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First off, I really wasn't sure whether to put this post here, in Advice, or in Homebrew. I decided on here because the largest congregation of CC DMs will see this, I expect. If someone deems my post more appropriate for a different board, please let me know and I will comply.

Here's the rundown of what's happening and what I'm trying to figure out. On July 15th, I'm introducing two friends to Pathfinder for the first time. This session is intended to place them in Ustalav and lead into the next full session of Carrion Crown, in which the party is

In this intro session, the two new players will be in a party of 4 at 6th level. They are planning to be a Druid and an Oracle; the other two players are just one shot characters.

Does anyone have some input or ideas that I could percolate?

I've been GMing the Shackles adventure path for close to a year and a half now. This morning, as I remembered that we are scheduled to have another session this weekend, I was filled with disappointment, not excitement. It's gone from the simple four person party to now six players - one of whom has to Skype in every time - and while I feel like I can manage that many players, I also feel like the game is spiraling out of control. Despite my best efforts, it doesn't feel exciting anymore.

I've thought about ending the campaign. Quite a lot, really. But I feel like I owe it to my players who haven't had the chance to finish their character backstory quests. Then again, there seems to be no appreciation for the hours of work I put into setting up each session, except from my wife - who, by the way, is also not enjoying the campaign because of the way I've been feeling.

I'm GMing Carrion Crown also, and it's a blast. My party is involved in the goings-on within the first book and they show a real interest in immersing themselves in the world. I'm involved as a PC in a 5E homebrew campaign, and soon I'll be joining a 5E Tyranny of Dragons campaign in the beginning of book 2.

I want to keep this thing going, finish the Shackles adventure, but I feel so worn out at this point.

Are there other GMs or players who have experienced this same sort of feeling, of sadness and disappointment, toward their players or campaign?

I figured this would be the best place to ask because there may need to be some tweaking on an actual class (and I definitely don't have the time or ideas to create a class from scratch).

An acquaintance has asked to play in one of my pathfinder campaigns, and I'm allowing him to hop into Skull & Shackles as a temporary player with the intent on making him a permanent member (barring approval of the party; he may not be someone that meshes well with my other friends). His idea for a character is this:

A person who has a collection of magical masks. When he puts one on, he gives an area of effect to his friends. I was also thinking that his sword could change based on what mask he is wearing. I came up with this idea based on the Lego Bionicle series.

As my gears started turning, I considered a few things:

[1]He could be a bard, and his bardic performance could be triggered by wearing these masks.
[2]He could simply make these masks and wear them as magical items
[3]He could be a bard archetype that replaces some bard abilities with other abilities which would focus on item creation, specializing on masks

This conversation started this morning and ended shortly thereafter, so we haven't gone into specifics. I was curious if anyone had seen something similar or had any ideas that could make this work or be an interesting choice.

I like ingenuity and interesting character choices. With Pathfinder being such an open world, full of possibility, I wouldn't say no to this idea if there is a way to make it work within the system.

My party of 5 might be traveling to the Dimension of Dreams in an upcoming session, drifting way off the beaten Adventure Path. Because this isn't included or even a suggestion within the book, I need to do a considerable amount of planning. Here's what I have so far, in regards to creatures:
I found the Nightmare Creature/Lord templates in Bestiary 4, so I'll be putting those to good use on various creatures within the Bestiaries.
There are a handful of interesting creatures in the Occult Bestiary, like Dreamthief Hags, that could be present.

Are there any players or GMs who have been to the Dimension of Dreams?
What did you encounter there (or, in the case of the GM, what did your party encounter)?
What was the landscape like? Were there any places where they could find treasure? How should I describe the setting?

Any tips and advice on the Dimension will be incredibly helpful.

I set myself for disaster some time ago in my run of the Skull & Shackles campaign (no spoilers). Short version is that a PC has an adamantine dagger that he uses to break open locks. For three books, I have allowed this because I was too lazy to look up rules and I strongly believed in the "rule of cool." After watching episodes of Critical Role and being a player again (I'm now playing in a campaign for the first time in four years, instead of GMing), I've come to think that I shouldn't have given this PC so much power. Doors and chests are no problem for him now.

What could I do to change the mechanic that I have allowed?

