A couple of GM's looking for some advice – Xenia and Rochester STAY OUT!


Advice


Need some ideas for a few things that are significant to the story, but so far undefined. Any help with any of these would be much appreciated.

1) Encounter ideas on the high seas. Party on a small ship for a significant period of time (a few weeks at least). Ship is small but fairly quick trading ship. Crew is 15-20 sailors. Party of 6 PC's levels 4-5 at the beginning. I need some more potentially challenging encounters, but I don't want to overwhelm them. So I don't think I can do a ship full of pirates.
2) Magic items for a fairly rich merchant. He still travels (because he wants to not has to) setting up new trade routes. So a few protective items, but I'm thinking he should also have some luxury magic items just to make his life on the road easier. Suggestions?
3) Barrister hireling. Player wants his highest level follower (NPC classes and 1 trait) to be a 'universal' lawyer. Write up contracts, business deals, quickly figure out the local laws so the group doesn't accidentally run afoul of the cops, who to talk to to get them bailed out of trouble, things like that. Can you suggest a build progression with a trait, feats, skills, maybe even some suggested magic items to purchase?
4) How slow should travel be if the party is hacking their way through unmapped and fairly mountainous wilderness?
5) Is this possible? Group approaching a moderate sized but not busy port. They are in a small fishing boat. Single sail or 6 oars. They want to put up a silent image of empty ocean in front of their boat so they can get most of the way up to the piers without being noticed.
6) PC flies (with wings in this case). How hard is it to tow another PC that is held up with levitation? Same question for swimming fairly deep underwater?
7) I'm seeing conflicting opinions, does anything other than channeled positive energy eliminate haunts?


1) Some random tables in this post, 1 specifically for boats, just a thought there. Post Link.

2) The NPC chart on D20 has many "rich" characters (usually aristocrats), some easy cheat items, chests with permanent portable holes built in (so he can carry less stuff), scrolls of unseen servants, scrolls of endure elements, maybe a golemn servant/guard (who he can talk in front of and not have to pay), campfire bead, iron spike of safe passage, stone of alarm, Nobles vigilant pillbox (should have) , escape ladder, glamoured armour, feather token boats maybe, or similar, dancing weapons (so he doesn't have to fight), permanancied shrink item on a tent/table and chairs, etc, and maybe an exotic mount pulling a fancy carriage.

3) cutthroat lawyer npc this seems the flavour you might like, I would suggest a bard/ unchained rogue for lots of skill points to put into KNOW, or the linked divination wizard.

4) Movement tables . All you need to know for movement speed and modifiers.

5) Yes, if the image has room to be "attached" to solid ground, the image could look out of place as the boat moves, but not a bad idea for cover, I might impose circumstance penalties to the DC of it though (anything animated is hard to "program").

6) I am not certain of anything specific, but if they can lift the weight as a medium load, then it should not be a problem, I would suggest maneuver penalties though.

7) Some haunts allow for the destruction of an item (with holy water or fire), others allow for laying to rest the source of the conflict (this is mostly in the flavour text, may not be exactly RAW)


( 1 ) If you have access to Savage Tide adventures from old Dungeon Magazines, you could easily adapt some of those to your campaign. Make a Moby Dick (put dire template on a whale). Or a sahuagin raiding party. Could be ulat-kini. Or rogue water elementals. Stranded marids who need help getting back to the elemental plane of water. Flotsam and jetsem littered with the near-dead remains of a crew. Dilemma: Bring all of them aboard and stretch ship's supplies or leave them to the deep?

( 2 ) An instant fortress. Horseshoes of zephyr, or speed. Rod of Splendor for luxury. Ring of Sustenance.

( 3 ) This almost sounds like an NPC Expert class, but since its a follower, I guess the unchained rogue sounds best. Keep feats static and simple (since its an NPC) like Skill Focus (Profession [lawyer]), Persuasive, Alertness, Deceitful. For skills: Profession [lawyer], Knowledge [local], Knowledge [nobility], Diplomacy, Intimidate, Linguistics, Perception, Sense Motive, Bluff, maybe Knowledge [History], maybe Knowledge [Religion]. Definitely a Cloak of Charisma. Ring of Mind Shielding, Medallion of Thoughts.

( 4 ) The core rulebook (p. 172) says trackless mountains is half movement (so 12 miles for an 8-hour day of travel). If you want to make it difficult terrain and double the movement cost, then they're looking at only 6 miles in 8 hours. So, somewhere between 6 and 12 miles. Or you could follow Guardianlord's link.

( 5 ) Possible, but unnecessary, imo. If they're in a small fishing boat, I doubt the port authority is going to give them a second look, unless this is a highly lawful, very strict port. Caravels, galleons, frigates, sure, they're going to get boarded by the P.A. for an inspection, but every fishing boat that comes in? Not very likely. Especially if they come in with all the other fishing boats at the end of the day.

( 6 ) What Guardianlord said.

( 7 ) What Guardianlord said.


