AceofMoxen's page

I know this is unlikely but the Geb/Nex enemies to lovers story is the Adventure Path I need. Now, this wouldn't change the fact they are both terrible people, so the ending would need to be something like the lover boys riding off into a Planar sunset.

Probably not going to happen, but one can dream.

I would be much more satisfied with a reveal of their history as lovers to enemies. A tragedy. That's the kind of event that creates a ghost like Geb.

First email from Shadows of Paizo just came out. Interesting mechanic, but my first thought is how to handle it on VTT since it sounds like picking dice from a bag with changing probabilities as the game goes on of which kind of die you pick.

That sounds exactly like a high school math problem I'd assign.

Blood lords could have condensed itself into 4 books nicely.

I am confused: Is this a "Content Warning/Triggering Content" issue or a "Munchkins giving themselves papercuts" issue?

Timber Sentinel also has a strange mechanic that only affects allies but the own caster/kineticist isn't your own ally. So it doesn't work on yourself.

Is there a thread or something where this is discussed in more detail?

gesalt wrote:

QuidEst wrote:

Squiggit wrote:

QuidEst wrote:

We hear about Razmir using a spell to destroy an entire city and everyone in it. These are that sort of spell, and it adds another layer of scam to what he's doing if his biggest feat of magic was a one-time-only trick.

... While it's impressive, leveling a single city is kind of... weirdly underwhelming for a spell that leaves your soul permanently marked.

Hard disagree on that for me- it's a whole city and just one person doing it.

It might be impressive by 2e standards, but burning down an entire city as a 19th level wizard in 1e with any sort of prep time is more than doable.

I guess that's an easy enough source for homebrew impossible spells. Just give a player some 1e magic.

And it does leave its brand on your soul too.

Who can see the brand? If you follow an afterlife of reincarnation, do you know your previous life cast an impossible spell?

If a nonmagic class wants an equivalent to Impossible spells, it should be a non-spell.

Monks are already halfway there. "You recognize that distance is meaningless, and punch your foe in the heart from two continents away."

AceofMoxen wrote:

Quote:

One of the dimension is Time,

Just one dimension of time? That would mean you couldn't experience time while traveling in time, right? Like Dr Who having a conversation in the Tardis while traveling is just something that can't happen in Path/Starfinder unless you have at least two dimensions of time, right?

A time traveler needs a way to leave the universe while traveling backwards in time, because otherwise observers will see the time traveler out in the open living backwards. I have read two different science fiction stories with that premise, neither which turned out well for the time traveler. Thus, we do need a way to time travel without interacting with landscapes between the present and the past, just like Pathfinder has a way to Teleport without being shoved through the landscape between start and destination. However, the extra dimension that separates the traveler from the universe does not have to be a time dimension. It could be an astral dimension or an ethereal dimension.

If the astral or ethereal dimension allows you to experience time forward while traveling backward relative to material plane time, then the astral or ethereal dimension would need to have their own time dimension. It could be completely disconnected from the main time dimension such that it is not a 2nd dimension, but that's still more than one dimension of time.

Time machines that allow conversation while journeying between historic times are assumed to generate their own internal time rather than following a 2nd time dimension.

Their own internal time would be a temporary or limited dimension of time, right? So you'd still have more than one dimension of time. If you created time that was not a dimension, that would imply it can't be moved through?

One of the dimension is Time,

Just one dimension of time? That would mean you couldn't experience time while traveling in time, right? Like Dr Who having a conversation in the Tardis while traveling is just something that can't happen in Path/Starfinder unless you have at least two dimensions of time, right?

I assume that in universe, people have no idea. The few people who even know about impossible spells probably just know "you only ever get one shot at this" and the people who thought they figured the system out and how to exploit it have not come back around to convince anyone that they were right.

Well, I'd hate to dedicate my life to learning an impossible spell only to discover I already did one a dozen reincarnations ago.

AceofMoxen wrote:

On July 24th or 25th, Paizo will launch their new official rules site, and we will need to evaluate whether it is more or less accurate than AoN.

This is news to me. Do you happen to have a link to where this was announced?

I said it was a expectation, not an obligation. Paizo has admitted that AoN put the news out ahead of them.

