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Due to technology/shipping issues, February orders probably will not be complete until next week. In the interim, Paizo customer service is releasing PDFs to subscribers over the next few days as individual per-product PDFs (so they won't come all at once). See Sara Marie's posts for more info.
Noticed the typo, and attempting to clarify the question after speaking to people. "You can disable traps as though you had a proficiency rank of Master in Thievery." I had initially interpreted this line as saying:
I have had a judge interpret this as only 2; that is, you can disable traps that require a Proficiency modifier of Master or lower, but you use your own proficiency modifier for the roll. How should the line be interpreted?
Hello! I'm not sure my emails have been received; I imagine you all are keeping busy. I've sent pictures of my Starfinder book; the text block is separated from the headband (and pulling away from the end paper on one end). The second is that I seem to be missing scenarios from my Pathfinder subscription- everything after 8-23 isn't showing up in My Downloads. My Starfinder scenarios did appear in My Downloads, but no sign of Pathfinder. I have paid for them as part of the subscription, but even when I visit the individual scenario page it doesn't show that they've been purchased. Thanks!
I played two of the overnight Starfinder slots, and they were great. They finished faster than the four hour slots I played during the day, and having now read through the scenarios I'm fairly confident it was because of the preparation work done by the GMs. I am very grateful for that, the extra hour sleep each day was helpful. ^_^
I've been perusing the boards pretty regularly during this playtest- the first time I've really had a chance to do so. I'm very impressed with developer responses both on the boards and in this list, and I look forward to playtesting the changes. (Especially the Arcanist. That sounds very, very interesting...)
Without going into some edge cases, there's nothing in the law that says its illegal to have the same electronic data on two systems at the same time. ^_^ The copyright-related activities which led to that state are generally what might be infringement, and that's almost certainly not the case in the example of sharing material with other members of your own household. (And is much more likely the case in other circumstances.) To the responses so far, based on my understanding of copyright law, like I said, the likelihood of such an action being copyright infringement is approaching 0. I use that terminology because copyright law is both vague and circumstance-dependent at the same time, with ultimate authority belonging to the courts in a given circumstance. But this particular activity- sharing an electronic file with a member of your own household- is really not likely to be infringing. I hesitate to talk about copyright law too much on forums for a variety of reasons. I'll mention that I've been formally studying copyright for about 15 years; I've taken classes on it, I've been trained in it, I write about it, I've taught classes on it, I teach undergrads at the University of Texas about it, I lecture in graduate classes about it, I've given workshops about it, and it's the subject of my ongoing dissertation (although to be fair, a lot more than I expected is also about Argentinian copyright law :P). And of course, in all of that, what I've learned is that I could be completely wrong. :P There's always something weird out there. And it's entirely likely I'm overthinking it. :P I totally get that it's a PFS rule, and abide by it as a PFS rule. I was just wondering.
I'm actually curious about the reason for not allowing electronic versions of watermarked PDFs in the same household? That doesn't seem to be an "encouraging a purchase" thing, since using a printed copy and an electronic copy simultaneously is allowed. It doesn't seem to be a license thing, since there's no separate license associated with purchasing a Paizo PDF. It doesn't seem to be a legal thing, because there's an approaching zero chance that such an action (sharing an electronic file with a member of your own household) would be infringement any more than having the printed + electronic version would be. (Assuming U.S. copyright law, which is my area of study.) All that means for my house is that we won't play at different tables, but it strikes me as odd.
Complete aside re crit stacking: it wasn't quite as cheesy as it might seem. :P Sean Reynolds did the math in a terrific rant on his Web site some years back (ninja'd!), and having crit stacking was really the only way to have crit weapons and higher damage weapons do comparable damage over time. In PF, it's not quite such a nerf because of crit feats and other crit effects, but it really did have a significant effect in 3.5. And I, too, am very curious about what the enchantment was. =P
Spoiler:
Heh. While not a parent, that was *exactly* the attitude one of my players had. She thought that the SC was terrible for thinking about depriving the poor old lady of money for teaching the children "life skills." Sure, maybe deal with the drinking ("Do you blame her?") and gambling, but give her more money if you're going to take away her means of income. ^_^
Re 1-5 scenarios, locally I suspect it's because we a steady trickle of new players, so at least some people who have been around longer are playing alts so tables can make and they don't have to play down/force people to play up (and it happens anyway, as the some people are on their 2nd-3rd alts in the 1-5 range and have reached levels 4-5). As a result, I know a few people who have almost reached the end of playable 1-5 scenarios. We have just enough people in the 7+ range that on at least one weekly game day, we've got a couple of people left over who can't make a table at their main subtier, so they end up playing their lower level alts regularly. (Edit: I will add that this is at least partly a physical table issue, as we've grown enough that we've filled almost all available space).
