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This is the game thread for [Gameday XII] PFS 2-19 Enter the Pallid Peak - author run. Play begins Sept. 4.
Please feel free to chat in this thread.
This will be the game thread for [Gameday XII] PFS 4-11 Prisoners of the Electric Castle - author run. Play begins Sept. 4.
Hi, welcome to signups for my author run of PFS 4-11 Prisoners of the Electric Castle for PbP Gameday XII, which will start Sept. 4. The players for this game will be decided by lottery. We’ll be playing on the Paizo forums, and I will be using Google Drawings for any combats. My expectations are 5-10 posts a week from everyone (i.e., averaging 1-2 a day, though I recognize weekends tend to be slower). Please provide your character name, class, level, and ancestry in your submission for the lottery. You can also include your familiarity with play-by-post (this won't factor into the lottery, but will help me know if I need to explain more or less when we get started). Please note this scenario is for Levels 7-10. There are no pregens for these levels, so you will need to have a character that are in those levels.
Hi, welcome to signups for my author run of PFS 2-19 Enter The Pallid Peak for PbP Gameday XII, which will start Sept. 4. This game is first come, first served, and is for Levels 1-4. We’ll be playing on the Paizo forums, and I will be using Google Drawings for any combats. My expectations are 5-10 posts a week from everyone (i.e., averaging 1-2 a day, though I recognize weekends tend to be slower). Please sign up here. Please also let me know your familiarity with play-by-post, and Pathfinder Society / Pathfinder 2nd Edition in this recruitment thread (that will help me know what kind of introduction to the format folks need).
And here's the discussion thread. I'll create a sign-up sheet in the next day or two, and add that link.
Welcome Pathfinders, Venture-Captain and retired heroine Luna Aldred needs your attention in the town of Olfden in the free nation of Andoran to explore a recently discovered site on the volcano known as Droskar’s Crag.
Sorry, I realized I should have asked: Have any of you played this adventure before? If so, do you want to send me a PM with details of your run, so I can try to make sure this is a unique adventure for you? Thanks.
Chat away...
This is recruitment for this Gameday IX campaign, which will start Sept. 1. Please provide your character name, class, level, and ancestry in your submission for the lottery. You can also include your familiarity with play-by-post, and second edition (neither will factor into the lottery, but will help me guide you through the game when we get started).
A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for levels 1–4 (subtiers 1–2 and 3–4). Venture-Captain Bjersig Torrsen has set out the call for a group of Pathfinders to compete in a race known as the Balgirdtrek. Taking place in the Land of the Linnorm Kings, this race is an annual event that includes participants from both the Varki and Ulfen people of the region. Bjersig hopes that by having the PCs participate, they might not only bolster the Society's reputation in the Saga Lands, but also document this exciting event. Although the Society has the organizers' official permission, some of the Ulfen competitors in particular see the Pathfinders' participation as an intrusion on their time-honored pastime. The true challenge of this race is not monsters or villains, but the harsh nature of the grueling marathon itself.
This is a closed recruitment.
A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for levels 1–4 (subtiers 1–2 and 3–4). Goblin patriarch, merchant, and Pathfinder Society ally Yigrig Moneymaker needs help! The cunning goblin merchant has big plans to build a bridge that will connect two promising trade partners, but something is stirring up the local wildlife and convincing the lions and other predators of the Katapeshi plains that goblins are more tasty than can possibly be true. The PCs must find out who's responsible for the trials Yigrig's family faces before the lions of Katapesh devour the entire goblin clan and end the chance for trade between two desert cities.
Hello, Pathfinders. Please post here if you're interested in playing. (Invitation only, please.)
Welcome, Pathfinders!
So, starting up an Extinction Curse game as a player, I was a little sad I couldn't have an elephant companion. So I made one! And then I figured I'd throw together a couple other possible animal companions that might work well in a circus. ELEPHANT
PRIMATE
SEA LION
I got into Eleanor Ferron's Great Ork Gods game twice, and would love to trade one of those sessions for another Pathfinder game (preferably 2E, if available). I'd prefer to trade the Saturday session (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) for any of Breath of Dragonskull; Reaping What We Sow; Fighter Squad!; Hunt for Blackfang; Journals of Tular Seft; or We Be Heroes (though will consider other things). I could also trade the Friday session from 1-5 p.m. if that works better for another trader. Thanks!
So I got to contribute to the recent Player Companion: Martial Arts Handbook and really enjoyed the final book. I think it would be fun to do an adventure extensively using that material, and Ruby Phoenix Tournament -- where a team of characters must survive six bouts in the Grand Pavilion arena against the mightiest combatants and cleverest battle mages on Golarion -- seems like a perfect fit for it. Now I just need to know whether other people would be interested. Do you want to prove your mettle in tests of mind and body? Would you like to foil the plans of an evil organization and its powerful allies who hope to destroy the Ruby Phoenix Tournament and see its champions dead? Step into the arena to find out! This would be an 11th-level PBP adventure, in which everyone would be expected to use options from the Martial Arts Handbook. I'm expecting this to be a one-shot, though if it goes well and we have time, interest, etc., I'll consider extending it and doing something afterward. (Considering the nature of PBP, that decision would be months away. I'm looking for folks to make a one-year commitment.) About me
This game may by its nature be a little more *roll*-playing oriented, but I still want and expect plenty of *role*-playing. I try to post 5-10 times a week, aiming for at least one post a day, and will expect you to do the same. If you're going to be absent for a time (or have to drop the game), I expect you to tell the rest of us. We'll understand, but don't leave us hanging (I will let everyone know when I'm going on vacation or will otherwise be away from my computer). High-level adventures can be a lot to manage, and we'll be using new rules, so I appreciate players who keep that in mind -- link to spells and unusual class abilities so I don't have to spend lots of time searching for relevant rules when I could otherwise be writing better posts. Recruitment/interest/your character
I know I choose whether I'm interested in games based in part on the build rules, so you can find those below. Please note that I will NOT expect folks to have full crunch during recruitment. Building an 11th-level character is IMO a big ask when you might not get into a game. When we officially switch to recruitment, I'll ask people to tell me about their character idea. I will want to know race/class/archetypes/anything else relevant ("I plan to specialize in the Dragonfly Style chain of feats from Martial Arts Handbook..."), and don't expect you to create an alias (you can if you want to, but I don't expect it). I will want to know some basics about your character: What does she look like? What has he done so far in life (how did he become skilled and renowned enough that he merited an invite to the tournament)? I'll also want you to tell me about your gaming experience. If you're a PBP veteran, link to 1-3 of your favorite posts you've written, which give me some idea of your writing style. If you're new to PBP, write a couple sample pushing posts. I'm looking to see how you write, as that's the medium we all communicate in for PBP. Character creation:
Level: 11 Races: Core preferred (I'll considering other races, but tend to be strongly biased toward the standard.) Classes: Paizo only, and must use unchained when available. (The archetypes from the Martial Arts Handbook will have an advantage, but I know there are other "martial arts" archetypes published elsewhere -- such as the sacred fist warpriest -- so I'll consider those but would expect you to use some of the new feats or class abilities from MAH.) Ability Scores: 20 point buy Skills: Background skills included Hit Points: Full at first level; half +1 at subsequent levels Alignment: Any non-evil (though if you think chaotic neutral gives you license to be crazy and do whatever, consider that one banned too) Traits: 2; you can take a drawback for a third Gold: 82,000. If you have a crafting character, I may let you take a discount on some things, but don't expect to have an additional 41,000 gp to play with. Depending on the final choices (since there are limited casting archetypes in MAH), I may give you a slight stipend to buy some extra consumables. Any questions? Please feel free to ask.
