What are Goblins, most of whom think reading takes words from your head, doing with a bunch of scrolls?
Who says scrolls have to have words on them?
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
What are Goblins, most of whom think reading takes words from your head, doing with a bunch of scrolls?
I was going to say toilet paper... but that doesn't make sense for goblins either.
But as tinder to help start fires... scrolls work VERY well. Or maybe a scroll held down with a rock on a path with a big cage balanced over it so that a wizard walking down the trail sees the scroll and goes to get it and POW! Wizard for dinner.
|
Director of Games
|
Or maybe you're still feeling a bit woozy after being outdrunk and punched out by Valeros at Paizocon? ;)
But, how do these random tables in UE compare to the ones in GMG? I guess UE has updated versions with some new spells and items ("new" as in "published since GMG came out"), but is there a lot of "overlap", so to speak?
Also, I love the idea of treasure types and random loot tables; however, do these tables work for individual monsters as well? Or should they only be used for the CR of the whole encounter? Or even a section of the dungeon, e.g. a whole tribe of goblins? For example, would seven individual mummies yield the same amount of loot as if it was calculated as an encounter?
(BTW, I still can't believe you guys managed to cram all that content into a single book... but it's awesome! AWESOME!)
There is a bit of overlap with the GMG, but these are greatly expanded. The tables work for any type of encounter or wealth that you want to give out, from a single monster, to the combined horde of a swarm of dragons. As for how it stacks up individual encounters to grouped encounters, generally speaking, you get more loot from a larger CR awards. Most of the time, I think GMs will use this system to generate the loot from a single encounter, not an entire dungeon's worth of challenges. I wrote the blog this way just to have some fun.
Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing
A great idea for a book, but we'll have to wait and see how good the book actually is. I have high expectations for it though!
Also since so many developers are responding here I have a question for you. Are some of the seemly more powerful races in the Advanced Races Guide there to give a little boost to rogues? Because it sort of feels like that.
|
What are Goblins, most of whom think reading takes words from your head, doing with a bunch of scrolls?I was going to say toilet paper... but that doesn't make sense for goblins either.
But as tinder to help start fires... scrolls work VERY well. Or maybe a scroll held down with a rock on a path with a big cage balanced over it so that a wizard walking down the trail sees the scroll and goes to get it and POW! Wizard for dinner.
Why that evil Goblin clan is collecting souls of course to have leverage enough should they have the infernal encounter they seek comes to fruition.
|
Alright. I now must put money aside and buy this book and its pdf. Given my time constraints I love random generation charts. I love the window app one, but a lot of time I'm talking to my friends while putting together an encounter and this will make it much easier to handle treasure generation for my encounters.
The GM I play under is also looking forward to this now, but he will probably simply swipe mine while we talk and plot encounters for the games we run for each other and others.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Don't want to be a downer, but doesn't the absolute tyranny of the Wealth By Level rules completely negate any value of a book like this?
Any new magic items that share spaces with the 'Big Six' are never going to get used?
WBL is a guideline for GMs, not a hard cap on distribution. Raise/lower the effective APL and starve/glut them for treasure for a while until it comes back in line with WBL — nothing on these tables contradicts that. The way you refer to WBL in this post leads me to think that something is malfunctioning badly in your game (at least from my perspective).
In fact, the new method looks like it will make it easier for GMs to track how much treasure they hand out, since they start with the total rather than rolling up random values and adding them together.
Those complaining about goblins with scrolls obviously never tried the CRB+GMG system.
LIKE!
|
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
It's either sad or scary, but I enjoy Paizo products more than having a girlfriend... of coarse it would be nice if I could combine the two interests.
You can if you follow these few simple rules:
1. Make sure you take your girlfriend out at least once a week, i.e. 'date night'. This not only allows you to spend quality time with her, it allows you put that same quality time in the bank for later!
2. It’s fine to be a gamer/ nerd/ dork, just don't overdo it. Women want their men to be, well, men! Be well rounded!! Do something other than gaming. Hiking, camping, cooking, anything! Seriously, I can't stress this part enough.
3. Make sure you have goals and that you are working towards them. Women love guys that are working to make themselves better.
4. Introduce her to the hobby! Most women could care less what you do, as long as it's productive. Show her how cool RPGs can be. Trust me when I say this: women prefer guys who play RPGs vs. those who play video games. At least with RPGs you are being creative and social.
