Sahuagin

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Contributor. Goblin Squad Member. RPG Superstar 6 Season Marathon Voter, 7 Season Marathon Voter, 8 Season Dedicated Voter, 9 Season Star Voter. Organized Play Member. 638 posts (1,425 including aliases). No reviews. 2 lists. 2 wishlists. 2 Organized Play characters. 4 aliases.



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I'm in! Hope you're ready for my well-practiced goblin voice, in spaaaace!


2 people marked this as a favorite.

This'll be great! Potential authors, artists, freelancers, and others should come out! Who knows what kind of mysteries will be revealed?


Aw, yeah! Who's ready to get killed by robots, or maybe lasers?!


Hey folks, check out this great new book from Fat Goblin Games. Featuring monsters, magic items, and short adventures inspired by some video games familiar to those of you who may have played in the 80s and 90s, you can finally let your players face off against evil fungi, turtle soldiers, and even the dread Turtle King himself!

Are you brave enough to enter that gleaming green pipe?


So, for the first time (for me) I will be able to make his event. However, I am flying in and don't want to bring too much stuff. I have a fairly extensive collection of stuff rom the last 25 or so years of miniatures, and wonder if there are things people are looking for? I can sift through D&D minis to find things, I have old GW warhammer stuff I can part with, and maybe a few other old games.

Basically, I figured f we start a bit of chatter now, maybe we can all bring stuff people want...


I look forward to adding to building a new chain of dead characters. ;)


Happy to see a full house for this one! Looking forward to playing with all of you! I've been hard at work on the pregens and miniatures, and a few surprises...


Need a fully fleshed out gang of comic book style villains for your game? Check out the latest book from Fat Goblin Games! Inside you'll find a nefarious villain with a band of over-the-top henchmen, and maybe a secret or two.

Have a look:
Masters and Minions- The Hookclaw Gang.


Hello wonderful folk! I have placed this order, but the subscription discount on the minis is not displaying correctly. I have noticed you have fixed it manually for others, and would love if you could take a look at this order. Thanks!


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Monster Movie Matinee is RPGNow's Deal of the Day!

Check out these great cinematic monsters for 50% off!

Aquamonstrosity (Creature from the Black Lagoon, with a nod to A-Team)
Carnivorous Mantrap (Little Shop of Horrors)
Grey Invader (Mars Attacks)
Jungle Predator (Predator)
Killer Clown (Stephen King’s It)
Night Terror (Pitch Black)
Nightmare Stalker (A Nightmare on Elm Street)
Shark Tornado (Sharknado)
Snatchoid (Tremors)
Unstoppable Maniac (Friday the 13th/Halloween)

This product was a real labor of love and I hope you check it out!

Dark Archive RPG Superstar 2010 Top 32, 2011 Top 16 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka Boxhead

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Congrats all!

Dark Archive RPG Superstar 2010 Top 32, 2011 Top 16 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka Boxhead

14 people marked this as a favorite.

Hi Folks,

With a bit of time before the monster round starts (and with no practical advice for maps), I thought I'd post some advice for fledgeling monster builders!

This is what I usually do, with a bit of background...
How I write a monster
I’ve done a few monster designs in the last few years, including a few Kobold contest placements and winners (Tin Crown winner Clockwork Stalker and Monarch of the Monsters finalist Echo Demon). I’ve written a few monster books (Monster Movie Matinee and Mindblast!-Classic Monsters Augmented), and have some other monsters out there in the wild (Ultimate Psionics by Dreamscarred Press kickstarter backers will have Psionic Monsters Revisited in their hands now too! Among others...).
I’ve learned a lot over the years, some of it from the design philosophy of 4th edition D&D. This is how I currently go about designing monsters, hopefully some of you will find this advice helpful!
One Big Shtick

Spoiler:
The first thing I do is try to figure out what I want the monster to do. This can be big picture: make a Tremors-style grabboid. It can be small: use the steal rule in a new way. Whatever it is, make sure your monster does it, and does it well. Make sure it has all of the powers it needs to make it work.

