umbral Corruptures will use its fear aura in order to determine who is the weakest willed amounge its opponents, and will focus its attacks upon those individuals in an attempt to places its mark of corruption upon them. If it succeeds in doing so, it will wait until an enemy would strike a killing blow to use its Instantaneous Discorporation ability and possess an enemy, making it seem as if the Umbral Corrupture were defeated. The truth is far more horrible.</p>
<p>Its not perfect, but its something to run with.</p>BY no means a complete block, but heres what the picture brought to mind.
Umbral Corrupture
CE Medium Undead
Init +???; Senses Darkvision 60, Life Sight, Perception +???
Fear Aura
Defense:
AC: ???
HD: 20d8+???
Saves: ???
Defenses: Instantaneous Discorporation, Channel Resistance +4, DR 15 Magic and Good, Immune Cold
Offense:
Speed 30 Ft.
Melee: 2 Claws + ??? (2d6+??? plus Marked for Corruption; see text)
Special Attacks: ???
Statistics:
???
Fear Aura: Creatures that come within 30 feet...omega92010-12-21T04:28:51ZRe: Forums: Product Discussion: First thoughts on Bestiary 2omega9https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2llxf?First-thoughts-on-Bestiary-2#82010-12-16T17:51:26Z2010-12-16T17:51:26Z<p>What are your thoughts on the new dragons?</p>What are your thoughts on the new dragons?omega92010-12-16T17:51:26ZRe: Forums: Product Discussion: Bestiary 2 = The Most Awesomest Book of Pure Awesome ... Everomega9https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2lltu&page=3?Bestiary-2-The-Most-Awesomest-Book-of-Pure#1052010-12-16T15:49:38Z2010-12-16T15:49:38Z<div class="messageboard-quotee">Cartigan wrote:</div><blockquote> <div class="messageboard-quotee">Gorbacz wrote:</div><blockquote><p> Nightshades have a new baby: Nightwave. It's a shadow shark with laser beams, meaning it's awesome.</p>
<p>Planar dragons:</p>
<p>Brine (Plane of Water)
<br />
Cloud (Plane of Air)
<br />
Crystal (Plane of Earth)
<br />
Magma (Plane of Fire)
<br />
Umbral (Plane of Shadows) </blockquote>Brine Dragon? It uses its salty breath weapon to rust player's equipment! </blockquote><p>If thats true, I'll add it to my list of ways to make players cry.
<p>And there's really an evil shark with lasers? LET THE DOCTOR EVIL REFERENCES BEGIN!!!</p>Cartigan wrote:Gorbacz wrote:Nightshades have a new baby: Nightwave. It's a shadow shark with laser beams, meaning it's awesome.
Planar dragons:
Brine (Plane of Water)
Cloud (Plane of Air)
Crystal (Plane of Earth)
Magma (Plane of Fire)
Umbral (Plane of Shadows)
Brine Dragon? It uses its salty breath weapon to rust player's equipment! If thats true, I'll add it to my list of ways to make players cry. And there's really an evil shark with lasers? LET THE DOCTOR EVIL REFERENCES BEGIN!!!omega92010-12-16T15:49:38ZRe: Forums: Product Discussion: Bestiary 2 = The Most Awesomest Book of Pure Awesome ... Everomega9https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2lltu&page=2?Bestiary-2-The-Most-Awesomest-Book-of-Pure#972010-12-16T15:34:04Z2010-12-16T15:34:04Z<div class="messageboard-quotee">Sebastian wrote:</div><blockquote> <div class="messageboard-quotee">omega9 wrote:</div><blockquote> I think that we should change to subject to tacos, since anything is better than were this conversation is going. </blockquote>How about the OT? Setting aside the tragic lack of diminutive bears and gargantuan cats, what's your favorite creature in the bestiary 2? </blockquote><p>OT works too.
<p>Unfortunately, I don't have the Bestiary 2 yet; though one of my friends does, and loves to remind of that fact. I heard earlier that there are planar dragons and nightshades in this book; what can you guys tell me about them, without giving too much away?</p>Sebastian wrote:omega9 wrote: I think that we should change to subject to tacos, since anything is better than were this conversation is going.
