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Serpent's Skull would work. spoiler: For most APs skipping book 1 will leave out some plot stuff you can tie back in, but also misses out on the "honeymoon" phase of the Path, getting to know the bones of the party and story.
In this AP's case they miss uncovering the trail that unfolds the rest of the AP themselves, but you could engineer the big lure as a prequel to the rest of the AP, such as begin in the final temple of book 1 at level 3
Common is Atlantean you guys! Actually based on the link "Common is subjective based on the part of the world you live in. either Taldane or Tien True! I assumed an Inner Sea motif- there's Casmaron, Arcadia, of course Tian Xia too, all these locations would/could skew the notion of "Common" for the OP's intrepid adventurers on Golarion should they begin outside the Inner Sea region.
For the playing group, I agree that Common = players' shared language. For the OP, I'd say that "Common" on Golarion would be some amalgamation of the Chelish/Taldan dialects, as these belong to two of the more current ancestries of Azlant. Sort of like how standard "Italian" is only a collection of common usage, and is actually a language that varies widely based on region and genealogy. Assuming your multiverse is current on Golarion's history, of course; perhaps the ships' translator recognizes Azlant as "Common" on Golarion...
1. As JDLPF says, I read the duration to indicate this as a buff spell for the caster. It would be in effect until success, failure, or dispelled by another. 2. I'd say yes, if it succeeds it would end a dominate person or similar spell, as that spell has the enchantment descriptor. So, like the example above, if the caster used this spell and was then subject to a dominate or other enchantment, I'd say the spell gives the caster a chance to break the enchantment/paralysis within the spell's duration, beyond other available means to do so, i.e. after a failed saving throw.
Has a setting been established? This is a fantastic concept! I'd suggest The Shackles. Lots of Gol-gan cyclopes ruins, secluded islands/shoals, perfect spot for a wizard to hole up. Add pirate goblins and shipping lanes/established ports to raid and political intrigue, The Shackles is a great crossroads location. Not to mention Arcadia and Lost Azlanti ruins aren't too far away...
Games of chance, of course! The bet is a drink or coin. 57: Cards- Hi-Low. Determine the pot, either coins or drinks. A deck is presented, shuffled, and the top card is flipped. Gamblers wager another increment on the next card flipped being either a higher or lower value. equal is a draw, and continue drawing cards until the players choose to withdraw. Good for crowd-building, the winners split the pot. 58: Dice - High Rollers. Another easy one, determine the pot, 1 increment ante for 4 six-sided dice. Highest score wins. Add dice by paying twice the initial ante per die. great way to introduce NPCs to the party. 59: Darts - 2 throws each, winner takes all. Probably a ranged attack at 10' with a standard dart, highest attack roll totals win - this represents accuracy to the bulls' eye. Good for a tournament play. 60. Tall tales - best if it's a talky-roleplay group. Pick a subject and do opposed bluff/perception rolls. Great to add in other patrons who want to hear a good/brave/bawdy tale spun by the players, or add in plot hooks! These should engage players at the table, rolling dice and getting them involved in the game at their comfort level/character's skill levels. At some point get another rival group of adventurers involved, especially if the Starstone is involved. Good luck!
Howdy y'all! Thanks for hosting the game, mechaPoet! Very excited! I'm going to finish up my character and post as the alias in a short while. Yahoo! I like a bit of back story, even for a module, so I'll throw some ideas everyone's way when I post.
