So, I've been off-forum for an age. I had to give up my job and home to look after my dying father, who then died (as dying people tend to...); but enough of that! I have managed to write a fantasy trilogy which is available on Amazon for Kindle, starting here...
Fair warning: the books aren't for everyone. There's adult themes (including some BDSM stuff). I've got them listed as 'erotica' and well as 'fantasy' to try to make sure that people aren't seeing stuff they're not interested in (and, in theory, to help keep impressionable young minds away from them).
They're set in a world of my own creation, 'The Land of Levels', which pokes gentle fun at some of the standard tabletop and computer RPG tropes (the books aren't primarily comedies... hopefully funny in a few places, though). There's a bunch of references gamers (and students of mythology) should get in there. The protagonist is Ren, a felid (i.e. cat-girl) who gets bound as the familiar to an apprentice dark mage, and dragged along on his adventures with his less-than-perfect party.
They're light reading stuff (more 'Mils and Boon' than 'Tolkien' to be honest).
Anyway, it'd be great if interested people could check them out.
Falling object damage is covered in the environment section of the Core book. Honestly, these 'creation spells to drop stuff on other stuff' ideas tend to rear their ugly heads on a pretty cyclic basis.
Now, you could train swallows to carry and drop coconuts via the bombardier animal trick... but only if you want your game to degenerate into a Python quote-fest... ;)
For that matter a sling has 10 range increments at 50ft and adds your Strength bonus to the damage... plus it's completely free (even the ammo is if you use stones). Assuming he's using a pistol (with 5 range increments at 20ft a pop) agree to duel him old-school: back-to-back, walk ten paces, turn and fire. Assume a 'pace' is 5ft, you'll end up with a 100ft gap between you, and be 105ft away from each other - he can't hit you and you can just sling stones at him until he gives up, grows up, or goes down! :)
Bows and crossbows have much longer ranges than ever crops up in the normal course of play - this could be an opportunity to play some long-range exchanges, as the PCs start to gain on the bad guys and spot them in the far distance heading up a mountainside (or the bad guys pause at some point where there's a nice clear patch the PCs have to cross somewhere below them so they can fire off a few shots to try to dissuade their pursuers). I'm picturing it like something out of an old Western film where one group's tracking another, just getting to talking about this and that, and then suddenly the quiet of the great outdoors is shattered by a shot ricocheting off a nearby rock... It wouldn't have to last long before the bad guys vanished from sight again - just long enough to let the PC's know that they're gaining on them, and to remind them to keep their wits about them!
It'd depend on the age of the dragon as well, since even wyrmlings tend to be pretty smart and 'out in the world'. You could go for cute and shy, or arrogant brat, or overexcited and curious about everything ('What's that? And that? Ooh... what about that? Why are you wearing metal? Does it chafe? Remind me again... are you a boy or a girl... um... human? dwarf? goblin? You're one of those two-armed, two-legged things, right?')
There's another of those 'how do we make martials not suck' threads over on the Advice forum, and it got me thinking. I understand the theory and arguments for caster/martial disparity, but to be honest it's not really something that's reared its ugly head in any of my games. Sometimes I've witnessed low-level casters getting themselves in trouble whilst the martials cut a bloody swath through all the enemies, but nothing to the extent of 'OMG I need to change my character'. Likewise I've seen high-level casters solving practically everything with magic, but again not to the extent that the martials end up bemoaning their character choices. Admittedly, I normally GM games, and usually run them from level 1 up, and my GMing style may be mitigating the issue... I'm not sure.
So I was wondering if people would like to share their experiences of when this has become a real issue for a group (not just a theoretical issue), if possible including the rough level it started to happen and the circumstances that caused it? I think it'd be interesting if there was a pattern to causes or a certain 'tipping point' level or whether it's all just circumstantial and all over the place.
I'm disappointed that wyrwood has been reduced to a once per day effect. Before it was a genuine choice between using a statistically better weapon (such as a higher crit-range weapon for a Magus or unarmed strikes for a Monk) or taking a wyrwood weapon and gaining the benefit of potentially absorbing arcane pool or ki points all day. The fact there weren't any 18-20 critical chance one-handed weapons that qualified to be made of wyrwood already kept it balanced for a Magus, at least. Post-errata you'd be choosing to use a statistically inferior weapon for the chance of gaining no more than three extra pool points per day... so even if anyone does make that choice they'll then be stuffing that weapon back into the pack and pulling out the scimitar once the wyrwood's reached its daily limit anyway (or, one assumes, they could just use multiple wyrwood weapons, but at 1,000gp per extra pool point I can't really see anyone bothering now). It's a pity - I quite liked the extra incentive to play a Staff Magus.
... Why is it that GM's in general seem to want to avoid "Mos Eisley" or stick to only core?..
I can't speak for others, of course, but sometimes 'cosmopolitan' isn't the right feel for a campaign's setting. More races brings more cultures which turns a simple setting into a complex setting, and sometimes a simple setting is the backdrop you need to enable everyone to focus on the story the game is trying to tell. When even describing the PCs walking down a street turns into having to describe a dozen or so races - what they look like, how they act, what the PCs know about that race, etc. - it all serves of obfuscate the actual plot the PCs are meant to be part of.
Now, you could go with exotic races but a shared culture - everyone's really human, but just looks a bit different with some different stats - but then that loses the whole 'exotic' flavour of strange races anyway.
On the other hand, if you're playing with a group that is already familiar with all the various weird and wonderful races then most of these potential issues go away. The GM still needs to keep track of more (you don't want some player suddenly pointing out that race 'X' is well known for always keeping kegs of black powder on hand, or something, if you'd not planned for the PCs to have easy access to multiple kegs of black powder, let alone simple things like remembering to account for low-light or darkvision, extra movement modes or natural attacks) but it's a lot easier if when you say 'you see a vanara shopkeeper hanging from the eaves of his shop repainting his sign' it's not followed by an hour of discussion on what exactly a 'vanara' is and does, where do they come from, what are they like, etc...
Even if you limit the weird to the PCs then you can face some issues. For example, if I set up an intrigue campaign based in the court of a human kingdom, then the PCs all being catfolk or bird-people or whatever means their relationship with that court is going to be very different than if they were all playing human nobles.