5. Be confident in who you are. Again, this is a no-brainer. If you enjoy RPGs let her know that. True story: I told my current girlfriend (so to be fiancé) that I enjoyed D&D. At first she laughed, and I laughed with her. A week later she showed up to my apartment with a surprise for me. She opens up her coat, and shows me that she's wearing... a red-box D&D t-shirt!! I knew at that point I was going to marry her.
As you can see it's really not that hard. Just be who you want to be and you'll be sure to find the right person for you.
To those worrying about Monty Haulism, randomism and the like, try to consider this...
It collates all your items into one book, so those who pre-determine the treasure for each encounter have one reference to go to.
And for those using the random generation table, they can do so as little or as often as their gaming style prefers.
Myself, I will probably do a mixture... (when I'm running my own encounters rather than the AP path ones).
Most often, I will use pre-determined treasure piles in order to have some control over the party assets.
I would also probably generate a number of "pick" sheets by randomly rolling the treasure say 5 or 6 times and picking the most suitable for those moments when the PC's go on side treks / off track into Gm on the fly land.
The place the tables would be most used by myself are in those rare encounters with large treasure piles - can anyone say "dragon hoard" - where in those instance, nonsensical random item collections make more sense (e.g. the dragon wont be saying to the PC, please come back when you have item X, and then eat him, the dragon will just eat him whatever treasure is left behind - grin).
So view this book for what it is, a wonderful archive of Pathfinder items into one handy dandy reference providing many potential methods of use.
It's either sad or scary, but I enjoy Paizo products more than having a girlfriend... of coarse it would be nice if I could combine the two interests.
I have managed this rarity and ended up being married to said lady.
BUT consider this...
Pros:
She makes the most wonderful strawberry and lemon cheesecake for games night.
When you are the GM, she has to do as she's told :P ....
Cons:
... but boy do you pay for it later. >.<
Not only do you fund her new dresses and multitudes of shoes, you also have to fund her books for gaming!
She has learnt how to control me - "No Games for you this week"
She knows all my friends and thus all my secrets.
Well I am going to ask agian, did any magic items from other pathfinder products(APs, Modules, Campaign Setting, etc.) make there way into this book?
How many artifacts made it in?
|
|
There is a bit of overlap with the GMG, but these are greatly expanded. The tables work for any type of encounter or wealth that you want to give out, from a single monster, to the combined horde of a swarm of dragons. As for how it stacks up individual encounters to grouped encounters, generally speaking, you get more loot from a larger CR awards. Most of the time, I think GMs will use this system to generate the loot from a single encounter, not an entire dungeon's worth of challenges. I wrote the blog this way just to have some fun.
Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing
Alright, thanks for the clarification, Jason! I think these tables will be a really nice tool for GMs, and I just can't wait to get my grubby dwarven hands on this book! Keep the previews coming! :)
|
|
Those complaining about goblins with scrolls obviously never tried the CRB+GMG system.
What do you mean? I've never noticed anything wonky about it...
I agree about goblins. Maybe they kept the scrolls as a trophy, maybe they tossed them into a corner without realizing what they are, or perhaps the tribe's shaman holds (and can use) them?
One of the weirdest TPKs we've had actually happened in goblin caves; all the PCs were loaded with +2 items, potions and scrolls... and all of them failed a single climbing check while scaling a sheer wall, falling into the river below. On top of that, all of us took enough subdual damage to drop us into negative HPs, and thus we drowned (no wonder, since we had fought a few groups already that day). What made it even funnier was that the group included a ranger and a rogue with ranks in Climb! And naturally all those magical items -- along with our bodies -- washed into a cave and were subsequently taken by goblins as loot. True story, and shows that it isn't always unrealistic to find weird and/or powerful magical items lying around in goblin caves (or seemingly empty dungeon rooms, for that matter).
|
A bit distressing that so many typos / errata were found on only 5 sample pages. I think that alone has pushed this from buy in hardcover to get the PDF and wait for the 2nd or 3rd printing.Strong reaction on one typo.
One typo, and one table that left out a significant portion of the relevant information.
|
Director of Games
|
One typo, and one table that left out a significant portion of the relevant information.A bit distressing that so many typos / errata were found on only 5 sample pages. I think that alone has pushed this from buy in hardcover to get the PDF and wait for the 2nd or 3rd printing.Strong reaction on one typo.
I certainly understand your disappointment, no one is more irritated by these sorts of mistakes than I am. I am even more frustrated by the fact I happened to pick a page with what will probably turn out to be the most egregious error in the book.
