Al Rigg's page

I can't remember when I first met Jack but I'm pretty sure it was at a PaizoCon where I became an honorary member of S.W.A.T. Since then, I would always value time with the Minnesota Crew, at PaizoCon, GenCon, and SkalCon, a more-than-willing participant in the shenanigans of which Jack was usually a driver. I can't quite believe he's no longer with us physically but I know his spirit will always be with us at those events, and at our game tables.
Vale, my friend.

It's been an interesting challenge converting to PF2 due to the new edition just getting underway relative to PF1, but I think that's also given us quite a lot of freedom in some areas, as well. Excited about this and to see how PF2 fans react when they get hold of it.

Loved working on this AP, and can't wait to see how backers react when they get their hands on it. The Lost Lands lore is deep for those who are into it, but it's going to be pretty easy to shift it into other settings with a bit of tweaking, as well. For example, I'm thinking that I'll probably run this for PF2 but set in Eberron!

The situation is certainly not being helped through the spread of misinformation, you're right. If there is an epidemic in full swing in May, however, then limiting contact with other people will be a necessity and events like game conventions will be impacted.

Hopefully, most people intending to come to PaizoCon who have not yet booked travel will book refundable tickets. Those who have already booked, and I expect that will include many who are coming from overseas, may not have and so will have to look at their options.

With a bit of luck, however, more airlines will begin to offer full refunds, regardless of ticket class, if trips are canceled due to coronavirus. Yesterday, we received an email from Alaska Airlines stating that's what they're doing for trips booked within a certain period.

Hate to bring it up, but already there has been a number of business conferences and other events around the world canceled due to concern about coronavirus. Some authoritative sources are stating that they believe we're at the cusp of a wide outbreak across the US (and the rest of the world) that will likely last for a few months.

I assume that the PaizoCon team is keeping an eye on events and that there's no current intention to cancel PaizoCon (as we'd have heard by now) but I'd guess that it's around now that many people are starting to think about booking flights if they haven't already.

Can you let us know what the plan is if a coronavirus epidemic does take off? Is there a timeline you're working to that will determine when you'll make a call on event cancellation? If the call is left too late, many people who travel from far afield to the Con will have already committed funds that may be irrecoverable. Some will already have done so, of course, but I'd guess most currently will not have.

What's the plan, Paizo?

I'm not going to the banquet this year either and so I've scheduled my Lottery game to run through Saturday evening as an option for others who aren't attending.

If you can spare time for a module-length experience, check out The Book in the Old House.

This game's on Sunday morning. I'm likely to be pretty braindead by then so a marijuana leshy may just be appropriate...

SKUNK CABBAGE! That's another name for marijuana, isn't it, Mike? Can I play the marijuana leshy, Mike? Can I? Can I?

Not bothering with the Preview Banquet this year? Then come and experience Richard Pett's foul city and the horrific things its citizens do to each other. Only maybe don't if you prefer your games on the lighter side. This session explores some dark themes so only sign up if you're comfortable with, er, mature content...

Thank you! This is very generous. My Runelords players are currently in the Pinnacle of Avarice so I'll be busting out these sound effects at our next session!

I'd love to go to the PFS games in Sydney, but I'm in Newcastle and the 2.5+ hour drive is a bit of a drag. The VC in Sydney said in another thread that they tried to start games up here in Newwie but they didn't go well. (Probably when I was overseas last year... else I would've dragged my friends along for sure.)

When I played PFS games at GenConOz back in '09 I was usually the only woman at the table. Or even the only woman at all the tables in that session. Here's hoping that PAX Aus's PFS games aren't the same way!

Sorry to jump back a couple of pages to grab this, but hi again, Alice! When Lissalapalooza is over, (our Easter Con: http://warhorn.net/shadowmoot) I'd love to try to get a regular public PFS event going in Newcastle again. It needs local support though, not only from players, but from GMs and someone willing to be the event organiser. But a big kick-off weekend might get a core group started, which is how Sibel managed to get Wollongong up and running. If you're up for this, please PM me and we'll get something organised.

