Limiting it doesn't really change things, apart from further encouraging parties to rest between encounters more often.
My suggestion would be to tier the flight effects. At 1st level, the race can use its wings to effectively feather fall. At 3rd level they can effectively levitate. And then at 5th they finally grow wings strong enough to fly.
Makes senses, might consider it.
Here, I will repost the rough build without flight:
Mixie
Mixies are Fey that fled their original world in small, successive waves, they mostly hid for centuries, but have recently started to show up, having partly accustomed themselves to this strange world
Physical Description: Mixies' appearance range from looking like Elve/Half-Elves children to looking like Halflings, with wild bright colored hair, bright shinny eyes and skin colors that would fit plants more.
Society: Mixies are matriarcal by nature, their large groups tend to be well structured, those who leave the groups tend to fend off for themselves and are more free-spirited.
Relations: Mixies get along well with Gnomes, for their origins, and with Elves, for their respect of nature, they appraciate the presence of Halflings, are curious and a bit fearful about Humans and have mixed feelings for Dwarves and Orcs.
Alignment and Religion: Mixies are usually Neutral or Good, those who live in groups tend to be Neutral or Lawful, those who strike on their own tend to be Neutral or Chaotic. Mixies worship Nature itself and sometimes the god(dess)s who represent it.
Adventurers: Mixies who left their groups are a bit mischivious and aventurous, there love of Nature make them favor Druid and Ranger.
Mixie Racial Traits
+2 to One Ability Score: Mixie characters get a +2 bonus to either Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma at creation to represent their somewhat varied nature.
Small: Mixies are Small creatures and gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a –1 penalty to their Combat Maneuver Bonus and Combat Maneuver Defense, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks.
Slow Speed: Mixies have a base land speed of 20 feet.
Low-Light Vision: Mixies can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
Bonus Skills: At character creation, a Mixie add three of the following skills as class Skills; Acrobatics, Bluff, Climb, Craft, Diplomacy, Disguise, Escape Artist, Knowledge (geography), Knowledge (local), Knowledge (nature), Perception, Perform, Sense Motive, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Survival, Swim, Use Magic Device.
Languages: Mixies begin play speaking Common and Sylvan. Mixies with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Draconic, Elven, Giant, Gnome, Goblin, and Orc.
It's kinda my first try at this.
Creative Director
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Ah. I don't buy the adventure paths, so I wouldn't know. Can't I get all the stuff from them from the SRD website? Are these creatures OGC? Let's say I wanted to collect them all in a PDF and distribute it (free of charge, of course) to other vampire fans so they have all the vampires in one handy document for easy reference? Is this allowed by the OGL?
With about 5 exceptions (out of about 300 or so monsters we've published in the Pathfinder Bestiaries since the start), all of the monsters are open content. They are NOT part of the official SRD (we don't really have the resources or time to keep up to date on ALL of our content there, and instead just focus on the rulebooks), but monsters from the Pathfinder APs do frequently make it into the hardcover Bestiaries.
Collecting them in a PDF and distributing it is legal, assuming you follow the rules of the OGL and PRD and all that... but it's kind of lame in my opinion if ALL you do is "redistribute vampires." A product like that would be MUCH more interesting to me if it also added to the game by presenting as many or more NEW vampires. That's what the open game movement's about—adding new content and building upon previous content.
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Creative Director
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Limiting it doesn't really change things, apart from further encouraging parties to rest between encounters more often.
My suggestion would be to tier the flight effects. At 1st level, the race can use its wings to effectively feather fall. At 3rd level they can effectively levitate. And then at 5th they finally grow wings strong enough to fly.
Makes senses, might consider it.
Here, I will repost the rough build without flight:
** spoiler omitted **...
Cool; but a quick heads-up I don't want this thread to turn into a "Have James analyze and provide feedback on game design" thread, so I'm not going to do much in the way of that at all. This thread's for answering questions, not for free feedback on game design.
Ah. I don't buy the adventure paths, so I wouldn't know. Can't I get all the stuff from them from the SRD website? Are these creatures OGC? Let's say I wanted to collect them all in a PDF and distribute it (free of charge, of course) to other vampire fans so they have all the vampires in one handy document for easy reference? Is this allowed by the OGL?With about 5 exceptions (out of about 300 or so monsters we've published in the Pathfinder Bestiaries since the start), all of the monsters are open content. They are NOT part of the official SRD (we don't really have the resources or time to keep up to date on ALL of our content there, and instead just focus on the rulebooks), but monsters from the Pathfinder APs do frequently make it into the hardcover Bestiaries.