I'm excited to announce design competition Here Be Monsters is returning for its fifth year! We'll be running a Starfinder challenge this year, but as it's been a Pathfinder competition up till now, I did want to mention it here for those who might have been looking for it. You can see our full announcement on the Starfinder 3PP boards.
While Swords for Hire has exclusively done Pathfinder contests up to now, I'm excited to announce we're running our first Starfinder contest, with our long-running monster design challenge: Having survived monsters from online wishes; Hell breaking loose; and from beyond the stars and out of the Primal World, Swords for Hire — now partnered with d20pfsrd! — are ready to deal with an ENTIRELY NEW BREED OF MONSTERS! This year’s entries will not be monsters at all, in fact … they’ll be ALIENS! This year’s Here Be Monsters will be Swords for Hire’s first design competition for The Starfinder Roleplaying Game. Here Be Monsters 5: Technology Gone Wrong takes what was our annual Pathfinder Roleplaying Game monster design contest and asks you to apply the same ingenuity to design in The Starfinder Roleplaying Game. We’re calling on game designers to create a single alien with the theme “Technology Gone Wrong.” Five finalists will be picked by the Swords for Hire veterans Jacob W. Michaels and RPG Superstar Mike Welham, who will be joined by Paizo editor and fellow freelancer extraordinaire Lyz Liddell. The Top 5 entries will get a critique from the three judges and then a winner will be determined by public vote. In addition to invaluable feedback from the judges, the Top 5 contestants will each receive copies of a Legendary Games monsters product (Mythic Monsters). The grand winner will also receive a hardcover Mythic Monster Manual from Legendary Games AND a PDF copy of every Starfinder Roleplaying Game release that d20pfsrd has done, as well as a physical copy of the Starjammer: Core Rules. More details and full rules can be found at http://herebemonsters.opengamingnetwork.com/.
If you were a fan of RPG Superstar, I hope you'll check out the very first DesignFinder talent search competition. This RPG Superstar-style contest offers beginning game designers a chance to publish a module, taking them through four rounds of design challenges that should feel familiar to fans of Paizo's contest.
I'm very excited to announce the first Designfinder talent search competition, beginning NOW! Over the course of the summer -- culminating right before GenCon -- this RPG Superstar-style contest will take competitors through four rounds, with the winner earning a contract to write a (first edition) Pathfinder RPG adventure for d20pfsrd.com. Entering is simple: All you have to do is submit an original wondrous item of less than 300 words (see below for more information!). All the submissions will be examined by a panel of judges, which will pick 16 to advance to the next round. Those lucky enough to advance will be asked to submit a map and adventure location, which -- after judges offer their opinions -- will have to win public approval with a vote determining who advances to the next round. The Top 8 competitors will each submit a villainous NPC, again needing to win a public vote to advance them to Round 4, where they will pitch their adventure idea. A final public vote will determine the ultimate winner, who will get to go on to write an 8,000-12,000-word adventure for publication. ELIGIBILITY
The contest is open to the general public, with the following exceptions: Employees of Paizo, their immediate family members, and persons with whom such employees are domiciled are ineligible. Anyone who has been employed full-time as a designer for a game company is ineligible. Anyone with a cover credit on a hardcover RPG book is ineligible. Anyone who has a design credit in 3 or more of Paizo’s Pathfinder and/or Starfinder products is ineligible. The top 8 finalists of all RPG Superstar™ contests are ineligible. Contestants must provide their real names. Legal identification must be produced on request. ROUND 1
Entries must be submitted to designfindercontest@gmail.com (which can also be done through the submission button at http://designfinder.opengamingnetwork.com/) and must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time June 10, 2018. The top 16 entries, and the designers who will get to compete in the contest, will be announced June 18, 2018. The entire submission must not exceed 300 words. In addition, please include your full name and hometown; the word count for these do NOT count toward the submission’s word count. (The judges will not see who is designing which item; a facilitator will copy each item to a Google Doc, where the judges will look at it). JUDGES
* Jacob W. Michaels and RPG Superstar Mike Welham will be judges for each round of the contest. The pair have helped organize and run several contests, including the annual Here Be Monsters design contest and Villain Codex contests that led to publication of books featuring several dozen villains. * Open Call: Kate Baker, the creator of the wildly popular morlamaws in Starfinder, and writer and editor Rep Pickard round out the panel of judges for Round 1. * Round 2: RPG Superstar Steve Helt will judge adventure location submissions along with Jacob and Mike. * Round 3: New Paizo Developer and accomplished adventure writer Ron Lundeen will weigh in on contestants' villains, helping determine who advances to the final round. * Round 4: The final panels of judges features Rachel Ventura, the business director for Legendary Games, and RPG Superstar Neil Spicer, an accomplished freelancer and former RPG Superstar judge. Find out more about our judges here. TIPS
RULES
-- As always, please ask if you have any questions, and we'll do our best to answer.
