I figure a great house rule that may speed up combat AND make casters feel more involved in their spells is to simply have them roll their Spellcasting attack against the monster/NPC's saving DC. That way, the DM isn't rolling 10 saves for a bunch of goblins in a fireball AND the caster feels more in control of the spell they are casting.
What about Critical Success and Failures for the saving throws you ask? Simply flip the descriptions so instead of a critical saving success, it's a critical failing attack! And vice versa!
(I apologize if this has been asked/answered before, nothing came up on my search)
So, Doubt gives you a -4 penalty on the ability checks if you fail them. The check to stabilize is a Constitution check. Does that mean if you fail a stabilize check, then next has another -4 penalty?
I know, technically, the answer is yes, but that seems a pretty heavy penalty, especially when a character is low-level and low-Con, pretty much guaranteeing they won't survive even a mild dip into the negatives.
Give the reigns to him and see where he goes with it. The question is, though, could the nerds handle Whedon's Avengers and Smith's League at the same time? What if they got permission to do a crossover?
Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Need to cut back on the subscriptions again. Can you cancel my Pathfinder Tales and Player Companion subscriptions? It's for purely financial reasons. Everything's been quality so far.
Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
I'm pretty sure that the books are out in the mail, floating around somewhere on their way to me. But, just in case, I wanted to let you know I still haven't received my last shipment (placed on 4/7, notified on shipping on 4/12).
Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Hey team!
I need to cancel a few things and also want to know if I can change something.
The cancellations are for the Runner's Toolkit and Attitude books I have on pre-order.
Also, I just re-upped my subscription to the Campaign Setting, starting with the Inner Sea World Guide. Is there a chance I can get this shipped out ASAP instead of with my next subscription shipment?
2 T cooking oil
Large Vidalia onion (diced)
2 Green bell peppers (julienned)
5 Jalapeño peppers (cut into rings, with seeds)
2 Poblano peppers (chopped, with seeds)
2 Serrano peppers (chopped, with seeds)
2 Thai chile peppers (chopped, with seeds)
1 T minced garlic
1 lb Ground Sirloin
15 oz can light red kidney beans
15 oz can dark red kidney beans
2 - 28 oz cans of Crushed Tomatoes (unseasoned)
1 - 12 oz bottle of your favorite beer (I prefer Yuengling)
2-3 bay leaves
½ cup Chili Powder (increase to taste)
Salt & Pepper (to taste)
In large cast iron dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, garlic and peppers and cook until onions are translucent. Add ground beef and cook until browned.
While onions & peppers are cooking, drain beans and then beat in a large bowl with a hand mixer, or process in a food processor until they just start to break down into a paste (you should still be able to easily see the skins of the beans).
Once the meat is browned, add the beans to the meat and peppers mixture. Then add both cans of crushed tomatoes, beer, bay leaves and chili powder. Stir to combine. Raise heat to high, stirring until it begins to bubble, then lower heat to simmer and cook, covered, for at least 45 minutes. Add salt, pepper and other seasoning to taste.
Dirty, stinky gamersers! Them and their disposable elvish coin! We HATES THEM! Them and their gathering in Indy! They stoles it from us! WE should be at the gathering, but the filthy theifses stoles our passes!
May their Bulmahn be flatulent when they askses for his precious signature!
Don't want to be a pest or seem like I'm complainin' or nothin', but I've noticed that the "Download the 2009 Catalog" ad is STILL on the site. I know y'all busy and stuff, just thought I'd point it out...
Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
They are 'broadcasting' the radio chatter between Houston control (@ap11_capcom), Apollo 11 Craft (@ap11_spacecraft) and Eagle landing craft (@ap11_eagle) to celebrate the 40th anniversary today.
Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
I'm noticing that two charges have gone through since I signed up for the RPG Subscription plan. I believe it's for the RPG core rulebook, but I want to make sure since it's still two months until the book is released.
The first charge is for $42.49 (presumably for the book) and the second is $8.25 (the shipping cost?). Can you check and let me know the details of these charges?
Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
You know, I'm really looking forward to the release. I mean it. For the first time in a long time, I'm interested in playing a cleric (usually it was either "okay I'll fill the slot" or "here's a cool XXXX/Cleric multiclass"). The turning/channel energy and domains needed an overhaul and it sound like you did superbly!
And, the concentration check sounds perfect! Too often in the higher level games, a concentration check was a joke (15+7? Heck, I got 17 ranks it in...). It's nice to see the high level casters worry again...
Now, you're asking a lot of why's and how's probably. Here's some of the proposed changes:
First off, you'll need to give spellcasters more skill points. Probably give the heavy hitters like Clerics, Druids, Sorcerers and Spellcasters another 4. I wouldn't increase the skill points of the Bard, Paladin or Ranger, since they aren't primary magic-users, but rather dabblers in the art.
