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The Seeds of Sehan arc was written by Tom Ganz, Stefan Happ, Stephen S. Greer, B. Matthew Conklin III, and Ashavan Doyon. In Richard Pett’s The Styes, the character of Mr. Dory (who was the inspiration for Mr. Wateridge) was a Corpse Creature. It’s a template from the Book of Vile Darkness. All these adventures looked really great. Given infinite time I would certainly enjoy playing them all as written… but like they say: "So many games, so little time!" :)
From your name and the journal entries, I thought you were a woman. Maybe it might help to have a bit of background. Moonbeam--the one writing the logs--was the DM in a campaign we played a while back. Among other great characters, that campaign featured a fierce wolf called Moonbeam which was the animal companion of an NPC halfling druid. Thus the name and the avatar...
Like Moonbeam said, I picked ideas, stat blocks and maps here and there. Let me see if I can remember the details :) ...
That's all I remember, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was more--unconscious--sources. I tend to work like that a lot when I build my own campaigns and adventures. As for Norrix the paladin, truth be told, I added him somewhat on the fly when the PCs decided to go to Fort Blackwall. The idea of introducing a selfless paladin NPC was one that was floating in the back of my head for a while, if nothing else to see the sparks/roleplay that would ensue with Belessa.
I'm sure you're not the only ones, Joey. Which makes me say a double Kudos to the Paizo guys! It's definitely a tall order to please so many and diverse players and play styles. Good job guys for keeping us all happy :)
mmm... very difficult question also because you completly jump an option on Second Darkness... Moonbeam didn't mention Second Darkness on purpose. Some time ago, we divided the APs between ourselves, and that one is mine to DM :) But, truth be told, I don't really know if/when we'll get around to playing that one...
Man, I wish I was still living in Vancouver... Well, I'm in Toronto now, so I guess my best bet for some PRPG goodness is Gencon right? :) There's CanGames coming up in Ottawa (May 15-17 Mai). A few PFS games are being scheduled... :)
Hi Aestolia, I invite you to join the Montreal/PQ Pathfinder Yahoo! group: ( http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/pathfinder_quebec/).
We play now and then. For example, we have a game going this weekend--but I believe it has already got its quota of players--and an other one is scheduled for March 15th. Cheers
Here goes mine: All in all, Paizo's Editorial pit only has a dozen pair of eyes to work with. Given the aggressive schedule, typos, little mistakes and the like are bound to creep into the final FP RPG rulebook. My suggestion would be: once the semi-final version of the rulebook (with layout and all) is ready, but before sending it to the printer, you could invite a selected number of playtesters (that have proven good at this in the past -- i.e. not me) to review the final thing. They would have to sign a NDA of course, but that would put a great finishing touch to this awesome playtest initiative. Otherwise, as others have said: great job Jason !!!
There’s been many threads on these boards about changing the paradigm of high level play: moving away from “dungeon-type” adventures and into the realm of territorial conquest, leading armies and the like. One of my favorite adventures from the old days of “Basic” D&D was Test of the Warlords . I would be very much interested in buying any rulebooks, support material and adventures for high level adventures similar to "Test of the Warlords". My 0.02 gp :)
That's funny. The way it happened for me, for PFS-17, what that my wife was at the computer and turned to me nonchalant: "you just received an email by a 'Joshua' guy." I crossed the room is half a second and somewhat rudely shoved her to the side to read the email... thinking back on it, it could actually have been a rejection letter. I'm just glad it wasn't :)
What screenname does he go by here? Anyone know? <Reverse Engineering> Maybe ZombieNeighbours?</Reverse Engineering>
Personally, I am very happy to hear that an AP will stop at lower level. 1) Both as a player and DM, my preference goes to lower level adventure. They are more my cup of tea. I can fully understand why many would prefer epic adventures, and I respect that. But my personal taste runs more along the line of gritty scenarios which I find fits more with lower levels. 2) There are already quite a few 3.5 APs out there for those looking for high level epic feel. I would be happy if once every 3 or 4 AP, one could be dedicated to those who, like me, feel more at home in the lower level tiers. It is true that one can play an existing Pathfinder AP and stop after the first half, but to me who loves the stories, I feel a bit cheated if I don’t get the full arc... 3) Paizo’s adventures have this reputation of being pretty killer, that comes a certain level, you need to minmax your characters to survive. My mind isn’t fully made up on that point, but it is true that Paizo’s APs often feature fewer encounters which are more challenging. That may be in part due to a simple word count limitation. Having more pages to level less could mean more time to “smell the roses”: getting a few easier encounters in there for the flavor or the roleplay. 4) One problem I have with the current APs is simply the rate of level progression it implies: getting from level 1 to 15 or 20 within a year or two of “in game” time is something I’ve always had problem wrapping my brain around. Maybe it’s just me, but verisimilitude is important in my roleplaying. In this respect, I find that an adventure like Red Hand of Doom feels much more natural, even if we’re talking 5 levels in one adventure (going from 5 to 10). I believe a lower level AP would cater to that. My 2 coppers :)
It's my turn to thank everyone for an awesome weekend of PFS goodness. I really had a blast!