There may be some minor spoilers for past APs here. Nothing for War for the Crown onward, though. Introductions started off with Crystal amusingly complaining that she had to sit in the office next to Ron, who's an optimist. I think there was even hissing. Most of the discussion centered around the final two 1e adventure paths, details of which I've posted elsewhere in the forum, but there were some other notes:
* They haven't decided what effects of the previous APs will be reflected in 2e Golarion. James is pushing for them all. I believe they said the Worldwound will definitely be closed. It's also "very possible" a chunk of Cheliax will be taken out in a new map (to reflect Hell's Rebels). The status quo after War for the Crown may also be reflected. * They initially said they would "probably" do another evil AP, but then started downplaying that. It didn't sound like it would be anytime soon. They did point out that many of the APs could be played with evil characters now. * They discussed the areas they're most interested in:
* Someone asked if they were going to do another kingdom-building-style AP, which led to discussion of something they previous considered from Crystal. Dubbed "Queenmaker," it would have taken place in the Ironbound Archipelago. * They're more likely to do something in Jalmeray than Vudra. * They also discussed wanting to revive the module line as there are some stories that are better suited for that than an AP. In the Secrets of Golarion panel, James specifically mentioned wanting to do something with the Test of the Starstone in that vein ...
The AP titles and authors are:
And some more details:
Tyrant's Grasp spoilers: * There will be a couple PFS tie-ins. A prequel will send players to a small town in Lastwall called Rozlar's Coffer. A later tie-in, dubbed "The Grinder" (and I know there's been some more discussion in the PFS circles about this) involves trying to get back to Vigil to get help. But they get back too late, which leads too: * The Dead Roads doesn't start off well for players -- they're dead. They've got to deal with pyschopomps in an effort to find a way home. * Last Watch involves going to Vigil and trying to recruit paladins. * Born by the Sun's Grace (Son's Grace?): Arcadia! Find out what Aroden was doing there, involving the "legacy left behind of a god traipsing around in an unfamiliar culture." Adam said he realized he's been keeping Arcadia all to himself, so when Luis was hired and really wanted to play there too, they had a long talk to set parameters and now we finally get the most Arcadia stuff that we've ever gotten. * Midwives to Death, will NOT involve going mythic to try to be able to face Tar-Baphon. HOWEVER, players will get to pick up a 2nd mythic character who can kick Tar-Baphon's ass ... if we can keep her alive. A later comment in Secrets of Golarion made my think this could be Nocticula, who will now be a CN goddess of something (sorry, I didn't catch it!) and I think artists in exile. I could be very wrong on where Nocticula is expected to pop back up thought, as that's my assumption that it's here. * From Secrets of Golarion panel: Crystal says TB's phylactery is not on the Isle of Terror. * This will mostly NOT take place in Ustalav.
Return of the Runelords: * As mentioned previously, this game will involve time travel that's being carefully shepherded to not blow everything up. I asked later on whether it would be used to make some changes to the campaign setting heading into 2e (even though there's still an AP between this and 2e), but it sounded like that was definitely NOT the plan. * The AP will only have two back matter articles (plus the Bestiary and, though this wasn't questions, I assume the NPC Gallery) instead of three. That's simply to allow more room for this game, and the third article will return afterward. I believe it will also not have the forward as well, though they may try to use the Paizo blog to include those types of notes. * One of the first volumes (will include a "GM's Guide" with a timeline to help keep track of timing and so the GM knows who (in terms of Runelords) is where, when, etc. * Heroes from Rise of the Runelords and Shattered Star are "baked into" the story. Dubbed the Sihedron Heroes, they'll be part of the campaign traits (obviously done carefully as they can't know what characters everyone used to go through those adventures). The trait choices will have implications the players don't know about, as in Wrath of the Righteous. * Players will go to the Dimension of Time, but just going there causes things to go attack you when you were less powerful! (I also have "not only hostile plane" in my notes right next to this, so that probably means players will go somewhere else too.) * From secrets of Golarion panel: A new Vancercaskin will pop up: She's kind of a jerk but may be my favorite (sorry, didn't note if that was Mark M. or James J. who that quote should be attributed to). The character's name sounded a bit like Lullaby to me, but I didn't hear it quite clearly enough to write down for sure.
Phaendar's Market Festival draws a crowd from all over Nirmathas and that seems especially true this year, with Gozreh seeming to smile down over the proceedings. After a long, cold winter, spring has come to the Marideth River region. Snow may still linger in the more shadowed areas beneath the forest canopy, but in town the sun shines and warms hearts along with bodies. Flowers are blooming, and the sound of honeybees making their rounds fills the air. The sweet scent of the flowers welcomes those who lean close but can't compete with the mouthwatering odors of cooking meats and other foods. It is truly an almost perfect day, one in which Molthune seems as far away as the Mwangi Expanse, and people can hardly imagine anything could go wrong, or anything bad could possibly happen.
“So there I am, thinking, when will I ever be able to talk to a bear again? So before the grizzly can stand back up, I turn to it and say, ‘All I need is the honey. You can keep the bees!’” The room erupts into laughter as Aubrin finishes her winding story and takes another draught from her tankard. “But it’s fine now. All’s good. She named a cub after me. Someday I’m going to have to check in on little Ow Oh Gods That’s Too Many Bees.” The former adventurer -- whose career ended when an encounter with a nest of ankhegs left her vision badly damaged -- settles back into her chair with her tankard, letting others take center floor to continue the festivities.
