Ha, just found this thread. I had an article in this issue. Should get a 5 star rating :P
I had another 2 commissioned too, but 4E came along before they could be published :(
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Wow, I had just been contemplating a similar situation for ages (and we settled it/played last night). I had the city watch turn up at the mill with a sergeant that had been investigating Ironbriar for some time. My party were at least wondering how they were going to approach this sticky situation, and when they came clean the sgt was very pleased with them and was happy that his suspicions were confirmed. He then stated he would deal with the mayor and arrange for Ironbriar's residence to be searched. Of course, this sergeant was taking some of the PC's thunder, but at the same time they gained an ally in the city watch (who was hoping for promotions to the 'upper city') and eventually a meeting with the mayor. (Who later sent them off to Turtleback Ferry - and I was thinking very much like the post above. Great description of the Mayor's thoughts :)).
You may wish to have a look at our playtest report over at Enworld. Basically, I DID have town guards, militia, merchant guards and even townsfolk doing things. I increased the raid a lot and narrated 'off-scene' actions by others. I even came up with a very fast mechanic for the players to roll Towns Folk vs Goblins and some fun little charts to describe what happened. I am sorry - I cannot picture all townsfolk doing nothing, inc the mayor, sheriff, etc. I don't care what the 'goal' of the encounter was - how could there be any respect for these heroes and leaders if they do nothing. I had a goblin attack the night before on outlying farms, so guards were sent out of town to investigate and keep an eye on things. That left a smaller crew in town, but they still did something. I had Sheriff Hemlock take most guards to an attack on the North Gate when the goblins arrived in the market square (I used the open area in front of the cathedral). He ordered others to guard the cathedral, along with the mayor and Father Zantus. The PCs still finished the battle at the North Gate, helping the sheriff end the raid by clsing the gates. How could PCs have any respect for these NPCs if they do nothing )especially considering some of their backgrounds). Anyway - if you want to check it out, along with all attached docs, head over here:
Going OK so far. I found running the combats a breeze (and freely added extra goblins when required). Only real prob is we play 1/month (and missing this manth :(), so not getting enough play with one version of each PC. We have played once (double session), and have already updated the PCs for next session. (We did play several one-offs for 1st and 2nd packet though). BTW, there are files attached to the Player's Site too if interested for you players. Oh and I finally worked out (I think) how to hyperlink those sites, but now I can't edit those posts...???
My players have mentioned an interest in Chopper's Isle. I will have to look into these links :)
Ah Cynge...that was EXACTLY what I was searching for (only I found it too late). We have played out the festival and raid now. Thanks anyway. :)
We also have our own campaign website for Player Discussion in the forums and a Sandpoint page with info for the players on the main NPCs, etc. The website is player focussed. http://pathtogolarion.wikidot.com/ Cheers, Connors.
So we have decided to use Rise of the RUnelords as our DnDN playtest. (It was also going to be my 1st 4E campaign too, but that never eventuated). Rather than copy everything here, I will refer you all to out playtest thread on Enworld: http://www.enworld.org/forum/d-d-pathfinder/328907-campaign-playtest-rise-r unelords.html It has info on players, characters, short story reports, DM notes and adjustments, as well as discussion in the rules. Of more importance, the thread has many docs attached for DMs to use. (The reason the report is there and not here). Of these people may like the Realms Sheets I have developed. (This is my version of the 2E World Builder's Guide, but it can be used for everything from a tribe to and organisation, to a forest, to a kingdom. It is very useful for organising info - and finding it once you are used to them). I have realms sheets for Sandpoint and each of the Goblin Tribes. I have charts I used to spice up the Swallowtail Festival and goblin raid. Anyway, please check it out and feel free to post Q's/responses there OR here. Session 1+2 took us to just after the goblin raid.