If the monster has sneak attack, can it use it? Does it have stealth, or appear in groups, or have a feinting ability? Is your big, mean beatstick actually strong? Is your invulnerable terror actually hard to kill for its CR?

Once you have the basic idea for the monster, you’re ready for step 2. Every monster gets one unique rule. This is its defining feature. This is why mimics are sticky. Why harpies have an enchanting song. What makes a monster iconic is its one unique rule. Every cool monster (and every Superstar monster) should have a single thing that is unique to it. A skill bonus doesn’t cut it. A higher damage ffie on claws doesn’t cut it. You need something better.
Have a look at the Clockwork Stalker. What stands out? Sneak attack? A Stealth bonus? Nope! High Gear, the new rule. It won the contest, all by itself.
Find a niche for your monster, and nail it.


Deadline Monsters
Spoiler:
I picked up the term from the old WOTC boards (pre-Gleemax). I think it may have been posted by Sean Reynolds. It doesn’t matter, the advice holds as true now as it did then.
The term referred to monsters that were simply an amalgamation of two dangerous animals or other monsters.

Classic monsters have used this-owlbears, hippogriffs and sea lions all leap out. Most of these are okay as creatures that have been grandfathered in or are drawn from mythology. It is a mistake to assume that such monsters are good. They have historically been published (likely as a result of the name of section), but your rhino with snakes for horns or tiger with a baboon head is probably (hopefully?) not your best idea.

On a side note, this goes double for scorpion tails in my mind.


Monster Ecology
Spoiler:
Take a moment to think about how your monster lives and thrives. Solo monsters are cool. Beholders were neat, especially as a spoiler boss. A group of beholders made no sense, because their powers didn’t work in each other’s anti-magic cones. If you have my Monster Movie Matinee book, you’ll see many examples of solo monsters.
Think a lot about how your monsters work. If your creature’s damage needs sneak attack to hit its level, make sure they work in groups. A solo monster with sneak attack only gets to use it once (under normal circumstances).

Also think about the opposite. Dragons are generally not suitable to be used in groups. Breath weapon refresh rates means there’s a lot of energy damage flying around (literally).

Then there’s the other path. Vrocks have an ability that only works in a group, but are suitable threats on their own. This gives them a great deal of flexibility to be used as opponents for PCs.
Also, pay attention to environment. Don’t claim your monster is swampy, but can’t swim. Or lives in the mountains and can’t climb. And if you can avoid it, don’t use Any with no caveat.


Universal vs. New
Spoiler:
If you can replicate what you want to do with a universal monster special rule or a spell-like ability—do it. Don’t hinge your monster design on it’s exactly like XX, except that it only works at night. Or it’s just like YY, except it’s perpetual. That shorthand already exists in the game.

Make your new rules really new. If you can sum up with existing rules—do it. If your monster has a free grapple with an attack, consider using Grab. Or Improved Grapple. Or whatever actually works. Same with Trip, or Breath Weapons. Use the rules, don’t ignore them.


Appearance and Name
Spoiler:
I’m going to take a moment to talk about a subject that has been done to death. The most important part of your monster (and the part I’m doing last). Make sure your monster has a good name. A pronounceable name. A name that doesn’t suggest a generic thing. A name that people can use and always be talking about your monster.
Don’t use generic adjective noun . There was a monster that was badly dinged in a past year for being the slithering horror. The judges noted that that phrase could never be used again without players trying to figure out if was a slithering horror or the slithering horror.

Make sure your description matches your monster. Heavy monsters aren’t stealthy, small creatures aren’t Strength 30, and iron-hided creatures aren’t AC 14. Unless you have a good reason ;)


Obviously, Sean’s rule 27 overrides. These are my goals, which I don’t always follow. Use at your own discretion. Your results may vary.


I didn't see a post from my illustrious compatriots, so I thought I'd let you all know that Fat Goblin Games has a new pay-what-you-want book available for the holiday season! Make sure to check out Silent Night, Darkest Night! The price can't be beat. All proceeds are going to the RPG Creators Relief Fund to boot!

And if you like that, make sure to check out all the other Fat Goblin Games goodness!