Stephen White (VC Melbourne) and I are coordinating the PFS games for PAX Aus. We'll be promoting an inclusive and friendly environment for players there, just as we do at our own game days and conventions.

In terms of the inclusivity of the PFS scene in Sydney, I've been heartened by some of the encouraging comments made here but I'm also aware that we've lost several female players from the game days in Sydney as well. While it's of course entirely possible that several decided the game just wasn't for them in the end, I've alerted all to this thread and hope to hear their feedback on how we're doing and if there is anything that I could address.

1) Dragons - Dragon opponents should remain rare, IMO. And each encounter with one should be memorable and very, very dangerous.

2) Goblins - Goblins get everywhere. They're more like germs than sentient beings and should be treated as such.

3) Orcs - Yes, we need more orcs. They're conspicuously absent so some serious inclusion at some point would be nice. Encounters with them at low levels can be dangerous because they can put out a lot of damage. They're under-represented as higher level minions as well.

4) Drow - I'm ambivalent. If they're introduced more often, then their flavour should be focused each time. Drow shouldn't become a substitute for <insert random monstrous humanoid>. Encounters with them should remain dangerous.

5) Dinosaurs - I prefer them to remain rare unless the scenario is set in an untouched, isolated place: the middle of vast jungles, lost valleys, and so on.

6) Undead - Undead are common but that's a result of Pathfinders continually breaking into ancient crypts and so on, and the fact that undead, along with constructs, are suitable very long term guardians for ancient items/artifacts. Probably can't get around that and it's a result of the set-up of the focus of the Society.

7) Swarms - Yes, they've been done quite a lot but I think the commonness of monsters faced in scenarios should represent their commonness (to a certain degree) on Golarion. I have no problem with swarms per se, but swarms of different types should be used.

8) Outsiders - I like Outsiders but, like drow, their flavour needs to be a focus as well as their effects on the environment around them, including the attitudes and behaviours of the people that they interact with. I don't like it particularly when they're treated like minions, or just summoned in as roadblocks.

9) Humanoid NPCs - Should remain the most common type of enemy IMO, and enhanced by the multitude of flavourful opposing organisations and religions on Golarion.

I'm excited but I have several concerns.

• Cannibalisation of tabletop players.
  
• Development tensions starting between the tabletop and online versions.
  
• If characters from one will be transferrable to the other.
  
• My wife leaving me when it takes up all my time.
  
• Not being able to play any more when I've run out of money.
  
• Contagion spreading from the debt crisis in France to the US, tanking the economy and stopping development.
  
• An asteroid hitting the Earth and stopping me from playing until we can construct subterranean cities.

OK here are my notes for running Feast of Ravenmoor as a PFS scenario over two 5-hour sessions. If you're going to play this module, these notes will just spoil it for you, so don't read them until afterwards! If you're going to GM this module, I hope you find them useful and I'd be interested to hear your feedback and suggestions. Thanks, of course, to Brandon Hodge for the wonderful source material!

I've run this four times now and it was a great experience each time. The first was a slot-zero and an explorative game with other experienced GMs so it took a couple of days as I tried out various ideas. The second was its first public outing in Australia at Shadow Lodge convention in Sydney. I ran it over three slots and we finished a couple of hours early. The third and fourth were at PaizoConOz last weekend where I ran it twice over two slots and it worked very well. All the players loved it.
I'll post up my GM notes if you'd like, which break down how to run it over two 5-hour slots. However, I'm not a PG-13 GM, so I'll need to warn you that there may be some "reflavouring" of a mature nature in the spoilers.

Our inaugural Shadow Lodge convention was a massive success! We had 40 players filling 145 seats over 31 sessions, making Shadow Lodge 2011 the largest ever Pathfinder event in Sydney, and the largest in Australia this year. Thanks to all who came. More info here.

Regretfully, due to differences of opinion between our PFS organisers and GMs, and the SRGA, the organisers of Sydcon, we have decided to pull out of organising Pathfinder for Sydcon 2011. However, we are still offering Pathfinder, at an increased capacity, albeit at a different venue just down the road.

