Man any AP needs to have James Jacobs leading off. Take ANY adventure path, narrow it down to which are the best introductory adventures,and you'll find that JJ has authored almost all of them.
There are plenty of good posters there, especially once you step outside of the GD forum. The Story Hours for example, have some very inspiring campaigns that are great reads. It also might be that since this site is a 3.5E crowd, the value of Enworld is less for those that post here regularly.
As for searching, the google site specific search works better for me than using a search function available directly from the site itself.
question: I am just about to run a Savage Tide adventure path, and am considering to use this adventure as a mini "sidetrack" that will occur before the events that are described in "There Is No Honor". would I be easily able weave it into the area of the Cursed Shores?
any suggestion and comment would be useful.
-thanks!
Definitely. It's very very suitable as a drop in and its a fun quick night of play - though it is survival horrory, so you may need to work to keep the PCs alive and kicking (though the same is probably true for ANY AP).
Here's what you do - switch up all the Tulita (natives of the Razor Coast) goodness for Olman flavor - its not that hard. Or just make the Tulita a far flung tribe of Olman, and you don't need to change the flavor at all.
Nick
If i remember, Nick wrote the section on the Isle of Dread.
Is there another round of indulgences before the release of RC?
Another round is timed to release just before/as the book does. It's a sexy round up too. Tim Hitchcock adventureage, a Horrors of the Razor Coast monster pdf (this one might be too big though and have to be its own print book - we'll see), and more!
Nick
Curse you man. If my wife divorces me for wasting $$$$ on RPG stuff, you are to blame.
People getting crushed at an event isn't really compelling evidece that an eliphant is difficult to tumble past.
Best of luck trying to outrun or "tumble" past an angry elephant in an open field, no matter a gymast or not, alone or not (or a closed alley for that matter). Climbing VERY high is the best escape, outrunning is not an option.
About time. It makes sense, as far as sense goes in a fantasy world. Tumble was one of those must have, pile all your points in here skills in 3E.
Edit: growing up in a country full of Elephants, try tumbling past one. I'll bet all my money on the elephant crushing you; they are big and swift (hence where the strength and dex comes into play. It happens often enough during festivals and such (the rampaging elephant crushing people part).
Why bother, these forums are just as good and the actual devs are here. No hate on ENWorld just not sure why I'd go post about PF there.
The only reason I can see, and a good one, is that different people hang out there and you would get new, different ideas. Never hurts to expand your circle of friends.
The important thing will be to see how the forum develops. If it really takes off then that will be a good sign in my opinion of how Pathfinder will be doing overall. By taking off I mean lots and lots of posts and threads on a continuous basis.
Exactly; and the onus is on us to keep the forum current and relevant including discussing anything generic in there.
Vic, thanks for your efforts in trying to get your subscribers the books on or around the release date. It is commendable and very much appreciated on my end; even the packaging showed care, and that tells me a lot about you guys and gals.
When Nick Logue finally gets his Razor Coast out, it will be great for you! Check out the Indulgences for a taste - you can get the pdfs at the paizo store.
I have the indulgences and have liberally used them in my savage tide game. Good stuff, but who knows when Nick will get it done for me to borrow ideas from. I want more of a disconnect between local knowledge and the ancient past- hmm let me go peruse Monty Cook's Chaositech, perhaps it might give me some ideas, i also like the idea of an old far realm worshipping culture.
Great Ideas! Thank you. I am thinking of using a combination of Darkmoon Vale, Bloodsworn Veil, and the Isle of Dread. JW, to answer your question, the main imports would be exotic spices, beasts, and darkwood. Who won’t love a setting with Dark Fey, Dinos, Pirates and Ninjas ( I am thinking a foreign “oriental” nation who is a competing rival to the Empire).
