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Under the CRB rules for animals: "Most animals panic in battle. When combat begins, they become frightened 4 and fleeing as long as they’re frightened." The only exceptions called out explicitly are the warhorse and warpony. For everything else it just refers to the bestiary. If true, this seems to make all animals in the bestiary rather pointless as threats (e.g. T-Rex, Azure Worm). Is there a rule somewhere that says otherwise? A scan of the bestiary turned up nothing obvious.
GMs please signup to run more Pathfinder at UK Games Expo. This is the best UK convention for getting new players into the hobby. UK Games Expo is the biggest general gaming event in the UK. It had 3500 unique attendees last year in its first year at the bigger venue (almost 6000 attendee days over the weekend). It has 8 game slots from 10am Friday until 7pm Sunday with Friday games being free to enter. Expo has probably the best GM rewards package of any convention with free entry and cash allowances for running any games and free accommodation for GMing 5 games. The draft RPG schedule is up with many PFS and other Pathfinder games already on the list. Numbers are expected to more than double from the current draft schedule.
Conception UK 2014 will have a huge PFS presence. With weeks yet to go we already have volunteer GMs signed up to run over 110 tables of PFS over 5 days. With something for everyone from beginners to those with level 11 PCs (and possibly beyond). We already have GMs planning to run at least 39 different adventures: Every season 5 scenario so far released
Modules - 2 or 3 slots each
Previous seasons replayable intro scenarios
Previous seasons scenarios (level 1-5)
Previous seasons scenarios (level 3-7)
Previous seasons scenarios (level 5-9)
Previous seasons scenarios (level 7-11)
Expect the number of tables and scenarios available to rise as we get closer to the event. We ran over 120 tables last year and are already 20 ahead of last years GM sign ups at this point.
Few are as adept at fighting demons as the Riftwardens, an organization of spellcasters dedicated to protecting the boundaries between the planes. Many are already committed to the Fifth Crusade in Mendev and are unable to assist the Pathfinders directly in the society’s upcoming expedition into the Worldwound, but if the Pathfinders assist the Riftwardens elsewhere, perhaps a small number of the mages might be free to return the favor. Unfortunately, this means entering the godless nation Rahadoum, where several Riftwardens have recently disappeared. Written by Ben McFarland. Note this is a five hour game. This is a long and detailed scenario. Please do not sign up if you cannot commit to 5 hours. (the first run through at low subtier with 4 players took just over 5.5 hours)
Few are as adept at fighting demons as the Riftwardens, an organization of spellcasters dedicated to protecting the boundaries between the planes. Many are already committed to the Fifth Crusade in Mendev and are unable to assist the Pathfinders directly in the society’s upcoming expedition into the Worldwound, but if the Pathfinders assist the Riftwardens elsewhere, perhaps a small number of the mages might be free to return the favor. Unfortunately, this means entering the godless nation Rahadoum, where several Riftwardens have recently disappeared. Written by Ben McFarland. Note this is a five hour game. This is a long and detailed scenario. Please do not sign up if you cannot commit to 5 hours. Preference is for characters in the 5-6 level range.
Do monster special abilities default to CON if no ability stat is mentioned? And therefore increase when they are summoned with the augment summoning feat? For example the Babau protective slime (Su) special ability does 1d8 damage and has a reflex DC 18. It doesn't mention an ability stat, though the DC number suggests it is con based (DC10 + HD/2 + con bonus). It looks like the sort of ability that should be Constitution based. Is it? Is the fact it is a Supernatural ability relevant? Does that become 2d6 damage and DC20 with the +4 con bonus from augment summoning?
Is it intentional that there is no encounter scaling for encounter 1? I am a little concerned about this encounter as I will be running it at a con where there are likely to be new players, who might not do the appropriate thing, and might not be able to afford to bribe. Then they are facing a boss level monster out of the gate. I suspect I need to be prepared to start another pregen or three at that point! I note that there are a several creatures with reach 0ft including the one in the optional encounter at high subtier with the young template applied - which makes it less of a challenge.