Collecting them in a PDF and distributing it is legal, assuming you follow the rules of the OGL and PRD and all that... but it's kind of lame in my opinion if ALL you do is "redistribute vampires." A product like that would be MUCH more interesting to me if it also added to the game by presenting as many or more NEW vampires. That's what the open game movement's about—adding new content and building upon previous content.
There are some new vampires I have ideas for. Specifically, I want to make Pathfinder versions of the Leanan Sidhe, Wood Wife, and Dearg-Dul, a Psychic Vampire, and a living race of Vampires. I just want to redistribute all the existing vampires with it, because a Vampire PDF should have all the vampires in Pathfinder.
The OGL is seriously awesome. That's why I bought into Pathfinder instead of going 4E.
Is the Paizo PFSRD different from the D20 version? I use the D20 version.
1)
Cool; but a quick heads-up I don't want this thread to turn into a "Have James analyze and provide feedback on game design" thread, so I'm not going to do much in the way of that at all. This thread's for answering questions, not for free feedback on game design.
... Sorry, will ask somewhere else
2) will there ever be a class with 8 + int mod without sneak attack?
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Wail of the banshee inflicts 10 hp per caster level in all. It basically starts chewing through enemies, starting with the one closest to you, and then working its way out until it only does partial damage to the last victim. This does mean that the more folks who make their saving throw to halve the damage, the further the wail gets, which is weird.Wail of the banshee; does 10 pts of damage per caster level to 1 target/2 caster levels but those closest are effected first....
does that mean that the total is limited to say...200hp divided amongst the targets? or does it do 200/target and just effects those closest first?
Eh? It has been nerfed beyond oblivion from a spell that would have been a serious danger for a high level party.
A level 9 spell that do 200 hp of damage is little better than a harm spell.I had always read it as: "it do 200 hp of damage to each target up to to 1 target level".
It has a Fortitude save to negate all the damage and with the hp of most characters at the level at which they will met it WoB is hardly a Save or Die spell.
With a cap of 200 hp as total don't seem much more than a glorified Circle of death. Level 7 at most.
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Creative Director
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Is the Paizo PFSRD different from the D20 version? I use the D20 version.
It is indeed different, but I'm not the one to ask about the details, 'cause as they internet says, "I am not a lawyer."
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Creative Director
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Eh? It has been nerfed beyond oblivion from a spell that would have been a serious danger for a high level party.
A level 9 spell that do 200 hp of damage is little better than a harm spell.I had always read it as: "it do 200 hp of damage to each target up to to 1 target level".
It has a Fortitude save to negate all the damage and with the hp of most characters at the level at which they will met it WoB is hardly a Save or Die spell.With a cap of 200 hp as total don't seem much more than a glorified Circle of death. Level 7 at most.
That's certainly more in keeping with what I'd expect a 9th level spell could do. I'd go with that reading of it.
(Although it's worth remembering that being able to do 200 hp of damage at range is quite a bit better than having to touch someone to do 150 points...)
possessed oracle archetype
The sources of power and spells for these oracles are spirits, demons, or similar beings.
Have these entities become an actual part of the character's soul?
From the description...
" Unlike a cleric, who draws her magic through devotion to a deity, oracles garner strength and power from many sources, namely those patron deities who support their ideals. Instead of worshiping a single source, oracles tend to venerate all of the gods that share their beliefs."
So, if an oracle were in a region where deities could not reach to grant spells, could that character still cast its spells and have the available slots renewed daily?
If not, could a possessed archetype oracle?
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Creative Director
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possessed oracle archetype
The sources of power and spells for these oracles are spirits, demons, or similar beings.
Have these entities become an actual part of the character's soul?
From the description...
" Unlike a cleric, who draws her magic through devotion to a deity, oracles garner strength and power from many sources, namely those patron deities who support their ideals. Instead of worshiping a single source, oracles tend to venerate all of the gods that share their beliefs."
So, if an oracle were in a region where deities could not reach to grant spells, could that character still cast its spells and have the available slots renewed daily?
If not, could a possessed archetype oracle?
There are no "regions where deities cannot reach to grant spells" in Golarion, so it's something of a moot point, I guess.
If you have zones like that in your world, you're already doing things different than we expect, so having an oracle's powers work there where a clerics would not would be a choice you get to make. Just be prepared for players of clerics to argue and be angry with you is all. ;-)
Hmm. Why does there even have to be a single vampire in Pathfinder? There are lots of myths, so why not have lots of different types? You could put a whole bunch in Bestiary 3 or 4. Or publish a separate supplement filled with new vampires. You could call it Bite Me. Such an awesome name.There's not. There's a single vampire in the Bestiary, but we've detailed variant vampires several times. The nosferatu is in Pathfinder #8, for example, and the vrykoloakas is in some later Pathfinder. There's a few more variant vampires coming in Bestiary 3 as well, and there's even more variants in "Classic Horrors Revisited."