I would get the goblin druid to try and ally with these guys to kill Nualia - someone he is not happy with. I think it says he wouldn't betray his tribe, but this might be a good 'rule' to break here. I always prefered the RP idea of him telling the PCs some info (but not accompanying them). He wants Nualia and Lamashtu gone so the tribe can return to worshipping the almighty spirits. A bunch of adventurers falling into his hands would be too much to resist :)
Thanks. That was a good read. I skipped some of the 'in party' dialogue, but was very interested in how you handled a lot of the NPCs and situations. It sounded like Sandpoint was 'real'/alive and it was good to see NPCs doing something. I changed the whole idea of the initial raid to show that the Sheriff, Guards, Clerics, etc were doing SOMETHING. I complied several docs you might find helpful too, inc: a Realms sheet for Sandpoint and each of the Goblin Tribes. The goblin tribes might be of most help since that is where you are going. I have a thread on Enworld for our campaing (both story and rules discussion, as we are doing it as a DnDN Playtest). Anyway, you may wish to check out several of my attachments if nothing else. Site: http://www.enworld.org/forum/d-d-pathfinder/328907-campaign-playtest-rise-r unelords.html Thanks. I copied your version of Bethana's explanation regarding the relationship of Ameiko and her half-bro. That was a neat summary. And, yes, our party was another that had exact similar feelings/encounter with Aldern Foxglove. Even better, the 'dandy/charlatan' of our group saved him single-handedly. We are currently at the day following the raid, so your handling of the events in town have been very helpful. :)
If interested, I have several docs for this campaign on the go. I have a Realms Doc for each of the Goblin Tribes and for Sandpoint itself. (I have a whole system of realms creation I use for everything from tribes to forests to organisations to kingdoms). The above docs don't really matter what edition/system you are playing. For those interested I am using Rise of the Runelords as a Playtest for 5E, so there are also some stat docs too. All docs are on my Playtest Thread at Enworld: http://www.enworld.org/forum/new-horizons-upcoming-edition-d-d/328907-campa ign-playtest-rise-runelords.html#post6009424 Cheers. C
So no one knows about the speeches for the Swallowtail Festival?
Thanks for these. I will definitely be using some of these, along with some other off-the-cuff competitions and gambling. I know I have asked this somewhere else (but can't find where), but when this first came out someone had written the speeches performed at the Festival. Does anyone know who that was and where to locate them? I was going to run it a long time ago, but didn't get around to it, but I remember the speeches (and goblin songs ;)).
I am going with a broken tower representing The Old Light. On a shield partitioned blue and brown. (Land and sea).
I was going to run this a few years ago and it never got underway :( Well, now I am back to give it another go and wow! I had the goblin songs, but oh how the contributions have flourished. Well done to those that have added some and thanks to those that have kept the lists up to date :) One thing I see missing, is I believe someone in the threads long ago wrote out the Mayor's speech for the Swallowtail Festival. It was very good from memory and I was wondering whether anyone knows who did this and where a copy of it can be found. (Likely somewhere in these forums)? Cheers, C
Have you considered adding a new setting to the Paizo catalogue?
Woah, this was going to be my 1st 4e campaign and I put it on hold b/c several iconic monsters weren't going to be initially released (esp stone ginats). Well now I am looking for our 4th 4e campaign and I have come back to Rise of the Runelords. I vaguely remembered someone doing a conversion here, so here I am, and it seems impressive Scott. I noticed this thread hasn't been used in a while. is this conversion still going? Are you still playing the AP? I will check out your blog and PDF. Thanks in advance. C
I have had this for some time, but am just about to embark upon running it. I was wondering - with most of my modules I received a free PDF of module, but not this one. Any reason for that? Cheers, C
Yes, it seems Vegemite is an acquired taste. One that starts from a very early age. Give it to babies and they will forever eat it. Apparently not if you start too late ;) No funnelwebs where I am, only red backs and white tails... Nothing too dangerous. So are any Aussies (or others) going to the OZ Gencon in July? Looks like a couple of us are making the trip...even though I am a long way from Brisbane. Anyone in Vic going to Arcanacon. Doesn't look like there is any RPG going on from what I could see :( C
Hello? C'mon Aussies.