Umineko is licensed here in the US. Got the two sets a couple of months ago... sadly, the anime series ends like halfway through the story. ^^; http://www.rightstuf.com/1-800-338-6827/catalogmgr/KNaI=ng2cNp-2blI6x/brows e/item/95939/4/0/0 I would love if someone licensed the second season of Higurashi, too...
Definitely excellent series mentioned so far. Agree with Read or Die and ROD TV and Azumanga Daioh and Cowboy Bebop and Rurouni Kenshin... ^_^ I do enjoy Slayers, obviously. =P Particularly Slayers Next. Man, I feel old. =P Some other old-timey stuff: Ranma 1/2 was Viz's first major series hit in the US, and a surprising number of anime clubs were founded with that release. Marmalade Boy was a relatively popular shoujo series. Kimagure Orange Road was a relatively popular shonen romantic comedy. Tenchi Muyo was Pioneer's big series hit (the other being the aforementioned El Hazard). The original OAV series was finally re-released last year after more than a decade. There's also the tv series version Tenchi Muyo Ryo-ohki! and various other versions. Let's see... other interesting stuff that may not have been mentioned: Banner of the Stars/Crest of the Stars for some space opera. Escaflowne Serial Experiments Lain Dennou Coil (even more fun now that Google Glasses are out!) Fushigi Yuugi (girl transported to fantasy world) Revolutionary Girl Utena (one of my wife's all-time favorites) Natsume's Book of Friends The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi (awesome first season, plays with many anime tropes; watch in airing order and avoid the Endless Eight second season if at all possible :P) Anything by Satoshi Kon or Studio Ghibli (although those are very different experiences. =P) A really interesting (albeit violent) show is Higuarhi No Naku Koro Ni (When They Cry/When the Cicadas Cry). Unfortunately, the first season is out of print in the US and so now really difficult to pick up, and the second season has yet to be licensed- and you MUST see the second season for the first season to be resolved. The companion series, Umineko no Naku Koro Ni was just released and is interesting, with two seasons out, but unfortunately only covers about half the story.
I will echo this recommendation, and also recommend reading about the controversy surrounding its first showing in the UK, which is quite interesting in itself. The hidden things found in the film itself are a lot of fun. My wife believes that some scenes in Paranormal Activity 3 appear to be derived from or homages to Ghostwatch.
A friend of mine and I drove in from Austin just for the interactive. We ended up at different tables, but definitely had a blast. He won a boon that he is particularly enamored with. ^_^ Much thanks to my judge (TJ), Kelly Youngblood for organizing, Michael Brock for MCing, and everyone else for contributing to a great time.
I'm one of the fiction fans. I own every AP. I generally skim the plot and read the fiction in those books unless I plan to specifically run them. I would love to have the fiction tied more into the AP, either mechanically or story-wise. I understand that's probably not possible, but I do like prelude/indirect suggestions above for something that may be reasonable. While we're wishing, I wish that the separated fiction was included as a completed ebook download for subscribers once the AP was complete. I also wish that GMs were officially allowed to share such fictional material from the APs directly with their players. I'm not a big fan of including mechanics not directly tied to the APs in those modules. For me, that's more a consideration of convenience than anything else; it's more places to look for mechanical material (see PFS "Additional Resources"). That type of inclusion would be a bit more problematic for some friends of mine, but I'll let them chime in if they choose.