Conception UK 2013 will have a huge PFS presence. With weeks yet to go we already have GMs available to run 90 tables of PFS over 5 days. With something for everyone from beginners to those with level 12 PCs. We already have GMs planning the following: Intro scenarios
Modules
Level 12
Every season 4 scenario so far released
In Wrath's Shadow (3-7)
The Golemworks Incident (5-9)
King of the Storval Stairs (7-11)
Previous season scenarios
Sewer Dragons (3-7)
Wonders in the weave part 1 and 2 (5-9) Fury of the Fiend (7-11)
Desecrate: "Every undead creature entering a desecrated area gains a +1 profane bonus on all attack rolls, damage rolls, and saving throws." Does this damage bonus apply to ability damage or only to hit point damage? For example if a Shadow enters the area of a Desecrate does it now do 1d6+1 strength damage on a hit?
The graveknight has the ability to summon a phantom mount which is a slightly improved Phantom Steed. However I don't see anwhere specified that the mount is combat trained. Which seems to make it a rather poor mount for a mounted knight. Is this correct (am I missing something)?
Several of our brethren have temporarily fallen under the silver tongued message of the so called “true pathfinders”. Don’t be fooled. The paraphrased “glory once more” message they are spreading is not even original, but borrowed from the Taldans. The politically overused “true” moniker a contrivance to deflect attention from their message of elitism. Their apparently high entry requirements are an obvious attempt to prey on the proud or weak willed who are seduced by flattery. Their call to mediocrity and their disparagement of specialists an affront to pathfinder values. Strip away the Taldan weasel words and their message is clear: “don’t change with the times” and “hold yourself above your fellow pathfinders” Is this what “true” Pathfinders aspire to? An insular elitist clique who are afraid of change? Eyes wide open Pathfinders. I understand that there are powerful new enemies of the pathfinder society, and in fear we tend to seek comfort in the “good old days” that never were. Rise above it! Now more than ever is the time for pragmatism and to embrace change. Now is not the time to form a Pathfinder supremacist group and risk splitting the society. Now is the time for unity. Ask yourselves, who benefits most if there is internal strife in the Pathfinder Society? Look again at those spreading the lamplighter message. Another "shadow lodge" style splinter group could be disastrous for the society right now. Vigilance.
After GMing PFS at conventions for 2 years and 50 tables I have built up a long mental list of things I do to prep a scenario for convention play. This list has remained relatively stable throughout this year so I decided to write the list down for 2 purposes:
I am posting it here in the hope that it is useful to others and that there are suggestions for improvements in the process or tools to use. Getting started:
Encounters:
Story and RP:
Admin:
Beyond the scenario:
As a GM I liked this scenario a lot. It was easy and fun to prep as it had a nice level of believable detail and background story. The NPCs for the two sub-tiers were also levelled in such a way to make them easier than usual to switch between them - so less prep required. I had no issues at all with the flow of the scenario and the faction missions were good, fun even. Handling the boon was tricky. They didn't trash the place and they saved injured customers, but didn't do anything particularly noteworthy and weren't particularly into the role-playing with Sendeli at least at first, so I originally only gave them a temporary boon bonus (one of the PCs would have failed their faction mission but for their restraint in the combat). I wasn't planning on giving them the full boon at that time. However they returned after the scenario to get the promised free meal and discussed the outcome with her to gain the full boon. I also liked the artwork used in the scenario which I cut out and used for scene setting. This also avoided the issue I have with some creatures from the non-core assumption Bestiarys in other scenarios - where I know everything about the creature except what it looks like... The opening scenario is going to be a pig to draw if you don't have a suitable tavern/restaurant flip mat. Any tavern floor plan should do the job well enough with some improvisation. The other floor plans are much easier to draw, though would have benefitted from being fully predrawn or printed. For the initial social encounter I handed out menus with the note attached to one of them (I used the Ghostly Minstrel menu handout from Ptolus). This seemed to go down well. A difficulty I had was nailing down who took the (ahem) item after the first encounter without tipping them off that something was up. And the fact it was stored in a backpack rather than used made it a further problem later. In general I found the combat tactics weak throughout which meant I was trying to eke out every bit of their build (while sticking to base tactics) to make them a proportional challenge, without much success, This was against a group that were playing up and so the NPCs should have been a challenge without trying. My group avoided the optional encounter which might have been a challenge. A PC caster took a full ranged attack from the big bad without too much inconvenience. Then the BB went down quickly - so didn't get a chance to get away. I note that the thugs in the first encounter have the Vital Strike feat when I don't believe they can legally have it.