Paizo has 20 years of providing basic support for their games. It would be hugely embarrassing and chaotic if they just suddenly failed to provide a promised service.

I agree with Finoan here.
Official and correct are not the same thing.

However, I expect that this point is moot. Paizo advertises the rules are available online for free. That places an expectation (not an obligation) that they will provide said rules. On July 24th or 25th, Paizo will launch their new official rules site, and we will need to evaluate whether it is more or less accurate than AoN.

I'm concerned about the metaphysical implications. Do you know if your soul has used an impossible spell?

A Samsaran might have thousands of past lives with the same soul, but limited memories. The same aplies in a planar afterlife. After being judged by Phrasma, the soul loses its memories, but would it know learning an impossible spell is fruitless?

If the information is not transferred, it would be hilarious to play a Samsaran Wizard up to high-level, get to the plot-necessary impossible spell, and then discover you can't do it.

On the other hand, we've been lead to believe Phrasma has good reason for wiping memories. (see the NecroEthics thread) If binary information can be transferred, is that a risk to the universe?

Ravingdork wrote:

Are you indicating that a Medium creature couldn't work their way down a narrow corridor, treating it as difficult terrain? 'Cause that's pretty much all we're doing.

Not working the way down as much as occupying a smaller space, as the previous posts in the chain say.

If a 10x10 creature can "stop" in a 10x5 spot (so, half their size) or 5x5 (a quarter), why can't two Medium creatures "stop" and share the same space by each occupying half? Or 4 medium creatures "squeezing" into a single square?

Allowing Large characters to move through/stop in 5 feet wide hallways I have no problem with, but the idea that a Large character can say "well, you see, I can move and stop in a 5' wide hallway so I can therefore move into this 5' gap between two characters and just occupy that space" is a bit...too much for me.

Yes, that is where I am at, thank you.

AceofMoxen wrote:

Suppose that a combat has already been joined, such that the optimal space for a large creature is a 5x5 or 5x10 space. Can it choose to treat its allies and/or enemies the same as the hallway wall? Just choose to take difficult terrain so it can fit into a 5x5?

That's what we do when using Foundry. Just wedge him into the available space, typically a 5x10, and treat it as difficult terrain, which I ignore thanks to Light Step. :P

That doesn't seem right, because a medium character couldn't treat small creatures that way.

Important to note is that intercept requires you to be within 10ft, and you can step, but you don't have to.

I'm more concerned about the version against a taunted enemy, where the guardian can stride and the ally can be within 15 feet.

When you mention 5x5 you mean a single square, right?

I don't think Large creatures can occupy anything less than their base space (so 10x10, 15x15, 20x20 and so on), the Size, Space and Reach rules make no mention of it, and it clashes with other rules about overlapping spaces, and impassable terrain and such.

In the other thread, it seems people agree a large creature just moves slowly through a 5-foot hallway. (https://paizo.com/threads/rzs8dx1k?Large-Creature-Combat-and-Movement)

5x5 is a single square, yes, sorry if that was unclear.

I am also concerned about light step with the guardian intercept ability.

Suppose that a combat has already been joined, such that the optimal space for a large creature is a 5x5 or 5x10 space. Can it choose to treat its allies and/or enemies the same as the hallway wall? Just choose to take difficult terrain so it can fit into a 5x5?

One of my PC's is playing a large guardian, and I'm having trouble understanding how he operates in tight quarters.

I'm also having difficulty articulating some uncertainties.

I'm pretty sure that if he only uses the base form of Intercept Attack, he can't enter anything but a 10x10 clear area. "You fling yourself in the way of oncoming harm to protect an ally. You can Step, but you must end your movement adjacent to the triggering ally."

The issue is with the upgraded version used against a taunted opponent. "You can extend this ability to an ally within 15 feet of you if the damage comes from your taunted enemy. If this ally is farther than you can Step to reach, you can Stride instead of Stepping; you still must end the movement adjacent to your ally."

As I understand it, he can enter a 5x5 square with his entire character as difficult terrain. Squeezing only applies to a space smaller than that. (https://2e.aonprd.com/Actions.aspx?ID=2372) Can he stop in this difficult terrain? Does he suffer any other penalties for condensing his body into a 5x5 or 10x5?