Mykull wrote:

( 1 ) If you have access to Savage Tide adventures from old Dungeon Magazines, you could easily adapt some of those to your campaign. Make a Moby Dick (put dire template on a whale). Or a sahuagin raiding party. Could be ulat-kini. Or rogue water elementals. Stranded marids who need help getting back to the elemental plane of water. Flotsam and jetsem littered with the near-dead remains of a crew. Dilemma: Bring all of them aboard and stretch ship's supplies or leave them to the deep?

( 2 ) An instant fortress. Horseshoes of zephyr, or speed. Rod of Splendor for luxury. Ring of Sustenance.

( 3 ) This almost sounds like an NPC Expert class, but since its a follower, I guess the unchained rogue sounds best. Keep feats static and simple (since its an NPC) like Skill Focus (Profession [lawyer]), Persuasive, Alertness, Deceitful. For skills: Profession [lawyer], Knowledge [local], Knowledge [nobility], Diplomacy, Intimidate, Linguistics, Perception, Sense Motive, Bluff, maybe Knowledge [History], maybe Knowledge [Religion]. Definitely a Cloak of Charisma. Ring of Mind Shielding, Medallion of Thoughts.

( 4 ) The core rulebook (p. 172) says trackless mountains is half movement (so 12 miles for an 8-hour day of travel). If you want to make it difficult terrain and double the movement cost, then they're looking at only 6 miles in 8 hours. So, somewhere between 6 and 12 miles. Or you could follow Guardianlord's link.

( 5 ) Possible, but unnecessary, imo. If they're in a small fishing boat, I doubt the port authority is going to give them a second look, unless this is a highly lawful, very strict port. Caravels, galleons, frigates, sure, they're going to get boarded by the P.A. for an inspection, but every fishing boat that comes in? Not very likely. Especially if they come in with all the other fishing boats at the end of the day.

( 6 ) What Guardianlord said.

( 7 ) What Guardianlord said.

Rod of splendor, I need this for all my aristocrat characters now!


1) A couple low -level Merfolk Kineticists. Some might use water, some might be more Eel like and use Electricity.

6) Doesn't Levotate say the only movement possible is vertical? I'd rule as above though.


Yes, levitate only moves a person up or down. But a levitated creature could be towed by a flying one (they're being pulled horizontally by the fly spell, not by the levitate).


Excellent ideas people! thanks.

3) Follower not cohort. But otherwise some good ideas.

4) I didn't state clearly. We thought the tables seemed like way too much distance for the trackless mountains. Didn't think of doubling penalties though.

5) They were planning to 'anchor' it to the front of the boat. Part of the reason is they want to come in at a specific time of day and not to the area where the fishing boats normally dock.

6) The flying (or swimming) PC's are the small squishy casters. They are trying to move the armed bulk PC's.


ElterAgo wrote:

Excellent ideas people! thanks.

3) Follower not cohort. But otherwise some good ideas.

4) I didn't state clearly. We thought the tables seemed like way too much distance for the trackless mountains. Didn't think of doubling penalties though.

5) They were planning to 'anchor' it to the front of the boat. Part of the reason is they want to come in at a specific time of day and not to the area where the fishing boats normally dock.

6) The flying (or swimming) PC's are the small squishy casters. They are trying to move the armed bulk PC's.

4) the tables show tactical as well as overland numbers, the penalties apply either way. So a normal speed character 60ft/round, 1/2 speed Trackless forest, 30ft/round, 1/2 speed for trackless mountain, 15ft/round. If they hustle 600ft/10 rounds becomes 150ft/10 rounds. 3 miles/hour becomes .75 miles, or 6 miles an hour hustle becomes 1.5 miles/hour.

You can probably allow survival roles to find trails, which would increase their speed.
The inner sea map has a scale, that should help estimate distances (make a template on paper and use it to get exacting distances).

5) Most illusions require a little GM fiat to begin with, obviously the greater the detail the players can give, the more likely it is the GM may consider it a good illusion (or at least have fewer loopholes).

Mundane camouflage can work as well (paint the boat blue, fill it mostly with water and have the party breathe through straw while the STR toon pushes). The party can also render aid another checks, anyone capable of performing the same task can roll vs a DC10 to add +2 to the one doing the work.

6) The party that flies can use aid another to assist with fly checks or with dragging a heavy load, circumstances in favour can improve the speed moved (such as levitating the load) (-6 check to fly, reduced to 1/2 speed, lose dex to AC, plus possibly be considered entangled for even more fly penalties and 1/2 speed again). If the party in total can drag or push the warrior as a medium or lesser load together (plus their gear) then it should be easy. There is also a much better spell floating disc, at the level where players can cast fly ,it should hold more than enough weight.


1) Non-Combat ship challenges. Weathering storms, figuring out how to make repairs to storm damage or other mechanical failures, an invitation to mutiny, cook falls dangerously ill (deliberate or natual, poison or disease, how to handle, who will cook), discovering a stowaway, another ship in distress.. Some of these can obviously become combat encounters..

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