Bog's page

I didn't really like the opening scene of this AP. The writer probably wanted to introduce the newly formed adventuring party with something else besides the cliché CR1/3 monster ambush, which is something I approve of. However, as written, I don't imagine the puzzle box working in this way. The puzzle is essentially just an anagram and as a non-native English speaker I couldn't possibly have solved it, since I have never heard of the word 'Lucre'. The entire encounter would just boil down to an Intelligence check == boring.

This is really unfortunate. I love puzzles and I love unorthodox scenario's even more, so I created an alternative Paradox Box as a nice puzzle oriented intro for this AP. The design goal was to be able to give the players something they can actually interact with and to take away from the focus of miniature battlegames, yet be easy enough to solve to not distract to much from the game.

Have fun with these :)

Just make sure your players have not played the Baldurs Gate 2 PC game already.

I actually really like it when a published Spell has a description which not only focuses on the obvious uses, but also keeps in mind the Spell might be outside the intended situation. Some excellent examples have already been given by the posters above me. These 2 spells would also be really nice when chained to a Contingency!

Bottom line; To answer your question as to why these spells confuse you, think outside the box. What always defines a set of rules is not it's intentions, but rather it's exceptions. Always keep this in mind when designing your own game-logic :)

Unfortunately, I'm in the 'hating (Overland) Fly'-camp as well.

The smart people in this threat responding with the encounter-ideas of lava-columns or trees with strong wind etc. might take a note from 'Table 4-5: Wind Effects on Flight, pag. 97'. The only way a medium-sized wizard is affected by any kind of wind, is if the force of the wind is that of a windstorm, and the only slight danger said wizard might endure, is only when the force of the wind is that of an hurricane. Which is cool, I guess, if your PC's are on the Elemental Plane of Air all the time.

Even with the penalties to Fly of strong wind conditions, the generic wizard has such a large bonus to his Fly skill, that any difficulties when flying become obsolete. (Half Caster Level (~5) + Good Maneuverability (4) + Fly Ranks (~12), versus DC15 or DC20)

Effectively, the Wizard who did not shun the Overland Flight-spell, is now immune to >70% of all hazards presented in your average Adventure Path, for >9 HOURS a day (so; the whole day, every day)! Combine this with Invisibility of any form, and out go all arguments about the Wizard sticking out as a target..

Good DM's of this forum who DO like flying PC's; Do you only put your players in abandoned mine tunnels all the time? Or maybe everyone in the entire world that is the potential enemy of your heroes carries Scrolls of Web. What if the flying PC is also invisible all the time? Do you like to only target the other PC's with your 'bound to the ground'-monsters and villains? Have you actually ever tried to run an Paizo AP, which is mostly outside, with some flying characters???

tl;dr: I don't like the ease of availability to be able to fly. The consequences of being able to fly are so immense, almost no other ability any Class has at equivalent levels has the same game chancing implications. Also, Fly as a skill is IMHO not nearly limiting enough to bother about once you have some ranks in it.