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That said, question for Ashiel!
Well, not so much a question, really. Just a prodding... We all REALLY wanna see some huge update on adventure prep!
Noted. :)
Hopefully we won't be so short-handed at work soon and I can have more time off to work on writing. :P
Well, when one writes smut for (mostly) a living, one can't be too shy about things of such nature.I must admit that when I was making my sarcastic rant about roleplaying in a recent thread...
My hatred of roleplaying and character drives runs so deeply that I most certainly never wrote a NSFW slashfic about on of my PCs and her psicrystal/mentor purely on the basis that the other players in the group were shipping them and wanted to read more about the characters and their hot +1 on +2 action (which if such a thing existed would require a PM since it would be in bad form to post Ashiel's of fifty shades of gay on the boards, because those +1s and +2s and morale bonuses probably shouldn't be read by anyone younger than puberty).That I was mildly disappointed that I didn't actually get PMs from people inquiring about the slashfic (especially on this forum :P).
What if we ask publicly?
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What if we ask publicly?That said, question for Ashiel!
Well, not so much a question, really. Just a prodding... We all REALLY wanna see some huge update on adventure prep!
Noted. :)
Hopefully we won't be so short-handed at work soon and I can have more time off to work on writing. :P
Well, when one writes smut for (mostly) a living, one can't be too shy about things of such nature.I must admit that when I was making my sarcastic rant about roleplaying in a recent thread...
My hatred of roleplaying and character drives runs so deeply that I most certainly never wrote a NSFW slashfic about on of my PCs and her psicrystal/mentor purely on the basis that the other players in the group were shipping them and wanted to read more about the characters and their hot +1 on +2 action (which if such a thing existed would require a PM since it would be in bad form to post Ashiel's of fifty shades of gay on the boards, because those +1s and +2s and morale bonuses probably shouldn't be read by anyone younger than puberty).That I was mildly disappointed that I didn't actually get PMs from people inquiring about the slashfic (especially on this forum :P).
Hmmmm...
(>_>)(<_<)
_<(o_o)
_
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Overtime, I've seen yourself, and several others, reference how Star Wars did something way better than the 3rd edition (3e, 3.5, Pathfinder) set of rules did. I've seen people mention saving throws as more of an armor class than a bonus on d20, crafting systems, multiclass/prestige class etc.
What do you consider the best elements of the Star Wars rules?
Should I try and find a copy of the rules to peruse on my own?
Do you intend to use any of the Star Wars rules in the "Ashielfinder" system you mention wanting to build someday?
What other systems do you see yourself drawing inspiration from or porting ideas over from?
Do you restrict yourself to using only rules with OGL so there are no legal battles if you decide to publish it one day?
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Overtime, I've seen yourself, and several others, reference how Star Wars did something way better than the 3rd edition (3e, 3.5, Pathfinder) set of rules did. I've seen people mention saving throws as more of an armor class than a bonus on d20, crafting systems, multiclass/prestige class etc.
Well there's actually 3 different star wars games using a d20 base. Star Wars D20 and Star Wars d20 Revised (the one I played most) and Star Wars Saga edition (which I have little to no experience with).
What do you consider the best elements of the Star Wars rules?
SWd20 and SWD20-R had scaling weapon damage which was something I've always liked. For example, a lightsaber deals 2d8 damage in SWd20-R. A 20th level Jedi Guardian deals 6d8 damage with that same lightsaber. I always liked his mechanic a lot. In fact, I've implemented a similar mechanic in the damage rules for my d20 revision where your base weapon damage scales with your BAB (along with some revisions to the way critical hits and stuff works).
SWd20-R also had scaling class defense bonuses and armor as damage reduction which is something a lot of people really liked, but it consistently had some issues that would need to be worked out.
The Crafting system was much better overall and I wrote up something similar to it for a campaign I was intending to run a while back. It's similar enough to traditional d20 crafting that you can pick it up quickly but there are several major differences.
- The progress you make is always by the day and its based on your skill rather than the DC. In d20, your check result is multiplied by the DC of the item you're making, which means you actually make harder items faster than easier items. Thus if you have an martial weapon that costs 10 gp and a simple weapon that costs 10 gp, you'll finish the martial weapon faster. In SWd20-R, the multiplier is your d20+mods result x your modifier in the skill (So if you have a +5 [mod] and roll a 15 [result] you get 5*15=75 credits worth of progress each day. Which wasn't bad since common items tended to be less than 3000 credits).
I however prefer result^ as a formula (result*result) which gives a very smooth scaling regardless of how you're getting your modifiers (so having masterwork tools or a magic anvil or something will noticeably increase your efficiency).
- In SWd20-R, the DC is based on the complexity of the item, ranging from DC 5 (for crafting something super simple) to DC 30 or so (for making space ship parts and stuff). You also generally need appropriate tools for the job (and it gives prices for each) but higher ranking tools can be used for lower ranking jobs, which gives a pretty cool tech-level thing going on (remember, in Star Wars, it's not all lightsabers and droids, a lot of places in Star Wars are about as low tech as nomadic tribesmen living in tents).
It should be pointed out that SWd20-R isn't all rainbows and unicorns. The system was plagued by problems. Off the top of my head...
- Classes were really poorly designed in most cases with many of them being just blatantly superior to one-another. There was rarely any reason to be a Tech Specialist for example, unless your idea of fun was to never do anything worthwhile beyond make items for your friends. You could make up to a +3 item...oooh...ahhh...meh.
- It was trivially easy to stun-lock anything into helplessness. In fact, stun weapons were grossly overpowered. To give an example, if you set a heavy blaster (a one-handed gun) to stun mode, each time you shoot a foe you don't deal damage but they must make a DC 18 save or be knocked out for a long time (I think it's an hour, going by memory) and hitting them at all stuns them for 1 round. It's probably not necessary to explain to anyone who frequents this thread why that's nutty. You could even opt to lower your weapon's normal damage by -3 and add +3 to the DC of the stun effect. One of my Jedis actually used a blaster as her primary weapon while using her lightsaber purely for defense and anyone who got in her face (which admittedly was a fun style).
Stun grenades are actually a lot worse too. Essentially they're an AoE stun-gun and you can't actually escape the 1 round stunning effect (and you still have to make a save vs being knocked out). This means that if you're fighting enemies with stun grenades it's effectively GG, since one of them can toss a stun grenade into your general area and the other can light you up. In fact, every major character and monster in SWd20-R can be devastated by this tactic from Boba Fett to Krayt Dragons. About the only hope you have of defending against it is by being a force-using character with the Move Object force skill and ready an action to move the grenade when it's thrown (so you can prevent it from getting to you and stuff it back in face of the guy that threw it). However, this only works against 1 grenade attack (because you've only got 1 readied action) which means if you're fighting multiple foes you're still boned.
- Scaling defenses often interacted strangely with multiclassing which the system encourages (but that could be fixed pretty easy with a standardized progression system I think).
- Armor as DR had its issues as well (it tended to cap your max Dex pretty rapidly which meant you got hit more frequently which was often bad since eating 3d8-6 damage lots of times was usually less attractive than eating 3d8 damage sometimes and that's assuming heavy armor).