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Hey folks, here is my latest book from Fat Goblin Games, a set of ten monsters inspired by some of my favorite movies! Just in time for Halloween, these movie menaces are sure to spice up your games!

Movie Monster Matinee

This book was a real labour of love, as I'm a huge fan of creature features and schlock horror flicks of all kinds. If you love horror movies, be sure to check this one out!


Hey, neat! I'm thrilled to see this here! I had some POD copies kicking around at PaizoCon and I know I'm definitely excited to see the PDF here!


Hi folks,

This is Eric Hindley. Some of you may know me from RPG Superstar, Kobold Press contests or the recent Ultimate Psionics from Dreamscarred Press. I have also done work with Raging Swan Press and LPJ Design. I'm here to announce my newest endeavour, a product line with Fat Goblin Games that focusses on psionics called Mindblast!

The first product in the line is Classic Monsters Augmented. If you love Psionics, or if you just want variant monsters for your game, you should definitely check this out. Rick Hershey has done great work laying out this book. It has all you need to introduce Psionic monsters to your game.

Soon to follow will be products that focus on providing details for Psionic classes (generally a few statted NPCs a la NPC codex) and some player options. First up is psychic warriors. Let me know what you would like to see from this line, which I call Class Focus.

I'm open to ideas about people want to see for Psionics, just let me know right here! Thanks!

Dark Archive RPG Superstar 2010 Top 32, 2011 Top 16 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka Boxhead

28 people marked this as a favorite.

Another year of RPG Superstar is well under way. This seems like a good opportunity to put a bit of advice up.

Hi there! 2 time RPG Superstar contestant and freelancer Eric Hindley here. I understand that you want to write some stuff for Pathfinder. Great. Let me tell you how to do it (or at least some ways to do it). Maybe you made the top 32 (or the top 16!), maybe not, but hope is not lost.

You know about RPG Superstar, that’s a start. What you may not know is that plenty of companies run contests and open calls throughout the year. Have a look at the Pathfinder 3rd Party boards . Contests come up frequently. Write what they ask, and you can’t go wrong. Eventually you might find a contest that agrees with you. If you like the contest route (I do), keep trying until you get some recognition. For example, Kobold Press recently just finished the Monarch of the Monsters and Raging Swan Press just had an open call. I even have a (single) spell coming out in Deep Magic, submitted as a backer.

The next thing to do is write something you want to publish. It doesn’t matter what it is, or if it ever gets published. Put down all the things you know will be the best things you ever want to publish, and try to sell them. If they don’t, don’t despair. There’s still plenty of work for people who want to write something and can’t get it to sell. At the very least, you have a great resource to steal from piecemeal if it doesn’t sell as a whole.

Read everything you can. I recommend the Complete Kobold Guide to Game Design and Be Awesome at Freelance Game Design. Re-read the Pathfinder rulebooks, often. Go through the Bestiaries, making notes about obscure monsters you like, and why you like them. This could give you a spark for an adventure, a magic item, a spell, whatever.

Find out what you like in a product. Do you think the world needs more items? Spells? Write those. Look for chances to publish them. Send pitches to the various companies. The worst you can hear is “that’s not something we’re interested in”. Seriously, this business is too small to tell people to go away in super-harsh tones.

Finally, I’ll put up the call for Wayfinder. It doesn’t pay, but it is read by the Paizo staff. And Tim and the crew are great people that are a pleasure to work with. It likely has the highest chance of publication of anything you can do, and seeing your name on an article is a huge boost.


Huzzah, I made the blog! I can't wait to finally see this article in print!

Dark Archive Contributor , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka Boxhead

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Just wanted to start a quick thread to congratulate all of the past RPG Superstar items that made an appearance in Ultimate Equipment. I know many of you (us) have some other stuff published in the meantime (looking at you especially, Spicer), but I wanted to make sure people saw that even a top 32 appearance could mean a publishing credit in a Paizo hardcover.

So enter when RPG Superstar 2013 comes up!


Margreve Boot Lizard

Hope you guys like it! I know it makes my wife giggle and should add a horrific scene to a boring trek through the woods...


