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. Each topic is followed by a series of skill check DCs—these checks can either be Diplomacy checks to gather information from the locals or Knowledge checks made while researching the topic. Gathering Information: The citizens of Ravengro enjoy spreading their rumors, but they don’t actually have much useful information about either Harrowstone or the Whispering Way. A Diplomacy check made to gather information about Harrowstone or the Five Prisoners can only reveal results of DC 20 or lower, while checks made to gather information about the Whispering Way are limited to results of DC 15 or lower.

Pages 14-15.

If the citizen's that live in this area can only get a max of 20 or lower on a knowledge check, a PC would have to have a really good backstory why they focused study on this small town and it's prison to get anything greater than it.

As for the Oracle that made such high scores using her Oracle trance...it's a divine dream. Give her images, and symbols and ideas, but award the experience only she figures out what it means. She's getting a divine "dream" not a paper handed to her saying...A carrot is orange and it's a vegetable.

I was looking how to resolve when an evil cleric is trying to command undead, and my party's necromancer is channeling to control undead. It's a contested Charisma to see who they follow and which commands they take...but reading this thread made me laugh. It's a skeleton with on average 4 hps. If it got to be an issue, it hits a trip wire and good bye skeleton. Likewise, the necromancer's first trip into a settlement with said Skeleton...Angry mob and good bye Necromancer.

Likewise, as to commands, there is a Pathfinder adventure path where two Whispering Way Cultists have 12 skeletons doing military formations. That's a heck of a lot more complicated than attack them!

Thanks for clearing it up, but it's a moot point at this moment. I will continue to support my local shop going forward. Still waiting on my Golem sale stuff from October 4, 2014. It still hasn't shipped and it's been a month. At least at my local store, I get my item when I walk out.

On the bright side, Paizo had a great response from the sale since they're so back up at the moment :)

Just seems that it makes shopping at the LGS a bit of a disadvantage...

My local shop offers our playing area and often stays open late to allow us to play/finish scenarios. As a result, I like to purchase my paizo products from them to support them and as a thank you. However, if I purchase them from the paizo site, I'd get the product and a pdf.

Is there any way you can create a number in the store products that you can register on the paizo web to register your product and "unlock" a copy of a pdf? The pdf is useful when you don't want to lug around cartons of book products.

Has there been any thought to this? Thanks...

I have my own theory. The rune lord of lust would often have affairs with the other rune lords over and over again .... She used them to build it for her

I have a similar build, but I went dirge bard for two levels to make undead susceptible to my spells. I also wanted the skill points and hit points at level 1. also took geisha which gave me spell focus for free

My crew and I have been struggling with some things. So we broke from the books a bit and have created our own Homebrew hybrid. The first book we played exactly as written, but Raiders we changed up. Reading about Harke in Rickety Squibs our crew didn't want to have to do the accounting of coming back and paying him until he debt was paid off... so since it was near Halloween we went to the retired Society Drakard manor module and rewrote it. We took out the nonessential npcs and replaced them with haunting house type monsters i.e. spider swarms, burning skeletons and etc... Had Harke wanting to retire and let his younger apprentice take over. In exchange for clearing the haunted mansion on the cliff, he squibbed the ship. It also allowed me to give my PC's some flavored magic items tailored to their concept.

In the ship to ship combat, it was pretty much wash, rinse and repeat. It got tedious since it was the same combat over and over with just different names for the ship and captain. Same for the villages. So after taking the Rock, my shackles crew discovered an island and explored it... its actually the shore to sea module which has is designed for level 6 and has a bit of a kuthulu feel to it. It also allowed me to give the pcs a bit more gear tailored to them and plunder for succeeding in completing it. They are currently at Mancatcher cove but when the Shackles Books are not providing what my party needs I think its only fair to stop and explore or do something a bit different for them

The book is just deadly. The 2nd one has moments almost as bad. It gets better but its a get by hook or by crook for a bit.

Yeah, I didn't say that... In a highly cinematic moment, the Gunslinger with a high Dexterity and Charisma, dove from the rigging into the giant waves to save Rosie. The waves were rough and the ship was sailing forward, Rosie was getting further away. The halfling bard was trying to throw a rope to them, but was struggling to get it the distance in the wind and waves to help. The Gunslinger kept trying to stay above the waves and make it to Rosie who was growing tired by fighting the waves...