There's also simple GM information-overload: keeping up with dozens of races, new base classes, hundreds of archetypes, new spells, new Feats, new, new, new... not everyone can be a 'full-time' GM! Sometimes you can get the time to go and review the particular option a player wants for their character, but sometimes it's easier to just limit it to stuff you know already. Races can be tricky in that regard too as more information is released about them, more options added, and strange interactions with pre-existing character options start to crop up ('your character starts with how many natural attacks at level one?!'). Plus, assuming the player in question isn't just after the mechanical benefits of playing a certain race, the GM also has to swot-up on that race's beliefs, outlooks, goals, society, culture... and the GM may not want that much homework!
So yes, there's lots of good reasons to limit options - race options included - in a game... but that doesn't mean you always have to.
... on that page of the PRD you can also click on the individual 'monster' names listed and go to their pages, where they should have specific construction requirements listed.
The problem with Butterfly's Sting is that when you pass a crit it automatically goes to your next ally to hit the enemy, which at the very least means that your scythe / kukri team will need to be using Delay and the like to properly organise themselves in the initiative count... or be the only two characters attacking the big bad ('cos against mooks I'd assume that the kukri wielder may as well just take the crit and finish the mook themselves in a lot of cases). The last thing you want is to pass a crit and the next ally to hit to be your wizard's rat familiar nibbling at the bad guy's toe...
Over the course of their career a Gunslinger gets an extra +5 dodge bonus to AC - which exactly cancels the +5 extra they'd otherwise get from wearing heavy armour instead of light armour... plus it boosts touch AC too, so ultimately the armour thing isn't really a huge deal for them.
Aside from Rapid Reload, the Feats you list are universally helpful for ranged martial types - how terrible would this character be if they just picked up a bow instead?
Yes, they're designed to make firearms usable, but to suggest that they're 'only good at one thing' is somewhat misleading. They're only the best at one thing... but that's the design goal for nearly every class, isn't it? They're a full BAB class with all the martial weapons proficiencies, a good skill selections and two good saves... they're good at a lot of things...
Kitchen Sink settings. I understand why Golarion, Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, and other "default" settings have to be kitchen sinks for commercial reasons, but they all strike me as bland, generic, contrived, and (yes, I'm going to say it), unrealistic. As the link points out, instead of having to suspend disbelief on occasion, here and there, it turns into a long series of many suspensions of disbelief.
I dislike kitchen sink settings on the whole, but I also feel that Pathfinder manages their particular one well in that the specific adventure paths tend to focus on one aspect or area of the setting or another. Unless you like crossover with the characters you played in previous campaigns you could well just be playing in different worlds. I don't think I'd like a homebrew game that took in a grand tour of Golarion... unless, perhaps, it was played for humour. Of course some sites in the setting, such as the city of Katapesh, benefit from the whole 'cosmopolitan' aspect, but as background to the specific Arabian nights-esque setting, rather than by overshadowing it.
bad taste joke:
Athaleon wrote:
Generic mechanic: You are better at avoiding hits while fighting defensively.
Generic fluff: "You care more about survival than victory."
Specific requirement: Halfling DNA
The post-quest party got a little wild last night... just how much halfling DNA do I need to qualify for that Feat..? ;)
I've noticed that, dotted about the boards, there still lingers the received wisdom that purchased mounts are worthless because they're so vulnerable. Whilst that was certainly true back in the days when the only mounts you could purchase were light and heavy horses (or ponies and riding dogs for the wee folk) Ultimate Equipment and (mainly) Animal Archive have really opened up the options for purchased mounts.
Here's a list of the purchased mounts available for medium-sized riders from Ultimate Equipment and Animal Archive (plus the mammoth from People of the North) along with their Hit Dice and hit points. The gp costs are for combat-trained versions. I've left out creatures with higher than animal intelligence (as slavery is something quite different) and only included those animals who are listed as being purchasable as combat-trained mounts 'off the shelf' (so to speak). I've included a standard-issue horse Animal Companion in the listings, at the various Druid-equivalent levels, with average hit points, as a comparison (although keep in mind that the master of an Animal Companion can get it to spend its Ability Score increases as it levels on more Con, and some favoured class bonuses and the like could also boost Animal Companion hit points a little).
Format is:
Name (price for a combat-trained version): Hit Dice (hit points)
... if you train your own you can look into dinosaurs, more dire animals, and more megafauna too. Also keep in mind that the standard combat-trained package only includes the 'attack' trick once - training an animal to attack anything requires taking that trick twice, so some retraining may be in order if you want to go hunting dragons from the back of a roc or something...
People who use the word 'decimate' when they actually mean 'devastate'.
GMs who claim that Charisma-based skills are useless... and then ignore all the actual rules on Charisma-based skills, thus making them useless.
People who think it's okay to mind-control (in a 'puppeteer' rather than a 'can you role-play this' way) your character: the entire point of the game is getting to play your character - take that away and you may as well go home.
Longswords not being longswords, bucklers not being bucklers, spears needing two-hands to use, and other related mis-information inherited from generations of D&D.
Archetype names being chosen randomly from a thesaurus and having no relation to what the archetype actual is or does.
Due to a mishap with a Bag of Tricks the entire tower is filled to the brim with little animate balls of fur... (Just had a flashback to 'The Trouble with Tribbles') :)
Illusion magic usually lists the senses it works against. The Magic Aura spell, for example, specifically works against the 'detection of magic auras' sense (which most of us muggles lack...). Just as you wouldn't let a non-tactile illusion magically fool someone touching it, you shouldn't let a non-aura-fooling illusion magically fool someone who tries to detect its aura. Illusion magic can fool Detect Magic (after all, that's the point of Magic Aura) but it definitely shouldn't do so automatically just 'cos it's illusion magic.
I fairness the Feat does point you towards the 'Calling for a Cease Fire' section of the book, which highlights that yes, anyone can attempt to just use Diplomacy to call for a cease fire (and lays down some guidelines as to how to adjudicate such things). The Feat just makes you better at doing that, rather than taking the option away from everyone else.