When will we be charged for an order being picked up at PaizoCon? Will it be at the con itself, or sometime beforehand (tomorrow?)? I'm just trying to figure out whether I should bring more money, or if it will already be paid for...


I intend to attend the Convocation of Madmen, but otherwise my Friday night is free. I have a PFS character, and am a PFS GM, but can I drop by this event late? Will I know what's going on? Is there something I get to do? I jut have no idea what this event is...

Dark Archive 1/5 Contributor

I've tried to do a bit of searching, but have come up with little. I thought they were looking for a venture captain in Calgary, but now I can't find it.

I'm not interested in the job (no time, I'm afraid), but I'd like to know what I can do to help. I'd like to start GM'ing events at cons, but none show up when I search on the site here. Come on, I know Calgary has a great support network for gaming, let me know how I can help!

Dark Archive Contributor

I've been a huge fan of Paizo for a long time (back when I could subscribe to and complain about the magazines). I'm not sure I understand the point of this forum section. If you have a complaint or question about an order, maybe you should contact Paizo directly. Every problem I have had I have done this, never feeling the need to put it up publicly.

I just wonder if Paizo should have a sticky at the top of this forum with contact information. It can't help to have everyone's individual problems aired for the public, especially when personal solutions should fix it.

I love Cosmo as much as the next guy, but shouldn't his work be behind the scenes?

Dark Archive Contributor , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka Boxhead

Chittik, Fey Would-be God
Portrait: 19
Description: Standing a hair over 2 feet tall, Chittik’s gaunt appearance seems atypical for a pixie. He wears dark-colored clothing, favoring royal purple. A cheap brass crown perches atop his limp brown hair and a large chunk of glowing blue-green stone dangles on a golden chain around his neck.

Motivations/Goals: A shrieking sound from above is the sole memory Chittik retains of his old life. He awakened to find a chunk of glowing rock in a crater nearby. A single whispered word echoed in his mind- Starstone. He now spends his time trying to activate it in an attempt to reach godhood. Little does he realize that this rock is actually Abysium; a rare skymetal that is causing a gradual deterioration of his mental and physical states. So far the effects are still in their early stages, giving him his haggard appearance while not truly hindering him.

Schemes/Plots/Adventure Hooks: Perhaps as a perversion of the prankster nature of pixies, Chittik’s madness has twisted his sense of geometry and architecture. He has persuaded himself that he can design a labyrinthine structure of eldritch composition that will energize his meteorite and catapult him into godhood. To this end he convinced a gang of minotaurs to serve as both construction overseers and muscle. He himself sneaks into houses, knocks out healthy adults and has the minotaurs drag them off to toil endlessly on his architectural delusions. His escalating dementia has encouraged him to break into progressively more elabrate trap-laden locales in search of better architectural slaves.

Spoiler:

Chittik CR 8
Male pixie rogue (burglar, APG 132; Bestiary 228) 4
NE Small fey
Init +8; Senses low-light vision; Perception +12
===== Defense =====
AC 25, touch 20, flat-footed 16; (armor, deflection, +8 Dex, +1 dodge, +1 natural, +4 shield, +1 size, etc. alphabetical)
hp 52 (4d6+4d8+20)
Fort +4, Ref +16, Will +6
Defensive Abilities evasion, invisibility, trap sense +1; DR 10/cold iron; SR 19
===== Offense =====
Spd 20 ft., fly 60 ft. (good)
Melee short sword +15 (1d4-1/19-20)
Ranged +1 composite longbow +15 (1d6/x3)
Special Attacks sneak attack +2d6, special arrows
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 8th)
Constant—detect chaos, detect evil, detect good, detect law
1/day—dancing lights, detect thoughts (DC 17), detect magic, entangle (DC 16), lesser confusion (DC 16), permanent image (DC 21; visual and auditory elements only), shield
===== Tactics =====
Before Combat If Chikkit expects combat, he casts shield.
During Combat Chittik uses his special arrows to put his foes to sleep, letting his allies carry them off. He switches to lethal attacks if someone is threatening his meteorite.
Morale If at all possible Chittik avoids a fight, especially if he is alone. If his meteorite is threatened, he fights to the death.
Base Statistics AC 20
===== Statistics =====
Str 9, Dex 26, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 13, Cha 20
Base Atk +5; CMB +3; CMD 21
Feats Dodge, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics +19, Bluff +16, Disable Device +15, Escape Artist +19, Fly +25, Knowledge (engineering) +11, Knowledge (nature) +10, Perception +12, Sense Motive +12, Stealth +23, Use Magic Device +16
Languages Common, Giant, Sylvan
SQ careful disarm, rogue talents (quick disable, trap spotter), trapfinding +2
Combat Gear potions of cure moderate wounds (2); Other Gear +1 composite longbow with 20 arrows, masterwork short sword, cloak of resistance +1, potions of glibness (2), Abysium meteorite worth 1000 gp, brass crown worth 20 gp
===== Special Abilities =====
Invisibility (Su) Bestiary 228
Special Arrows (Su) DC 17, 20 uses per day; Bestiary 228