Great stuff friends! I'll actually be running that encounter this coming week-end and your posts provide good inspiration.
Also, if I may thread-jack a little, now did your players manage in the Shrine of Duplicity, with the 2 mirrors. I'm asking because it looks to me like a difficult puzzle to solve. In particular, there is this text in the adventure: "If both mirrors are touched appropriately, [i]triggering the trap twice[\i], the mirrors change into swirling vortexes" The first time they touch the mirror and get caught in its trap, I expect my players to say "that's the wrong way to go. No way we have to get bitten _twice_ for the exit to show up". How did that go for you?
Are they any Dm that does a game before the Draconis convention? Not that I'm aware of. Djoc mentioned that Carta Magica could host regular games. My thought was that Draconis would be the place to meet like-minded players and DMs and discuss the possibility of having PFS games in Montreal...
Hi Djoc, That would be great. Maybe we can discuss it at Draconis... you're coming, right :) With luck we can "convert" a few people over to PFS! (says the guy from Cheliax... muhahahaha !!!) See you there!
Thanks to the great help of Chris and others at Draconis, Pathfinder games scheduling are now in order. We're looking at 4 Pathfinder Society scenarios being offered.
There are still some spots left for these games, so if you're interested, now would be the time to register.
Man am I looking forward to this!
Hi Craig, I checked Draconis' timetable this morning and noticed that your two games are scheduled: - one for the morning (9AM to 1PM), and
Is that what you asked for, or was that a mixed-up? I'm asking because, if you were planning to get back to Ottawa that same day, that last game might be kind of late. I'm currently in touch with the organizers, so let me know if you want me to have them modify things...
Where the "Dans les petits pots, les meilleurs onguents" expression comes, I never hear it in my life. Really? True, I have quite a few weird and old fashion expressions in my repertoire. But I thought that one was generally well known... :)(http://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/dans_les_petits_pots,_les_meilleurs_onguents)
Do check out a thread I started a while ago, called "Nasty DM Tricks", I think.>> Linky << (used to be in archive, but now that someone's posted to it, the URL changed...)
What cons are running in TO these days? I went to Pandemonium a few times when I was younger. My brother (Scribbling Rambler) lives in Oshawa, and Mike Kortes lives in Toronto. I'd definitely like to runs some PFS in Toronto if the timing and travel work out for me. I didn't know Mike was from Toronto... Hum... maybe he could come and DM Silent Tide... hum... :)
Hi Craig, If you have any question about the Con itself, you can contact Chris Hammock (christopher dot hammock at mail dot mcgill dot ca). He's one of the organizers and a very nice person. Maybe he can tell you more about accommodations for kids and family. As it turns out, the Con won't take place at the same location as last year, so I'd be hard press to say what the new setup has in store. All I can say is that it is still in the general downtown area, not too far from a subway station. Also, might I say that Draconis is your typical "small Con". Nothing like GenCon obviously, but still small by any other yard-stick you might use. Yet, as they say in French "Dans les petits pots, les meilleurs onguents" (In small pots, the best ointments). As far as things to do in Montreal on that week-end, I couldn't find anything outstanding (except for Draconis of course :).
