Clark Whittle's page

For setting material, you can't go wrong with the FR sourcebooks for 3e.
Ignore or convert the crunch and keep the rest. :)
Silver Marches, Waterdeep, Shining South, Unapproachable East, Faiths and Pantheons, Races of Faerun, Serpent Kingdoms, and the Underdark especially.
Other 3e books to a lesser extent that are more focused on crunch, character options, etc.

lol. Thank you sir. :)

As a big fan of dragons, I'd like to first say that my absolute favorite versions of the chromatics are by Paizo and I am equally thrilled with their scaling (Not just that large is a 2" base, huge is a 3", and gargantuan is 4", but in how the individual minis' sizing is more realistic within each size category)
To date we have huge versions of the black, white, and red as well as gargantuan blue and green (representation for all colors) and hopefully we'll one day see them all in all their glorious sizes. (which may not be long given how quickly Paizo has been releasing them)

That said, I've been pondering why the huge black dragon promo is considerably smaller than her huge red and huge white cousins and have come up with some possible answers...

1) the black was made earlier on, before Paizo solidified their scaling benchmarks.
2) the sizing was intentional and the black dragons simply ARE smaller than their chromatic cousins. ie: reds and whites are bigger/more muscular than the blacks, and greens are shorter/stockier
3) Answer number one is correct and my level of nerdish inquiry deserves a stoning at the hands of angry villagers.
4) Answer number one is correct and Paizo may decide to ret-con answer number 2 into official Pathfinder dragon lore. eg: black dragons are the smallest, sneakiest, and most dispicable ones..

Interested in knowing if anyone else shares my curiosities? :)

I held off so long on buying this dragon, that I had all but given up when I saw one in a game store while on vacation.
I have to say, it is the COOLEST prepainted gargantuan miniature to date.

While I'm quite fond of the previously made gargantuan blue,black,and white, the detail on this piece is truly remarkable and the size is much more realistic and logical, imo. I lucked out to find one this late in the game and encourage any fan of the bigger dragons to grab this one wherever they can. Reading a post from 2012, and seeing the new gargantuan green dragon, I'm absolutely thrilled to see that Paizo remains solid in their intent to produce all the chromatics in all sizes.

Given that we now have a gargantuan blue and green, a fantastic array of the reds and whites in the evolution sets, as well as the huge black, it looks like this plan will see completion sooner than expected.

Thank you Paizo for fulfilling our dreams of getting the whole spectrum of evil dragons in all their awesome (and appropriately sized) glory. :)

For me and my group, Pathfinder is a godsend and an improvement on D&D 3.5 in every way, especially the rule fixes, improved mechanics, and the added options for every character class. In my experience as a gamer since AD&D in the 80s, I find the level of customization with Pathfinder is unmatched and the level of maturity of the APs is perfect for my age group. I'll spare everyone from slipping into gushing fanboy mode. Let's just say we won't be leaving Pathfinder anytime soon.

That said, however, I am very intrigued with what I've read of the 5th ed Basic Rules. We left 3.5 for Pathfinder, and with 4th edition not to our liking, I never joined the Next playtest, so my first experience with it has been the free Basic Rules download. I understand that it's a bare bones system, I just hope that they follow through with their plans on modularity so that game groups can truly add the systems and options they like and disregard the ones they don't. There is no doubt that Mike Mearls and the gang at Wizards took a page from Pathfinder by having a massive playtest to see what "the gamers" want to see in the new addition and took that input to the design table. It's also obvious that they have been looking at advancement in game design from other companies.

