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I'm in the process of updating (to 2e & Lost Omens) & writing up an old (3.5/1e) campaign that never got finished in order to stick it online in case it would be of use/interest to anyone -- however one of the locations is a bit tricky as there are multiple different "versions" of it the party will interact with at different times and in different ways, so I'd be interested in hearing the community's thoughts on the various ways to write it up and their dis/advantages. At its simplest it's a haunted house -- a long abandoned manor house overlooking a mining village in a mountain pass. However, planar boundaries are thin in the area and there are parallel versions of the house in the Shadow plane, Dreamlands, and First World -- each house has essentially the same layout, and variations of the same locations & NPCs. The basic idea is that the PCs explore the main (prime material) house and discover what happened there, in part by exploring the alternate versions of it and interacting with the alternate versions of the various NPCs. There are also two other "versions" of the house that the party are less likely to interact with but which still need some write-up -- (i) in the past before it "fell" & what happened when it did, and (ii) in the future when it is reclaimed and a new baroness takes up residence. I expect these to be separate, high-level descriptions that don't go into the same level of detail. So I'm writing up 4 (ruined, shadow, dream, fey) versions that are broadly similar but with significant differences, and there are plenty of locations/encounters where it's useful to compare/contrast different versions of the same event. How best to do this? Broadly speaking I can see two straight-forward options -- at opposite extremes to one another. Either (i) write up each version separately, all the ruined locations grouped together, then all the shadow locations grouped together, then... or (ii) group each version of each location together, with the ruined & shadow & dream & fey versions of the dining room all discussed together, then the rsdf versions of the butler's pantry, then ... I can see advantages & disadvantages to each, it was much simpler when it was just all in my head & sketch notes! I'd love to hear anyones thoughts on good/bad ways to do this.
So I'm in the process of writing up an old campaign that never got finished, the big-bad of would have been a Sahkil Tormentor who was concerned with the fear of knowledge (epistemophobia). One key part of this is that there is a certain piece of knowledge that has a particularly dangerous effect -- simply knowing it is harmful. But I keep getting the nagging feeling that I've forgotten something already in the setting lore that touches on this -- probably Golarion, but possibly PF more generally, probably 1E since 2E-specific lore is still small enough that I'm pretty sure I've checked all the likely bits. My Goolge-fu has failed me on this, and I might just be thinking of something from the obvious source of perfectly rational fear of terrible knowledge -- CoC But, have I missed something from PF lore that already touches on this?
Simply not settling for the lesser evil isn't enough, now's the time to play your part in summoning blasphemous alien gods from outside time to destroy the world! :) Kickstarter campaign for Sign & Sigil -- already fully funded, 15 days to go. Being made by Cubicle 7 & Mark Rein Pretentious Dot Hagen, so it's got some great people involved with it.
Should anyone have space in their life for a fantasy sandbox MMO then the Chronicles of Elyria has just launched it's KickStarter campaign. If any of you decide to register then please feel free to <blatant pimping> use my referral code when you do: E9D898 </blatant pimping>. I already know of a few PFO players planning on playing CoE, hopefully we can get a good showing on there :)
I'm likely to be organising a smallish games day later this year, probably about half PFS and half card/board games. I'm not sure how much space will be needed for what's currently planned, so would like the advice of any VCs & other event organisers. Specifically, would I be right in thinking that a 12x8m space would fit 7 full tables (1 admin, 6 gaming), albeit rather snugly.
Become *more* deadly!? :) The first adventure & the first level in general have always been pretty lethal -- the mad scramble to buy all the CLW you can lay your hands on if you survive the first adventure was always (and, in my experience, still is) commonplace. Danger's fun, and having a backpack stuffed with tricks & trinkets to help you stay alive just encourages nefarious GMs & scenario writers to come up with even sneakier ways of killing you! :)
I've been trying to locate a Dungeon adventure, but I'm having trouble finding it, not in any of the magazines I've checked so far, and my google-fu is failing me. What I recollect of it is: An extraplanar wizard wants to buy the city of Arabel in the FR, the PCs are dispatched to break the bad news that it's not up for sale and perhaps he should look elsewhere. Does anyone know the title and/or issue?
Where is Citadel Dinyar, HQ of the Hellknight Order of the Claw, located? The two published descriptions (that I'm aware of) give locations that aren't consistent with one another. ... at the headwaters of the River Iseld .. in the Aspodell Mountains According to the maps the headwaters of the Iseld are in the Menador mountains, while the the Keld rises in the Aspodells before joining the Iseld north-east of the Whisperwood. Given this, and that PF27 came after the PFCS, I'm inclined to assume that Dinyar is at the head of the River Keld in the Aspodell Mountains, close to the three-way border between Cheliax, Isger, and Andoran. Does anyone know of anything that's been said (other than the PFCS and PF27 lines above) regarding this?