If he can't stop as anything but a 10x10, does a wall between two quarters of his body block him? Essentially, can he stop with his token looking like a clock at 3:15 with the wall as the hands. (The wall is a stone wall inside a building, if that matters)

Lastly, is there anything else I should know about large PCs in tight quarters? We are playing season of ghosts, and I warned him that some of the buildings are tiny, but he was still gun-ho on his idea.

While we are on the subject on Shinzo, i have a question regarding his visits.

Shinzo can obviously leave the mindscape, and knowing my players, they will find it interesting to the point the will follow him to see how he does it.
How would handle this situation without making him untrustworthy or making the players waste too much time trying to research this?

Im thinking about having the cleric of phrasma sincerely believe he's an old adventing buddy who just has good luck.

I'm more concerned with them asking him for information about the outside world than just following him. Does he know what should be happening outside? Does he lie?

First, I assume that Ancient Aztlan will be responsible for their introduction, given its role as the dominant power during that era.

I hope they also introduced the tomato bath, or else...ouch.

We're not starting for another two weeks, so these concepts might get fleshed out more. My players are

Hannagi-- Male Oni (using hungerseed jotun) Guardian. Has lost most of his memories and powers, but loves a good fight and always takes up the side of the little guy. Hoping to join the Ruby Phoenix tournament in three years. Working as a Blacksmith.

Baiguo--Male Leshy Swashbuckler bandit. Laying low in town after a crime went bad.

Kai Fan --Male-ish Kitsune alchemist. Likes fireworks. New to PF2e.

Fujie--Female Kitsune Cleric/Shrine Maiden of Daikitsu.

It's absolutely terrible. Discord is almost uniquely unsuitable for useful internet discussion and yet somehow it's become the default.

I keep meaning to start a GM reference thread here with as much of the collected wisdom from the Discord as I have saved, but I haven't found the time to put everything together yet.

EDIT: Wonton's guide is a very good starting point

Thank you!

The SoG DM discord has been extremely active to the detriment of the classic forum format

I hate this about discord, because it's so hard to read through and find good advice, then.

(Continuing to respond to The Raven Black)

We know you’re Pathfinders, and not Eagle Knights or soldiers In

this case, that works to our advantage If Andoran brings a large force
into Brastlewark, the Chelaxian military might respond by threatening
the civilians We can’t have that We need small team who can
improvise, move fast, deal with any threats, and get out

This part of page 3 is the brothersome part. It implies that the pathfinders can be seen as a lesser threat to Chelax and will use that deception to "deal with threats." That creates a contradiction in the Pathfinder Society's future. The adventure offers no off-ramp for sabotaging the Society's Semi-neutral status. I've played several adventures about fixing the Society's mistakes, and making a new one should be handled with more care.

I'm not saying this shouldn't be a topic, just that it needs a careful hand, and this adventure was not careful.

AceofMoxen wrote:

The Raven Black wrote:

Liberating forced laborers is in no way a war crime. In fact, it is only doing a good deed. Not taking part of the war per se.

Or do heroes need to stop doing good and punishing bad guys just because there is an official state of war ?

Just to note, in case you haven't read the adventure, the PCs are coordinating with the eagle knights, and fight next to them (against humans in uniform!) at the final battle.

Just played this today. The final battle was clearly self-defense for the Pathfinders.

I mean, this is why soldiers need to be clearly defined as not adventurers. "Self-Defense" when you enter a hostile country with intent to disrupt its war effort, and have already (probably) killed up to four soldiers? What should Chelixian conscripts do? Ask the Pathfinders politely to leave after breaking and entering, plus probably killing their friends? Again, these guys are NPC core Guards template, no deals with devils. They may have signed onto the local militia to fight the occasional monster.

You can't just swap hats into soldiering, just like you couldn't swap hats into policing in Agents of EdgeWatch. Paizo plans at least two years in advance and picks the worst timing. I'm sorry.

I'm worried this sounds harsh, but I meant it sincerely: if the current modern illegality of mercenaries is enough to cause distress over embodying them in fiction, I think roleplaying something other than a combat-focused game that's currently telling a war storyline might be the correct choice, rather than demanding that storyline change.