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT 5TH EDITION SO FAR (the positives that stand out the most for me):
- The focus on roleplaying and the inspiration mechanic that rewards you for roleplaying your background, ideals, bonds, flaws, etc. It appreciates that your character is more than his or her mathmatical stats.
- Making magical items rare and unique. You're not expected to have 20 magic items by a certain level just to keep your character at par with the monsters and challenges you face. I agree with the idea that magic items should be special and not so readily available that you can simply buy them at the local MagicItems-R-Us shop.
- A stronger focus on flavor text for races and classes.
- Categorizing humans into 9 ethnic groups (most likely taken from Pathfinder)
- 9 alignments are back !!
- Destroy Undead for Clerics !! This is just one of the many nods to earlier editions that gives an exciting retro feel.
- Reintroduction of Domains for Clerics and Schools of Magic for Wizards and bringing back the vancian magic system.
- The advantage/disadvantage mechanic appears to be more fun than added bonuses/penalties. I just hope that it doesn't prove to be too generic and that they can nail down when it appropriately applies (with a minimal bit of DM discretion of course). If it's too vague and subjective it won't feel like a rule and will be too easily abused.
- Backgrounds with skill packages and ideas for fleshing out your character are brilliant, as are equipment packages.
- Weapon properties ! You don't need numerous feats and a metric TON of math for two weapon fighting, thrown weapons, or for weapons that can be used one or two-handed. It's built right into the weapon description. One of my FAVORITE improvements. Duel short sword weilding rogue? No problem.
- A saving throw system that makes sense and has the target character rolling a save, rather than the attacker having to roll a target number. I absolutely hated the latter and am glad it's back to the process of earlier editions. Having saves based on the 6 stats rather than fort/ref/will is a minor change imo, but makes sense.
- A flatter, set, proficiency bonus that advances slower making lower CR monsters more relevent at higher levels. "Sounds" great.I just hope this actually works AND makes sense in practice. Probably my BIGGEST worry of all the changes.
- Forgotten Realms pre-Sundering is back as are all eras of the Realms.

WHAT I DISLIKE ABOUT 5TH EDITION SO FAR:
It's really hard to give a fully informed appraisal as the Player's Handbook doesn't come out till August, but a few things come to mind.
- the ability to divide your move up before and after your attack has me a bit worried as to it's full implications but, in all fairness, I'll save my opinion until I've seen it in practice.
- Sculpt spell?? Pockets of safety within your evocation spells' effect?? So your ally can just stand in your cone of whatever and only the bad guys are affected?? This will definitely be house ruled out in my game as it seems ridiculous and takes away the danger inherent in these spells.
- Double damage for vulnerability and half damage for resistance is oversimplified and too drastic. eg: Damage resistance 5, 10, or 20 vs fire worked just fine and gave some distinction between monsters of a similar type.
- Video game healing system. Between Second Wind and Action Surge, the Fighter looks broken to me. Not just overpowered, but in an obviously unrealistic way.
- And lastly, while I love the elegance and simplicity of the base rules, I hope that our group doesn't find the system too simplified. I realize that this is just the base from which they plan to add options and levels of complexity and customization. I just hope that this goal proves attainable as new rules have a way of affecting other dynamics of game play in an often unplanned and unforseen way.

So.... as you can see from my long winded review based on an initial read through of the Basic Rules, I'm optimistically excited and see way more positives than negatives. If the 3 core books are as cohesive and well done, Pathfinder may have to share my game table with a little brother.

Exeter wrote:

Gray Maidens again? Did not see that one coming. But that's great news - there is probably no chance wie could get a glimpse of information of how these babies will be used again?

There will be a LOT of information about them in this volume.

Very exciting. Curse of the Crimson Throne is my favorite AP and I'm guessing there was a ton of demand for more Grey Maiden material. Can't wait to see what happens to them following Ileosa's reign. :)

So any advice on how to deal with PCs set on conduct that conflicts with your paladin's code? I'm looking for options that would allow both characters and play styles to co-exist in the same game group without infringing on each other. Or is this simply the burden of any character playing a LG alignment? Advice welcome.

The witness was not evil and could have been completely innocent for all we knew. Could not allow my burly fighter companion to beat information out of him. Not cool.

God bless you strange soul..

I've searched long and hard to find the right post to vent my frustrations. I have had 2 paladins in my past year of gaming (rise and curse APs) and both campaigns have included a fellow friend and pc that (of no fault of their own) chose certain role play options that put my paladins code of conduct in question. Whether its beating a witness for information or torturing a prisoner or many other unsavory acts of non lawful goodness, I found myself at odds
As one of two front line heavies in a party of 5 or 6, how do you balance the need of a comrade to do whatever it takes for the partys survival, against the need to stay the course with your own code of conduct?