Pathfinder society will have a strong presence at the UK's largest game convention UK Games Expo Birmingham. Pathfinder Society scenarios are being posted to the booking system games page and include upcoming season 3 scenarios such as:
Note the booking system will go live to accept player bookings in early April.
Pathfinder Society is at Con-quest UK Derby on Saturday 14th April 2012 Scenarios include:
with more on the way Check out the games page closer to the event
Say you buy a vanity property like a tavern in Organised Play. How specific are you meant to be about it? Which of the folowing apply, You: 1 Have a tavern
Does it matter how specific you are in your vanity background as long as it doesn't have any material effect upon a scenario?
There will be a strong PFS presence at Indiecon runnning the latest season 3 scenarios and several old favorites.
We recently had a character who had an active fly spell on him grabbed while standing and then dropped by a Roc from near his nest a couple of thousand feet up. He kept failing his fly rolls to pull out of the fall. Fly speed of 60ft suggests 120ft a round, however unable to fly suggests falling at speed of gravity = 600ft in round one and 1200ft in each subsequent round? (at terminal velocity) So how fast does he fall?
My first attempt at a guide is to explain kingdom building choices and how to make reasonable decisions. I won't be able to edit this post so here is the Google docs version which I will try and keep updated: The Overlords Guide to Kingdom Building
Pinky: "Gee, Brain, what do you want to do tonight"
To be successful at kingdom building you must understand the fundamental building blocks and the interrelationships of all the component parts. To do that properly means doing a mathematical analysis of all the components and performing multiple experiments in kingdom building. Or, you could just follow this guide. This guide tries to answer many questions about kingdom building, for example:
These and other questions are answered. The recommendations are backed up by both practical campaign experience and mathematical analysis. So hopefully you will be able to create a sustainable and highly successful kingdom from the outset.
Your kingdom has three primary characteristics:
Economy and Stability you need every month. Loyalty you need infrequently unless you are at war. Ideally we want them all within 2 of our Command DC and never fail a roll (except on a natural one which is always a fail). You likely won't have that luxury until you enter the middle game. The kingdom building rules and initial BP set up are designed so that you have to take some risks and thereby generate adventure. You may not want to totally eliminate risk, just reduce it to your required level of fun. So how should we prioritise:
At the outset aim to get Loyalty within 10 of you Command DC and the other two stats within 5, or as near as you can get to that, with Economy first and Stability second. Adjust leader bonuses accordingly to achieve this. At this level you will fail roughly one in four Economy or Stability rolls and one in two Loyalty rolls. This is about the best you can do at the outset. Build up Economy to 33 initially to support medium magic item sales and then to 48 to support major magic item sales. Once it reaches 48 Economy switches to your lowest priority. Your main source of income should now be magic items and income from Economy will be less critical.
Try and raise both Stability and Loyalty to within 5 of your Command DC, the closer the better. You probably won't achieve that for a while unless you expand really slowly.
Build Points or BP are not a direct measure of cash rather it is measure of economic activity similar in concept to GDP in our world. Despite the initial set up you are not investing cash, you are guiding economic activity. Note there are two kinds of BP:
Key fact: The exchange rate between Economy and BPs are 5 Economy = 1 BP. Understanding this relationship implicitly is the key to making good kingdom building decisions. Always keep net consumption at zero. Paying for consumption with Economy BP is not sensible.
"You will obey", Dalek Khan Raise Promotion and Festivals edicts to level 3 as long as you have the farms to pay for the consumption. Raise Promotion and Festivals edicts to level 4 only if you have the building that reduces the appropriate consumption cost for that edict (Cathedral and Arena).
