Search Posts
I originally started the PF1 version of this thread here: But since the topic is essentially version-agnostic, I thought I'd start the same thread in this forum as well to facilitate the original thread's goal: "I thought this would be a great place for Pathfinder players to share character backgrounds for the community to enjoy (and steal ideas from!)." Let's hear your stories!
My two Friendly Local Gaming Stores told me that they are dropping their Paizo business. The first one said they will no longer be getting any new Paizo products. The second one went into a little more detail. They said, "Paizo's terms and conditions became too toxic, and the owner is no longer comfortable doing business with Paizo." Does anyone know what the floob is going on? Why would FLGS be dropping Paizo business?
I thought this would be a great place for Pathfinder players to share character backgrounds for the community to enjoy (and steal ideas from!). Here's my first entry.... Salah Kalosyni, human paladin of Erastil: Salah Kalosyni Salah Kalosyni was born 30 years ago on a small farm located a day's ride from Liberthane, a settlement near where the Chalkstone and East Sellen rivers meet in an unclaimed area of the River Kingdoms. An only child, Salah grew up with Momma, Pappa, and a small, ever-changing group of hired hands. Together they worked the small plot of land, growing and raising enough food for themselves with just enough left over to trade at the farmer's market in Liberthane for life's necessities. They were moderately poor, but they were also happy, content with the fruits of their hard labor. Momma and Poppa were both in their middle years when they had Salah. They called her their miracle girl, for they had tried and failed for over 20 years to have children before Erastil blessed them with Salah. They loved her dearly, and they dedicated themselves to teaching Salah about Erastil and how best to honor and take care of the land and its life-sustaining bounty. Shortly after Salah turned 10 Momma became very ill. She was a strong woman, but in the end her aging body just couldn't beat the wasting sickness within her. Thankfully she passed peacefully in her sleep. Shortly after turning 16 an extraordinary traveler arrived at the Kalosyni farm. Pappa invited the traveler to enjoy his family's hospitality for the night. Salah learned much about the traveler during dinner. His name was Jahno. Not much older than Salah, Jahno was an eager new paladin of Erastil. His ultimate destination was Mendev, where he could help wage the war against the demons of the Worldwound. However, he was planning to pass through Brevoy on his way there so as to learn some more fighting techniques from the Aldori swordlords. Early the next morning Salah awoke to the sound of her father screaming. She ran outside to find her father being attacked by a huge, terrible creature with armor-like skin and a gaping maw of sharp teeth. A moment later Jahno ran out from the farmhouse, bastard sword in hand, and immediately attacked the beast. The creature (which Salah later learned was called a bulette) turned his attacks upon Jahno. It bit down on Jahno's left arm, causing him to scream as he slashed (and broke) his sword across one of the creature's eyes. Roaring in pain and rage, the creature fled, burrowing into the ground to get away--taking Jahno's arm with him. Salah and the farmhands got Jahno and Pappa back into the farmhouse. Trained in the ways of healing, Salah did her best to heal them. Pappa was a lost cause; the creature had damaged him too severely, even before she and Jahno arrived to help. Jahno nearly died; he fell into a coma for nearly a fortnight. By Erastil's good grace, though, Jahno survived, although with the loss of his arm his fighting days were effectively over. During Jahno's recovery he and Salah got to know each other very well. In time, they fell in love. Seeing a new lease on life, Jahno now saw that his duty and honor lay in marrying the woman he loved and working the land in Erastil's name. So, at the age of 16, Salah was married. She and Jahno (and the farmhands, of course) worked the farm together, eking out a modest living. During their happy years together Salah and Jahno taught each other all they knew. She taught him the ways of the land and how to manage a farm. He taught her they ways of battle, how to use weapons and wear armor. More than that, he taught her how he honored Erastil as a paladin, how to live on one's own in the wilderness, and how to map where one has travelled so as to aid future travelers in their own explorations. Salah and Jahno wanted children, but it seemed that the same malady that had beset her parents beset Salah as well; try as they might, Erastil didn't bless them with any children. Salah had faith, though. If her parents could wait 20 years for their miracle, she could wait, too. Alas, it seemed that Erastil had another Path in mind for Salah. After five years of marriage Jahno fell ill to what seemed like the same wasting disease as her mother had. Despite his youth and strength, however, Jahno ultimately succumbed to the illness and died. Salah was distraught. She began to question what the point of life was, the point of anything. Everyone she had loved had died. She felt alone in the world. In the depths of her despair, she cried out to Erastil. Why? And to her utter shock, Erastil answered. Not with words, but with a vision. In her mind's eye she saw a map of northeastern Avistan. A growing red line marked a long, winding road--the Path of a traveler. The line grew and grew--until it ended at her farm. There the line lingered, faded, and finally disappeared. In its place a red dot appeared on the map, on her farm. A new red line sprouted from that dot, growing up the East Sellen river, into Brevoy, where it lingered before growing again, across the Lake of Mists and Veils, and into Mendev. Salah knew what she must do. She must become the traveler, to continue along the Path that her husband had started along at Erastil's urging. She must travel the Path, to Brevoy, to Mendev--to wherever it may take her, trusting that Erastil will lead her true and not lead her astray. Soon Salah sold her modest farm and used the funds to equip herself for the life of a paladin on the road. It took her time, and a number of harrowing adventures, but she eventually made it to Mendev. There she fought in the crusades against the encroaching demons. She learned much, and her skills in dealing out death in justice and for the protection of others grew strong. After a few years there Erastil sent Salah another vision. This vision showed her that it was time for her Path to continue, this time back to the River Kingdoms. Ever faithful, Salah went back, but she didn't go back to her farm. Instead she spent the next few years travelling back and forth across the River Kingdoms, mastering the ways of living off of the land, righting wrongs, helping those in need. Her course seemed random at times, but Salah trusted that Erastil knew best. A short time ago, just after turning 30, Salah learned that the Swordlords of Restov were trying to bring civilization to an area of the River Kingdoms called the Stolen Lands. This sounded like the perfect opportunity for the civilizing influence of Erastil to take hold there. It also sounded like an opportunity for the lawless and dark-hearted to take advantage of a delicate situation. After praying on the matter Salah concluded that her next stop on the Path of the traveler is the Stolen Lands. More specifically, an area called Greenbelt. And so, with almost half a lifetime of experience and faith behind her, Salah walks the long road to Greenbelt, quietly hopeful that, if nothing else, she can make a positive difference along her way to the Clearing at the End of the Path.