Also, the crew made their group but didn't put skill points originally in swim, climb, profession sailor...they got it at level 2, but at level 1, they had a learning curve. Well, not all of them...a few of them picked skills that would help them.

Later the halfling bard, had been bitten by the rats and spiders in the bilge, was struggling already with penalties to her strength and now constitution...was tossed into the water and encouraged to swim to the coral reef to gather crabs. She did, but grew exhausted in the water and slowly slipped beneath the waves. The halfing swim skill just wasn't enough to overcome all the penalties for strength and then diseases. Was just rough all the way around... But I think they did well, and in the end they got their ship and completed the first book, but it was not a cakewalk.

Thanks for the responses. I'm just trying to do a good job and I'm still new, so when I'm seeing posts that they are breezing through, and my group is struggling...I need to find out what I've done or created that sets the balance so off..

Most of it..bad player decistions I think.

1) Save for the captains cabin, yep its high but its meant to be, you are not suppossed to go in there. Not sure what you could have done there. Maybe try and pervent in the first place?

2) Saving the overbaord person in storm, player mistake, they should have thought about help for him too, rope maybe? other players helping as well?

3) drowning in the water.. potions of water brathing found in the cabin should have prevented this,that's why they are placed there.

other bit with coconut milk not in the book so thats something you needed to adjusdicate yourself so can't comment sorry. If that's if not I don't get what you mean by it sorry.

-on no 3. What cabin had multiple potions of underwater breathing. I know the vine chokers had one in their lair in the tree tops, but it was only 1 and my party mentioned deliberately they were going to avoid the tree...so the vine chokers did not come into play. Did I miss something somewhere else then?!?

Also, I noticed going back over my notes that the group did not keep and use any equipment that they discovered. I know in society they use what they find in that scenario but then it's sold back at the end of the adventure. I'm wondering if they thought they could only keep and use it the night they discovered it. I should probably have a come to meeting with them, and let them know they get to keep the gear they find and use it over or sell it back to get better stuff. They played the gear and equipment more like society. It just went away and never came back when the next session moved forward.

Thank you. I did this one right... just got lucky :) ROFL

I played Skull and Shackles today and had a rules questions. I'm a new DM and am learning, and did not know how to proceed so made a ruling for today and figure I needed to find out for future...

The cleric had cast an "Obscuring Mist" that limits vision to 5 feet in front of your character. It then wanted to channel, but exclude people from the burst effect. Do you need to have a line of sight to exclude folks if you can't see them...Channel will heal folks even if you can't see them it says. But if you want to exclude them, shouldn't you have to pinpoint where you're not going to have the burst effect happen. Not just somewhere over there in the mist, I will not have affected?!?

I ruled it today that he needed to be able to see to determine who he was excluding, since the party was engaged in combat and he was trying to decide based on sound who to include and who not to include. If all he can hear is combat, then he could exclude both of the combatants, but not just one of them or 50% chance that he got wrong one since He's guessing based on sound location?!?

Help!?! Am I making this way too complicated?

Okay, I finally finished book 1 and I have to say that it was a huge learning curve for my group. They are accustomed to playing Society only. In society, they say this is for tier 1-2; this for tier 4-5. In the Wyrmwood, there was no tier difference. My crew was constantly getting killed and having to be saved or start over...the mechanics alone caused more deaths than anything. Granted, I'm a new DM and I may not have understood everything or may have played it a bit skewed as I am learning myself...

Example and this is an example and not in the book so I don't spoil it for people, but enough people should know what really happens here... the rogue early on decides to search the captian's quarters which happens to be locked and trapped. The trap was missed do to the high DC and he takes massive damage from a spear through his chest and poison damage on top of it so he dies immediately. One of the members in a great cinematic moment, jumps overboard during a rough storm and tries to save someone who was washed overboard but can't swim in the rough waters do to the DC and now the party has two to save ...and they can't do it. The grindylow's have a trip in the cave and when you're tripped in the water, you have to swim or be pulled 15 feet underwater...which places you in range of aquatic ghouls who paralyze them under water. So round 1 unconscious, round 2 -1, round 3 drowned.... The crew is shipwrecked on a deserted isle where Mary Ann offers them a coconut pie laced with Taget Oil and the Professor steals the row boat with Ginger for an outing ...

