DM Bacon's page

I ended up rethinking this after your advice. I'm going to scrap the idea for now.

Its something that makes sense in the real world, but its not worth it in a fantasy world, you know?

I came up with this house-rule where players would roll their HP after each extended rest, as opposed to rolling their HP once per level.

I don't think my write-up will format very well here, so I've made it into a PDF, which you can view here:
http://is.gd/zhESfT

I'm still going to post here what I wrote, but I really doubt it's going to look very good.

=====

House Rule: Roll PCs HP after every extended rest.

Reason:
Nobody wakes up feeling exactly how they felt the day before. Maybe you were playing soccer with your friends, and although you slept very well, you’re still sore and might have a minor ankle twist. Having a standard amount of HP for a character’s entire level does not allow these variations to exist.

Rules for Rolling for HP Depending on Different Circumstances

1) After an extremely restful sleep following a day with very little physical and/or mental exertion
Roll 2 dice per HD, dropping the lowest, and adding 20% to the final number (rounding up). Then add your [Con Mod * Level].

2) After an extremely restful sleep following a day with light physical and/or mental exertion
Roll 2 dice per HD, dropping the lowest number of each. Then add your [Con Mod * Level].

3) After a relatively good restful sleep, following a very demanding day, physically and/or mentally
Roll 1 dice per HD, and adding 20% to the final total (rounding up). Then add your [Con Mod * Level].

4) After an adequate restful sleep following a very demanding day, physically and/or mentally
Roll 1 dice per HD and add up the totals. Then add your [Con] modifier.

5) After a bad night’s sleep following a very demanding day, physically and/or mentally
Roll 1 dice per HD, and subtract 20% from the total (rounding up). Then add your [Con Mod * Level].

6) After a horrible night’s sleep (or a time when your sleep was interrupted due to various circumstances like random encounters, etc)
Roll 2 dice per HD, dropping the highest. Then add your [Con] modifier.

7) After a night where you got little to no sleep, following a very demanding day
Roll 2 dice per HD, dropping the highest. Then subtract 20% from the total. Then add your [Con Mod * Level].

=====

Examples

1 Fred the Fighter is Level 4 and has a 16 Con. He his party have just defeated a group of Gnoll slavers and freed all of the slaves who were still alive. It was exhausting both physically and mentally, but now that he’s back in town he’s able to get a good night’s sleep at the inn. This would qualify for #3 above.
He wakes up the following day feeling quite rested, although there’s still a few sore muscles. He rolls 4d10 and ends up with [ 6 + 10 + 2 + 2 = 20 ]. Now he adds an additional 20% to that total, for a grand total of 24 [ ( 20 + ( 1 ÷ 5 ) * 20 ) = 24 ] or to write it another way [ 20 * 1.2 = 24 ].
Finally, he adds his [Con Mod * Level] to that final number, resulting in a grand total of 48 HP!
He had a tough day, rested well, and ended up feeling better than average.

2 Clint the Cleric is also Level 4 and has a 12 Con. In order to find where the Gnolls were holding their slaves, Clint went undercover and was abducted by the slavers. He spent the entire day getting beaten, whipped, degraded, and pushed beyond his limits. Needless to say, he had a horrible day. Now it’s time for him to sleep, but because he’s trapped in a Gnoll slave-camp, he is not going to sleep well (if he sleeps at all).
The next morning he opens his eyes after only sleeping off-and-on for 2 hours, tops. He’s going to be using method #7 above.
He rolls 4d8 and gets [ 7 + 7 + 4 + 5 + 8 + 6 + 3 + 4 = 16 ]. Now he subtracts 20% from that number and gets [ ( 16 - ( 1 ÷ 5 ) * 16 ) = 12.8, which we round up to 13 ]. Now he adds his [Con Mod * Level] to that final number, resulting in a grand total
of 17 HP!
Clint had a horrible day, and a horrible night’s rest. And now he’s paying for it in the morning.

3 Stacy the Sorceress is also Level 4 and has a 14 Con.
Once She, Clint and Fred have had time to recuperate, she decides she’s going to spend a few days working on magic items for the group while they try to find their next mission. She can take a leisurely pace while crafting and not very tiring mentally.
She spend all day crafting until she heads back to the inn that night. Obviously, she will be using method #1 above.
She wakes up the next morning having rested extremely well. She gets to roll 2 dice per HD, dropping the lowest, and add 20% to that grand total.
She rolls [ 5 + 4 + 5 + 1 + 6 + 5 + 4 + 1 = 20 ]. She now gets to add an additional 20% to that number, which she does and gets [ ( 20 + ( 1 ÷ 5 ) * 20 ) = 24 ].
Now, she gets to add her [Con Mod * Level] to that final number, and gets a grand total of 28 HP!
Stacy had a very good day, and a very good night’s sleep, which resulted in her feeling very well and having some extra HP!