You could have the bad guys accept the formal duel, but then have it really formal - in a 'PCs have to undertake ritual cleansing for a week' or something type of 'formal', or they have to arrange a location, officials, seconds, have the correct forms of dress tailored for them, memorize the formal monologue they're expected to recite, etc., etc. (a nice opportunity for the PCs to flex their skills): when they finish, they find out that the bad guys just skipped town on day one...
Yeah Sorcerer 10/Dragon Disciple 10 sucks, 'cos you end up casting as a level 17 Sorcerer - i.e. 1 level shy of level 9 spells. Sorcerer 12/Dragon Disciple 8 is viable, if you want to make the most of the DD stuff, 'cos you cast as a level 18 Sorcerer (thumbs up for Wish spells!) and still get all the DD's Ability Score boosts and interesting class features.
However, as people have noted, level 4 is the favoured cut-off point, 'cos at level 5 you drop both a BAB point (i.e. you don't gain a point at level 5) and a spell casting level, and by level 4 you've stacked all the Strength boosts already (if you're going with a full BAB class otherwise - say Barbarian 15/Sorcerer 1/DD 4 - the extra +4 Strength compensates nicely - for hit chance if not iterative attacks - for dropping 1 BAB at Sorcerer 1 and 1 BAB at DD 1). By taking 4 levels of DD you've effectively sacrificed 1 BAB (compared to full progression) and 1 spellcasting level (compared to full progression) for a +4 untyped Strength boost, +2 natural armour, an extra natural attack when using your level 1 bloodline power and some loose change...
From a mechanics point of view it's the untyped Ability Score increases that are the big lure (compared with, for example, the Abyssal Bloodline's Strength of the Abyss power which grants inherent bonuses that won't stack with the boost one gets from, say, a Manual of Gainful Exercise). Natural attacks and a d12 Hit Die help too (since BAB becomes a lot less relevant if you're relying on natural attacks, and hit points are nice to have...).
This could be one of those situations where a problem can be looked at as an opportunity.
In this case, the PCs in question have some amazing gear in a campaign where they're usually pretty public figures and have quite a bit of downtime. Have someone steal a few choice pieces of their amazing gear - 'cos it's famous and a tempting target for high-level Rogue-types (who outgrew picking pockets and mugging people a half dozen levels ago). Don't just say that the gear's gone, and that's that - give them a chance to investigate and track down the thief. Maybe they get their gear back, maybe they don't (maybe the thief sold it on... to the game's next big bad guy!) but either way it's not you dropping GM rocks on them - it's the campaign world reacting to how brilliant their characters are! At the very least it may make them spend further gp on beefing up security instead of upgrading their personal gear even more.
... plus, if they complain, point out all the times in past campaigns where the PCs have done exactly the same thing themselves (set out to steal/loot an awesome magic item or two). (For added fun feel free to model your thief, if and when they catch up, on a larcenous PC from a previous campaign you and your players were in: 'hey, it wasn't me who invented that thievery trick...')
While I see where Akkurscid is coming from, I disagree with that interpretation of how 'full-round actions' work for a couple of reasons:
1. Too much book-keeping. If I need to not only know what each character is doing, but also what they did in their last turn, it's going to be a headache for me. If a basic PC group is around 6 characters (say, maybe, 4 PCs + a familiar + an animal companion, or something) and they face a group of 'thug' level enemies, 2 per PC, we're already up to 14 characters where I potentially need to record what they did last turn as well as everything else going on.
2. It quickly gets into weird and overly complex territory. For example:
Bob is caught in a net. Bob's turn in initiative comes up. There are no enemies threatening Bob. Bob takes a full-round action to free himself from the net. Bob had penalties for being in a net, now he doesn't. So far, so good.
In a standard interpretation of the rules (i.e. actions finish when they are resolved) we just move on.
In Akkurscid's interpretation of the rules (you're still counted as performing the action, even after it's resolved, until your next turn) we hit a snag. Freeing yourself from a net as a full-round action provokes an AoO from anyone who threatens you. Note that it's not 'being in a net' or 'being out of a net' or 'having once been in, but are now out of a net' that provokes, but the 'freeing yourself from a net' full-round action. That means that every bad guy on the map can, after Bob's turn, but before Bob's next turn, walk over and AoO Bob, because until his next turn he's still counted as taking the 'freeing yourself from a net' full-round action, even if he's no longer taking the penalty for being in a net.
It gets more complex if you start to think about full-round movement. Movement provokes if you leave a threatened space. Under a standard interpretation of the rules that all happens in a linear fashion, but under Akkurscid's interpretation you're still counted as taking that full-round movement action until your next round... so you provoke if anyone moves to threaten any space you moved out of in your last turn... and they may also provoke by their movement too... it quickly spirals into nonsense.
So from the KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) school of thought actions are over once they are resolved, even if this moves the game away from being a realistic simulation, because it helps make the game playable.
The issue is only really here because the game evolved, and didn't jump into existence whole-cloth. At one point there were only Standard and Move actions, hence the name 'Full-Round Action' was used when they wanted something else that expended both actions. Later on other actions (Swift, Immediate, etc.) were added to develop the game, but no-one thought it'd be a good idea to rename what had been established as being a 'Full-Round Action'.
Put another way, when it talks about effort, it means your Standard plus your Move Actions, as other actions (Swift, Free, et al) aren't considered any significant 'effort'.
The old D&D 'Arms and Equipment Guide' (ISBN 0-7869-2649-x if anyone cares) states (page 62) that...
'...an artisan as an apprentice until he has gained 7 ranks in his primary skill. At that point, the artisan community that he belongs to grants him the title of journeyman. When the artisan has gained 12 ranks in his primary skill, he earns the title of master. These ranks have no game play effect...'
... which could be a reasonable sort of way to look at it. I'd tend to base things like degrees and diplomas off of skill ranks, rather than total bonus (just as prerequisites for Feats and the like tend to be based off of ranks) because those sorts of formal qualifications usually require you to jump through whatever scholastic hoops first, rather than just sitting a test to see how good you actually are. Still no game play effect, of course.
For a more Paizo/Pathfinder-specific approach, I'd suggest looking at the rules for magic schools in Inner Sea Magic, or the rules for combat schools in Inner Sea Combat, with training checks, fame rewards and specific awards. It wouldn't be too hard to whip up something similar for a non-magic/combat 'scholastic' school: pass 'x' number of checks over 'y' semesters and qualify for the Bachelors Degree award (which grants some small bonus or other), etc..