- Its skill system had all the usual problems of pre-Pathfinder skills (having to keep track of which skills were class skills on the level you leveled up, more complex rank caps, paying twice as much for cross-class ranks for half the benefit, etc) and had a lot more skills. Not only did you have your usual d20 skills but you had new ones like Computer Use, Pilot, Astrogate, etc. Plus, every force power in the game that you could learn was also a skill for which you had different modifiers, ranks, and even different key ability scores. (o_o);
Should I try and find a copy of the rules to peruse on my own?
It couldn't hurt. :)
Do you intend to use any of the Star Wars rules in the "Ashielfinder" system you mention wanting to build someday?
I haven't used any of the rules from it but I have drawn inspiration from some of the ideas.
What other systems do you see yourself drawing inspiration from or porting ideas over from?
I'm a big fan of d20 modern, especially from a class design perspective. In d20 modern, you had only 6 core classes, each of which was more or less keyed to a very generic theme and an associated ability score. For example you had the "Strong Hero", "Fast Hero", "Tough Hero", "Smart Hero", "Dedicated Hero", and "Charming Hero". The class progressions were extremely simple, alternating between talents and bonus feats. Multiclassing was encouraged for rounding out your character.
So if you wanted a character that's a street savvy detective, you might mix a bit of Fast Hero, Dedicated Hero, and Charming Hero.
D20 Modern went a long way towards making me understand that less-is-more when it comes to base classes. I'd rather have 6 classes that can pull off 3 concepts each than 18 classes that pull of 1 each (these are arbitrary numbers :P). It cuts down on bloat and makes it easier to dig in for newbies. This reflects boldly in any class I've designed in recent years I think as you'll notice all of them have a sort of talent system that allows you to choose your own features outside of what's required to simply make the class work). This also has the side effect of making adding additional content easier since instead of adding entirely new classes you can add new talent packages (in much the same way books add new barbarian talents).
Today, I think if it doesn't need a new mechanic it doesn't need a new class. For example, Barbarian's core mechanic is its rage, so instead of making new classes with Rage, I'll just add new talents. However, the mechanic behind a Wizard vs Psion is different enough that I'd want them as their own stand-alone classes. However, Ninja vs Rogue or Samurai vs Cavalier can die in a fire.
In my d20 build, when I start on classes, you can expect to see far fewer classes than Pathfinder has but each of those classes will be able to do far more in terms of filling ideas. I also intend to revise the way multiclassing works to remove the need for classes like Mystic Theurge and make classes play-nicely with each other better. One example is that a lot more abilities will scale with your character level, or scale with cross-classed levels at a reduced rate (with special options and such to hybridize them).
I have intention to even release a supplemental package of talents for classes that are intended for cross-classed characters that require features from multiple different classes to get (packages aimed at things like arcane-rogues, spell-swords, rage-riders, etc).
Do you restrict yourself to using only rules with OGL so there are no legal battles if you decide to publish it one day?
Yes I do. OGL + stuff I write is pretty much all I use or intend to use (I strongly believe in the OGL movement). :)
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If anyone is interested in some of the pre-alpha stuff (it's pretty dirty) that I've actually gotten written down rather than in the bouncy expanse between my ears, here's some (unfinished) pdf documents that have some stuff that's intended to be part of the core.
It's currently really ugly and unrefined but you can probably notice some major adjustments from the Getting Started and Equipment sections. Skills is pretty similar to the normal mechanics except when you can take 10 is now defined. Specifically you can't take 10 if you're being threatened (in the somebody has you in their reach and wants to pwn you threatened).
The combat chapter hasn't been officially started upon (nor have the feats and such) but a summary of major changes to the system are as follows:
- All 6 ability scores may be applied to 2 saves apiece. You don't need to feel like you're gimping your saves because you wanted more Charisma or something (yes, Int adds to Initiative but God will be different now :P). Generally speaking this makes it easier to pad your saving throws as you get the better of two mods on each.
- Saves are now defenses like Armor Class.
- Spells go from 0-10th level in core (this is primarily me being OCD). This is a buff to most casters (please remember that this does not assume a Paizo-based metagame).
- Weapons no longer fall into simple/martial/exotic. Crit-% with those weapons is based on your level of proficiency with them (simple, military, master).
- Weapon damage scales with your BAB. A full-BAB character will reach +5d6 weapon damage by 20th level (+1d6 at 4 BAB and every 4 BAB thereafter). This damage is multiplied by Vital Strike-style feats and effects. The biggest game-changer in this is that if you want to use Single-shot weaponry like crossbows or muskets you can actually not be a gimp. Instead you'll tend to make one big shot that punches hard.
- Critical hits aren't as burst-y. When you get a critical hit, you automatically roll maximum damage. This means that if you're swinging at 1d8+2d6 damage, you crit for 20 damage plus mods. Some abilities can give bonus crit damage. This also makes crits smoother as you go up in levels and makes critical hits less auto-death at low levels (an orc wielding a 2-hander that deals 2d6+3 damage will crit for 15 damage, not 4d6+6 or 6d6+9).
- Mechanics for weapons of different sizes adjusted (Bilbo and Frodo can now use Sting without eating a -2 penalty).
- Weapon Finesse is built into light weapons.
- Psionics are core. <(@-@)>
- The game is played on a hex-grid instead of a square grid (f*** you diagonal movement!)
- Sacred and Profane bonuses merged into Divine bonus which is associated with effects that draw upon planar powers or soul-juice.
- Attacks of opportunity are renamed opportunity attacks (more intuitive and saves writing time/space).
- Different results for failing or succeeding by a greater value than was necessary will be more common on abilities, allowing for partial successes and/or failures. For example, a Lich's fear aura will not have a HD limit anymore. Instead it shakens creatures affected by it, or frightens them if it exceeds their Will defense by 10 points. Similarly, failing vs a flesh to stone spell might cause you to become staggered until you can receive the appropriate remedy, but you won't instantly be a lawn ornament unless it hit you particularly hard.
Some additional design goals that are less about the core system but more about how characters and such are built.
- Chopping down feat trees with a +5 tree-slaying axe. If it doesn't have anything to do with the effects of an existing feat, it will not be a prerequisite. So you might have a feat that lets you do a cool thing, and a higher feat that lets you do that cool thing to multiple targets, but you won't find stuff like "This feat makes you harder to hit" as a requirement for "You disarm gud".
- Improving multiclass functionality.
- Murdering favored class bonuses (sorry guys). Class-feature specific FCB (such as rage rounds, spells known, inspire courage rounds, etc) may make it back in as class-specific options.
- Skill ranks of 4, 6, or 8 / level. Death to the 2 Ranks.
- Shaving some classes. Sorry guys but some classes are probably going to be cannibalized by other classes. >_>
- Make cheeseburgers. Some sacred cows will definitely be hurt in the making of this system.