=====

So that’s my HP per Day House-Rule I’m thinking of using with my group. Does anyone have any input for me? Should I give it a go and see how my players like it?

Thanks a lot!

I wasn't sure which forum I should put this in, so I hope I chose the right one.

If you’re like me, you really love using Hero Lab, but really dislike their triangle icon.
(Hero Lab's Website: http://goo.gl/nL7B5H)

I put together a collection of icons that I think you’ll enjoy if you want to replace their stock icon with something a little better.

All these icons are by WickedDestkop on DeviantArt. You can view the previews here: http://goo.gl/k5Cd4P

They’re included in both PNG format and ICO format, for use on both OS X and Windows computers.

Here's the link to the collection:
http://goo.gl/CXnsZC

I hope you enjoy!

I wish I had noticed that when I copied my title from ENWorld over here it added all that other garbage. How do I edit a title of a thread?

Hey there, I'm hoping you can give me some feedback about the Advantages & Disadvantages I'm planning on giving my PCs in a new game where they'll all begin as Gladiator Slaves based on where they were born and how long they've been slaves.

Here are my ideas:

Born into slavery by parents who were both slaves themselves or by single parents who had a child by a free person
Advantage: +2 bonus against Disease, Sickness and Nausea.
Advantage: +2 bonus to Fortitude
Advantage: +1 bonus to one Class Skill of your choice
Advantage: Need only 2.3rds the amount of sleep as a normal member of their race
(rounding to nearest .5). Humans, for example, would only need 5.5 hours of rest to gain the benefits of a full rest instead of 8 hours like normal. Likewise, Elves would only need 2.5 hours of rest instead of 4 like normal.
Advantage: +4 bonus to Intimidate against new guards
Advantage: 1 bonus Feat – Has to be justified in background and approved by DM
Disadvantage: -4 penalty to Will against Illusions
Disadvantage: -4 penalty to Will against Compulsions
Disadvantage: Start with 1,500 gp fewer than the normal amount for Level 4 characters. 4,500 gp in this case, not 6,000 gp

Born in the slums of Bergovitsa and kidnaped into slavery recently
A: + 1 bonus to two Class-Skill of your choice
A: Additional +1 bonus to one non-Class-Skill of your choice
A” +4 to use Diplomacy to Gather Info in Bergovitsa
A: +2 Damage bonus against Guards and Guard Animals
A: 1 bonus Feat – Has to be justified in background and approved by DM
D:: -4 penalty when using social-skills against upper-class citizens.
D: Requite 1.5 amount of sleep as standard to your race for a full rest.
D:: Start with 1,000 gp fewer than the normal amount for Level 4 characters. 5,000 gp in this case, not 6,000 gp

Born in the slums of Bergovitsa and kidnaped into slavery many years ago
A: +2 bonus against Disease, Sickness and Nausea
A: +2 to bonus to Fortitude, Reflex or Will of your choice.
A: +1 bonus to two Class-Skills of your choice
A: +4 bonus to Intimidate against new guards
A: +2 Damage bonus against Guards and Guard Animals
A: Need only 2.3rds the amount of sleep as a normal member of their race
(rounding to nearest .5).
A: 1 bonus Feat – Has to be justified in background and approved by DM
Disadvantage: Start with 1,500 gp fewer than the normal amount for Level 4 characters. 4,500 gp in this case, not 6,000 gp
Disadvantage: -4 penalty to Will against Illusions

Born in the wilds outside Bergovitsa and kidnapped into slavery recently
A: +4 bonus to Handle Animal against guard animals
A: +2 bonus to Heal (self & others)
A: +1 bonus to three Class-Skills of your choice
A: +1 bonus to two non-Class-Skills of your choice
A: 1 bonus Feat – Has to be justified in background and approved by DM
A: Standard Amount of Gold
D: Requite 1.5 amount of sleep as standard to your race for a full rest.

Born in the wilds outside Bergovitsa and kidnapped into slavery many years ago
A: +2 bonus to Handle Animal against Guard Animals
A: +1 bonus to two Class-Skills of your choice
A: +1 bonus to two non-Class-Skills of your choice
A: +2 Damage bonus Guards and Guard Animals
A: Need only 2.3rds the amount of sleep as a normal member of their race
(rounding to nearest .5).
A: 1 bonus Feat – Has to be justified in background and approved by DM
D: Start with 1,000 gp fewer than the normal amount for Level 4 characters. 5,000 gp in this case, not 6,000 gp
D: -4 penalty to Will against Illusions

What do you think? What should I add? What should I get rid of? Accepting all opinions!