Dark Archive Contributor , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka Boxhead

RPG Superstar FAQ wrote:

What will the winner win?

Every contestant who advances to Round 2 gets a complementary PDF of Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Guide to the Inner Sea.

As I recall from last year, the point of this free PDF was to put people on even footing for the following the rounds, as they would all have access to the same Golorian information.

I realize this book isn't available yet, but I am curious when the Top 32 will have access to it. I have the old Campaign Setting (in print and PDF), but I'd hate for anyone else to be disadvantaged in this competition.

Ok, I also want to play with the shiny new version of the book, but can you really blame me ;p

Dark Archive Contributor , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka Boxhead

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Knife Fighter (Fighter)
From gang members in the streets of Riddleport to discreet nobles in the courts of Cheliax, some fighters prefer the speed, subtlety and grace of the dagger over more cumbersome weapons.

Knife Expert (Ex): At 1st level, a knife fighter gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls with daggers. In addition, a knife fighter gains a +1 bonus to CMB and CMD on disarm and sunder checks with daggers. These bonuses increase by +1 per four levels after 1st. This ability replaces weapon training 1.

Never Caught Unarmed (Ex): At 1st level, a knife fighter gains a bonus to Sleight of Hand checks to conceal a weapon on your body equal to 1/2 your fighter level (minimum +1). This ability replaces the bonus feat at first level.

Quicker Than the Eye (Ex): At 2nd level, a knife fighter gains a bonus equal to 1/2 his fighter level to all initiative checks. This ability replaces bravery.

Parrying Defense (Ex): At 3rd level, a knife fighter gains a +1 shield bonus to his AC when he is using a dagger in his off-hand, or has his off-hand free. This bonus increases by +1 for every four fighter levels the knife fighter possesses. This ability replaces armor training 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Cut and Run (Ex): At 6th level, as a full-round action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity, a knife fighter can make a combat maneuver check to hamper an opponent by targeting tendons in vulnerable locations, such as the wrist or hamstring. If it succeeds, the target is staggered for one round and the knife fighter can then make a normal move without provoking an attack of opportunity from the target. This ability replaces the bonus feat at 6th level.

Discreet Throw (Ex): At 9th level, a knife fighter can make ranged attacks with daggers without provoking an attack of opportunity. This ability replaces weapon training 2.

Barrage of Blades (Ex): At 13th level, when a knife fighter makes a full attack with daggers, he may make one extra attack at his full attack bonus. All attacks that round suffer a -2 penalty to hit. This applies to both melee and ranged attacks. This does not reduce the action required to draw a weapon. This ability replaces weapon training 3.

Master of the Blurred Hands (Ex): At 17th level, attacks made with barrage of blades no longer suffer the -2 penalty. This ability replaces weapon training 4.

Weapon Mastery (Ex): A knife fighter must choose the dagger.