No, that's fair. Thank you.

The way an evil person will make "forced labor" for the imprisoned seem not like slavery is by paying them a (very low) wage. And of course, during the course of the imprisonment it would be unfair for the innocent to pay for their food and lodging, so they will need to pay for that somehow...

I agree with you, but the adventure does not go into that much detail, and I fear further conversation along this line is why the slavery threads were locked.

Liberating forced laborers is in no way a war crime. In fact, it is only doing a good deed. Not taking part of the war per se.

Or do heroes need to stop doing good and punishing bad guys just because there is an official state of war ?

Just to note, in case you haven't read the adventure, the PCs are coordinating with the eagle knights, and fight next to them (against humans in uniform!) at the final battle.

If the Pathfinders did just take advantage of the war to liberate Forced laborers, that would be a complex topic. There are recent historical parallels that are highly controversial.

Again, my larger, less emotional, point is that this adventure is hitting controversial topics and is written without a content warning of the complexity.

Forced labor based on abilities (even innate ones) is NOT slavery. It is extremely disgusting, but it is not equivalent to a humanoid/sentient being actually owning another one.

I really didn't want to argue this. Can we just agree that this statement is controversial? The circumstances crossed into 'temporary' enslavement for me. If you read the adventure and found it disgusting, but not slavery, that's valid.

Finally, AFAIK the fictional VC has no power to order the PCs around. Your PC can totally refuse the mission.

My friend is running this game multiple times at Gen Con and needs to practice it. If I refuse, I go home instead of spending time with my friends.

If the adventure had content warnings, I could have refused in advance, and played MTG with different friends instead.

I'll note my point that I'd prefer the game adhere to a definition of morality and the concept of "war crime" no later than the seventeenth century. Otherwise, fantasy reminiscent of the past simply becomes modernity in a less technologically advanced world. This is important to me because such things represent a problem in that my suspension of disbelief simply ceases to function. Frankly, with many elements of the second edition, I find it difficult to believe that a world built on such principles would work.

OK, I'll bite.

Which part of the world had a 'definition of morality' that included 'the good gods are in a polyamorous lesbian relationship?' (That was in first edition, right?)

The fictional world's morality is what we make it, and if we include Native American, African, and Asian societies in 'pre-17th century morality,' we can probably have a historical basis for almost whatever we want.

On reflection, my real point here is that the game provoked an emotional reaction in me that nearly lead to me using the X-card. It is clear that the adventure thought this would be just a fun hop into and out of a war. I want to bring attention that "War" is a serious word, especially between or among human-ish creatures. I have no problem exterminating the undead or Demons. Humans and Kin have an innate right to mercy.

On the slavery, it's not an x-card topic for me (at least, in this manner), but I did want to, again, illuminate that this adventure needs a content warning, in my opinion.

AceofMoxen wrote:

I'm not sure reviews voting is working as intended.

I'm logged in to the store. I can vote, reload the page, and vote again, and the counter keeps moving up. I hope this is protected from automation, but it still seems to make voting on reviews pointless if ill-intentioned actors can put dozens of votes on any review.

I am no longer encountering this error, so good.

Ah. It appears I can vote once a day on each review. As many days as I want, even while logged in. So you can't spam it, but you can vote multiple times.

I still think this makes votes on reviews useless.

Eventually the lack of a core moon deity in the Inner Sea got thematically quantified with the lore addition of Acavna, who sacrificed herself to save Golarion from total destruction during Earthfall. There not being a "replacement" moon deity in the Inner Sea was thematically intended to fit into that theme of loss and sacrifice from her act.

I do find this a really interesting and maybe poetic point. We all know "Our God gave their life for us" is a powerful message. It's a shame she's so unknown among the players, a guardian dedicated to her memory would be my kind of character. However, I mostly play society or GM these days, so I'd never have any real engagement with the concept.

All of that informed 2E's version of things. There's still no "moon" deity in the core 20, but frankly I kind of like that—forced symmetry is a design choice I often avoid, since that can so-easily lead down the route of having things define each other by what they're not, or by their opposites, and that always kinda felt lazy to me, personally.

