A more Savage Sandpoint. A new look at an old friend.

Game Master ZenFox42

It's not a problem, I've just gone thru the book and summarized the treasures. In a while I'll tell you all how much you got from the whole adventure. Just don't want anyone double-dipping if they've already added the GP to their character sheet as we went.

What do people think about my re-opening Recruitment for a Cleric? I think it would be a good idea to have another real fighter/religious magic user in the group with the next book, and I think Ceri will have to start taking part in the combats...

I'm also thinking of giving y'all an extra Advancement (oddly enough, the AP doesn't give you one for clearing out the goblin fortress), but even tho it would be your fourth Advancement, it would still only be ranked as Novice. But if we can get a fourth player, it might not be necessary.

Thoughts?

I have not been adding things. I did just add the gold that you put a split for, but that was all I have added.

I love more advancements and I am fine with staying Novice, or whatever rank, as long as you want us to be in that area.

I good with recruitment. A cleric focused character would be good. It seems like it is harder to get players for Savage Worlds though.

Thanks for prepping that summary. I'm going to look back. I may have added some from the goblin attack on town and possibly the graveyard thing. I'll make sure on that.

An advancement but staying novice sounds fine to me.

A Cleric or healer is never a bad thing. Maybe it's just this site but Savage Worlds is pretty popular. Hell, as far as pure game systems go, it's my favorite.

FWIW, the first advancement in the next book of the story is Seasoned. But you have a ways to go to get there.

Yeah, the SW fans that frequent Paizo may be more than a few, but most of them seem to have already filled up their available time with other games...

Jzero's profile has a spoiler near the bottom about gear and it's been updated when items or gp get distributed.

If we don't get a another PC, I'd be happy to create a character and run two if that is allowed/acceptable to others. I'd withdraw the character if/when we get more players.

There's someone who posted in Recruitment that said they'll play a Cleric. The player is in the Firefly game, the Deadlands game, and the RIFTS game, so I'm looking forward to having them join us!

It may take a couple of days IRL for them to put it together...

Jzero's profile has a spoiler near the bottom about gear and it's been updated when items or gp get distributed.

So, I only see a single potion of minor healing in your list that could have come from "treasure". But I assume that part, if not most, of your 646 GP came from treasure as the game played out?

I want the new PC to show up before you get back to Sandpoint, so this is a good time to talk about treasure…

1. Ok, so I can’t figure out a way to track any plain old actual gold pieces that you have found and pocketed, so we’ll leave your current GP holdings as they are. But you’ve found some new items recently which you can sell when you get back to town :

Ranseur (Google it! :) 400 GP
100 GP pearl-handled dagger
Everburning torch (50 GP re-sell, unless y’all want to keep it for more light while exploring dark places - votes?)

2. Some items that should be distributed among the PCs :
Scroll of Blast (selective) --> Ceri
Scroll of Burst (burning hands) --> Ceri
Nalia’s bastard sword : damage Str+d8 AP 2, Parry −1, +1 damage if used in two hands, +1 to Fighting roll (bold items are different than a regular bastard sword)
Velrek picked it up after the fight was over and looked it over, so I’m assuming he’s still carrying it…do you want to use it or sell it (50 GP)?

Evesk does a Detect Magic on the medallion Nualia was wearing, and determines that once per day, it grants the wearer luck (in terms of game mechanics, it gives the wearer an extra Benny). Who wants it? Or I can roll randomly for you…

3. About a year ago IRL I posted that you had the following magic items :
SIX potions of Minor Healing! (removes 1 Wound)
Potion of Minor Protection (+2 Armor)
Wand of Shocking (Bolt, Electricity, Touch Range)
Wand of Fire (Bolt, Fire) - I believe Ceri was using this in the fight with Nualia

Does anyone have any of these items in their inventory already?

No worries. We should be keeping track as we go along. Says the guy who didn't track any gold during the castle part. :)

Wow, I didn't know a Ransuer was that expensive! Unless someone wants to go all polearm crazy, sell that. Same for the dagger.
The ever burning torch? I think that's a party keeper. Always useful.