Awesome. Is there a higher CR vampire without so many of the weaknesses? If I'm going to make a badass vampire gunslinger I don't want him to be taken down by a light spell and some hawthorn flowers.
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Creative Director
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Awesome. Is there a higher CR vampire without so many of the weaknesses? If I'm going to make a badass vampire gunslinger I don't want him to be taken down by a light spell and some hawthorn flowers.Hmm. Why does there even have to be a single vampire in Pathfinder? There are lots of myths, so why not have lots of different types? You could put a whole bunch in Bestiary 3 or 4. Or publish a separate supplement filled with new vampires. You could call it Bite Me. Such an awesome name.There's not. There's a single vampire in the Bestiary, but we've detailed variant vampires several times. The nosferatu is in Pathfinder #8, for example, and the vrykoloakas is in some later Pathfinder. There's a few more variant vampires coming in Bestiary 3 as well, and there's even more variants in "Classic Horrors Revisited."
Light spells don't hurt vampires at all, so you're fine there.
I get what you're saying... but at the same point, part of the FUN of a vampire encounter is dealing with it in a way that you maneuver it into one of its weaknesses. One of my favorite ways to mix things up with vampires in my games is to vary the weaknesses—maybe instead of being blasted by sunlight, it gets blasted by moonlight? Or violin music? Or fog?
If you just want to remove all the weaknesses entirely... you can do that already by just ignoring that section of the template. But then... it's not really a vampire, is it?
possessed oracle archetype
The sources of power and spells for these oracles are spirits, demons, or similar beings.
Have these entities become an actual part of the character's soul?
From the description...
" Unlike a cleric, who draws her magic through devotion to a deity, oracles garner strength and power from many sources, namely those patron deities who support their ideals. Instead of worshiping a single source, oracles tend to venerate all of the gods that share their beliefs."
So, if an oracle were in a region where deities could not reach to grant spells, could that character still cast its spells and have the available slots renewed daily?
If not, could a possessed archetype oracle?
There are no "regions where deities cannot reach to grant spells" in Golarion, so it's something of a moot point, I guess.
If you have zones like that in your world, you're already doing things different than we expect, so having an oracle's powers work there where a clerics would not would be a choice you get to make. Just be prepared for players of clerics to argue and be angry with you is all. ;-)
Actually, I was thinking (rightly or wrongly) more along the lines of what I remember of Queen of the Demon Web Pits regarding places where a character would not have prayers for new spells (not those currently memorized) to be (correctly) answered.
But, those were VERY old rules and apparently deities have a much farther reach for granting their powers now. No complaints here with that power level.
Thanks for the response.
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Creative Director
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Actually, I was thinking (rightly or wrongly) more along the lines of what I remember of Queen of the Demon Web Pits regarding places where a character would not have prayers for new spells (not those currently memorized) to be (correctly) answered.
But, those were VERY old rules and apparently deities have a much farther reach for granting their powers now. No complaints here with that power level.
Thanks for the response.
Yeah, there was actually a lot of "sucks to be the cleric" elements hard-coded into the outer planes in 1st edition that carried over into Planescape and 2nd edition. While I can certainly understand the theory behind the philosophy... the fact that the fighter or the wizard or the thief all worked perfectly well in such environments always left me, the guy who liked playing clerics and druids, with a sour taste in the mouth.
So in the Manawastes, a divine character still gets their daily spells, they just can't really cast them??
Edited for rewording.
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Yeah, there was actually a lot of "sucks to be the cleric" elements hard-coded into the outer planes in 1st edition that carried over into Planescape and 2nd edition. While I can certainly understand the theory behind the philosophy... the fact that the fighter or the wizard or the thief all worked perfectly well in such environments always left me, the guy who liked playing clerics and druids, with a sour taste in the mouth.Actually, I was thinking (rightly or wrongly) more along the lines of what I remember of Queen of the Demon Web Pits regarding places where a character would not have prayers for new spells (not those currently memorized) to be (correctly) answered.
But, those were VERY old rules and apparently deities have a much farther reach for granting their powers now. No complaints here with that power level.
Thanks for the response.
Just to break a lance in favour of Gary, there were factors that did reduced the suck factor.
A cleric got the spells up to third level from his faith, not from the deity, so he was still capable to recover them even when he could not contact the deity or his servants.
Wail of the banshee inflicts 10 hp per caster level in all. It basically starts chewing through enemies, starting with the one closest to you, and then working its way out until it only does partial damage to the last victim. This does mean that the more folks who make their saving throw to halve the damage, the further the wail gets, which is weird.Wail of the banshee; does 10 pts of damage per caster level to 1 target/2 caster levels but those closest are effected first....
does that mean that the total is limited to say...200hp divided amongst the targets? or does it do 200/target and just effects those closest first?Eh? It has been nerfed beyond oblivion from a spell that would have been a serious danger for a high level party.
