Baptor1337's page

Hello everyone, first time posting here.

So since, gosh like 1998, I've been running games in Forgotten Realms. Most of you know the Realms went through some serious issues around 2008 and is really only now recovering from those dark days.

I've run many many stories there and still have affection for the setting, despite its flaws.

However I'm more and more interested in Pathfinder - Golarion more specifically.

Many people I've seen seem to equate Forgotten Realms and Golarion on roughly the same page.

But Pathfinder/Golarion has a certain je ne sais quoi about it that I cannot place. Maybe its in the art? I love looking at Pathfinder art - there seems to be something more adventurous, dare I say a kind of comic book or pulp fiction to the art compared to the Realms art we are seeing now which is more subdued.

So I'm really interested in running a game there, embracing this pulp fiction like element - but I always keep thinking I'll be missing something by leaving the setting I know so well.

So now to my purpose - has anyone here left Forgotten Realms for Pathfinder/Golarion? Why did you do it? Did it go well? Please share any and all experiences or even just general thoughts or tips.

Here's the thing, I love the concept of the Wizard class. I always have. Ever since my first wizard in AD&D (who was terrible because I did not know magic that well), I've loved them.

What I cant STAND, however, is spell preparation. Is it just me, or is the notion that the Wizard is the most versatile spell caster kind of a farce?

It's like you have the POTENTIAL to cast anything, but the bitter truth is you won't be able to.
Either you'll prepare a lot of combat spells and almost no utility and be essentially a poor Sorcerer.
Or you'll prepare a wide selection of potentially useful spells, have no combat usefulness, and maybe not even encounter a situation where said utility spells are needed.
Sure, I can prepare a knock instead of a scorching ray, but which is likely to be used in a given day? And don't we have rogues to pick locks?
The supposed versatility of the wizard is really a farce because while you might know every single spell, you are still limited to what you prepare in the morning, and who knows what a day may bring?

I'd love to let wizards set their "spells known" through preparation (kind of like the spell points variant) and cast spontaneously from that list, but as everyone knows, that kills the Sorcerer, and I like that class too. Any idea I think of will kill the Sorcerer.

I like both classes and wish to keep both, but Spell Prep is dragging me down.

Community, here's what I'd like to hear from you: Either a fix for the wizard to make them more useful (but not destroy the Sorc), or to hear stories of Wizards making Spell Prep shine and proving my argument wrong.

If you chime in as pro-Spell Prep, please give in-game examples, no theories. As I said, the wizard is powerful...in theory, but in practice I've only seen lackluster results.

Its a beautiful book and so well put together that I am seriously considering buying it. Trouble is that I am the kind of GM that houserules the heck out of his games, so SRDs and so forth are really all I ever need for reference.

So, knowing I will be houseruling out the wazzo to the point the book is nearly obsolete, is it still worth buying?

Hey everyone,

I've been an avid fan of d20 since its debut with 3.0. I've made the moves to 3.5 and then PF smoothly. Rules are not really my big hangup. I'm willing to use just about any rules that work.

Story is very important to me. Since I started playing RPGs back in 1998, most of the games I've been in and almost all the games I've ever run have been set in the Forgotten Realms setting.

Now I love the Realms (obviously), but I have always wanted to make my own homebrew setting. I've tried a few times, mostly resulting in frustration and a return to a published setting.

I don't really play anymore but I'd love to take one last crack at making my own Setting. I've hit a few hurdles that keep stumping me and I thought I'd ask for some advice from those of you more experienced in this sort of thing.

The Setting I want to make is very standard high fantasy. Essentially a world that would include everything you can find in the PF rules, minus one or two things. I intend to put my own little twist on them, of course, hence the desire to write my own setting. The problem is that a great deal of excellent published settings (like FR) already do the "standard fantasy" thing and do it far better than I ever could. For example, every setting needs a good map, and I can't draw to save my life. Published settings have great maps. So, if my goal is to create such a standard setting, am I wasting my time with a homebrew? Should I just use a published setting and make adjustments? Are homebrews only good if you plan to do something so outside the box it won't work in the published settings?

Some of you swear by Homebrew, as in it's the only way to go. Some of you never use anything outside a Published Setting. Some of you do both. I am looking to hear points from every side.