This is not a bad thing, but I do feel you (the team) have made asymmetry a theme of pathfinder. I think its a good choice as the elephant often forces symmetry across everything. (paladins are the same mechanics for every alignment now) Was it your intention to convey this as a theme of your work? Or just a preference that repeated itself?

I'm not sure reviews voting is working as intended.

I'm logged in to the store. I can vote, reload the page, and vote again, and the counter keeps moving up. I hope this is protected from automation, but it still seems to make voting on reviews pointless if ill-intentioned actors can put dozens of votes on any review.

I am no longer encountering this error, so good.

I'm not sure reviews voting is working as intended.

I'm logged in to the store. I can vote, reload the page, and vote again, and the counter keeps moving up. I hope this is protected from automation, but it still seems to make voting on reviews pointless if ill-intentioned actors can put dozens of votes on any review.

also. how do i remove my name from the post? i do not want my real name on public facing parts of any website. thank you.

There's a box to put any name you want. Once a review is submitted, it can't be changed, but you can probably message a staff member to request a takedown and replacement. (I sure hope it doesn't allow trolling by using another real person's name)

Hey all! Just jumping in here to say that this doesn't feel like a troll post to me at all. It seems OP has genuine concerns about the depictions in the Society Scenario and is absolutely allowed to express their discomfort around it, especially since it was done in the civil manner we hope to see on our forums! Thank you for this feedback, and I'll pass it along to the team!

Thank you, Maya. I feel better knowing that this will be passed along. There are many companies that do not take feedback of this nature, and I will continue to purchase Paizo products because I know they listen.

I do get where you're coming from, but I think the issue is complex.

In terms of the depiciton of slavery, I would agree that the situation presented here fits the technical definition, but is in something of a gray area with regards to Paizo's stated proscription. What they seem to be avoiding is depiction of institutionalized slave trade. While a local despot conscripting the populace into abusive labor is obviously immoral, it lacks some of the evocative gratuitousness of, say, a galley-ship beaching on a coastal community and dragging villagers into their hold, or a bustling market of humanoid chattel. Partly because it is intra-community rather than inter-community -- the King is himself a gnome and the whole arrangement never leaves the town. Partly because we Americans have a particular relationship with the multifaceted history of forced labor.

As for the whether these are warcrimes angle… Kinda? Maybe? But, like, the stats are in NPC Core for a reason, occasionally you're gonna be killing those guys. Human or zombie or freaky little imp thing, sometimes guys are standing in the way of good-intentioned fantasy violence. That's the kind of game this is! It's not the way we should necessarily act in real life, but you picked up a rulebook where "Fighter" is one of the core options and "Sneak Attack" is the central feature of another.

Actually, wait, "I'm fine with a little murder". So are you just getting bogged down in the legal status of your actions? Because you objected to the conditions of the people you're liberating enough to write the first half of the post; why should it matter exactly how you came about the goal to stop it? Are you soldiers? Humanitarian aid? Mercenaries (I'd argue that would require getting paid by the party at war with your opponents)? …Does it matter? You're trying to liberate an opressed and abused people, and some armed combattants who are active participants in that opression and abuse stand intentionally between that just goal and the point of your sword....

Thank you for your response. You are correct on most accounts, except that my emotional response to war crimes vs. murder is not logical. I don't want to make this about real-world issues, but the past five years and especially last fall have left my stomach churning at the thought of war crimes. I'm convinced we need to hold our fictional heroes to higher standards on this topic.

I'm uncomfortable with war crimes because my country is committing them and my allies are dying in them.

If I had a traumatic experience of killing in self-defense, I would expect my opinion on fictional murder to change as well. Until then, I'll continue to enjoy slasher movies.

I don't have much to comment here, but I've noticed lately trend of progressive influencers on social media getting tired of "Modern D&D murder is perfectly okay, but scared of anything that might cause emotional or sociopolitical tension". Like idea that characters who have grown up in monarchy would never be classicist and characters need to be clean rather than messy.