Oh, it's not just speculation. It's a real thing. GW has been deleting and banning folks from their Facebook page (including a fellow academic who was just asking for their side of the story), and recently put forth a press release that pretty much confirmed it from their end. I'll chat with folks from EFF about this later this month. While they were likely within their legal right to do so, it's also highly questionable. Amazon was under no obligation to follow the cease and desist; there is no notice-and-takedown provision for trademark, unlike copyright. Bad on them. They've put it back up, possibly due to some assistance from EFF. My knowledge of trademark law is only tangential to my academic focus on copyright, but I've had to look into it some in my time. Like attorney CE Petit noted in John Woodford's link, GW does not have a registered trademark for the term space marine for books or ebooks. Based on their odd, somewhat self-contradictory post, they seem to be attempting to assert a common law unregistered trademark in the term space marine in that book/ebook arena. The reasons they've given is an obligation to shareholders, and that trademark law makes them do it. (As a side note, Scrivener's Error is a terrific blog for author-related perspectives on copyright and other legal matters. I don't always agree with him, but his stuff is always worth reading, even more when it comes to the civil procedure things that folks often gloss over.) That trademark law makes them do it is a tiny bit overstated, usually, but it is true that if trademarks aren't protected, they can be lost. (Thank you, Lanham Act, for turning consumer protection law into something really bizarre.) That they're doing it here, where they don't have a registered trademark, though, is a bit more complicated. "Prior art" is usually a patent thing. Existing commercial uses of a term do matter for trademarks, although they don't always win out. (The story of the trademarking of "Keep Austin Weird" is a particularly illustrative one.) What probably matters in this case that generic terms can't be trademarks. From appearances, they're trying to make sure that the mark won't be considered generic, so that they can assert trademark rights in the book/ebook space. And that's what people are upset about, and their response so far hasn't really clarified that. Their release seems to indicate that they're not claiming trademark on prose... but as it also says they are responding to commercial uses of the term (not mentioning in what areas), then there's definitely a disconnect.
Thanks very much, Dave and everyone! I greatly enjoyed participating- revisiting all of their adventures was a great start to my winter vacation, and it gave me the chance to notice many connections and intriguing hints of things to come. Dave, your books, and the rest of the Pathfinder Tales line, have really brought me back to tie-in fiction in a big way. Thanks to all of you for that, too.
This is exactly the reason I asked this question in the rules forum yesterday. ^_^ I was reading through Blood of Angels, saw the subdomain, and thought it might be fun for a cleric of Desna. Then I saw it wasn't appearing as legal in Hero Lab for PFS characters, and realized that it doesn't seem to be associated with any deities yet.
I was using Hero Lab with Pathfinder Society restrictions and I noticed that the whimsy subdomain (Blood of Angels) wasn't selectable by any clerics using those restrictions as far as I could tell, nor could I find any who explicitly have it listed as a subdomain. Am I missing any? Are there any deities who have whimsy as a subdomain?
OK. Last day of work yesterday and I’m traveling starting tomorrow, so I’ll see what I can do now. ^_^ Here's a post-QoT Varian Jeggare. Explanation with massive spoilers and speculation. Spoiler:
Alignment: Either NG or LG, and I’m going with LG for now. Varian lives in Cheliax, and although he secretly worships CG Desna, he doesn’t venerate her luck aspect as much as others. He “eschews diablerie so far as his rank lets him” (that’s probably a paraphrase, but you get the picture). He had friends and family denounced by Asmodeus- and although we don’t know very much about his mother’s death, it appears as if it occurred some time during the Thrune ascendency, and he has nightmares that he would be found as disloyal as she was. Despite all that, he’s still Chelaxian and he still served the Chelish crown. We know he once travelled abroad in service to the throne. In PoW, he recalled a berating sergeant during his first campaign in defense of the empire. In LT he also mentioned service during the war; with some possible intrigues involved. TLP mentioned that he had served the Queen in the past. He answered each summons to war, and paid each tax and overtax. We saw he had a diplomatic mission to Qadira forty years prior to Husks. MoD