Darcy DeWinter's page

So, I've been off-forum for an age. I had to give up my job and home to look after my dying father, who then died (as dying people tend to...); but enough of that! I have managed to write a fantasy trilogy which is available on Amazon for Kindle, starting here...

Pride and Paladins

Fair warning: the books aren't for everyone. There's adult themes (including some BDSM stuff). I've got them listed as 'erotica' and well as 'fantasy' to try to make sure that people aren't seeing stuff they're not interested in (and, in theory, to help keep impressionable young minds away from them).

They're set in a world of my own creation, 'The Land of Levels', which pokes gentle fun at some of the standard tabletop and computer RPG tropes (the books aren't primarily comedies... hopefully funny in a few places, though). There's a bunch of references gamers (and students of mythology) should get in there. The protagonist is Ren, a felid (i.e. cat-girl) who gets bound as the familiar to an apprentice dark mage, and dragged along on his adventures with his less-than-perfect party.

They're light reading stuff (more 'Mils and Boon' than 'Tolkien' to be honest).

Anyway, it'd be great if interested people could check them out.

Cheers all, for reading this post! :)

I've posted the 'wall of text' opener for the game. Victor and Tashewren (once his equipment, languages and spells are detailed) can go ahead and post their arrivals as we wait for other players to get finalized.

Feel free to ask questions here as needed, of course!

It’s a fine summer’s day as your journey along the well-maintained Taldan roads comes to an end and you approach the town of Laurel in the Barony of the same name. Bright sunshine is tempered by a welcome cooling breeze that stirs the tall crops in the fields you pass, and brings with it a pleasant scent of greenery and wild flowers. The roads are busy, and many of your fellow travellers, journeying to the town’s Armasse festival and tournament, exchange happy greetings with the local commoners at work in the fields. A ways off to the south, across the fields, even the foreboding dark of fey- and monster-infested Verduran forest seems unable to hold back the hope and joy of the season, despite the regular early-morning mists seeming to linger for an unnaturally long time along the dense boundary of trees. Cresting a hill, turning a corner, and the town itself is finally in sight.

Laurel is a small town in comparison to the great metropolises of the world, usually home to no more than a couple of thousand people, but is still the largest town of the Barony (the remainder being maybe a dozen or so small villages and the occasional hamlet). High stone walls surround the town proper, topped with battlements and dotted with alternating towers and bastions – the latter supporting defensive ballistae. Rising on a hill behind the town is the Baronial seat – a fine stone keep with a surrounding curtain wall. The towers of this castle are topped with high conical roofs (to help protect against missile fire and attack from flying creatures) and are currently all flying pennants depicting the golden laurel wreath on a field of green that is the Baronial arms, and giving the whole a rather romantic ‘fairy tale’ appearance. Additional banners of similar design hang from the walls of the town, to generally impressive effect. On the common land to the north of the town is a veritable city of colourful tents and pavilions, many flying pennants of their own, hosting the bulk of the visitors to the festival. The lists for jousting are set in the middle of this tent city, with fields of butts and pricks for shooting games further out, and rings and stages for melees, pugilism, wrestling and performances of all kind dotted here and there between the tents.

The noises and smells and bustle of the festival increase as you approach the town gates – singing and shouting and general good cheer, with scents of cooking food and fresh-picked flowers (and horses, and crowds of people...). Town guardsmen, clad in gold-trimmed dark green uniforms and scale armour, wielding glaives, walk patrols atop the town wall, and make show of keeping an eye on the crowds, but seem in good cheer – occasionally pausing to break-up potential fights before they happen or collaring an opportunistic thief, but mostly offering visitors helpful directions, and happily accepting libations offered them... in the spirit of the festival, of course!

Recalling Lux’s directions, you head into the town proper, where half-timber buildings press together and seem to lean in dangerously over the well-cobbled streets – an impression formed by the upper floors of the buildings generally over-hanging the lower. Bunting and flags and wreaths of wild flowers seem to have been put up in every spot imaginable, and the crowds have to manoeuvre past spaces where colourfully clad acrobats, dancers, fire-breathers and the like are surrounded by applauding and cheering crowds. While most of the locals seem to be human, halflings and dwarfs are well represented, as well as the occasional half-elf, gnome, or even half-orc. If any full-blooded elves are present, you’re yet to spot them. You make your way to the central market square of the town. Here you see that a raised wooden dais, with an awning of green silk to offer shade from the summer sun, has been constructed, with three throne-like carved wooden chairs set ready for some high-ranking dignitaries. Town guards keep the area around the dais clear of the crowds which seem to be gathering for some upcoming event. On one side of the market square stands an impressive church of the goddess Iomedae: a white-washed stone building with intricate stained glass windows and a tall bell tower. On the opposite side of the square you spot a round wooden sign, made from the end of a barrel, hanging above a doorway and painted with a depiction of a goose holding a dead fox in its beak - which can only be the ‘Fox and Goose’ tavern Lux instructed you to meet at.

Inside, the Fox and Goose proves to be doing great business, as it’s packed to bursting with merry-makers quaffing ale from ample wooden tankards, filling their bellies with the rich potage being served from a bubbling cauldron over the fireplace, amusing themselves with games of chance and skill, and trying to get the attention of the team of serving wenches who dodge nimbly between the tables (and the occasional uninvited ‘friendly’ hand...) as they take and deliver orders. Soon after you enter an attractive blonde halfling serving girl spots you and heads over, a wide smile beaming across her rosy-cheeked face. The tight-laced bodice and low-cut blouse of her ‘uniform’ help to emphasis the otherwise petite young lady’s ample bosom and hips, the skirt falling to mid-calf, leaving her wide, bare, feet exposed, the tufts of hair on the top of her feet so fine and fair as to hardly be noticeable. Dropping off a couple of tankards of ale as she comes, the halfling tucks her round wooden serving tray under one arm as she steps close and looks up at you,

‘A fine day to you, traveller,’ she exclaims, revealing a charming rustic lilt to her accent. She seems to take a moment to look you up and down before continuing, ‘you’re here for the private party in the back, I’d wager. The Lady slipped me a whole gold coin to keep an eye out for her guests, if you believe that! Anyway, if you’d be so kind as to follow me...’ at which she leads you through the crowds, using her tray as a paddle to swat at customers slow to move out of the way, swearing at them with a command of the language which would cause the saltiest of sailors to blush, but successfully parting the way until she’s escorted you to a sturdy-looking wooden door at the back of the common room. Fishing a large iron key from somewhere deep within her cleavage the halfling lass unlocks the door and, leaning her whole weight against it, manages to push it open, gesturing for you to enter...

... Inside is a nicely appointed private function room, sporting a long dining table of good solid oak, surrounded by six upholstered wooden chairs. A veritable banquet of cooked meats and fowl, bowls of boiled vegetables flavoured with herbs, and round loaves of freshly baked bread, with places set for six, adorns the dining table. A smaller table on the left side of the room holds jugs of ale and bottles of wine. To the rear of the room are another door and a window looking out onto what must be the narrow alleyway behind the tavern – the door doesn’t appear to have a lock, but is barred from this side, and the window has closable wooden shutters. There’s a fireplace on the right side of the room, but it’s unlit in the heat of the summer.

‘The Lady said for you to wait here,’ the halfling lass comments, adding, ‘and for you to enjoy yourself whilst you wait. I need to get back out and look for her other guests, but is there anything else you may need?’

[PCs enter in whatever order people post in – you’ve not met before, so describe what your character looks like, and how they act, and feel free to interact with each other until anything else happens. Characters will be aware that Lux was gathering a group, but won’t know each other’s names or anything about each other on meeting.]

I'm hoping that I'll finally have enough time to run an online game again, and am looking for four players...

‘My name is Luxuria Gula Avaritia Acedia Ira Invidia Superbia...’

‘... but you can call me “Lux”.’