A level 9 spell that do 200 hp of damage is little better than a harm spell.I had always read it as: "it do 200 hp of damage to each target up to to 1 target level".
It has a Fortitude save to negate all the damage and with the hp of most characters at the level at which they will met it WoB is hardly a Save or Die spell.With a cap of 200 hp as total don't seem much more than a glorified Circle of death. Level 7 at most.
I agree with you here, which is why i was looking for a little clarification, 200hp wont even drop a decent tank character at lvl 20, so thats why i was under the impression it was 1 target per level for full damage.
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Creative Director
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So in the Manawastes, a divine character still gets their daily spells, they just can't really cast them??
Edited for rewording.
Nope. The mana wastes aren't a blanket zone of dead magic. There's dead magic zones in there, but they shift around, mixing it up with primal magic zones and normal magic zones. Some areas are more "stable" than others—large parts of Alkenstar itself have what seem to be perpetual dead magic pockets, for example.
A divine character can prepare her daily spells anywhere in the Mana Wastes and can cast them anywhere. Except in the dead magic zones, and those zones block ALL spellcasters equally.
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Creative Director
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Just to break a lance in favour of Gary, there were factors that did reduced the suck factor.
A cleric got the spells up to third level from his faith, not from the deity, so he was still capable to recover them even when he could not contact the deity or his servants.
I'm not sure being told that your reward for finally getting 7th level spells is that you can cast them once and then having to rely on super low level spells decreases the suck factor. I'd say it doesn't affect the suck factor at all but actually increases the frustration factor, due to teasing.
Likewise... the world of Greyhawk's rule that demigods couldn't grant 6th or 7th level spells, and lesser gods couldn't grant 7th level spells... again, while an interesting notion, doesn't make for great game play.
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Creative Director
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I agree with you here, which is why i was looking for a little clarification, 200hp wont even drop a decent tank character at lvl 20, so thats why i was under the impression it was 1 target per level for full damage.
True, but often spells are cast later in combat after said tank's been doing his job and is all beat up...
Eh? It has been nerfed beyond oblivion from a spell that would have been a serious danger for a high level party.
A level 9 spell that do 200 hp of damage is little better than a harm spell.I had always read it as: "it do 200 hp of damage to each target up to to 1 target level".
It has a Fortitude save to negate all the damage and with the hp of most characters at the level at which they will met it WoB is hardly a Save or Die spell.With a cap of 200 hp as total don't seem much more than a glorified Circle of death. Level 7 at most.
That's certainly more in keeping with what I'd expect a 9th level spell could do. I'd go with that reading of it.
(Although it's worth remembering that being able to do 200 hp of damage at range is quite a bit better than having to touch someone to do 150 points...)
You could do what I do.
I have never introduced anything that can cast Wail of the Banshee at a level appropriate point. I've never thrown a demilich at my players after 14th level or so. Before that, sure!
But I always give my players that half-second when the wail begins to RUN!!!! They have never yet lost their respect for that spell and I never have to reveal just how unimpressive it really is. Mostly because when the idiots do stand their ground it really is a save or die spell.
...I need a question, don't I...
Hey, remember that Werewolf brand beer I mentioned? You suggested I save it for when one character gets bit. But what if they don't?
1)When you say that the 2 traits a character starts with is there max, is this including the trait you get that is campain/AP specific? do you have to take this AP specific trait?
2)So the Dragon empire primer is more for player character use and the Dragon empire gazzeteer is more for DM use correct?
3)When a weapon has an ehancement bonus high enough to count as an attack type to penetrate DR does this also count against regenation? Ex: a +3 weapon counts as silver and cold iron to get through DR of a Linnorm but would also count as cold iron vs it's regeneration.
4)Would you ever allow your players to have more than two traits? if so how many?
5)Is there any reason why it is so hard to find a trait that grants Acrobatics as a class skill? Yet I can find ones for Perception, use magic device, and I think Disable device.
6)The first world has strange effects on animals and plants of the material plane but what effects can it have on people, particularly the PCs themselves? What would happen if a human child ended up there and lived to become an adult would they still be human? keep there sanity?
7)If a human was raised on the plane of shadows would they become a fetchling? something else?
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Creative Director
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1)When you say that the 2 traits a character starts with is there max, is this including the trait you get that is campain/AP specific? do you have to take this AP specific trait?
2)So the Dragon empire primer is more for player character use and the Dragon empire gazzeteer is more for DM use correct?
