Akadzjian's page

Alright everyone,
New update to the Playtest. Biggest addition is the new Half-Dwarf race, with some minor wording fixes, but mainly the new race. Enjoy!

Akadzjian wrote:

Hello all, thanks for your patience. The Playtest for Bloodforge Infusions has been updated.

I saw that the file gained two pages but I can't seem to find where the new stuff went; that one favored class bonus changed, but otherwise, I must just be blind.

Huh. How long has it been since you looked? Were the tengu variants in there before? Most of the changes were wording changes, adding details to the fluff, and otherwise. We haven't added a bunch of brand-new data in a while.

Hello all, thanks for your patience. The Playtest for Bloodforge Infusions has been updated.

Matt Medeiros here.

Yes. Thanks for loving the Sthein and Houri! We worked hard on this book and I'm glad the effort was appreciated!

Yeah, the "ageless" trait was more of a nod that with skin like wood or the like, why would they age? That's it in a nutshell.

If ya'll like it enough, a second one MAY be in the works if you make a big enough ruckus. :P

FYI: With some luck, this might hit site next week. A patron asked me to move this one to the front of my review-queue. :)

Oh wow. Alright, I'll keep my eye open for that. I know whatever the end verdict is that it'll be fair.

Thanks in Advance; and I have to say this is one of my favorite Race Books for Pathfinder!

Thanks! As one of the authors of this book, I have to say we can't say enough howb much we appreciate these comments! You've made my day, personally, so thank you!

Wow. Thanks for choosing one of my articles. Kind of excited to see which. :P It also took three tries for me, so everyone who didn't get in, keep trying! You all know that motivational poster, I'm sure: "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take!"

I'll have a weal and woe article for you guys. It was going to be submitted for the magazine Open Gaming Monthly's Halloween edition a few years ago but since that issue never got released, I'll rewrite it and send it your way.

Hey everyone!
If anyone could take a look at the errata and tell us if we have covered any errors, I'd really appreciate it! Hope to hear from you soon!

Well in that case I now have two books about Half Breed races!

Hi, is personally life to apologize for the first book. You'll notice that a lot of the races are the same combination, so if you wanted to use the old fluff you still could. The mechanics SHOULD still make sense for... Most. We changed the more questionably trademarked combos so I hope you like the work as much as I do!

Hello, I'm Matthew Medeiros and one of the two authors of this great book of "heretical heritage." This book really does offer players and GMs alike a new way to approach characters with a spice to their ancestry, however subtle.

I'm really excited to finally be able to present this alongside Jade and hope it inspire entirely new character concepts and stories for your table!

K177Y C47 wrote:

Honestly, I find it funny when people go all " ROGUES ARE PERFECTLY FINE! YOU JUST DON'T KNOW THE SUPER SECRET FORMULA!!!!"

I'm sorry... the rogue has been out FOREVER. They have been investigated from every angle and every possible build. When it is just about universally aknowledged that the rogue is sub-par in combat, there is a reason for that...

Well, I have a good build for my Rogue, it just rolls over and dies against Undead.

How would it roll over against undead? They aren't immune to sneak attacks so I don't understand how it'd rollover against them.

Frankly most of the most powerful effects in 3.5 and also in Pathfinder are in the core rules for both. You really don't have to go outside of either for tons of powerful effects that would fundamentally reshape how the world works.

Teleport is a very basic example, it you can get it at 9th level. It can carry lots of goods hundreds of miles in an instant and be used every single day. There are few protections against teleport, and nothing that can easily cover a city without massive investment. The implications of this spell alone are not considered.

There's tons of stuff like this.

But Teleport isn't all-powerful. Here's the description:

"This spell instantly transports you to a designated destination, which may be as distant as 100 miles per caster level. Interplanar travel is not possible. You can bring along objects as long as their weight doesn't exceed your maximum load. You may also bring one additional willing Medium or smaller creature (carrying gear or objects up to its maximum load) or its equivalent per three caster levels. A Large creature counts as two Medium creatures, a Huge creature counts as four Medium creatures, and so forth. All creatures to be transported must be in contact with one another, and at least one of those creatures must be in contact with you. As with all spells where the range is personal and the target is you, you need not make a saving throw, nor is Spell Resistance applicable to you. Only objects held or in use (attended) by another person receive saving throws and Spell Resistance.