Wow, you should be a lawyer Jim. Your posts only 'attack my credibility' (gee I hoped I spelt that right - as I spend so much time on boards checking spelling, etc) and still you haven't answered the thread. (Be very careful to check all your own spelling now so you "dont" miss anything). How can I leave when I keep getting responses like yours? Maybe we should start a new thread about 'credibility', but I guess it doesn't matter, this thread is dead...and hardly got answered. (Nothing unusual in threads where the OP asks for thoughts on 4e). Regarding the baby crying - well we could both be accused of that by other posters here (read your own threads too). So what other threads are you posting on? Sure we can stir up trouble there too (not real hard on these boards, especially where people 'care so much' (about a game - yet can be very rude to the people writing it). Man, it is only a game....only a game. What else gets your juices flowing? You do seem more interesting... ;)
Still very few specific answers on 4e, the game ??????
So many things still to use for 3.5? Well if you like them enough use them in 4E. IDEAS can still be used and I am betting the stats are a whole lot easier to do. MANY of my adventures for 3.5 were from 1E and 2E. It really is little effort to convert. And to answer someone else in the thread - I do not agree with you 'change for change sake' analogy. I see WotC finally actually coming up with reasons and niches for the races. It is starting to sound like a place where each race and creature truly has a place, rather than being a 'cool' set of stats. I am liking the back story. How many people used much of the creatures' backstories in 3.5 anyway?
Dithering Fool wrote: WotC is doing a lot of things that I disagree with and they are going about it all wrong. I feel alienated and disenfranchised. Then again, I am not their target demographic. So what exactly? Why are you not the target audience when Paizo products are? What exactly are WotC doing differently? What is it about 4E, THE GAME, that people are so peeved about? I too would like to see some specific answers.
I am going to jump in here before the many haters here do :) Surely you have enough 3.5 books and adventures to last MANY campaigns. So if you still like it still play it. Most new stuff will could be converted (or will have already appeared as 3.5). I certainly do not understand the hate either. Many threads ending with general snide and often abussive comments that have nothing to do with the post topic is very irritating. Many are unfounded. Hard to judge something until you see the final product. I wonder how much hate there would have been for Star Wars Saga if they had released as amny previews etc. From most accounts it appears to be a far superior game. I really cannot stand the cost thing. You get more bang from your buck from any RPG book than practically any other form of entertainment. People should not be complaining about that (especially those in the U.S). You do NOT need every book to play the game. 3.5 had many extra classes, races etc - you could play without them and same with 4e. Yes, some races and classes will not be in the PHB1, but not everything can be and I am glad they have chosen to branch out a little and not just repeat what has been done before. (Remember even some things people see as standard, weren't necessarily so in all editions). Just b/c it was in the game from a previous supplement does not mean it is the best thing for PHB1. However - back to you IP. I too would like to know the real reasons behind the HATE. I mean a lot of it here simply seems to be 'stickin it to the man', attack the 'faceless big guys' and show your support for Paizo by attacking the company that took their mags away :( All things to worry about - but why hate the game?
I have NEVER taken any notice of gp/level. I cannot stand the concep that everyone of a certain level MUST have such and such - inc enemies. Thankfully my players do not do the whole buff thing. I do not provide them with easy access to magic, except for potions and scrolls. Even the few wands that have been made rub me the wrong way...still my players are more interested in fun MIs, not buffs. I am really looking forward to 4e in this regard. I say what you have done is fine. Go for it. Seriously. I have been DMing for 20 odd years and players love a challenge. This whole 3e thing made MIs bland to me. (As much as I love the game). I remember having huge debates on ENWORLD where a couple of posters couldn;t believe I NEVER checked whether the PCs had the correct wealth. I have also never worried about having a balanced party...and already that has started with 4e and the 4 roles...OF COURSE you can play without one of the roles. We have had many (if not most) parties in my campaigns without a cleric. There is far too much looking into this. Do what you feel is right for the campaign and players. I understand there needing to be a baseline, but for every campaign to follow it??? How bland. C
Thanks for that...but I am sure from descriptions that bushes do go to the edge. I am still having trouble with the whole incident, starting with goblins lifting it onto the wagon? I still cannot see them carrying it across the bridge. I assume they 'herded' it over.