After experiencing 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons, I've become fond of the advantage and disadvantage rule. Particularly, I like how it can allow roleplaying to add an effect to dice rolls rather than add a vague bonus to one's skill check.

To put it simply, Advantage allows you to roll twice and take the higher result; Disadvantage forces you to roll twice and take the lower result.

For instance: In 5E, a PC tells the DM that she would like to ask a stranger for directions by showing him a map of the city. She passes herself off as innocent and confused as she sidesteps to give the stranger a good look at the map. Meanwhile, she is reaching for his coin purse. A DM could reasonably say she has Advantage on a Sleight of Hand check to steal the man's purse.

Alternatively, in Pathfinder, if a PC were to attempt the exact same strategy, what is there to give besides a bonus, the amount of which you need to determine on the spot? How would you calculate a bonus or penalty in such situations?

This is my predicament: I see no reason NOT to incorporate Advantage/Disadvantage to my Pathfinder game(s), but do other players think it is balanced?

I can't remember if I read about this on the forums or heard one of my old friends mention this: barn-raising. Ravengrow is a farming settlement, so naturally there are barns. Well, it's also likely that there would be a need for a new barn to be built and raised during the time that the PCs are stuck there.

Over the past three weeks, I've pondered and considered how to go about including this for the game, with two things in mind: it shouldn't be an incredible challenge because 1) the party is low level, and 2) it's not canon. As such, I finally put fingers to keyboard and came up with this framework for earning Trust and getting the job done.

Based on a video of a modern day barn raising (construction starts at 0:16), I decided the following would be appropriate for each day's work, considering a setting that doesn't have access to modern day equipment:

Day 1 - Set the foundation, construct and raise the frames, sawing and chopping lumber, hammering as needed
Day 2 - Lay timber for loft, lay loft flooring, set up roof supports (chopping and hammering as needed)
Day 3 - Set the roof, install shingles on the roof, install the sidings (chopping and hammering again)
Day 4 - Painting and a Pot Luck!

I struggled with developing specific rules for this four day event, so I asked myself questions and answered accordingly:
What is the purpose of the barn raising?
- To gain Trust in the town. It is also a way to spend time during the 30 Day Stay
Where is the challenge?
- The PCs have to succeed at Skill and Ability checks
Okay, but in that case, what are the consequences of failure, the rewards for success?
- Success on a task grants +1 to Trust Points; Failure means the job gets done but no Trust is gained, as the work was helpful, but not impressive enough. Failure by 5 or more means the PC screws up his/her work throughout the day and is unhelpful, resulting in a -1 to Trust Points.
[That last question was a tough one to answer, especially at 1:00 AM with ten hours before the session]

I've spent the last hour or so putting the finishing touches to the idea and its structure, and I will post that next.

Preface to question is first paragraph; the situation as it stands is second.

My players for Shackles are comprised of three friends, a player's sister, and my wife. My wife has told me often that she hasn't enjoyed playing because one of the other players - who, I should I mention, is the Captain of this crew and the defacto leader of the party - is consistently refusing to let her (my wife) have a say in the party's course of action, or even let her get a word in edgewise. It's been hard for me to see what she is talking about, but I noticed it in our previous session: they encountered a pirate ship whose captain was hell-bent on killing my wife's character, Nala. Once defeated, the party interrogated him, and to sum it up: "Where are my axes? Give me my axes! Where is she, where are my axes?!" he ranted and raved (Nala had taken both the handaxes in question). Our Captain (Galadon) asked "Do we want to keep this guy around?" Nala said that she wanted the man sent to her quarters, bound and gagged until she could deal with him. At this, our Captain said "Let's just keep him in the brig until we can deal with him later." My wife pointed out to me secretly that was what she had been talking about.

So, after session, my wife discussed the possibility of starting a mutiny against the captain. As her husband, I fully support this decision - he has been acting like he is the most important person in the party and that every decision falls to him; I feel like he needs to be brought down a peg. As the GM, I understand that I must not tip the scales in her favor, in order to be fair to all members of the party. Additionally, my wife considered changing characters - she hasn't been able to explore Nala as a character very much because, as my wife puts it, "I just don't feel like I can do anything when everyone else is grandstanding." If she decides to roll up a new character and leave the mutiny to Nala, I will take control of Nala and consider her an NPC. Here is my question, then: Have any other GMs or players encountered a situation like this, whether in Shackles or any other campaign? What should I do in this situation?