Dark Archive Contributor , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka Boxhead

Shadow Falconer’s Glove
Aura moderate conjuration; CL 7th
Slot hands; Price 8000 gp; Weight 1 lb.
Description
This elbow-length, heavy leather glove is well-battered, its fine embroidery marred as if by dozens of claw marks. Once per day, as a standard action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity, the wearer speaks a command word and gestures toward a target creature within 30 feet. An onyx silhouette of a bird of prey known as a shadow falcon appears, swoops toward the target and performs a disarm or steal combat maneuver (wearer’s choice, CMB +16). The shadow falcon does not provoke an attack of opportunity. If the hand wearing the glove is empty, the shadow falcon brings the item to your hand. If the gloved hand is occupied, the shadow falcon deposits the item at your feet. The shadow falcon then disappears.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, shadow conjuration; Cost 4000 gp

Dark Archive Contributor

There seem to be a few threads around talking about this adventure. Most of them seem to focus on the prep work needed for the adventure. I have a few ideas on this that I have posted and thought I'd start thread to share them again. I really feel this adventure was written to be run as a one-nighter, so most of my advice is geared toward that goal. I'll post over the next few days to help this.

Hangman’s Noose Pregens
So I ran this as a one-shot. I built pregenerated characters for it with some back story. I figured I'd post them here in case anyone needed some inspiration or had any advice. The adventure just screams for a deeper connection for its characters. The goal was also for each character to have a better of a piece of the story right from the get-go, to try to fit it in a slightly shorter session.
Cleric

Spoiler:
You were an acolyte of the famed Father Kelgaard, a blond-haired, blue-eyed charismatic cleric of Sarenrae the Dawnflower, goddess of sunrise, redemption and healing. Shortly after your training finished, Kelgaard led a group of adventurers to the old courthouse in Piren’s Bluff. Only one survived the expedition and he was driven completely mad. You have recently decided to try to find out what you could of your old master’s fate, and started to seek information in Piren’s Bluff.
This character will get Vision 3

Fighter
Spoiler:
Bastard son of one of Lord Tandinian Fellcroft’s many dalliances with beautiful maidens; you were raised by the nobleman nonetheless. Lord Fellcroft’s oft-illicit activities led him to some trouble with a hobgoblin thug named Malgrim Hurkes. You know some past debts resulted in the goon paying visits to your family’s house and blame the goblinoid for your father’s mysterious death one year ago. Having been cast out of noble society, you honed your skill with a blade, now seeking revenge on the “man” you feel is surely guilty of your misfortunes.
This character will get Vision 1

Rogue
Spoiler:
You have grown up on the streets of Absalom, mostly in Piren’s Bluff and the surrounding districts. You learned most of what you know from your old uncle Horace, a great deceiver and self-proclaimed king of the streets. You’ll never forget the day he earned gold to eat for a year by helping hang that old executioner who murdered his family. He passed away about six months ago, leaving you to fend for yourself in the underworld of Absalom.
This character will get Vision 2

Sorcerer
Spoiler:
You are an amateur fortune-teller and alchemist, plying your family’s trade in the city of Absalom. One morning, as you were telling your morning fortunes, you started to see and unmistakeable pattern emerge. The same cards kept coming up- the Hangman, the Keep and Death. Scouring the portents, this lead you to the district of Piren’s Bluff. For some reason, you knew you needed to be right here, right now.
This character will get Vision 4

The next thing to do is sort out NPCs. I developed a habit for each one, so I could slip into character (this is recommended in the module. I say EXAGGERATE). The following is a "descriptor" for each, and a "habit".

Spoiler:

Mine were as follows
Halgrak- Massive Half-orc smith- Sighs, Nay-says
Ebin- Alcholic gnome jester- Twirls sap
Patrissa- Voluptuous human enchantress- Pearl necklace (chews, feels)
Killian/Sveth- Ragged nobleman- Sips flask
Malgrim- Burly hobgoblin tough- Long drags on cigars
Sir Rekkart- Naive Paladin- Snuff box
Madge- Athletic halfling- Toys with earlobe
Tablark- Gruff old dwarf- strokes chin

I attached pictures of each of the NPCs to the front of the screen, removing them as they got killed.

Dark Archive Contributor

Not to leap to conclusions, but there are a lot of recent products on the "under 1000" list, especially the two (3?) newest Planet Stories books. Is Paizo cutting the print run on these, or are they gaining popularity?