Yep - the only way I see the Brute workable as a PC is if the 'forced to shift' thing is something they try to avoid, but they purposefully shift into Brute Form before heading off to fight crime / adventure / whatever. The two hour time limit and recovery is really nasty though...
Hmmm... Large size has a couple of other bonuses: the Intimidate bonus for being larger than one's target seems helpful to a vigilante, and the extra carrying capacity makes you the party 'pack mule'. Since you start with IUS then taking Improved Grapple would also seem an appropriate way to turn that size to your advantage.
With this archetype I'd assume you'd usually 'hulk out' by choice before setting off adventuring (or, at least, the non-social aspects of adventuring) so you would indeed want to buy size-appropriate gear. You're still proficient with shields, so you could wear studded leather (or even better, if you could somehow swing it with the GM: parade armour for the extra Intimidate bonus) and carry a heavy wooden shield, for example, at level one (costs are doubled for large-sized gear, but the vigilante class is pretty flush compared with most) which would offset your AC penalties a little (but you're hardly a tank). You may be better off spending 100gp of your starting ca$h on a large-sized heavy crossbow for a nice 2d8 damage ranged attack.
Weapon-wise, instead of going with a shield, I'd suggest taking the Rough and Ready trait (from the Adventurer's Armory book) and putting one of your many skill points into a Craft or Profession that uses a sledge: it's normally treated as an improvised earthbreaker, but Rough and Ready removes the improvised penalty and grants you a +1 to attack rolls with it instead (a large sized sledge deals 3d6 damage).
Still, I agree that the lack of Strength bonus or extra Hit Points makes this archetype tricky, to say the least. A one level dip into Barbarian would be nice... but once you start down that path you start to think 'why not just be a Barbarian and call it a day'.
‘Twas back in the day,
The grognards all say,
That low level wizards would die.
It took just one hit,
To cause them to quit,
One spell and their magic ran dry.
They’d simper and cower,
And slowly gain power,
As fighters did carry them through;
But then the day came,
Which would change the game:
They’d learn to cast spell level two.
Invisible then,
They felt like real men,
As powerful magics did call;
Their might we would see,
At spell level three,
Once they could cast a fireball.
And from that point on,
The contest was won,
No warrior could hope to meet,
The strength of their spells,
Their whistles and bells,
No sword or bow could ever beat.
The one thing to stay,
Them ruling all play,
Was the limits of their own smarts,
Intelligence, see,
Was the vital key,
To mastering the mystic arts.
Now some may not know,
Why this was a blow,
So keep in mind this simple thought:
A random dice spread,
Did fill folks with dread,
‘Cos stats were once rolled and not bought.
I'm not sure this would be a 'low powered' build, as using the summons SLA ability in combat and reserving the eidolon for skills and utility is pretty much the most powerful way to go with a Summoner... it's only all the players who insist on building 'combat eidolons' and using them exclusively that really keep the class on a managable power level to begin with! IMHO, YMMV, natch... ;)
Thanks for the quick responses and interest, guys!
At the moment it looks like 3 (fairy tales) and 4 (flying stuff) are out in front, with 2 (undersea) and 5 (gladiators) a close second, and poor 1 (red planet) bringing up the rear.
I'll check back later today to see if anyone else has chimed in, but 3 is looking like a pretty strong contender (I've got more potentially prepped for 3 and 5 than the others, and of all of them I imagine 3 will involve the least amount of 'house rules').
In case it helps any, the campaign traits I've whipped up (subject to change...) for 3 & 5 are:
Fairytale campaign traits:
Courtier / Lady-in-Waiting: Born a younger member of a noble family your social status is too great for you to stoop so low as to acquire a regular job. On the other hand you’re so far down your family’s line of succession that you’ve no chance of inheriting any real wealth or title. The solution for those in your position is to attend court, try to entertain and befriend those in power, and hope to win an advantageous marriage or position. Essentially you’re a professional friend and companion to royalty, until something better comes along. You gain a +1 trait bonus to Diplomacy checks, Knowledge (nobility) checks and to one Perform check of choice. In addition you begin play with a courtier’s outfit, 50gp worth of jewellery, and a signet ring bearing your family’s coat of arms (in the shape of a shield if you’re male, or a lozenge / diamond if you’re female) including your personal mark of cadency (to individually differentiate you from the other members of your family who bear the same arms). Between the favour of the court and a regular stipend from your family, you’re considered to be living a wealthy lifestyle (as long as you remain in favour, of course).
Honour Guard: Whether through the influence of a relative who was a guardsman, catching the eye of one of the royals in the practice yard, or your own hard work and dedicated loyalty, you’ve managed to secure a coveted position in the royal honour guard. Apart from your primary duties of protecting the royal family, you’re also expected to make them look good, and put on an impressive display as part of their entourage. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Intimidate checks against commoners and Perception checks. In addition you begin play with a masterwork suit of parade armour (in this case a suit of lightly padded leather, tailored to accentuate your physique, dyed royal blue and bearing the royal coat-of-arms, with pauldrons, vambraces, greaves and an open-faced helm all of steel polished to a mirror finish). If you have an animal companion, mount, or similar class feature, that companion also starts play with a matching set of masterwork parade armour barding suitable for its build. If you’re an arcane caster who suffers an arcane spell failure chance for casting in light armour, you can cast whilst wearing your masterwork parade armour with no chance of spell failure. If you have class features which normally only work whilst wearing no armour or non-metallic armour, they still function whilst you’re wearing your masterwork parade armour.
Magician’s Apprentice: You’re apprenticed to the royal magician and, like him, are expected to provide expertise on arcane matters, offer sage advice, and both defend and entertain the court with the arts of magic. Whilst much of your apprenticeship has involved fetching and replacing dusty old tomes, cleaning foul-smelling alchemical apparatus, and similar menial duties, you’ve learnt at least a little from the royal magician’s teachings, and recently (since his age has been showing more) he’s started to send you in his stead on various low-level official functions. If you can cast spells spontaneously you gain one non-offensive cantrip or orison known (this doesn’t have to be from your class list, but is now counted as being on your class list). If you prepare spells you can prepare an extra non-offensive cantrip or orison (as appropriate to your class) each day when you prepare spells. If you normally can’t cast cantrips or orisons you can cast prestidigitation once per day as a spell-like ability (this functions at caster level 1st or your highest caster level, if you later gain a caster level) and gain a +1 trait bonus on Sleight-of-Hand checks. In addition you start play with a suitably impressive scholar’s outfit, and a journal full of your jumbled notes that grants a +2 circumstance bonus on Knowledge (arcane) and Spellcraft checks when consulted (this takes you 1d4 minutes, but anyone else 1d4 hours).