PM sent, and here is the Dwarf Ranger 3 El Akriban Not 100% but the bones are good. Akriban is a Pahmet dwarf, never satisfied with complacency. As stout as any dwarf, his skin is bronzed by the sun and the heat of the desert seems to be an afterthought. El Akriban's black beard is braided in 12 thick knots, a tribute to his people's history. His head is shaved in the manner of the Ouat monks, and he is curt, undiplomatic, and ornery when speaking to non-dwarves. Those that gain his trust, though, find him prosaic and idealistic, to a fault. He seeks the secrets of his people, and sees the opening of a new tomb as a fresh opportunity to study not only the tomb itself, but for any mention of the Pahmet therein. El Akriban will fight with axe and mace more often than not. He seeks knowledge regarding his clan, loathes the undead, and is quick to befriend anyone as like-minded as he. Akriban detests laziness and bugs of any sort. Not 100%, no skills and missing a trait. Waiting to see if he makes it before finishing. (I've missed a few PbP cuts, so I am hoping the background and bones are good enough). statblock: El Akriban
Interested, thinking dwarf unchained monk, or dwarf twf ranger. I'll do some work and pick one I like best. As flavor text, could they be Pahmet dwarves? This is from Dwarves of Golarion, I could PM the text, basically they hold southern Osirion as ancestral territory and claim their rights from a dwarven pharoah; more likely they were some sort of slave caste. The reason to adventure into the tomb is simple: Perhaps there is an object or text that would shed light on this claim. Looks like a fun group so far! I'll post in a bit with a character concept more fleshed out.
Thanks Revvy! Looks like Kajar is a go, and I appreciate the information. I try to post every day as long as there is something to say. The only thing you need for Kajar is he gets a +2 favored enemy bonus vs. humans, this includes attack and damage rolls, BAB and CMB rolls, Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive and Survival checks, and this bonus is not in his stat block. I will update his profile shortly to include the items he got in his last Scenario.
I won't be submitting a character, but everyone have a blast! [A bit of Iron Gods humor there :)]
Thanks JDPhipps! If the DM wants to gestalt things, I'll need to drop out of consideration. I think the game balance is enough that this style is not of my liking. It's a lot of dice to drop, a lot of things to track, and a lot of what I'm not looking for in a PbP. I am lucky in that I get to roll dice table side locally, so a PbP gestalt is too much book-keeping for me. Should gestalt be dropped, though, I'm totally interested.
Interested, but don't know what 'gestalt' requires. Happy to run a regular-type PC though. [caveat- I own the AP but don't retain much after I skim them. Plus I don't meta-game, to a fault.] Android Ranger or a Kellid witch pop up. Unchained rogue could also be fun. I'm ok to fill roles if others have solid builds. I dig the AP, and once there are build guidelines...
I'm guessing my Blue Rose Cavalier (Alvissa Farateldi in DM Jesse's recruitment thread) would be out, so I would like to submit a druid. I like to multiclass, so might add bard, rogue or ranger level(s). Would you allow the changeling race? I like playing support/skills roles in campaigns. Going out for a bit, so I will submit my character later this evening. Changeling(?) druid 1 (Caves, Earth, Fire or Plant) no animal companion
Just posted, thanks for the heads up! My schedule's been a bit wonky lately, but should be settling back into the usual routine; you can expect posts from me much earlier than now- posting from Maine in EST.
I appreciate the help, thanks! I'm a stickler as well, everything is easier to handle when everyone is on the same page. I'll change the format shortly.
Also, I don't know how to link my stats to my byline, is that somewhere I missed? Sorry to be a pain, this is all very new to me. I tried coding my stats in my profile but that didn't work. I appreciate the work you're putting into this very busy pre-game! Thanks! Hrm, thought I did that, obviously not correctly. I'll get it soon enough! I'll edit and post soon, thanks again for the help!
Hey, thanks for the heads up! I'm super new to code, I'll post another roll on the gameplay thread. I entered the info wrong and then edited it to match the outcome, yes those were real dice I used. Kinda sad I burned them, I'll need those high rolls for my Skull & Shackles game next week! Also, I don't know how to link my stats to my byline, is that somewhere I missed? Sorry to be a pain, this is all very new to me. I tried coding my stats in my profile but that didn't work. I appreciate the work you're putting into this very busy pre-game! Thanks!