Dark Archive Contributor , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka Boxhead

Sensory Stalker

Description: A two foot long beetle-like creature scurries through its victim’s peripheral vision, but disappears when the viewer tries to focus on it. A distant dripping sound slowly escalates into footsteps, even though the listener is alone. The distracting fragrance of a lover, now long since dead, pervades the room, though no one else seems to notice...these are the signs of a sensory stalker.

This outsider appears as a hideous insect with a glossy carapace that shimmers with a myriad of colours. A pair of whip-like antennae sprout from its head, lashing with terrific speed. Its long spidery legs end in hard talons. It is rarely seen however, as it normally exists as a ghost-like presence on the fringes of a creature’s senses. A fleeting glimpse or distant clatter of legs is all the warning it gives its victims. These creatures feed on powerful feelings and extreme sensations, often pushing their victims so far into extreme experiences that they go insane.

Powers and Abilities: This creature is usually incorporeal and invisible, lurking on or near a potential victim. It can manifest itself to be tangible to any of the five senses: sight, smell, hearing, touch or taste. These "phantom" sensations slowly drive the victim mad as they relive vivid memories and experience growing paranoia. The creature can also manifest fully when threatened, lashing out with full force using its antennae to amplify its assault against a victim’s senses, causing blindness, deafness, nausea or even pain.

Dark Archive Contributor , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka Boxhead

Hourglass of the Insightful Conjurer
Aura Moderate (no school); CL 9th
Slot none; Price 25000 gp; Weight 20 lbs.
Description
This one foot tall crystal hourglass is surrounded by an ornate wrought brass cage. It allows you to cast up to 3 spells of any level from the conjuration school into it. These spells take their regular casting time to cast, but do not take effect immediately. When the glass is turned over (a standard action), it takes one minute for the sand to drain completely to the bottom. Once it does, all spells that have been cast into it immediately take effect. Spells stored in the hourglass function exactly as originally cast, at the caster’s level, modified by any metamagic he used. If the sand is stopped (such as by tipping the hourglass over), the process is interrupted. It must be righted within one minute, otherwise the spells are lost. If the hourglass is destroyed (hardness 5, 10 hp), there is a 50% chance the spells go off immediately, otherwise they are lost.

All area effects are centred on the hourglass, touch and personal range spells affect one or more random characters holding the hourglass (up to the spell’s usual limit), other effects emerge into the hourglass’s square or the nearest empty square(s) as needed. No spell effect can originate further than 30 ft from the hourglass.

The hourglass can be reset once its spells are cast by turning it back over. It takes one minute for the sand to return to the top. This process must finish before any new spells can be cast into the hourglass.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, Extend Spell; Cost 12500 gp

Dark Archive Contributor

So I am looking for a bit of help in trying to distinguish the two countries a little more in my mind. I will likely be running Legacy of Fire this Fall, and they seem to be somewhat similar in my eyes.

I understand that Katapesh is a loose "anarchy" with a alien overseers, while Qadira is the edge of a much larger empire. They both seem to be "Oriental Adventures" or "Arabian Nights" style settings, with scimitars, genies, slave markets and harems. Katapesh is less desert-y and more lush, while Qadira seems to have more of the swathes of desert.

I realize Katapesh relies more on Abadar, while worship in Qadira spreads to more to other gods, such as Irori and Sarenrae.

Does anyone have any more concrete differences? Could anyone give me a few historical examples to follow up on? Any help is much appreciated.

Dark Archive Contributor

Or does this adventure path only appeal to me to on a basic pun level?

Dark Archive Contributor

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So I intend to run this as a one-shot at some point. I'll almost certainly build pregenerated characters for it with some back story. I figured I'd post them here in case anyone needed some inspiration or had any advice. The adventure just screams for a deeper connection for its characters. The goal was also for each charater to have a better of a piece of the story right from the get-go, to try fit it in a slightly shorter session.