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One thing I've been wrestling with for some time is the full-attack and how to deal with it. I've evaluated a lot, and I mean a lot of different methods for revising it, but none of them really stand out as something that I can really appreciate in its entirety. A lot of revisions for full-attacks likewise mean re-evaluating the already strange nature of natural attacks vs normal attacks. I'm not sure I like the idea of a hydra being able to move up and make all of its attacks as a standard action at their full BAB for example. >_>
I think I've come up with a fresher, more clean solution that works for both natural attacks and for normal characters and this is the protype for you guys to chew on for a bit. At the moment, I'm really quite fond of it.
- Characters get 1 attack. There are no iterative attacks.
- Options may allow you to make additional attacks. When you make an additional attack it is always at your highest bonus but each extra attack applies a penalty to hit to all of your attacks (such as a -2). Generally speaking, multiple effects that allow you extra attacks stack at a progressively worse penalty.
- Characters with better bonuses to hit will benefit more from this as they will be able to make progressively more attacks without as many misses.
- Natural attacks follow a similar rule. There's no hard limit on the number of natural attacks a creature can make in a round (beyond how many they have) but each additional attack they make imposes a -2 penalty to hit on their attacks for the round.
- The multiattack feat halves this penalty.
So for example, an +8 BAB Fighter may opt to use an ability that grants an extra attack and make two attacks at +6/+6, while the +6 BAB cleric could use the same ability but would be swinging at +4/+4. A +4 BAB wizard would only be swinging at +2/+2. If they combined abilities that allowed them to get extra attacks, the martial character's additional to-hit bonuses allow them to push it further without killing their chances to hit.
Meanwhile, a 5-headed hydra with +10 to hit could attack with one head at +10, or all 10 heads at +0. If it took the multiattack feat (which it should), it could instead attack with all of its heads at +5.
This means if you're fighting a beast with lots of extra attacks due to natural weapons (which includes dragons, most animals, wyverns, etc), having a solid AC wrecks their attack routines if they're spamming attacks, which may cause them to fall back to making single potent attacks instead to avoid accuracy loss (possibly making use of Vital Strike options).
To quote a conversation I was having with Aratrok...
Which might work pretty well since it means monsters like dragons would just roflstomp low-AC foes but would have more luck against level-appropriate foes by trying to catch them in a single powerful bite attack or somesuch.
It would actually mean that your tactics might change up as well. For example, while a dragon might attempt to flurry a low-AC foe with bite/claw/claw/wing/wing/asscheek-slap/kitchen-sink, it might instead try to vital strike with its bite against a more formidable foe (or being a cool dragon, might have abilities allowing it to vital-strike with multiple attacks as long as they each targeted a different enemy, so they might bite a guy while tossing another with their tail).
"Roflstomp" is the technical term. :)
It's important to note that some of the math changes in the system as well. Ultimately this will end up being a pretty sweet change for martial-oriented characters.
Something to note that I forgot to note in the last post is that with these changes, full attacks become extinct. You only have "Attack" and "opportunity attack", so martials break your shackles and Move, Move, MOVE! Get out there and attack! Dive for cover and shoot arrows at multiple foes! Fire off a volley of attacks before leaping behind a tree to hide from the dragon's breath weapon!
Move + Attack is alive.
The only issue I see is on the metagame side. I foresee people creating charts for how many attacks per attack bonus is optimum for DPR. Not unlike Power Attack in 3rd edition.
The other issue, I think, is that it kind of hoses some of the 3/4 BAB classes. They're already at an attack penalty as it is, and the further penalties will really hurt them.
For example, purely hypothetical, a 3/4 BAB at 10th level has +7 to hit and two attacks, with Haste for a third potential attack. This gives him a +8/+3/+8 attack (Haste +1) in the current system. In your system, if he made 3 attacks, he'd be at +3/+3/+3 or +4/+4/+4 assuming Haste still gave a +1 to hit. Oddly enough, this makes Haste a 'bad' spell in the game as the 3/4 BAB is better off not using it than he is using it as he'd have +7/+2 in the current system, or +5/+5 in your system.
A full BAB, meanwhile has +10/+5/+10 or +6/+6/+6. So if the Martial in Pathfinder is capable of making his second attack land reliably, then in your system, he has a good chance of landing three attacks per around as opposed to only two.
It is certainly an interesting idea though. I think it would require a more complete set of rules to really suss out any pros or cons of the system. Especially as it pertains to the armor class of opponents. I must think on it more. Now, questions!
Would a feat like 'Multiattack' be available to PCs and Monsters or just Monsters?
Do you think this will change the attack/damage ratio? That is, every +1 to hit is roughly worth +2 to damage?
This idea has it's own issues with it though, as some monsters (like the much maligned T-rex) will be better off attacking with a standard action, than a full-round action (only 1 natural attack). Hmm... perhaps the standard action is done at reduced damage?
I will say your system of scaling penalties for more attacks is a lot easier to grasp from a narrative standpoint. It really pays homage to the idea of 'attacking wildly' in which they make lots of attacks that are easily blocked, or focusing their blows, attacking slower but more accurately. It also brings to mind many of the dragon books I've read, in which a dragon would do as you said, "bite/claw/claw/wing/wing/asscheek-slap/kitchen-sink" against the king's army, but against another dragon or a hero? Then it's more bite/claw/claw/ maybe a tail slap on occasion but the dragons in the books almost exclusively use either claws and bite, and hardly anything else against the truly dangerous foes.
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The only issue I see is on the metagame side. I foresee people creating charts for how many attacks per attack bonus is optimum for DPR. Not unlike Power Attack in 3rd edition.
Do you mean like this one? I don't think it'll be much of an issue because it mostly comes down to being similar to deciding whether or not to use TWF or not.
The other issue, I think, is that it kind of hoses some of the 3/4 BAB classes. They're already at an attack penalty as it is, and the further penalties will really hurt them.
Keep in mind, we're talking about "naked" characters without any buffs or features. Just the base values. Traditionally speaking, 3/4 characters (at least the well designed ones) have abilities that push them up into the pseudo-martial territory as expendable abilities (such as a Bard's Inspire Courage + haste, a Cleric's divine power giving +6/+6, or a druid turning into a big fuzzy monster).
Current projection is that it won't hurt them at all. At low levels where their BAB are most similar to martials, there won't be much difference between your dual-wielding cleric and dual-wielding fighter (their BAB difference isn't very big). The gap starts to rev up around mid levels (at 8th level the Fighter's got +2 BAB on you and +2d6 damage on those attacks) but you'll have spells that will help you close the gap when it's go-time.
For example, purely hypothetical, a 3/4 BAB at 10th level has +7 to hit and two attacks, with Haste for a third potential attack. This gives him a +8/+3/+8 attack (Haste +1) in the current system. In your system, if he made 3 attacks, he'd be at +3/+3/+3 or +4/+4/+4 assuming Haste still gave a +1 to hit. Oddly enough, this makes Haste a 'bad' spell in the game as the 3/4 BAB is better off not using it than he is using it as he'd have +7/+2 in the current system, or +5/+5 in your system.
A full BAB, meanwhile has +10/+5/+10 or +6/+6/+6. So if the Martial in Pathfinder is capable of making his second attack land reliably, then in your system, he has a good chance of landing three attacks per around as opposed to only two.