That said, I am hoping to show folks some good stuff in the coming weeks. This is, after all, just one table in a 400 page book. In any case, I offer my personal apology for this error. We will get it fixed as soon as we can.
Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing
A bit distressing that so many typos / errata were found on only 5 sample pages. I think that alone has pushed this from buy in hardcover to get the PDF and wait for the 2nd or 3rd printing.
Hence my hesitation in bringing it up. As Mr. Bulmahn has said, the pages aren't a statistically significant sample of the book. One can't accurately predict the number of errata in the entire book from the sample given.
|
|
True. But the PDF upon release, hardcover for 2nd printing thing is probably how I'll purchase most of the RPG line from this point forward, actually.
Not because of typos/errata in particular, but mostly because that allows me to look through a relatively cheap (assuming Paizo keeps the $10 rulebook PDFs) PDF before deciding if the book is worth upgrading to hardcover for.
WBL is a guideline for GMs, not a hard cap on distribution.
No, what I meant was that magic items are hardwired into the 3rd edition progression rules.
This book could have loads of neat amulets, cloaks, rings, belts etc that nobody is ever going to use because NOT taking the 'Big Six' apparently gimps your character into complete unplayability...
|
Big 6???? If you do not take something does not "gimp" your character. It is only gimped if you the player do not like it. I play characters because they are fun to play not because I am trying to min/max a PC to make it no fun for me and or the GM.
So take the magic item you think is cool and fun and go from there. If the game is no longer fun and or you "need" the so called big six (what ever those are) then you might want to find another game to play. Meanwhile I am having some fun :) The so called big 6 is not the end all be all of a character. If it is then you can't really count on Paizo to improve those items or make some more just like it considering it just encourages MORE min/maxing and power gaming. Paizo I hope is trying to promote character customization and get away from the Big Six is needed for all characters type of item.
There are ways to switch up big 6 issues. Switching the qualities found on items is one way to throw a curve ball into what metagaming players expect. Another way is to not allow certain types of qualities in item creation. There are other ways which I am sure you could come up with, you just have to be willing to think outside of the RAW box.
|
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
No, what I meant was that magic items are hardwired into the 3rd edition progression rules.
This book could have loads of neat amulets, cloaks, rings, belts etc that nobody is ever going to use because NOT taking the 'Big Six' apparently gimps your character into complete unplayability...
I played the game for several years before I ever heard of the "Big Six". Imagine my suprise when I found out that some of my favorite character were "completely unplayable" because my group and I were having "BADWRONGFUN", were "DOINGITWRONG" and didn't have the "right" magical items.
I find that most of the "Your character is completely unplayable if you don't [insert something here]" stuff is self-fulfilling prophesy. People don't get some item or power or spell or whatever that they feel entitled to, and they then proceed to play in a sulky manner, and their sudden lack of effectiveness "proves" that they need whatever it is that they're whining about not having.
In short, buck up and play a goddamn hero, not a sulky kid who whines about what he didn't get for Christmas.
I've already pre-ordered my copy.
WBL is a guideline for GMs, not a hard cap on distribution.No, what I meant was that magic items are hardwired into the 3rd edition progression rules.
This book could have loads of neat amulets, cloaks, rings, belts etc that nobody is ever going to use because NOT taking the 'Big Six' apparently gimps your character into complete unplayability...
All I can say is that internet theory isn't rules. You seem to be taking a lot on faith from the keyboards of on-line know-it-alls.
I don't want to discount it entirely, the big 6 is a thing. But in a sufficiently diverse campaign... ah crap you know what? Let's talk over here.
This will be really good for me because I am really terrible at making good treasure for my party. Usually I just have them find a lot of gold or jewels so they can build their weapons and magic items themselves.
Nice...me want...me want now...me want NOW...NOW I SAY!!!
Okay, everyone keeps talking about this "Big Six," and I've never heard of this before. What the heck are they?
Okay, everyone keeps talking about this "Big Six," and I've never heard of this before. What the heck are they?
Go here. Links define it on the first page somewhere.
Okay, everyone keeps talking about this "Big Six," and I've never heard of this before. What the heck are they?Go here. Links define it on the first page somewhere.
Thank you.
If you're planning on using the tables ahead of time to set up the adventure then those are definitely things the goblins would be able to use. It's also very likely that both scrolls would have been destroyed because of the writing on them and the potions drank randomly to see what they'd do in the first place.
I would think that what you found would be what's left over /after/ all such spoilage and taste-testing had run its course with these criters. :-)