I am reading over the first episode again (not running until I convert to 4e). I too wondered about how Erylium could harm herself, but like you have done above I came up with ways around it. What I could NOT explain is how in the hells (all nine of them)did those ragged goblins of Thistletop get a heavy warhorse through their lair of 4ft briar tunnels and over a rickety bridge (that cannot accept more than the large creature that the horse is at one time). I had trouble believing the 'they tied its feet together and put it in the merchant's wagon' part (I am sure it would take a LOT of goblins to do this and still cannot picture the logistics of the whole movement), but then became totally lost with the idea of it being on the island... Where is the wagon now? (I assume burnt or pulle to bits for timber...that part was easier). My idea was immediately to change the merchants to halflings with minature ponies. ;) Only way I can see it unless the goblins used magic to get a hostile 'monster' into their midst...??? Ideas (real ones ;)) welcome. Mr James jacobs if you will :) Cheers, C
Been quiet for a while here. I was wondering what everyone has been up to. Turns out I LOVE the Star Wars Saga and have currently dropped all dnd (until 4E) and am running a Saga campaign. We are having a ball of fun. First ran an adventure posted on the Star Wars boards by 'Grubman' I think. I was VERY good for a freebie. Then played the 'Rebel Breakout' from the d6 Sourcebook and have now moved onto 'Tatooine Manhunt' - another d6 adventure, but amongst my favourite adventures ever written. I have converted everything from NPCs to mooks, to droids and vehicles for the d6 adventures. Nearing the end of 'Tatooine Manhunt' which is great b/c I have used it 3 times before and never finished it. On unfortunate player of mine has been involved each of those times...so he, more than I, is looking forward to see how it concludes ;) Absolutely love the Saga system and its fun and ease of use for creating and converting. If 4E goes this way I will be very happy. Developed a word template for vehicles and NPCs too. Added an extra idea. Put picture on top of page upside down. Then GM can fold this sheet over screen and picture faces players with stats facing GM. Works a treat and I have MANY of these. If interested in anything drop me an email. Address on our Kage website (mentioned above). So, everyone else?
Sorry, I am sorry I even bothered replying to "I leave it to the ladies Jim". Seriously - you need to adjust that prophile before slamming the door on people...though I am sure with the civility and charisma you have shown (sorry, but WELL below that 21 mate), I am sure you have whitnessed quite a bit of that sort of behaviour. I am laughing so hard I now give no credence to your witty cries on these boards. And, yeah, now we are so far off topic, but I don't care, as I am out the door anyway :) C
Sorry, I jammed my foot in the door... very nice Jim, very nice....I think you proved my point exactly about the sensitivity shown here at times. Good on ya mate. You so rock the boards. Oh and just for the records, I too have played since box sets. I have invested VERY heavily in this game for over 20yrs, and every new edition has been an improvement and I see no reason why this will change. It will be ineresting what these boards will be like once 4e is out (and has been for a while). Will check back on those eating their words then ;) C
Lambast the ideas = fine. (I am unsure of this, though as I said, this really doesn't effect me. Just see the gods as egs for what you can use.) Insult the writers. Well at least have the sand to do it directly. My whole point was a thread on gods should stay on gods without the snide general remarks at end. But, whatever, I moving on to other boards...yeah, wher people 'worship everything Wizards does'....as if, whatever. Out, C
BTW for those above that said they would be happy with new gods or 'show me a new god' it makes it look like people didn;t even read the post, just saw the word Bane and forgot the fact that there ARE new gods. As far as all that 'old cannon' etc. Here is a big deal...change the name. Look I can understand some people not liking this. Fine, each to their own. I find it very interesting that this time around the designers were brave enough to change fluff that was poor or non-existant. Finally we are seeing a real background for elves and the different types...who cares what they are called. I bet a fair amount of people lambasting Wizards for all this fluff were some of the same complaining around the release of 3E they didn;t have the sand to change fluff that had little story to back it up. For example what is your story for the existance of elves. Pretty ordinary in the 'cannon' of the game. I bet most DMs have their own story and subraces. Isn;t it good that Wizards is now creating stuff like this and setting up a core group of popular deities and new ones that CAN start with a lot of cool intereations? well I think it is and if it is not...As I said most create these themselves for their own CS as I do. What I most dislike is using something like this thread (oh and the use of Bane?) as a lead in to more Wizards bashing. Express your opinion. Drop the snide remarks following it. That is what is annoying and giving these boards (and therefore Paizo) a bad rep elsewhere. And more importantly it ruins almost every 4E thread where the same people say the same thing about Wizards. Speaking of repeating...I will too. Remember 3E. I have no doubt most people bagging 4E will play it. And I bet they enjoy it. ;)