You must have some clear idea of the location and layout of the destination. The clearer your mental image, the more likely the teleportation works."
It goes on to level out the percentage chance of it working in unknown locations.
I understand what you're saying, about inconsistencies, and I agree the system has it's flaws, but you have to look at the big picture - most of the people aren't adventurers, they aren't rich. Most wizards have to spend 1 gold per 100 castings of any simple spells, and the ludicrous ones cost more. As the other gentlemen said, essentially 10 gp probably equals out to $300 USD. If we translated it to dollars, then it'd cost a lot and take a long time to get that powerful (assuming XP still works in somehow).
On top of that, you'd be able to bring one other person along. You carrying up to your max load, and your man-servant.

But the game isn't built of assuming an 18. It's built off the elite array, so using that you still have a 17 in Int (with the 4th and 8th level points in Int), a 19 if you're a race that has (or can have) an Int bonus.
That doesn't leave a very high strength. So mass transportation of goods isn't really an option.
Anyways, that's all I really have to say. I have more important things to do than keep coming back here to joust with you.
God Bless,

Akadzjian wrote:

Drachasor wrote:

This makes it EASIER not harder. You just need ONE MAN to start this sort of thing off -- and heck, 20th level Wizards can become immortal with a feat; plenty of time to work on things.

Not in Pathfinder RPG. That's a DM-fiat; allowing 3.5 stuff in.

And once you start THAT, the BBEG gets all those benefits and we're all seriously screwed.

Actually... Immortality isn't 3.5 DM Fiat at all. It's an Arcane Discovery available in Ultimate Magic.

Again though, that's DM fiat. Everything that isn't in the CRB is up to the DM. I've had (and still find) DMs who literally say "We're playing Pathfinder, anything that isn't in one of the original three books isn't allowed for _this_ campaign/one-shot/whatever". It's perfectly reasonable for a D/GM to say "I want to NOT have any horrible surprises, so I'll be responsible and reasonable if I can predict what you can do."

I actually typically (more for 3.5 than for PF) declined playing with "any-book-goes" G/DMs for the exact above reason - I make a character for roleplaying who's good at being what he is, another person uses some obscure book (which may just as easily not exist for some D/GMs) that grants him uber-power. I don't enjoy it because the uber-power character goes "Screw roleplaying, let's kill everything," and has the power to do it.
So "GM-fiat" arguement still applies. ;) But I DO get your point as far as "you don't have to go into 3.5 to get it".

Ha! This turned into a philosophical discussion whereas the original question was one of mere preference.

I'll answer the original question, as my stance on Morality and Depravity is more objective than yours and don't see a point in getting into it.

All my players know that in my setting; typically Good is aided (i.e. in the epic-poetics mentality of "Good Always Triumphs Over Evil" with a sub-script of "...eventually" added in. I can pull punches at times against the good guys. I make fortune favor them too.

However, if a player(or players) wants to make an evil character, then they know that no-holds-barred. I don't hold anything back and anything they get, it's because they've earned it twice over.

I find it makes my heroes (actual heroes, none of this "I'm good-aligned, so pay me PLEASE"-nonsense) idealistic without making them "anti-hero-ish" while making my villains that much more desperate. They've earned it all, so like hell they're going to give it up just because some schmuck with a sword is going to take it all away.

As for depravity, I don't approve of players being depraved in the traditional sense. No PC is allowed to commit any blatantly depraved act that requires any real amount of detail for "role-playing purposes".

Being Evil is one thing, but at least have some damn class.

mplindustries wrote:

I disagree. "Because magic" is a legitimate answer here. Also legit: "Because it's a trap--helping someone isn't a trap."

Neither of those are good in-world rationales, though.

mplindustries wrote:

My final answer, if they kept pushing, would be:

"If you can't let genre conventions slide, D&D is not your game--here, I have dozens of other RPGs we could play instead."

This seems more like a flaw in game-world logic than a genre convention. There's a distinct difference between the two, at least IMO.

Actually - in MANY fantasy worlds magic has a kind of "logic-based" rules system. In other words, magic meant to harm (enchantment or otherwise) intrinsically can't be used to help. As the first poster said, because a "magic trap" is intended to harm then in those worlds its completely normal for it to function *only to harm*. So even a Cure Light Wounds "trap" would only function if using said spell would harm the target.

Magic isn't an "easy button" in a logical world. It has it's own limitations as well. I look at D&D/PFrpg as storytelling first, and games second.

