Better_with_Bacon's page

Here are some ideas that have been kicking around the noggin (squick levels can go from "umm..." to "Dear God, No. We have to call the authorities)

Summoner thatwhorships Lamashtu, 'births' her Eidolon/Summoned Monsters

Alchemist whose extracts/infusions/mutagens are in the form of syringes.

Halfling Summoner with Pass for Human and Childlike Feats & 'Tentacle Monster' Eidolon (Squicky levels can really vary on this one)

Very Respectfully,
--Bacon

On of my many character concepts include some summoners.

Tippen: He firmly believes that his eidolon is the spirit of his departed sister. She takes the form of a vaguely humanoid female whose arms don't seem to attack at the shoulders. (Eventually the Eidolon starts to look like a cross between an angel and a valkyrie)

Trobriand: His Eidolon comes stomping out of some extraplanar forge. He rides it into battle leaving a trampled trail of destruction in his wake.

An Eidolon that is summoned 'fettered' and as it evolves, it breaks out of it's bindings, being able to function closer to it's 'full power'. (Think Harrison Bergeron meets the Evas from Neon Genesis Evangelion)

And the Lamashtu worshiping summoner whose Eidolon is a gift from their goddess who Births their Eidolon. (I'm totally going to try that in a campaign if the DM will let me.)

Or an eidolon that is assembled from various parts and pieces you cobble together. When it is 'killed' it collapses back into its constituent parts, and requires you to 'rebuild' it when you summon it again. (Physically looks like a construct, with some fantasypunk aesthetics/science fantasy thrown in, but still behaves in all ways like a normal eidolon.

I like the idea of being able to create your Eidolon friend.

Very Respectfully,
--Bacon

I saw it in my rear-view mirror.

I was talking to one of my DM friends, and thought, "wouldn't it be cool if..." and since I had already passed that part in my campaign, he took the idea for his. (With my blessing of course)

Very Respectfully,
--Bacon

There was a rebuilt cleric of Lamashtu that was turned into a summoner

Her Eidolon was a 'gift' from lamashtu, and all of her summon spells were 'birthed' imagine birthing a litter of fiendish centipedes or lemures

It was super dark and creepy and awesome! I wish I had done it in my campaign.

Very Respectfully,
--Bacon

Tentacle Eidolon?

I've seen enough hentai to know where this is going.

Very Respectfully,
--Bacon

In a public game: Seems kinda 'squicky'

Final judgement is reserved to the amount if detail he went into. If the character kept it tasteful and like a 'fade to black' allusion to intimate relations it might be less weird. Though if he went into anything past PG-13, then it is wildly inappropriate.

In a private game: Whatever the group is up for. But my tastes are more towards the "If it happens, fine, but we don't need/want details."

It's only slightly more weird than a character who gets married in-game and/or has relations with their cohort.

But, to get back on point, no. I wouldn't say it was {i]evil[/i].

Very Respectfully,
--Bacon

It's a drow! Kill it!
<murders the drow>

It's a drow! Kill it!
I'm not evil! Don't kill me!
It's lying! Kill it
<murders the drow>

Saying the onus should be on the "good monster" is kinda bogus in my opinion. Unless a creature has the 'evil' subtype, it is not required by law to be evil (And we're not getting into redeemed demons or fallen angels).

When hobgoblins come into a town to loot and pillage, that's 'evil'
But when humans go into an hobgoblin village to loot and pillage, that's 'heroic'

I'm sure the hobgoblins might disagree with that philosophical outlook.

I know this is a fantasy game, and morality is subjective from table to table. BUT I don't think that carte blanche permission to kill anything that isn't a "PC Race" from the core rulebook seems to be problematic (For a variety of reasons)

Very Respectfully,
--Bacon

Exactly. I would rule that you couldn't use a Tower Shield as an improvised weapon for the same reason you couldn't use a table as an improvised weapon -- it is too large and unwieldy.

But you can use a table to an improvised weapon.

We're not talking feast hall trestle tables here.

Shove it rapidly into someone's midsection while it still remains on the floor?

Tip it up and over on top of someone?

Grab them by the scruff of the neck and drive their face into it? (This last one might be a grapple check depending on how your GM lets you 'fluff' your attack routines.)

