Amanuensis's page

Great news!
And another work of fiction by Liane Merciel, that's even better. Some of us would pay to get to read more content like this, you know...

Very excited to see the finished product!

For a long time I've been thinking about how to make an emotion-based spellcasting tradition in the Pathfinder rule system. I wanted the maniac to cover a wide range of human emotions (20 altogether!) with distinctive mechanics that offer interesting roleplay opportunities.
My main inspiration for this class stems from Ancient Greek mythology (think Dionysean cults), but the maniac enables players to create many different character concepts suitable for almost any fantasy setting.

I hope you'll have as much fun as I had designing and playtesting this class!

This project ist currently being revised and edited for future publication. I'll let you all know once it is available. Thank you for your patience!

In my game, the cultists were in league with a hag that I plan to introduce at a later point. The cultists stole human babies and replaced them with little changelings.
They also gave the kingdom's capital the cursed trait:

Cursed: Some form of curse afflicts the city. Its citizens might be prone to violence or suffer ill luck, or they could be plagued by an infestation of pests. (Choose one modifier and reduce its value by 4)

That way, I have a potential recurring villain, lasting repercussions for the kingdom that can serve as a plot hook (how do we lift the curse), and an interesting moral/social challenge for the PCs (how to deal with those innocent changeling children?).

Silence should be transmutation, not illusion (glamer).

As a general rule, glamers cannot provide protection from the elements, yet somehow, in an area of silence, creatures are immune to sonic-based attacks.

What kind of bounty do you 'capture' with a flamethrower?

The drone handle is a nice detail. I wonder if it could carry a Small-sized creature through the air.

just started reading WF #17 (as usual I keep missing the release date), so no opinion yet but a question regarding the Censor archetype:

1. Wouldn't the repeated use of (Mass) Chastise (which basically is the equivalent of the Cruciatus spell) make sure that a Censor eventually becomes evil? And if so, any suggestions how to tone that done a bit because I would actually love to play such a character in a Hell's Rebels game (only that I don't do evil characters)? And yeah I'm aware that the idea stems from the Hell's Vengeance AP.

I'll try to put up a review when I'm gone through the issue.

I'm glad you liked the censor. Most people would agree that negative conditioning via torture is pretty evil (there is a reason why spells like pain strike have the [evil] descriptor). Others might see it as a nonlethal option allowing the censor to resolve a conflict that has devolved into violence without murdering his opponents. So I guess it depends a bit on the circumstances and how the GM/group prefers to handle alignment.

I envisioned the censor as an agent of oppression who may or may not rationalize his questionable actions ('This hurts me more than it hurts you, but it's necessary for your own good!'). If you are looking for a less controversial option, replacing the chastise performance with a denounce-based ability could work (ostracize the perpetrator!), though it probably isn't the most useful ability for a common adventurer.

Once you have settled on the dungeon's theme, picking monsters should be easy. Who built the pyramid? What was its purpose? How old is it/what is its history? Who had access? How much technological/magical know-how and resources went into its creation? What makes the place special? Which creatures would be drawn to such a place?

You can toy with the players' expectations by giving a classic monster an interesting and unusual twist. A child mummy is creepier than a regular mummy, for example.

Connections between different creatures can help to create a dungeon ecology (symbiosis, intruders, scavengers, etc.). Maybe the pyramid is based on a dualistic religion (sun and darkness, day and night). There could be two factions of creatures trapped in an eternal struggle. To make it less cliché, add a third party of newcomers that upset the balance of power.

From a mechanical viewpoint, creatures with abilities that have great synergy can make for challenging encounters (for example a creature that heals from fire damage and a creature with a breath weapon that deals fire damage).
Also, make sure to use different creature types that play to the strengths and weaknesses of different PCs (the ranger should benefit from their favored enemy occasionally, but not every encounter, etc.).

I think the additional extract list is reasonable. You could also make the alchemical zombie discovery available at lower levels, where it works like lesser animate dead.

Other suggestions:

- If they like tossing bombs, maybe they can have a necrotic bomb discovery that causes their bombs to deal negative energy damage (harming living creatures/healing undead)?