Loyal Confessor: As an ordained (if low-ranking) member of the clergy you’re one of several Faithful who tend to the spiritual and religious needs of the royals, under the watchful eye of the archbishop. In such a rare position of trust amongst the elite you’re expected to be the soul of discretion and a sympathetic listener and advisor as well. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Knowledge (religion) and on Sense Motive checks when dealing with members of the royal household (including royalty, courtiers, and servants). In addition you start play with a set of clerical vestments. You’ve also been entrusted with a silver holy symbol of your Faith which works as a wand of cure light wounds (caster level 1st, with 30 charges remaining at the start of play): this is technically the property of the Church, but you can use it as you see fit, in service to your Faith and the royals. If you don’t have cure light wounds on your spell list, you gain a +1 trait bonus on Use Magic Device checks to activate this holy symbol as a wand, and can do so untrained if necessary.
Gladiator campaign traits:
Equipment Notes:
The basic outfit a gladiator wears just a brief loincloth and sandals, with a gladiatrix (a female gladiator) adding a simple breast band for a modicum of comfort and decorum. When presented for contest or display gladiators are often also oiled so their bare skin glistens and their physical perfection is highlighted. For some events gladiators even find themselves decorated with body paint, to better help them represent the various roles of myth their displays are meant to re-enact. Gladiators clad in such a fashion add a +2 circumstance bonus to performance combat checks, as long as they wear no more than the light gladiator armours listed below, and perhaps a few items of jewellery or decoration (as long as they don’t hinder the audience’s appreciation of the gladiator’s form), on top.
The core item of gladiator armour is the ‘balteus’: a wide, thick, leather belt (like a modern boxing or wrestling ‘championship belt’), often reinforced and decorated with metal, bone, or other hard materials, which uses the statistics of a haramaki (as such no particular proficiency is required to benefit from wearing one).
Adding a ‘manica’ (a long guard covering one arm from shoulder to wrist) as well as one or two greaves of hardened leather to the basic balteus results in the whole outfit using the statistics of leather armour.
Using a heavier manica and greaves of leather reinforced with metal, along with the basic balteus, creates an outfit which uses the statistics of studded leather armour.
A balteus with metal greaves, a manica of banded metal, and an enclosed helmet results in armour which uses the statistics of a chain shirt.
A character can choose to fight unarmoured, or in any of the above armour types. Only the provocator type is permitted to wear heavier armour, and in doing so forgoes the normal circumstance bonus to performance combat checks the above outfits grant (both because their body is more obscured, and because the crowds tend to see such well defended contestants as having something of an advantage over their more lightly armoured brethren).
Each character is assigned weapons based on his or her gladiator type, as defined by their chosen Campaign Trait (below), and is also issued a backup weapon: this is most commonly a dagger, but the character can choose to substitute a kukri or quadrens instead, as long as they’re proficient in that weapon’s use.
Additional equipment is disallowed in contests: this prohibition even includes such things as spell component pouches and alchemist’s kits (a ruling quickly introduced after rampant cheating involving carrying everything from deadly poisons to powerful potions or alchemical weapons in pouches under the guise of ‘spell components’...). The Eschew Materials feat is, as expected, popular amongst spell-casting gladiators, although some make do with spells lacking material components in the first place, or focus on long duration self-buff spells which can be cast before a match begins. Others train in the rudiarius style, particularly those planning on spell-casting more than they melee. As one might expect, less scrupulous type also simply ignore the rules and hide spell components, alchemist’s vials, or even potions or poisons, on their person when they enter the arena: both hiding such things, and using such things without being noticed by the crowd, require Sleight of Hand checks to avoid being caught cheating.
Campaign Traits (Gladiator styles):
Cestus: You fight with a cestus on each hand, delivering punishing blows to your opponents with your mighty fists. If your unarmed damage is greater than the base damage provided by the cestus you can use that damage instead, with any bonuses provided by the cestus (such as masterwork, magical, or special material) also counted. In addition, whenever you score a critical hit with a cestus you inflict an additional 2 points of non-lethal bludgeoning damage from the brutal impact of your blow.
Diamachaerus: Fighting with either a gladius in either hand, or a sica in either hand, you thrill the crowds with this popular and skilful fighting style. When neither denied your Dexterity bonus to AC, nor suffering from an armour check penalty, you reduce any two-weapon fighting penalties for wielding a gladius, shortsword or sica in either hand by an additional 1 point.
Hoplomachus: A classic gladiator type, you wear a buckler and are armed with a spear or longspear. Your intense training allows you to wield a spear or longspear in one hand as a one-handed weapon at a -2 penalty on attack rolls.
Murmillo: With more emphasis on defence than most gladiator types, you enter combat wielding a gladius in one hand and either a heavy shield or a tower shield in the other. As long as you’re not denied your Dexterity bonus to AC and have a heavy or tower shield in hand you gain a +1 deflection bonus to your AC.
Peregrinus: Presented as the embodiment of your race (as skewed by the perceptions and expectations of the locals) as a means to bring the excitement of foreign battles and adventures to the citizenry, you’re made to fight with your ‘native’ weaponry (and your gladiator armour is usually designed to echo a stereotypical image of your people as well – such as leaf patterns for a ‘surface’ elf, a dwarf’s armour painted to look like stone, or a half-orc’s armour made to look ragged and brutish and covered in skulls and bones). Choose a weapon mentioned in your race’s weapon familiarity listing as your primary weapon and fighting style. If the weapon is one-handed, you can optionally fight with a light shield or buckler as well; if it is light, you can optionally fight with a heavy shield or tower shield as well, or fight with paired versions of the weapon in question. If your race doesn’t have an associated weapon familiarity (such as if you’re human), then choose a weapon (or weapon pairing) associated with the region your ancestors hail from (such as an Aldori duelling sword if you’re from Brevoy, a scimitar if you’re from Qadira, the falcata and buckler of a rondelero duelist if you’re from Taldor, a spiked chain and barbazu beard if you hail from Cheliax, a klar and Shoanti bolas if you’re of Shoanti origin, a bladed scarf if you’re descended from Varisians, or any number of eastern style weapons if you’re Tian).