3)When a weapon has an ehancement bonus high enough to count as an attack type to penetrate DR does this also count against regenation? Ex: a +3 weapon counts as silver and cold iron to get through DR of a Linnorm but would also count as cold iron vs it's regeneration.
4)Would you ever allow your players to have more than two traits? if so how many?
5)Is there any reason why it is so hard to find a trait that grants Acrobatics as a class skill? Yet I can find ones for Perception, use magic device, and I think Disable device.
6)The first world has strange effects on animals and plants of the material plane but what effects can it have on people, particularly the PCs themselves? What would happen if a human child ended up there and lived to become an adult would they still be human? keep there sanity?
7)If a human was raised on the plane of shadows would they become a fetchling? something else?
1) Two traits is what a character gets for free—one of those traits can be a Campaign/AP Specific trait (and probably SHOULD be) but the other one can be anything. If a character wants more traits, there's always the Additional Traits feat.
2) Correct, although there's information in both that a GM will find very useful. The Primer's specifically built to avoid major spoilers though.
3) Nope; doesn't count against regeneration.
4) Nope; in fact, I generally REQUIRE the players in my games to pick a Campaign Trait, leaving the other one the only one they have free reign to pick from all the choices. Again... if they want more traits, they can take the Additional Traits feat.
5) No reason.
6) Pathfinder #36 has the most of what we've had to say about the First World—that'd be a good place to go for some info. (I don't remember off the top of my head if we talk about what happens if someone stays on the First World too long or not and don't wanna contradict myself...).
7) Nope; you have to be born a fetchling.
1) No there is no info about what happens to a person in the first world, so I gues there is no official rule(s) for that, correct?
2)On page 64 of AP#36 there is a pic of a female plant creature, what is she/it and will we ever see her statted up?
3)If the first world is so random and primal can it's energies create magic items? Can a person/creature on the first world create magic items without knowing it?
4)So if the Tanes have no traits or abilities in common but what creature types can they be? Or maybe I should ask what creature types would they not be?
5)Do undead exist "naturally" in the first world? can they exist there at all?
6)Will we ever find out about the other eldest in the first world other then the 8(9) that were mentioned?
7)Can you find Aberrations from the first world? Are there any outsiders that call the first world home?
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Creative Director
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1) No there is no info about what happens to a person in the first world, so I gues there is no official rule(s) for that, correct?
2)On page 64 of AP#36 there is a pic of a female plant creature, what is she/it and will we ever see her statted up?
3)If the first world is so random and primal can it's energies create magic items? Can a person/creature on the first world create magic items without knowing it?
4)So if the Tanes have no traits or abilities in common but what creature types can they be? Or maybe I should ask what creature types would they not be?
5)Do undead exist "naturally" in the first world? can they exist there at all?
6)Will we ever find out about the other eldest in the first world other then the 8(9) that were mentioned?
7)Can you find Aberrations from the first world? Are there any outsiders that call the first world home?
1) Correct. No official word... yet!
2) That's the Green Mother, one of the Eldest—a demigoddess. Once we figure out what we're doing with Mythic (post-20th level play) rules, she's likely to be one of the first Eldest we stat up. (Using the current game's rules as a measuring stick, my best guess is that demigods will range in CR from 26 up to about 40.)
3) The first world is primal... but random? Not really—my use of the word "random" was more intended to be taken as "chaotic" but without the alignment implications. Magic isn't any more powerful there than elsewhere—it's raw LIFE that's more powerful there. Creating magic items is not really all that different—you still have to know how to create them—but I suspect it's a lot easier to create intelligent items on the First World than most other planes.
4) The Tanes are just super powerful monsters. They can be of any monster type, but they do share a FEW traits in common, such as the ability to adapt to other planes (and thus never gain the extraplanar subtype).
5) Nope. Undead can exist there, but they don't exist there naturally. And they mostly don't like it there.
6) Probably.
7) Yup; there are aberrations in the First World. There's also outsiders that are native to the First World, but probably not a lot (like how kytons are outsiders that are native to the Shadow Plane, or oni and rakshasa are natives to the Material Plane).
Why do lactase enzyme pills have to taste like foot?
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Creative Director
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In those days, PC's were never really intended to reach the levels where it would make a difference. The general assumption is that most campaigns would terminate by the time they hit double digits. The high level spells above 5th-6th level were really intended for NPC use.Just to break a lance in favour of Gary, there were factors that did reduced the suck factor.
A cleric got the spells up to third level from his faith, not from the deity, so he was still capable to recover them even when he could not contact the deity or his servants.
I'm not sure being told that your reward for finally getting 7th level spells is that you can cast them once and then having to rely on super low level spells decreases the suck factor. I'd say it doesn't affect the suck factor at all but actually increases the frustration factor, due to teasing.
