Calthaer's page

So...who's going? What are the chances of getting a super-duper interactive special going there? Whom do we need to bribe / beg to make that happen?

Are there going to be any events at PAX Unplugged this year, since Paizo is a distributor?

Follow-up question, related...as I'd like to know if this is the case, if the special is being played:

Is there any limit to the number of times a player (not character) can participate in the interactive special?

Hey all - we're doing the "interactive special" again this year in Harrisburg in about a month at the Save Against Fear gaming convention. Come join us! Last year it was awesome. I think I'll be bringing my Heggal again. Hawkmoon, Theryon Stormrune, Eliandra Glitessen, and a bunch of others will also be there.

To give us all a bit of a break from rules minutiae, I thought I'd ask: what party are you forming to go through Mummy's Mask? Are you using only characters from the box, or are you also using class deck characters, or characters from another box set?

I usually play solo with three characters until I get a chance to get a group to catch up (one group has been on Skull & Shackles for a good 2+ years). I considered two sets: either Ezren (or Mavaro), Yoon, and Drelm, or a combo of Channa Ti, Simoun, and Amhotep. I went with the latter and haven't regretted it - loads of skills covered (Craft, Divine, Survival, Disable, Ranged, Perception, Melee, Arcane, and Diplomacy), and the fact that none of them are iconics is a big plus.

Estra seemed only situationally useful. Zadim looked OK but Amhotep won out because I needed some INT. Various versions of Ezren, Alahazra, and Damiel have been discussed to death on these boards and so I wasn't eager to play them. Drelm and Mavaro both look really interesting, but I figured I'd save one or the other for when I'm in a group - Mavaro especially seems like he requires enough attention to play that he perhaps wouldn't be best for me in a solo game with multiple characters.

So who are your heroes?

So...I think the Wrath of the Righteous instruction booklet has a section where it doesn't quite make sense. Comparing it to the Skull & Shackles booklet from which it was likely edited, I can see why this mistake (if I'm correct) was made...

It's under "Add Villains and Henchmen." The first example (Fihralaz, Vescavor Swarm, Tangle Traps - right off the "Elven Entanglement" scenario) makes sense. The second, though (Traitor's Lodge), doesn't: Karsos, Ghalcor, Unfettered Eidolon, and Wights, where it says "leave the Wights in the box."

The example here is talking about five locations, so it seems like two Wights should be included and the rest left in the box, but that's not what the booklet says. It gives the impression that you're supposed to leave the Wights in the box and include three Unfettered Eidolons, when it's singular on the scenario card (indicating just one), and that both doesn't seem like what was intended and seems to contradict Example 1 with teh Vescavor Swarm / Tangle Traps.

I am seriously impressed by this set. Those who said that they skipped out on Skull & Shackles because not enough had changed may want to give this one a shot...at least, that's my take. There are also no pirates, which I guess some people thought were a buzzkiller.

• There are basic boons that are actually worthwhile. I had to do a double-take when I saw that Blackwing Wizard and Stalking Armor were basic.
  
• Very cool that you can make a "deal with the devil" by carrying corrupted blessings, which seem slightly more powerful but with the risk of taking damage if the top card of the blessings deck is also corrupted. I am guessing the Holy Phylactery also applies to blessings on the blessings deck.
  
• Also refreshing to see a basic blessing that is not "of the Gods"
  
• Like the new artwork on old returning friends (hello, Bunyip)
  
• Lots of variety in the cards in this set...long gone, it seems, are the days of Runelords when you had like 4x Standard Bearer and Night Watch in the box
  
• Pleased to see unique boons in the character add-on yet again. No equivalent of the Deathbane Light Crossbow +1, though...anyone else think there's am must-have in the add-on (besides the characters)? Sagacity?
  

Other thoughts?

Hi Sara,

You said to create a new thread when the pre-order for a class deck didn't get combined automatically with a PACG subscription, so...that's what I'm doing.

Thanks!

The announcement that we're going to get a boat-load (heh) of new characters in tandem with the arrival of Skull & Shackles in these class decks is pretty exciting. Hawkmoon & I have been engaging in a bit of speculation about which characters are going to make it in. It looks like these guys are all part of the PFSRD open license thing, so they're listed here:

http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/npcCodex/core/index.html

Looking through these, I can see why they didn't do a druid deck - all these named druid NPCs are crazy people who attack anybody that comes close. I'm a bit bummed that the paladins aren't making the cut, but maybe they want to wait until there's some mounted combat of some sort in the game.

My guesses for the seven chosen classes are...

BARDS
Meliski Traundor - a drunken, gambling, brawling dwarf. Bit of a toss-up between him and Takina Berzan...also a dwarf, and I doubt they'd do both.

Palos Kendrosi - an elf bard who's a swordsman bard...he might even have the stealth skill.

I'm wondering if Rhortia Mooldon, a female half-orc bard might be the last one...but am not sure.

CLERICS
Oreidesme Eisbrin - a female cleric of iomedae.

Eggal Torkelson - male halfling cleric of cayden cailean

Not really sure about the third one...a lot of the clerics listed would fall along the evil axis. Would they include such characters in these decks?

FIGHTERS
Vika Beliskar - a female, half-elf fighter who's big into blacksmithing (e.g., crafting). Warrior with the craft skill who has a bonus to acquiring weapons & armor? Now that would be cool.

Rogar Talgast - a male dwarf fighter. Here's to hoping that one of his role cards is patterned after the Dwarven Defender prestige class.

RANGERS
Pialoosa - a female halfling ranger that is the captain of her own pirate ship...gee...I wonder if this one has any chance at all of being released alongside the pirate-themed Skull & Shackles set?

Alec Renatus - male human ranger, hunts for justice. Cool.

ROGUES
Besides Olenjack, it's tough to say. Most of these NPCs are male, and I wonder if they're going to try to balance out the male / females in each deck. Roscolian - a male half-elf stealth-sniper, and Skanrak, a male half-orc who's good against magic-users, sound like good candidates...

SORCERERS
Valendron Oparal - a male elf sorcerer aligned with the air element (lightning, etc.).

Amaryllis Hollendock - a female halfling who seems like she's a friendly sort

WIZARDS
Mandar Tamarice - some female elven jungle wizard with a monkey familiar. ook ook.

Miet Silvervein - a female gnome illusionist. There has got to be a gnome wizard in this bunch, and this is the only named one I saw.

Who are your favorites? Any that you're rooting for? What do you hope to see in the new characters? Have to admit that Palos Kendrosi is the big one I'm hoping to see, with Vika Beliskar being a close second.

I have been playing a fair number of 5-6 player games lately. The biggest problem with this number of players is the fact that, no matter how you set up the location decks, some of them are either far away or upside-down from some players. This makes it tough for players to review the options and limitations available to them when they want to consider moving / going to a new location.

Struck upon an idea: what about a lazy susan / turntable? Assume a layout where the location card and deck are placed side-by-side. Character tokens are placed above those - it would make sense to use miniatures or cardboard stand-ups for this layout, because things could get a bit crowded. Simple geometry would indicate that a lazy susan that's 22" is about the minimum size required for this sort of layout...larger might afford one more space. Getting an unfinished lazy susan would allow one to put custom stenciling on it marking the card placings...maybe even the card game logo in the center.

Thoughts? Has anyone tried playing with one of these, with this sort of setup? Most lazy susans of this size would be at least as expensive as the game itself, so I'm hesitant to just order one...but it seems to me that it would improve the large-player games considerably.