This patron is a vague and mysterious force, granting the witch power for reasons that she might not entirely understand. While these forces need not be named, they typically hold influence over one of the following forces. A patron typically holds influence over one of the following ... . Implying they may hold influence over other "themes", or possibly that they may hold influence over more than one. Without (hopefully) having to come up with anything too restrictive about what patrons are (or can be), can it be assumed that (i) while most patrons are focused on 1 theme, some have several different one, and (ii) the patrons are diverse enough in nature that there aren't strict universal truths about their natures & motives (some are more benevolent than others, some work with other patrons, some are more remote/isolated/alien, etc). Specifically, regarding the Witchwar Legacy...
Spoiler: the BBEG is a witch with the a patron of elements -- is the patron of the White Witches implied/assumed to be Baba Yaga? Does the patron (whether BY or not) always/only provide `elements` (assuming a single patron accross all the white witches)?
Have Golarions tide's been described anywhere? I presume with a single moon they're more or less similar to ours, dominated on a daily scale by diurnal & semi-diurnal tides. But am wondering if there's anything official printed on them? Specifically, does anyone know if a height difference between low (lower low) and high (higher high) tide has been mentioned?
It seems that the imploding economy and the movement of the Pound towards parity with the Zimbabwean dollar are starting to hit the price of imports. Wandered over to my FLGS to pick up PF14, Gods & Avatars, and Hungry are the Dead and found that the prices of imports from the US have gone through the roof; according to the owner the distributer's having to put stuff up by about 20-30%; PFS14 was GBP13.99. Ouch! Now the value of my apartment falling by 20% and most of my invetments being wiped out are one thing -- but +25% to the price of my gaming gear? This economy-thingumy is getting serious!
This is a three-tiered scenario intended for 1st to 7th level characters (Tier 1–7; Tiers 1–2, 3–4, and 6–7). My understanding was that tier 1 was levels 1-2, tier 2 was 4-5, and tier 3 was 7-8; are the tiers blurring more together now? presumably to allow for more flexibility in which adventures are available at particular levels. How does this affect the "in-between" levels? Is it just the same as before -- ie using this case as an example a level 5 PC can play at either tier 2 (3-4) or tier 3 (6-7)?
A secret vault beneath the Grand Lodge remains sealed after more than a century to hide an embarrassing event in the Society's past. When reports surface that the vault is open, the society sends the PCs to seal it and keep the Society's darkest secret forever hidden. Obviously this is potentially a pretty significant scenario, but something that's not quite clear is whether or not the nature of the PFS' "darkest secret" is to be revealed in this scenario, and if it is whether it's to be described by the writer in the submission or will be specified by Paizo. There's plenty of uncertainty around the backstory to the Pathfinders, certainly sufficient for somebody's submission to (unwittingly) do something that conflicts with (or complements) elements of the PFS origins/history/whatever that we're not (yet) aware of. If somebody's submission includes a "darkest secret" that (for example) touches on the background of one of the decemvirate, then to what extent is he up against a PFS writers bible that says that the decemvirate are a bunch of guys from Glasgow?
Okay, this is going to be shorter than the original post as the fracking board ate that one. Once per day per bard level, a bard can use his song or poetics to produce magical effects on those around him (usually including himself, if desired). While these abilities fall under the category of bardic music and the descriptions discuss singing or playing instruments, they can all be activated by reciting poetry, chanting, singing lyrical songs, singing melodies, whistling, playing an instrument, or playing an instrument in combination with some spoken performance. That's a fairly specific and explicit list of the types of performance that can drive bardic music, tied in the main part to the standard bard-as-entertainer concept. As PFS is SRD-only at the moment is it safe to assume that perform-oratory based bard isn't acceptable?
Could sticky FAQs be added to the top of each of the forums? Most forums have some questions which seem to be being asked over and over again, and while some people will certainly ignore them and post anyway it may help to stave off some of the repeat questions (and also provide the asker with a immediate official response).
Isn't the requirement that members of the Darklight Sisterhood change their surname to "Darklight" a bit, for wont of a better term, silly? Why would they do that? Isn't it going to be a bit obvious, even if the group is semi-secret? Even if most people never encounter more than one or two, some will look through the Pathfinder Chronicles back catalogue and notice a Chelaxian dystaff-dynasty that dosn't appear to line up with any actual Chelaxian family. A few people in-the-know make this discovery and the knowledge filters out -- why would a mid-level Andoren Pathfinder not warn all his fellows that any girl with the surname Darklight is likely a Chelaxian agent? Why not go for something more discrete? A funny handshake, a reference to a particular uncle or cousin ("I believe your father knows my Uncle Jeremiah"), a comment about a shared experience ("did you holiday on the shores of lake Tamala as a child?"), even use of a restricted/skewed lexicon (eg U versus non-U expressions); any would not only be more discrete, but also a more reliable casual identifier in public situations (with stricter ways of verifying identity when in private).