It's something I've observed because Paizo rulebooks tend to read sanitized, the paizo setting & adventure books discuss fantasy sociopolitical issues, then video games and novels discuss more real life sociopolitical stuff. It kinda reads to me that paizo writers also want to discuss real topics through fiction, but there is bit of disconnect between company politics and the actual practice.

Either way thing about war crimes is that their point is "If you don't do these things, we don't do these things either", someone being put into trial over war crimes is more of symbolical act of "This went too far and wasn't sanctioned", hence why politicians get away with war crimes all the time. They are supposed to be mutually beneficent agreement that neither side does it, hence why as it often happens, the moment one side breaks them other side also does them in real life.

I'm bit confused because you seem to dislike more the actual label of "real life war crime" than "what the action in context of the game" is? Like again being noted that killing surely is fine despite killing not being okay in real life

I don't want to make this about real-world issues, but the past five years and especially last fall have left my stomach churning at the thought of war crimes. I'm convinced we need to hold our fictional heroes to higher standards on this topic.

I'm uncomfortable with war crimes because my country is committing them and my allies are dying in them.

If I had a traumatic experience of killing in self-defense, I would expect my opinion on fictional murder to change as well. Until then, I'll continue to enjoy slasher movies.

Okay, this is a troll post. Indicating looting as something you want removed, although it is one of the essential parts of most fantasy TTRPG's, is already a clear statement of intent that you are trying to make a point about how the removal of slavery was kinda hypocritical by Paizo, given that we as players are murdering and looting people and monsters all the time.

Just wanted to point that out, in case some dev sees this and manages to miss the obvious trolling. Flagged and moving on, otherwise.

This is what I get for putting out a stream of conscious post. Looting is fine when adventurers do it. Soldiers are not adventurers. I'm unhappy that developers think you can just swap hats. And again, a previous adventure in this line had pathfinders against an undead army. No issues there for me.

I'm not saying my emotions are logical by any means. I had an upsetting experience at my game night, and wanted to share.

Desna is worshipped as "Mother Moon" by the matriarchal Nomen centaur tribe.

Varnhold vanishing.

The inhabitants of the Moon in "the Moonscar" worship Nocticula and were actively furthering her ends. I would be inclined to say that if they live there, they can claim it for her. If any survive, I wonder what they think of Nocticula's change of heart.

I would like the "The Goddess of the Moon died to save Golarian, but Desna looks after the Moon for her." However, any connection there seems to be headcanon only. "Nocticula is taking over the moon-watch" would also be nice homebrew material.

We know who/what caused the Worldwound (and it wasn't another effect of Aroden dying).

I'm almost certain that it only worked because it happened at nearly the same time.

Sorry for the downer and if this has been brought up elsewhere.

Five years ago Paizo announced the complete removal of slavery from their setting. Slavery would not appear, even as enemy actions. This was discussed to death here: https://paizo.com/threads/rzs43jn5&page=1?The-Slavery-Thing

Luis Loza Developer said there

As this matter has come up multiple times, I just want to pop in here and let everyone know our stance at the moment, since it seems there's some confusion on how this is exactly being handled.

Slavery will no longer be the focus of our stories, but that doesn't mean it's suddenly been retroactively removed from the setting as if it never existed. Places like Vidrian and Absalom are still defined by their relationship with slavery, even if the practice has been fully ended. We might still bring it up from time to time, such as when noting historic events and the like.

If you want to continue playing heroes that defeat slavers and liberate people, please go ahead. If you want to tell stories that include it to showcase the evil and cruelty of villains, please go ahead. What you should not expect is for us to tell those stories going forward. We won't be doing adventures like Broken Chains and others that keep slavery in the spotlight, even as an institution to dismantle. We understand that this matter, like many other sensitive matters, are not ones that players want to necessarily interface with without having bought in or agreed to it first. Rather than force someone to opt out of these stories, we prefer taking the option of allowing groups to actively choose to include them in their games.

What does this mean for the Firebrands, Bellflower Network, Gray Corsairs, and others? At the moment, nothing. They can still do good and help people in ways that don't require fighting slavers. They might need to help liberated people get established in life. They could work to fight other forms of tyranny. They could go around rescuing the victims of kidnapping. We won't be having them deal with slavery directly going forward, however, and we'll make sure to expand or realign the focus of such groups when we get the chance going forward.