Holding another accountable for simply playing his chosen alignment seems unfair..

I absolutely love these. For every AP, I write up a one page history/background with a picture, as I feel it helps flesh out your persona, not just for yourself, but for your group. It adds so much more to the game by allowing your DM a more in depth understanding of the character your portraying and how it fits into his or her campaign. For gaming groups that have made this mandatory, I've had a richer game experience. Looking forward to trying this product out for my current and future characters.

That said.. Mr Sean K Reynolds was my inspiration to jump into the world of minis painting so I must give a shout out. Do yourself the service of trying it. The more you improve, the more you'll want to tackle greater challenges and I hope you'll find the experience as rewarding.

The problem with the Reaper PPM is that they are too pricey.

Its amazing what a simple magnifying,illumination lamp can do. I used to accept the fact that it was beyond the capabilities of my 40 year old eyes but I now paint my favorite reapers as a hobby all its own. All i can say is.. pick your favorite mini for your next campaign, jump in, and paint it. You'll be surprised how much you improve with practice. :)

necropost.. :)

First off.. excellent discussion. :)

MY anti-paladin is Lawful Evil because he/she follows a code of conduct.DONE.

And yes, I have read this thread at length, weighed it against my conceptions and misconceptions as a 40 year old gamer that misses its previous exclusion and my opinion stands.

..dodges cans and tomatoes..

When i look at the incredible improvements that paizo has made to our beloved game in absolutely EVERY class, it's the one point of contention that i hold. Anti-paladin screams code and code means law. ymmw.

I own the dragon issue that first intoduced the anti-paladin and love the nostalgia and imagery it holds. Reaper should really make this mini..

Curious as to what the cover art will be. A rustic tomb with a sihedron incribed, new artwork, a montage of art from the AP ??

If it has the sharp edged pastel colored dice that you have crayon the numbers I'm sold. I suspect it will be a worthy successor to the old red box. Looking forward to this as an entry point for my 12 year old nephew. :)

Alignment has always been such a crucial part of the game and the focus of many a dispute. This series is going to give a lot of much needed perspective on the more gray areas. While other games have tried to simplify/reduce/ignore this heritage, Paizo is taking the challenge head on. Very much looking forward to the rest of this series. Well played. :)

There are plenty of Anti Paladins to choose from

I dont see the one you are refering to.

Found it.

While browsing my picture files, I came across an old pic of an anti-paladin from the 1st edition days, but have had no success in finding where the picture is from.
I'm guessing it could be from the original magazine article in Dragon 39? Any help would be much appreciated as I'm trying to get a higher rez version for my character background/write up.

For my half-elf rogue I chose Ancestral Arms in the APG as an Alternate Racial Trait to grant my character the Exotic Weapon Proficiency as a bonus feat. You give up the adaptability racial trait but it's a good trade if you want to use that elven curve blade.

Using Spring Attack is full-round action. Performing a charge (and using the Scouts Charge ability) is another full-round action. Per turn, you cant perform more than one full-round action (not second full-round action nor move action). Neither you can combine abilities that take full-round action to perform.

With Spring Attack, your movement wont provoke attacks of opportunity from the target of your attack. You cant use Scouts special abilities to perform sneak attack with Spring Attack, until Rogue level 8, when you get Skirmish ability.

Thanks for the clarification. Combining Spring Attack with Skirmishing better explains what I'm trying to do, but will have to wait till level 8 as you mentioned. Combining Spring Attack with Skirmishing (as opposed to just Skirmishing) also limits you to just one attack (as per Spring Attack rules) but it would be one attack with sneak attack damage and the ability to then spring away without provoking correct?

I'm currently playing a Fighter 2/ Rogue 6 and was wondering about a maneuver combination.

My question is...
If you have the Spring Attack feat as well as Scout's Charge (allowing sneak attack damage on a charge), can you use the Fast Getaway Rogue Talent in the same round?

Ie: charge in, attack with added sneak attack damage, then spend a move action to withdraw (as long as the total movement does not exceed your total movement rate)?