It is certainly an interesting idea though. I think it would require a more complete set of rules to really suss out any pros or cons of the system. Especially as it pertains to the armor class of opponents. I must think on it more. Now, questions!
Very perceptive. :)
I must note that the strength of individual classes and/or combinations will play heavily upon what sorts of resources they have to devote to things. For example, by default a 20th level cleric and 20th level Warrior in Pathfinder look like the Warrior is winning hand over foot as he has +20/+15/+10/+5 vs +15/+10/+5. That poor cleric!Except then the cleric casts divine power + righteous might and is now standing at +21/+21/+16/+11. Uh-oh... (O.O);
However, if you compare that to a Ranger who's sitting at the same spot as Warriors except he then suddenly pops instant enemy for another +10, now he's out-pacing the cleric. Similarly, barbarians rage, paladins buff, bards inspire, etc. :)
I'll be honest though. This is strait up intended to be dissuading for non-martials from getting lots of extra attacks. That's not to say that 3/4 characters or hybrid characters (like eldritch knight sorts) won't be have some abilities that help them keep up, but it's intended to ensure that if you want to, you'll need to invest more resources into it than martials will. That's part of the tradeoff for being able to do things like throw lighting bolts at people, turn invisible, and summon celestial superbeings. :3
Would a feat like 'Multiattack' be available to PCs and Monsters or just Monsters?
Multiattack would be available to anyone that had natural attacks (because that's what it's for) so yay for PCs with claws & stuff. Similar abilities may exist as class talents but such things would be far less broad in their usage than Multiattack because getting additional attacks is a bigger deal here.
Do you think this will change the attack/damage ratio? That is, every +1 to hit is roughly worth +2 to damage?
It depends on what sort of style you're using. If you're vital-striking (which is quite viable here), you're only going to be making a single very-strong attack at your highest bonus, so you could shed some accuracy in exchange for pushing more static damage.
If you're going the flurrying route, then to-hit all the way, because you're probably seeking to capitalize on the extra damage from being a high-level martial and pushing your accuracy higher and higher so you can make more extra attacks reliably will be your bread and butter.
I will say your system of scaling penalties for more attacks is a lot easier to grasp from a narrative standpoint. It really pays homage to the idea of 'attacking wildly' in which they make lots of attacks that are easily blocked, or focusing their blows, attacking slower but more accurately. It also brings to mind many of the dragon books I've read, in which a dragon would do as you said, "bite/claw/claw/wing/wing/asscheek-slap/kitchen-sink" against the king's army, but against another dragon or a hero? Then it's more bite/claw/claw/ maybe a tail slap on occasion but the dragons in the books almost exclusively use either claws and bite, and hardly anything else against the truly dangerous foes.
I try hard to ensure that the mechanics I write will be fun and help people emulate what they would visualize for their fantasies. :)
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Very perceptive. :)
I must note that the strength of individual classes and/or combinations will play heavily upon what sorts of resources they have to devote to things. For example, by default a 20th level cleric and 20th level Warrior in Pathfinder look like the Warrior is winning hand over foot as he has +20/+15/+10/+5 vs +15/+10/+5. That poor cleric!Except then the cleric casts divine power + righteous might and is now standing at +21/+21/+16/+11. Uh-oh... (O.O);
However, if you compare that to a Ranger who's sitting at the same spot as Warriors except he then suddenly pops instant enemy for another +10, now he's out-pacing the cleric. Similarly, barbarians rage, paladins buff, bards inspire, etc. :)
I'll be honest though. This is strait up intended to be dissuading for non-martials from getting lots of extra attacks. That's not to say that 3/4 characters or hybrid characters (like eldritch knight sorts) won't be have some abilities that help them keep up, but it's intended to ensure that if you want to, you'll need to invest more resources into it than martials will. That's part of the tradeoff for being able to do things like throw lighting bolts at people, turn invisible, and summon celestial superbeings. :3
Oh, I'm well aware of what can happen when 3/4 BAB classes go full retard. Made an Inquisitor for a friend that sits on, I believe, +28(x2)/+28/+28/+23 at 13th level with haste, Rapid Shot and Manyshot on a longbow.
However, in the above, in your system, the character would be at +22 or +24 for all attacks, depending on how something like Manyshot functions (funnily enough, your system already incorporates the Rapid Shot penalty :P). A similarly built Martial would have a +4 to hit over that of the Inquisitor, which he could take another -2 penalty for a 6th attack (BAB 13 vs BAB 9).
What your system does do, I think, is tone down the damage output of all martial creatures (monster or PC) because a 'full attack' is less useful than a 'precise attack'. In your system, it's better to attack once or twice (maybe 3 times) rather than attack 4 or 5 times.
Playtesting is needed, I think :P
Playtesting is needed, I think :P
Soon. Very soon. :3
Do you like the WoW shaman class?
Do you like the WoW shaman class?
It is actually one of the classes I've played very little of, but I mean to fix that in the future. It looks really cool.
I hate fighting them in PvP. Oh lawdy, their burst is so radical. :P
They are fun. I have one that's dual spec'd for Elemental and Enhancement.
I hadn't tried enhancement till Draenor. Since I like melee classes, it's fun as hell. It's not easy mode like a warlock, but it is fun, with lots of options to manage.
Seconded, I had a TON of fun with my Enhancement Draenei. Elemental's not bad either. Can't comment on Resto as I don't care for playing healers.
Yeah, about that...
My fiancee convinced me to try a holy paladin once. A healer, I am not.
Not in WoW, any way.
On my fury in EQ2, no probs. I could nuke, heal and melee all day long...
But, healing in WoW vexes me.
My paladin was a tank from level 1. No leveling Ret then retraining here =)
I level'd ret before it was cool (pre-WotLK)! Level'd Prot after.
DK, Pally, Warlock and Shaman have to be my favs.
I really want to like druid. It can do so much! But, it's not doing it for me in Draenor. I fail at Boomchicken :(
Oh, I have fun on my shadow priest too. but, usually after playing him for a while I end up thinking "My warlock does this better. I should've been playing him."
Paladin, Shaman, and DK here. Tried to start a Hunter and a Mage but never got them anywhere before I stopped playing.
Dear Ashiel, would it be in bad taste to drop off my GoFundMe campaign link here in an attempt to raise the funding I need to pay for job training? Also... Got any pocket change you can spare? xD
Dear Ashiel, would it be in bad taste to drop off my GoFundMe campaign link here in an attempt to raise the funding I need to pay for job training? Also... Got any pocket change you can spare? xD
Wouldn't offend me at all. Also, maybe. :o
Well then! Also, A photo of me! Warning: May cause night terrors.
But, yeah. I'm depending on word of mouth at this point, so if nobody can donate, please share it and maybe it'll get to someone who can. This is probably the only chance I've got at managing to get an actual life.
And thanks for letting me drop this here. You get a lot of views I'm sure, and I'm not entirely sure if it's against board TOS to make my own thread.
Well then! Also, A photo of me! Warning: May cause night terrors.