Harlot’s Heroes is an ‘Agents of Evil’ style game, hopefully blending action and intrigue, where the player characters are bound together by all being recipients of the profane gift of the same succubus – a demonic lady who goes by the name of Lux. Whilst PCs should avoid good alignments or worshipping good deities, they’re expected to co-operate with each other for the good of the party, and to use cunning and skill in their evil deeds – ‘stupid evil’ need not apply! The base expectation will be that the PCs maintain civil, even heroic, facades whilst working towards less heroic ends behind the scenes. The game will start with the PCs having been gathered together for the first time by Lux’s telepathic summons – she has a little job for them which she thinks they’ll enjoy... besides, they all owe her...

Ability Scores: 15pt standard points buy, but each character also gets a +2 profane bonus to an Ability Score of their choice due to having accepted Lux’s profane gift as a key event in their background.

Races: core races are best, but Paizo published races worth no more than 10 race points and without any Advanced or Monstrous racial traits will be considered. Lux can have been encountered anywhere on Golarion, so disparate background homelands and ethnicities are fine, although by the start of the game all the PCs will have travelled to the tiny Barony of Laurel in the Northern Tandak province of Taldor in response to Lux’s call.

Classes: Paizo published classes, but no unchained classes or Occult Adventures classes (no psychic magic at all).

Maximum hit points for first level, average for levels after first (and for companions and the like without PC class levels).

Average starting ca$h.

Two traits per character, one has to be chosen from the following campaign traits. Each trait also has an associated individual goal – once per character level, fulfilling this goal rewards the character with XP as if they’d overcome a challenge of their level. Where goals refer to victims or other targets, the victim or target must usually have a CR equal or higher than the PC’s level for the PC’s actions to qualify for goal completion, although difficult targets of any CR may also qualify. (Note that for the character’s second trait regional-specific traits (or Feats, for that matter) and the like will require your character to come from the associated region, so you may have to invest in (at least) speaking the language of that region to represent such origins – rather than just cherry-picking those traits or Feats with the best mechanical advantages.)

As noted, the game will begin in the tiny Barony of Laurel in the Northern Tandak province of Taldor – the province is nestled between the Fog Peak mountains and Verduran forest, with the Laurel Barony’s own southern border being the northern edge of the forest itself. It’s summer and the Barony is hosting a grand tournament and celebration around the Armasse holiday of Iomedae’s faith (which is, unusually for Taldor, the most popular church in the immediate region) with many days of jousts and contests for all levels of society. The celebration is rotated each year between the Laurel Barony and the two (also tiny) neighbouring Baronies: the Branali Barony to the north west, and the Ash Barony to the north east. Although a small blip on the social calendars of great empires, the event is well-known and popular enough to bring contestants and visitors from far and wide... so the PCs have an excellent opportunity to slip into the local society without raising suspicion. From her communications it’s clear that Lux is, for reasons of her own, looking for the PCs to infiltrate the local high society. Players should think of what facade their characters will be presenting to the world at large – it should be something that will be able to reasonably integrate into courtly life, but also something not adverse to adventuring and action; players who want their courtly facades to be more unadventurous should consider some sort of secondary persona (investment in the Disguise skill may help, or looking at the Vigilante class) that can indulge in action and adventure. Despite the courtly intrigue aspects of the game, the region has plenty of dangerous wilderness and wilderness skills (particularly the Survival skill and the ability to track) should prove valuable too.

So, apart from traps and related fun, am I correct in the sequence to 'sensibly' use a fuse (or pellet) grenade?:

Round One
1. Draw grenade (move)
2. Light grenade (move) - assuming an ignition source to hand, of course.
3. The DM secretly rolls a d3 and the grenade will go off that number of rounds later. My assumption here is that, lacking any other evidence, the grenade will go off in the same 'half' (the 4-6 second part, rather than the 1-3 second part) of the turn that I lit it in - in this case the second 'half' (as it was lit on my second move action).

Round Two (possibly up to Four)
4. Ready an action to throw the grenade when it explodes (standard, but ends your turn). As readied actions go off just before the event that triggers them, this seems the method to use to 'cook-off' a fuse grenade. As this action is taken in the first 'half' of my new turn (i.e. less than a full round since I lit the grenade) I assume there's no chance the grenade will explode before I can do this.
5. If grenade explodes, throw it at the target intersection just before it explodes. If it doesn't explode, then rinse and repeat each round until it does.

This seems logical and fair to me (after all, you could have lobbed up to four flasks of acid in the same time, at less cost than the grenade) but in cases like this I'm a little wary that my assumptions are trumped by some obscure rule hidden in an unrelated part of the book somewhere - hence the request for the rules check.

There's another of those 'how do we make martials not suck' threads over on the Advice forum, and it got me thinking. I understand the theory and arguments for caster/martial disparity, but to be honest it's not really something that's reared its ugly head in any of my games. Sometimes I've witnessed low-level casters getting themselves in trouble whilst the martials cut a bloody swath through all the enemies, but nothing to the extent of 'OMG I need to change my character'. Likewise I've seen high-level casters solving practically everything with magic, but again not to the extent that the martials end up bemoaning their character choices. Admittedly, I normally GM games, and usually run them from level 1 up, and my GMing style may be mitigating the issue... I'm not sure.

So I was wondering if people would like to share their experiences of when this has become a real issue for a group (not just a theoretical issue), if possible including the rough level it started to happen and the circumstances that caused it? I think it'd be interesting if there was a pattern to causes or a certain 'tipping point' level or whether it's all just circumstantial and all over the place.

Thanks in advance all! :)

I've noticed that, dotted about the boards, there still lingers the received wisdom that purchased mounts are worthless because they're so vulnerable. Whilst that was certainly true back in the days when the only mounts you could purchase were light and heavy horses (or ponies and riding dogs for the wee folk) Ultimate Equipment and (mainly) Animal Archive have really opened up the options for purchased mounts.

Here's a list of the purchased mounts available for medium-sized riders from Ultimate Equipment and Animal Archive (plus the mammoth from People of the North) along with their Hit Dice and hit points. The gp costs are for combat-trained versions. I've left out creatures with higher than animal intelligence (as slavery is something quite different) and only included those animals who are listed as being purchasable as combat-trained mounts 'off the shelf' (so to speak). I've included a standard-issue horse Animal Companion in the listings, at the various Druid-equivalent levels, with average hit points, as a comparison (although keep in mind that the master of an Animal Companion can get it to spend its Ability Score increases as it levels on more Con, and some favoured class bonuses and the like could also boost Animal Companion hit points a little).

Format is:

Name (price for a combat-trained version): Hit Dice (hit points)

Animal Companion (Horse) 1st: 2 (13) (Con 15)

Light Horse (110gp): 2 (15)
Riding Gecko (400gp): 2 (15)
Heavy Horse (300gp): 2 (19)

Animal Companion (Horse) 2nd-3rd: 3 (19)

Aurochs (450gp): 3 (22)
Axe Beak (1,500gp): 3 (22)
Dire Bat (450gp): 4 (22)
Hippogriff (5,000gp): 3 (22)

Animal Companion (Horse) 4th: 4 (30) (Con 17)

Lion (300gp): 5 (32)
Giant Chameleon (350gp): 4 (34)

Animal Companion (Horse) 5th: 5 (37)

Bison (75gp): 5 (42)
Giant Vulture (1,125gp): 5 (42)
Rhinoceros (1,500gp): 5 (42)
Tiger (500gp): 6 (45)

Animal Companion (Horse) 6th-7th: 6 (45)
Animal Companion (Horse) 8th: 7 (52)

Giant Frilled Lizard (550gp): 7 (59)

Animal Companion (Horse) 9th: 8 (60)
Animal Companion (Horse) 10th-11th: 9 (67)
Animal Companion (Horse) 12th: 10 (75)

Woolly Rhinoceros (3,000gp): 8 (76)

Animal Companion (Horse) 13th: 11 (82)
Animal Companion (Horse) 14th-15th: 12 (90)
Animal Companion (Horse) 16th: 13 (97)
Animal Companion (Horse) 17th: 14 (105)
Animal Companion (Horse) 18th-19th: 15 (112)

Roc (10,800gp): 16 (120)

Animal Companion (Horse) 20th: 16 (120)

Mammoth (2,250gp): 14 (133)

... if you train your own you can look into dinosaurs, more dire animals, and more megafauna too. Also keep in mind that the standard combat-trained package only includes the 'attack' trick once - training an animal to attack anything requires taking that trick twice, so some retraining may be in order if you want to go hunting dragons from the back of a roc or something...