Ah, it is threads just like this that is why I rarely read or post here anymore. C'mon guys. Does it REALLY matter? What DM doesn;t put their own pantheon together. For those that don't Wizards are simply arranging a selection of choices. I loved Heironeous, but I am fine with Bahumut too. No wonder this place is being labelled the anti-4E boards. I feel for the writers here as this tag is not helpful at all. I am absolutely dumbfounded at the wizards-bashing here. Ever thought that these guys have played and lived the game for years - just like the folks at Paizo? (Several of whom worked at Wizards yeah?) Get over your snide swipes and innuendo. You are keeping posters away from these boards and creating a very negative image. Paizo create new gods = everyone here goes "Yeah, great idea, blah, blah, blah". Wizards at new gods and it is WTF? Why do people feel the need to can these guys constantly? REALLY? I hope you people feel better for trying to bring others down. I say go for it Wizards! Obviously over many meeting and playtests with many people sharing many ideas surely most of what they have done will please the average gamer. And most of it is fluff, so CHANGE it. (I still am dumbfounded at all the posting throughout 3E about lack of fluff - now everytime Wizards reveal fluff they cop it for that. Man, this is odd and VERY unproductive). Out. C
Oh and if you want to worry about the price of a book, try buying one in Australia. It is disgusting. So much so I am considering ordering directly from the States and it will probably still be cheaper after shipping, $ conversions, etc....but then there will be the wait :( And I too have bought a LOT of dnd books. Again, adding all this up is pointless to me, if the game is better, I will buy it and adapt the old stuff I like.
Man, I have spent gazillions on all editions of the game, but that is no reason not to look forward to the new edition. If it is better (and it will be) what is the problem? I don't play computer games, etc, but don;t they cost a lost more than the average dnd book? An also date, get patches, updates, etc. Divide the time by the $ and I am sure you would all have gotten your $ worth out of 3.5...Compare to a movie ticket. Besides, All your books ARE NOT obselete. Only the stats are...and those stats still give a very good indication of what to do with a critter/NPC in another addition. Only the Core Books are really obsolete. All other books have may ideas, concepts, PRC etc that will be able to be adapted. (I actually like adapting, as we already have several things 4E will be introducing). Books on Undead, Environments, Places, Creatures, etc will not all be obsolete. Many cool encounters still to be used in Libris Mortis, Still MANY good ideas for my desert adventures in Sandstorm, etc No waste of 1,000;s of dollars at all. Stats aren' the only reason I buy the books. The ideas are. The last 3 adventures in our 3.5/Saga hybrid have all been 1ST EDITION adventures. The ideas, settings and creatures/NPCs all fit my campaign concept so I used the adventures. Yep, I had to adapt all stats, and wait for it, make up some, like DCs for the skill checks, etc. All part of the fun of DMing in my mind. Bring on 4E. Bring on a better game. I will see you all here in a year when we all realise it is gamers working on the games and they too want to improve it. Come on May. :) C
I am more than cautiously optimistic...I am very optimistic. I too have played all versions of the game and each was an improvement. I see no reason why that will not be the case again. I am amazed at the amount of WotC Bashing on some threads, and I suspect many of those posting such comments will buy and love 4E by the time it comes around. I can;t wait. I have already started selling off several 3e books (and I bought a lot of them).
Thank you :)
And where is this porducts page?
Awaiting ;)
Be patient, be patient, etc
Wow. The best reviews of adventures are these actual journals.
I take it you are not using the pre-generated characters, which leads me to believe the players created characters and then you meshed them with the AP. Are the generics meshed in this manner? Have you borrowed from their backgrounds? Either way I love the levels of intrigue and relationships to NPCs in Sandpoint.