Provocator: You fight as the most heavily armoured of the gladiator styles, usually reserved for auctoratus (volunteer gladiators) who had the presence of mind to claim this style in their indenture agreement, or slave gladiators with owners keen to protect their investments. You fight in medium armour, with a gladius and either a heavy shield or tower shield. The coin invested in you means you begin the game issued with a masterwork agile breastplate, a masterwork gladius, and a (non-masterwork) heavy or tower shield.
Retiarius: Armed with a net and trident you demonstrate a fighting style designed around mobility: restricting your opponent’s as you make the best use of your own. If you’re neither denied your Dexterity bonus to AC, nor suffering from an armour check penalty, you gain a +1 dodge bonus to your AC.
Rudiarius: You’re armed with a deceptively simple-looking ‘rudem’: a wooden rod carved with mystical symbols, which counts as a club in melee (and costs 5gp). Through intense training you’ve learnt how to use the rudem to help focus your magic: whilst holding the rudem you count as having the Eschew Materials feat. You may use the hand holding your rudem for somatic components.
Scizore: Your gladiator type is named for your unusual primary weapon – a weapon you’ve striven to master. As long as you’re wearing no more than light armour, and carrying no more than a light load, you don’t suffer the usual -1 penalty on attack rolls when attacking with a scizore (although you suffer any non-proficiency, incorrect size, or other penalties as normal).
Thraex: Similar to the murmillo, but with more emphasis on attack than defence, you wield a light shield and either a shotel or a falcata. Making the best use of the chopping properties of your primary weapon, you gain a +1 trait bonus to damage whenever you hit with a shotel or falcata attack against an opponent below you (such as a smaller size category, a kneeling, sitting, or prone target, or when you’re claiming a higher ground bonus to hit). This bonus is added to your base damage and is multiplied on a critical hit.
Combat Traits:
Bounding Blow: Your charges culminate in dramatic leaps designed to add power to your blows. When making a charge attack you can attempt an Acrobatics check to jump as part of the charge action. If your check would result in vertical height equal to or greater than your target’s fighting space you can claim a higher ground bonus on your attack roll. In addition if you possess the Vital Strike feat you can use it (and any other feats derived from it) in such a charge attack.
Ludus Learning: You quickly took to your gladiator training. Choose one weapon with the performance feature: you’re considered proficient in that weapon as long as you’re wearing no armour or light armour and carrying no more than a light load. This trait counts as being proficient for the purposes of qualifying for feats or class features and the like, but whenever you lose use of the this trait, you lose the use of those feats, class features, etc. which require that proficiency until you again regain use of this trait.
No Kill Like Overkill: You have a knack at finishing your opponents off in a spectacular (and crowd-pleasing) shower of blood and gore. When you make a performance combat check as the result of vanquishing an opponent you gain a +1 trait bonus on that check for every full 5 points of damage beyond 0 you inflicted upon your vanquished foe.
Faith Traits:
Faux Fiendishness: Most slave worshippers of deities other than the demon lords tend to be worth more as sacrifices in various cruel rites than they are as potential gladiators. Against the odds you’ve managed to both survive and preserve your faith by exploiting the seemingly endless variety of fiends the Abyss produces and obfuscating your worship of an otherwise forbidden deity under the guise of an obscure (and fictional) minor demon lord. Even your holy (or unholy) symbol is a highly stylised or alternate version of your religion’s standard symbol which is near impossible to recognise. When you participate in worship of, or use class features (including spell-casting) provided by, your deity you can disguise their true nature by making a Bluff check (as part of the normal action you’re using) opposed by the observer’s Knowledge (religion) check – if your check is higher the observer assumes you’re worshipping some minor nascent demon lord they’ve never heard of. You gain a +1 trait bonus to this Bluff check, and Bluff is a class skill for you.
Hardened Hedonist: A lifetime of indulging in the demon worshipping excesses of the drow has left you jaded and unimpressed by temptations. You gain a +2 trait bonus on saving throws against charm and compulsion effects.
Spirit of a Champion: Being a gladiator is more than a job to you – it’s your true calling. The cheers of the crowd fill you with an almost religious fervour. When in performance combat, you gain a +1 trait bonus on rolls to confirm critical hits with performance weapons if the crowd’s attitude towards you is friendly, this increases to a +2 trait bonus on rolls to confirm critical hits with performance weapons if the crowd’s attitude towards you is helpful.
Magic Traits:
Concealed Components: You’ve learnt how to stash a few select spell components in various cunning hiding places in your gladiator armour or outfit (such as tucked into your balteus, or slipped beneath a greave or manica). You can make a Sleight of Hand check to retrieve and use a spell component without your cheating being spotted as part of your casting action instead of as a separate action. You gain a +1 trait bonus to Sleight of Hand checks to hide or covertly use spell components, and Sleight of Hand is a class skill for you.
Entertaining Evocations: You maximise the whiz and bang of your flashier, crowd-pleasing, spells and effects. You add the check triggering effect’s spell level (or effective spell level) as a trait bonus to performance combat checks you make for casting energy spells and effects.
Veiled Vials: Thanks to practice and preparation you can enter the arena with at least a few alchemical extracts or potions hidden about your person. You can make a Sleight of Hand check to retrieve and drink from a vial without your cheating being spotted as part of your drinking action instead of as a separate action. If you have the Poison Use class feature you can make a Sleight of Hand check to retrieve and apply a vial of poison to your weapon without your cheating being spotted as part of your action to apply the poison instead of as a separate action. You gain a +1 trait bonus to Sleight of Hand checks to hide or covertly use extracts, potions, poisons or other vials, and Sleight of Hand is a class skill for you.