It struck me that, since you share your mount's space when in mounted combat, if you used a tower shield to provide cover it'd cover a 10ft section of map (for a medium character on a large mount) rather than just a 5ft section. Rather than magically growing the shield's size, I'd imagine this as using the mobility and height advantage of being mounted to swing the thing around more, covering a larger area.

Assuming this is true (which is RAW as far as I can tell, but I imagine some GMs would ban-hammer, but still...), then being mounted with a tower shield and using the Shield Wall Feat would seem to provide a nice big defensive screen for your allies with the Shield Wall Feat (since they also benefit from your tower shield's one-way cover).

This naturally led to a Cavalier build, as a Cavalier can both ignore the hideous ACP to Ride checks for hefting a tower shield about, and can use the Tactician class feature to grant his allies (mount included) the benefits of the Shield Wall Feat.

Here's what I've got so far...

... so he's basically a tanky type, although like all tower shield users he's always got the option to stow the thing and go in swinging two-handed. You still threaten when using a tower shield for cover, so when mounted and claiming cover he can leverage the lance being a one-handed reach weapon to potentially AoO several enemies (hence the Combat Reflexes) if they try to bypass him and reach his charges (being the other PCs, one imagines). He'll need the Mounted Combat Feats and the other basics as he levels, of course, but this sets up the concept at level 1.

So... any thoughts, suggestions, improvements? Any gaping holes I'm missing?

Pack Attack base attack bonus +1 Ally's attack allows you to take a 5-foot step

Pack Attack (Combat, Teamwork)

You are skilled at surrounding your enemies.

Prerequisite: Base attack bonus +1.
Benefit: When you are adjacent to an ally with this feat, the first time you melee attack an opponent, you can spend an immediate action to take a 5-foot step, even if you have otherwise moved this round.
Normal: You can take a 5-foot step only if you have not otherwise moved in a round.

Couldn't see an errata for this... was it ever sorted out? As an immediate action I'd assume it's meant to be as the table says (an adjacent ally's melee attack lets you 5ft step) otherwise it'd just be a swift wouldn't it? Unless you AoO that oppoent I guess... hmmm... so no, still not clear to me.

The vigilante's Duel Identity class feature is an extraordinary ability which clearly allows the character to bypass the usual time requirements for donning a disguise (as it takes 1 minute to change identities, but 1d3x10 minutes to apply a disguise normally using the skill) when it comes to those two (social and vigilante) identities. The text also mentions changing outfits. The question is this: does the Duel Identity class feature also allow one to bypass the usual time requirements for donning or removing armour?

E.g. brother Stephen is a humble illuminator of manuscripts who wears simple scholars robes, but he's also the social identity of Captain Andoran, freedom loving champion of liberty and justice who, as part of his vigilante guise, wears scale armour and carries a big metal shield. Does it take brother Stephan 5 minutes to change identities (1 minute to change plus 4 minutes to don his scale armour), and two minutes to change back (1 to change and 1 to remove the armour)? Or does all that armour donning and removing time get dealt with by the class feature?

‘Twas back in the day,
The grognards all say,
That low level wizards would die.
It took just one hit,
To cause them to quit,
One spell and their magic ran dry.

They’d simper and cower,
And slowly gain power,
As fighters did carry them through;
But then the day came,
Which would change the game:
They’d learn to cast spell level two.

Invisible then,
They felt like real men,
As powerful magics did call;
Their might we would see,
At spell level three,
Once they could cast a fireball.

And from that point on,
The contest was won,
No warrior could hope to meet,
The strength of their spells,
Their whistles and bells,
No sword or bow could ever beat.

The one thing to stay,
Them ruling all play,
Was the limits of their own smarts,
Intelligence, see,
Was the vital key,
To mastering the mystic arts.

Now some may not know,
Why this was a blow,
So keep in mind this simple thought:
A random dice spread,
Did fill folks with dread,
‘Cos stats were once rolled and not bought.

We could have had a wizard,
‘Cos power’s fine and dandy,
But instead we chose a sorceress,
‘Cos we all liked eye candy.

Our rogue could sneak and stab at backs,
Our fighter had no fear,
Our sorceress impressed us all,
With how she worked a spear.

Our men-folk all wore armour,
To guard against cruel hits,
Our sorceress? A skimpy dress,
That showed off her nice... tattoos.

On our first adventure,
An ogre meant us harm,
Our sorceress soon soothed the brute,
With her beguiling charm.

We came upon a horde of orcs,
We didn’t stand a chance,
‘Til our sorceress did daze the guards,
With a flirtatious glance.

She wrestled with the orcish chief,
And thus averted war,
We don’t imply, you understand,
That she’s a painted... warrior.

Our sorceress grew to new heights,
In glory and in fame,
Her image now is plastered,
On every book and game.

We could have had a wizard,
With brains and books of spells,
Instead we chose a sorceress,
‘Cos in the end sex sells.

Johnny was a druid,
Who could reincarnate,
He said: ‘I am immortal!’
His friends: ‘you’re tempting fate...’

The very next adventure,
Into a dragon’s lair,
Johnny was dismembered,
And rose as a bugbear.

Johnny now was furry,
And strong and fast and tough,
But worried townsfolk killed him,
(A monster’s life is rough...)

Johnny was a dwarf now,
Possessed of a fine beard...
... which got caught in an axle,
And off his head was sheared.

Jonny was an elf next,
He thought: ‘not a bad role’,
But with poor constitution,
Soon Johnny was a gnoll...

Now cautious of the townsfolk,
He snuck back to his home,
You can guess the next line...
... yep: he became a gnome.

Despite his gnomish body,
He knew no gnomish tricks,
Johnny versus giant,
Proved quite the fatal mix.

Returning as a goblin,
Johnny did soon despair,
The chance the townsfolk killed him?
Say... middling to fair?

Now a half-blood elf,
Johnny really did try,
But as we’ve seen so often,
His fate was just to die.

A half-orc’s nice strong body,
Johnny thought not so bad,
But still he died one more time,
Our poor druidic lad.

Back then as a halfling,
His friends’ comments were snide,
Rings, shire, Sam and ‘Precious’,
Drove him to suicide.

Rising as a kobold,
Johnny was not too pleased,
But anyway he perished,
When a green dragon sneezed.

Lizardfolkish Johnny,
At least could hold his breath,
But even this new talent,
Couldn’t prevent his death.

Johnny as an orc,
Never did lose a fight,
But still the townsfolk killed him:
T’was ever Johnny’s plight.

Troglodyte mode Johnny,
Was tough as hobnailed boots,
But with that one big drawback:
A stench like bottom toots...

Now a social outcast,
(He smelled like rotten fish),
He finally exclaimed the words,
‘I’ll pay for the damned wish!’

Johnny now is human,
His starting form and race,
For reincarnated Johnny,
Quite a nice change of pace!

My first was an abjurer,
I thought our love was true,
But her resistance was impressive,
And I left with balls of blue.

Towards a cute conjurer,
My interests next leaned,
But she quickly grew in power,
And dumped me for a fiend.

I dated a diviner,
But soon I had regrets,
(You try being with a woman,
Who knows all your secrets!)

You’d think that an enchantress,
Would just be a sure thing,
But she could be with any man,
And so she chose the king.