I'd like to emphasise that our decision to pull out of Sydcon was not made lightly. Literally hours of negotiation with the SRGA while trying to work with them over the past two Cons has simply resulted in our conclusion that, in order to offer Pathfinder players the sort of experience that we, as lovers of the game, deserve, we need to do it ourselves, at least in this instance. The decision was unanimous amongst all ten of the Pathfinder organisers and GMs. We simply didn't feel that the faceless internal committee that pulls all the strings behind Eyecon and Sydcon, the SRGA's "Decemvirate" if you will, were willing to work with us to meet some modest requirements in order to ensure our game's best interests were met.

And so, we have decided to organise "Shadow Lodge", a Pathfinder convention that will be held on October 1st-3rd at the Roxbury Hotel (http://roxbury.com.au), 182 St Johns Road, Glebe, just down the road from Sydcon. We felt it was important that Shadow Lodge was offered on the same long weekend and close to Sydcon as many people will have organised to travel to Sydcon already, and possibly even paid for games. And so it will be easy to walk between the venues to play games at either. We bear the SRGA no ill will and remain open to working with them again in the future should they become able to better accommodate Pathfinder players and GMs.

The Roxbury is a great venue, with a fully-licensed bar and good, inexpensive, food. The price for each game at Shadow Lodge will be a fraction of their cost at Sydcon at only $2 each. If you are under 18, or will be bringing someone who is under 18, or if you have already paid for Pathfinder games at Sydcon, then please email me immediately at ajrigg at gmail dot com, or call me on 0415 050 568. We will make sure you are accommodated and don't lose out. We are committed to building the Pathfinder community across Sydney and Australia and welcome your support.

I will follow up with details regarding registration and other things this weekend here and on the various other places we Aussie Pathfinders hang out.

I look forward to seeing you all at Shadow Lodge!

Al

And a conversion for the vestiges in ToM. All comments welcomed.

Vestiges
Unless otherwise stated below, vestige rules are as per Tome of Magic.

Agares, Truth Betrayed
Earth and Air Mastery: You gain a +1 bonus on attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, and combat maneuver checks if both you and your foe are touching the ground. Any airborne foe take a -1 penalty on attack rolls, weapon damage rolls and combat maneuver checks against you.

Andras, the Gray Knight
Weapon Proficiency: You are proficient with the greatsword, lance, longsword, and rapier. If you were already proficient with the weapon, you instead gain a +1 competence bonus on attack rolls with it.
Smite Good or Evil: As a swift action, you can choose one target within sight to smite. If this target is good or evil, you add your Charisma bonus (if any) to your attack rolls and add your effective binder level to all damage rolls made against the target that round. If the target is an outsider with the evil or good subtype, an evil- or good-aligned dragon, or an undead creature, the bonus to damage increases to 2 points per effective binder level. Regardless of the target, your smite attacks automatically bypass any DR the creature might possess.
In addition, while smite good or evil is in effect, you gain a deflection bonus equal to your Charisma modifier (if any) to your AC against attacks made by the target of the smite.
If you target a creature that is neither good nor evil, the smite is wasted with no effect. Once you have used this ability, you cannot do so again for 5 rounds. Smite evil and smite good attempts per day obtained from multiple sources stack.

Andromalius, the Repentant Rogue
Jester's Mirth: (Use the ability as described on ToM 24, but substitute hideous laughter for Tasha's hideous laughter.)
Sense Trickery: (Use the ability as described on ToM 24, but substitute Perception for Spot.)

Buer, Grandmother Huntress
Track: You add half your effective binder level to Survival skill checks made to follow or identify tracks.

Chupoclops, Harbinger of Forever
Aura of Despair: Every creature within 10 feet of you takes a -2 penalty on attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, combat maneuver checks, ability checks, skill checks, and saving throws. You can suppress or activate this ability as a standard action. Aura of despair is a mind-affecting fear ability.

Eligor, Dragon's Slayer
Heavy Armour Proficiency: You are proficient with heavy armour. If you were already proficient with heavy armour, you receive the benefits of armour training as though you were a fighter of a level equal to your effective binder level.