Thanks a lot!

My wife and I are selling our house and I do not have the same kind of time I used to for creating my own homemade adventures. Since this is the case, I've decided to pull out some of my very old 2nd Edition Ravenloft premade adventures and convert them for PF.

For the most part, its fairly simple. Take their monsters' concepts, open HeroLab, make them fit Pathfinder. I use things like the old THAC0 to figure a rough estimate of what their attack bonuses should be, and so forth.

The current quest their on involves tracking down a Golem-Creator, Emil Bollenbach, who has kidnapped Rudolph van Richten because he wants to put van Richten's brain into a "Super Flesh Golem". He wants to do this in order to continue his mad dream of ridding the world of golems. Naturally, he's completely insane and has not realized that by creating his own golems, he's only adding to the problem he sees with the world. I guess in twisted logic, he feels that if he's successful creating his "Super Flesh Golem", he'll be able to destroy all the golems, including those he made himself. The adventure is called "Surgeon's Blade" and extremely fun, if anybody wants to check it out. It's part of a a book of group of standalone adventures featuring van Richten called Chilling Tales, and available on Amazon.

Anyway, here's what I'd like to know. In 2nd Edition Ravenloft, Emil Bollenbach is listed as a Madman. There's absolutely no conversion for the class for Pathfinder, so I'd like to know which would you think is the best choice to make this insane golem-creator?

• Wizard? If so, which specialty school?
  
• Sorcerer? If so, which bloodline?
  
• Cleric w/ Artifice Domain (or another domain)?
  
• Artificer from Eberron?
  
• Other choice?
  
• How about any Prestige Classes that I should consider as well?

By the way, 5 of the 7 PCs are 11th level, the other 2 are 10th. I'd like to make Emil around 12-14th Level so their final encounter with him and his lackeys be challenging, but not impossible.

Thanks a lot! Looking forward to hearing back from you guys! I know I can count on you guys/girls :)

I realized that you also didn't include one of my favorite 1st Level Enchantment spells: Keep Watch (http://pengeo.net/2485). It's from Knights of the Inner Sea and let's you gain the benefits of resting for 8 hours or fewer if your race needs less sleep in order to regain HP, spells, etc.

This makes it the party's crafter favorite spell. While everyone else is resting, you're creating magic items without need ping to sleep. That's 8 hours of crafting that you otherwise would be wasting sleeping.

If your DM allows custom magic items, making an item of Keep Watch that's usable once per day without need to set a spell slot aside makes it a great option. Giving them out to the party also helps, then the party's scout and defender can keep the party safe while exploring the wilderness while the other party members regain their spells or craft at the same time. That means no nobody's going to be surprised by a wandering monster.

First I wanted to thank you for putting this together and for giving props to my favorite school, Void. I thought I was the only one who really digs that school, so I'm glad I'm not alone.

I also wanted to point out that Bluff actually can come in handy for any Wizard build, not just the Enchanter. The feat "Spell Bluff" is incredible in my opinion and requires 5 ranks in Bluff to take. As a DM, I let my players with Bluff and Spell Bluff roll a Bluff check when they're casting a spell, and if they succeed against the enemy's Sanse Motive, that enemy takes a penalty to their Spellcraft check it identify what is being cast. By failing to identify the spell, they might try to Counterspell the wrong spell which results in wasting one of their spells per day.

I'm also a big fan of Disruptive Spell. I do understand it's quite situational, but even a Dsruptive Magic Missile can cause an enemy caster to fail casting a powerful spell like the Summons. It can also really hurt a Cleric who might fail at casting a Cure spell, which basically ends an encounter sooner by not allowing the enemy party to regain health.

Those are just my 2 cents on some features of the Wizard I prefer that you didn't seem to like as much as I do. I know it's to each her/his own, so I thought I'd share why I like those in case others hadn't thought of their uses.

Edit: I just read the section of Familiars too, and wanted to share the Parrot from the Shcakles. It grants a +3 to Linguistics. If your DM is like me, that means you automatically get 3 additional languages for simply having a pet. It can also fly which makes it a grat familiar overall.

Thanks, that's a good list to start off with. If anyone knows of more, I'd be happy to learn about them.

Can somebody tell me which of the Tales (including the novels, short fiction and web fiction) take place in Andoran?

I'm about to start DMing a campaign I'm writing that takes place primarily in Andoran and will head into the Darklands from the entrance in the Candlestick Mountains and would like to read other stories that take place in either of those locations. If someone could tell me which Tales I should take a look at, I'd appreciate it!

Thanks a bunch :)

If my DM allows it, would a fair price to make True Seeing permanent be 15,000gp, the same as Symbol of Fear, which is the same level?