- A mutagen mod that allows the alchemist to pass for an undead (maybe gaining certain undead abilities).

- An ability that allows them to control undead (this could also be a bomb discovery, or maybe some sort of alchemical tincture that makes undead creatures susceptible to the alchemist's 'charm').

I agree that the reanimator is a bit underwhelming.

What if they gained an undead companion (like a druid's animal companion, except undead)? I always thought that the animate dead spell was a bit cumbersome, because it forces you to create a new stat block whenever you zombifie a new creature.

Is there a reason why Paizo wouldn't use spoiler warnings for players (like many other RPGs do)?

Thank you for your feedback.

1) I tried to implement that by allowing aid another, and there is an option to increase the DC for an increased range/area/duration. The party would decide who makes the check, the other players would attempt a DC 10 Charisma check to aid the shaping character. The shaping character sets the duration and the area of effect. Admittedly, there is still a bit of GM call involved (turning the whole area blue might require multiple shapings or a single powerful one, which would be closer to, say, a 3rd- or higher-level spell. Also, some of the locals might take offense).
Separating base area from spell effect is tricky, I'm not sure this should be its own formula element.

2) I deliberately decided against that, because I think that shaping should be fundamentally different from spellcasting. A romantic swashbuckler will be better at this than a scholarly wizard. However, I would be okay with a bonus for characters that have a special fey connection.

3) I was thinking that the shaping effect could be limited by the character's level (similar to spells). That way, only high-level characters can achieve powerful effects (and fey usually do have a lot of HD for their CR). I think this is mostly a theoretical problem, though. After all, these rules are meant to offer toys to the PCs. I can totally see different fey factions using their shaping against each other in their struggle for dominance over a certain domain. But the system doesn't have to simulate that struggle perfectly.

I realize that I never took a look at the words of power system, which might be helpful for what I have in mind here.

Has anybody made use of shaping in their game (as described in First World, Realms of the Fey)? If so, how did you handle it?

At this price range, a ring does not have a lot of competitors, and it is much more comfortable than handling a metamagic rod.

Whether you can use an item three times per day or at will can make a huge difference. Pricing shouldn't bet the only factor to decide what is balanced.

Also, it should be noted that metamagic rods are severely underpriced (even the designers admitted that, though they still haven't changed it as far as I know).

I'm not convinced that this item is different enough from a reach metamagic rod to warrant being its own item (hence my proposed change).

The language could be improved, but it's clear what the item is supposed to do. It should probably say line of sight rather than line of effect, because the way it is worded, it still requires the caster to select a target (which requires line of sight). It is also unclear if a ranged touch attack would be necessary and what happens if the target is unwilling.
And, like the others said, it should not be usable at will.

That item is too convenient for my taste, especially because it is usable at will and very cheap.
I would change it to work more like the deliver touch spells feature of the wizard's familiar. The caster designates one ring-bearer when casting the spell, and during their turn, the ring-bearer can use their own action to deliver the spell.

The rules for shaping are left deliberately vague, so I thought it would be nice to have some mechanically sound guidelines for GMs who want to allow their players to use shaping when they visit the First World.

Shaping

Does this sound reasonable? Did I forget anything important?

Voluminous Spell (Metamagic)

Your spells affect an increased volume or weight.

Benefits: This feat can be applied to any spell with level-dependent effects that are measured in units of volume or weight. You treat your caster level as double the normal caster level for the purpose of determining the volume or weight you can affect or create.
A voluminous spell uses up a spell slot one level higher than the spell's actual level.

Maybe it could be a ruse spell (Ultimate Intrigue) that mimics flesh to stone? Flesh to stone has a range of medium though (With a range of touch, a successful Spellcraft check would reveal it to be a different spell).

The arcane mark aspect seems to modeled after instant summons. I would add a costly material component.

It should probably mention a range for the teleport effect and there should be some restrictions. Otherwise, you could use the spell to trap a creature, which would bring it closer to 7th or 8th level (binding).