How about the OT? Setting aside the tragic lack of diminutive bears and gargantuan cats, what's your favorite creature in the bestiary 2? OT works too. Unfortunately, I don't have the Bestiary 2 yet; though one of my friends does, and loves to remind of that fact. I heard earlier that there are planar dragons and nightshades in this book; what can...omega92010-12-16T15:34:04ZRe: Forums: Product Discussion: Bestiary 2 = The Most Awesomest Book of Pure Awesome ... Everomega9https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2lltu&page=2?Bestiary-2-The-Most-Awesomest-Book-of-Pure#932010-12-16T15:25:18Z2010-12-16T15:25:18Z<p>I think that we should change to subject to tacos, since anything is better than were this conversation is going.</p>I think that we should change to subject to tacos, since anything is better than were this conversation is going.omega92010-12-16T15:25:18ZRe: Forums: Homebrew and House Rules: 100 Monstrous Encounters [CLEAVES]omega9https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2l1yd?100-Monstrous-Encounters-CLEAVES#432010-12-16T02:43:20Z2010-12-16T02:43:20Z<p>65. "Trust me guys, theres nothing there."</p>
<p>PC's role perception checks. They see nothing. The encounter then goes one of two ways:
<br />
A) They don't believe you, and in their paranoia start searching the room with every thing the have in order to determine if you're messing with them. You smirk at their futile actions and make vague comments, adding more fuel to the fire.</p>
<p>B) They believe you, and carry on. A dread wraith with a 15 foot reach stalks them from underneith the floor for the rest of the dungeon or until they kill it.</p>65. "Trust me guys, theres nothing there."
PC's role perception checks. They see nothing. The encounter then goes one of two ways:
A) They don't believe you, and in their paranoia start searching the room with every thing the have in order to determine if you're messing with them. You smirk at their futile actions and make vague comments, adding more fuel to the fire.
B) They believe you, and carry on. A dread wraith with a 15 foot reach stalks them from underneith the floor for the rest of...omega92010-12-16T02:43:20ZRe: Forums: Homebrew and House Rules: Need help with Signs for a new Elder Evilomega9https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2ljzg?Need-help-with-Signs-for-a-new-Elder-Evil#112010-12-16T02:32:16Z2010-12-16T02:32:16Z<p>Thought I would throw in a few ideas:</p>
<p>- Random boughts of mass hive-mindedness. When the PC's are talking to a minor NPC in a crowded area, like a merchant in a market, have everyone in site of the NPC's just drop what they're doing, turn around, and answer a PC's question in wide-eyed unison. Then they go about their business as if nothing happened.</p>
<p>- Unexpected allies: You could have an undead cult start making frequent assaults on the new religious movement thats cropping up all over the campaign world. When the PC's finally encounter the lich that leads them or some other key undead NPC, the paladins smite evils, clerics channel positive energies, and other common methods of killing undead start failing. Why? Because the same gods that are supporting the party are doing the same for the lich. This has the added bonus of your players potentially riding dracoliches in the end game.</p>
<p>-The Voices: Due to a strong mental link with everyone around them, the thoughts of others drive people insane. Have these people flip out at random points, and have them skim the memories and surface thoughts of the PCs. You can use this to reveal parts of character backrounds that the party either doesn't know or the character wants to keep hidden, causing the party to A) wonder how she knows these things, and B) start second guessing whether or not the rest of the party can be trusted. Bonus points if you get up and start banging your head against a players chest. They won't see that coming.</p>
<p>- One of US. Cult members start undergoing rituals to absorb other people into themselves, as "vessels of the gathering". Use a captured PC or important NPC in this ritual, and see if the rest of the party can save them.</p>Thought I would throw in a few ideas:
- Random boughts of mass hive-mindedness. When the PC's are talking to a minor NPC in a crowded area, like a merchant in a market, have everyone in site of the NPC's just drop what they're doing, turn around, and answer a PC's question in wide-eyed unison. Then they go about their business as if nothing happened.