Something that varies a lot from one group to another is what level of basic equipment the PCs are expected to have. This tends to be particularly significant at low levels. Can we, for example, take the "other gear" carried by the iconics in Burnt Offerings and Edge of Anarchy as examples of what the PCs are expected to carry? Some notable absences from their gear which spring to mind are waterskin, bedroll and a change of clothes, plus they generally only have 3 or 4 days rations. I'm coming at this primarily from a weight perspective -- waterskin (4) + bedroll (5) + change of clothes (5ish) + a week's rations (7) = 21 lbs, which is a lot for a low STR character, but which are things that characters might reasonably be expected to have in many games. Relatedly, presumably the PCs can have equipment they don't carry with them during a given adventure?
A couple of quick questions about if/when certain things are planned for the new setting. Will there be a Castle Greyhawk/Undermountain style "megadungeon"? Will any areas be left fallow, specifically under-developed (in much the same way as Sembia was supposed to be in the FR)? Are there plans for any supplements/APs that are likely to expand siggnificantly on Irrisen? Am Pathfinderfying some of my vast quantities of written-but-unrun GH and FR material and would like to minimise significant clashes with official material.
Given that calculating magic item prices is a bit of a black art once you step away from the simplest items, and given that any item that is little more than just "use spell X up to N times per day" is going to fall foul of originality and/or creativity criteria... if the item cost is calculated incorrectly (in some sense) will the entry be automatically rejected, or can we get away with estimating prices (as close to the rules as possible) by judging which similar items it is more/less powerful than? Also, given the vast number of supplements that have been published (even just official WotC ones) it's quite likely that we'll create things very similar to items published in supplements we've never even seen. How much "due dilligence", beyond what's in the SRD, is expected in order to avoid being rejected for lack of originality for this reason? Realistically, each of the three judges will have read many more supplements than everyone in my gaming group put together, it would be very easy for there to be an apparent lack of originality. In some regards both of the above are exacerbated by the "only one entry per person" rule, essentially we get one shot with no feedback before the result is determined. Is it acceptable to post entries online before submitting them in order to get initial feedback on the types of thing mentioned above (and others)?
Annoying. Given the wording presumably this includes harmless effects? Is there any way within the rules to get by this? I'd rather stay inbounds on this if possible, but would also like some invisible, flying, silenced greater stone golemim.
I guess I'll write off the first version of this post that the board decided to eat as a draft :( Slightly ranty, perhaps more so as I'm having to retype this! The Overload contains a Greyhawk conversion appendix. Why? Given that AoW is essentially set in Greyhawk, and that GH is (in theory at least) the core setting, what's the point of a few cosmetic changes? Is this all the Greyhawk is in 3rd edition -- a collection of proper nouns? I'm not saying that there should be deep ties to the GH setting that would hamper people from converting to other settings. Indeed, given the time & effort Paizo are in AoW it absolutely makes sense that it should be easily adaptable to, say, FR and Ebberon (which given the level of coverage it gets in Dungeon and Dragon, and the number of supplements WotC puts out for it must be a far more popular setting than I realised). Rather, why bother with making the original changes, what does it add to not call Greyhawk Greyhawk and Tenser Tenser. These names may not be relevant to the FR (or wherever) but is it really that much harder for someone converting AoW to translate "Greyhawk" into "Waterdeep" than to so translate "The Free City"?
Perhaps one for Erik, but I'm sure others here may know the answer to the first question at least. Is Denis Tetreault's description of the origin of Kyuss considered canon? Are the circumstances of Kyuss' origin likely to be a significant factor in AoW? i.e. if we've gone with a different version of "Kyuss: the Early Years" is it worth waiting to see how prominent Kyuss' origin is likely to be in AoW or is it minor enough that any changes are likely to be make-up-as-we-go-along-able?
One thing I've been very pleased to see in a lot of recent Dungeon adventures is good information on scaling the adventure or on tailoring it for particular settings. However I think this could be taken a lot further by an article (or brief series of articles) on cutomising & scaling scenarios in general and in particular on converting them to and from various settings. It's generally easy to convert between two settings you know well, but what about when you aren't familiar with one (eg you want to convert an Ebberon adventure for use in Greyhawk and know nothing about Ebberon), worst of course if you're "translating" into a setting you don't know! This could cover a wide range of areas, from particular settings (both the crunchy details and (perhaps more importantly) the flavour of the setting), to general guides to raising or lowering the level of an adventure, tailoring it to particularly large or small parties, or to oddly "shaped" parties (adding more or less for groups heavy or light on stealth, magic, missile weapons, whatever), coping with parties that have little or no healing without disrupting the pacing of the adventure, etc. Although this is likely to be of more use to relatively new DMs than to us hoary old dungeon hackers with a couple of decades behind the dice, there should be enough material as everyone is less familiar with some material than with others. And always, more Greyhawk material :) |