Thanks!

So True Sight would be by DM's ruling?

I'm an extremely slow reader due to my dyslexia... about which chapter do the Strix come into the novel?

This thread has a minor spoiler, so if you haven't read it yet you might not want to read this thread. I'm reading Nightglass and really enjoying it so far. I just reached the point in Chapter 4: Gifts where Ascaros reveals he is a Sorcerer and not a Wizard like he is being trained as. What I'm curious about is which Sorcerer Bloodline he is supposed to have?

I can't really tell, but he does mention that he feels cold when he casts a bloodline spell which would lead me to believe it's something like Boreal, Elemental, Draconic [White], or possibly Marid. Then again, it would make sense for him to have an Undead, Umbral or Shadow Bloodline due to the novel's overall theme.

Does anybody know which Bloodline he has?

Thanks!

Where will we be able to download the audiodrama when it's released?

*race.

Sorry, my dog's nose was on the keyboard right when I hit submit

That's awesome, I'm playing as a Strix whose flock was killed by something unknown when he was just a baby and raised by Elves. I'm looking forward to reading about the raceqqeeettteeee

Oh, never mind. It just finished and created one .mobi book. Awesome :D

I'm sorry, I'm not a Calibre pro.

Once I add the python code you linked to, I click on Fetch News, and then select the custom file I created. Then it takes a little while and at the end will I have one eBook or multiples?

Quick question...

I know that Prince of Wolves is set in Ustalav and would like to read more Tales set there. Are there any others?

Thanks guys/gals :)

I've never had any problems converting using Calibre, but maybe it works somewhat differently in for conversions in OS X.

If you want to send me your files and have me try to convert them more to your liking, please let me know!

Sorry to double post, but I just read #9 and... WOW. Such great storytelling.

[SPOILER WARNER in case you haven't read it yet]

I think the inclusion of two gay characters (or at least one apparently gay [Kyra)] and another apparently bisexual [Merisiel]) is very open minded of the authors and gives an air of authenticity to the comic.

Truly a great series :)

I say this without any hesitation... the Pathfinder comic is my favorite comic series to read. I like it more than anything else I read regularly, including my beloved Green Lantern :)

The font they use for spellcasting is great, really one of my favorite features of this wonderful comic. Does anybody have any good links from free font sites for fonts similar to the runes they use?

tbug wrote:

I heard there's a way to sort modules in the Paizo store by level, but my Paizo-database-fu is weak. Am I wrong?

We just rolled it out last week—enjoy!

This is awesome!!! Thank you so much :)

I just picked it up and really like some of the Sorc/Wiz spells, especially the ones that give status effects to enemies to be enhance their abilities of battlefield control.

Are the spells available anywhere online like most of the PF material? Or should I just keep the PDF open when I play?

3.5 material is probably not going to be allowed. While PF explicitly says that 3.5 stuff is allowed, the DM wishes to keep PF and 3.5 separate, which I'll abide to

Due to the party dynamic, I am reluctant to multiclass since I'm the only arcane caster. If we had another arcane caster, I'd be more willing to go for it, but I'd rather stick with pure wizard for now. Good suggestion, though :)

I wish there was an archetype for Wizards that would lower the amount of spells per day they can cast in exchange for adding more skill points per level. Something like in exchange for 1 fewer spells per day per level, you'd get 4 or even 6 + INT per level skill points to spend. I'd gladly cash in spells for more skills for this character concept I'm developing

Yeah, and since my DM is specifically making every type of craft different from another, he would require each Skill Focus to cover a different craft type

Hm, which are the items that would grant bonuses to the Craft skills? I would love to begin making one of those in between adventuring sessions.

Thanks, Doomed Hero :)

Is there any feat which provides more skill points per level? Specifically, I'm playing a Level 3 Wizard who is focused on crafting and could use more skill points for the many crafting skills available.

My DM does not want to use Skillcraft for item creation, in order to make characters more developed. But the Wizard's meager 2+[INT] skill points per level is limiting.

Thanks a ton!

The Knight was in Complete Warrior or PHBII, I think.

There's 2 different Artificers floating around the net. One of them is a straight up conversion of the Eberron class (tweaked the skills, etc). The other, which you can find here, is completely different and looks like it would be a real pain to play. At least that's my opinion.

Are you going to allow 3.5 material? If so, don't forget about the Artificer. If you're also using Psionics Unleashed, I believe there's some psionic classes that can heal as well, but don't quote me on that since I've never actually played a psionic class myself.

Alternatively, you could also say that the Heal skill can heal HP according the the skill check. Something like [Heal Skill Check]/4 = HP healed. You might want to check that math, but it's worth trying.