This makes it EASIER not harder. You just need ONE MAN to start this sort of thing off -- and heck, 20th level Wizards can become immortal with a feat; plenty of time to work on things.

Not in Pathfinder RPG. That's a DM-fiat; allowing 3.5 stuff in.

And once you start THAT, the BBEG gets all those benefits and we're all seriously screwed.

Yeah, the traps idea is quite ludicrously awesome.
Besides the point, though. There's little to no way for any but a city to afford it - high level casters are quite rare and there isn't supposed to be an "open-magic mart" where if you have the coin you can buy it. The game's built around a storytelling aspect that is supposed to make acquisition of reagents a deal in and of itself, at times. The only reason casters are OP is because the GM allows them to be. He doesn't even need to veto - he just needs to make players work for their loot. (and 1000gp of diamonds IS loot)

Akadzjian wrote:

Drachasor, the difference between technology and magic is thus: One person wields said power. Even with Simulacrum it'd take time to make the Sim, and the staff of wishes more importantly.

This makes it EASIER not harder. You just need ONE MAN to start this sort of thing off -- and heck, 20th level Wizards can become immortal with a feat; plenty of time to work on things.

But, I am amused to find so many people believe medieval stasis in a world with such powerful magic is realistic.

I'm confused.

Magic to MAKE machinery versus the knowledge of HOW to make machinery are two wholly different arenas.

I'm thoroughly confused that you seem to think that a wizard would have an engineering degree when machinery doesn't exist. Besides, why would he even WANT machinery? An intelligent and altruistic person like that would easily realize that technology would allow other people to rival him in destructive potential. So what would he do? Just wish it away? Simulacrum an army? No. A properly altruistic person would never ALLOW the industrial revolution.

Then again, an altruistic person would not live past level 10. He'd die protecting his friends from some hungry monsters by then. Plus the chances of an "altruistic power wielder"?!

As Chuck Norris the Space Ranger once said, "If Power corrupts, then Absolute Power corrupts, absolutely."

Your entire idea is hinged on a single variable that's flawed - even in a fantasy setting no one's THAT altruistic and alive.

I hated 3.5 Fighter, but PF Fighter is actually quite great. Especially with the Shatter Defenses and Greater Vital Strike feats. Throw in the 2H-Fighter Archetype and you're rockin'. I'm a GM by default and have an NPC known as "Guantlet" because of his locked gauntlets and wielding an adamantine greatsword in fullplate.

Long story short, he does his job. They see him and while the casters go, "Ohnoes... touch ac pwn't", he has the allies to give him the necessary protections for such enemies.

The fighter is only the foreward-man early game. Once he hits a higher level, he relies on the squishy allies he's carried that far to help him. I like to think of it by using Caramon and Raistlin Majere. Raistlin owed his life to Caramon. Sadly, once Raistlin became powerful enough, he cast aside his brother - but he still needed him until then.
Once the mages reach a certain level they should be aiding the fighter.

It's a team-based game and honestly, an overrun-based fighter (like Gauntlet) who can close with the enemy spellcasters due to allies buffs makes the squishies terrified. (and you CAN'T argue that a proper buffer can be out-done by a GC)

Any GM who wants to try my "Guantlet" out, let me know and I'll send you a spreadsheet "by-the-level". You'll need to figure out gear by otherwise you're good.

medeimatt(at)gmail(dot)com

First, I agree with BillyGoat and everyone else who says that essentially, "Magic just replaces technology - the lack of easy-to-use/reliable methods makes it even more lackluster than tech". For Drachasor, a 20th level Cleric or Wizard has more important things to do than amass money to just give it away. Even the Super Pope of the God of Healing is either way too feeble (because he's likely not an adventurer and thus it's taken him 60+ years to achieve said level), or he has more important things to do (because he's an adventurer, and Heroes need a support/buff for the raid (heh.))

Drachasor, the difference between technology and magic is thus: One person wields said power. Even with Simulacrum it'd take time to make the Sim, and the staff of wishes more importantly.