Monte's runethane would do well as a Viking runecaster :) Though you may want to swap the spells available to Divine spells. (Well actually Monte's book only has one list. We have all dnd spells we have in books in 2 gigantic lists; 1 arcane and 1 divine. I let runethanes choose which list to take their spells from ;)). In any case I HIGHLY recommend getting a copy of Monte's classes. Whilst they were designed to cover all generic bases, they work fine alongside the standard classes. As I stated, making each variant of a theme really adds to campaign setting. eg: Fighters with archery feats are well-known in Kingdom 1; unarmored fighters are throughout Kingdom 2 (use Monte's unfettered); and in kingdom 3 fighters are heavily armored tanks (their leaders being warmains from Monte). The barbarians on the outskirts are associated with different totems and thus have totem warriors (mOnte) in their tribes, etc. Cheers, C
Definately. I have all classes from the books I own in a list with all possible. I am very open to new classes and races, but often they have a cultural place in our CS setting too. For example Monte Cooks runethanes are typical dwarven and giant spellcasters. I used to be a stickler, but now find it hard to deny a player something they really want to play. Why do that? I mean, when do all the other books get used if people stick to the core all the time. I suggest find a small niche for the class your player wishes and make them a small part of the setting. I am sure, even in Pathfinder, there can be small cults or groups that practice different magics.
Great to see some more Aussies on board...I wonder how may others are out there lurking?
I had all the dnd stuff, and that is all I play, though looking forward to the new Star Wars Saga ed. Esp the new and much easier skill system (can you tell I am a DM and want to save prep time?). It looks much more appropriate for the Realms as characters stuff I have written. Still awaiting to see what Paizo & WotC are doing in regards to this seeing the light of day...or may just have to release as a PDF ? Actually, if there are any of you Aussies that want to have a look at this for me (and yourselves ;)) drop and email and I will send you some. As I only have my players and fellow CS writers (but don't receive a lot of feedback from them). Before getting the stuff published it would be best for several people to see the stuff. Always open to suggestions and fb too. Another player of mine has just started to DM and he has found it very good. The system I have written (and writing) is about realm creation & development. Basically you create a realm much like a character. realms are ANY area, from wild forest near town, to the town itelf, to the kingdom in which the town is in. So far has worked well, but I need to playtest out some realms over time to see how sustainable the system is. But hey, if you want to check out what I have and help out drop and email on here ;) Too much about that, sorry. back to Mil Sims: I was thinking of purchasing d20 Modern for a change, but I don;t play dnd enough and love the game. has anyone else got Modern and do you like it?
I guess that answers my query ;) To lilith's it is then ;) C
Oh Yeah! I have another thread all about DM tools ;) I get what you are saying ;) I should just plug these straight into there shouldn't I? :) Hmmm, and I thought I struck upon a good thread idea ;) However on the DM Tools thread I started, not a lot of people indicated they use the site (though I am sure many do, I think it is awesome). Is there a need for statblock threads, or would you prefer the stats to go into Lilith's DM tools? (They use the 'new' statblock over there don't they? I will have to check it out again).
Oh BTW, before people ask 'why would a pirate take that?'...I use a LOT of random rolls to create my NPCs. I don't believe every fighter should have all their stats where they suit. I love characters with unusual stats, skills even feats. If it is usable I put it in. Not every pirate was a pirate their whole life. And I take little head of the wealth rules too. But if you are a stickler for that go ahead and kee it within the right areas. However I will not be checking it. I have DMed long enough to look over and see if the equipment is cool ;) and within reason. Join in, have fun, create a pirate.
Typical pirate/marine CR 1
AC 15, touch 12, ff 13; Parry (+1 v 1 opp), Class (dodge w lt armor)+1
Speed 35ft (7sq)
Abilities Str 15, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 12
Nonhuman Pirates
Refs
OK, hoping to get many of these threads completed (depending of course upon their popularity and people's willingness to contribute). The main aim of these is to get some stats for basic roles in the dnd game. The aim is to gather a choice of seven statblocks for each thread. The first few threads will start out simple and may delve into more obscure themes latter on. Anything 3.5 goes (inc classes, races, feats, PrCs, etc) and feel to be adventurous, but remember the aim is to make 'generic' stat blocks. In this first '7 UP' I am looking for low level pirates. Please feel free to contribute (using the new statblock). I will provide one to get the thread going.
Hey, welcome Phil.
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