Welcome aboard all. As noted, I'll be out of town, and with uncertain internet access, Oct. 20-30. (At that point, I'll be back, though there's a chance I'll be jetlagged.) I plan to create a game thread so people can at least dot it -- and if you want to do some pre-adventure starting gaming, please do! In the meantime, feel free to get to know each other and your characters and make any final decisions you need to for your stat blocks.
The drums of war have beat again and again in Nirmathas, where repeated invasions have been foiled by a fiercely independent populace willing to retreat into the woods and strike back with hit-and-run tactics. For the moment, though, things seem mostly peaceful and the tiny town of Phaendar -- miles from the border with Molthune -- has welcomed visitors for its annual Market Festival. So true confession: I wasn't expecting to be that interested in Ironfang Invasion when it was announced, but I was wrong. Reading through it, I realized this was an AP I had to run, and so here we are. I'm looking for five players for a PBP campaign that I intend to go the length of the Adventure Path, a multi-year commitment. I'll be picking the players Oct. 20, but we won't be starting play until Nov. 1, as I'll be out of the country and with potentially limited email access in that interval. About me: I'm a longtime gamer, having played my way through D&D's various editions until I switched to Pathfinder. I'm a two-time RPG Superstar contestant, who's been running PBP games for more than five years now. I got my first AP (Kingmaker) through Book 4 before just recently handing it off to another GM, and I'm midway through Book 5 of Reign of Winter. So, while realizing a lot can change over time (I find it takes a little more than a year to finish a book), I plan to finish this campaign as well. I'd definitely encourage you to check out some of my other games so you can see if they fit the style you enjoy. (Note that I'm stealing some of the following shamelessly from DM Rostam's recent recruitment for the same AP as I thought he had a really good recruitment post.) Game Style:
* I like PbP for a lot of reasons but a big part of that is you can get a lot of good role-playing. While there will be plenty of combat and other such fun aspects of the game, I want people to embrace role-playing. * The game will be very player driven, especially in book 1. It's not as sandbox-y as Kingmaker, but players will drive what happens. Make sure your character will be set up to do that, and not just someone who reacts to external motivations. * I will have maps in google sheets. I move all the "figs" on the map. * The game will have basic survival as a central theme for quite a while. * There is no good place to buy or sell magic for quite a while. * You will have to manage NPCs to an extent. * This is a war scenario, and there will be situations where children and teens may be in distress and at risk of physical harm. There will be no graphic depictions; it will simply be noted as happening. I do not plan to have any sexual violence in the game.
Expectations:
* Read these, love these, post by these: Doomed Hero’s Guide to PbP Gaming Building a Better Doomed Hero: Painlord’s Advanced PbP Guide * I post 5-10 times a week and expect you to do the same. I sometimes miss a day, so I understand if you do too, but if you know you're going to miss time -- or even are busy so may need to post more sporadically for a time -- I expect you to let everyone you're playing with know in the Discussion thread (I do that as well). Momentum is key in PBPs; if you slow down, I slow down and the game dies. None of us want that to happen. * Become a tight-knit group. Always have a reason to stay with the others, friendship counts. Have your characters do the same thing. (Seriously, giving each other feedback is good, as Painlord suggests. Favorite posts you like, or call them out in the Discussion thread or OOC comments.) * I'll have you format your Quick Stat line when we get into play. If you want to make me really happy, though, I prefer a "Quick Stats' spoiler when in combat, as I've done here. * Please give a 3-5 word explanation of all feats/traits etc and have the descriptions of all your special qualities at the end of the stat block. A simple copy-paste helps me a lot and if I can spend less time looking up rules, I can spend more time writing good posts. * Communicate. I mentioned feedback above and notes about missing time, but let me know what you like and what you don't. Most of all, don't disappear. If you want to drop the game or get slammed at work, I'll understand, but let us all know. If you start not posting for long stretches of time, I'll have to replace you (and I HATE having to do that).
Game play:
* I do grouped combat 90+ percent of the time. I will roll initiative. If the antagonists don't go before or after everyone, there will be a "Round 1/2." This is effectively Round 1 for just those who have a better initiative than the antagonists. Post your actions immediately (don't wait if you're not at your spot in the initiative order). I'll resolve them, then the antagonist's actions, then there will be a full Round 1 where the entire party acts (even though it will technically be Round 2 for some of you). You're free to give me an either/or post (i.e. I attack the hobgoblin; if Nebbin killed it, I instead charge the wolf attacking Vashta) and I may sometimes change your actions if they don't make sense based on what's transpired before/after. I'll also sometimes have you delay if it would make sense, though that's not always possible. Basically, I'll try to make combat run smoothly. :) You can find an example of combat here (starting with a surprise round for the PCs). (Note this has Reign of Winter Book 5 spoilers.) * I'll sometimes roll saves for you if I need to know the results to advance the action, but I prefer to let you roll them yourself. * I expect you to roll for actions in the order in which they occur. When in doubt, roll reactions to GM first, reactions to players next and then your actions. This should help minimize players swapping over save throws for attack rolls (and the like). * I'll ask you for what general knowledge you want when you try to identify creatures; they'll be saved so I can give you that ASAP instead of having to ask you (you'll still be free to ask for different/specific information when you make a check if you want). OK, enough already, I'm ready to enlist!:
* Tell me about your character. I care less at this point about completed mechanics (I want to know race/class/archetypes, but I'm not going to be looking at stat blocks) and don't expect you to create an alias (you can if you want to, but I don't expect it). I DO want to know some basics about your character: What does she look like? What has he done so far in life? (This doesn't need to be a book -- you're first level -- but give me some idea of your back story.) What does she like or dislike? What is his lifelong ambition? * This may be part of the above bullet point, but what's your character's connection to Phaendar? The adventure starts in the Nirmathi town, and the traits in the Player's Guide offer you several reasons you could be there. What's your reason? Do you have friends and/or family there? Tell me about them. * How do you see the character developing? This doesn't have to be definitive -- plans change as the story develops (my Varisian mesmerist is realizing she needs some sword practice, for instance...) -- but give me some idea of what you're thinking. * What timezone are you in and when do you typically post? * Tell me about your gaming experience. If you're a PBP veteran, link to 1-3 of your favorite posts you've written, which give me some idea of your writing style. If you're new to PBP, write a couple sample pushing posts. I'm looking to see how you write, as that's the medium we all communicate in for PBP. The build:
Again, at this point I don't really care about your build. I want to know about your character. If I get three great characters that are arcane casters, I may see if one of them can be tweaked slightly for balance purposes or may just run an unbalanced party. That said, I know the character design rules can determine whether I'm interested in a recruitment as a player, so here's what you can expect: Level: 1st
Any questions? Please feel free to ask.