Basically, if you've seen a Jackie Chan movie, you have an idea on how any piece of furniture could become a weapon. You don't have to be able to lift it up, but you do have to be able to manipulate it.

Tower Shields don't slow you down (like armor does), and it is moving just the same distance as a heavy shield. And a STR 17 Fighter putting his weight behind either of them will still be like getting hit by a truck. It's awkward, yes. If you are using it to 'bash' you aren't going to get a good 'swing' like you could with a light/heavy shield. Your options are pretty much 'shoulder check' and 'edge drop' but you could still use it.

The penalty for the tower shield and improvisation should adequately reflect that you are telegraphing your attack allowing the enemy to evade/brace for it properly; resulting in your missed attack.

Just my opinions.

Very Respectfully,
--Bacon

Some of the suggestions I have for you:

[spoilers]
He has a LEGENDARY Intelligence. Use it. There is a spell called Swipe in the RotR anniversary edition (and may be elsewhere) Have Karzoug snatch the bow (or any other weapon, really) and then huck it into the lake of fire surrounding the Eye of Avarice (This is the climactic BBEG fight, rules of 'nice' and 'I don't sunder PC weapons because then they will be sad, boo hoo' should go out the window.)

He has WISH prepared. TWICE! And Limited Wish. Also twice! You can use wind wall (if absolutely necessary) to negate the arrows (wall of force, wall of stone, wall of iron are more level appropriate, but Wind Wall doesn't block spells which might be important to Karzoug.

Study his spells! Know what they do, and how to set it up for devastating effect.

Use the environment. There is likely no way that Karzoug will ever be caught in melee. (Passing a concentration check to cast defensively should be child's play, and he's got dimension door to escape if necessary. Sign of Wrath will send most people scattering if they get too close.

Remember to account for all of his implanted Ioun Stones.

His glaive acts on its own, so remember that too. Casting spells and healing and such

Also, Karzoug is not alone:
Warden of Runes will likely dominate the fighter/ranger/ if Karzoug can't get the bow away. Nothing is quite as amusing to me as a dominated archer being forced to throw his own bow away, (or shoot randomly into the distance)

The Storm Giants have improved vital strike. They can hit with a single arrow that does 9d6+14! They can also cast call lightning and use readied actions to lightning bolt any of the PC spellcasters.
Awesome Blow to knock any PCs foolish enough to close with them in melee clear off their platform into the lake of fire.

There is a DRAGON! Don't forget about frightful presense, its spell-like abilities, its spell resistance (probably easily bypassed by this point, but...)

Ok, Here we go. (I've listed the music by composer, if known, or by the source material/Soundtrack)

O Fortuna (Carmen Burana)
Duel of the Fates (John Williams) (other scores by John Williams are also wonderful: Jaws, Indiana Jones, Memoirs of a Geisha, Jurassic Park, etc)
One Winged-Angel (Nobuo Uematsu) (Or, anything by Uematsu, really.)
Cruel Angels Thesis (Evangelion Soundtrack)
Bluemenkranz (Kill la Kill Soundtrack)
Clavicula Nox(Therion) [Almost all of the Vovin Album is good for gaming)

YouTube has some great "Epic Music Mixes" if you are looking for some long-term background music. Two Steps from Hell is a great one.

Very respectfully,
--Bacon

I've also allowed profession: courtesan to be applied instead of diplomacy checks when appropriate.

If you have a legitimate profession that would apply I think it's a nice catch-all, or substitute for other skills that could be reasonably applied.

Profession: Guide (Use that instead of survival to avoid getting lost)

Very Respectfully,
--Bacon

What about the idea of the tree grappling with it's vines and then using them to tie up the victim? After the tree grapples and pins the foe first, of course.

Tie Up: If you have your target pinned, otherwise restrained, or unconscious, you can use rope to tie him up. This works like a pin effect, but the DC to escape the bonds is equal to 20 + your Combat Maneuver Bonus (instead of your CMD). The ropes do not need to make a check every round to maintain the pin. If you are grappling the target, you can attempt to tie him up in ropes, but doing so requires a combat maneuver check at a –10 penalty. If the DC to escape from these bindings is higher than 20 + the target's CMB, the target cannot escape from the bonds, even with a natural 20 on the check.

Replace Rope with Vines, and I think we have a winner.