- Unexpected allies: You could have an undead cult start making frequent assaults on the new religious movement thats cropping up all over the...omega92010-12-16T02:32:16ZRe: Forums: Product Discussion: Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Bestiary 2 (OGL)omega9https://paizo.com/products/btpy8hif/discuss&page=19?Pathfinder-Roleplaying-Game-Bestiary-2#9442010-12-15T02:39:38Z2010-12-15T02:39:38Z<p>Planar dragons just made this a must buy for me.</p>Planar dragons just made this a must buy for me.omega92010-12-15T02:39:38ZForums: Homebrew and House Rules: First Attempt at a Stabacadabra - Thoughts Wantedomega9https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2llns?First-Attempt-at-a-Stabacadabra-Thoughts-Wanted#12012-11-15T23:00:58Z2010-12-14T01:57:25Z<p>After seeing lots of attempts at gish classes, most notably Paizo's Magus that's currently in playtest Super Genious Games' Vanguard, I thought that would try my own hand at throwing a sword and sorcery class together. Trouble is, I'm fairly new to table top role playing games in general and even greener when it comes to homebrew content, so I was hoping that the community could review what I've got so far and give me a few pointers along the way.</p>
<p>The vast majority of the following is directly ripped from either the most recent version of Paizo's Magus or Super Genious's Vanguard, so the wording of individual abilities, for the most part, should not be an issue. I'm mostly concerned about the arrangement and combinations of abilities, as well as "Path of the Magus" class feature and some arcanas (the things that I actually thought of.</p>
<p>Without further ado, the magus (yeah, my naming is super original):</p>
<p>HD: d8
<br />
BAB: 3/4
<br />
Spells per day: As Magus/Vanguard
<br />
Class Skills: Appraise (Int), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Fly (Dex), Handle Animal (Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (dungeoneering) (Int), Knowledge (engineering) (Int), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Perception (Wis), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Spellcraft (Int), and Swim (Str)
<br />
Skill Ranks per level: 4 + Int</p>
<p>1: Martial Specialization, Spell Combat, Arcane Link
<br />
2: Magus Arcana
<br />
3: Weapon Channel (Touch)
<br />
4: Magus Arcana
<br />
5: Spell Block, Bonus Feat
<br />
6: Magus Arcana
<br />
7: Improved Spell Combat
<br />
8: Magus Arcana
<br />
9: Weapon Channel (Save Spell)
<br />
10: Magus Arcana
<br />
11: Spell Sunder, Bonus Feat
<br />
12: Greater Magus Arcana
<br />
13: Weapon channel (Full Attack)
<br />
14: Magus Arcana
<br />
15: Greater Spell COmbat
<br />
16: Greater Magus Arcana
<br />
17: Counter Strike, Bonus Feat
<br />
18: Greater Magus Arcana
<br />
19: Spell grapple
<br />
20: True Magus</p>
<p>Class Features:
<br />
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: [Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>Spells:
<br />
[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>Cantrips: [Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>Path of the Magus:
<br />
[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>Arcane Link:
<br />
[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>Spell Combat:
<br />
[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>Magus Arcana:
<br />
[Spoiler omitted]
<br />
Weapon Channel (Su): [Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>Spell Block (Su): [Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>Bonus Feats: [Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>Improved Spell Combat (Ex): [Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>Greater Magus Arcana: [Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>Spell Sunder (Su):[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>Greater Spell Combat (Ex): [Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>Counterstrike (Ex): [Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>Spell Grapple (Su): [Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>True Magus: [Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>Thanks in advance for taking the time to look things over and critique what I have so far.</p>After seeing lots of attempts at gish classes, most notably Paizo's Magus that's currently in playtest Super Genious Games' Vanguard, I thought that would try my own hand at throwing a sword and sorcery class together. Trouble is, I'm fairly new to table top role playing games in general and even greener when it comes to homebrew content, so I was hoping that the community could review what I've got so far and give me a few pointers along the way.