Today marks 16 months since the last PFRPG-related errata document was posted online. That's quite a long time. When will there be more? WILL there be more?
Are there any archetypes/prestige classes/etc. for a paladin that would make him or her more monk-like? Or for a monk that would make him or her more paladin-like? And are there any prestige classes that essentially require a paladin/monk combo to qualify? Paizo only please! Thanks!
I could use some advice concerning the encounters for an adventure I am writing for my players. My players play five, 17th-level characters (Cleric 17, Monk 17, Sorcerer 9/Dragon Disciple 8, Fighter 17, and Rogue 3/Wizard 4/Arcane Trickster 10) plus one 15th-level cohort (Barbarian 15). They are at a high enough level to encounter mass save-or-die effects. For example, facing a 17th-level wizard with a kickin' Int score and 9th-level spells. He can cast a hard-to-save-against mass save-or-die spell. Now, imagine genius-Int monsters with similar spell-like abilities. On paper, these monsters are well within what a party of their level is supposed to be able to handle. Being genius-Int, it wouldn't be realistic to play them dumb and have them hold back on using such abilities. However, I can too easily see bad rolls resulting in instant multiple character deaths if I play such monsters to their fullest extent. What's the fun in that? I guess this is one of the down sides to high-level play. So...thoughts? Advice on how to, somehow, play such encounters in a challenging way that's enjoyed by all? Thanks, Atavar
The adamantine golem is described as being black in color; is all adamantine black? Or, are there varying colors of varying rarity, sort of like with diamonds?
Smite Good is described as lasting until the target is dead or until the next time the antipaladin rests. Starting at 4th level he can use it more than once per day. So could he, for example, use it once on one enemy then use it on a separate enemy on the following round, thus getting the smite good bonuses against both of those enemies? Or, is the intent (if not clearly written so) that the activation of the second use of Smite Good ends the first use of it? Thanks, Atavar
One of my players is playing a 15th-level character. (Wizard 3/Rogue 3/Arcane Trickster 9). He has the trap spotter rogue talent. He also has a VERY high perception skill check modifier. I'm finding that just about every trap the party encounters at this point is moot. Unless the trap can be triggered from over 10' away, he's automatically spotting them and able to disable them at range. Sometimes traps just don't seem spottable to me (e.g. an alarm spell), yet all traps have a perception DC, even magical ones with nothing to see. I've thought of 0-ruling that some traps just aren't perceivable before being set off, but that seems unfair to me. Is this just a product of a rogue being really good at what he does? Are there some rules I am neglecting to take into account? What advice can I get that will makes traps dangerous/fun in my campaign again? Thanks, Atavar
Hello Everyone, According to the RAW as I understand them, magic weapons and armor can only be damaged/sundered by a weapon with an enhancement bonus equal to or greater than its own. I am statting out a dragon for an upcoming adventure. This dragon has the improved sunder feat, and I was planning on using it. However, the dragon is attacking with its natural attacks, not with magical weapons. The dragon does have a DR of 20/magic, so I understand that its natural attacks overcome magic DR. However, I cannot find any rules that state what sort of enhancement bonus, if any, his attacks are considered to have for the purpose of damaging magic weapons and armor. I can easily rule that it would be enough to damage an item with only a +1 magical enhancement bonus, but I find it hard to believe that that is the limit for the dragon. Does a great wyrm dragon truly lack the ability to sunder a +2 longsword? Ideally I'd like to have some RAW that addresses this, but short of that, I'd like some advice on how to rule this. Perhaps some kind of formula, like, as long as the creature has magic DR then its enhancement bonus for the purpose of damaging magic weapons/armor equals its HD/5, maximum +5, or something like that. Thanks, Atavar
SPOLIER ALERT for CRUCIBLE of CHAOS Module
The module includes a 3.5 version of the shoggoth. That version is a CR 15 encounter. Paizo updated the shoggoth for PFRPG in the Bestiary. Here is a link to its stats: http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/monsters/shoggoth.html#shoggoth As you can see, this converted version isn't simply a 3.5 to PFRPG conversion of the shoggoth; it ups the challenge as well to a CR 19. I think I can safely assume that the CR 19, PFRPG version of the shoggoth would be too much for a party of 8th-10th level to handle. So, can anyone offer me any advice on running the shoggoth for this adventure? Should I run the 3.5, CR 15 version as-is? Should I attempt to update the 3.5 version to a PFRPG version that is also CR 15? Should I try to alter the CR 19 PFRPG version to a less challenging level? Any advice is appreciated! Thanks, Atavar