This probably goes without saying, but if you want your healing abilities to be enhanced, why don't you just play a Cleric with the Healing domain? At 8th level, Cure spells are automatically empowered.

I've come up with two feats which I think would be interesting for clerics with the Luck or Chaos domains to use.

Please let me know what you think. I feel they would add some fun flavor to these types of characters. :)

Chaotic Channeling
You never know whether your deity will allow you to channel positive or negative energy.
Prerequisite: TN or CN alignment, channel energy class feature, Worship a deity with the chaos or luck domain (or one of their subdomains). The deity must also be TN or CN in alignment as well.
Benefit: Your connection to a deity of the chaos or luck domains makes your ability to channel energy unstable. Each day while preparing your spells, roll 1d4. On an odd number, the energy you channel that day is Positive Energy. On an even number, it is Negative Energy. This also means that you either can cast Cure spells or Inflict spells spontaneously.
Normal: You have to choose whether you channel positive or negative energy at character creation.

Inverse Channeling
The deity of chaos or luck wishes you to keep a balance of Positive or Negative energy.
Prerequisite: TN alignment, channel energy class feature, Worship a deity with the chaos or luck domain (or one of their subdomains), Chaotic Channeling Feat. The deity must also be TN in alignment as well.
Benefit: When you roll 1d4 each day to determine whether you channel Positive or Negative energy, your ability to spontaneously cast Cure of Inflict spells is the opposite. In other words, if that day you are channeling Positive energy, you can spontaneously cast Inflict spells; and vise-versa.
Normal: Both your ability to channel energy and spontaneously cast Cure or Inflict spells utilize the same Positive or Negative energy instead of the reverse.

I've also posted these to my blog, NPC-a-Day.

Hippo, I got your character made. Please take a look and let me know what you think! :)

http://npcaday.blogspot.com/2013/09/i-am-having-terrible-insomnia-so-i.html

I'm having lots of difficulties with Wordpress so I've moved this blog to Blogger.com.

you can find the new one here... http://npcaday.blogspot.com/

OMG, I totally dyslexified that. Code Geass. Not Code of Glass.

I don't know Code of Glass, DarthPinkHippo (great U/N btw). But I'll try my best for you! :)

Please post your requests in my Request page, that is where I'm planning on keeping track of what people would like to see without having to navigate to multiple forums.

I'm not familiar with Tumblr, N. Jolly. How do I submit my blog to it?

Thanks guys!

Hey every one. It should come as no surprise that I enjoy making characters using HeroLab.

At my wife's urging, I decided to make a blog where I'm going to post these characters for use in your games as NPCs.

You can check out the blog here...
http://npcaday.wordpress.com

If you have any requests, I'm happy to take them.

I might not be the best character creator in terms of optimization, but I hope these NPCs can add some fun to your games! I hope to post at least one each and everyday.

Hope to see you there!

I just picked up a copy of "J1 - Entombed With The Pharaohs" at my FLGS and am planning on running it for my group of newish players and I was wondering if anybody else has had a chance to DM it?

If so, what are your thoughts? Is there anything in particular that worked or did not work for you? Anything in particular I should know before giving it a whirl?

Thanks!

Well I'm late to the party, but...

There's no rule that states you can't have multiple, separate forms of lycanthrope. So, make a Human with the Were-Boar and Were-Bear templates. Then have it shift into both hybrid forms at the same time. Half-Human-Half-Bear-Half-Pig. Easy peasy :)

I made a quick example in HeroLab. (Shapeshifted into both lycanthrope hybrids.)