I'm cool with Ceri keeping all the scrolls and wands to use.

Thanks for the stats on that sword. Nice overall but Velreks will keep using his signature oversized butter knife. Unless someone else wants it, sell.

I think we were keeping the healing and protecting scrolls for general party use. Someone should make a note with a list of party use stuff so we don't forget. :)

Only thing I put in my inventory was the sword. Just becasue I was curious about it. :)

For Nalia's sword, does it count as a magical weapon and does that matter at all for Pathfinder Savage Worlds?

I am fine with the rest of the options and selling the items we do not need. I have Bolt so I do not need a Wand with the spell in it. I see in the dark, so I have no reason to carry the Everburning Torch. But it makes sense for the humans to hold onto it.

We should probably all carry a potion of healing.

The AP doesn't say the sword is magical, and AFAICT in SW PF, if a weapon is magical, its description describes what the magic effect is, but the fact that the weapon is "magical" has no other game effect. There isn't a "magical damage resistance" monstrous quality that requires a magic item to be able to get thru.

Ok, I think the +1 to hit is fun, but I will stick with my warhammer.

Yeah, and it has that pesky -1 Parry...

ALL - the new player had a house emergency, they should be ready in the next day or two...

Yeah, and it has that pesky -1 Parry...

Yeah, you either negate your shield or become pretty easy to hit and get bonuses to hit and damage. It would be great for a more barbarian-esque character who was all about offense.

Jzero has one of the minor healing potions listed.
He has "share of Everburning Torch: 22" which I think was in case we decided to sell it.

I'd like to keep the everburning torch, just because it saves a lot of fuss associated with torches, such as carrying enough to last, needing way to light them (and the time that takes in an emergency), and needing to carry them while lit (not being able to set them down). We can get a leather sack big enough to tuck the bright end in when we don't need its light.

Jzero will continue to volunteer to carry the 'torch' when necessary, since he can always drop it to fight or hold onto it and use his other hand and other parts of his body in unarmed attacks.

The sword is not tempting for Jzero. It does a higher die of damage than his unarmed attack, but otherwise doesn't give him anything special. I'd rather look at other weapons and maybe save up gold to get something with a magical bonus, perhaps to his bow.

In Pathfinder there are things called hand wraps which are strips of cloth a fighter using unarmed attacks can wrap around his hand (not fingers) which can be enchanted to give magical bonuses to unarmed attacks. I think there is also a magical medallion one can get that boosts unarmed damage. These may not be available in SW version.

Don't really need them yet, but those are what he'd be interested in when magic is awarded or available for purchase.

Jzero : Y'all already have an Everburning Torch. The note "share of Everburning Torch:22" was how much everybody contributed to it when you bought it long ago (IRL).

You now have a second torch. You can keep it as a spare, or have someone else carry it to provide more light in un-lit places, etc.

ALL : PF for SW doesn't provide many magic weapons found as treasure, and they're expensive to buy, because SW doesn't use magic items to make the PCs more powerful like PF2e (which I hated), it uses Advancements to make the PCs themselves more powerful.

And, SW separates the skill bonus from the damage bonus. A +1 Fighting sword costs 4000 GP, and a +1 Damage sword costs 3000 GP. So what is a traditional "+1" sword in PF costs 7000 GP.

And as you've seen so far, SWPF doesn't hand out thousands of GP in their treasure, either.

But, since a +1 is *MUCH* better than increasing a skill by a die type with an Advancement, anyone can use the Trademark Weapon Edge to add +1 to their Fighting (or other attack) skill, AND it increases Parry by 1. And you can take it twice.

And I'd be willing to modify the Brawler Edge to apply to all kinds of attacks, not just unarmed ones (hint : take the +d4 damage, not the increase damage die by 1 type), AND it increases Toughness by 1. And you can take it twice.

These are the Edges that will make your PC a better fighter, and it doesn't cost many thousands of GP to get.

Thoughts?