Having survived monsters from online wishes; Hell breaking loose; and from beyond the stars, Swords for Hire are getting ready to deal with creatures from the mysterious realm of the fey! Here Be Monsters 4: Out of the Primal World, the fourth season of the annual Pathfinder RPG monster design contest from Swords for Hire Development, begins NOW! We're calling on game designers to create a single monster with the theme "Out of the Primal World" -— creatures whose origins tie to the strange realm of the fey. But there's a twist: Monsters may be any creature type EXCEPT fey. Five finalists will be picked by the Swords for Hire team, consisting of Paizo contributor Mikko Kallio, accomplished freelancer Jacob W. Michaels, and RPG Superstar Mike Welham. The Top 5 entries will go on to be judged Jacob and Mike, as well as Joe Kondrak, who has made the list of finalists in the first three Here Be Monsters contests (and thus isn't eligible to compete anymore). Special guest judge Adam Daigle, a Paizo developer who has designed and developed hundreds of Pathfinder monsters, will return for his third year to add his comments before the finalists going on to a public vote to determine the grand winner. In addition to invaluable feedback from Adam and the other judges, the Top 5 contestants will each receive copies of any one PDF of a Legendary Games monsters product (Mythic Monsters or Beasts of Legend). The grand prize winner will receive even more stuff! Our generous Third Party Publisher sponsors have agreed to provide the following:
Timeline
Contest Rules
Additional Judging Criteria:
Following the guidelines presented below maximizes your chances of winning. * Your monster's concept is something new and creative or puts an interesting spin on a classic theme. * Your monster's name and read-aloud text are evocative. * Your monster's stat block is correctly formatted. Use any recent Pathfinder RPG bestiary product published by Paizo as your style guide. * Your monster's statistics are balanced against other creatures of the same CR. Refer to the Monster Creation chapter in the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary for instructions. * Your monster has interesting new special abilities with reasonably simple and elegant mechanics. * Your monster entry includes compelling lore about the monster that helps GMs use the monster in adventures and campaigns. Frequently Asked/Anticipated Questions: Q: Who's allowed to submit a monster? A: Anyone who hasn't been in the finals of three Here Be Monsters contests. Other than that, it doesn't matter if you've never made a monster before or if you're a well-known builder of beasts—you're eligible to enter. Also, the contest is international, so you're eligible to enter regardless of your location (PLEASE NOTE: International competitors may need to pay shipping costs for any print products they win in the contest). Q: What kind of monsters are you looking for?
You may also get some insight from the judges' comments on previous monsters, which you can find right here on A Sword for Hire. Mikko, Jacob, Mike W. and Adam all judged the top contenders of Here Be Monsters 2 and 3, while the original contest (you can find it in September 2014 in the older posts sidebar on the right side of the blog) featured Mikko and Jacob along with Mike Kimmel and Sean K. Reynolds as the judges. Q: Can I set the monster in Golarion or another campaign setting?
Q: But wait, isn't Wayfinder set in Golarion?
Q: Speaking of Wayfinder, I already sent in a monster there. Can I submit it to the contest too?
Q: Where will my monster be published/shown?
Q: Do I get to see the judges' comments if I don't make the Top 5?
Q: What happens with my monster after the contest?
Welcome to my inaugural PFS scenario, and thanks for playing! We're still not going to start for a few weeks (we have to start Aug. 25) but I figure we can get started on discussing some things. First of all, let's figure out what characters you're playing. The game has tiers 1-2 and 4-5, and I'm happy to do either. However, it looks like we've got a couple folks new to organized play* so I'm going to suggest we start with the lower tier so they can start with new characters vs. having to use pregens. * Lupus, I see you said you weren't completely sure what organized play is. Basically, it's regular Pathfinder but using a standard set of rules that people use everywhere, so I could pick up my character from here in Pennsylvania and go play with a group in San Francisco and we're all assumed to have access to the same rules and items and whatnot. You can find out more about it here and please feel free to ask any questions you have (hopefully some of the other players will chime in too, as it sounds like some of you have more experience with organized play than I do myself).
Few societies have so vaunted a tradition of leading crusades as Taldor, yet the constant revisions to its history by scheming factions leaves the truth obscured by countless acts of political modifications. Even the lauded Kitharodian Academy’s texts are riddled with these changes, so when a secretive ally approaches the Pathfinder Society with information about a hidden archive that contains the unaltered histories, the Pathfinders plan a daring infiltration to recover the secrets of Taldor’s past victories so that Mendev might benefit from the discovery.
Hi all! This is a recruitment for the Pathfinder Society scenario 5-11 Library of the Lion and will be run as part of Session 1 (Aug. 25-Oct. 5) for the upcoming PbP Gameday VI. This is a 1-5 scenario, so any PC between the levels of 1 and 5 may play. About me as a GM
I post 5-10 times a week (I may take a day off here and there when life gets in the way, but other days I'll post 2-3 times a day as the story allows). You can check out some of my other games to see my general style of running, or feel free to ask me questions. I've got a full table open as I get started, so I'm looking for six players to enter a lottery to play. As noted, this is my first time doing PFS PBP (though GM Hmm has been very helpful in advising me and I'm friends with a number of other PFS gamemasters so I'm not too worried about that) so I'm not sure what the interest level will be like. That said, I'd be happy to have at least one person newer to PBP as I think this is probably a good way to learn and see if you like it. If you're interested, please answer the following questions (stolen pretty shamelessly from GM Hmm): THE QUESTIONS
2. Are you new to PBP, Organized Play, or both? 3. What excites you most about playing in this game? 4. Tell me a little about yourself! What other games have you played? What are your hobbies? 5. Are you able to post at least once a day? 6. In order to keep the game moving along, sometimes I will DMPC players if a certain amount of time has passed since their last post. Do you give permission for me or the party to "play" your character as needed in combat or another situation? 7. Do you promise to tell us all about upcoming vacations, busy times at work, conventions or other absences so we can DMPC you? That should be everything! Thank you very much for your interest!