If someone with a magic weapon attacks the subject of a blink spell (or blinker) then does that attack count as an attack capable of striking ethereal creatures and, thus, have a 20% miss chance rather than the full 50% miss chance? Also, whatever the miss chance, does that attack do full damage or only 50% damage? The blink spell itself doesn't say anything about only doing half damage, but it does say that ethereal creatures are incorporeal, and the incorporeal condition states that incorporeal creatures take half damage from magic weapon attacks and spells. One of my players argued recently that an attacker with a magic weapon who can also see invisibility has no miss chance against a blinker (per the spell description) and that the attack does full damage (because the spell doesn't say otherwise). Instead, I ruled that the attack had no miss chance but did only 50% damage because of the blinker's incorporeality (per the incorporeal condition). I did this because the ability to see invisible creatures doesn't change the ethereal creature's resistance to magic weapon attacks. However, a blinker is only ethereal half the time, right? So, if a magic weapon does 50% damage half the time and 100% damage half the time, does that mean it "averages out" to 75% damage? The problem is, the blink spell only seems to address miss chances with regards to weapon attacks, and it does not address damage relating to the blinker being ethereal (thus incorporeal, thus taking half damage from magic weapons) half the time. Thanks for any light you all can shed on this for me! - Atavar
Hello Everyone, I am confused as to the the role that a magic item's Caster Level plays in its creation. The RAW seem ambiguous/non-intuitive to me. For example, Sovereign Glue has a CL of 20. Its Requirements include the Craft Wondrous Item feat and the Make Whole spell. Both the feat and the spell require the creator to only be a 3rd level caster. So, can a Wiz 3 create such an item as long as he makes his Spellcraft check at the end? Does the item's CL 20 only factor into the item's creation costs and Spellcraft DC, or does the creator of the item also need to be a 20th-level caster? Intuitively, I don't understand how a 3rd-level caster can create an item that is detected as having 20th-level magic. Thanks, Atavar
Hello Everyone, On p. 154 of the Bestiary under the girallon's special attacks it says the following: rend (4 claws, 1d4+6) Does this mean that a girallon must hit with all four of its claw attacks in order for it to rend? Thanks, Atavar
Hello Everyone, Here is the description of the Trip special weapon quality: "Trip: You can use a trip weapon to make trip attacks. If you are tripped during your own trip attempt, you can drop the weapon to avoid being tripped." - PRPG Core Rulebook, p. 145 My reading tells me two things about weapons with the Trip quality: 1. Trip weapons allow you to make trip attacks.
This confuses me. If 1 is true, then that tells me that only Trip weapons may be used to make trip attempts. Other weapons, like longsword and unarmed strike, are not Trip weapons, and thus would not be used to make a trip attempt. Also, the Disarm quality says it gives you a bonus on Disarm attempts, but it does NOT say it gives you the ability to disarm with the weapon. Trip does not mention any such bonus--it merely says that you can us it to make trip attacks. If 2 is true, then that tells me that if you try to trip someone with a non-trip weapon then you cannot avoid being tripped by dropping the weapon. So, if you try to trip with a longsword and fail by 10 or more then you are automatically tripped because a longsword is not a Trip weapon and thus cannot be dropped to avoid a trip. Why would you be able to drop a kama but not a longsword to avoid being tripped? Both of these things sound wrong to me. If both of them are wrong then what exactly does the Trip special weapon quality do for you? Related to this, if 1 is true, then unarmed strikes cannot be used to make Trip attempts. Thus, a monk's regular unarmed strike attack cannot be use to make trip attempts. This doesn't seem correct, but the flurry of blows ability specifically points out that a flurry of blows attack can be used to make a trip attempt. Can anyone out there clear up this confusion for me? Thanks, Atavar
Hello Everyone, I plan to begin Secrets of the Soul Pillars soon. Is there anything I should watch out for in this adventure (e.g. unbalanced or problematic encounters, etc.)? Thanks, Atavar
Hello Everyone, I am running my players through the end of Test of the Smoking Eye now. They are currently fighting the fire giant and the rakshasa. Does anyone have any tips or things to look out for in the remaining encounters? Thanks, Atavar |