But, yeah. I'm depending on word of mouth at this point, so if nobody can donate, please share it and maybe it'll get to someone who can. This is probably the only chance I've got at managing to get an actual life.
And thanks for letting me drop this here. You get a lot of views I'm sure, and I'm not entirely sure if it's against board TOS to make my own thread.
Don't worry. One way or another we'll get ya there. When I get my check from all these extra hours I've been putting in at work, I'll send some more. I also got a small check for my old adventure on the Paizo store today (about $25) so when I get it cashed & deposited, it's yours.
(TT-TT)
You sir, are going on my "Forever Awesome" list. I'm buying that adventure of yours when I get my first free paycheck (cause damn it, I'm going to attack this thing like a rottweiler attacks a home invader and get this s%*+ done!)...
How do you handle the souls of slain children in your campaign setting?
How do you handle the souls of slain children in your campaign setting?
You mean like where they go in the afterlife?
How do you handle the souls of slain children in your campaign setting?You mean like where they go in the afterlife?
I like to man-handle and toss 'em around a bit before I eat 'em...
Oh, oh you mean in pathfinder... Riiight... I knew that.. I was talking about my, uh, Souldrinker... Yeah... That guy...
Edit: Oh, ash... Know where I can contact one of the forum mods? Got a question but I can't seem to find any of them in the threads I frequent.. It's unusual... Usually the threads I like reading wind up with at least one mod firing the cannon.
How do you handle the souls of slain children in your campaign setting?You mean like where they go in the afterlife?
Yeah. Just curious as for different peoples' takes on if children are judged or not, or if they're deemed capable of deciding on who they worship etc.
Oh, ash... Know where I can contact one of the forum mods? Got a question but I can't seem to find any of them in the threads I frequent.. It's unusual... Usually the threads I like reading wind up with at least one mod firing the cannon.
IIRC, the last time it came up for me, a mod suggested using their customer service e-mail: customer.service@paizo.com
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Yeah. Just curious as for different peoples' takes on if children are judged or not, or if they're deemed capable of deciding on who they worship etc.How do you handle the souls of slain children in your campaign setting?You mean like where they go in the afterlife?
Well the afterlife is something I'm still getting completely nailed down in my campaign setting, but generally speaking most are probably reincarnated or adopted by outsiders wandering the plane of dreams.
Alvena's cosmology (which again, is under construction) is a bit different from your typical D&D cosmology. For example, there is only Hell (not the abyss), which is where both Demons and Devils hail from (though they are usually in conflict with one-another due to difference in ideologies). Meanwhile, there is an additional transitive plane of dreams which is where ones consciousness goes when you dream, and is also where most of the gods reside, with each one having a sort of demiplane bubble domain within the infinite expanse of the plane itself.
Those who aren't drawn to any particular ideology or afterlife are often reborn into mortal bodies. Generally speaking, reincarnating typically wipes the memory of the soul's previous life, though some may remember bits and pieces or have memories when they dream. This is actually a plot point in my current campaign where one of the PCs is actually a demon general that was trying to get into the material plane. The demons saw how souls could re-enter the plane through reincarnation and concocted a plan to have the demon general incarnate into the material plane into the body of a tiefling. However, the plan backfired as the demon was subject to the same effects that cleanse a soul of past experiences and was born with no memory of its life as a demon or any knowledge of the plan. Instead, it just got to live as a little girl (albeit a little tiefling girl) and became one of the citizens of the world.
Fast forward to the current time in the campaign and her past and demonic power have awakened and she is now in the process of fighting against the machinations of the demons she was once aligned with to save her new homeworld.
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So I was wondering how the adventure with the white dragon is coming.
Very slowly as I've been logging a lot of hours at work. Though I've got most of the adventure planned out in my head, little of it has been "penned" yet. However, if you're curious, here's a link to the extraordinarily unfinished document.
Also wow on 432 post in this thread.
Yeah, no kidding. When my friend suggested I make this, I didn't expect it to get 2 pages. I'm pretty blown away.
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Also wow on 432 post in this thread.Yeah, no kidding. When my friend suggested I make this, I didn't expect it to get 2 pages. I'm pretty blown away.
I had thought that a certain thread that managed to reach 20 pages and over 950 posts would prove how much we love our Divine Lord Ashiel the Magnificient!
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I had thought that a certain thread that managed to reach 20 pages and over 950 posts would prove how much we love our Divine Lord Ashiel the Magnificient!Also wow on 432 post in this thread.Yeah, no kidding. When my friend suggested I make this, I didn't expect it to get 2 pages. I'm pretty blown away.
Yeah that one still blows my mind (and my ego)! It was a few pages in before I even found out about the thread (someone PM'd me about it :o). It's a lot of fun to read the first few pages when I was absent as it's very insightful. :3
EDIT: Now that you got me going back down memory lane (by re-reading the thread), I came across this... :P
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
*Gasp*
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Books full of Glowing stealth rocks, Genie Simulacrums, Diplomacy replacing charisma.....HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Whooo...Good one!
Why not hire me for public relations while we are at it!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
And for some strange reason the very first thing that popped into my head was...Craft Contingent Spell (my mind works in odd ways, I'll admit).
Craft Contingent Spell was an "Item Creation Feat" of sorts in Complete Arcane (or was it Mage? I'm 86.25% sure it's arcane) where you essentially pay an exceedingly small amount of resources to equip yourself or others with contingency spells, except there's no reasonable limit to them (as opposed to contingency the spell which allows only 1 active at a time), and if I recall, you could do it with spells higher than 6th level, and there was a sidebar explaining that vague contingencies are cool.
I think the reason this popped up in my head is because I've never seen this particular mechanic particularly lambasted, yet djinn simulacrums pale so hard in comparison that they're not even on the same field. This one feat is basically the "GG" for a competent wizard, because you can load up and have a counter for virtually anything you can think of any you don't even need to be aware of and/or expend actions.
In a similar vein, aroden's spellbane is insanity. (o_o);
It's probably true that I'm not cut out to be a staff member for "real RPG writers". :P
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It's probably true that I'm not cut out to be a staff member for "real RPG writers". :P
I'd hire you in a second.... Of course, I'd also hire the likes of Raving Dork, so....
Probably a good thing I'm not officially designing games.... For profit anyway.
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Yeah I admittedly sympathize, every time I consider writing something other than a small encounter or flavor text (like I've done for Raging Swan) I always run into "no, can't do that, that's one of our houserules" and "no, can't use that, that's 3rd-party stuff". I've pretty much given up on doing anything of that sort.
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Yeah that one still blows my mind (and my ego)! It was a few pages in before I even found out about the thread (someone PM'd me about it :o). It's a lot of fun to read the first few pages when I was absent as it's very insightful. :3I had thought that a certain thread that managed to reach 20 pages and over 950 posts would prove how much we love our Divine Lord Ashiel the Magnificient!Also wow on 432 post in this thread.Yeah, no kidding. When my friend suggested I make this, I didn't expect it to get 2 pages. I'm pretty blown away.