As for the empire itself, though it is a monarchy, the main power would be a trade consortium, with the major player being a company similar to the East India Trade Company (lots of political intrigue, power struggle etc.). The main questions I am struggling with are as follows:
1. Who are the current natives? What is their outlook ( I want their ways to be exotic and somewhat alien to the PCs)
2. What is the history of this place? What happened to the main powers here?( I want powerful lost magics, threats, ruins etc. the discovery of some of which could be a potential game changer)
3. who are the main settlers? ( I want this to be mix of people hoping for a better life, odd religious offshoots and cults, spies, company men, and those that know some of the secrets of the continent and exploit it)
I am currently working on putting together a new campaign. The PCs would be new settlers in a far off, unexplored and mysterious land- leaving their homeland for a variety of reasons (criminals/excommunicated etc.). Any ideas, useful products, and any other suggestions are welcome
For SWW; i made a good part of it (open sea voyage) into one large sea chase/combat between the SW and 3 red fleet ships. It worked out remarkably well, especially using the chase rules from Dragon Mag (some of the obstacles etc, included weather conditions, a whirlpool, migrating sea serpents, an ongoing sahuagin/merman war etc.)
I also go rid of the next adventure, Here there be Monsters, all together, and added in a lot of fab stuff from Nick Logue's sinister adventures (interestingly, Nick wrote the Isle of Dread section for Dungeon and the stuff he had put out for Sinister Adventures is very similar)to the following adventure, as well as a lot more from the original Isle of Dread Mod. HtBM appears to be very repetitive with it's encounters (and not dinos either, but the Terror Birds)and has no real impact to the overall plot. By expanding Isle of Dread, I was able to impliment a lot more long term NPCs, alliances, and give the PCs a lot more sandboxy time on the Isle.
If I subscribe, is there a way to only get the PDF? I've already preordered the printed copies from amazon.com at a price I couldn't turn down.
You can buy the PDF seperately at the PDF price (a bit lower than hardcopy usually) about a month after the product comes out. Those that subscribe get both immidiately. There is no PDF only subscriptions currently.
Speaking for myself their is a check when you order a item that shows up in your bank account but that goes away in a day or two depending on your bank.
then for me always when i get a email from paizo saying items are about to ship which is typically 3 days are so before they ship is when the charge shows up. But I don't think it actually leaves your account until the day it ships, it just shows up as a pending transaction on mine then.
Wow- this sounds awesome. I was thinking along these lines for a new campaign earlier. Damn you Paizo, you have stolen my idea! Now I demand royalties...yes, starting with nubile...
Thank you both for responding. I am still in the process of reading through the adventure. My biggest issue so far is the writing. It seems to be overly verbose and convoluted. I am quoting something below from the adventure. Feel free to remove it if you believe it to be in violation of copyright.
Spoiler:
A wily seductress, Larina stole Bizby away to the Brandy Foxes’ pied-à-terre along Holy Way, where he lay, languorously spent and smiling for days. When she finished with him, Bizby was her devoted slave. Larina bided her time then struck: she informed her new lover that Fusker robbed the Helmate counting house, castigating Bizby for his weakness. Larina then quelled the horrified accountant’s heavy heart, deluding him with a plan to atone for his ‘betrayal’ of the Helmates. She claimed, out of love, to have planted a bomb beneath Lake Idyll in Pantheon Gardens. Handing Bizby the key to detonating it, she pledged that collapsing the lake would create the perfect site for Adhelmus Oxda’s own temple, sidestepping Lord Erasmus’ prohibition against disturbing the idyllic park, and fulfilling the Helmates’ fondest wish. Far from declaring him traitor, Larina whispered, they would hail Bizby a Helmate hero.
I understand the point of what is written above; however it can be written more clearly and cleanly. The sentence structures appear very awkward in places and has a lot of unnecessary adverbs and verbiage.
A bit unimpressed with this adventure so far, especially the naming conventions- seems very early Gygaxian, the same with some of the language. I think it needs another edit. The continuity from the previous adventures seem rather tenuous and some of the plotline is haphazard and hard to follow (mind, this is just an initial impression, might change my mind on a more thorough read).
I disagree with the conjecture that this is a business decision made by those that are not in the know of how PDFs/digital media works. Quite the contrary, this decision makes perfect sense for WOTCs current business model.
By eliminating the PDF availability they have focused their current customer base onto DDI, through which I am sure, they will offer PDFs for 4E.
They have eliminated support for competing editions, thus strengthening the market position of 4E.