mentioned that he served in the wars of colonial succession, and undertook other diplomatic missions for the Crown. He also served as a “special envoy” when his skills were useful. Plus, he lectured a paladin. =P So I’m going with lawful, for now- although more to his ideals (Pathfinder, knowledge) than to the laws of a particular land. Even though he’s been in trouble with the law before as the result of his Pathfinder activities, he still goes about following them to the best of his ability, and I think his overly keen sense of rank and class also plays into that. Abilities: I used heroic (20 point buy base). We’ve been able to tell that Varian is probably in his 9th decade prior to QoT, but QoT explicitly said that he was approaching a century. For a half-elf, this is in the Old age category. So I adjusted his mental stats accordingly... but not his physical. We saw in KT and QoT that the celestial dragon heart appears to have rejuvenated him. Class and Archetype: I approached this a few different ways. Despite not having fought for about 10 years by PoW, we know he has fighting ability. In the past we know that he took part on a fatal duel on the roof of the Grand Opera. In PoW, we found how notable it was that he does *not* have a Lepidstadt dueling scar. Such a dueling scar is considering a mark of respect in Ustalav and elsewhere (PoW, Rule of Fear); he was so good that he never received one, and at one point considered himself a Lepidstadt Master. We saw that he used flourishes, duelists stance, the “Eliendo defense”, “Andoran defense,” “Lepidstadt defense,” and other fencing movies in MoD. In QoT, he says he studied at fencing in schools in Cheliax, Andoran, Taldor, Ustalav, and half a dozen other lands. All that, plus that he served a soldier for many years seems to indicate more than a little ability. So I started looking fighter, looking particularly at the Weapon Master, Tactician, and Lore Warden archetypes. (Aldori Swordlord would be another obvious one, except it’s so reliant on their dueling sword that it’s not quite as helpful). Going that route, I was going to try a fighter/wizard/eldritch knight... but I decided to try another approach (largely because of material in MoD and later). Assuming that he always studied magic, even when studying martial skills- enough to be a wizard without casting spells for many years- I went with Magus (Kensai). I used the Kensai archetype because it seems to at least in part reflect his ability with the sword over other martial skills (MoD). He also never seems to wear armor, and uses something that is very similar to the Spellstrike ability in MoD. At level 6, I used the broad study arcana so he can use his wizard spells as well. One different thing I might do is create a magus arcana that lets him change an area attack ability to a melee touch ability (ie, how he uses his weapon to cast slow). If such a thing exists, let me know. ^_^ He casts 5th level spells in MoD (dream) and QoT (Cone of Cold), about equivalent to a 9th-level wizard. He was known to be a wizard of considerable talent to the elves, so that might fit. We know he studied at the acadamae in Korvosa, specialized in metamagic, and is a universalist (although he dislikes necromancy, charm, and divination). I went with the scroll scholar archetype to reflect his Pathfinder affiliation, and its abilities fit him. I went with arcane bond. Although Arnisant is described as a companion in a way similar to the unicorn, he doesn’t seem to be a familiar. The bond I chose was an object- his ring, to reflect the light ring he seems to use everywhere. Varian cheats. ^_^ Even with the riffle scroll rules in play (cool), he seems to use them in a slightly different way than others do- basically replacing his normal spellcasting altogether. So rather than putting a few dozen riffle scrolls in his inventory, I’m just assuming his prepared spells are riffle scrolls. I could go in-depth about feats, skills and equipment, but this is long enough. I just wanted to mention two: Noble Scion of Lore seemed to fit him, and I took Dodge late to reflect “kitchen style evasion”’ from MoD. :P
Count Varian Jeggare, Venture-Captain of the Pathfinder Society