Other than that, cool idea!

Keep in mind that the spell is restricted by the object's volume (10 cu. ft. at 5th level, 40 cu. ft. at 20th level). [By the way, it would be cool if we had a metamagic feat to increase the effect of spells that are measured in target volume/weight].

I considered the possibility of shrinking a door or window, but the hinges would likely prevent it. (It doesn't say so in the spell, but I think it is a reasonable assumption that you cannot use the spell to break/crush things.) Likewise, as a GM, I probably wouldn't allow bypassing a lock/trap by shrinking it, though shrinking a part of the mechanism could grant a bonus on Disable Device checks.

53. A water pump
54. A privy
55. A scaffolding (a climbing aid or to support a structure that might collapse)
56. Oversized clothes (definitely won't shrink in the wash)
57. A Colossal-sized full plate (wearable instant fortress)
58. Wooden poles, empty barrels, and other construction materials (can be used with fabricate or manual labor to build improvised traps, simple fortifications, a floating bridge, etc.)
59. A high seat (grant the sniper that +1 bonus for attacking from higher ground)
60. An emergency kit (when equipment isn't available)
61. A small crane with a long rope/chain, a winch, and a counterweight
62. A stash of illegal or embarrassing things (can be used to frame somebody)
63. A punching bag/training dummy
64. A giant magnet
65. A fully-grown clone
66. A cauldron filled with molten metal
67. A folding screen/canopy
68. A banquet with fresh food
69. A batch of pamphlets and handbills (for propaganda purposes)
70. A cabinet with contracts, permits, and other official documents (for diabolists, imposters, bureaucrats etc.)

A PRD-search for 'howl' should provide you with enough examples for interesting abilities to find something that is to your liking. The howling helm is quiet flavorful, for example.

42. A weapon rack (takes golf-bagging to a new level and you'll never run out of things to throw at your enemies with telekinesis)
43. An unwieldy musical instrument
44. Explosives, armed/fuses lit ("You think I'm bluffing?")
45. Various ways to use Sleight of Hand/cheat with bets ("I bet you cannot lift this sword")/play pranks
46. A market stall/grillwalker/icecream booth
47. A small boat (poor man's folding boat)
48. A roulette/poker/gaming table; a giant outdoor chess set
49. An iron maiden (get that circumstance bonus on Intimidate checks with style)
50. A door + frame (so you can slam it in someone's face); a portal (ominous looking)
51. A cartload of salt
52. A telescope

Also, any of the above plus burning

Anyone else?

Re: #16. A ball pit is usually a box filled with balls, not a real pit.

Re: #22. I was thinking more of using it as a traffic block than a means to store food, but sure, an all-you-can-eat sushi banquet works as well.

34. A trampoline
35. A cage/aquarium
36. A giant spider web
37. A giant tortoise shell
38. A small zen garden
39. A safe (a decoy to distract thieves)
40. A special chair for Small-sized characters (so they can sit at the table with the big guys)
41. A writing desk or workbench (to scribe scrolls/craft items)

[23. A trophy taken from your enemies]
24. A scratch post and litter tray (for cat owners)
25. A model ship in a bottle (for clumsy people)
26. An oversized spellbook shrunk to normal (folio) size (try to steal that)
27. World's biggest jigsaw puzzle
28. A summoning circle
29. A sail wagon (for land yachting)
30. Theatrical scenery
31. A statue of yourself
32. An opponent's weapon, shield, or spell component pouch
33. A printing press

11a. A tent with lead inlays (offers protection against scrying spells)

1. A stone boulder (usable as an obstacle/weight)
2. A couple of inflated buoyent balloons
3. A bathtub (filled with hot water and bubbles)
4. A picnic (romantic music not included)
5. A sack filled with copper coins
6. A real bed with a mattress, blankets, and fluffy pillows (stuffed animals are optional)
7. A barrel filled with water, oil, flour, etc.
8. A campfire
9. A coffin (for vampires and goths)
10. A bookshelf
11. A tent (already set up)
12. A skeleton/corpse (for necromancers, could also be useful as a decoy)
13. A wardrobe (when you can't decide what to wear)
14. A block of ice (makeshift refrigerator)
15. A dung pile (can be dropped at doorsteps or dungeon entrances)
16. A ball pit (for adventurers of all ages)
17. A giant holy symbol (size matters)
18. A glass panel/distorting mirror
19. A flower bed
20. A tower shield
21. A siege weapon
22. A cart with turnips, eggs, vegetables, etc. (possibly rotten)