Very Respectfully,
--Bacon

Inscribe magical tattoo is super burly, but the cost is astronomical!

A Belt of giant strength +2 costs 4,000gp to buy. A tattoo of the same costs 8,000gp to buy.

Where the inscribe tattoo really shines is that you can have your tattoo belt, and a worn belt.

Or a tattoo of Muleback Cords and a cloak of resistance.

The sorcerer in my campaign (Tattooed Sorcerer archetype, Varisian Tattoos feat) is keeping the theme and taking inscribe magical tattoo and will probably be dumping most of her earned gold into her inks.

Very Respectfully,
--Bacon

Good Evening fellow Gamers,

I have a question for you regarding the interactions of a Ring of Regeneration on a character/monster.

Fast Healer

You benefit greatly from your healing, be it from spells or natural healing.

Prerequisites: Con 13, Diehard, Endurance.

Benefit: When you regain hit points by resting or through magical healing, you recover additional hit points equal to half your Constitution modifier (minimum +1).

Say I have an Invulnerable Rager Barbarian with this feat; He has a +6 Con Modifier and he's discovered a ring of regeneration. He gets 1 hp/round because of the ring. Would this be boosted by an additional 3 because of his fast healer feat?

Very Respectfully,
--Bacon

One of my favorite characters to game with was a paladin named Androval (Fighter Paladin) arranged his own fall.

He had the whole party snowed. Eventually made a pact with a demon, acquired some fiendish grafts. Kept adventuring with the party, thanks to an amulet of undetectable alignment and a hat of disguise.

His sister was another paladin (Cleric Paladin) who had no idea, or if she did know, refused to believe it.

Eventually they faced off in a titanic clash. There was a gate that was going to let a Demon Prince/Archdevil into the world, and she was going to close it. (Needed to channel a bunch of positive energy into the gate to close it, and would have taken both of them to do it.) "I can't let you do that, Torea. I have a bargain to uphold."

It nearly shattered her spirit right then and there, and if she had fallen (Androval's goal) it would have meant the end of the heroes, and ushering in an evil campaign.

As it stood, the archfiend still manifested into the world, and in the ensuing chaos, he fled, and she was forced to retreat.

(Eventually their conflict was resolved, the archfiend banished, and remains one of my favorite campaigns.)

Very Respectfully,
--Bacon

And a demon who happens to have someone's life at its mercy... might just casually 5-ft-step out of your reach, give you a sh!t-eating grin and CdG the one it knows you care for before your very eyes.

One of the best villains ever was a Half-Ogre/Half Orc that managed to drop one of our party members. Everybody else was one-on-one with the wizard in the back...

The guy just squitched the fallen ranger's head with his club (a regular hit would have killed the ranger anyway) and then sauntered over to join the fight with the survivors.

Very Respectfully,
--Bacon

I am running the Rise of the Runelords Anniversary Edition.

January was the 1-year mark, and we are right now in book 3.

We average 1 session a month, for 6 hours per session.

And we play via virtual tabletop, because my group is in 4 different time zones.

Things we do to maximize the time spent at the 'table'

* RP in forums/chat/email, with transcripts posted to Obsidian Portal for others to react to.

* Level-up between sessions.

* Emply a Co-DM. Someone to play some of the monsters/NPCs in combat, or look up rules during a session. this is hard, because a lot of time people would rather Play OR DM their own.

* Start Time is Start Time. If your session starts at 1400, then at 1400 stuff starts happening.

Some things I do for now.

Very Respectfully,
--Bacon

I let my players buy magical items within a certain gp limit (usually that indicated in the city statblock). Beyond that they have to commission magical artisans for them, wait until it becomes available on the market, or create it themselves.

Waiting for it to come on the market/Commissions usually require 1/2 the market price up front, and they have to wait a number of days equal to the time it takes to craft it (to have it built to spec, or to wait from such an item to arrive from distant lands).

This also can slow down the adventure a bit if you think that going from 1st to 20th level in a couple months is unreasonable.

Very Respectfully,
--Bacon

Bigrig... you are AMAZING!

He is indeed a 10th level barbarian.

I'm going to make sure that I read up on the grappling rules so it's on the up-and-up.