If you make that Brawler change a house rule for the game, Velrek will absolutely grab that next advance. :)

But yes. The OG 'Monty Haul' feel of Pathfinder was definitely left behind for the SW version, which I do like because that IS Savage Worlds.

As long as the designers of this SW version of a PF adventure path have factored in the features noted by Zenfox above by making sure the fights are balanced, lacking easy access to magic weapons doesn't matter.

I would assert that it is a fantasy world where magic items are a possibility and magic items therefore make fun rewards for a well fought adventure section. I'm thinking of the Hobbit and LOTR where there were only a few magic items discovered as they adventured, but they were an important part of the fantasy environment. And a few, like Merry's enchanted blade found in the early going in the Barrow mound helped take down the Nazgûl, or Frodo's mithral chain shirt that saved his life in Moria or his blade that glowed when orcs were near.

So I hope once in a while there will be a magic item found as treasure at least once in a while to maintain that fantasy feel.

By the way, 2nd edition Pathfinder has changed how magic weapons and armor work. I don't have characters high enough level to afford any yet, but instead of purchasing a magic weapon or a magic set of armor, one can get runes which can be inscribed into a weapon or armor to give it more potency. These can be removed from one weapon and place on another. The system builds in increases to skills, fighting attack bonuses, saves, and even armor that go up with level.

In 1E, these things also went up with level, but it was more complicated and armor did not change unless you gave armor magic. But some classes could level up without any increases in BAB (base attack bonus) or saves, while in 2E they all go up with level. Fighters still have better to hit chances and the way they changed the critical hit rules, fighters also get more critical hits. There are weapons that do extra damage on a crit in addition to doubling the normal damage, so I think this goes a long ways toward reducing the need for magic items to survive as you go up levels.

I just wasn't sure how magic items worked in this. I think the sword is cool, just not for the character I built. Magic items are fun, but some systems are built to require them and others are not.

Those two feats sound great.

Sorry, I thought I had played 2e, and the latest version was called something else. I have played 1e extensively in the past.

I'll keep an eye out for how many magic items are given as treasure in the second book of the AP, and try to sprinkle in a few minor items (mostly potions and rings, which everyone can use) here and there.

Updated "increase your attack skills" Edges :

Anyone except Martial Artists/Monks can use the Trademark Weapon Edge to add +1 to their Fighting (or other attack) skill, AND it increases Parry by 1. And you can take it twice (Improved TMW).

The modified Brawler Edge applies to all kinds of attacks, not just unarmed ones, adds d4 to your damage, AND it increases Toughness by 1. And you can take it twice (Bruiser, which increases your damage die by 1 instead).

Martial Artist and Martial Warrior also increase Parry by 1 (each).

Let me know if these aren't clear.

I've been struggling with figuring out how to handle situations in combat that the players need to respond to in order to figure out their status (Shaken, Wounded, Grappled, etc.).

I've been putting your status in the Status List of each Initiative post, so that you can see that you need to make a roll to remove the status. But this only works if the status is inflicted on the PC *after* they've acted in the previous Round. In this case, the status isn't real, it's "pending". And if the PC's roll fails, then it becomes "real" for the rest of this Round, and for the next Round.

If a bad guy acts before the PC in the current Round and inflicts the status, the player *must* make the roll at the start of their Turn to determine their status before they can post their action.

It's keeping track of these 3 different situations that bothers me. We could get around all that if we declare that as soon as a status is imposed on a PC, they must immediately post a roll to see if the status "sticks" or not. It would slow the game down a little (waiting for the player to post), but then I'd know immediately whether the PC has the state or not, and if they do I just have to note it in their Status in the Initiative post for the next Round.

It also handles the Shaken+Shaken=Wound issue, because the player would immediately roll to recover from the first Shaken (or not), so then I would know immediately if the second Shaken (if it's actually applied) inflicts a Wound.

I kind of sort of have to do this anyway as the GM - when a PC imposes a state on an NPC, I immediately roll to see if it sticks.

Anyone not ok with this? Can anyone think of a different way to handle this?