Likewise... the world of Greyhawk's rule that demigods couldn't grant 6th or 7th level spells, and lesser gods couldn't grant 7th level spells... again, while an interesting notion, doesn't make for great game play.
Depends on the game. I used the HECK out of those spells for PCs in games I ran.
James, can you make a Coup De Grace with a weapon-like spell??
If not, do you happen know or provide your own personal insight as to why?
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Creative Director
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hey James, could you please give me some ideas or suggestions for an adventure concerning Dagon and his realm in the Shadowsea and/or in Ishiar, if you don't mind. the demonomicon article you wrote on Dagon was amazing and lots of help. what would be good encounters, locations, plots to use in a campaign? i have some ideas but i'd love to have some input from you. i can't seem to find much on Dagon's goals. and kuo-toa are the best candidates for h.p. lovecraft's deep ones, right?
Beyond what I've currently said about Dagon in his Demonomicon article (which, while it was for D&D, still works fine for Pathfinder) and what got mentioned in "Lords of Chaos," you might want to check out Pathfinder #46, which has a LOT of Dagon going on in there.
I'm not gonna say much more at this point, since there might or might not be Dagon-related plans in the future.
As for the deep ones... the skum (AKA the Ulat Kini) are our answer to Lovecraft's deep ones. The kuo-toa work good as well, but they're copyright/intellectual property of Wizards of the Coast so we can't touch them. But if you check out the entry for skum in the Bestiary, you'll see that they're very much set up as our version of deep ones.
Hi James,
I am at the moment trying to confince my girlfriend that the Seattle Area would be a great place for her first US holiday (where german)
*cough* especally around PaizoCon *cough*
From all I read it is realy beautiful up there, but well not that Iconic.
So here is my Idea/Question:
Would it be a good road trip to drive from Seattle down to San Francisco?
How many days would you recommend for a senic tourist drive down there?
RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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Oh great and powerful Tyrannosaur that is James Jacobs:
I think the Meteor Hammer from Ultimate Combat is super cool. I want to make a PFS character that uses it as his primary weapon. But I don't know what class (or combination of classes) to play! What sort of person uses a meteor hammer? What class(es) would faithfully represent such a concept? I'm at a loss!
I'm hoping your saurian creative insight can give me some ideas from which to springboard.
Thanks!
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Creative Director
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Hi James,
I am at the moment trying to confince my girlfriend that the Seattle Area would be a great place for her first US holiday (where german)
*cough* especally around PaizoCon *cough*From all I read it is realy beautiful up there, but well not that Iconic.
So here is my Idea/Question:
Would it be a good road trip to drive from Seattle down to San Francisco?
How many days would you recommend for a senic tourist drive down there?
I make the trip from the Seattle area down to visit my parents in Point Arena, Northern California, pretty much every holiday season; it's a drive that you can pretty much Just Barely make in a day. It takes me about 14 to 15 hours to make the drive, but the last few hours are along super windy mountain/coastal roads that reduce speed quite significantly.
If you're going from Seattle to San Francisco, you can stay on Interstate 5 for most of the way, but it's still a long trip--about 14 hours, according to my handy iPhone. The scenic trip, which would cut down along the coast, would take 16 or more hours, depending on how early you wanted to cut down to the coast-and you SHOULD. Interstate 5 more or less bypasses the redwoods, but highway 101 does not, and they really SHOULD be on any scenic drive south.
So! I would recommend it being a 2 day trip, staying the night in somewhere in Northern California like Crescent City or Eureka or the like, which would let you hit the redwoods part of the trip at about noon and San Francisco by evening.
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Creative Director
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Oh great and powerful Tyrannosaur that is James Jacobs:
I think the Meteor Hammer from Ultimate Combat is super cool. I want to make a PFS character that uses it as his primary weapon. But I don't know what class (or combination of classes) to play! What sort of person uses a meteor hammer? What class(es) would faithfully represent such a concept? I'm at a loss!
I'm hoping your saurian creative insight can give me some ideas from which to springboard.
Thanks!
If your basic character concept is "I want to be awesome at this weapon!" the best bet to start with is pretty much ALWAYS the fighter—they're the ones who're all about weapons, and they get so many feats that you can really drill down and get super-specialized with your specific weapon.
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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If your basic character concept is "I want to be awesome at this weapon!" the best bet to start with is pretty much ALWAYS the fighter—they're the ones who're all about weapons, and they get so many feats that you can really drill down and get super-specialized with your specific weapon.Oh great and powerful Tyrannosaur that is James Jacobs:
I think the Meteor Hammer from Ultimate Combat is super cool. I want to make a PFS character that uses it as his primary weapon. But I don't know what class (or combination of classes) to play! What sort of person uses a meteor hammer? What class(es) would faithfully represent such a concept? I'm at a loss!