There's going to be a lot of nuance and figuring out exactly where we want other aspects that are tied to or similar to slavery land exactly within the Lost Omens setting. It's going to take work and time to make sure we continue to tell inclusive, exciting, and engaging stories and this will just be another aspect to keep in mind.

(emphasis added)

This year the adventure, Society Scenario #7-14: Brastlewark at War, Part 2: The Gnome Liberation was released. I played it today, and I was extremely distrubed, almost to the point of using the X-card. I have just purchased the module, so I can confirm its intent without my GM's influence.

(King)was forcing the townspeople to infuse deadly war machines with

their innate primal magic.

rackett’s smile is broad but doesn’t

quite reach his eyes “I’ll get right to it A
little while ago, Pathfinder agents rescued
some gnome workers escaping Cheliax Given
the emergency nature of that sudden assignment,
they could only rescue a few gnomes who had
already escaped, but had to leave dozens of others
behind in Brastlewark We’re here to finish the job of
getting those workers out of the grip of the despotic
Drum Thornfiddle,

(pg 3) Ok, that's forced labor, which is another word for slavery when applied to a group of people (gnomes) sorted by race. This is clearly slavery based on ancestry.

When did Paizo start allowing villains to enslave people again? It's very hard for me to reconcile Luis Loza's statement of not doing stories about liberating slaves with this adventure's premise.

Let's move on to the war crimes. I take serious issue when heroes commit war crimes. Notably, Star Wars characters use false surrender all the time in their cartoon series, and that's ruined a franchise I loved even when it was objectively terrible.

We know you’re Pathfinders, and not Eagle Knights or soldiers In

this case, that works to our advantage If Andoran brings a large force
into Brastlewark, the Chelaxian military might respond by threatening
the civilians We can’t have that We need small team who can
improvise, move fast, deal with any threats, and get out

First, this story is about adventurers at war. A real war. That has consequences. Notably, you are limited in looting the dead in a war. You can take weapons and food off of fallen foes, but not valuables. Nearly Every Country on Earth holds looting fallen soldiers as unethical. That may be meaningless to characters on Golarian, but it means something to me as a player. There is no warning about this in-game or out-of-game.

“This operation was put together quickly. We need to get

those civilians out while we’re attacking. If we try to do it afterward,
it’ll be too late. You were near, and you’re the only ones who can do
this. Andoran asked specifically for our help, since we aided them
before in getting some gnome refugees across the border a short time
ago.”

Second, We are not the Red Cross nor other relief, because we carry weapons. We are not uniformed soldiers of the party at war, clearly. As I understand it, the pathfinders here would be unpaid mercenaries.

On Earth, Art. 47 of Protocol I deals with Mercenaries. Amended in 1989, the pathfinders meet the new legal standard.

A mercenary is also any person who, in any other situation:

Is specially recruited locally or abroad for the purpose of participating in a concerted act of violence aimed at :
Overthrowing a Government or otherwise undermining the constitutional order of a State; or
Undermining the territorial integrity of a State;
Is motivated to take part therein essentially by the desire for significant private gain and is prompted by the promise or payment of material compensation;
Is neither a national nor a resident of the State against which such an act is directed;
Has not been sent by a State on official duty; and
Is not a member of the armed forces of the State on whose territory the act is undertaken.

Yep. I'm playing a mercenary in this game. Is that ethical?

Article 3

A mercenary, as defined in article 1 of the present Convention, who participates directly in hostilities or in a concerted act of violence, as the case may be, commits an offence for the purposes of the Convention.

And yes, most of Earth would consider my character a criminal. This is where I would X-Card.

I'm fine with a little murder, but war crimes are not what I want in Pathfinder society. I understand Golarian is different, and I'm fighting the actual forces of hell. This isn't like the Worldwound, with an enemy not of my plane. I'm fighting ordinary Chelixian soldiers. Humans and Kin, not outsiders. (outdated terms, I know) That's the line in the sand where I X-card.

To be clear, The soldiers in the adventure were straight from NPC core, no devilish powers or undead. I don't mind fighting as a mercenary against mindless undead. They're a public disease. Fighting my fellow kin, however, holds me to a higher ethical standard.