Cleric

Spoiler:
You were an acolyte of the famed Father Kelgaard, a blond-haired, blue-eyed charismatic cleric of Sarenrae the Dawnflower, goddess of sunrise, redemption and healing. Shortly after your training finished, Kelgaard led a group of adventurers to the old courthouse in Piren’s Bluff. Only one survived the expedition and he was driven completely mad. You have recently decided to try to find out what you could of your old master’s fate, and started to seek information in Piren’s Bluff.

This character will likely get Vision 3

Fighter

Spoiler:
Bastard son of one of Lord Tandinian Fellcroft’s many dalliances with beautiful maidens, you were raised by the nobleman nonetheless. Lord Fellcroft’s oft-illicit activities led him to some trouble with a hobgoblin thug named Malgrim Hurkes. You know some past debts resulted in the goon paying visits to your family’s house and blame the goblinoid for your father’s mysterious death one year ago. Having been cast out of noble society, you honed your skill with a blade, now seeking revenge on the “man” you feel is surely guilty of your misfortunes.

This character will get Vision 1

Rogue

Spoiler:
You have grown up on the streets of Absalom, mostly in Piren’s Bluff and the surrounding districts. You learned most of what you know from your old uncle Horace, a great deceiver and self-proclaimed king of the streets. You’ll never forget the day he earned gold to eat for a year by helping hang that old executioner who murdered his family. He passed away about six months ago, leaving you to fend for yourself in the underworld of Absalom.

This character will get Vision 2

Sorcerer

Spoiler:
You are an amateur fortune-teller and alchemist, plying your family’s trade in the city of Absalom. One morning, as you were telling your morning fortunes, you started to see and unmistakeable pattern emerge. The same cards kept coming up- the Hangman, the Keep and Death. Scouring the portents, this lead you to the district of Piren’s Bluff. For some reason, you knew you needed to be right here, right now.

This character will get Vision 4

Dark Archive Contributor

Hey guys,

just thought I'd start a thread to collect the niggling editing errors/oversights that'll crop up in something like this.

Tumble is missing from Table 5-3 as having been enveloped by acrobatics.

Feel free to add'em as you see'em.

Dark Archive Contributor

I think it was mentioned that the Open Call submissions were being re-visited for new monster entries for Pathfinder. I was curious whether or not this was still the case. Have people been contacted to submit their monsters? Will they be anytime soon?

Sorry if this was covered somewhere else but I couldn't find anything recent. Also sorry if this sounds like a complaint and I have no intention of making anyone rush for this

Dark Archive Contributor

Just browsing quickly through the Chapters website and found the preorder:

Preorder.

So cover price is $37.95 CDN. Maybe not exactly huge news, but I figured I'd share...

Dark Archive Contributor

I figured someone out there has to have a list, so I tought I'd try to save myself some time.

Does some have a list of Monsters from the Core Monster Manual that are not OGL?

Dark Archive Contributor

No, I'm not a long time poster.

No, I haven't been reading since the beginning. I did read a lot of old Dragon mags. I've been playing since about 1990. I never really liked it. But the last few years, I really started to enjoy both Dragon and Dungeon. Within the past three years Paizo has vastly improved the quality of both magazines.

I look forward to all of Paizo's products, the Gamesmastery line is already a phenominal tool for all players and DMs. I can only assume you'll do better from now on.

I am sorry to see both mags die. I will stand by you.

Dark Archive Contributor

So I just finished Hall of Harsh Reflections, what a killer adventure.

The main concerns I ran into were:

-Pulling off the move into Sodden Hold. I had a character that didn't need to sleep (something akin to a Warforged). That makes the whole moving the party to different cells a problem. I solved with a scroll, bit it could easily have derailed that part of the adventure.

-The Mirror Maze, while very cool conceptually, was almost impossible to pull off in game. No matter how good the players behaved, there was no way they would believe in the sudden doppelgangers.

-Zyrxog's lair is too hard. There is simply no way a standard 4 man party of level 7 or 8 can do the whole thing in one go. Since Zyrxog is scrying on the party, they either expend resources just getting there, or he knows when they're coming.By the time the party got themselves to Zyrxog, he could have killed and eaten them without breaking a sweat. There are, what, 3 or 4 Party Level+2 encounters before Zyrxog (which EL+4)? Crazy.

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