Excuse me, ma'am, if you could please be so kind and turn down that, uhm, music just a little? There have been compl--oh, it's you. I see. Never mind, carry on...

In Golarion, the empyreal lord Ashava is associated with good lycanthropes.

While uncommon, it's not unthinkable for a ruling family to have their offspring learn a craft (the Habsburg monarchy would be an example), especially among dwarves.

I find the exceptional Intelligence more interesting. Why didn't she make more out of it? Did she lack the necessary discipline or were there other reasons? She seems to have an interest in uncommon languages (by the way, Elven is not a legal choice as a starting language for a dwarf).

If her significant relationship was with a con artist or marriage swindler, that could be the reason for her becoming disinherited and taking up an adventuring life.

Amanuensis wrote:

I agree, but it's not only that these rules don't mesh well together. Unlike kingdom building, the downtime rules (generating capital) are a needlessly complex micromanagement system that only exist for its own sake. The way I understand it, the system leaves the WBL-expectations mostly intact, which is a good thing, but also makes investing in downtime activities a zero-sum game (why would an adventurer who generates the overwhelming part of their income via loot even bother?). I just don't see how it can be useful other than providing entertainment for those who enjoy micromanaging.

It depends on the group and the player. For people who like to flesh out their characters' lives other than being a sword-for-hire, it is a tool for showing those ambitions and interests.

Example: In a recent Rise of the Runelords game, I had a player whose character concept was problematic. Part of RotRL wants the PCs to be attached to the town of Sandpoint.. to want to help out of more than just monetary motivation. That player's decision to purchase Chopper's Isle became the hook for a side adventure there (from Wayfinder #7), and his decision to build a Dojo there gave him a reason to protect the town beyond "what'cha gonna' pay me?"

But you don't need the downtime system for that. (And I'm saying that as somebody whose fondest RPG memories are related to a Planescape campaign that revolved around running an inn in Sigil). Micromanaging capital does not offer plot hooks or enable/faciliate story telling in the way that the kingdom building rules do (or the faction rules in Ultimate Faction). Sure, I can tell my players: 'you need x influence to sway the city council's vote in your favor', but that is a pretty lame way to handle an interesting social situation.

As for interfacing the Downtime and Kingdom rules.. I don't think they fit together well -- at least not directly.The Downtime rules are scaled differently than the Kingdom rules, so I don't think there can (or should) be direct matches for every building necessarily. The Farm does appear in both, but with prices and effects that are substantially different due to scales (a Kingdom Farm is probably more like 100-1,000 Downtime Farms "zoned" together). A Mine would be an investment on an industrial scale, and may have been considered unsuitable for a "Building" as it would likely be a complex of many Buildings (a smelter, an ore sorter, An Ore Grinder, someplace for run-off, water storage, living quarters, cooking and dining facilities, offices, tool storage, repair workshops, infirmary, and more). In addition, the Kingdom-level rules abstract and generalize mines.. the specifics required for a smaller Downtime-scaled Mine would be different based on what is produced from the mine -- a salt mine or a gem mine probably doesn't need a smelter, for example, but would probably need more specialized Teams than a metal mine.

I agree, but it's not only that these rules don't mesh well together. Unlike kingdom building, the downtime rules (generating capital) are a needlessly complex micromanagement system that only exist for its own sake. The way I understand it, the system leaves the WBL-expectations mostly intact, which is a good thing, but also makes investing in downtime activities a zero-sum game (why would an adventurer who generates the overwhelming part of their income via loot even bother?). I just don't see how it can be useful other than providing entertainment for those who enjoy micromanaging.