I'm hoping your saurian creative insight can give me some ideas from which to springboard.
Thanks!
I was less looking for "who can get the most power out of this weapon?" and more for "who is cool enough for this weapon and/or would look natural wielding it?"
A flashy rogue who's also good with ropes/grappling hooks and doing tricks?
A paladin whose chain-based fighting is representative of the binding law he serves?
A tactical fighter who likes to use a weapon whose role/use can shift as needed in the ever-changing flow of battle?
Basically, are there any heroic tropes that were either kept in mind when "making" the meteor hammer or that are brought to your mind when you consider it?
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Dear kind dino-sir,
1) Do you prefer to hunt opposed to being fed? (Jurassic Park reference lol)
2)Im thinking of making a Magus who wields some kind of reach weapon, which generally means its two handed (unless you're talking about a whip). Ive checked up on the Rules forum already, but found differing opininions. What kind of action do you think it would be for a maguc to let go of his weapon with one hand in order to cast a spell, and then to regrip the weapon with the second hand? Some say grip/ let go are both free actions, some suggest that regripping is a move and/or would set off the spell just cast. Thoughts?
3) If someone attempts an Acrobatics check to tumble through a square in which they would provoke an AoO or an opponents square, and the check is failed, do they stop their movement/fall prone/keep moving but with AoO?
4) Please dont step on me.
5) Have you ever read any of this webcomic? I think it might be up your alley: Dinosaur Comics
I agree with you here, which is why i was looking for a little clarification, 200hp wont even drop a decent tank character at lvl 20, so thats why i was under the impression it was 1 target per level for full damage.True, but often spells are cast later in combat after said tank's been doing his job and is all beat up...
darnit! lol. in 3.5 when wail of the banshee was save or die makes for a mean tactic anytime in combat.(especially when karzoug casts it the first round outside of timestop in RoTRL) :P
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Creative Director
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I was less looking for "who can get the most power out of this weapon?" and more for "who is cool enough for this weapon and/or would look natural wielding it?"
A flashy rogue who's also good with ropes/grappling hooks and doing tricks?
A paladin whose chain-based fighting is representative of the binding law he serves?
A tactical fighter who likes to use a weapon whose role/use can shift as needed in the ever-changing flow of battle?
Basically, are there any heroic tropes that were either kept in mind when "making" the meteor hammer or that are brought to your mind when you consider it?
Well... that's a refreshing change! I guess I'm just too used to folks mining the rules to try to decide what the One True Build is for every possible character concept. It's nice to see that gamers like me are still out there! :-)
All of your suggestions up above are good ones. If I were to make a meteor hammer character, I'd probably make a rogue, a cleric, or a bard, since those are my favorite character classes, and see where it went from there.
Of course, the iconic meteor hammer character, and the reason we decided to include the weapon in the game in the first place, is due to "Kill Bill, Volume 1," in which a certain memorable character (Gogo Yubari) goes a bit berserk with a meteor hammer. Of course, she's not really a good role model for a heroic defender of the downtrodden! I've seen some pretty cool fight sequences with the meteor hammer in several other movies as well, so maybe a monk or ninja who specializes in the weapon would be cool?
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Creative Director
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Dear kind dino-sir,
1) Do you prefer to hunt opposed to being fed? (Jurassic Park reference lol)
2)Im thinking of making a Magus who wields some kind of reach weapon, which generally means its two handed (unless you're talking about a whip). Ive checked up on the Rules forum already, but found differing opininions. What kind of action do you think it would be for a maguc to let go of his weapon with one hand in order to cast a spell, and then to regrip the weapon with the second hand? Some say grip/ let go are both free actions, some suggest that regripping is a move and/or would set off the spell just cast. Thoughts?
3) If someone attempts an Acrobatics check to tumble through a square in which they would provoke an AoO or an opponents square, and the check is failed, do they stop their movement/fall prone/keep moving but with AoO?
4) Please dont step on me.
5) Have you ever read any of this webcomic? I think it might be up your alley: Dinosaur Comics
1) Hunt!
2) I would not endorse a reach-weapon magus, actually. It's not really their flavor. So unless you DO go with the whip (which is actually a pretty cool idea), I don't really have much to say on the topic.
3) They stop their movement (or fall prone if the last square they tried to leave is occupied), and take some Attacks of Opportunity.
4) Stop being so tiny!
5) Yup! Good times!
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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Well... that's a refreshing change! I guess I'm just too used to folks mining the rules to try to decide what the One True Build is for every possible character concept. It's nice to see that gamers like me are still out there! :-)
"One True Build"? Pffft. OTB is for the weak. I can take a flavorful concept, invent my own build, and still kick arse ten ways from Tuesday. Or I can explore an underused avenue of optimization and find a flavorful concept to match. Or I can do both at once (kind of like a playstyle-magus). I don't need OTBs. I'm Jiggy.