Social Traits:
Go-between: You’ve learnt the value of cultivating friendships and associations with the ludus guards, and often act as a fixer or scrounger for the other slaves... for a reasonable fee, of course. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Diplomacy checks when interacting with lower-class citizens (like the guards) and can smuggle non-magical items or services (including spellcasting) worth up to a total of 50gp per month into the ludus without raising alarm (at no cost to yourself).
Scion of Slaves: Although of a surface race, you weren’t captured from the surface world, but were born to those already enslaved by the drow. You speak undercommon in place of the surface world’s common tongue. In addition your upbringing makes telling your drow ‘betters’ what they want to hear second nature: you gain a +2 trait bonus on Bluff checks against drow. This bonus increases to a +4 trait bonus on Bluff checks against drow nobles. These bonuses only apply when you’re being properly obsequious.
Sex Symbol: Gladiators are often considered the pinnacle of virility and passion and, as such, tend to attract many admirers and persons of note seeking the illicit thrill of a forbidden tryst with such a base yet desirable figure. You seem to embody this mythos, your figure resembling the sculpted statue of some classical god. When making Bluff or Diplomacy checks against persons who find you (or could find you) sexually attractive you can use your Strength modifier on the check in place of your Charisma modifier.
Race Traits:
Auctoratus: Unlike most gladiators, who are slaves captured from the surface word (or bred from such captives), you’re an ex-citizen (or city ‘guest’ from a respected race) who’s voluntarily submitted themselves to indentured servitude (for a period of at least two years) as a gladiator. For some this a last resort to pay off debts or stave off poverty, for others it’s an escape from social commitments (such as an arranged marriage, or an expectation to follow in the family business); for a few the lure of a life of combat and glory is motivation enough. Choose drow, duergar or fetchling as your race.
Bestiarius: ‘Beast people’ are popular exotic additions to the arenas of the city, usually presented in such a way as to play-up their supposed ‘feral’ or ‘animalistic’ tendencies (even if they are, in reality, as civilised as any other race). Choose catfolk, kitsune, nagaji, tengu, vanara or vishkanyas as your race.
Seminatus: Specifically bred as specialist exotic slave stock you cost your owner five times the price of any slave with a less thoroughbred bloodline, and she expects to see a return via your performance in the arena. Choose changeling, dhampir, ifrit, oread, suli, sylph, tiefling or undine as your race. Born and raised to your fate, you speak undercommon instead of the common tongue of the surface dwellers.
Regional Traits:
Aegis of Etiquette (Eirdrisseir): Caught in the endless web of internecine intrigue that is life amongst the noble houses of drow society, you soon learned that the social niceties could literally be a matter of life and death. Once per day when you make a Charisma-based skill or ability check, you can roll twice and take the better result.
Child of Chaos (Cocyrdavarin): If a normal bustling metropolis can be a dangerous place to grow up, Zirnakaynin is downright lethal, with a state of near riot in the streets being deemed business as usual. Learning to spot when someone was about to turn violent, and making sure they stayed down when you gutted them first, was the only way you managed to survive. You gain a +1 trait bonus on damage rolls with a dagger and a +1 trait bonus on Sense Motive checks. Sense Motive is a class skill for you.
Torrid Toiler (Rygirnan): You were raised toiling at one of the many forges of the lava lake of Rygirnan, and hardly even notice the heat anymore. You gain a +4 trait bonus on saving throws made to resist the effects of being in hot conditions, and a +1 saving throw against fire effects.
Religion Traits:
Cocoon of the Creeping Queen (Mazmezz): Your worship of the demon lady of bindings, driders, and vermin has granted you a bizarre ability which allows you to vomit up webbing with which you can rapidly cocoon your grappled victims. In this manner you can always use the tie up grappling action even if you don’t have any rope to hand, and the DC to escape the bonds increases by +1 (this is a trait bonus). The DC for a Strength check to break or burst your web cocoon by sudden force is 10 + ½ your character level + your Constitution modifier. Using this trait is part of the grapple check to tie up, and inflicts 1d8+1 points of damage to you (this can’t be reduced in any manner, but can be healed as normal). If attacked, the web cocoon has Hardness 0 and Hit Points equal to those you lost to create it. Your cocoon can’t prevent a creature from breathing or talking, but if you cocoon their head (it’s your option to do so or not when you use the tie up grappling action) the creature suffers a -2 penalty on Perception checks. This trait is a supernatural ability.
Silken Sinner (Socothbenoth): As a devotee to the demon lord of perversion, pride, and (breaking) taboos, you’ve indulged in activities which make most people queasy even to think about, and spend time dreaming up even worse atrocities you may like to try when opportunity presents. When you succeed on a verbal Intimidate check to demoralize an opponent who understands the language you’re speaking, you can choose to elaborate on your perverse inclinations and inflict the sickened condition in place of the normal shaken condition.
Song of the Sevenfold Swarm (Izyagna): You consider the roars of the crowd baying for blood to be sacred to the nascent demonic lady you worship, in her role as mistress of angry mobs. Whilst in performance combat, as long as the crowd’s attitude towards you is friendly or helpful, you can ignore the need for a divine focus when casting spells. While the crowd’s attitude towards you is helpful you also count as possessing the Eschew Materials feat.
... although I've got some solid ideas for 4 too, and nuggets of ideas for 2 and 1.
Yes, Fame = TPA & Prestige = CPA: they just changed the names used, 'cos it was kinda' confusing to have everything as varieties of 'prestige award'.
You can be a member of multiple factions (as per page 3 of The Faction Guide) but since being a member involves duty as well as benefits it can get complex and difficult if the two factions are working at odds (either directly against each other, or simply just trying to both get you to do different things at the same time). How viable that'd be would, I guess, depend on the factions / schools / whatever involved and the campaign set-up. For example, each PC could be a member of a different faction (religion, guild, magic school, etc.), but they could all also happen to work for the King and you could track their Fame and Prestige with the royal household as well, to held determine how well liked and what sort of rewards they reap from royal service.
The Geisha Bard archetype (Ultimate Magic) gets to pick one weapon with the 'monk' quality to be proficient in, and plenty of them are exotic (the weapons not the... oh, nevermind... ;) ).
Books like The Faction Guide used 'Total Prestige Award' and 'Current Prestige Award' to indicate (respectively) the overall amount of prestige you'd ever earned with a group and how much you had left 'unspent'. More recent books (like Inner Sea Combat) have switched to using 'Fame' for what used to be TPA and 'Prestige' for what used to be CPA. Is that perhaps what you're after?