Always keep the Taxation edict at 'none'.
Establish farms to pay for consumption and to pay for Promotion and Festivals edicts to level 3. They are several times better at paying for consumption than any alternative. Essentially this means that initially you should always establish a farm every month that you expand. Raise edict levels as new farms are established keeping net consumption at zero.
Always build maximum roads on all available grassland and hills
Don't build roads on other types of terrain unless you have to. The cost of building roads on other terrain types is uneconomical compared to buildings.
Build the cheapest buildings to raise your Economy, Stability and Loyalty to the target levels. You should initially focus on buildings that combine Economy and one other bonus, either Stability or Loyalty. Once Economy reaches 48 you can stop focussing on Economy and be more flexible. Use buildings to keep your Economy, Stability and Loyalty within target ranges so you can keep expanding. However, use magic item generating buildings for your main source of income.
The core build list, including non-buildings to show your best buy choices, most economical first:
In the middle game consolidate your defences and build a defensive structure every month or so. Generally you only build defensive structures in the middle and late game once you have multiple cities, unless you are threatened or need a quick unrest fix. The buildings to use, in decreasing order of preference, are:
This isn't just a resource planning exercise but a simulation of a kingdom and cities. Once you have three or four cities/districts churning out major magic items consistently then you have critical mass of income and can build practically anything you want. The list above is still the most cost effective. Though you probably want to add variety to your city and not focus as much on cost efficiency. You might for example found a new city or district with a Magic Shop or a Waterfront instead of a Black Market. This is the time to start to indulge the creative side and build a large and varied capital city. Perhaps adopt some realism limit into your city planning. A simple reality house rule adopted in our campaign is: never build more of any building type than the number of houses in that city. This encourages variety and avoids cities filled for example with Dumps and Monuments.
"It's a trap!" Admiral Ackbar Don't get suckered into getting discounts with building chains in the early game. Keep it simple and just use a core list of cheap buildings. Buying an expensive building that gives you discounts early on will use all your BP and you will likely never catch up with the delay incurred. Of course once you have BP to spare and start to add variety then take full advantage of all the discount chains. For example once you have a Castle then certainly build a Town Hall as this opens up cheaper Dumps, Barracks and Watchtowers, which you will be buying a lot of.
In the middle game with the BP flowing thick and fast you will want to fill city districts as fast as possible to get to the next district and to use your BP to best advantage. The obvious way to do this is with buildings that occupy more than one block. Buildings such as the Town Hall and Noble Villa are obvious choices, but all the size 2 buildings are OK choices once they are discounted. All the size 4 buildings are one per city and you should plan to build one of each in the middle game in your capital city at least.
Buildings that sell Magic Items are critical for generating sufficient income to run your kingdom. This is because these buildings typically have a much shorter payback period than other Economy based buildings. Return on investment in medium and major magic item buildings is measured in months not years. Such buildings sell minor, medium or major magic items. Once per district per month you can attempt to sell one, and only one, magic item from that district with different target numbers for each type of item. Each item sold generates BP as follows:
As you can see buildings that sell minor magic items are unreliable sources of income, because only items that cost 4000gp or more can be sold this way to generate BP and many minor items cost less than this. The item slot can therefore become blocked by an item of less than this value unless the PCs buy it themselves. Buildings that sell major items are clearly the best choice as they maximise the use of scarce resources, in this case city districts. However at the start of the game you may have insufficient BP to buy a major magic item building. It takes 56 BP to build the cheapest one a Black Market (including the two required houses). Therefore you should build the cheapest medium item generator first to kick start your Economy. This is the Caster's Tower.
"Baby Bears Porridge, just right" The rules are set up so that expansion benefits your kingdom. You just need to expand at the right rate. Too fast and unrest can surge leading to your kingdom breaking apart. Too slow and your kingdom will never be a major player. Only expand when you can afford the consumption using farms. As mentioned before paying for consumption using Economy BP requires you to spend BP every month. Paying for consumption using Farm BP requires you to spend BP once. Only expand if you can keep all your statistics in target ranges.