A common issue with this format. :)

So, either slow it down a little waiting on a player or have the GM make the roll for us are the only two real options I can think of.

The option where you roll it adds work for you and since soaking requires a Benny being used... and also, a shaken that the player may want to use a Benny for.. well, looks like the only realistic option is to wait for us.

Thankfully this group is pretty good about checking in.

I think going a bit slower and having us roll is fine. If you need to know then it likely works best to do that. If someone doesn't reply within a certain timeframe, you could roll for them then to keep the game moving.

I hadn't considered Velrek's point, that if I handle it myself, not only would I be rolling for the player (which I like to avoid as much as possible), but I might have to spend one of their Bennies, or else leave them in the Shaken or Wounded state, neither of which I am willing to make the call on. Well, ok, maybe if the player hasn't responded in like 3 or 4 days...

I suppose if the potential condition is "only" something like Grappled, Vulnerable, Bound, Entangled, or a First Strike or Counterstrike response, etc., I could wait a while, then just roll once and the player would have to accept the result. Are y'all ok with that?

As the ones being affected by this, how long should I wait before rolling for you? I know we're all a speedy group (as evidenced by your same-day response to my last post), but I think 1 day is too short (because IRL happens), so...maybe 2 days? What do you all think?

I'm fine with you rolling the things you mentioned if I'm uncommunicative for too long. I try to make that a rarity but sometimes life ignores your desires. :)

2 days sounds good to me.

Updated updated "increase your attack skills" Edges :

Anyone except Martial Artists can use the Trademark Weapon Edge to add +1 to their Fighting (or other attack) skill, AND it increases Parry by 1. And you can take it twice (Improved TMW).

The modified Brawler Edge applies to all kinds of attacks, not just unarmed ones, adds d4 to your damage, AND it increases Toughness by 1. And you can take it twice (Bruiser, which increases your damage die by 1 instead).

Houserule : Martial Artist and Martial Warrior also increase Parry by 1 (each).

SWPF Monks can use the Trademark Weapon Edge to increase their Parry by 1, and the Improved TMW Edge to increase it by another 1 (RAW).

(There was no way I could get around giving Monks an extra +1 to their Fighting and Toughness compared to everyone else, due to the way the class was written.)

GM Zen Fox, the gift that keeps giving. :)

I think two days sounds reasonable.

Back to magic items...

Chapter 6 of the SW for PF Core book describes the many magic items that are available to buy (in theory). But in practice, most magic items are expensive and/or rare, so you probably won't to be able to buy much.

Potions (page 207) range from 50 to 750 GP, and Sandpoint is a big enough town that you could probably find most of them.

Scrolls (page 207) range from 50 to 500 GP, and Sandpoint is a big enough town that you could probably find most of them.

Rings (page 208) *start* at 2200 GP, which I doubt any of you could afford at this point.

Rods and staves (page 208) *start* at 5000 GP, which I doubt any of you could afford at this point.

Wands (page 208) start at 50 GP *per charge* and goes up from there, so a wand of just 10 charges costs a minimum of 500 GP. But wands with useful Powers start at 1500-2000 GP for 10 charges.

Then, on pages 210-211 are lists of various qualities that can be added to armor and weapons. The typical cost starts at around 1500 GP and goes up from there.

Starting on page 212 are specific magic items that do many different various things, starting at around 2600 GP and going up to 25,000 GP and higher!

I've derived equations for the cost of any kind of item with any kind of Power you want in it, so if you don't see an item with a specific Power you want, just ask. But except for potions and scrolls, it probably won't be cheap.

I will have traveling from Friday March 6th, until Saturday March 21st. I will try and keep up posting, but please feel free to bot me as needed.

I'm fine with the GM rolling for me when a status is applied, particularly if it is not optional. If a roll fails and a benny might be spent, then that can be decided on the player's turn.

I keep spoilers on my profile that have the text for all trait rolls, so it can be quick for the GM or me to just copy and paste the core rolls. Of course then one must roll aces as needed.