A fiery evoker,
Then stirred me from my funk,
But passion turned to danger,
When she tried to singe my junk.

An illusionist I dated,
Her beauty near divine,
But t’was a mere glamer,
Like goggles caused by wine.

A necromantic lady,
I thought could be my wife,
But she gave me the cold shoulder,
‘Cos I was too full of life.

A transmuter I did marry,
The solution to my plight:
She’s a new and different woman,
Every single night!

‘You are the dead. You are the damned.’

Those were the first words you heard Loscivia, the Mistress of the House, say as you all clustered into the training yard of the drow lady’s ludus, flanked by guards, gazing up as she uttered her welcoming speech from the gallery circling the forty foot square yard fifteen or so feet up. A striking woman, not yet in her middle years, with the dark grey skin, solid white eyes, and white hair common to many of her species, Loscivia’s fine silken clothes and ornate jewellery did little to hide the martial grace with which her lithe body moved, the confident tone to her voice as she repeated the speech in both the common trade tongue of the darklands, and the Taldane more often used in the sunlit lands of the surface world, or the ease at which the well-worn whip hung coiled at her shapely hip.

‘By drow law,’ she’d continued, leaning forwards against the railing of the gallery as she seemed to peer down into your very soul, ‘your lives are forfeit. By rights you should be cast to the vats of the fleshcrafters, or offered as subjects to the torture artists... or sacrifices to the great Lords of Abyss...’ she paused then, you recall, letting the full impact of her words sink in, before a smile – more predatory than warming – teased at the corners of her mouth and she continued, ‘... but it is your great fortune to have come to my attention. Here,’ she stood up straight then, spreading her arms as if to encompass the training yard, the chambers carved into the rock on all four sides, the villa which surrounded it above... and everything and everyone within, ‘in my humble ludus I train the greatest gladiators the city... and therefore the world... has ever seen,’ she leant forwards on the railing again as she pressed on, an impassioned tone entering her voice, ‘train hard, fight hard, capture the imagination of the mob, and glory, riches, and yes... even freedom... may one day be yours!’

She’d then stood straight once more, and nodded to one of the guards. From one of the side chambers a prisoner – a filthy, hairy, but muscle-bound human male – had been dragged, to be thrown to the sand before you, and below Loscivia. With casual ease the drow lady had vaulted the railing and (with an uttered arcane word) drifted, feather-light, down to the sands, her silken clothes twisting and shifting as they reformed into artistically sculpted breastplate armour as she did so. She’d not broken pace as she strode over to the muscular human, even as he struggled to his feet to tower a good six inches over the female drow.

‘This slave,’ she indicated the man without acknowledging him as she addressed her comments to you and your fellow recruits, ‘has committed the greatest sin there is in this house. This man has failed to earn me any money. Failing to earn me any money does not, as you may imagine, please me.’

You recall that as Loscivia spoke the human slave’s expression had turned from panic to rage and he’d stepped behind your new drow Mistress, raising his arms to strike a blow... the guards hadn’t even flinched, and with good reason: with a word and a gesture Loscivia had turned ever so slightly and slapped a contemptuous backhand across the man’s chest – the force of the seemingly light blow had sent him flying through the air to impact, with a sickening bone-crunching noise and a splatter of blood and gore, across the stone wall of the training yard. As the man’s corpse had slumped to the sands which darkened with his blood Loscivia had glanced towards the recruits once more, as she’d added quietly,

‘It is wise to make sure that I remain pleased with you...’

***

That had been, near as you can tell, a month or more past. Since then your life has become an ever repeating cycle of exercise and training, toiling under the cat-o-nine-tails of Loscivia’s adult son Pharnox (a rather weathered and world-weary muscular drow man, invariably clad in darkleaf lamellar armour with a darkwood shield slung on his back and an ornate longsword at his hip, tasked to organise the house guards and gladiators alike) lessons beaten into to you by the more experienced gladiator stock. On too rare occasions you’d be locked into a single cage with the other recruits to try to catch a few hours of precious sleep, and when fed tasteless gruel infested with bugs (and worse if the jeering senior gladiators happened to get to it first...) you soon learned to gulp it down gratefully, for want of any else. Bathing soon became a thing of memory...

One by one other recruits fell by the wayside – killed in training (even wooden practice swords proving to be lethal in determined hands) or falling below the standards Pharnox deemed acceptable and being sold off to one of those gruesome fates Loscivia had outlined on your arrival... but you remained, you endured, your skills slowly grew until more often than not it would be a senior gladiator sprawled in the sand at your feet during training, rather than the other way round. Finally, just yesterday, the few of you who remained had been given a hearty meal of bread and cheese and meat and allowed a full night’s sleep (as far as one can tell night from day in the caverns of the darklands). This morning you were allowed to wash and bathe in the communal pool used by the senior gladiators and, when you arrived at the training yard, instead of the usual padding and blunted wooden weapons, you were issued real gladiator arms and armour. As usual there’s a half-dozen commoner drow guards clad in scale armour and armed with tower shields, short swords, and saps (the latter of which they’ve shown absolutely no reluctance to use over the past few weeks) in the yard itself, and another half dozen armed with hand crossbows (the bolts no doubt laced with drow poison) patrolling the gallery above. Across the yard several of the senior gladiators – all of them the worst bullies and abusers of the lot over the past weeks – stand equipped much as yourselves: ready for real contest.

Up on the gallery Loscivia is present, dressed in a fetching silken gown and adorned with jewellery, much as the dozen or so wealthy-looking drow guests that have joined her. It’s Loscivia’s gorgeous daughter, Ilvaria, who seems to be doing the bulk of the socialising however – her own silk gown cut with dangerously low cleavage and dangerously high slits up either side, and seemingly lacking any back at all. You’ve noticed Ilvaria before, of course (she’s hard to miss...), as she often spends time lounging on the balcony as she lazily observes the training sessions below, her ever-present fly-whisk in her hand, and her favourite pretty halfling slavegirl serving her goblets of wine and bowls of candied treats. From what you’ve observed where Pharnox stresses form and skill and competence, Ilvaria doesn’t seem to care what the gladiators do... as long as they look good doing it...

Speaking of Pharnox, he emerges from one of the side chambers and casts a nervous glance towards the gathering on the balcony as he strides across the sands towards your small group. Reaching you he leans close and speaks in a hushed whisper,

‘This is your one chance to show whether you’re gladiators... or meat. Try not to embarrass me, try to win and, by the Abyss, if you have to get yourselves killed at least try to make your deaths entertaining, alright?’ He glances towards where Loscivia stands on the gallery again, then looks back to you, ‘If you drop an opponent and they’re not dead don’t finish them off straight away – look to Mother for a decision... and if she wants them dead, then make it look good.’ He nods over his shoulder to where your opponents stand, then offers, ‘To be honest that lot are barbaric scum – we’d be well rid of them. It’s my belief that you few have the potential to take this House much further in the games than all the rest combined. If you work together, cover each other’s weaknesses and play to each other’s strengths then you should make it...’ he trails off as he glances back towards the gallery one more time, then sneers, shrugs and concludes, ‘... but what do I know? I’m only a son.’

Well, that’s the introduction. When your character’s been cleared to play fee free to post: it’s always best to start with a description, I think. You’ve a little time before the match begins (well, until all the players are ready anyway) so your characters can talk to each other (and Pharnox, as he’s still standing there) while you’re waiting.

We’ll be using the Fame and Prestige system in this campaign, with the details noted below. I’ve written it up in a ‘martial school’ format (with phrases like ‘term’ and ‘flunk’) but that’s just ‘cos it’s the standard format presented in the Inner Sea Combat book. For those who’ve not used the system before, Fame is permanent once gained (excepting something dire... like insulting a noble...) – your running total of how famous your gladiator is. You gain one Prestige for every Fame point you gain, and Prestige is gone forever once spent. You can’t spend Prestige on behalf of others but you (the player) can spend if on behalf of your character, even if that character happens to be dead or otherwise incapacitated.