And by understanding that the market place is moving to digital media, and focusing on making the DDI subscribtion based model the core revenue focus, they have placed themselves at the front line of the cutting edge market for RPGs. Ultimately, $10-$15 a month for a year or more, from subscribers, is a lot more profitable than selling hard cover books ever will be.
Is that not still a bit iffy? Admittedly I don't know much about how these things work but it seems odd that it is as easy as just adding in [classic] to the name. I would have thought the description of what it does would have to be changed as well?
It seems very iffy as you are redifining WOTC IP and claiming it not to be an IP violation by adding the word "classic" to it and considering the fact that the goal seems to be to redesign a lot of 4E, including rules and mechanics by simply adding the word "classic," the propriety of this project, under the GSL, seems dubious at best.
Q: Section 4.1 states that, “Licensee will not define, redefine, or alter the definition
of any 4E Reference in a Licensed Product.” What does this mean?
A: This means you that if you want to use a 4E Reference listed in the GSL SRD (for example, Dragonborn), you must not alter the definition in such a way as to define or redefine, or alter the definition as found in the Player’s Handbook (e.g. “Classes that use Dragonborn get an additional +1 to Strength and +1 in Intimidate). You may, however,
extend a definition by adding to the original content. As an example: “…if you want to play a Dragonborn please refer to the Race Chapter of the 4th Edition Player’s Handbook. For a Greatmountian Dragonborn take and additional +1 Strength and +1 in Intimidate.”
Q: Can I redefine non-mechanic materials (“fluff”)?
A: No. You may add new material, but you cannot define, redefine, or alter any 4EReference, including “fluff.” Please refer back to Section 4.1 on redefining 4E References. As an example: “In this world Eladrin are between 5’ 9”- 6’ 5” in height and can use Fey Step as an At-Will Power” would redefine the definition of Eladrin, whereas the statement: “The isolation of the Deepwood Eladrin have allowed them to evolve with several unique traits including being slightly taller in height, between 5’ 9”- 6’ 5”, and after generations of meditation can use Fey Step as an At-Will Power” would extend the definition by adding a Deepwood sub race while allowing the term Eladrin to maintain its original definition as found in the 4th Edition Player’s Handbook.
I would presume the redifining magic missile, recrafting iconic spells (including magic missle), powers, abilities and especially pre existing rules. I am sure, as the example highlights, there are creative ways around this.
I want to add a few more "players" into the game- other power brokers who are aware of what is going on and are subtly manipulating the PCs outside of the obvious.
Spoiler:
The PCs are part of the Nightwatch. Recruited by Bao himself as a new unit to bypass the corruption/misplaced loyalties of the other nightwatchmen. They still work for their district though, and have to deal with the standard chain of command, who treat them like crap because of their connection with Bao. I want to give Bao an agenda as well. Any ideas?
- The woman who finds the body ( i changed it to late night, during a storm- making the players question what she is doing out, more as a red herring) is the youngest daughter of Benito Talka (calavrese crime family). My current inclination is that she is having an affair with Noer Torban who might be manipulating her (or the reverse?) and trying to keep it secret from her father.
I agree that there is a lot going on in this adventure- I really enjoyed the tie ins to other Great City elements ( the poem for example...I am going to make up those broadsides mentioned in the begining regarding the bounty..hehehe). I also give you guys big props for keeping all the adventures human/oid centric, which I think a lot of adventures fail to do, especially at higher levels (easier to challenge parties with demons and such rather than statted out NPCs I would persume). I hope that continues for the rest of the adventures. I loved the art inside too; it reminded me of some of the Iron Kingdoms art for the Monsternomicon.
This is a wonderful follow up; I really enjoyed the ending, especially how open ended it is. There is a lot of NPC interaction, with good continuity from the first adventure as well. If these products had come out during the hay days of D20, I have no doubt that these products would have been in print and be best sellers (they are certainly very ambitious and very well executed!); as it stands, they are better than any city based campaign out there for d20.
All in all, the City and the adventures remind me a lot of The Enemy Within campaign for the old Warhammer RPG- probably the best city based campaign out there (other than the last adventure). I also think that the first two adventures can work very well as stand alones. The adventures and the setting are so good that I am in the process of starting a campaign! I would love to see how some of the major plot threads hinted at in the Great City Setting are played on in the adventures to follow.