Hope it helps...
Ottawa-Montreal is only a 2 hour drive. You could come and be back home on the same day. It would be so cool to get Frozen Fingers DM'ed by "the Man" :)I would get a chance to be a player on that one. My Chelaxian Sorcerer is dying to be played... or is it my Chelaxian Druid? Man I have to think of a character now !!! :)
Draconis (formerly known as RoyalCon) is Montreal's annual gaming convention (http://www.draconismontreal.ca). This year the event will take place on the 3rd, 4th and 5th of October. I signed-up to DM two PFS scenarios: Silent Tide and Frozen Fingers of Midnight. I know a few Paizonians are from the Montreal area, so maybe this might interest you... The more the merrier :)
The following comes from a chat with Pathfinder Society's Joshua J. Frost:
JF: APs, never. Modules, we've talked about it, but I'm unsure when that might happen as it seriously explodes my tier schedule right out of the universe. This and other similar questions regarding the PFS can be found HERE about 1/2 way down the page. A good read :)
I can think of a few spells that could use a little tweaking. The problem more often then not is if any fix wouldn’t break backward compatibility. Still, I’ll list my thoughts and let “The Man” decide :) 1) My players and I really hate the “Spike Stones” spell and find it overpowered. Here we have a 4th level spell that does 1d8 of damage per 5 feet of movement, without any save, and that lasts 1 hour per level. But, the worst of it all is that it is invisible. You need to be a rogue (and a good one at that) to spot the effect. This makes it that much harder to dispel or know where to run to go around it. Granted, this spell only on stone floor and rocky ground… but isn’t that your average dungeon dressing? I believe that at the very least, a reflex save should be allowed to negate damage. 2) We don’t like the “Silence” spell because it is so powerful.
3) I find that Charm Person is in a way the most powerful 1st level spell. It can turn the most hated enemy into your best buddy. I was thinking the following fix might be acceptable: upon success, it increases the attitude of the target by two levels towards helpful. So a complete stranger (indifferent) would look at you as his best buddy, while making the evil orc who was trying to torture you a minute ago not care so much anymore… In other words it gives a free DC 20 diplomacy check. From there, of course one could work more diplomacy and increase the attitude level some more with a good old skill check. 4) Find Trap lets the Cleric use his (probably abysmally low) search/perception check (+1/2 his level insight bonus) to look for traps. When comparing this with a spell like Detect Secret Door (1st level spell compared to 2nd level spell), it makes me believe there’s room here for improvement… 5) I find that some useful low level spell should have higher level counterparts. Take for example Mage Armor or Bless. I could see a level 4 spell, say, called Greater Mage Armor that acts like the 1st level version of the spell, only giving a +8 instead. 6) With PF RPG 0th level spell being at will now, maybe there should be a clear statement as to how one applies meta-magic to those spells. I believe it is straightforward (it starts taking a spell slot like it did in 3.5), but maybe it is worth clarifying. 7) I agree with a previous post here that the Summon Monster Spell has too short a duration at level 1. Maybe making the duration something more along the lines of 5 rounds + 1 per 2 caster level would make more sense. 8) Again already mentioned: the Rope Trick spell that encourages the 5 minutes adventuring day (blast, rope trick, sleep without risk of being interumpted in your rest, repeat). 9) My last point is not so much about a spell in particular; it has more to do with making things clear in the area of “enhancement”. I believe it would be a good thing if PFRPG PHB could contain a clear list of the different types of enhancements out there. Then, by clearly labeling each buff spell (by an extra header info line, or italizing in the spell description), it would make it transparent to the players that, say, Protection from Evil does not stack with a ring of protection, but Bless and Prayer bonuses stack… That’s it for my 2 coppers. Good luck in making your Friday the 13th deadline, Jason !!!
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