All of your suggestions up above are good ones. If I were to make a meteor hammer character, I'd probably make a rogue, a cleric, or a bard, since those are my favorite character classes, and see where it went from there.
I did also consider a Dawnflower Dervish bard, which (although I'm not sure on the exact flavor) sounds like it would be super-cool. Unfortunately, I need both EWP and TWF at level 1, which means (since this would be a PFS character and needs to not die before hitting level 3) that a 3/4 BAB class needs to be a half-elf for Ancestral Arms. Which is fine, except I use half-elves a lot, it seems. Alternatively, starting with fighter at lv1 and then switching to another class could be fun.
I honestly hadn't thought about the cleric... Quick! Invent a list of alternate favored weapons, and make a cool deity favor the meteor hammer! Then get it legalized for PFS! :D
Of course, the iconic meteor hammer character, and the reason we decided to include the weapon in the game in the first place, is due to "Kill Bill, Volume 1," in which a certain memorable character (Gogo Yubari) goes a bit berserk with a meteor hammer. Of course, she's not really a good role model for a heroic defender of the downtrodden! I've seen some pretty cool fight sequences with the meteor hammer in several other movies as well, so maybe a monk or ninja who specializes in the weapon would be cool?
Hm... I've never seen Kill Bill, or any movie (that I recall) featuring this weapon.
Even so, the notion of the meteor hammer calls certain things to mind... Speed, movement, flow, precision, adaptability... Kind of makes me want to take a level of either Maneuver Master or Flowing Monk, and possibly go for Unarmed Fighter for a freebie Snake Style. Those would seem on-theme.
Maybe I'm ultimately looking at a five-classer. ;)
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2) I would not endorse a reach-weapon magus, actually. It's not really their flavor. So unless you DO go with the whip (which is actually a pretty cool idea), I don't really have much to say on the topic.
Blast! Ive got the Karzoug Reaper mini painted for my Runelords game, but that fight is a long way off, and was trying to think up some other character I could make for PFS using that mini. No luck so far then. :(
As far as the whip goes, I cant claim credit for the awesome idea it really is. Heard someone else talking about an idea for a Mystic Theurge that was a Magus/Cleric who would wield a whip, and cure armor-wearing allies from 15ft away, lol.
Just use more werewolfs. They'll land a bite eventually.
Or cross out the word "were" and write in the next thing that bites you! Probably a spider.
1) Is this a stealth confession of the existence of spiderwolves and sharkwolves and stirgewolves?! (because if so, I approve!)
2) I've been reading through a rather massive H.P. Lovecraft anthology lately and have to admit that The Dunwich Horror vaulted to the position of my favorite Lovecraft story (at least of the ones I've read so far) but not until I read the final sentance. That last line blew my mind.
Which leads me to ask: which of Lovecraft's stories is your favorite? (and if you find yourself unwilling to narrow it down to one, top three will suffice)
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Creative Director
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Just use more werewolfs. They'll land a bite eventually.
Or cross out the word "were" and write in the next thing that bites you! Probably a spider.
1) Is this a stealth confession of the existence of spiderwolves and sharkwolves and stirgewolves?! (because if so, I approve!)
2) I've been reading through a rather massive H.P. Lovecraft anthology lately and have to admit that The Dunwich Horror vaulted to the position of my favorite Lovecraft story (at least of the ones I've read so far) but not until I read the final sentance. That last line blew my mind.
Which leads me to ask: which of Lovecraft's stories is your favorite? (and if you find yourself unwilling to narrow it down to one, top three will suffice)
1) No. I do not confirm the existence of spiderwolves or sharkwolves or stirgewolves. They DO NOT exist. I mean this. Don't go looking for them.
2) My favorite Lovecraft story is "At the Mountains of Madness." Tied VERY CLOSE to that in second place are "The Colour Out of Space," "The Dunwich Horror," "The Shadow Over Innsmouth," "Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath," and "The Haunter in the Dark."
1) No. I do not confirm the existence of spiderwolves or sharkwolves or stirgewolves. They DO NOT exist. I mean this. Don't go looking for them.1) Is this a stealth confession of the existence of spiderwolves and sharkwolves and stirgewolves?! (because if so, I approve!)Just use more werewolfs. They'll land a bite eventually.
Or cross out the word "were" and write in the next thing that bites you! Probably a spider.
But wolfspiders... Man, I gotta admit, every winter my parent's house gets full of them.
I think I'll just add more werewolves. Or I'd be drinkin' that beer now.
What do you suggest I do with my sister's bitey little dog? He's 'visiting' so I can teach him some manners.