And naturally it devolved into rules arguments. XP
And naturally it devolved into rules arguments. XPYeah that one still blows my mind (and my ego)! It was a few pages in before I even found out about the thread (someone PM'd me about it :o). It's a lot of fun to read the first few pages when I was absent as it's very insightful. :3I had thought that a certain thread that managed to reach 20 pages and over 950 posts would prove how much we love our Divine Lord Ashiel the Magnificient!Also wow on 432 post in this thread.Yeah, no kidding. When my friend suggested I make this, I didn't expect it to get 2 pages. I'm pretty blown away.
Yes and no. It was a rules argument when a certain post was awake and commenting, but otherwise, it was lots of stories and ideas and a genuinely awesome time.
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It's probably true that I'm not cut out to be a staff member for "real RPG writers". :PI'd hire you in a second.... Of course, I'd also hire the likes of Raving Dork, so....
Probably a good thing I'm not officially designing games.... For profit anyway.
Honestly, I'm going to hunt down Ravingdork when my RPG system is ready for playtesting and insist he bring a blowtorch, a jackhammer, and a chainsaw to the party. Ravingdork seems to love playing spellcasters and knows how to break the s*#+ out of them (which is good for stress testing).
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I like it so far. You write very well. I know that you have not done it yet but I am guessing that Seliax will know protection from/resist fire.
And much more. :3
It drives me crazy when I say a main plot line encounter take on road in an 11th level adventure. Or spellcasters without dispel magic. Or timelines the assume the PCs take a week to go 150 miles. Or solos with no ranged ability.
Amen to that. I think it comes from a misunderstanding of the fundamental truths about the levels of play and what PCs are expected to be capable of. The 3.x DMG touched lightly on this subject but the short version of it's short summary was "take off the gloves". You should never have an adventure that assumes that a group of near-godlike PCs should be doing something like guarding a caravan (unless perhaps it's something crazy-amazing like escorting a caravan of refugees through multiple planes of existence or something, which might be suitable if you're doing something involving lots of outsiders like djinn).
Unfortunately I've ran into a lot of this stuff in a lot of places and it always produces very lackluster results. When a GM uses these sorts of plots you're essentially engineering the game/story to go off the rails because the PCs left those rails like 6 levels ago. This sort of bad design also leads to fearful GMs who become more tyrannical in their fiat to prevent PCs from using their abilities so that the GM can still use the module.
Generally speaking, anything I do past a particular level range assumes certain things are true. Even if you don't have a PC who can cast teleport for example, you can head over to a big city/metropolis and pay someone to take you (paying twice for round trip).
On a different note I have never understood why my most adventures do not react to an alarm. If the BBEG is a caster he should spend 5 10 15 rounds buffing up then go an hunt down them intruders.
Adding in a thing the BBEG must do can prevent his hunting but still puts in a nice time pressure.
Oh you'll probably have some fun with this one when it's finished then. :P
AFK a while. Gotta run pickup some delicious spicy honey sirracha pizza from the Hut. :3
That pizza is delicious (though a little dangerous).
Can you elaborate more on the expectations of PCs based on level brackets. I can remember my first DM (when we played 3.5) talking about it and saying basically at level 10ish you started to effect large scale problems, @ level 15ish you were dealing with world-wide consequences and at level 20 you were drawing the attention/power of the Gods. I noticed that fifth edition is doing something similar to this with their class design (which I am VERY infatuated with 5ths class design and would LOVE to explore it more- nobody/materials to play with yet lol).
You spoke of axioms you have as expectations for PCs. I would LOVE to hear more on that.
I have a homebrew campaign where the PCs start at level 1, but I think I over challenged the scope of their problems (they were sorta the unknowing minions of a dethroned Giant Goddess) and I threw in time travel and teleportation and it was never clear WHAT was going to happen with them.
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That pizza is delicious (though a little dangerous).
Can you elaborate more on the expectations of PCs based on level brackets. I can remember my first DM (when we played 3.5) talking about it and saying basically at level 10ish you started to effect large scale problems, @ level 15ish you were dealing with world-wide consequences and at level 20 you were drawing the attention/power of the Gods. I noticed that fifth edition is doing something similar to this with their class design (which I am VERY infatuated with 5ths class design and would LOVE to explore it more- nobody/materials to play with yet lol).
You spoke of axioms you have as expectations for PCs. I would LOVE to hear more on that.
It's basically time, power, and resources. As levels rise, so do these three things as well. As much as it might upset people (due to martial/caster complaints), I generally consider every 2 levels* past 1st to be a new tier in what the party is capable of overall (because that's the rate you tend to get new spell levels), though it's not solely due to spell levels. It's ultimately about the sort of challenges that you can face and how much clout you have in the world.
Let's take a Ranger for example.
At 1st level, the Ranger might look like this: 12 HP, 18~20 AC, Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +2, swings at +6 for 1d8+4~6. The Ranger is quite heroic but still within the realm of pretty normal human being (falling 20 ft is going to hurt, many mundane traps and challenges are difficult, and he can reasonably be defeated by a few trained soldiers if outnumbered), and might have to squeeze a bit to buy a potion or something for emergencies. If he invested in Acrobatics he can probably jump 10-28 ft. before armor check penalties.
Meanwhile, at 5th level, he might look more like this: 42 Hp, AC 20~23, Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +5, swings at +10 for 1d8+5~9 (or +8 for +11~15), has a powerful beast that serves him, and has 1st level spells (which can do things like make him move swiftly, make him immune to poison, or even prevent him from running out of arrows), and the ranger has enough wealth that he can carry around a few utility scrolls, may have additional bonuses (particularly to saves), and if he really needs to can probably go pay a spellcaster to cast things like remove disease or remove curse.
At this level, the Ranger could probably take out a team of himself from 1st level. The ranger could trounce a bunch of normal soldiers (1HD warriors) to the point that he he could very easily be considered a unit unto himself should his presence be made on a battlefield. If he's invested in Acrobatics, he can probably jump 13-32 ft. before armor check penalties.
Meanwhile still at 10th level, he might look more like this: 109 Hp, 28~33 AC, Fort +14, Ref +14, Will +11, swings at +17/+12 for 1d8+7~13 (or +14/+9 for 1d8+16~22), his warbeast can ravage entire units of normal soldiers, his Stealth skill is so high that no normal person can find him if he gains concealment (making him more a monster than a man), and rides his warbeast with its horseshoes of the zypher (or equivalent item, which he crafted himself) while delivering death from the skies with his bow. His strength and presence is great enough that he has long since left any semblance of skill and ability that could ever be achieved in our own reality. He could have whipped both the 300 spartans AND the persian army they were holding at bay and ask Hercules why he was such a pussy having trouble with that hydra -- because he's got three hydras mounted in his library.
* The way creatures scale in Pathfinder, according to XP/treasure/CR, is every +2 CR should generally make you worth about 2 of yourself in terms of usefulness/presence. Casters actually fit this pretty well (since they progressively gain both more power and more longevity with each new tier of casting) and some martial characters do this pretty well (barbarians, rangers, and paladins have abilities that scale strongly with their level while also gaining more longevity and new powers to use when the chips are down).