official wannabe in - The Paizo site was down last night. Ranger or whatever-we-need, I have Hero Lab and will be happy to use it. Where should I post my character for consideration? Thanks! -B
Not only am I new to PbP but also to Pathfinder Society organized play itself. I have a regular tabletop game I DM, and I've wanted to try PbP for a while as I like the creative aspect and the pace and commitment of PbP fits my schedule (EST). It's a little late here on the East Coast to drum up a character tonight,
Thanks for the links regarding etiquette, if I make the cut I might need a few rounds to get my formatting done properly. -B
tough act to follow, but I also ran Serpent's Skull and planned a Dungeon Crawl of Savith's tomb though it never came to fruition. I used the Maure Castle (Dungeon Magazine) adventure as a base and tweaked it to fit Pathfinder and the campaign. This delve was designed to happen after the adventure, for when I revealed to the PCs that Savith's tomb was warded by POWERFUL MAGIC they of course hounded me to explore it. I like the idea of recycling, especially if it's new for the group. If you have a favorite crawl, add it to the campaign, or if you have your eyes on a module, tie it in. Have fun!
Indiana Jones, Darkman, Mr. Orange (Tim Roth's Reservoir Dogs role) all strike me as Vigilantes in one way or another.
I'm citing Neutral to eliminate the LG Johnny Lunchpail/CE Jastor of Doom dichotomy that the Vigilante class suggests is possible. As a GM I don't want to keep track of Jekyll/Hyde; as a player the same is true. Vigilantes, like all classes, should have one alignment, and that should reflect story, class, and race (and etc.) background. Another set of alignment rules is not necessary, especially for a new class with a ton of subsystems.
Lose dual alignment altogether, or else the whole class is unplayable. Have Neutral be a requisite alignment choice on either axis, or else the whole class is bogged down with arbitrary table rules - or worse - more book-keeping for players and GMs. Neutral is the justification for the dual-alignment stuff. Just do it that way. Don't reinvent the wheel.
Devils like contracts and the PCs are desperate, what would they be willing to sign away for their freedom?
Point Blank Shot (+1 to attack rolls with ranged weapon vs targets w/in 30'), Precise Shot (ignore penalty[-4] for firing into melee). Dotting T's and crossing eyes.
How about a race of dino-humanoids in addition to dinosaurs? The Advanced Race Guide is a freebie on the Paizo PRD, and this might fit your homebrew. Creating a race and its iterations would lend a great deal of flavor to the Lost World motif, and give the PCs a new and interesting set of allies or adversaries - Drow? Pfft. Duergar? Nah. Worms-that-walk? Nope - Dino-folk! You could have the psionic pteradons as true dinos, the militaristic triceratops-like humanoids, the rougish raptors, the stoic stegosauri, the monk-like allosaurs, and a generic "base" dino-type to round out the population. Dinosaurs are fun, and it sounds like a neat twist for your game. Good luck!
Interesting debate. The existence of the Champion Path Ability "Always a Chance" seems to solve the question at the heart of this discussion. It specifically calls out the auto-fail rule, and it has a price. That's fine- I think the auto-fail rule is sacrosanct, and this one ability is specifically written to overcome that. Not with Mythic Surge, just this one particular ability. Surge shouldn't impact the Nat 1, the game needs to maintain a level of failure. Even epic heroes fail every now and then- that's why they become Epic Heroes, they overcome adversity (and nat 1 rolls)
tl;dr I read this thread as a gripe twixt player/GM- I love multiclassing. I love unplanned multiclassing. It works best when the player can justify the multiclass within the scope of his character's backstory. Multiclassing weakens the core concept of a character, you can't glean supreme X if you choose a level or 3 of Y etc etc. When you take a level 1 of another class, you gain all that class's stuff, this should be canon stuff by now and Desna guide the GM who cannot connect dots. A barbarian wizard? Well, in PF barbarians aren't illiterate, first, and second, if Uncle Elrond's spellbook is Barbarian's possession, who's to say he can't follow in Uncle Elrond's steps? Multiclassing wizard in this case draws levels from Barbarian, and whoa, magic missile, burning hands. Plus smash, you go Barb-Wiz. Games are more awesome when we GMs let players touch the third rail, let them explore their character's potential rather than harangue their creative efforts. If it makes sense, or at least passes a logical test, why not? (Same goes for Uncle Elrond's pistol.)