Otherwise expand as fast as you can.
Build a new city whenever you can afford to pay the 60 to establish a farm, clear the land and build 2 houses and a Black Market. It's as simple as that. Though don't abuse this with cities that contain only 3 buildings scattered across the landscape. Put the buildings that support expansion mostly in one city so that you will fill up a city grid and be able to boost income by building another major magic item generating building there.
There are several events that mark the successful foundation of a solid kingdom, and the transition from the early game into the middle game, that all tend to occur around the same time. These are:
Up until the now it is possible that at times it felt like a treadmill to keep expanding and building your statistics to keep pace with expansion. Once you satisfy all the above criteria then you can pat yourself on the back for a job well done. It is time to start adding a larger variety of buildings and to put your personal stamp on the kingdom. In this guide I refer to the time before this point as the 'early game' and after this point as the 'middle game'.
"It's a justifiable business expense, I swear" An option that may appeal to characters is to make withdrawals from the kingdom to support their lifestyle and buy magic items. In a well-run kingdom with a significant BP reserve it is a viable tactic to withdraw a handful of BP per month, perhaps 5. In the middle game when you have a good source of income you will build any unrest away quickly, make the required Stability and Loyalty rolls consistently and even if you fail will recover quickly. So the limiting factor here is not whether you can withdraw cash from the kingdom, but whether you should. This could unbalance a campaign quickly by adding 10,000 GP to character's gear every month.
There isn't really much to be said about where best to put leader bonuses. Just follow the recommendations above around the target levels for your statistics. At first you will likely put one or two of the discretionary bonuses into Economy. These can be adjusted every month to suit any current shortfall. Once Economy reaches 48 without discretionary bonuses, you will switch discretionary bonuses to the statistics that need it most, as they need it.
The vacancy penalties when a leader dies are severe and you are likely looking at a ten point reduction in that leader's contribution to one of the kingdom statistics for that month. If two leaders die or you get a TPK then your kingdom could be in serious trouble. In the early game you likely have to just accept this. In the middle game you can provide some insurance against this by raising kingdom statistics above the Command DC.
Two areas are obvious outliers in the system: the Taxation edict and magic item BP income. The Taxation edict is underpowered and won't get used. The Magic Item income BP is high for the required investment and will always get used though this does not break the system. The Magic Item rules can be abused by having many very small cities or districts, each containing just a magic item generating building. Keep it real. It is also possible using Magic Item income to have kingdoms with no farms at all as you can pay for consumption with Economy BP. You could find yourself with Golarion's first mega-city with no obvious source of food if you let it. Though that would take a very long time.
The kingdom rules hang together well providing the capability to keep on expanding at a rate consistent with your maximum income. Expansion is rewarded if done at the right pace and it can be very satisfying to build your kingdom. Beware of trying to force it or of chasing kingdom XP rather than doing it right. Building realistic cities, in sensible places, with a large variety of buildings and solid defence are the mark of a believable and mature kingdom. Have fun with it.
I was building a Magus and looking with horror at the casting defensively roll for spell combat - and so looked for zero level touch spells. Which led to a train of though about arcane mark and arcane connections. Arcane Mark would make him a Zorro like character. He scribes his visible mark on a target as part of a weapon attack. Sounds fun from an RP perspective but rather pointless from a combat point of view. Also seems like something you could allow at will for free on every hit with his weapon. Then it occurred that once an arcane mark is scribed on a target then the Magus has an arcane connection to the target. So that could be used as a link for other powers? Say something like once marked then future hits on that target allow you to channel a spell for free.
The APG 1st level Break spell allows you to break an object at a distance. This looks like an incredibly powerful debuff that will have the party running away if it is used against them. Two castings and two failed Fort saves and the most powerful magic item in the party could be destroyed or the wizards bonded item gone. This seems like a spell for a low level group to take down a much higher level group if they get surprise. You could certainly nerf many characters with it. This doesn't feel right. What am I missing? |