At a certain point, you can just assume that a party of PCs will have access to certain things barring pure GM fiat. Even a party of 4 FIGHTERS (poor party D:) will still be able to teleport around the planet at 10th level because they can pool their pocket change and guy buy the spellcasting service to do so. >_>
If there's a wall of force blocking someone's path, your options at high levels are so plentiful that you can either find a way to go around it (anything from your martial beating the stone walls around it down with her fists, or buying a scroll of disintegrate to remove the wall, even if your sorcerer doesn't actually know disintegrate).
If you look at things in the context they are presented (looking at things like falling damage, object hardness/HP, natural disasters, etc) you begin to realize just how powerful PCs become in this game. A lightning bolt in a thunderstorm deals between 4d8-10d8 damage. A 10th level character could eat a natural bolt of lightning repeatedly before it would become a problem. Hell, the monsters they were fighting back at 7th level are throwing lighting-bolt equivalent destructive powers at them every round on the round (an erinyes' unholy blight SLA deals 6d8 damage - the damage of an average lightning bolt - every time in an AoE).
High level characters are not Aragorn and Gemli, they're ****ing Goku and Vegeta. (O_O)
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Man, you can tell I was in a hurry when I wrote that. A few clarifications.
- Time, power, resources. Moreso, if you can't do it right now, given some time, you can. It's not impossible, it just requires a bit of prep.
- When I said "either find a way around it" I didn't give an or. I meant to say you can either find a way around it OR you can find a way through it anyway (possibly with a little time).
Perhaps I can convey this through visual art.
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To put it different way. If you have a million soldiers and the other side has the JLA can you win?
Depends. Is the army being run and armed by Batman?
That is helpful. I like the artwork too... lol... the 20th level character looks like a final fantasy end boss.
I guess what I am asking is: What scope of challenges should be presented? It seems to make sense in the abstract: Feels like I can remember different fantasy tropes where characters ask the all powerful whatever to assist them in their daring quest to overthrow Lord blabla and APW is like: "I got bigger fish to fry"
I assume this is how the Marvel universe operates with Doctor Strange: "Hey New York is being invaded by aliens that seek to enslave us! You need to help the Avengers!" is replied by: "Omg! I can't believe you are wasting my time even telling me this! Right now Negative beasts are infiltrating the atoms of your soul- yes it is a physical thing you plebian- and the only thing stopping them is my never ending chant. What happens when they win? Oh nothing... just season 7 of Buffy the vampire slayer but for realsies now p!ss off I got magic to make!"
Yeah... the sorcerer supreme is kinda a mean girl.
I understand CR ratings being a measure of difficulty but like a level 1 ranger could be faced with a wall that stops him from getting into a CR1 Hell vs a CR1 guild vault.
Is this just a measure of: what you want to be doing?
Because it seems like most players I have come across end up playing gods at level 1: "Yeah, he is a deposed prince who worships Zon-Kuthon and seeks to reclaim his rightful place at the throne of the Plane of Shadow"
Umm... this campaign only goes to level 6... so like... None of that is going to come into play. We are in Varisia... And there is a mean wizard who wants to use runes to make Demon minion...
Sorry... I don't think I was clear- the above is a "for instance."
As a GM how do you explain the scope of a campaign? Maybe that is better.
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I understand CR ratings being a measure of difficulty but like a level 1 ranger could be faced with a wall that stops him from getting into a CR1 Hell vs a CR1 guild vault.
Is this just a measure of: what you want to be doing?
It's mostly about what the characters are capable of doing. Earlier, you mentioned that characters have more clout in the world at higher levels (and they do). If you look at what exists, "Hell" would be a very bad place for a CR 1 ranger (even if they had favored enemy [evil outsider]) because most of hell's inhabitants are super-villains, but fighting an Imp with their whole party might be A-OK. It's mostly a matter of understanding that there is in fact a bigger fish.
Because it seems like most players I have come across end up playing gods at level 1: "Yeah, he is a deposed prince who worships Zon-Kuthon and seeks to reclaim his rightful place at the throne of the Plane of Shadow"
Umm... this campaign only goes to level 6... so like... None of that is going to come into play. We are in Varisia... And there is a mean wizard who wants to use runes to make Demon minion...
Pre-communication is the best thing I've found for this sort of thing. If you can give a general overview of what the campaign will entail and/or what sort of vibe you're going for, you can generally work together to come up with something that everyone's pretty happy with. One thing my groups usually do is, I give them a quick overview of the beginning of the campaign and/or discuss some hooks for their characters and we frequently make PCs together. It helps a lot to get everything fitting well.
Sorry... I don't think I was clear- the above is a "for instance."
As a GM how do you explain the scope of a campaign? Maybe that is better.
There's a lot of ways one can go about it. If you're going for a specific sort of theme, you might compare the campaign to existing media that the players either know of or can easily experience as a reference. For example, I have an idea for campaign I'd like to run in the future that basically involves PCs literally being super heroes. I would pitch the campaign like this:
Me: "So adventuring, especially mid-high level adventuring isn't really an urban thing in most settings because vigilantism is frowned upon, right? How about a campaign where the PCs are these extraordinary individuals like rangers, paladins, sorcerers, etc, and they don various disguises and aliases and adventure outside the typical law. Anonymous heroes as it were. Like fantasy superheroes".
Meanwhile, in a campaign I started a few months back and run sessions of periodically (the group alternates between my main campaign and that one), I explained that the game was going to be on the slow-XP track and that treasure was going to be an afterthought (but introduced some mechanics for creating magic items and such in downtime anyway) with some elements of investigation, dark fantasy, and themes such as things like werewolves, the undead, Frankenstein's monster, forbidden knowledge, and critters that go bump in the night and that the campaign is actually intended to give PCs a chance to become monsters themselves and having a "dark secret" of some sort is encouraged.
What I got as PCs were a formerly tortured cannibal, a warrior with an evil birthmark that is a source of unknown power, and a magician who is now carrying on the heretical research of his grandfather. Some details about them in below.
Then something happened. She snapped and a strange curse befell her and she was no longer quite human. All the flesh that he had fed her began to fill her with a dark power and she became a monster. In a blind rage she broke free, overpowered and ate him while he was still alive, and then devoured everything else in the place before collapsing. Nobody knows exactly what happened and to this day she has fearfully kept her secret from everyone, but her greatest fear is the flashbacks and the fact she's uncertain if her mother had already died from the tortures on the mad doctor's table or if was a victim of her madness like the doctor was.
She was using race that she found on D&Dwiki, with modifications for the campaign. The writeup for the race for my campaign is spoilered here. The name is to my knowledge unrelated to caribs, the bird, or caribs, the people. Honestly, I'd probably have changed the name to ghoulborn or something but I just did the conversion for her.
Humanoid (Human, Carib, Evil): The carib are infused with evil due to their curse.
Medium: As a Medium creature, a carib has no special bonuses or penalties due to its size.
Carib base land speed is 30 feet.
Predator (Ex): A carib has low-light vision and scent.