In addition to the benefits listed below, you gain a +1 bonus to Diplomacy checks with members of Loscivia’s household (gladiators, slaves, guards, family... and the Mistress herself) for every 10 points of Fame the character has earned.

Just to keep it all together, a repost of...

I've been getting back into the boards for a couple of weeks now, and my PbP GM sense is twitching again. I've run a few games before, but eventually RL tends to catch up with me and I end up abandoning the hobby for a while... so I'd not promise to be around forever, but I usually give it a pretty fair whack when I get started.

Of course, even when not actively gaming I tend to have the nuggets of ideas and concepts pop into my noggin, so there's a few 'unusual' settings I wouldn't mind having a go at running a game in:

1. Warlords of Akiton: I'm a pretty big fan of Barsoom, so a game set on Golarion's sister planet would most likely skew heavily in that direction. For the PC races that'd probably be (Akiton local) elves, red-hued humans, (plus the resultant half-elves, natch), ratfolk for the Ysoki, plus red-hued nagaji and vishkanjas to represent 'reptile people' without needing too much scratch-building or including people with racial hit dice or anything. Advanced firearms rules with 'radium bullets' or something (just black powder reskinned), flying ships, vast tracks of desert with ancient abandoned cities, occassional high-tech or science weirdness, 'warrior honour' and barbarian princesses and brutal slavers and such.

2. Warlords of Azlant: an undersea setting. Gillmen, merfolk, and (amphibious) Undine PCs... although a surface race Witch with the water lung hex or some other way to breath underwater at 1st level would also be okay. Evil aboleth-run empires, sunken cities, a chance to use those weird aquatic archetypes, animal companions, or familiars dotted about all over the place.

3. Something Grimm: a setting skewed towards traditional style fairy tales - so no firearms or other 'Golarion weirdness', but enchanted forests, saving the princess, evil hags, curses, orges, talking wolves... that sort of thing. PCs in this one would likely be working for 'good King [insert name here]'. This one would essentially be more 'unusual' by being more traditional - good guys questing for good, rather than robbing the still-cooling corpses of their enemies and figuring out the best buys at the local magic shop.

4. Knights of the Air: set in the elemental plane of air (or some sub-plane or something) the characters would be members of an elite knighthood from a floating kingdom (essentially a big chunk of rock like an island floating in the air with the kingdom on the top - ripped from some material plane 'a long time ago' yet managed to survive and adapt) who get to fly around using gliders (at first) and investigate the other odds and ends ripped from other planes which drift close to the ever-drifting kingdom. That'd likely be standard PC races plus Sylphs, bird / flying animal companions and familiars, etc..

5. Gladiators of Zirnakaynin: PCs would be slave gladiators in the famed Drow city, fighting to survive and win glory (and perhaps, eventually, freedom) in the arena, whilst becoming embroiled in the intrigues of their drow masters between bouts. Skewed a lot towards the 'Spartacus: Blood and Sand' TV show style and pseudo-Roman gladiator styles, this one would probably be the hardest to role-play due to the enslaved status of the PCs (and the focus not being 'escape' but 'play the system and win') and the need to 're-tune' from the more usual 'PCs run things' style of play.

... whatever the setting I tend towards the 'role-play' side of the gaming spectrum (although I usually run a pretty tight ship rules-wise). I generally lack the time (or patience) to produce maps and stuff, but run encounters through narrative description (and dice rolls, of course)... as I said, there should be some examples of my old games banging around here somewhere if you're interested in my GMing style.

Anyway... I'm not promising anything at the moment, but just checking in to see if anyone would be interested in any of the above sorts of game ideas. When I'm running full-blast (and haven't just abandoned the whole thing...) I like to post once a day, and would expect players to be able to match that (barring RL, of course) to keep the pace going. Players who like to write imaginative descriptions, hold conversations with NPCs, think outside the box, and the like are going to be happier with me, I think, than number-crunchers (not that you can't do both, of course...).

The basic concept here is a human with the Heart of the Wilderness alternate race trait also taking the Racial Heritage (Orc) Feat to access the Orc Fighter favoured class bonus (+2 to Constitution score for the purposes of determining when he dies from negative hit points) and the Deathless Feat chain. By level 20 he’ll need to be reduced to a whopping 50 points more than his Con score below negative before he even slows down. By level 20 (without adding any magic) he should be on around 220 hit points (114 from hit dice, 6 from Tribal Scars, 20 from Toughness and 80 from a +4 Con bonus). Assuming a +5 inherent and +6 enhancement bonus to Con by that point, he’d have Con 30, so an extra 120 hit points on top of that, for 340 total (420 points of damage to stop him).

To make this worthwhile (instead of just going with a half-orc barbarian with the Deathless Feat chain or something) he’s a Brawler archetype shield-user. This helps keep his AC reasonable as he levels (via the usual four items: magic armour, magic shield, ring of protection, and amulet of natural armour), helped by his Menacing Stance class feature, and the superiority of the Close Combatant class feature over regular Weapon Training helps a little in mitigating his need to focus on Con over Str. Eventually he gets into the whole Shield Slam shtick, which synergises well with his Close Control class feature, and the Stand Still class feature helps him lock down enemies (even though that’s not his primary focus). He relies on his AC / Hit Points / Menacing Stance to help him soak AoO, so he never picks up Improved Bull Rush or the like. His basic attack would be two-handing his spiked shield with Power Attack (at least until he gets into the TWF stuff at his highest levels), although wearing a cestus and carrying a sap (both in the Close weapon group covered by his Close Combatant class feature) give him plenty of options (along with just attempting combat maneuvers and hoping he shrugs off the AoO he triggers).

Problems seem to be a low damage potential (not being Str focused, and not being TWF focused – just dipping a proverbial toe into that pool later on) and completely ignoring Critical Feats.

His level 1 build mitigates his dumped Cha a little by investing in Intimidate and Handle Animal. Clearly he’d expand his skill selection as he levelled to round him out. His starting gear is meant to reflect the sort of stuff a guy from the Realm of the Mammoth Lords may arrive in town with; he lacks for a ranged weapon, but can always chuck rocks or something until he kills someone carrying a dagger or bow... His reserved campaign trait would go on whatever seemed appropriate, or something to bump his Will save by +1. Being a hard-to-kill northern tribal guy with a bruising intellect, I see him being played a bit like (original book version) Conan, personality-wise. Oh, he's based on a 15 point 'standard fantasy' Ability Score buy.

So... thoughts? A viable build? Anything obvious I’m missing here?

Thanks in advance!

I've been thinking about creating an NPC Magus assassin type who specialises in using a garrote. Being a spellcaster seems the simplest way to relatively consistently qualify for the 'target unaware' requirement for using a garrote (by sneaking through obscuring mist or being invisible or whatever), after all, and the Magus Maneuver Mastery arcana allows him to emulate full BAB for grappling attacks. So far so good, but then a couple of rules related doubts popped up:

1) Does having a 'BAB equivalency' for a specific maneuver qualify for the BAB prerequisites for Feats using that manuever? The FAQ on Monks says it qualifies (with FoB in the Monk's case, but the idea is there) for Feat effects, but would that extend to (in the case of a Magus with the Maneuver Mastery arcana for grappling) the BAB requirement to select Feats such as Improved Grappled and the like?

2) The FAQ on the Magus and Spellstrike makes it clear you can use it via any melee weapon (not the 'free attack' aspect when we're talking a grapple-based attack, of course, but the 'delivering via a weapon' aspect when the Magus is already holding the charge), but for those touch spells which grant multiple touches how often does a touch get discharged? I'd imagine every time you maintained the grapple via the grapple combat maneuver roll (which is a type of attack), but is there any other information around to confirm or deny this conclusion?

