Anthony Pasquini's page

Krome wrote:

Dispel Magic would not work, as the target cannot be seen and therefore the spell cannot be targeted. However, just as a side note, Greater Dispel Magic DOES work, since it is a Burst spell, and burst spells do not require line of site but rather affect everything within their area.

Suppose you located the spell area first with detect magic? You could then target the visible aura.

I don't think Detect Magic works that way. You would have to concentrate 3 full rounds to get to the point where Detect Magic tells you "the strength and location of each aura. If the items or creatures bearing the auras are in line of sight, you can make Knowledge (arcana) skill checks to determine the school of magic".

Do the bases look abnormally big for the minis in the preview pictures?
Specifically the frost giant and troll seem tiny in respect to their bases.

My PCs will question Ghelve tomorrow. Ghelve knows about the Vanishing. My question is: does he know everything written in the book? How the disease is transmitted and how it is cured?

Are you guys at Paizo serious?!?
Two months since the last supplement.
Luckily my group has taken a few weeks off due to successive Sunday holidays and the flu.
I figured by now I would have information I sorely need for conversion to the Realms.
At these higher levels I need assistance in incorporating the
campaign into the Realms.
PLEASE something soon.

Thanks for everyone's suggestions. I went with making it an object that can only be used in conjuction with Detect Thoughts.
I also found the suggested price within the adventure itself.
Thanks again. Good Hunting!

Originally, the mind clone allowed a doppelganger to use all of a cloned character's abilities and skills. Basically, it let a doppelganger who duplicates a wizard cast all of that wizard's spells and utilize a familiar. For various reasons, balancing this item for a 7th-level adventure was proving far too dificult in the short amount of time I had to develop the adventure, so it got cut back considerably to the state you see in the magazine now.

The best way to think of the mind clone is as a plot element that allows these doppelgangers to do what they're doing and to leave it at that. I'd give more advice but I'm at home now and don't have access to that issue... I'll try to remember to head back here and post a few more notes once I get back in the office though.

Thanks James, I appreciate your response. Perhaps some info on value to the PCs if they sell it or how to use it.

Where are the stats for the Mind Clones in HoHR?
They are not in the module, so what source book do they come from?
I have looked in DMG, DMGII, Lords Madness, Exp Psionocs, and no luck.

I usually receive my issue 3 weeks after ship date. Where do you live? Most US subscribers receive theirs about 2 weeks after ship date.

In Florida, you?

Still waiting. Thought I read "this week," which ends today for Monday through Friday businesses.

Jaws wrote:

Usually you ship on a Tuesday.

Issue 128 shipped to subscribers on 9/20, not 9/30. The website has been corrected.

-Vic.
.

OK, I am a subscriber and I still haven't received #128 as of today, 10 days after it shipped.

Anyway, my point to all this is that you are correct and probably taking the high road. It's a poor (and probably short) campaign indeed whose purpose to destroy the fun of the players. On the other hand, everyone's got to let the evil DM out once in a while, and as far as train...

Greg, I think our campaign will last a long time. Our group has played weekly for 4 years. I am 1 of 4 DMs in the group of 7. I am known for playing a "realistic" but fun and fair game. What I mean by "realistic" is that I play a Faerun with a all-level, target-rich environment. Depending on the choices and turns you make, a 1st-level party but come face to face with an unwinnable CR 12 encounter. No all encounters are meantt to be won by the PCs. I don't "rail" my players. I do try to gently nudge them.

Anthony Pasquini wrote:

I haven't had this much fun is years.

Did the players have fun?

All but one of the players had great fun. It is still a mystery to them about where the worms came from in the middle of a mimic fight.

Okay . . . I could really take some flak for this . . but if you idea of entertainment is to kill the PC's . . I pity you.

As a DM, I think that the best satisfaction I can get is when my player's succeed in over-coming the challenges I plan. It's good to make it challenging, but a complete party wipe . . . not good.

Now, as a means of salvaging your game . . . I'd suggest that when you get to D15 . . . have it be found out that all the PC's were kidnapped. that'd allow the four who died to re-gain their characters.

Don't get me wrong, I also take great pleasure when my players are sucessful. However, they have been quite sucessful over the past year. I do encourage an adversarial relationship between DM and players. I believe it makes us both try harder. But please be assured I am very fair with them. I never have to fudge to make it challenging for them, though in the past I have fudged to allow them to live. In response to this, some of the players complained that the lack of threat of death took the mystery out of the game. I had to agree, as a player I am too cocky and foolhardy if I don't have a genuine fear of death.

I was so close, killed 4 out of 6 PCs! The party of 6 (one is currently a Doppelganger) were all grappled by the Mimics in the Sodden Hold in The Hall of Harsh Reflections. The PCs were all taking tons of crush damage. As they were finally breaking free and healing, 4 of them drank the worm-laced potions from Encounter at Blackwall Keep. Within rounds I had 4 dead PCs arisen as Spawn of Kyuss, a Doppleganger-controlled PC and 1 badly wounded PC. I haven't had this much fun is years.

Thanks everyone for the good ideas. I didn't think that the adventure made it that clear that Hishka hasn't been allowed in the egg-chamber and therefore suspected something was wrong.

I just read through Encounter at Blackwall Keep (#126) and hope to run my party through it this week, but I need some help.
I am confused as to why the PCs go to the Lizardfolk egg chamber. If they make peace with Hishka, I would think they would stop treating the lair as a dungeon-crawl and never get to the egg chamber. As per the written story, Hishka has no idea of the danger that the eggs are in, so Hishka wouldn't tell the PCs any info that gets them to the chamber. If Hishka does suspect that Ilthane is a bad ally to the tribe and that Ilthane is guarding the eggs, that might persuade the PCs to do something. But, a 5-6th level party is not going to attack a black dragon in a egg-chamber.
I am missing some info within the story?
What are other DMs doing?

Why metal minis with the GameMastery products. If the assumption is that DMs don't have enough time, why would you use unpainted metal minis instead of the wonderful plastic ones?

Robert,
That's correct, I did not receive any warning. The first indication was an email that my subscription had already expired. The second notice was a post mail again informing me that my subscription had already expired. But nothing before expiration. If I remember correctly, last year I had no problem, at some point I was informed and was able to renew in time.

Problem solved with customer service this morning. Thanks.

What is this bullsh*t with renewal of current subscriptions? My first indication of my subscription running out was an email stating that my subscription had already expired!!! No warnings, no postcards in the previous few issues. According to an email I rec'd from David Neri, even if I renew today I will miss an issue. What is that?! Through no fault of my own and following the info I receive from Paizo I will still miss an issue of a magazine I want. This might explain loss of readership.