"Hur hur hur! I got your mans! You want him?" *WHAM* "You can take him!" *WHAM* "Why you running from your friend?" *WHAM* "Hur hur hurrr."

Very Respectfully,
--Bacon

Good Evening Fellow Gamers,

In preparation for an upcoming session, I want to make the 'boss fight' memorable.

He's a big ogre barbarian, with hp for days, and enough strength to make anyone stand up and take notice. He has an Ogre Hook (+1 Human Bane at that), but I want him to get a bit more up close and personal.

How would you rule it so that he could pick up the Samurai, and then beat the Magus with him. I would say grapple, obviously, then pin, then make an attack roll (-4 improvised weapon penalty) and deal 1d6+1 1/2 STR Mod (wielding the samurai as a two-handed weapon) to both the samurai and the magus (or whichever character is hit by the samurai's flailing body.

Help me get the rules ironed out though, please.

Very Respectfully,
--Bacon

I love giving the players commands that they can interpret.

When the spellcaster commands them, "Don't let anyone attack me!" And the Player decides the best way to do that is inflicting lethal damage... then so be it. If the Player decides that his character will bull-rush an ally trying to attack the wizard, that's also viable. (and the target PC has to decide if he wants to take the AoO that his 'friend' provoked)

It can be... glorious to watch.

Very Respectfully,
--Bacon

I'd use the downtime rules from Ultimate Campaign for cost and time to train yourself up, and it takes longer if you don't have a trainer. (maybe x1.5 or x2 to the time it takes)

Very Respectfully,
--Bacon

Not at all!

I was running an encounter with a bunch of cultists (rogue/priests) and in the statblock they all had selective channeling, but had a CHA of 9... umm... ???

So I gave them all weapon finesse instead.

Very Respectfully,
--Bacon

@Remy, I'm sorry it doesn't met with your preferred levels of optimization.

She isn't designed to be a optimal spellcaster, we don't have much in the way of that in our group. Especially since some of the players are new (only been playing tabletop RPGs for about a year) or who haven't played a d20 system.

The prestige classes haven't been added. The character just leveled and took the level in fighter to qualify for Eldritch Knight, if they still want to go that route, and will probably be taking Dragon Disciple next level.

We already have a full sorcerer in the party (as well as a bard and magus), so there is less of a need for a full caster, and with her limited spellcasting, she doesn't want to waste her ray spells, and point blank/precise shot is useful with any/all ranged attacks.

And while the chill touch spell is necromancy there is no prohibition to the casting of negative energy spells or necromancy spells that I am aware of. If I missed that, please let me know. Theme is one thing, but that doesn't mean that Ylloura can't take illusion or transmutation spells in addition.

Being a blacksmith is part of her upbringing. Her family has a history of craftsmanship, and she wants to maintain that legacy.

As far as the draconic legacy; there was a silver dragon in her ancestry prior to Baba Yaga's conquest of Irrisen. There is a prophecy that a dragon-child will arise from the people of Irrisen to save them from their eternal winter. It is believed that Ylloura may be the catalyst of that prophecy, and was smuggled out of Irrisen by her adoptive father.

I do thank you for your inputs.

Very Respectfully,
--Bacon

Work with your GM on 'retirement' for your character. Instead of abandoning them mid adventure, work on a reason for the character to bow-out gracefully.

A character that I was growing bored of decided he wanted to reconcile with his (ex)wife.

Then have your replacement character have a hook with the established party/campaign so it doesn't require heavy machinery to disbelieve.

This is easier on all concerned. It doesn't make your existing character suddenly have a death wish, you don't 'suddenly' lose your characters, and it won't require the DM to make some manner of 'you find a prisoner' or 'you meet a guy, you trust him, let's keep adventuring'.

Very Respectfully,
--Bacon

I disagree with you Atarlost,

Being a paladin isn't supposed to be easy, but its not a suicide mission either.

If he is outclassed, he can notify the authorities, and he would likely be in a position that they would take his warning seriously.

Maybe he simply notes that it's a wretched hive of scum and villainy, and returns when he has gained enough power to properly cleanse its taint.

Walking around spoiling for a fight, with detect evil on constant sweep is going to be wasting your time and power.

Even if they ping evil, murder in the streets isn't exactly 'lawful' behavior within a city anyway.

Very Respectfully,
--Bacon