Spoiler: Male Half-Elf Magus (Kensai) 6 Wizard (Scroll Scholar) 9 LG Medium Humanoid (elf, human) Init +2; Senses low-light vision; Perception +17 -------------------- Defense -------------------- AC 25, touch 22, flat-footed 16 (+8 Dex, +3 natural, +3 deflection, +1 dodge) hp 69 (6d8+9d6) Fort +8, Ref +7, Will +12; +2 vs. enchantments Defensive Abilities canny defense +6; Immune sleep; Resist elven immunities -------------------- Offense -------------------- Speed 30 ft. Melee Shadowless Sword +14/+14/+9 (1d8+5/19-20/x2) Special Attacks magus arcana (arcane accuracy +6, broad study [wizard [scroll scholar]]), spellstrike Spell-Like Abilities Comprehend Languages (3/day), Identify (3/day) Magus (Kensai) Spells Prepared (CL 6): 2 (4/day) Scorching Ray (x2), Web (DC 18), Fire Breath (DC 18) 1 (5/day) Magic Missile (x2), Burning Hands (DC 17), True Strike (x2) 0 (at will) Disrupt Undead, Read Magic, Detect Magic, Light Wizard (Scroll Scholar) Spells Prepared (CL 9): 5 (2/day) Cone of Cold (x2) (DC 21) 4 (3/day) Wall of Ice (DC 20), Ice Storm (x2) 3 (4/day) Haste, Dispel Magic, Fireball (DC 19), Fly 2 (6/day) Scorching Ray (x4), See Invisibility, Blindness/Deafness (DC 18) 1 (6/day) Magic Missile (x2), Shocking Grasp, Protection from Evil, Identify, Comprehend Languages 0 (at will) Mage Hand, Detect Magic, Ray of Frost, Light -------------------- Statistics -------------------- Str 10, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 23, Wis 12, Cha 16 Base Atk +8; CMB +10; CMD 30 Feats Agile Maneuvers, Combat Expertise +/-3, Combat Reflexes (3 AoO/round), Cosmopolitan (Linguistics, Perception), Dodge, Empower Spell, Noble Scion of Lore, Quicken Spell, Scribe Scroll, Silent Spell, Skill Focus (Diplomacy), Weapon Focus (Longsword) Traits Extremely Fashionable (Diplomacy), Fast-Talker Skills Appraise +10 (+12 for small or highly detailed items when using a magnifying glass), Bluff +10, Craft (books) +4, Craft (calligraphy) +4, Craft (painting) +4, Diplomacy +26, Handle Animal +5, Heal +7, Intimidate +4, Knowledge (arcana) +31, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +15, Knowledge (engineering) +14, Knowledge (geography) +14, Knowledge (history) +14, Knowledge (local) +14, Knowledge (nature) +15, Knowledge (nobility) +17, Knowledge (planes) +15, Knowledge (religion) +15, Linguistics +24, Perception +17 (only -1/20' while using a spyglass, instead of -1/10'), Ride +9, Sense Motive +8, Spellcraft +22, Stealth +5, Survival +4 (+8 to avoid getting lost if used with astrolabe, +6 to avoid becoming lost when using a Mapmaker's Kit as you travel) Languages Abyssal, Azlanti, Celestial, Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, Halfling, Infernal, Jistka, Orc, Osiriani, Osiriani, Ancient, Polyglot, Shadowtongue, Shoanti, Skald, Sylvan, Takritanin, Thassilonian, Tien, Undercommon, Varisian, Vudrani SQ arcane bonds (object [ring] [1/day]), arcane pool (+2) (9/day), chosen weapon (longsword), elf blood, metamagic mastery (1/day), perfect strike, specialized schools (universalist), spell combat Other Gear Shadowless Sword, Amulet of natural armor +3, Ring, Ring of protection +3, Carriage (empty), Ink, black (2), Ink, colored (2), Journal, Magnifying glass, Mapmaker's kit, Noble's outfit, Paper (5), Pathfinder chronicle (Knowledge [nature]), Pocket watch, Sextant, Signet ring, Spell component pouch, Spyglass, Stationery (2), Wine, Corentyn (per bottle) (3), Just about infinite GP -------------------- Special Abilities -------------------- Agile Maneuvers Use DEX instead of STR for CMB Arcane Accuracy +6 (Su) 1 Arcane Pool: +6 to attack rolls until the end of your turn. Arcane Bond (Ring) (1/day) (Sp) Use object to cast any spell in your spellbook 1/day. Without it, Concentration required to cast spells (DC20 + spell level). Arcane Pool (+2) (9/day) (Su) Infuse own power into a held weapon, granting enhancement bonus or selected item powers. Canny Defense +6 (Ex) +INT bonus to AC (max Kensai level). Chosen Weapon (Longsword) Kensai abilities only function when wielding a weapon of this type. Combat Expertise +/-3 Bonus to AC in exchange for an equal penalty to attack. Combat Reflexes (3 AoO/round) Can make extra attacks of opportunity/rd, and even when flat-footed. Elf Blood You are counted as both elven and human for any effect relating to race. Elven Immunities +2 save bonus vs Enchantments. Elven Immunities - Sleep You are immune to magic sleep effects. Empower Spell Numeric effects of a spell are increased 50%. +2 Levels. Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in low light, distinguishing color and detail. Magnifying glass +2 Appraise for small or highly detailed items. Mapmaker's kit +2 Circumstance for Survival to avoid becoming lost. Metamagic Mastery (1/day) (Su) Apply a metamagic feat you know for free 1/day. Perfect Strike (Ex) Use 1 arcane pool to maximize weapon dam, or 2 for +1 to crit multiplier. Quicken Spell Cast a spell as a swift action. +4 Levels. Sextant +4 Circumstance to navigate while above ground. Silent Spell Cast a spell with no verbal components. +1 Level. Spell Combat (Ex) Use a weapon with one hand at -2 and cast a spell with the other. Spellstrike (Su) Deliver touch spells as part of a melee attack. -------------------- Also add the Death Ward effect to himself due to his celestial dragon heart (KT), and True Seeing when using the Shadowless Sword (QoT). Hero Lab® and the Hero Lab logo are Registered Trademarks of LWD Technology, Inc. Free download at http://www.wolflair.com
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