We aren't playing for at least another three weeks, and I would greatly appreciate input on this matter.

My wife still hasn't gotten the hang of Pathfinder, and she hasn't played Ocarina of Time all the way through - both Pathfinder and Zelda are methods of entertainment that I hold close to my heart. As such, I've been thinking about running a solo campaign with just her as the legendary hero from the game. This way, we can work at a slow pace to familiarize her (and me, surely) with the rules.

Since there are 20 potential Hearts to have in the game and 20 levels to a character (typically) I figured each Heart Container would level her up instead of gaining experience.

I realize there cannot be a complete and true conversion of OoT to Pathfinder - it would simply be too time consuming for it to be practical. However, I feel like there is a way to execute this idea of a Zelda campaign within the Pathfinder rules.

Any and all advice or tips on how to design the dungeons and traps will be appreciated because I don't have any idea how to do those as of yet. If I need to move this to another thread, I will gladly do so because I don't know where this topic/question would fit appropriately.

My players in the Skull and Shackles adventure path have come into the possession of a Ring of Charm Animal - not a spoiler, as I don't recall if I put it there myself. When I threw a sea creature at them to combat while sailing, they used the ring effectively and charmed the monster into their alliance. Is there a way to change an animal's type to something that ISN'T Animal? I know by adding any undead template turns the creature Undead, but that can get old pretty quick. Any advice would be helpful.

Disclaimer: I didn't think this needed to be posted in the Adventure Path board since this is specific to a situation that could reasonably be encountered elsewhere, not only while sailing.

My wife and I are creating characters for a one shot, and we had this fun idea that I would act as her mount. She is a halfling, I'm a half-orc, and she would normally ride on my shoulders. She is planning on using a lance or a polearm of some sort - as a fighter - and I'm going to wield an orc weapon, most likely - I'm a bard.

Are there any posts out there that I could take a look at? My initial search yielded no results. Or, what are your thoughts on these mechanics?

I started Wormwood Mutiny about two months ago, and the party is finally at the end. They handled things differently than how my part did when I played three years ago, such as

Often, I find that there is not enough explanation about an event or an area for me to follow like a script. I feel unorganized which leads to a lack of confidence. I don't know what to do to make the sessions more enjoyable and more fluid.

Any help on this matter is greatly appreciated.

So a friend is running a campaign, and the bard in the party likes to use Displacement. In a recent battle (or a battle the GM is considering, I didn't quite catch the truth), a dragon used its breath weapon in the area where the bard stood, while he was under the affects of Displacement.

"The subject of this spell appears to be about 2 feet away from
its true location. The creature benefits from a 50% miss chance
as if it had total concealment. Unlike actual total concealment,
displacement does not prevent enemies from targeting the
creature normally. True seeing reveals its true location and negates
the miss chance."

I just reviewed the rules on Concealment, but I can't find anything hard and fast that will give my friend a definitive answer.

So with the release of Mythic Adventures, I'm sure there are a lot of players and GMs who would like to give the PCs the opportunity to become mythic in an adventure path. I, for one, would like to put my party in Carrion Crown through mythic. But the question is how? This is all so new to all of us, apart from what little we had from the playtest last year.
This is likely going to take time, but I wanted to go ahead and ask if anyone has ideas so far (because I know there are people who could have come up with something by now).
The flat out question is this:
What are some ways to incorporate mythic into an adventure path?

As I was looking through the discoveries for Alchemist, I noticed Stick Poison:
"Any poison the alchemist creates is sticky—when the alchemist applies it to a weapon, the weapon remains poisoned for a number of strikes equal to the alchemist’s Intelligence modifier"
So I was thinking, "If I throw a poisoned dagger at my target, would the poison persist and therefore stack with itself (assuming the attack roll was a success)?"
My Alchemist's Int mod is 5, so the poison would stick for 5 rounds.
Any help the general public can offer would be great.