Excited to see this published. It's the last of Swords for Hire's original books, and we had a lot of fun doing it and the series. Lot of talented authors here, as well.
OK all, here's the discussion thread for the Strange Aeons campaign, so we can start discussing. I suspect I'll be ready start gameplay after Thanksgiving/start of December. Remember, since technically your characters don't even know who they themselves are, I'd prefer to not actually talk As far as background, you will be in a fugue state when the game begins. Per the Player's Guide, you will feel as if they are emerging from a fog or a dream, but have trouble remembering who they are and how they got into their current situation. The only memories that remain are but vague hints and gut feelings—hardly clear recollections. A PC may recall only bits of an early childhood in a merchant family, while another might remember being born in Oppara, but nothing else. It is up to you to determine how little or much you can recall. Feel free to begin the campaign as a complete blank slate. No matter what, you will have no memories of the last 5 years. I've already got a sense of a few of your characters. I am wondering if anyone would mind playing a female character? It seems as if early sketches are all males, and I'd like to have a little more diversity if possible (if no one thinks their concept works with a female character, I'll deal). -- Another thing to possibly think about -- the start of the campaign is a bit odd and I'm not 100 percent sure how well it's suited to PBP. I'm wondering if there would be any interest in doing "live PBP": We could pick a day/time when we can all be on for a few hours at the same time and play the opening scene more quickly before getting into the more traditional PBP. If that ends up not being possible, I'll modify it slightly to work. (I work 4 to midnight Eastern time Tuesday-Saturday, so I'm guessing this would probably have to happen on a Sunday/Monday evening to best synch up -- I think several of you are west coasters...)
“That is not dead which can eternal lie,
Look to the skies, for there are monsters coming! Here Be Monsters III: From Beyond the Stars, the third season of the annual Pathfinder RPG monster design contest from Swords for Hire Development, begins Nov. 9! We're calling on game designers to create a single monster with the theme "From Beyond the Stars" —Cthulhu-ian horrors, alien aberrations, despotic robot invaders or whatever your mind may envision. Entries will be judged by the Swords for Hire team, consisting of Paizo contributor Mikko Kallio, accomplished freelancer Jacob W. Michaels, and RPG Superstar Mike Welham. The Top 5 entries will go on to be judged by special guest judge Adam Daigle, a Paizo developer who has designed and developed hundreds of Pathfinder monsters, before going on to a public vote to determine the grand winner. In addition to invaluable feedback from Adam and the other judges, the Top 5 contestants will each receive copies of Swords for Hire's Villain Codex I: Foes for Fledgling Heroes and Villain Codex II: Adversaries for Advanced Heroes, published by Outland Entertainment; as well as any one PDF of a Legendary Games monsters product (Mythic Monsters or Beasts of Legend). The grand prize winner will receive even more stuff! Our generous Third Party Publisher sponsors have agreed to provide the following:
* Also, special thanks to sponsor Tommi Salama, who has again provided Here Be Monsters' contest logo. Timeline:
Nov. 9: The contest begins NOW! Nov. 26: Submissions are closed at 2 p.m. Pacific standard time. Our judges (Mikko Kallio, Jacob W Michaels, and Mike Welham) convene to determine the top 5. Dec. 7: The top 5 entries are revealed along with comments from Adam, Mikko, Jacob, and Mike. Public voting begins. Dec. 14: The voting ends and the winner is revealed shortly after! Contest Rules:
Contest entries must adhere to the following rules. * Your monster must be 590-610 words. * Each entrant may submit one monster. * Your monster must be designed for the Pathfinder RPG, and you must use the monster template (you can find it here for Microsoft Word or Open Office). * Your monster entry must be appropriate for the contest theme From Beyond the Stars. (See the FAQ below for more details.) * Your monster may not have class levels or templates. * Your monster must be setting-neutral. * Your monster's CR must be at least 1 and may not be higher than 20. Please note that you only have 600 words, and higher-CR monsters may eat up all your words with describing special abilities, which could leave you limited space for describing it. * Your monster may use feats, spells, and other resources available in Paizo's Pathfinder PRD. Your monster may not, however, have mythic ranks. * You must submit your monster via email to monster.design.contest@gmail.com before the deadline 2 p.m. PST Nov. 26. Include the monster's name in the subject line of the email. Additional Judging Criteria
Frequently Asked/Anticipated Questions: Q: Who's allowed to submit a monster? A: Anyone! It doesn't matter if you've never made a monster before or if you're a well-known builder of beasts—you're eligible to enter. Also, the contest is international, so you're eligible to enter regardless of your location (PLEASE NOTE: International competitors may need to pay shipping costs for any print products they win in the contest). Q: What kind of monsters are you looking for?
You may also get some insight from the judges' comments on previous monsters, which you can find at the A Sword for Hire blog. Mikko, Jacob, Mike W. and Adam all judged the top contenders of Here Be Monsters 2, while the original contest (you can find it in September 2014 in the older posts sidebar on the right side of the blog) featured Mikko and Jacob along with Mike Kimmel and Sean K. Reynolds as the judges. Q: Can I set the monster in Golarion or another campaign setting?
Remember that Lovecraft's works are in the public domain, so references to mi-go or the starspawn of Cthulhu are fine, but references to creatures like Stargate SG-1's replicators are NOT. Q: Where will my monster be published/shown?
Q: Do I get to see the judges' comments if I don't make the Top 5?