For 2) I understand there's some debate on whether a normal grapple qualifies for spellstrike as a 'weapon attack' or not, but a garrote is clearly a weapon so it'd be weird if the Magus couldn't channel touch spells through it for some reason (not that being weird ever stopped a ruling before, but still...).

I started a thread about Golarion-specific limmericks and mentioned the possibility of turning such into a drinking song... and the idea got stuck in my head...

'Girls of the Inner Sea' is a popular drinking song with sailors, with the usual multitude of variations and additions such songs tend to spawn. Often each verse is sung by one participant, taking turns round the group, and everyone joins in on the chorus. Sometimes the verses are sung in the order of countries the ship the sailors are on is visiting, although a more challenging version is where at the end of each chorus someone not singing (such as a passing barmaid) shouts out a random destination, and the singers compete to be the first to recite (or ad-lib) a verse about that destination. Other variations no doubt exist... and the drinking part is probably more important anyway...

What follows is one of the more basic (and less crude) versions of the song, based on the 'North tack' trade route:

[Chorus]
Sailing around the Inner Sea,
A girl in every port for me.
Slip the lines, unfurl the sail,
What is the next stop in our tale?

I once knew an Andoran maid,
Who always refused to be paid,
It confused her, you see,
That all should be free,
For her cause, I always gave aid...

[Chorus] Sailing around... etc.

I once knew a Taldan girl,
Who wouldn't give up her pearl,
She couldn't be bought,
So I showed her the court,
And told her that I was an Earl...

[Chorus] Sailing around... etc.

I knew a Qadiran princess,
Who did everything to excess,
Her favourite horse,
She rode hard, of course,
Me twice as hard I must confess...

[Chorus] Sailing around... etc.

I once knew an Absalom lady,
Who I met in a tavern most shady,
'Twas no test of Starstone,
That caused her to moan,
There's a god in my pants, so she praised me...

[Chorus] Sailing around... etc.

I once knew a Chelish lass,
Who I loved to take up the As-
-modean church,
Where a flick of the birch,
Got rid of some of her sass...

[Chorus] Sailing around... etc.

I see there's been some limmerick-related threads on this site, and the humble limmerick can be a great tool for roleplayers: they're easy to write, easy to remember, short and (hopefully at least mildly) amusing. Peppering the speech of your PCs or NPCs with the odd setting-specific limmerick can be a quick way to help conjure up some depth, colour and player immersion for your campaign.

So, what setting-specific limmericks can people come up with? Here's a few to start off with (the product of a slow work day...):

There once was a Seeker for Sky,
Who swore that he never would die,
When the surface he reached,
A mountain he breached...
... then fell off (and dwarves cannot fly...)

There once was an elf of the Spire,
Who wouldn't stop playing with fire,
His lesson was learnt,
When his ears wound up burnt,
Heed this as a warning most dire.

There once was a bloatmage called Slim,
Who proved most remarkably dim,
For power he bled,
'Till he ended up dead,
And that's all they wrote about him.

There was a young wizard from Geb,
Who learned how to cast the spell 'web',
But his aim was for nought,
His own hireling he caught,
But so what? He was only a pleb.

There once was a Chelish lad,
Who didn't think devils so bad,
He sold his own soul,
To complete his goal,
(Between you and me: he was had!)

Of course a true limmerick tends towards the lewd, although personally I think it's funnier when delivered via a healthy dose of innuendo...

There once was a Chelish lass,
Who a hellknight took up the As-
-modean church,
Where a flick of the birch,
Got rid of some of her sass.

Edit: (As a bonus, you can string a few limmericks together, perhaps with a rousing chorus, and you've got yourself a genuine Golarian drinking song!)

The wording on Vital Strike has changed a bit since the game came out, and now includes reference to 'the weapon's damage dice' (rather than the original 'damage dice')...

Vital Strike (Combat)

You make a single attack that deals significantly more damage than normal.

Prerequisites: Base attack bonus +6.

Benefit: When you use the attack action, you can make one attack at your highest base attack bonus that deals additional damage. Roll the weapon's damage dice for the attack twice and add the results together before adding bonuses from Strength, weapon abilities (such as flaming), precision based damage, and other damage bonuses. These extra weapon damage dice are not multiplied on a critical hit, but are added to the total.

... While the whole 'attack action' thing precludes you from using Vital Strike on the 'free' melee touch attack you get when you initially cast a spell like shocking grasp, in the past nothing in the Feat's wording seemed to stop you using Vital Strike at a later point when using an attack action to deliver the shocking grasp (via holding the charge).

Does the new wording preclude this tactic now? Does it preclude using Vital Strike with natural attacks, or (non-Monk) unarmed attacks?

So, battle poi were changed from one-handed to light exotic weapons in an errata of the Adventurer's Armory, which makes them a little more attractive with the 'free two-weapon fighting' bit of their rules and everything. But 1d4 damage at a 20/x2 critical isn't really anything to shout about, even if it is fire damage. So the question is, what (if anything) adds to the Battle Poi's damage?

The AA text says, '... The weight of the poi is insufficient to deal physical damage, but the burning fuel deals fire damage...', but is that pure fluff text, or does it mean that you can't add your Strength modifier to the Battle Poi's damage? How about stuff like Sneak Attack or Power Attack or the like? On the one hand it seems logical that Strength damage wouldn't get added in; on the other it kinda' makes the Battle Poi into pointless novelty items if it isn't...

Ricochet Shot Deed (Grit)

You can ricochet a firearm shot off the wall and still hit your target.

Prerequisites: Grit class feature or Amateur Gunslinger feat, Blind-Fight.

Benefit: You can fire a shot at a wall or piece of solid terrain, and have it ricochet off. When you do, use the square immediately in front of the wall or piece of solid terrain to determine line of sight to a target, and this square is considered the new origin square of the attack. Use that square to determine the effects of cover, and your own square to determine the effects of concealment. You can make this shot as long as you have at least 1 grit point. When making this shot, you can spend 1 grit point to ignore the effects of all cover or concealment. You must choose to spend the grit point before you make the attack roll.

I was looking into the possibilities for a pistol-based Myrmidarch Magus build (which is really fodder for another thread entirely) and in browsing the various Grit Feats, to see if the Amateur Gunslinger Feat was worth it for such a build or not (again, a discussion for another time) I came across the Ricochet Shot Deed. Now, the line...

... and this square is considered the new origin square of the attack...

... seems to be saying that you'd count the range of the shot from that new origin square. That would make this Deed Feat absolutely amazing! Forget about bouncing shots around corners - just firing at the gun's maximum range, but bouncing the bullet off the floor next to the guy you want to hit, using the 'no Grit cost' version of this Feat, and you not only ignore range penalties, but get to target touch AC, as he's within the first range increment of your gun (based on where the bullet is considered to 'originate' from, thanks to the Deed Feat).

Now, obviously the more logical approach would be to count all the squares the bullet passes through for purposes of calculating range... but that's not what the Feat is saying, as far as I can tell. So - is that an intended part of the Feat, or something in need of errata?

Blighted Critical (page 143): What are the prerequisites for this feat? The table doesn't match the feat entry (page 144).

The text on page 143 is correct. Likewise, the text for Blighted Critical Mastery (page 143) and Greater Blighted Critical (pages 151-152) shouldn't list Critical Focus as a prerequisite, nor should the table entry for all three feats on page 144.

Update: Page 143, Blighted Critical Mastery, remove "Critical Focus" from the Prerequisites. Page 151, Blighted Critical, remove "Critical Focus" from the Prerequisites on page 152. Page 144, Blighted Critical/Greater Blighted Critical/Blighted Critical Mastery, remove "Critical Focus" from the Prerequisites.

—Sean K Reynolds, yesterday

If I'm not mistaken, the Blighted Critical Feats inflict spellblight effects without allowing the target a save (normally spellblights allow a save based on method they're acquired - via someone using a Feat on you isn't listed). So, basically, this Feat tree allows you to inflict open-ended duration, no-save, curses on people for zero cost to yourself. Acid splash and ray of frost never looked so good! This Feat tree obviously has the Magus in mind, and now it's a 'must have' for that particular class (and a darn good option for any other casters too).