Fast Getaway allows you to spend a move action to take a withdraw action following a successful sneak attack, so would Spring Attack allow this combo?

My apologies if this sounds greedy, overpowered, and broken as all get out. Just wondering if it would work according to the RAW.

Feedback/suggestions most welcome.

Currently playing Council of Thieves and was disallowed my hexes when the target was right in front of me, but within a transparent glass barrier. I realize that spell-like effects fall under spells, but supernatural abilities don't have the same restrictions, correct?
I was right in front of the target of my hex with nothing but an inch of glass separating us. Should my hex work or not? Opinions and rules lawyers most welcome.

Laminiated together that is. :)

Evil Lincoln wrote:

I wonder would it be possible to have an un-creased version of this map folio that could ship in a poster tube? Might make a nice limited-edition item...

Not really. Shipping (both to us from the printer and to you) would make it economically unfeasible.

For you cartographiles, it's a simple trip to Staples to have all 4 laminated for your wall. I checked with them and they can handle this size. Barely though. lol

"The Switzerland of the Edition Wars"
Awesome tagline. lol

I've since lost the link to an incredibly hilarious Darth Maul and Chewbacca puppet. The workmanship was amazing and it had a complete tutorial. If I can find it again, I would love to do a Pathfinder Goblin in the same vein.
If Paizo ever decides to do a puppet, there's little doubt that Wayne's big headed grinning gobby would be the mascot.

The Skinsaw Man looks fantastic all painted up. Scares the bejebus out of me. Looking forward to the re-release of this one. :)

I recently picked up the issues I was missing from Rise of the Runelords (I think 3 of them just went out of print) but you can still find them at most local game stores on the BC coast. ie: Victoria, Nanaimo, Duncan, etc.

I can see paying up to 1 and a half or even twice the price after something goes out of print and is no longer available at your FLGS, but it's up to the consumer to know what a ridiculous asking amount is.

Chapters Online is a good example. When you check out gaming books in the used books section, they may have 4 used copies of an RPG book ranging from 50US to 500US. Something is always worth was someone is willing to pay for it and I never blame the seller. It's up to the buyer as to what they're willing to pay.

I dont have anything against 4E perse, but I love the fact Pathfinder is backwards compatible with a huge extensive library of 3.X stuff, so thats a huge plus.

I tried both, and have to say, I didnt like 4E too much, its too combat orientated, missing alot of the non-combat type spells that made Dungeons & Dragons what it always had been. Some improvements did exist dont get me wrong, but overall, it just seemed WoTC was aiming to appeal to gamers who wanted a fast, easy to play Warcraftesque 'point, click, kill and loot' style philosiphy. Not saying that doesnt suit some style of gamers - of course it does, but alot of hardcore D&Ders who spent their time with 1E upwards generally avoided 4E, I know alot of people that went back to 3.5 after giving up on 4E, and I directed them to Pathfinder and they got hooked instantly.

At the end of the day, for what its worth - I think you made the right choice.

This was my experience as well, and I really like how you put it. Us Canadians are a diplomatic bunch eh? lol

Yikes..
Just realized I went waaay off topic there from the original post.
My apologies.

Clark Whittle wrote:

I'm confident that the Serpent's Skull AP and Nick Logue's upcoming Razor Coast will fill that void for me

Sorry, I had to stop to laugh after I saw you're looking forward to Razor Coast. I've just about written it off as I wasted my money on Nick's rent.

No worries. :)

I understand your position completely and empathize with everyone that pre-paid (what, a year and a 1/2 ago now?) but when I was hunting around for some good pirate adventures, I came across Logue's website and apparently he has hired some help to finally get the job done. There have been regular weekly updates detailing their progress, letting everyone know where they are at in the process, with regards to proofing, editing, map cartography, etc.

I don't want to speculate, but after reading this regularly updated thread, I think the project will be seeing the light of day soon. To be fair, they are the kind of updates that everyone should have been receiving all along.

Plus, "Hybrids of Golarion" makes me think half-elves drive Priuses.