Have you slept on a massive pile of shiny coins? It's like a tempur-pedic that plays a soft, jingling lullaby when you turn over, and you never feel the poke of the +5 holy avenger in your side. Truly lovely.
I prefer to allow the PCs in my games to make poor decisions and get themselves killed. When the constabulary arrives, my hands are so much cleaner. Plus, as GM I've many mooks to move the bodies.
Not that 3pp aren't great, but for a Pathfinder experience, Rise of the Runelords is it.
I must cede the fact I don't know the class. Also, who's making this (if that matters?) Just wondering what spells are available to you or the crafter. I've done zero math, zero rules checks, just an idea-- buoyant bottle- This clay jug is wrapped with fine silk rope, the end of which is worked around the jug and juts out at its base like a spigot. The other end of the rope is curled atop the jug, mimicking a plug. When the rope spigot is pressed downward, it releases a flow of water similar to a stream, coursing water at 10' per round. This water is always clear and salient. If the top of the jug is removed, the contents may be released as a torrent (as per the spell hydraulic push). The bottle itself may be filled with water magically or otherwise, but will only function with water. Filling it with acid, alcohol, grease, or any other material causes the bottle to cease functioning as anything beyond a plain pitcher for 24 hours after the contaminant is removed. craft wondrous item, rope trick *rope trick allows a 'volume' of eight creatures of ANY size Hope that helps, let me know. It's past bedtime here, I'd be happy to work on this further if it's interesting enough to pursue.
The downside to the well of many worlds is that it's a randomly decided two-way portal. To the OP, can I ask why you want to cart around so much water? It's very interesting, but without knowing what your purpose is, it's hard to design something. I understand you're looking to transport a large amount of water magically, to eliminate encumbrance, but would a few oxen, a cart, and a colossal-sized waterskin do the same? Pfft, naw! Magic is cooler! But I am wondering the "why" of your request, that might help with the designing of a unique item. What are the parameters of the design? Who is making it, or better yet what spells does the crafter know or can utilize? Is it an open-ended design or is this based on in-game scenarios and situations?
I'm happy to see Elves and Dwarves of Golarion getting a true Pathfinder upgrade (both books are 3.5 if I'm on point). These were some of the first Pathfinder books I picked up, and I really enjoyed how the writers, designers, and editors made "Pathfinder Elves" and "Pathfinder Dwarves" unique and new to the game. I can still see the underpinnings of the races from previous versions both literary and edition-ally, but they grew so much more dynamic and unique in Pathfinder. Dwarf casters, Elf barbarians; who knew?
Without spoiling the AP and to echo Aido's post, it seems like creating tactics for some caster enemies that include Will saves for the tanks will force the bard and cleric into a tough spot, depending on where you are in the AP. As a GM, you should feel free to alter an AP or module to appropriately challenge your players. Nothing is scarier than having one (or two) of a party's big damage-dealers taken out by suggestion or a similar spell. It might sound cheap, but this will ramp up the action for the party when they are forced to abandon the smash-kill-heal-repeat cycle and also allow for the support cast to play a larger role here and there
Screw the rules, the PCs hired a vampire to provide shock troops for a king's army. The GM will need to shift his focus to how this vampire intends to take his pay. Hooray Adventure! In a way, the PCs have given themselves and the GM a brilliant chapter in their game. The vampire acquiesces to the party's request/charge/payment/demand, but will hold something back to bend the PC's to its will. Like taking something coveted by the PCs that cannot be bought with wealth; perhaps a loved one, or a social station coveted by a PC. The PCs are suddenly distracted from the war due to their dark offerings, and may need to plug holes/eliminate voices muttering about their dealings with the dark; sounds like a fun arc not seen in most APs. Would a vampire enter into a contract as easily a devil, or simply take the PC's words as mere suggestions for the deed to be done, and then let repercussions fall to them with a simple twist of fate? +1 for any GM who can re-purpose their material for an off-the-rails adventure.
Tuyewera appeared in AP #37 Bestiary (Serpent's Skull, Souls for Smuggler's Shiv.) It's a pretty gnarly CR 4 undead that I'm hoping to use in my next campaign.