ManBearPig CR 7
XP 3200
Human Afflicted Werebear Afflicted Wereboar Fighter 6
CE Large Humanoid (human, shapechanger)
Init +1; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +3
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 18, touch 10, flat-footed 17 (+1 Dex, -1 size, +8 natural)
hp 114 (6d10+54)
Fort +13, Ref +3, Will +5 (+2 vs. fear)
Defensive Abilities bravery +2, ferocity; DR 5/silver
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 30 ft.
Melee Bite (Afflicted Werebear) +14 (2d6+8/x2) and
. . Claw x2 (Afflicted Werebear) +14 x2 (2d6+8 plus grab/x2) and
. . Gore (Afflicted Wereboar) +14 (3d6+8/x2)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks weapon training abilities (natural +1)
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 25, Dex 13, Con 26, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 4
Base Atk +6; CMB +14 (+18 Grappling); CMD 25
Feats Eldritch Claws, Improved Natural Attack (Bite [Afflicted Werebear]), Improved Natural Attack (Claw x2 [Afflicted Werebear]), Improved Natural Attack (Gore [Afflicted Wereboar]), Martial Versatility (Weapon Focus [Gore]), Multiattack, Power Attack -2/+4, Weapon Focus (Gore)
Skills Climb +13, Diplomacy -3 (+1 to change attitude vs. animals related to lycanthropic form, +1 to change attitude vs. animals related to lycanthropic form), Fly -1, Handle Animal +3, Intimidate +6, Stealth -3, Survival +12, Swim +11; Racial Modifiers +4 Swim
Languages Common
SQ change forms, change forms, hero points, lycanthropic empathy, lycanthropic empathy
Other Gear You have no money!
--------------------
TRACKED RESOURCES
--------------------
. . -none-
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Bravery +2 (Ex) +2 to Will save vs. Fear
Change Forms (Su) Change into Hybrid or Animal forms.
Change Forms (Su) Change into Hybrid or Animal forms.
Damage Reduction (5/silver) You have Damage Reduction against all except Silver attacks.
Eldritch Claws Your natural weapons are considered both magic and silver for purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Ferocity (Ex) Fight without penalty even while disabled or dying.
Grab: Claw (Large) (Ex) You can start a grapple as a free action if you hit with the designated weapon.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in low light, distinguishing color and detail.
Lycanthropic Empathy +4 (Ex) Improve the attitude of your type of animal, as if using Diplomacy.
Lycanthropic Empathy +4 (Ex) Improve the attitude of your type of animal, as if using Diplomacy.
Power Attack -2/+4 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage.
Scent (Ex) Detect opponents within 15+ feet by sense of smell.
Weapon Training (Natural) +1 (Ex) +1 Attack, Damage, CMB, CMD with Natural weapons

I'm really enjoying your guide. I've been playing DND since the days of THAC0 and actually never really had a chance to really play as a Wizard, so reading your guide is helping me figure out a great character for our upcoming campaign.

Thanks a bunch! I really appreciate this guide. Great job, Professor Q! :)

How about this...

"As I live I give life to billions of trillions. As I age I exhaust my resources until I grow so large I kill all those I have birthed. From my death countless others will flourish."

I remember this fun one from that animated Batman & Robin show from the 90's...

"Traveling on a globe, what is the shortest distance between two points?"

I have a question about delivering Touch Attacks while grappling.

Let's say my Antipaladin has a PC grappled. Do they still need to make the Touch Attack roll to activate a cruelty or is maintaining the grapple with a CMB roll good enough. Does the attacker using a Touch Attack have to release the grapple and then make the Touch Attack against the creature and it won't be grappled anymore?

How about the converse?

Let's say one of my PCs has the Antipaladin in a grapple. Do they have to escape the grapple in order to deliver a Touch Attack? I feel like they wouldn't need it because they're currently touching the target and the Touch Attack would automatically hit, but that might just be me.

So can anybody clarify how Grappling and Touch Attacks work with one another?

Thank you!

I would definitely buy a PF'd version as well

Hello all,

I'd love to get some feedback from you fine folks about a campaign I'm running. Here's what's going on so far...

Alright all, looking for some fun inspiration for a campaign I'm running using 3.5 with some PF rules thrown in here and there. I'd like to play a ballsout PF game, but the group wanted to use 3.5 instead.

Anyway, here's the deal.

The PCs live and grew up in a moderately sized town in the middle of a swamp called Dannor. They began at level 1, and even though they were very low levels themselves, they still more capable than the typical farmer, fisherman, etc, who live in the city.

Dannor has a friendly trading relationship with their nearest neighbors in the swamp, Lizardfolk. As a whole, the Lizardfolk are NG and largely worship Bahamut, Pelor, Obad-Hai, and to a lesser extent Ehlonna. If my PCs will allow it, I’m going to also have the Lizardfolk worship Hanspur. Most of their worship is of Bahamut and Obad-Hai in addition to Hanspur if she’s allowed. (Yes, I know I’m the DM and what I say goes, but I’m the kind of DM who likes to have as much player input and involvement as possible to make it for fun for everyone).

In many ways, the Lizardfolk are primitives, but very friendly toward their neighbors who live in Dannor. The two groups have formed strong trading bonds with one another and would consider one another to be strong allies. If one of the groups were attacked by outsiders, the other would send help any way they could.

The previous night a massive meteor shower took place all across the world. One of the meteors fell swamp, days away from the PCs home and much closer to the Lizardfolks.

Meer hours after the meteor fell, plants and animals in the swamp began acting strangely — crazed would be a much better word to explain it.

The PCs began their adventure In medias res (or in the middle of the action for you non-latin speakers out there).

Their battle began against a swamp ooze who schlepped its way out of the swamp and onto the docks. After killing it, the Druid of the group noticed some strange, possibly arcane, red veins all over the creature’s body.