Tainted (Ex): Carib have the evil subtype due to their inborn curse. Creatures with the evil subtype are treated as evil in addition to their actual alignment and their natural and manufactured weapon attacks are considered evil-aligned.
Devour (Ex): A carib can consume the flesh of sentient (or once-sentient) humanioids, monstrous humanoids, or their corpses. A carib can begin consuming the flesh of a corpse or helpless creature as a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunity. Each round spent feeding is treated as a coup de grace attack against a living victim. A round of feeding grants a carib a morale bonus to attack rolls, saving throws, and skill checks (see below). A carib may consume the entirety of a medium or smaller creature or corpse in 1 minute (each size category larger doubles the required time, so large requires 2 minutes, huge 4 minutes, and so on).
Once a carib has fed, the carib gains a +1 morale bonus to attack rolls, saving throws, and skill checks for 1 hour per minute spent consuming the corpse (minimum 1 hour). This bonus increases by +1 at 6th, 12th, and 18th level for a total of +4. If the carib consumes an entire corpse, the bonus increases by 50% (minimum +1). If a corpse is not consumed, the carib can feed on it a number of times equal to the number of rounds it would take to have consumed it. When pacing themselves like this, the carib only gains their normal bonuses for eating flesh (not the +50% for consuming the whole corpse at once).
Affliction Resistance (Ex): A carib's body is highly resistant to disease. While they have no trouble harboring and spreading diseases, a carib reduces any ability score damage suffered by diseases or poisons by 4 (to a minimum of 0). This also negates any secondary effects (such as fatigue from bubonic plague) if the disease or poison inflicts no ability damage to them. A carib can spread any diseases they have through their bite attack (the disease uses the disease's saving throw or 10 + 1/2 the carib's HD + the carib's Constitution modifier, whichever is higher). You must choose one disease to inflict per bite.
Ferocious Bite (Ex): A carib has a primary natural bite attack that deals 1d6 damage. Creature's damaged by a carib's bite are subject to any diseases currently afflicting the carib. A carib that hits with it's bite attack can strip flesh from its victims, which counts as feeding for the purposes of staving off their hunger (see below) but doesn't grant the morale bonuses that devouring does (see above).
Carib Hunger (Ex): While a carib can survive on a human diet (with a notable preference for raw and rare meats), they really wish to consume the flesh of sentient humanoids and monstrous humanoids. If a carib goes more than a week without partaking in at least 1 meal worth of sentient flesh, they take a -1 morale penalty to attack rolls, skill checks, and saving throws. This penalty is cumulative, to a maximum of -5 after 5 weeks. Eating reduces the penalty by 1 (minimum 0). If the carib eats in excess (such as consuming an entire medium sized corpse) they can survive an additional 1d3 weeks before the hunger kicks in again, and/or reduces the penalty by 1d3 points.
==== CARIB SUBTYPE ====
Carib are creatures cursed by a divine ghoul patron and are twisted into ravenous predators.
Carib have low-light vision, scent, affliction resistance, carib hunger, tainted, and devour special features.
==== CARIB DISEASE NOTES ====
Carib ingest many horrible things over the course of their lives. Even the most civilized or pacifistic carib will eventually come to consume some sort of unprepared flesh, some of rotten, unclean, or contaminated by diseases. The most common disease that a carib will encounter is Filth Fever which is commonly caused by uncleanliness and spoiled food.
==== CARIB FEATS ====
Carib Savagry (Racial, Combat)
Your hunger is a weapon.
Prerequisites: Carib subtype
Benefit: Your threat range with your bite attack increases to 19-20. When using your bite attack as a secondary natural attack, you take a -2 penalty instead of -5 and receive your full strength bonus (not 1.5 or 0.5) on the damage roll. You apply your devour morale bonus to your bite attack as an enhancement bonus to attack and damage rolls. Dealing damage with your bite now counts as feeding with your Devour ability and granting the associated morale bonus as if you had spent 1 round feeding. You may substitute any iterative attack from a high base attack bonus with a bite attack that deals your full strength bonus (not 1.5 or 0.5) as if wielding a one-handed weapon.
When your base attack bonus (BAB) reaches +8, the damage of your bite increases to 1d8 and the threat range to 18-20. At BAB +16, you always apply 1.5 your Strength modifier to damage rolls with your bite attack no matter how you use it. Additionally, once per round when you score a critical hit (with a manufactured weapon or a bite) you may immediately make an additional bite attack at your highest attack bonus.
Carib Contagion (Racial)
Your cursed body is a temple of ruin.
Prerequisites: Carib subtype
Benefit: Your Affliction Resistance now reduces ability score damage by 6 instead of 4. When you infect something with a disease through your bite attack, you may have the disease skip its incubation period and take effect immediately. At 8th level, you may spread two diseases per bite. At 16th level, you may spread three diseases per bite. The fortitude save to resist the diseases is made once and checked against the highest DC of the diseases.
Indiscriminate Gluttony (Racial)
Your gluttonous curse knows no bounds.
Prerequisites: Carib subtype
Benefit: You are no longer limited to humanoids and monstrous humanoids and their corpses when using your Devour ability. Any corporeal living creature or corpse of a living creature will suffice, including corporeal undead, and constructs described as being composed of living or formerly living tissue (such as flesh golems). Devouring a nonsentient creature (such as an animal, plant, or mindless undead) provides only half the usual morale bonus (minimum +1) but sates hunger just the same.
However, as chance would have it, the young apprentice discovered some of his grandfather's research notes in some of the more old and forgotten books in the grand library (which he only found because he was organizing the books as part of his librarian duties). Intrigued by what he found, he decided that his grandfather was not a madman but that his grandfather's genius was too early for the religiously intolerant and ignorant masses to comprehend or accept. As a result, he took a hiatus from the school as he wouldn't be missed anyway and decided to follow up on some of the notes his grandfather had left including the name of one of his colleagues who had been collaborating with him but was never discovered by authorities.
This led him to seek the grandson of his grandfather's friend to see if he could find out more about his grandfather's work and perhaps continue it. His search led him to the village where the campaign began, where he met a young alchemist fitting the description. To his surprise, he learned that the alchemist was in fact not the grandson of his grandfather's colleague but in fact the granddaughter living as a man (mostly as a way of throwing the locals off as to her identity should she have to make a quick exodus). The talented and skilled young woman had been searching for her own grandfather's research notes which were buried with his ex-wife in an old graveyard just outside the village somewhere. Each night she would go out and do a bit of gravedigging (a practice extremely frowned upon), and when she found the wrong grave would exhume some bones and such that would be used in her experiments.
Her ultimate goal, being the goal of her alchemist grandfather, was to find a method to cure death itself. Seeing their goals were strongly aligned, the two became friends rather quickly, each trusting the other initially because each had damning evidence against the other that would mean neither would want to risk outing the other to the authorities. The quest for human perfection began...
To help set the mood and pacing for this campaign, I wrote up some little handouts (because the pace and style of the campaign is very different from the Pathfinder default).
Old Newspaper with the Cannibal, Recent Newspaper for Session #1.