By the way, my eye surgery went well, so I'm on a path back to better vision, although it may take a few days to get there due to aftereffects of the process.

I'm fine with the GM rolling for me when a status is applied, particularly if it is not optional. If a roll fails and a benny might be spent, then that can be decided on the player's turn.

I keep spoilers on my profile that have the text for all trait rolls, so it can be quick for the GM or me to just copy and paste the core rolls. Of course then one must roll aces as needed.

Zenfox wrote:

Houserule : Martial Artist and Martial Warrior also increase Parry by 1 (each).

The Pathfinder SW rules don't list these as edges. The Monk class gets aspects of them, like the +1 fighting bonus. So I'm not sure how the house rule applies in this case. Does Jzero get a bonus to his parry?

By the way, my eye surgery went well, so I'm on a path back to better vision, although it may take a few days to get there due to aftereffects of the process.

I was thinking primarily of SW (not SWPF) when I came up with those rules. Martial Artist and Martial Warrior are SW Edges.

Jzero can get a +1 to his Parry by taking the Trademark Weapon Edge, which is allowed in SWPF for bare-handed fighters, but not in SW. Unfortunately, that also gives him a +2 to his Fighting, which the other classes can't get, because the Monk class automatically provides a +1 Fighting.

I won't feel any less diminished or upset in any way if Jzero gets an extra +1 to attack. :)

Classes should have benefits. I am fine with the Monk getting something cool and special.

Back to your treasure :

I'm going to list all the items you've got, and where I think someone has made a call about whether to sell it or keep it (and if so, who carries it - my call) :

Sell
Ranseur : 400 GP
Pearl-handled dagger : 100 GP
Nalia’s bastard sword : damage Str+d8 AP 2, Parry −1, +1 damage if used in two hands, +1 to Fighting roll : 1000 GP
Longsword (Str+d8 AP 1, Elemental (fire)) : 500 GP

Distribute
Scroll of Blast (Medium, selective) --> Thorfinn
Scroll of Burst (burning hands) --> Ceri
Wand of Fire (Bolt, Fire) --> Thorfinn
Wand of Shocking (Bolt, Electricity, Touch Range) --> Ceri
Potion of Minor Protection (+2 Armor) --> Jzero
Second Everburning torch --> Ceri

Everyone should have a potion of Minor Healing (heals one Wound), even Thorfinn. Check your inventory list - if you don't have one, add it (and don't forget about it)!

The medallion Nualia was wearing grants the wearer luck (in terms of game mechanics, it gives the wearer an extra Benny). Who wants it? Or I can roll randomly for you…

Crastor would wear it!

Since you posted first, it's yours!

Thorfinn - please post how many PP you spend each time you cast a spell, but I'll keep track of your current PP total and time remaining on the spell in the Initiative posts. Thanks!

Also, FWIW, if you're casting Smite on one of your own weapons, you can take the Personal Limitation to drop the cost to 1 PP. Then casting it on 2 weapons costs an extra PP, for a total of 2.

I meant to count it as 3 PP, but my connection was so bad yesterday, I kept getting bounced whenever I attempted to edit my profile / post.

ALL - I've been thinking about Velrek's First Strike Edge. It says "...the hero gets a free Fighting attack against a foe immediately after he moves into Reach".

Now, I've always interpreted the "he" to mean the foe, but now I'm thinking it also includes the PC. Can anyone think of any reason Velrek couldn't, on the Round where he kills his current opponent without using his First Strike, then move over to another opponent, invoking the First Strike Edge to get a second no-MAP attack in the same Round?

Huh. I've always assumed the 'he' meant the enemy. While I love this intepretation, it does make Velrek a lot more dangerous...

I've since checked some Reddit posts, and the consensus seems to be that "he" *only* refers to the PC's foe.

Sounds fair to me. Giving s strong fighter a fre no AP attack every round is a biggy. :)

It's similar to giving him an AOO (now called reactive strike) when an enemy moves into his reach in Pathfinder

It's similar to giving him an AOO (now called reactive strike) when an enemy moves into his reach in Pathfinder

Exactly!