I read this board and see that people are rampaging through here, but my group needed help all the way through... What did we do wrong?!?

Thank you very much, everyone who has replied. I appreciate the guidance and suggestions.

I am running a party of four, a barbarian sea-reaver, a half-elf rogue, a halfling bard, and a human gunslinger. No healer per se, but Sandra Quinn is filling in at the moment for them in that sense. During the fight with the Dire rats, 3 of them failed their saves for disease. The fort saves they are failing pretty regularly and they have to save 2x to cure the dire rat disease which does con and str damage. Remove disease is a level 3 cleric, ranger, or druid spell which none of them have access to. There is no loot aboard the ship in any place that has a remove disease spell/potion/wand. They won't be allowed to lay in their hammocks to recover under the healing watch of Sandra Quinn...The first time they lose 2 con from the disease, they will be making fort saves at -1. This is a bit rough for level 1 pc's. How is this supposed to be handled?

Isn't the whole difference though between wild shape and polymorph? With polymorph you appear to be the creature, but with wild shape you actually are the creature?

I am trying to find a way to build a Society halfling character around the concept of it being a jinx. I took the alternate racial ability and am thinking of making it a dual cursed oracle for the misfortune ability. I am thinking of the two curses as being Haunted, so things are always misplaced when he is around, and maybe tongues so in battle he has a hard time of being understood and can get in the way without hindering the party too much.

He is going to be determined that he's not a jinx!

So based on what I'm reading I'm thinking maybe he could be a life oracle, but are there any other types of "jinx" related abilities that the oracle could have, or would it be more fitting to focus on a "witch" type with her hexes to be a jinx?!?

I think it would be fun to play a "jinx" in general... suggestions/ideas would be welcome.

On the bonus, the GM is very receptive and talks with me after the game to answer my questions. I have to give them full credit. During the chaos of the game and from what I understand, the first two adventures have been very chaotic...the stuff was just "missed". They can only call him out if they "catch" him.

Thanks. I went tonight as well. The character that I have come to regard as a "munchkin" pulled an adamantite javelin our of a neck sheath tonight and managed to chisel a door down. Nobody called foul. We are both level one and have only played the first two first steps adventures. I have no idea how you can afford that javelin with what we've accomplished but apparently you can.

Will have to read more on my core book, cause I sure don't understand. On the other hand, I may not understand, so sitting back and trying to learn the game mechanics and not let them get to me. Eventually, we'll be out of the first steps mods and then we go our own direction. It'll be interesting to see what develops then.

Thanks for the responses. I just figure I don't understand yet.

It's a fantasy game with "dragons" and other monsters in it. Since it's not real, who cares. With the number of players out in today's world, you don't have to accept anyone at your table (unless you're married to them) and as long as you make it clear at the front of your game, what your fantasy concept is, and everyone agrees to it, you're golden.

Likewise, the game needs to be tailored for your player audience. If it's a bunch of kids, (they already know more about sex than I do at 39.) You downplay the relationships between toons and focus on the adventure. If it's a more mature audience, then great explore whatever "fantasy" you want to explore. The goal is to have fun with your friends and buddies.

Hello, I'm new to the Pathfinder Gaming System and Pathfinder Society. I've been to two games so far, and while I like the game in general, I'm struggling with a player. The player monopolizes every action, every scene, every opportunity. When you make a check for a secret door, even if he fails it, he's the first one through it if someone else makes a the roll. You don't even get to announce that you have spotted the secret door, before he's gone through it.

I thought the first night was just maybe a bad day, or overly eager, but the second night was mostly the same type thing. There wasn't really much of a point of my toon even being there, since his toon makes every roll, shrugs off all the damage, pulls all types of stuff from his haversack to help him succeed. I know I'm new, but every person would like their character to shine for a moment...

I don't know if I'm being overly sensitive because I'm new to the system and want to do something with my toon instead of sit there for four hours as a backup companion to the one player who does it all, or if this is an actual issue?!? As it is, the game isn't very much fun. Suggestions or ideas?