Staff of Wishes is worth 766,300 gold.
A 20th level crafting-based wizard would have max ranks in spellcraft, so 23+int mod.
Assuming the Elite Array (w/ 15 in Int), plus a human with +2 Int, and a +5 int book, +6 Int headband, you'd get an int score of 28 (+9).
So a total Spellcraft Modifier of 32 (42 with Skill focus+Magical Aptitude).
The staff's DC would be 23 (28 if accelerated, and as we can see, for a crafter-based wizard, why wouldn't you?) So it'd only be a matter of time, sure, but it'd only be acquirable by a 20th level "boss" or "adventuring" NPC (one who gets a PCs "starting gold").
The Heroic NPC only gets 159,000 and the "adventuring" NPC has 880~ GP typically (saying that the starting gold would be considered a "typical" 20th level adventurer's phat-lewt).
All that being said - look at how long it'd take still take 192 (rounding up) 4-hour sessions. Any sort of interruption reduces the chances of making it successfully, and we're not talking about some musty NPC, we're talking about a "An Army of Daemons are threatening reality again - go take care of it" kind of character.

He'd have to be a HIGHLY altruistic person (at LEAST) to bother. As far as the average hero would be concerned: He'd be out saving the world, why would he want to spend his off-time making the world a better place when he's spending 90% of his time on a device too?
To quote Mr. Incredible; "I feel like the maid - I clean everything up and all of a sudden is falls into a mess again and I'm like, 'can't it be kept clean for just 5 seconds?!'"

Also, if you look at the 2nd book in the Curse of the Crimson Throne AP, WoTC made a population-by-level demographic that they used. Everything I'm about to say is from the author's blurb at the foreword:
"“Seven Days to the Grave” does everything I hoped
it would. We’ve got sham cures, overwhelmed healers,
sinister doctors, horrific symptoms, and a slowly building
sense of doom and ruin that really does capture the terror
of a city caught in an epidemic. The key is that the sickness
doesn’t just target the PCs—it targets everyone. It’s one
thing if the PCs can cure themselves, but what happens
when they’re also expected to cure dozens, hundreds, or
even thousands of their friends and allies? And worse,
what happens when a plague brings out those allies’ true
colors, and riots and mayhem result?
Perhaps most gratifiying to my inner GM, though,
was the discovery that just because there are effects that
can cure disease doesn’t mean you can’t have plagues.
When you run the numbers to estimate just how many
remove disease spells a large city can generate in a day,
you get a surprisingly small number. Certainly enough
to handle day-to-day sicknesses or even small outbreaks,
but a fantasy city gripped by a full-blown epidemic is
not all that much better off than one in the real world.
In fact, magic can just as easily encourage the spread of
a plague—say, by giving a plague’s sinister creators the
ability to infect things like weapons and coins. In “Seven
Days to the Grave,” characters who assume that a few
remove disease spells can stop a full-blown epidemic are in
for a rude surprise indeed."

Quote:

Using physics is a good rule, but rounds are ten seconds... that would mean that you would fall 320ft. In one round. But how does that work with initiative. technically the way initiative is supposed to wrk is that everyone is actually moving during the same ten second span, but that's not how it actually pans out, as each person does their action and then passes. So how would that work? If she's second or third in initiative how much time passes?

Rounds are 6 seconds.

And objects do not fall at a steady 32 feet per second. They accelerate at 32 feet per second. There is a big difference.

Second 1 - fall 32 feet
Second 2 - fall another 32 feet, accelerate another 32 feet (96 feet fallen total), now falling at 64ft/second
Second 3 - fall another 64 feet, add 32 feet acceleration (160feet fallen total), falling at 96feet/second
Second 4 - fall another 96 feet, add another 32 ft/second acceleration (256feet fallen total), falling at 128ft/second
Second 5 - fall another 128feet, add another 32ft/second acceleration (384ft fallen total), falling at 160ft/second
Second 6 - fall another 160ft, add another 32ft/second acceleration (544ft fallen total), falling at 196ft/second.

So in a single rounds, you have fallen 544feet total, and have reached a falling speed of 196feet/second, or about 1176feet per round. Assuming my math is correct. At some point, you reach terminal velocity and stop accelerating, and start falling at a steady speed.

Quote:

I'm sure there are rules for how long it takes to fall distances... Does anyone know what book(s) I would find that in?

I don't know if it was in an actual book, or just an online article, but Wizards of the Coast said you fall 500 feet the first round, and 1000 feet in every round after.

Keep in mind that terminal velocity would dictate that you can only fall 177ft a second (rounding down), if you are falling "belly wide". So 1062ft a round. Hrm. Yeah, a meaningless point since you'd hit ground long before reaching that speed.