Q: What happens with my monster after the contest?
Thanks to the response to Villain Codex I: Foes for Fledgling Heroes, Villain Codex II: Adversaries for Advanced Heroes, and Villain Codex III: Enemies for Epic Heroes, Swords for Hire Development (Mikko Kallio, Jacob W. Michaels, and Mike Welham) and Outland Entertainment have decided the world needs more evildoers. We're happy to announce we'll be publishing a fourth volume in the series, Villain Codex IV: Monsters for Meddlesome Heroes! After seeing the interest in monster villains — from archon pyschics to yeti kineticists — in our last volume, we'll be going back to that well, adding 14 monstrous villains to the ranks of the CR 3-14 villains that were published in Villain Codex I and II. The fourth Villain Codex will feature 12 opponents of CRs 3-14 for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Finished villains will be 600 words, including a stat block and a description of the villain, his/her motivations, plus potential plots, lairs and minions, making them perfect for a GM to simply drop into an adventure when she needs a statted-up opponent or to build an adventure or even campaign around How to pitch:
Right now, we’re looking for your best ideas. Send us up to three pitches, each no more than 200 words long, that describes your villain and potential plots, as well as expected build. Please include at the top the villain’s name, race (a monster from any Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary), gender, alignment and class. Also include the villain's CR; a range of CRs is fine at this point, and we will assign your final CR. Villains should be setting agnostic. If they use a bar as their headquarters, feel free to name it, but don’t put it in a city in an existing campaign world. Villains should have clearly stated and unquestionably villainous goals. Most CR 3-14 villains can have a range of goals, from something just somewhat dastardly at lower levels to potentially nation-devastating at the upper ranges. Mikko previously offered some advice about pitching and making a villain that remains useful. You can check that out here. Remember, part of the pitch is a test of your writing skills. We want to be excited by your villain and have some idea of what her particular brand of villainy is, as well as knowing that you'll be able to get these ideas across in limited space. Keep in mind that NPCs will only be 600 words, and we want their particular brand of villainy to be clearly fleshed out. As such, we're less likely to accept villains with a companion (such as an animal companion, eidolon or phantom), as there's simply not likely to be much space for them. You're welcome to use templates as well (including degenerate and young, which reduce CR, and may help you design the lower-CR villains). How do I submit?
How many pitches can I submit?
What books will I be able to use?
Keep in mind, you should aim to not use *all* the books for your villain — you want them to be easy to play, which means GMs shouldn't need a half-dozen tomes on hand to keep track of all the options for one NPC. Villains should aim to be Core +1 book; any more will lessen your chances of being selected. For purposes of this product, Bestiary monsters are considered core. All right, I’m ready to get started! When you do you need this by?
More questions and answers:
If I submit, will I get published? Unfortunately, not necessarily. We’re including 12 villains in this Codex, so only the best selections will get published. Any pitches that are accepted become property of Swords for Hire Development, which retains sole ownership. Will I get paid?
Wait, I have more questions!
You've created your foes for fledgling heroes, and sent us your adversaries for advanced heroes. Now, it's finally time to unveil your enemies for epic heroes. We want to see the best of the worst, villains so dangerous that they can make even the most powerful heroes tremble in fear. Even better, it's time for monsters to take their place alongside the other villains. Send forth your demon rogues, your medusa monks, your minotaur fighters and your vampire barbarians. We're looking to elevate some of the game's classic monsters with some class levels and a great back story to show players just how much worse things can get. As with Villain Codex I and the newly released Villain Codex II, Swords for Hire Development (Mikko Kallio and Jacob W. Michaels) will be putting out this PDF in conjunction with Outland Entertainment. And, fresh off a successful stint judging the Here Be Monsters II contest, RPG Superstar Mike Welham will be joining Mikko and Jacob in the development process. The third Villain Codex will feature 12 opponents of CRs 15-20 for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Finished villains will be 600 words, including a stat block and a description of the villain, his/her motivations, plus potential plots, lairs and minions, making them perfect for a GM to simply drop into an adventure when he needs a statted-up opponent or to build an adventure or even campaign around. How to pitch:
Right now, we’re looking for your best ideas. Send us up to three pitches, each up to 200 words long, that describes your villain and potential plots, as well as expected build. * Please include at the top the villain’s name, race (picking any core, featured or uncommon race from the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Advanced Race Guide or monster from the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary), gender, alignment and class. Also include the villain's CR; a range of CRs is fine at this point, and we will assign your final CR. * Villains should be setting agnostic. If they use a bar as their headquarters, feel free to name it, but don’t put it in a city in an existing campaign world. * Villains should have clearly stated and unquestionably villainous goals. Most CR 15-20 villains should have goals comparable to awakening Cthulhu. Bringing about the end of the world, conquering the known world, and such are sufficiently villainous for this book. Mikko previously offered some advice about pitching and making a villain that remains useful. You can check that out here. Remember, part of the pitch is a test of your writing skills. We want to be excited by your villain and have some idea of what her particular brand of villainy is, as well as knowing that you'll be able to get these ideas across in limited space. Keep in mind that NPCs will only be 600 words, and we want their particular brand of villainy to be clearly fleshed out. As such, we're much less likely to accept villains with a companion (such as an animal companion, eidolon or phantom), as there's simply not likely to be much space for them. If your villain has a spellcasting class, we'll want some idea of how you plan to keep it to the appropriate word count. Though each villain is of course unique and two clerics can be substantially different, we're less likely to select class and race combinations we've used in the first two Villain Codexes. Those include: Human ranger, half-elf arcanist, human ghost alchemist, gnome shaman, half-orc monk, human bard, gnome sorcerer, human druid, dwarf fighter/gunslinger, halfling swashbuckler, half-elf summoner, elf magus/swashbuckler, changeling witch, elf wizard, nagaji mesmerist, tiefling skald, ratfolk alchemist, halfling summoner, dhampir occultist, dwarf cleric, human investigator, human fighter/shadowdancer, elf psychic, and human paladin. How do I submit?