Okay, now for the real overhaul part. Change the Magic system. No more spells/day, but rather have them roll a spellcraft check every time the magic-user wants to cast a spell. Now you might be seeing where the different ability modifiers for the schools comes in. Bards & Sorcerers would excel at Abjuration, Enchantment and Illusion spells, Clerics & Druids would be great at Conjuration, Divination and Necromantic spells. And Wizards would be the Evocation, Transmutation and Universal go-to guys.
Beautiful part is, we don't have to change the spells themselves, just how we're using them.
To cast a spell, you have to succeed at a Spellcraft check of 10 + 2*Spell Level (so a 0 level spell is a DC 10, a 4th is DC 18, a 9th is DC 28). If you succeed, the result of the check is the Saving Throw DC that the target has to overcome (makes the lower-level spells more powerful, keeps the higher level in check). If you want to Metamagic the spell, increase it's level as noted in the metamagic ability and calculate the new skill DC.
Bards and Sorcerers still only known a certain number of spells to cast from. Divine casters make the Spellcraft check, basically asking their deity for the spell. Wizards get a mod. They know a certain number of spells like a Sorcerer, but they can have extra spells in their spellbook that they can cast as long as they use their book. asting a spell that usually takes less than a full round while using the book increases the casting time to a full round. But using the spellbook gives a +5 insight bonus on the spellcraft check since you're following the 'recipe'.
The last part is what keeps everyone honest about the spells they cast. I borrowed it from Shadowrun's Drain rules, and modified it for use with this. Basically, when you cast a spell, if you succeed the check by more than 5, nothing happens. If you succeed by 5 or less, then you take that number as nonlethal damage. So, if the Spellcraft DC is 18 and you get 21, you'll take 3 nonlethal damage. if you fail the check by less than 5, then you'll take double nonlethal damage and become fatigued (i.e. DC of 18 and you rolled up 15, then you'll take 6 nonlethal damage). If you fail by more than five, then the difference becomes lethal damage.
So, any ideas? Suggestions? Flames?
Classes/Levels
Changeling Paladin 3rd Init +2; Senses: Darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +7 sense motive +9 I Aura of courage (10 ft.) AC 19, touch 12, flat-footed 17 I HP 39 Fort +7, Ref +6, Will +8; +2 vs. enchantments Immunities: Disease, fear, sleep +2 vs enchant
About Hayden River
Hayden
Changeling wyrm gm paladin 3
LG Medium humanoid
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +7 sense motive +8
Aura courage (10 ft.)
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Defense
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AC 19, touch 12, flat-footed 17 (+7 armor, +2 Dex)
hp 39 (3d10+6+3)
Fort +7, Ref +6, Will +8; +2 vs. enchantments
Defensive Abilities immunities; Immune disease, fear, +2 vs enchantment and sleep
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft. (20 ft. in armor)
Melee
Cestus +5 (1d4+2/19-20) B/P
Gladius (short sword) +5 (1d6+2/19-20) S/P
Mwk Greatsword +6 (2d6+3/19-20) S
Wave blade +5 (1d8+2/18-20) S
Ranged
Composite longbow +5 (1d8+2/×3) Str adj +2
Special Attacks
smite evil 1/day (+3 attack and AC, +3 damage)
Paladin Spell-Like Abilities (CL 3rd; concentration +6)
At will—detect evil
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Statistics
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Str 14, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 16
Base Atk +3; CMB +5; CMD 17
Feats Combat Expertise, Cosmopolitan[APG], Power Attack, Quick Draw, Taught By The Liberator
Traits armor expert, eyes and ears of the city, sacred touch
Combat Gear:
potion of cure light wounds (2); Other Gear armored kilt, mwk agile breastplate with armored skirt[APG], cestus[APG], composite longbow (+2 Str), kris blade[UC], mwk flambard, Wave blade[UC], bedroll, belt pouch, flint and steel, hemp rope (50 ft.), holy text[UE], ink (2), inkpen (2), journal[UE] (2), masterwork backpack[APG], measuring cord (10 ft.) (2), mess kit[UE], paper (10), pot, powder[APG] (2), scroll case, soap, torch (10), trail rations (5), waterskin, wooden holy symbol
Treasure:
31 gp
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Special Abilities
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Armor Expert -1 Armor check penalty.
Aura of Courage +4 (10 ft.) (Su) Allies in aura gain a morale bonus to saves vs. fear.
Change Shape, Lesser (Su) Assume form of specific small/medium humanoid.
Combat Expertise +/-1 Bonus to AC in exchange for an equal penalty to attack.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white vision only).
Detect Evil (At will) (Sp) You can use detect evil at will (as the spell).