Or a Honda Insight. lol

A devil is a devil. A demon is a demon. A bastard is a bastard.
Dang nab it!! lol

Golarion gnomes and dwarves have a neat spin on them. I'm sure we'll see some coolness for Pathfinder halflings as well. :)

If only I could do that with Age of Worms and Savage Tide. :(

I've heard a lot of great feedback from fans of the Savage Tide AP, but have come to terms with the fact that I may not be able to find it short of tracking down each of the Dungeon magazine issues. Considering the authors, however, I'm confident that the Serpent's Skull AP and Nick Logue's upcoming Razor Coast will fill that void for me with pirate/horror/cthulu-esque goodness. :)

AoW and STAP are wotc property for a ruleset they no longer support, so the chances of them doing a HC collection (ala Shackled City) is probably slim to none. It's really to bad. I bet Wizards could sell a ton of those early Dungeon APs in a collected format.

As for the first 4 Pathfinder APs, you can still get them for cover price if you're willing to hunt around. I was late to the party and didn't get into Pathfinder until the beginning of Legacy, but managed to find the first 3APs between Chapters Online and 3 gaming stores. There is even a few sets of everything still available where I purchased them. I would definitely recommend grabbing the early APs while you still can.

We just started playing the Shackled City (pathfinderized) and thought I'd try out a Paladin. I'm pleased with the amount of love Paizo's given this class, but having played rogues and rangers for most of my gaming years, I'm finding a lot of ambiguity with the code I have to follow.

Questions..

1) If we have a NE party member, can we work together to confront a greater evil, even though our motives differ?

2) Someone mentioned in a previous thread that lawful good doesn't mean lawful nice. This is intriguing tagline. Does this mean that someone like Batman would be considered lawful good?

3) Paladins are supposed to uphold law and order. Does this mean, you respect the laws of the land, or would a paladin of Iomedae (for example) follow her own code first and the laws of the society he's in second?

4) Is it my responsibility to bring ALL evil to justice, provided said evil has the capacity to understand good from bad and is not just some CE destructive force or LE opponent that is beyond redemption?

I think I have a good understanding of how to play this alignment, but there are a few gray areas I'm unsure about. Is it up to our GM to interpret these situations on a case by case basis or do most LG players see their code as fairly well defined?

Feedback appreciated. :)

Thanks for the feedback. :D
Ernest - that sounds like a monster, but I have no doubt that incorporating the best parts of each product will ensure a great campaign. I'll be sure to check out your favorite list.

Much appreciated. :)

With the Serpent Skull AP still a ways away, I'd like to ask for some feedback on a good pirate and/or horror adventure that my group can tackle in the meanwhile to get a decent feel for the genre.

Here's my current adventure library:

Rise of the Runelords
Curse of the Crimson Throne
Second Darkness
Council of Thieves

City of the SpiderQueen
Expedition to Castle Greyhawk
Expedition to the DemonWeb Pits

I'm quite interested in feedback from anyone who has played or GM'd the Freeport Trilogy, Savage Tide, or any other similar adventure. Suggestions most welcome.

I LOVE this idea as sci-fi/fantasy prop collecting is my other hobby.
I think a ROTRL ring would be a big hit. Big and almost gaudy looking like a Dracula signet ring or the ones the Salvatore brothers wear on the Vampire Diaries for that archaic medieval look. :)

As far as RPG props go, I got such a kick out of the Harrow Deck in Curse that I bought an antique playing card box. It has a gypsy look to it that I thought would add to the atmosphere of the readings when we start the AP.

Roleplaying and props work great together. Excellent idea Sean.

The "spiritual successor" to TSR.

A very appropriate tagline for Paizo. I can think of no better compliment that sums it up more succinctly. While the d20 ruleset revolutionized the mechanics of the game, the true spirit lies in the creativity and passion that goes into the setting. As mentioned, Golarion's creators are very proud of what they've created, so I don't forsee any world changing events ala FR in Golarion's future. This baby is safe with it's mother, me thinks.

James Jacobs wrote:

There's going to be a LOT more rogue talents to choose from in the upcoming Advanced Player's Guide.

<OT>August is never going to get here fast enough for this book!</OT>

Somewhere I could have SWORN I saw a bunch of homebrewed rogue talents someone has posted. Ill have too look and see if I can find those again, or if my mind is making stuff up again.