Some (most) of the spellblight effects really mess a caster up, so they're pretty powerful stuff. By caster level 9 a character can have the Blighted Critical Mastery Feat and choose the minor spellblight he inflicts on a critical - such as 'Ritualistic Obsession' which nerfs the target's action economy into the ground... Once you hit caster level 12 and start looking at the major spelllblight effects, well, game over...

Before the Critical Focus requirement made this a hard Feat chain to buy into, but now it's as simple as being a caster.

So... balanced or not? It's true the Magus probably needed some love, but the lack of a save is a bit of a dealbreaker for me...

Thoughts?

Cold Ice Strike (page 211): What are the components for this spell? Is its casting time 1 swift action?

The Components should be: V, S, M (a small crystal or glass rod).
The casting time is correct.
The Range should be 30 ft. and the Area should be a 30-ft. line. All references to "cone" in the spell description should be "line."
Update: Page 211, cold ice strike, after Casting Time, add a line with "Components V, S, M (a small crystal or glass rod)." Change Range to "30 ft." Change Area to "30-ft. line." Change two references in the spell description from "cone" to "line."

—Sean K Reynolds, yesterday

So cold ice strike is now the functional equivalent of a Quickened level 2 spell which does 1d6 damage/level in a 30ft line, Reflex save for half... that actually sounds about right... but then it also has a damage cap of 15d6 - too high for a level 2 spell equivalent?

The damage cap chart on page 130 of Ultimate Magic suggests a level 2 arcane spell should be doing a maximum of 10 dice to a single target, and only 5 dice to an area. Granted, a 'line' area is often borderline 'single target', especially at only 6 grid spaces long, but even if the 10d6 cap was used that would make cold ice strike the equivalent of an Intensified Quickened level 2 spell, which should work out at level 7. If we're a little more stringent in our interpretation and use the 'mutliple targets' column of the damage cap table it's the equivalent of an Intensified Quickened level 3 spell - or a level 8 spell.

Of course, being its own level 6 spell (and not a metamagiced up level 2 or 3 spell) also makes the thing harder to save against.

So cold ice strike gives some serious bang for its buck... enough that I'd call it a 'must have' for any blaster mage, and many other casters too (swift action casting time for offensive spells is just that good).

So... is a 'stealth fix' for a perceived lack in the blasting magic field, or simply over-powered, or does it nicely fill a niche?

Thoughts?

Can a character with Brew Potion create a potion of any spell he knows simply by adding +5 to the DC, even without preparing it? (page 549)

No. When creating potions, the crafter must prepare and expend the spell used by the potion as part of its creation. This is an exception to the normal rules that allow a caster to skip one of the prerequisites for crafting an item by adding +5 to the DC.

Update: Page 549, in the Magic Item Creation rules, in the second paragraph, change the last sentence to read as follows.

In addition, you cannot create potions, scrolls, staves, wands, or any other spell-trigger or spell-completion magic item without meeting its prerequisites.

—Jason Bulmahn, Wednesday

So it looks like the only real advantage of the Brew Potion Feat - the fact that potions aren't spell-trigger or spell-completion items and can therefore use the '+5 to DC to ignore prerequisites' option - just got (re-)nerfed...

... I add the 're-' because this basically sets Brew Potion back to being the red-headed stepchild of the Item Creation Feats it was in 3.X D&D: lowest maximum spell level, highest cost 'per charge', and biggest range of restricted spells of any of 'em. The one 'positive' - being able to use them without having a spell list or using UMD - is a little deceptive, in that (as far as PCs go at least) it's something of a rare situation for a party not to have at least one spellcaster amongst their number, and probably two or three other characters with, at least, a class spell list, and someone with UMD too.

Apart from Alchemists (who get it for free) is there really much point in characters taking Brew Potion at all now? For those rare situations where you absolutely must have a 'potion' can't you just use Craft Wonderous Item and make an equivalent (although less restricted and more expensive) 'elixir' instead?

Thoughts?

It's pretty obvious that the Magus and the Bard are, mechanically speaking, close cousins, since they share BAB progression, Hit Die, and casting progression, as well as the ability to cast arcane spells in light armour. The closest of the Bard archetypes to the 'caster in melee' concept of the Magus seems to be the Arcane Duelist (APG page 80).

Comparing the two, they both get two good saves - Fortitude and Will for the Magus, and Reflex and Will for the Bard. Whilst YMMV on whether Fortitude or Reflex saves are more useful, I think it's reasonable to say that both classes are equal on that footing.

Of the two, the Bard gets more skill points (6 Vs the Magus's 2).

The Magus has three class skills the Bard doesn't get (Fly, Ride, and Swim). The Bard has twenty-seven class skills the Magus doesn't get (Acrobatics, Appraise, Bluff, Diplomacy, Disguise, Escape Artist, seven Knowledge Skills, Linguistics, Perception, nine Perform Skills, Sense Motive, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth).

On skills, the Bard is clearly superior all round.

The Magus gets all Martial Weapon proficiencies, the Bard gets a few select ones, and whip. The Bard is also profiencient with the use of a shield (and can cast whilst using one), whereas the Magus isn't. The Magus is also, essentially, limited to one-handed melee weapons if he wants to make the most use of his class features.

While the Magus's has a greater amount of weapon proficiencies, his class features essentially restrict him to actually using hardly anything the Bard couldn't use anyway. The Magus may opt for a scimitar Vs a rapier (aiming for a Dervish Dance build), but the difference isn't really a huge one IMHO.

The Magus's lack of shield use is more telling, however. He can make up the AC difference at low levels by using a lot of Shield spells (burning resources one way or another), but once magic shields start to come into it, the balance swings definitively the Bard's way.

So, for class proficiencies I'd say the Bard is, once more, the winner.

Class features are slightly more tricky...

The Magus can boost his combat ability via his arcane pool. The Bard can boost everyone's combat ability via Inspire Courage. The Magus's arcane pool boost increases by +1 per at levels 5, 9, 13, and 17. The Bard's Inspire Courage bonus increases at levels 5, 11, and 17. While this appears as though the Magus outpaces the Bard from level 9 onwards, it's not as clear-cut as that, since the arcane pool's raw bonus is limited by the maximum total cap on magical weapons, but the Bard's competence bonus on rolls stacks with weapon enchantments, regardless of any cap. Inspire Courage also boosts everyone's saves Vs charm and fear effects at the same time.

The Magus his Intelligence bonus +1/2 levels arcane pool points. The Bard gets Charisma bonus +(2x class level) +2 rounds of Bardic Performance. While the Magus's arcane pool weapon boost lasts a minute a time (so, a whole fight per point), the Bard's performance is measured in rounds. However, in any fight which lasts less than a full minute, the Magus is essentially wasting power, while the Bard can stop his performance at any time. An Intelligence 16 level 1 Magus may be able to use his arcane pool weapon enhancement in 4 fights, but the Charisma 16 Bard can use his 7 rounds of performance over up to seven fights. If the Bard takes (and uses) the Lingering Performance Feat he can, essentially, triple the number of rounds he can boost the whole party (and his 7 rounds of performance may well be able to be spread over seven fights in such a case). In the end, the Bard is more likely to be able to spread his combat-boosting usefulness over the course of the adventuring day.

The Arcane Duelist Bard's Bladethirst performance can be added to any one weapon, natural weapon, or 50 units of ammunition, within 30ft. The Magus's arcane pool weapon boosting can only be added to the weapon in his hand. Bladethirst grants a +1 bonus at levels 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18. The arcane pool grants a +1 bonus at levels 1, 5, 9, 13, and 17. The Magus is a few levels ahead, but this lead erodes over time - the Arcane Duelist briefly catches him at level 12, then levels 15 to 16, then again from 18 onwards. Both abilities can add weapon properties, but the arcane pool mostly stacks pure damage properties, whilst the Bladethirst adds a greater variety of effects - such as defending, distance, or returning.