Focalor, Prince of Tears
Aura of Sadness: You emit an aura of depression and anguish that affects even the strongest-willed creatures. Every adjacent creature is overcome with grief, which manifests as a -2 penalty to attack rolls, combat maneuver checks, skill checks, and saving throws for as long as it remains adjacent to you. You can suppress or activate this ability as a standard action. Aura of sadness is a mind-affecting ability.

Geryon, the Deposed Lord
Special Requirement: Geryon answers the calls of only those binders who show an understanding of the relationship between souls and the planes. Thus, you must have at least 2 ranks in either Knowledge (religion) or Knowledge (planes) to summon him.
Granted Abilities:
All-Around Vision: (Use the ability as described on ToM 32, but substitute sight-based Perception checks for Spot and Search checks.)

Halphax, the Angel in the Angle
Halphax's Knowledge: (Use the ability as described on ToM 35, but substitute Profession (engineer) for Profession (siege engineer) and Knowledge (engineering) for Knowledge (architecture and engineering).)

Haures, the Dreaming Duke
Inaccessible Mind: You are protected from any effort to detect, influence, or read your emotions or thoughts, and you are protected as if you were under the effects of by a mind blank spell. You can suppress or activate this ability as a standard action.

Ipos, Prince of Fools
Special Requirement: Ipos refuses the answer the call of any binder who, in his judgment, has not taken a serious enough interest in occult studies. Anyone wishing to bind Ipos must have at least 2 ranks in Knowledge (arcana) and 2 ranks in either Knowledge (religion) or Knowledge (planes).

Karsus, Hubris in the Blood
Special Requirement: Karsus refuses to answer the call of a binder who attempts to summon him within the area of an active spell. In addition, he appears only to a binder who has at least 2 ranks in either Knowledge (arcana) or Spellcraft. He also hates Amon for some unknown reason and will not answer your call if you are already bound to that vestige.

Leraje, the Green Herald
Hide Bonus: You gain a +4 competence bonus on Stealth checks made to hide.

Marchosias, King of Killers
Death Attack: (Substitute the text for the assassin's death attack class feature on PFCRB 378-9, replacing binder for assassin, and effective binder level for assassin's class level.)
Silent and Sure: (Use the ability as described on ToM 41, but substitute Stealth for Hide and Move Silently.)

Naberius, the Grinning Hound
Special Requirement: Naberius values knowledge, industry, and the willingness to deceive. He manifests only for a binder with at least 1 rank in Bluff or in any Knowledge or Profession skill.

Otiax, the Key to the Gate
Unlock: (Use the ability as described on ToM 43, but substitute Disable Device for Open Lock.)

Paimon, the Dancer
Paimon's Skills: You gain a +4 bonus on Acrobatics checks and Perform (dance) checks.

Shax, Sea Sister
Swim Speed: (Add the following text at the end) This ability also confers the ability to breathe water.

Tenebrous, the Shadow that Was
Turn/Command Undead: You can channel energy to turn or command undead as though you were a cleric of your effective binder level with the appropriate feat. If you have the ability to channel energy from other classes, then the type of energy channeled with this ability stays the same and your levels in those classes stack with your effective binder level for the purpose of determining your turning ability. If you do not have the ability to channel energy from other classes, then, as with a cleric, you turn if you are good and command if you are evil. If you are neutral, you choose whether to turn or command upon binding Tenebrous and cannot later change your mind.
Once you have used this ability, you cannot do so again for 5 rounds.

Zagan, Duke of Disappointment
Improved Grapple: You gain the benefit of the Improved Grapple feat. In addition, you are considered to be of Large size for the purpose of making combat maneuver checks to grapple. If you choose to damage your opponent with an unarmed strike following a successful check, you can choose to deal lethal or nonlethal damage.