Elven Immunities (Ex) +2 save bonus vs. Enchantments.
Immunity to Disease You are immune to diseases.
Immunity to Fear (Ex) You are immune to all fear effects.
Immunity to Magic Sleep You are immune to magic sleep effects.
Lay on Hands (1d6 hit points, 4/day) (Su) As a standard action (swift on self), touch channels positive energy and applies mercies.
Mercy (Sickened) (Su) When you use your lay on hands ability, it also removes the sickened condition.
Power Attack -1/+2 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage.
Quick Draw Draw weapon as a free action (or move if hidden weapon). Throw at full rate of attacks.
Sacred Touch You were exposed to a potent source of positive energy as a child, perhaps by being born under the right cosmic sign, or maybe because one of your parents was a gifted healer. As a standard action, you may automatically stabilize a dying creature mer
Smite Evil (1/day) (Su) +3 to hit, +3 to damage, +3 deflection bonus to AC when used.
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Notes from Wyrm:
Changelings do have an innate gender when born; they can shift between them, reproduce in either gender, but one feels more natural. While I do encourage you playing as either gender or both, understand that by using the quotation marks (smoothing "her" hair) you are indicating that the character is naturally male.
You also do not lose shape when you go unconscious; changing form is a deliberate act, which remains until you either change it again, or die. I would presume you'd know what shape you were wearing when you fell asleep, unless you want it to be a habit that you change shape inyour sleep ...
I picked a story feat for you, which suggested both an additional trait and a linked drawback: theLiberator story feat, the Mark of Slavery drawback, and a variant on the 'Legacy of Fire' campaign trait Finding Haleen.
For the latter:
Taught By The Liberator:
You grew up as a slave, and though you may have known your parents at one point, you can no longer remember much (if anything) about them - a warm feeling, a vague scent, a certain color of hair, the sound of a voice. Perhaps they died; perhaps you were taken from them at a very young age, to be raised elsewhere, for other purposes. Burdened by that yoke, you never thought much beyond that day, perhaps dreaming of what you might do when your masters finally let you rest for the evening, your belly half-full of thin gruel and a bean or three.
That was when the Liberator entered your life. You do not know who he - or she - truly was, only that they were a changeling, someone who could be something one moment, and something else in the next. They moved through the slave pits seemingly at will, murmuring encouragement, passing out pieces of fruit or meat to bolster flagging energy. Every once in a while, a slave would vanish, and the slaves murmured that they must have been brought out of bondage by the Liberator.
You knew that that wasn't true - because you spoke to the Liberator every time they came through. She (or he) seemed to have taken an interest in you, and quietly taught you what it was to be a changeling - something you did not even know you were, having been taught very early to clutch at a form and not let it go, so much so that you'd always thought you were the race you had been concealing yourself as. But with that knowledge unlocked, you realized that the Liberator was more than just a person - it was an idea. And when you suggested this to him (or her), he smiled slowly.
The Liberator always told you that you had to find your own way - to make your own decisions, to think and act and judge for yourself. That the Gods were all well and good, but they decided things for souls, that you needed to decide what you would accept, and not accept, where you would draw the line. That the Liberator {i}was{/i} an idea, an ideal, and that though it didn't have to be yours, that you knew ... helped.
Through clever use of your abilities, one night you escaped your shackles and left the life of a slave behind, knowing in your heart that the lessons taught to you by the Liberator would be with you the rest of your life.
Benefit: The teachings of the Liberator - to decide for yourself informed your calling to your 1st-level class. This class is always a favored class to you, and your dedication to it is such that every time you take a level in the class, you gain +1 hit point and 1 additional skill point over and above what you would normally gain.
Restriction: This feat can be taken only by changelings.
If this is of interest to you, you would have grown in your formative years as a halfling, perhaps with your mother (or both parents) having been born on the Ravennan continent, but captured by slavers while in the form(s) of halflings. You would have been a slave in one (or several) of the five colony-cities on the west coast of the continent, which were established by, and are a part of, the Phoenix Empire (real-world equivalent being China, PF equivalent Tian-Shu) - where all 'smallfolk', meaning gnomes and halflings, are by law slaves.
(As changelings are extremely rare outside of the Ravennan continent, it's best to avoid actually having been in the Empire itself.)
Escaping, you would then have been able to assume the form of a tallfolk individual and headed away from the colonies; with slavery and liberation as your impetus, and with a calling from the Gods, you would have grown, trained, learned ... become a paladin. The language of Imperial comes from your childhood; the language of Ravennan is standard. Kolshet is the language of dragons and the ancient shapeshifters that are your ancestors; it is also highly unchanging, so it is the preferred languages of the world's scholars and (most of its) philosophers. She learned the language of the elves because they intrigue Hayden.