Before they could fully examine these markings, they were ambushed by some of the Lizardfolk who clearly were not acting as they normally do. Whey the group attempted to talk to the LF, they received no reply, even when address in their own native tongue.

Immediately after the group’s failed questions, the Druid asked if he could use Wild Empathy on them. I said he could try, and when he rolled 19 on the die roll, I go for it. So he attempted to calm the beasts who would not calm down. He was, however, rewarded for doing that by gaining an emotion from the LF. Pure, unadulterated rage.

Their thoughts were clouded with full and complete rage.

Fearing for the townsfolk who would be no match for the Lizardfolk rangers, the group engaged them as well. Once the LF were defeated, the entire group noticed the strange markings on them as well.

The Rogue cut off on the LF’s arms (gruesome) and put it in a glass vial to take to the village Wizard.

When the wizard saw the arm, he had to admit he’d never seen anything like it before. But he could presume (as the PCs have at this point) the meteor might be the cause of this outbreak — whatever it is.

So he asked the PCs to investigate and bring back the entire meteorite if possible; or a smaller portion if not.

No, they’re on their way down the swampy river on a ramshackle raft. There’s been a few attacks and all but one of the PCs has fallen in the water (remember that for later).

After a day and a half on the swamp, the PCs got lost. Luckily, they came across a small isolated hut. They were hungry, tired and in need of rest from their rafting.

Scared about what they might find behind the door, they slowly opened it and peered in. Inside, to see a Lizardfolk wearing chainmail praying at an altar. The Lizardfolk inside urged the PCs to come inside so he can what brought them to his hut. After sharing their experiences with him, he felt he must share his own with the group.

First, they learn he’s a Lizardfolk Cleric himself, devoted to Bahamut. After their treacherous journey to his hut, the group actually cheered! Awesome response to an even more awesome Lizardfolk
(At first he was only level 2 like the PCs, but I reworked him so he can cast Remove Curse for them when the adventure draws to a close since body in the party would be able to do that.) [The Cleric could, but she’s going for a Battle Cleric approach with an undead theme and eventually going for Radiant Servant of Pelor, so I can see why casting Remove Curse as this character could deter from the way she’s playing it).

Just as he was about to begin sharing what he’s learned, he asked to give a once-over to everyone in the group. He found that just all all the PCs were in Stage 1. They’ve been in the swamp long enough, it would be extremely difficult not to succumb to Stage 2. Some of them have the beginning signs of Stage 2; however, the Half-Orc Rogue’s status of Stage 2 was clear blown. He might be on the cusp of becoming Stage 3.

Naturally, just as Thriss was finished giving his physicals, HOR’s adrenaline spiked and he attacked the party in a rage.

He’s learned…
1) The Meteorite is somehow cursing the water. Its curse hit the water-dwelling first. Then the animals that live on land and under the water. Next, the birds that head to the water to eat and drink. And, well long story short, he’s surmised that its curse is propagated through ingesting (drinking it). There is a stream coming off where the meteorite hit and heads downstream toward the Lizardfolks village and further down to Dannor.
At this point, every party member but one chimed in that they’d fallen in the water and had been drinking it with a Purify Water Spell.
2) The next thing Thriss learned was that the spell Purify Food and Drink will help, but only to an extent. It will not cure the water of the curse, but make it much easier to defeat with saving throws.
3) He’s also made a rudimentary diagnosis of the curse:
Phase 1
​The first stage is when the disease begins to take root into the body. There are no visible signs when this happens
Phase 2
​The second-stage is when the red markings appear on the skin. This indicates the first phase of the curse is complete and Phase 2 is beginning. At some point during this Phase 2, players get a +2 bonus to ONE ability score and a −2 Penalty to TWO ability scores (Which is determined randomly at manifest. If the same ability comes up twice, just reroll it.) Thriss does not yet understand how and why these physical and mental changes take place.
Phase 3
​While in Phase 2, stress, harm, anxiety, anger, and still more stimuli can cause the creature to go berserk, alá being under the effects of a Rage spell for 2d4 rounds unless they succeed a DC 18 Will. After they’re knocked unconscious they wake up, bright as day.
One of our players, the Half-Orc Rogue went berzerk, but the group subdued him and now he's back to Phase 2 (He keeps the same ability score adjustments though, does not reroll).
Phase 4
This phase of the curse is the easiest one to diagnose. They’re dead. But the curse is not.

What the PCs don’t know just yet, is that the creatures that were slain while still under the effects of the curse will rise again as zombies, skeletons and other horrible (low level) beasts. The closer they are to the core of the curse — the Meteorite — the quicker they become undead.

This means, that the enemies they’ve defeated before in the town and thought dead… won’t be dead much longer. Same goes for any creatures kill while venturing to the Meteorite.