The vast majority of the following is...omega92010-12-14T01:57:25ZRe: Forums: Round 3: Revised Magus Discussion: Magus Archetype Feedbackomega9https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2llld?Magus-Archetype-Feedback#152010-12-14T00:13:58Z2010-12-14T00:13:58Z<p>Since the whole idea behind the magus is mixing martial combat and casting into a stabacadabra, why not try to work on allowing different magus archetypes to enable different styles of fighting? For example, the vanilla magus is highly fightery, so an archetype can make a more stealthy magus that taps into the rogue.</p>Since the whole idea behind the magus is mixing martial combat and casting into a stabacadabra, why not try to work on allowing different magus archetypes to enable different styles of fighting? For example, the vanilla magus is highly fightery, so an archetype can make a more stealthy magus that taps into the rogue.omega92010-12-14T00:13:58ZRe: Forums: Council of Thieves: Council of Thieves Obituariesomega9https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2jzd4&page=5?Council-of-Thieves-Obituaries#2102010-10-24T16:27:07Z2010-10-24T16:27:07Z<p>It was not. One player, a halfing rogue, legitimately managed to get away. This was in part because he and the bard split up to improve their chances of someone not dying, but beyond that he survived by his own wits.</p>It was not. One player, a halfing rogue, legitimately managed to get away. This was in part because he and the bard split up to improve their chances of someone not dying, but beyond that he survived by his own wits.omega92010-10-24T16:27:07ZRe: Forums: Council of Thieves: Council of Thieves Obituariesomega9https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2jzd4&page=5?Council-of-Thieves-Obituaries#2082010-10-23T20:58:41Z2010-10-23T20:58:41Z<p>There were a number of things that caused that encounter to go south:
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1. I was really busy this week,so I was running things a bit off the cuff. I'm fairly new to DMing, so that didn't help at all, and is probably what hurt things the most.
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2. Two of the players, the Cavalier tank and a summoner, didn't show up and didn't tell me before hand, so the prep work that I did have done was built around having those two at the table.
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3. The players didn't go about things at all intelligently. I told them in advance that they were after a Shadow Mastiff, and that this would be a hard fight. They had plenty of time to research and prepair for the encounter, which they did not use; they didn't even so much as bring a light source for the encounter, let alone buff themselves. If they had, the shadowgarms would have run for it, and I would have weakened the Mastiff by decreasing its concealment, attack and damage, and maybe AC and HP. I firmly believe that given those conditions, they would have been victorious.
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4. They were rolling very poorly. Their initiatives were all below that of the enemies with only one exception, and only one player made the perception check to see the shadowgarms and act in the surprise round. The average die roll for the will save against the Mastiffs Bay was around a five, which greatly contributed to all things going to hell.</p>
<p>All in all, poor planning on both sides of the table and bad luck was what did them in.</p>There were a number of things that caused that encounter to go south:
1. I was really busy this week,so I was running things a bit off the cuff. I'm fairly new to DMing, so that didn't help at all, and is probably what hurt things the most.
2. Two of the players, the Cavalier tank and a summoner, didn't show up and didn't tell me before hand, so the prep work that I did have done was built around having those two at the table.
3. The players didn't go about things at all intelligently. I told...omega92010-10-23T20:58:41ZRe: Forums: Council of Thieves: Council of Thieves Obituariesomega9https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2jzd4&page=5?Council-of-Thieves-Obituaries#2062010-10-23T03:51:34Z2010-10-23T03:51:34Z<p>Name: Octep
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Race: Gnome
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Classes/levels: Elemental bloodline sorcerer 2
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Adventure: Bastards of Erebus
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Location: Dark alley
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Catalyst: Ambushed by Shadowgarms
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The Gory Details: The sorcerer, thinking that he would be safe in the back of the party, was ambushed in the surprise round, and then quickly dropped into the negatives by a full attack in the next round. Prone and unconscious, he soon became a fine meal for the beast of darkness.</p>
<p>Name: Lawthar
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Race: Human
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Classes/levels: Inquisitor 2
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Adventure: Bastards of Erebus
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Location: Grimly dark alley
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Catalyst: Shadowgarms, shadow mastiff
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The Gory Details: With the entirety of the party panicked and fleeing from a shadow mastiff, poor initiative and lack of a shield made Lawthar easy prey for two flanking, full attacking shadow garms. His end was swift.</p>
<p>Name: Sybil Dolor
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Race: Human
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Classes/levels: Oracle (Life, Lame) 2
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Adventure: Bastards of Erebus
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Location: Grimly dark alley of DEATH
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Catalyst: Stalked, panicked by a Shadow Mastiff.