And then there is the insectile looking appendage that he's tied to his waist that's just kinda hanging there... What's that about? Do we have another person that obsesses with dead people like Navasi? Oh wait, he's a Pharasmin, of course he's obsessed with dead people. At least he's friendly about it.

Maybe ecdysis (shedding of the exoskeleton) is common among shirren? Though it doesn't seem to be a former body part.

I bet psi-blockers are common among young shirren parents.

I wrote an origami master (summoner archetype) a while ago.

You mentioned different clans in your opening post. Are all characters members of the same clan? If not, maybe you could create two traits (noble/retainer) for each clan? That way, the players can choose between different options instead of picking the (more or less) obvious one.

I think you'll get more focused (and more useful) feedback if you post one class at a time.

I don't 'get' many of these classes. A lot of them seem to have concepts and themes which are very similar to those of existing classes, but lack strong class mechanics to support them. It seems like you are trying to apply certain design concepts from video games to existing classes. That's fine in principle, but I think it is also much more difficult than you make it out to be. You still need a strong class concept with multiple different abilities that supports a lot of different character builds.

All right, that makes sense. I think they serve that purpose well.

1) I'm not sure why a character would be proficient with only one specific weapon. If it is supposed to be an equipment trait, maybe the sword serves as a constant reminder to the character's failure, spurning them on to perform great deeds?

Not all of these traits are equally powerful. Gaining a bonus to Initiative is certainly better than a bonus on Profession (mercenary) checks.

Do the players already have specific characters in mind? Are these traits supposed to help them with creating a character background? Do your players have trouble coming up with an interesting character background on their own?
Because I could see this work the other way around as well ("What is your character's background? Interesting. I think we could work out a trait that reflects your character's story. What do you think of the following... Maybe you have something else in mind?"). It makes them feel special and gives them a motivation to come up with an interesting background story. And you circumvent the problem of obvious choices for certain classes/builds.

Androids make for pretty interesting characters. Can you seperate yourself from your previous personalities? Do you try to incorporate your former incarnations into your own identity? What happens if something with the renewal process goes wrong and residual memories resurge? How does android society deal with the renewal?

Iseph's pupils are a very cool detail. Seems like androids run on AAA batteries...

Interesting. So there is a distinction between temporary and permanent enhancement bonuses. I assume the same thing would apply to Arcane Strike (which allows the wielder to treat their weapon as magic for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction).

Nobleborn often don't appear in public (church) records, though there will likely be some genealogical records in the noble family's house archive. Maybe the old estate still exists? This could lead to the next part of the adventure. The PCs find out that the Aspis are trying to buy the estate from its current owner, forcing the PCs to acquire the necessary funds for a bidding war. Only to find out that an unknown third party outbid them both... So they may have to perform a daring break-in to figure out what's going on.

As for the villain's motivation, it really depends on what kind of story you want to tell. Just make sure that the PCs have a strong motivation to get involved. (You likely know best what piques your players' interest.)

She is a vampire. Back in the days, she was a spy for the Whispering Tyrant and has valuable knowledge that might be interesting to a lot of people. When the Whispering Tyrant was defeated, the shock wave made her fall into stasis. She was buried by her family in shame (who found out about her allegiance to Tar-Baphon, but not about her undead condition). The (now damaged) crown is a magical item that protects her from rising as an undead (standard procedure for noble burials in the proximity of the Whispering Tyrant's prison), which (inadvertently) put her into some kind of semi-permanent sleep. Too bad that the crown was damaged.
Once the conflict with the Aspis Consortium starts, she awakens and flees in the ensuing turmoil. She probably has plans that the PCs won't like...

I suggest reading Marcuse's essay on Repressive Tolerance. It helps to put things into perspective.

I don't want to rehash old debates on this topic, I'm just curious. Expanded rules on 'shaping' (as described in First World, Realm of the Fey), for example, don't need to be setting-specific.