My only little issue is that the ending does not provide a little synopsis of how it ties to the next adventure in the series. I will write a review of this when I get a chance.
Thanks...
I would have expected a little more support from one of my own faction members.
Not inspiring in anyway huh,
Dang. That's pretty harsh.
Actually, HatD takes off where the earlier Falcon's Hollow stuff leaves off, plus it was originally going to be part of the gen con dungeon crawl. That's why its linear.
Then again, last time I did a sandbox adventure (Carnival of Tears), folks complained the structure was too non-linear.
You can't please everyone I suppose.
Carnival of Tears seems to be one of the most discussed modules in recent times for 3E and also to have had a lot of positive feedback ( I saw a thread on it on Enworld too). :) I absolutely love the Great City CS and the related adventures- A Pound of Flesh and Road to Revolution. Well done on both; i'll write up a review on both in due time.
PAIZO should get a license and publish the Easy-Bake-Oven RPG!
"You are all chefs and looking for a new receipe. There is a rumour of the "fantastic cake" receipt. You have to go to the Tower of evil chef Gordon Ramsey, win a cooking duel and get the receipt. If you win, you receive more cooking powers and a better oven. With this power you can even attack three or four star chefs...."
Pfft. I took the Iron Chef path, acquired the Apron of Fearless Seasoning, the Wok of Yan and the Spatula of Sage Brown. I fear no Ramsey.
But you shall fear Morimoto! bwahahahaha...
On topic, I remember Lisa's post about how a small "core" of those invested in a hobby tends to account for a large amount of sales (believe this was in relation to her Star Wars Geeklove). I think the same is true of RPGs and DnD, and that of those that have not converted, a significant portion are part of that core, that do drop 1k or more a year (purely a guess on my part, and also a reflection on the Paizo subscription). Only time will tell. Either way, good gaming to all!
Very dissapointed with this module and how linear it is, with little, if any room for PC choice; it feels as if events happen in a certain manner regardless of what the PCs do. One of my biggest pet peeves as a GM.
I have to agree with Russ on this; both this module and the Pact Stone Pyramid have been major dissapointments for me. Neither of them are inspiring in anyway. I have started to notice a recent trend of linearity with the modules where a lot of the plotting is very pre meditated and rely a lot on an endgame that seems forced on the PCs.
I would love to see more modules along the lines of the Lost City (B4), the Sinister Secrets of Bone Hill etc. which might be more skeletal but provide a lot of open endedness. If any of the older modules are similar to the ones i have mentioned, please do let me know- I would love to pick them up.
The vast majority of splatbook base classes are AWFUL. The rest are, at best, either roughly in the middle of the power curve, or lower-powered counterparts of their core equivalents. The Artificer and Archivist are the ONLY splatbook classes on the level of the core Big Three (Cleric/Druid/Wizard). The Beguiler is pretty strong, but it's one of a handful of exceptions.
The Scout, Spellthief, and Ninja? All lower-powered than the Rogue. The Hexblade? Weak. Swashbuckler? I've almost never seen anyone take more than three levels, because it's so weak. Samurai? Worst base class WotC has ever printed. The Psion is an inferior Wizard, the Favored Soul is an inferior Cleric, the Spirit Shaman is an inferior Druid. The Psychic Warrior is solidly balanced. The Warlock is mediocre, the Warmage is one of the worst full casters, the the Wu Jen is again an inferior Wizard, the Shugenja is pretty bad... I could go on and on. The poiint is, the vast majority of non-base classes suck, and giving the Pathfinder classes extra powerful abilities just makes them even better in comparison. Especially when those classes, like the wizard and sorcerer, were already too powerful.
You have stated that these classes are "awful," "weak," "inferior," etc. Can you provide the basis for such conclusions?
Something similar to The Book of Righteous Might by Green Ronin would be awesome. I would also suggest keeping the pantheon smaller, but fleshing out the orders there in and giving a flavor of the faith and the splinter churches. It get's a bit confounding when you end up with 20+ gods in a setting.
prashant panavalli
(Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Pathfinder Adventure Path, Pathfinder Companion Subscriber),