Area Dispel: When greater dispel magic is used in this way, the spell affects everything within a 20-foot-radius burst. Roll one dispel check and apply that check to each creature in the area, as if targeted by dispel magic. For each object within the area that is the target of one or more spells, apply the dispel check as with creatures. Magic items are not affected by an area dispel. I'd say the Evil Mage in question would need to target the items in question, once they are revealed to be magical, which would first require a detect magic casting, unless said opposed caster makes a successful skill check or an opposed Spellcraft check if you activate an item.
Don't Powerful Nobles have Networks of Spies to coerce a mage into casting a sending? Or simply deliver a message to the PCs tavern...
It's an "only if" situation. A paladin would do everything in her power to avoid such a situation. I sincerely doubt that any party stranded anywhere would find cannibalism a sincere recourse. Survival checks, Profession checks, etc. Really? Paladin cannibals? Really? I understand the exercise but wtf. As a GM, I'll toss out a wounded moose- hey, it's got a broken hoof! Stabbity and sustainable. Why should a paladin fall to cannibalism? Spells, tactics, Survival, and aid from party members....
Just to weigh in again- Barbarians vs Robots. If you can't get behind that, the Technic League gives you all your palatable disdain to shred technology, and the Black Sovereign is an SOB himself. Be a GM, wrangle this into reality, make the players uncomfortable, just for the fun of it.
I am fascinated by Numeria and hope to run Iron Gods one day, but I also am unsure about the whole "sci-fi in my swords" aspect. Do you have a copy of the Campaign Setting Numeria, Land of Fallen Stars? If so, share some of it with your players. This book is a great GM bridge between the two genres. Maybe the idea of being native Kellids fighting against technology would inspire them to at least give the AP a chance. There is the choice, like firearms, to either accept or reject it, and why not play that out?
I think you may want to look at how Pathfinder is doing their modules now. They are multi-level campaigns that are much shorter and cheaper to get into. Usually 6-level ordeals. Give it a try. I think you'll like it. I think this is what you are looking for. The APs are designed to be in-depth campaigns with an overarching theme and story. Are they formulaic? Yes, but they also have many surprises GMs can exploit to make them memorable. Are they for everyone? Maybe not, but if you can't get a homebrew campaign up and running, APs are where it's at. Odraude has a great suggestion. APs are not going to move from the current schedule or format. Alternately, you can divide an AP and play either the first or last half.
Just remember to adjust your NPCs and BBEG's to a 40-pt buy and you should be fine. And add a few enemy casters to each fight, and adjust the mooks' gear or HPs- but do note that this will cause combat to drag on at mid and higher levels, unless you want a cake walk.
And when I read "Thanis" I thought Tanis from Dragonlance. (Peanut Gallery full-circle)
well, you could just pick up the ol' shillelagh, call it bonded, and go on with things, though it sounds like you want to free up your hands and change your bonded item. So, there is no such item as a 'masterwork ring' in Pathfinder. It's either magical or not. Creating a magic ring requires the feat, you cannot simply add stuff to a ring. Your best bet is to ask your GM. If I were in his/her spot, I'd charge the wizard the 200 gp/wizard level plus the creation cost (50% total value) of the ring to make it bonded. Reason being a ring of protection +1 and a ring of spell storing are far enough away to raise eyebrows, as far as imbuing even more eldritch power is concerned. alternately, I'd drop the ring's creation cost if it were a ring found whilst adventuring, to a straight 200 gp x wizard level as written.
Though it reads that you're looking specifically for an online experience for your daughter, so not sure if this works, but what about Pathfinder's Beginner Box? Maybe you have a GM on deck, and she just needs the tools to write a good gaming story. You and Mom (and others) could be the characters, let her tell the story. It's a one-stop creative engine that might play well to her storytelling, and with familiar players she might find encouragement to ask peers to join in.
Assuming the rogue can exit a threatened square without provoking an AoO, as far as the whole run away and stealth bit. |