How many pitches can I submit?
What books will I be able to use?
* Only the Bestiary is an option; monsters from Bestiary 2-5 are not eligible. All right, I’m ready to get started! When you do you need this by?
More questions and answers:
If I submit, will I get published? Unfortunately, not necessarily. We’re including 12 villains in this Codex, so only the best selections will get published. Any pitches that are accepted become property of Swords for Hire Development, which retains sole ownership. Will I get paid?
Wait, I have more questions!
The Villain Codex II: Adversaries for Advanced Heroes is now out, featuring a dozen villains to add to your Pathfinder games. This PDF, developed by Swords for Hire Development (Mikko Kallio and Jacob W. Michaels) and published by Outland Entertainment, has stat blocks for CRs 9-14 if you just need something to add as an adversary on short notice, as well as enough details on each villain that you can make them the centerpiece for an adventure, arc or even an entire campaign. Authors include several top Superstar contenders (Top 4 finalists Mikko Kallio and Chris Wasko, and Superstar winner Nick Wasko, among others) as well as other names that may be familiar from Paizo's message boards and other Pathfinder projects. Villain Codex II is the follow-up to the Villain Codex I: Foes for Fledgling Heroes.
I'm excited to announce that the Villain Codex I: Foes for Fledgling Heroes has been released. This is the first product from Swords for Hire (Mikko Kallio and Jacob W. Michaels), and features work from a number of Superstar competitors and other contributors. It's got a dozen villains from CR 3-8, with full stat blocks, and lots of ideas for how you can use them, as well as great art for each. We worked hard to make sure that these villains would be something you could just drop into an adventure if you need a quick side trek or stat block, or something you could develop several adventures around or turn into a reoccurring adversary.
Huh. I was looking at the calendar and noticed there's an extra week for Round 4 voting. I wonder if Paizo's planning to bring back the playtests for the encounters. Also noticed there's not the extra week typically allotted for R5 entries (IIRC, there's traditionally been a full 10 days, not the three days the rest of the rounds have). It's probably worth starting to think of a few adventure ideas now so you have some possibilities in mind if you should get that far.
With Swords for Hire Development's Villain Codex I coming out soon, Jacob W. Michaels and Mikko Kallio are ready to begin work on the follow-up Villain Codex II, featuring even more villains, this time more powerful and dangerous than the originals. This PDF, being done in conjunction with Outland Entertainment, will feature a series of antagonists for gamemasters to pit against their players. The NPCs will be fully fleshed out, with stat blocks, letting a GM simply drop one into an adventure when he needs a statted-up opponent or build an adventure or even campaign around. The second Villain Codex will feature 12 opponents of CRs 9-14 for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Finished villains will be 600 words, including a stat block and a description of the villain, his/her motivations, plus potential plots, lairs and minions. Right now, we’re looking for your best ideas. Send us a pitch that describes your villain and potential plots, as well as expected build. Please include at the top the villain’s name, race (picking any core, featured or uncommon race from the Pathfinder® Roleplaying Game: Advanced Race Guide™), gender, alignment and class. Also please include what CR you think the villain should be; a range of CRs is fine at this point, and we can assign what we would like you to build him/her at if we pick your submission. Finally, remember that the villains should be setting agnostic. If they use a bar as their headquarters, feel free to name it, but don’t put it in a city in an existing campaign world. We expect to pick at least six villains, though obviously if we’re bowled over, we could select more (we ended up picking 10 for the Villain Codex I). We’ll be approaching designers to produce the other six villains, so if your pitch is good enough, it could lead to more work immediately. How do I submit?
How many pitches can I submit?
If I submit, will I get published?
What books will I be able to use?
Will I get paid?
Alright, I’m ready to get started! When you do you need this by?
Wait, I have more questions!
And the discussion thread.
You wake up to a pounding headache, perhaps the natural result of the fun you dimly remember having last night at the Formidably Maid in Port Peril, though the details of how the night ended don't come to mind so readily. You remember ringing laughter, fine-looking women in sweet perfume, and rich stewed meat, but little of what followed. As you groggily come to your senses, you become aware of the sickly taste of cheap wine lingering in your mouth. Beneath you, the hard floor sways, as if you were still drunk. The stench of warm bodies, huddled too close especially as you seem to have your clothes on, penetrates the murk. Before you can do much more than sit up, however, several pairs of heavy footsteps penetrate the rythmic creaking noise you hear, and the harsh light of a lantern painfully spears your eyes, which were all too happy for the dark room. A tall, thin, sneering man with a braided beard and a mouth full of gold teeth is followed by a motley assortment of a half-dozen other men and women, each holding a sap, down a narrow staircase. An expression that might be mistaken for pain but which is clearly an attempt at a smile bruises the man's face as he cracks the whip in his hand and screams: “Still abed with the sun over the yardarm? On your feet, ye filthy swabs! Get up on deck and report for duty before Cap’n Harrigan flays your flesh into sausage skins and has Fishguts fry ye up for breakfast!” Looking about the room you’re in, you can see a rather spacious room with pillars supporting the roof above. Hammocks are strung between them, and between some larger, round columns … masts. Each of you is well-versed enough to recognize the construction when you see it ... and the tell-tale swaying of the floor speaks to its true identity. You realize you must be in the hold of a ship…and not a small one, by the looks of it. Worse, you realize that you have almost nothing of your possessions with you.
For Raging Absorption, the feat summaries list "Ability to cast 4th-level bloodrager† spells" as a prerequisite for the feat. The actual feat write-up lists the prereq as "Ability to cast 2nd-level bloodrager
I haven't seen it addressed anywhere which one of those is correct (or I suppose we could split the difference and make it 3rd-level spells...) Any thoughts/answers I missed?
Poop! As the subject line indicates, I accidentally just deleted an alias (I'd finished the profile but as I was still working on a name for the character hadn't yet posted with it). Any chance it can be recovered? The URL was http://paizo.com/people/HALFLINGGIANTSLAYER (As noted, I was still working on a name...) Thanks!
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