Third, I don't want to detail every war crime a mercenary acting like an adventurer might commit. It's a long list. I want you to know that the role of Adventurer and soldier is not an easy swap. It has consequences.

I would like the community's opinions on this topic. Am I being too harsh on the slavery angle? Is there a justification I didn't consider for mercenaries in this war? This was a stream of consciousness essay, so I haven't hardened my opinions by any means.

AceofMoxen wrote:

I've checked several items, and nothing seems to be reduced in price for the fireside sale?

I did a write up in this thread about the sale which may help you figure out what's going on / how to get the discounts.

Thank you. Adding to cart was not working.

I've checked several items, and nothing seems to be reduced in price for the fireside sale?

The basis pack is missing, but I found an old link by digging around. so solved.

"Cannot be enabled due to issues in required dependencies"

Now other modules with dependencies, I can click on them and get a list of what I need, but season of ghosts doesn't offer that. I have the blood lords modules, and it looks like those are dependent on a 'Basis pack' that doesn't exist for season of ghosts.

So I'm stumped. What should I try now?

If it doesn't bite you and you explode, it's Runic, not venomous.

I'm not disagreeing with you, I'm trying to find a balance here. My initial comment was harsher than I intended.

In my experience, an animal companion following the full feat chain can take a hit or two far better than a familiar. In combat, it's much closer to a party member. Druida get a special healing spell just for their companion automatically, and rangers can get the same with a feat. (I think?) A familiar uses the party's healing resources and can die to a single hit.

I also think a familiar delivering spells to enemies is far fairer a target than a familiar with an aura of buff or debuff. However, the aura might be more powerful.

So, for table expectations, if my rabbit is wandering around the battlefield, giving +1 or -1 AC, are enemies aware it's doing magic? (See arguments about recognize spell) Is it a fair target? Is it much safer as a bird? Or on the shoulder of a Frontline?

From the GM side, I might want an easy or average encounter to soften up the party for another fight. With out-of-combat healing so easy as to handwaved, I need to force a consumable, spell slot, or maybe a 1/day item to degrade the party at all. Targeting a familiar is something I have more control over than those.

So I see a temptation for GMs to overdo putting the pet in danger, and that's where my harshness comes from. Ive played with good people who would let me rebuild a character into another class in this situation, but would not be able to stop targeting the familiar and let me have my witch fantasy. I see this as different than the old GM-Paladin issues where the GM is acting in bad faith. Here, the GM has a reasonable goal, and the familiar is uniquely vulnerable to it.

I wonder if the fact that the familiar comes back each day actually makes it more vulnerable.

PF2, as it moves through the middle of its lifespan, is having some identity issues for me. In many ways, the PCs enter each fight as if fully rested, unless they're spellcasters.

My personal recommendation is keep it in a familiar satchel or other similar place that keeps them out of combat.

What? You want to use your familiar in combat? Than prepare for it to be knocked/unconscious or die.

As a GM, the second your familiar starts augmenting your combat abilities in an offensive way, it paints a target on its back that will likely see it killed. If you want to keep it conscious a while longer, Lifelink can help you do that.

That feels like punishing the witch player. What other class's key abilities do you target to remove for the day?

As for language barriers, this is why spells like Translate and items like Books of Translation or Choker of Elocution and skill feats like Multilingual exists. A situation where players encounter a character who barely speaks common or doesn't speak it at all, is also a fun challenge for a party. It allows non-pure combat characters to shine!

As mentioned above, Darmok and Jalad is a story that only works once. Stargate SG-1 tried to have translation as a reoccurring issue, and quickly dropped it as boring. Maybe you could build a game where translation is a major, reoccurring challenge, but that's not pathfinder, and I'm skeptical of that game's appeal to a board audience.

Also, starting at level 3, casters have increasing options to completely negate the challenge of translation. This turns these encounters into a simple gear check. If your caster is low-charisma, and the translate only affects them, you can have a little fun, but again, that only works once. It's pretty common that the caster has the best Charisma, too.

One of the better uses for languages, IMO, is during combat. The Hobgoblin commander shouts orders, and the PCs who understand goblin can know what's happening.