The Boneyard is an interesting example. There is an entry in the GameMastery Guide for Purgatory (very short, setting-neutral), whereas Occult Adventures gave us more detailed and setting-specific information. It is not entirely clear whether one supersedes the other or not. (I'm still unhappy about how Occult Adventures changed/expanded on planar cosmology by making everything occult, but that seems to be the way it is). Then again, Occult Adventures does not claim to change planar cosmology per se but offers an occult perspective instead.

The short summaries below offer an occult viewpoint on the realms generally referred to as the Esoteric Planes.

So the First World section could be setting-agnostic, setting-specific, or give us a particular perspective on the First World based on the book's general theme.

Is it safe to assume that the section on the First World will contain campaign setting specific information?

Vicious Markers
School illusion (glamer); level bard 3, sorcerer/wizard 4
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, F (a set of inkpens)
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./level)
Target 1 creature
Duration instantaneous (see text)
Saving Throw Will negates; Spell Resistance yes

You create a number of illusory styluses that besmear the target from top to toe with hurtful insults and humiliating drawings. This defacement deals 1d4 points of Charisma damage to the target and causes it to appear so utterly ridiculous towards any onlookers that it automatically fails any Charisma-based skill check or ability check for as long as the defacement lasts.
In addition, any onlooker who can see the target must succeed at a Will save or be afflicted with uncontrollable laughter, as if affected by hideous laughter for 1 round. (This is a mind-affecting compulsion effect.) An onlooking creature that succeeds at its saving throw cannot be affected again by this particular casting of the spell.
The ink smearings caused by vicious markers can be washed away with soap and clean water.

It's refreshing to see that the problem of untying shoelaces still hasn't been solved. The art looks great though.

An average healthy person with adequate equipment who puts up enough effort should be able to break through a stone wall. It may take a while (and cause sore muscles), but it's not impossible. If an average person can do that, why wouldn't a person with superhuman Strength and the fantasy world equivalent of a jackhammer be able to do the same thing much faster/more efficiently?

Also, I think you are misrepresenting the rules for damaging objects. Hardness is not the same thing as damage reduction. A magic weapon may bypass certain types of DR, but it cannot bypass hardness. Likewise a nonmagical weapon may be especially effective against a certain type of object (bypassing hardness and dealing double damage) whereas a magical weapon could be ineffective against the same object (dealing no damage at all). Most creatures with DR or hardness are subject to critical hits; objects are not.

Adamantine weapons may be able to ignore the hardness of most objects, but they still won't do anything to a stone wall unless they are designed for exactly that purpose:

Ineffective Weapons: Certain weapons just can't effectively deal damage to certain objects. For example, a bludgeoning weapon cannot be used to damage a rope. Likewise, most melee weapons have little effect on stone walls and doors, unless they are designed for breaking up stone, such as a pick or hammer.

These seem like pretty neat fantasy creatures, very medieval in theme. I love the auras, too few fey have something fun like that at these levels.

I'm glad you like them! I tried to make the auras not too powerful, but I may have to fiddle around with them.

I think some variants for animals might be interesting, one with discarded bones, collars, sticks, or maybe even the remains of missing pets. A little morbid, but if it is a friendly fey that seeks companionship it could be pretty neat, I could even see it as an improved familiar possibly.

The concept is a bit too specific for its own creature, but I think one could use the toy-related perdu, exchange a few skills and spell-like abilities, and it should fit nicely.

This does not address more primitive based cultures as well. A creature made of sharpening stones, digging tools, beads, fishing hooks, and similar lost "primitive" tools for the jungles or islands in the inner sea.

Really interesting idea. A tool-related perdu is on my list, but I would not have thought of that.

A jewel and coin based one mentioned above also sounds interesting, I could see a party of PCs hunting it down for the obvious value in its component parts (or protecting one from treasure hunters).

I'm still working on these. My inclination is

Thank you for your input!

I added the perdu subtype and three new kinds of perdu. I also added the construct empathy ability, because I thought it would be cool for them to have animated objects as buddies (and helping them to develop their own personalities).

I'm not happy with the latin names for the individual creatures, but I couldn't think of anything better.