I'm starting RotR pretty soon, and one of my PCs took the Rich Parents trait, along with Favored Son/Daughter (Ameiko Kaijitsu). I secretly wanted her "rich parents" to be one of the four noble families of Sandpoint - Deverin, Kaijitsu, Valdemar, and Scarnetti. In the Anniversary Edition of RotR, page 375, it says, in regards to the deities represented in the Sandpoint Chapel:

"Four of these (Abadar, Gozreh, Sarenrae, and Shelyn)were patrons of the original founders of the Sandpoint Mercantile Consortium..."

I was just curious if anyone knows exactly which families worshiped which deities.

Our rogue uses two short swords and has Two-Weapon Fighting. Other people in our party, and our GM, say that she does not take the TWF penalties if she only makes one attack, even if she is wielding both during the one attack. I am beginning to think that she does take penalties, but I can't find anything in the rules that says this. Does anyone have words of wisdom on this topic?

I'll be GMing Carrion Crown, and one of my players has emphatically asked to play as a dhampir. He came up with a fairly interesting backstory that incorporates the Dayborn alternate racial trait. But I am wondering whether there is a feat or trait that would grant him a bonus to disguise to appear human or some such thing. Otherwise, I won't worry about it. Thanks in advance for your help.

So, I was using the Buccaneer's Song of Surrender in the Shackles campaign, and we had a disagreement as to a target being immune if he/she succeeds on the save. RAW, the target is not immune to the effect for 24 hours if he/she makes the save; however, it replaces Fascinate, which DOES render the target immune to it for 24 hours if he/she makes the save.

Here's the ability description:
Song of Surrender

A buccaneer of 4th level or higher can use his performance to encourage an enemy to surrender. To be affected, an enemy must be within 30 feet and be able to see and hear the buccaneer’s performance. An affected enemy feels the irresistible urge to drop any held weapons and fall prone. This effect lasts for 1 round—essentially, the affected enemy takes no actions on its next turn other than to lie prone, although it is not considered flat-footed or helpless. A Will saving throw (DC 10 + 1/2 the buccaneer’s level + the buccaneer’s Charisma modifier) negates the effect. This ability affects only a single creature. Song of surrender is an enchantment(compulsion), mind-affecting, language-dependent ability and relies on audible components.

What are your thoughts, friends?

I'm playing a bard who isn't particularly fantastic in combat, but one of the spells I picked is Bladed Dash. A competence bonus equal to my Charisma mod is pretty significant, plus it gives me at least 30 ft of movement. But my question is this: can Vital Strike be combined with Bladed Dash?

Bladed Dash
School transmutation; Level bard 2, magus 2

CASTING
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V

EFFECT
Range personal
Target you Duration instantaneous

DESCRIPTION

When you cast this spell, you immediately move up to 30 feet in a straight line any direction, momentarily leaving a multi-hued cascade of images behind you. This movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity. You may make a single melee attack at your highest base attack bonus against any one creature you are adjacent to at any point along this 30 feet. You gain a circumstance bonus on your attack roll equal to your Intelligence or Charisma modifier, whichever is higher. You must end the bonus movement granted by this spell in an unoccupied square. If no such space is available along the trajectory, the spell fails. Despite the name, the spell works with any melee weapon.

Vital Strike (Combat)
You make a single attack that deals significantly more damage than normal.

Prerequisites: Base attack bonus +6.

Benefit: When you use the attack action, you can make one attack at your highest base attack bonus that deals additional damage. Roll the weapon’s damage dice for the attack twice and add the results together before adding bonuses from Strength, weapon abilities (such as flaming), precision-based damage, and other damage bonuses. These extra weapon damage dice are not multiplied on a critical hit, but are added to the total.

My character in a campaign is without a weapon at the moment (it was taken from him) and I have the Enforcer feat:

Whenever you deal nonlethal damage with a melee weapon, you can make an Intimidate check to demoralize your target as a free action. If you are successful, the target is shaken for a number of rounds equal to the damage dealt. If your attack was a critical hit, your target is frightened for 1 round with a successful Intimidate check, as well as being shaken for a number of rounds equal to the damage dealt.

In a battle against unarmed humans, I used just my fists, and the GM questioned my ability to use Enforcer in the fight, claiming that my fists aren't considered melee weapons. He allowed me to Intimidate when I did non-lethal damage, but we wondered about the validity of my using Enforcer.

So I come to the boards with this question:
Can I apply the Enforcer feat to unarmed strikes if I do not have Improved Unarmed Strike?