Dario: good work on SoPM. After an initial scan through of your free downloads, I've bought the pdf through Paizo and look forward to my Binder discovering all the new spirits. I'd recommend anyone else who likes the binder class to do so as well! Far too much material included for the price! ;-)
At this stage, as I'm already running a new Binder, I'm less interested in the new classes it presents but I'm sure I'll be moving on to those in good time.
Smilodan and Rydi23: thanks for posting your conversions, both of which are great options.
However, I had some ideas that I wanted to try so I've gone ahead with a Binder conversion. In short, I've updated the class skill list to be compatible with Pathfinder skills, made irregular class feature progressions regular, added a new class feature (Tefillin binding) to fill the resulting gaps, and added a capstone. I've also included an option for compatibility with SoPM.

Anyway, here it is. I'm not entirely happy with the capstone yet but I'm struggling a bit to come up with anything else. It should be along the lines of soul guardian, IMHO. Be interested in everyone's thoughts.

Binder
This updated class for the Pathfinder RPG incorporates class features of the existing binder class in Tome of Magic. Unless otherwise stated below, this class uses the rules as per the existing binder class.

Class Skills: Bluff (Cha), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Fly (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (planes) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis).

Lvl Special
1 Soul binding (1 vestige)
2 Pact augmentation (1 ability), suppress sign
3 Tefillin binding (1 ability)
4 Bonus feat
5 Soul guardian (immune to fear)
6 Pact augmentation (2 abilities)
7 Soul binding (2 vestiges), tefillin binding (2 abilities)
8 Bonus feat
9 Soul guardian (slippery mind)
10 Pact augmentation (3 abilities)
11 Tefillin binding (3 abilities)
12 Bonus feat
13 Soul binding (3 vestiges), soul guardian (immune to energy drain and negative levels)
14 Pact augmentation (4 abilities)
15 Tefillin binding (4 abilities)
16 Bonus feat
17 Soul guardian (mind blank)
18 Pact augmentation (5 abilities)
19 Soul binding (4 vestiges), tefillin binding (5 abilities)
20 Shielded soul, bonus feat

Class Features
Tefillin Binding (Su): Beginning at 3rd level, once per day, you can bind a summoned vestige to an item, rather than to your soul. To successfully bind a vestige, an item must be worth at least 100 gp per vestige level. You must complete the summoning and binding process as normal but no binding check is required: it is impossible to make a good pact with a vestige that you intend to bind to an item but a vestige bound to an item cannot exert its sign or influence through it. The vestige remains bound for 10 minutes per binder level. You take a -10 penalty on your binding check the next time you summon a vestige you bound to an item.
Whilst a vestige is bound by it, the item is known as a tefillin. At 3rd level, you can choose one ability of the bound vestige that will be granted to the character who carries or wears the tefillin. As you attain higher levels, you can choose additional abilities of the vestige to be granted through the tefillin: two at 7th, three at 11th, four at 15th, and five at 19th level. An ability that requires the sign of the vestige cannot be granted through a tefillin.
Provided that at least one ability of the bound vestige is granted through the tefillin, you can choose a pact augmentation ability in place of a vestige ability. You can choose a single pact augmentation ability multiple times, and their effects stack.

Bonus Feats: At 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th level, you gain a bonus feat of your choice from the following list: Armor Proficiency, Medium; Armor Proficiency, Heavy; Martial Weapon Proficiency; Persuasive; Shield Proficiency; and the feats presented on pages 72-75 of Tome of Magic. These feats are in addition to those normally gained for attaining higher levels but you must still meet any prerequisites for the bonus feats you choose.

Shielded Soul (Su): Whenever you are bound to a vestige, you gain the following abilities. You are immune to effects that directly trap, destroy, or harm your soul (such as trap the soul and The Void card from a Deck of Many Things). You are immune to effects that damage or drain Int, Wis, and Cha. Once per day, you can ignore an attack that would otherwise have killed you or knocked you unconscious.

Secrets of Pact Magic Augmentation
If you intend to use Secrets of Pact Magic, incorporate the following changes.
Bonus Feats: Bonus feats can also be chosen from Pathfinder compatible feats presented in Secrets of Pact Magic but not where they simply replicate feats from Tome of Magic.
Maximum Vestige Level: Adopt the Spirit Binder progression.