How about taking the Dangerously Curious magic trait to put UMD on your class list (with 16 Charisma, 1 skill rank, and the trait bonus,that'd give you a reasonable +8 to UMD at level 1) then just buying a wand of shield?
The downtime business rules are pretty much designed to generate a multiplying capital loop, as far as I can tell. Your only real costs (toll booths aside) are a manager per business, which is what you'll want 'cos it stops the business rebelling and leaving you with nothing if you happen to get stuck on an adventure longer than you thought you'd be. Managers also help reduce capital attrition if you've got any saved up when you get back and start making the rolls. But that's pretty much it (apart from maybe the odd event) for upkeep costs.
Remember that you have to run through the downtime phases in order. So, just like the example in the book, you get home after your 28 days adventuring, and your GM announces that you're into downtime, then...
1. Upkeep:
Pay your managers (and anything else which may have croped up - like the Tollbooth's potential 1 Influence per day cost).
Determine capital attrition (so for 28 days you'd lose 4 from each of your Goods, Influence, Labour, and Magic... gp aren't covered though... with a manager this would be just 2 points from each instead).
Note that all this comes out of any 'savings' you had at the point you came back from your adventure - you can't generate 28 days of capital and then pay these costs, you have to run through the phases in order. I imagine that you'd lose paid-for capital before 'earned but not paid for' if you had both types saved up, but that's not really spelled out as far as I can tell. In any case, it seems the best idea is to not have any capital saved up when you leave in the first place... just gp.
Next, if you were away for 30 days or more (and haven't got a manager) you roll to see if you lose the business. Again, since this is all done in order, if you lose the business at this point, you never even get to the capital generating phase... should have invested in a manager!
2. Activity phase:
You choose what downtime stuff you're finishing off or starting.
3. Income phase:
Back to business! This is where your 280 Magic capital comes in. You're right that you lose 4 points (per business if they're seperate businesses) for not being around, but that's not 'attrition' - that was covered in the upkeep phase - it's just a reduction because you weren't around keeping everyone on their toes (or whatever).
4. Event phase:
Is there an event? Fun may follow!
Then you rinse and repeat for the days you're in town (downtime), but once you head of adventuring again, you forget the whole thing until you return.
The key thing is having a manager (per seperate business), so you either need to leave them a bunch of money to make sure they're paid, or set up a business that generates at least their wages in gp per day. That's actually pretty easy, since a manager can come as cheap as 2gp per day. It gets a lot more expensive if you have seperate businesses (in essence, each seperate business can generate you an extra 1gp per day from having it's own roll to generate gp, but since each manager costs at least 2gp per day you're always losing out - the only way round that is to never leave town for more than 30 days to avoid the chance of losing the business, and never leave any unspent capital for attrition to eat away at).
Of course, the GM may also decide to do some of this stuff whilst you're away, particularly events and things, especially if there's a way for your staff 'back home' to communicate with you, or you're all willing to play staff members for a mini event-based side adventure or soemthing. That's why, I imagine, it'll sometimes be better to spring for one of the more expensive managers: they tend more towards heroic classes (Cleric Vs Commoner) and have the sort of skills which may be needed in an emergency... although, depending on how friendly your GM is, you can swing Clerics and Fighters for 2gp a day, and they're all 3rd level no matter what so... may not make that much difference in the end.
But yes, you can (in theory, with the right investment) generate large amounts of capital quickly - as long as you have the gp to convert it into usable/paid for capital then it's great, otherwise, it's kind of pointless. GP is the big limiting factor - you need money to make... well, any sort of capital really. GP accumulating businesses are easy but, as you point out RD, they're ultimately the lowest payoff capital type (even without Feats and the like the same roll that generates 1gp can generate 1 Magic, which is 'worth' 50gp if you can match that investment to pay for it). I imagine that's by design, to stop this stuff getting too out of hand... and to give you some motivation to still go out robbing tombs or stealing from dragons or whatever, even if it is now with an eye towards keeping the engine of commerce ticking over...
Hmmm... 8 pouches of 'flask' size each... a flask seems to hold 1lb of stuff... so with two bandoliers you could wear 15lbs (3 kegs' worth) of black powder, with 1lb left over for a 'triggering' mechanism... turn yourself into a 15d6 explosion of firey death! For your deity of choice, of course...
Nethys' deific hat is 'the mad guy who doesn't care' aspect of neutrality, (as opposed to the 'all must balance' aspect of neutrality). He's not even really about pushing his 'magic is awesome!' agenda - he just doesn't care if you do or don't (and only cares a little if you actively stop others). So yes, if you worship Nethys in a void then you can ignore him as much as he ignores you and be happy about it...
... but it's not the deity you need to really worry about as a mortal, it's the religion. The trade-off with Nethys is that his religion is crazy elitist when it comes to magic-use and, like their god, have no moral compass. This results in a situation like being a child in a family where the parents let the kids do anything they want - it sounds cool at first, but when your bigger, meaner, brother starts to make you eat worms (or something) you may find yorself wishing for a guardian with a bit more interest...
Follower of Nethys #1: 'Why, hello fellow member of the faithful!'
Follower of Nethys #2: [Casts Dominate Person on Follower #1] 'Hello personal slave.'
Follower of Nethys #1: 'But... I... [sigh]... yes my Master...'
... and all your fellow members of the faithful think this is an awesome situation...
Anyway, if you think Nethys is bad, don't be tempted to check out the Mythic rules for PCs granting divine spells to people...
Free actions don't take any time at all, though there may be limits to the number of free actions you can perform in a turn. Free actions rarely incur attacks of opportunity...
Turning the ring on or off is a free action, so the answer is... as many times as the GM thinks is reasonable.
EDIT: When the ring is 'on' it's like wielding a heavy shield - so you could TWF with the force shield itself (via a shield bash) and a weapon in your other hand, but couldn't use a two-hander or use that hand for anything else, really.
I once knew a girl from Lastwall,
Who loved her men strapping and tall,
She liked them so large,
'Cos she'd mount 'em, yell, 'Charge!'
And ride 'em until they did fall.