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The Gory Details: Running franticly away from the location of the Mastiffs howl, Sybil was unaware that the beast had run across the roof tops to were she was headed. Upon seeing the hound in front her, she quickly ran back to the location of the shadowgarms, which took the last of her energies with an attack of opportunity. The last thing she saw was the jaws of the Mastiff ripping out her throat.</p>
<p>Name: Safyia
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Race: Gnome
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Classes/levels: Bard 2
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Adventure: Batards of Erebus
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Location: The grimly dark labrynth that are the deadly alleys of Westcrown
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Catalyst: Got 3 down on a fudge roll while being pursued by the Mastiff.
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The Gory Details: Having separated from the one eventual survivor of this tragedy, Safyia had the refuge of the rare illuminated street within site; yet this was only to add insult to her inevitable demise, as the Mastiff tackled her from behind and deftly fitted its powerful jaws around her head. Her screams and wet crunch her skull made would haunt the nightmares of those who lived near the tragedy for many weeks to come.</p>Name: Octep
Race: Gnome
Classes/levels: Elemental bloodline sorcerer 2
Adventure: Bastards of Erebus
Location: Dark alley
Catalyst: Ambushed by Shadowgarms
The Gory Details: The sorcerer, thinking that he would be safe in the back of the party, was ambushed in the surprise round, and then quickly dropped into the negatives by a full attack in the next round. Prone and unconscious, he soon became a fine meal for the beast of darkness.
Name: Lawthar
Race: Human
Classes/levels: Inquisitor 2...omega92010-10-23T03:51:34ZRe: Forums: Round 1: Magus: Magus Rebuildomega9https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2lcka?Magus-Rebuild#112010-10-03T22:55:42Z2010-10-03T22:55:42Z<p>Would Auras be apart of Magus Arcana, or are they a separate class feature? Having reserve arcanas, arcanas based upon the arcana pool, and auras all going on at the same time seems to be a little much, as awesome as it would be.</p>
<p>That said, this is far and away my favorite version of the Magus that I've seen so far. Major kudos for sharing this with the rest of us.</p>Would Auras be apart of Magus Arcana, or are they a separate class feature? Having reserve arcanas, arcanas based upon the arcana pool, and auras all going on at the same time seems to be a little much, as awesome as it would be.
That said, this is far and away my favorite version of the Magus that I've seen so far. Major kudos for sharing this with the rest of us.omega92010-10-03T22:55:42ZRe: Forums: Round 1: Magus: Magus Arcana Ideasomega9https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2lask&page=3?Magus-Arcana-Ideas#1232010-09-23T13:23:25Z2010-09-23T13:23:25Z<p><b>Conquerers Boon</b>: Whenever a magus kills an opponent or renders them unconscious, he/she gains a spell slot of a level equal to the enemies CR minus the magus's character level. If lower than zero, this number gives you a zero-level spell slot. If higher than the highest level spell that you can cast, you gain a slot equal the highest spell level that you can cast. This ability does not give you the use of another spell, and the spell slot can only be used as apart of other Magus Arcana abiliities.</p>Conquerers Boon: Whenever a magus kills an opponent or renders them unconscious, he/she gains a spell slot of a level equal to the enemies CR minus the magus's character level. If lower than zero, this number gives you a zero-level spell slot. If higher than the highest level spell that you can cast, you gain a slot equal the highest spell level that you can cast. This ability does not give you the use of another spell, and the spell slot can only be used as apart of other Magus Arcana...omega92010-09-23T13:23:25Z