Damn.

In all seriousness, I used to love playing a Thief Acrobat in 1E. Even with the clunky mechanics that I used to have to add to the bottom of the character sheet like running jump, etc. it had an air of cool that set it apart from the other classes.

With the playtest completed for the additional base classes in the Advanced Players Guide and talk of added material for the PF Core Classes, I'm wondering how big this book is going to be?

I have faith, however, that Paizo has learned from the history of their forefathers and won't break the beautiful balance they've created.

Too be honest, I'm not sure how PF would translate to the sci-fi or "modern" genre any better than current d20 games, but I'm very interested in hearing opinions.

Pathfinder is an incredibly innovative advancement of the 3.5 D&D ruleset, which has had 10 years of evolution to begin with. For us 3.5 gamers (and now PF gamers), this is truly a golden age. Above the rules refinement, Paizo is cutting edge as far as getting the best adventure authors in the industry today.

As far as sci-fi RPGs ,however, the only other game I play is Star Wars using the Saga Rules and for my game group it works great.
Why? This genre is arguably more sci-fantasy than true science fiction and, as such, it demands a more cinematic, pulpy, lightness that lends itself better to the d20 modern (talent tree) style of play.

Great for Star Wars, but NOT for my beloved fantasy roleplaying, thank you..

Pathfinder for fantasy.
SW saga (d20 modern) for my sci-fi.

Keep my corn out my potatoes Mom !!

As an aside...
Most of us know that SW saga was a ruleset testing ground for 4E, but what WOTC didn't know is that they would end up with a great sci-fi game in the process. That was truly A success. Yes, A success. :)

My favorite paladin was the character Paladin from Marvel Comics and he was eviiiiiil! Perhaps you could confuse the daylights out of your players by simply refering to antipaladins as paladins. :)

Just wondering which incarnation you're referring to. The original Paladin in Marvel or the one in Todd McFarlane's Spiderman. I really enjoyed the latter.

I'm looking forward to the nostalgic return and reinvention of the Antipaladin in my PF campaign. The name alone gives me goosebumps and I couldn't imagine Paizo naming them anything else. :)

Just check this out for some retro-nostalgastic goodness... :D

jamesmishler.blogspot.com

....hmm..trying to link to a cool 1st ed pic, but not sure if this will work. My apologies if not.

+1 to all that. (hope I'm using the convention correctly)

Given the richness and diversity of Golarian in just a few years of existence, spanning a multitude of various cultural and genre based campaigns, I can't see why Paizo would ever want anyone else's IP.
In the past year, the campaign world has really come into it's own and with each Chronicle and Adventure Path release, I find myself missing certain specifics of FR less and less.

No other company listens to it's fans more than Paizo and their policy of transparency, gamer involvement with playtesting, and continued presence and appreciation of customer feedback on this messageboard is truly what sets them apart.

At the risk of getting chapped lips, I'm really pleased with the care that's being given to their own IP.

Ustalav is my new Ravenloft, so I'm now offically Golarian exclusive for my fantasy RPG fix. :)

Out of 24 APs and pretty much the entire chronicles and companion line, I've only had pages come loose on my Gods and Magic. That's pretty darn good, imo, and considering the above posts, I'm guessing that G&M may have had a glitch with the gluing.
As for the quality of the paper and binding on Paizo's books, I think they're top notch. Mine are certainly standing up to regular use.

About 2 years back, the owner of my FLGS in Calgary introduced our gaming group to Cutthroat Caverns, since we didn't have enough players show for our weekly RPG game. I can remember being less than enthused initially, as I've always considered the card and board game realm to be RPG lite, but wow, was I mistaken.

Now that I've moved to BC, I've convinced my new local game store to order this much underrated game and do demos on their board game night.

My question is...
What do you think of this game? Is it one of the best of it's type/genre?
I have to claim ignorance as it's one of the VERY few non-RPG games I've tried outside of the classics (Monopoly, Risk, Scrabble, etc.)and enjoyed it immensely.

I'd love to hear some recommendations for other strategy games in the fantasy genre as well.

Much appreciated,
Clark