And they’ll learn that soon, because they’re going into the heart of the crash zone tomorrow. I am planning on having them kill a group of crazed LF and their pets. And while the group is looting the bodies, the recently deceased baddies will grab hold of them and attack once again as Skeletons, Zombies and Ghouls (those ones are pretty darn if you ask me)

Then the true fight is on! Waves after waves of all sorts of undead crazy lizardfolk and critters attack them while trying to get to the meteor’s crash.

Finally, all is calm. We've won!

Time to heal up and take our prize!Time to heal up and take our prize! Hoorah! … Hoorah? Right?

OOOOOOMMMMMMMGGGGGGGG Look at the size of the mini he's bring out!

I need a cigarette before this battle!
*me too! Says the DM sheepishly

Just as they think they’ve won, their last fight before they can claim the Meteor will be against a much nerfed Large Skeletal Black Dragon! (Thank God for Herolab, they make creating, empowering, level and in some cases nerfing monsters so much easier and a ton of fun!). The Dragon has even fallen victim to the Meteorite's curse and must be stopped at all costs.

After they default the skeletal dragon, the Meteorite will be theirs! Just shove that greasy pig in their bags of holding and head back to town!

… Right?

Well maybe. But there’s a very significant chance both the Lizardfolk Village and Dannor are under attack by the zombified and skelefied enemies that were fought before!

What will they do next?! Go home? Go to the Lizardfolk town? Or go elsewhere, and try to find other fragments of Meteor that hit the Earth! People in those areas must certainly need help as well! Oh, what will the crafty PCs come up with next time!

~~ Cliffhanger ~~

Feedback always appreciated! Thanks guys and gals!

I'm late to the discussion, but I wanted to add my 2¢.

I switched to 4e when it was released because at the time I had no local game store and Barnes and Noble started only carrying 4th Edition books. Years passed and I continued using 4e but my group and I began to realize that it was less a role playing game and more of a strategic one more similar to World of Warcraft and other MMOs than our beloved Dungeons and Dragons.

About a year ago, at the urging of my wife who wanted to play with us but did not like 4th Edition, we switched to Pathfinder. My wife really wanted to role play and I know it can be done with 4th Edition but Pathfinder - being so similar to 3.5 - seemed like a better choice. At first, I was just going to switch our group back to 3.5, but thought it might be a little too complicated for her as a brand new player. To our surprise and delight Pathfinder seemed like a perfect choice since it improved 3.5 and included some aspects of 4th Edition.

The simplified skills really appealed to me and her as well. I no longer had to explain that if she were to play a Rogue she would need both Move Silently and Hide. I could just tell her that she only has to keep track of Stealth. I no longer had to explain that she needed ranks in Search, Listen and Spot, and could instead just take ranks in Perception.

Now, she's playing as a Dwarf Bard, her very first character, and LOVES Lunka. When she first began playing, she said that during combat her character would just run and hide since combat encounters seemed too complex at first. Now, she has pages and pages and pages of spells, magic items, and abilities which she feverishly flips through during each combat encounter in order to help the group and defeat the enemies. ...And typically completely screws me and my monsters in the process. More than a few times I've had to crumple up my current "Boss Monster" and throw it on the ground because she's found a way to totally shut it down. I hate... HATE... Cacophonous Call, which is, of course, her favorite spell.

By switching to Pathfinder, I've converted her from someone who put up with me when I said I was going to play DND to someone who can't wait for our weekly session.

When her parents came to visit us in Palm Desert, CA from Nashville, TN, she even asked me to make them each a player character. When I designed them simple some simple NPC sheets, she told me that wasn't good enough. They needed actual 12th level characters to be the same level as the party. Then announced to our group that not only were they going to meet and play with her parents as guest character but also that these guests would be playing her character's parents as well!

That game was so much fun, it had only one combat encounter for eight hours of play. The majority was role playing between my usual group and her parents as well as skill challenges. Her Dad, who played DND back when Dwarf and Elf were classes, had so much fun with us and has decided to find a Pathfinder group back home in Tennessee so he can keep playing. We already have the Core Rulebook, Advanced Players Guide and Advanced Race Guide put aside for a Father's Day present.

Both her parents asked me to hold onto their character sheets so the next time they visit they can jump into the group again!

No other RPG has ever given me so much fun and creativity. Due to our switch to Pathfinder, my wife has complete embraced the game and gone so far as to support the Dwarven Forge Kickstarter as well as buy me many new minis and current Dwarven Forge 3d terrain.

Long story short, Pathfinder has made me and my wife closer. Instead of just putting up with one of my hobbies, she's completely and totally embraced it as her own as well. In my opinion, no other RPG system could have converted her the way Pathfinder has. It really is a great RPG system.