The Arcane Duelist's Bladethirst can help his friends out, the Magus's arcane pool can only help himself. At level 18 Mass Bladethirst allows the Arcane Duelist to spread his bonuses between weapons, the Magus can never do this. Even at level 6, the Arcane Duelist could empower the arrows of 50 bowmen, whereas the Magus would still be empowering just his own bow...

Activating the Magus's arcane pool weapon bonus is a swift action, starting a Bardic Performance is a standard action - so the Magus is ahead there... although the Bard can start his performance as a move action at level 7 and a swift action at level 13, so the Magus's advantage is eroded over the course of play.

The Magus can use (and cast in) medium armour at level 7, and heavy armour at level 13. The Arcane Duelist Bard gets medium armour at 10 and heavy at 16, so in that respect he is three levels behind the Magus, but ultimately catches up.

The Arcane Duelist Bard gains 6 bonus Feats over the course of his career, the Magus gets 3 (but has more choice in selecting them).

The Arcane Duelist gains an arcane bond weapon. The Magus can take the Bladebound archetype to gain a Black Blade, but loses arcane pool points, his ability to gain a familiar, and one of his arcana to do so. Also, an Arcane Duelist who keeps his arcane bound weapon's enchantments up to date (he can, of course, enchant it as if he had the correct item creation Feat) will increase his weapons bonuses faster than a Black Blade does by levelling (but at the cost of time an money).

All in all, so far, the Arcane Duelist seems to easily come out on top. He gets more skill points, class skills, Feats, and better AC than the Magus, and can use his combat boosting abilties to help out his allies as well as himself. Where he lags a little behind the Magus (such as acquiring heavier armour use, and raw combat bonuses) he catches up over the course of a few levels, and by high-level play is equal to the Magus even in these things.

As casters, the Magus is a prepared caster and the Bard spontaneous. The Magus has an easier time learning new spells (which gets close-to automatic once he gets the Knowledge Pool class feature) and can use Pearls of Power to boost his number of effective casting slots. The Magus suffers from a restricted spell list, mostly focused on combat, whereas the Bard has a more universally useful spell list (inluding healing and utility, as well as some combat). The Magus mitigates this a little at high level and / or with spending arcana to learn spells from the Wizard / Sorcerer list.

The Magus gets the pseudo-spontaneous Spell Recall feature, but it eats into his (tiny) arcane pool - although Improved Spell Recall at level 11 makes this much more worthwhile.

The Magus gets Spell Combat and Spellstrike, so he can cast and melee at the same time, whereas the Bard is more likely to cast or melee (although there are several immediate action Bard spells floating about...).

Generally, the Arcane Duelist is looking like he's more survivable in melee (via shield-use for a better AC), is helping the whole team, has more skills, and has a more comprehensive spell list. He also looks to have a longer adventuring 'work day'.

The Magus looks to have some more raw casting power, but a limited spell list, is geared towards one-shot damaging spells delivered via Spellstrike, and seems to have a relatively short 'work day' due to the tiny arcane pool, and the spells he's tending towards using (although this latter isn't fixed - a clever Magus will use longer lasting combat buffs, and temper the temptation to blow a lot of damaging spells via Spellstrike).

All in all I'd suggest that, on balance, the Arcane Duelist is looking like a better caster + melee character: he's more use to the group, more survivable, and has a better selection of spells and skills.

The Magus would probably beat the Arcane Duelist in a one-to-one duel, because he's more focused on 'nova-ing' his spells and abilities, but is little help to anyone but himself. Being a prepared caster with spontaneous leanings gives him more raw casting power than the Arcane Duelist too. He also gets a cooler-looking iconic... ;)

One final note - although I'm almost loathe to mention it - the Arcane Duelist also has a better chance to benefit from the Eldritch Heritage Feat chain which, chosen well (such as aiming for Strength of the Abyss), can bump him head-and-shoulders above the Magus in terms of being a magical-melee warrior.

All completely IMHO, natch! :)

If this has already been covered and someone can point me towards the appropriate thread, then great... otherwise...

How many off-hand attacks can a character take in a full-attack action?

Now, to me, the answer is simple: the Two-Weapon Fighting text (on page 202 of the Core book) states that...

'... If you wield a second weapon in your off-hand, you can get one extra attack per round with that weapon...'

... which to me means you get exactly one 'extra' attack. To get more you need the Improved and Greater versions of Two-Weapon Fighting.

Others seem to think you get one 'extra' attack per off-hand weapon you're using. To me this makes little sense - should a character using two swords, two spiked gauntlets, and spiked armour get 4 'extra' attacks from all his off-hand weapons?

This seems to be cropping up more and more, thanks to the increase in 'multi-armed' options for PCs (such as Summoners' eidolons and Alchemists' vestigial limbs). Can, for example, and eidolon be built with an extra 30 arms to gain 31 off-hand attacks? Doesn't seem right, at least not in regards to game balance, but that seems to be a common claim in the eidolon-build threads.

The oft-taken (by such builds) Multi-Weapon Fighting Feat references the Two-Weapon Fighting text in the core book, so I guess it all comes down to how you interpret the text above: one extra attack, or one extra attack per weapon?

There's a couple of Feats in Ultimate Magic which seem to cover close to the exact same ground as a couple of other Feats in the APG...

Extra Cantrips or Orisons (UM page 150) Vs Expanded Arcana (APG page 159)

and...

Spontaneous Metafocus (UM page 157) Vs Preferred Spell (APG page 167)

In each case these Feats are so close, is there any good reason both are needed? Or am I missing something obvious here?

Extra Cantrips and Orisons appears completely redundant.

Granted, Spontaneous Metafocus provides half of what Preferred Spell provides, at an easier prerequisite for spontaneous casters (and the other half - the ability to cast the spell spontaneously - is wasted on them), but still, doesn't that mean Preferred Spell is twice as good a Feat (for prepared casters) as Spontaneous Metafocus, with just a little higher prerequisites?

Reading the Theologian archetype for Clerics in Ultimate Magic (page 32), well, first (as a RL theologian) I was outraged by the wildly inaccurate fluff - outraged I tell you! To the point of zealously calling for a crusade! ;)

... But after calming down a putting a halt to the book-burnings and heretic-cullings we're apparantly into, I started to wonder what the best Domains for this archetype would be. How many Domains actually grant powers with level-dependent benefits? And how many of those have domain spells you'd really appreciate being able to permanently meta-magic?

The 'zap' style Domain powers tend to only grant +1 damage per 2 cleric levels... and +1 damage hardly seems a good trade for a whole Domain. Likewise some powers last for a number of rounds equal to '1/2 your cleric level' - so you're trading a Domain for an extra 1 round of duration...

I guess the Animal Domain Animal Companion could be at cleric level -1 instead of -3, but there's a Feat for that already, right? Plus... why not just be a Druid?

So... has anyone come up with any particularly good Domain and Spell combos to use with this archetype?

I recall that this phrase...

... This ability counts as the Arcane Strike feat for meeting any prerequisites. Multiple uses of this ability do not stack with themselves...

... in the third round playtest of the Magus, and some developer feedback, meant that a Magus's arcane pool weapon enhancement trick didn't stack with the Arcane Strike Feat.

Since this text doesn't appear in the final version of the Magus in Ultimate Magic, is it safe to assume that these two things do now stack? After all, Arcane Strike always seemed a natural Feat for a Magus to take, barring the playtest ruling against stacking.

If there's already a thread answering this please direct me!

Is it just me, or do the Construct Armour and Construct Limb (on pages 114 and 115 of Ultimate Magic) strike anyone else as ever-so-slightly mecha and cybernetic -ish?

If a party of five adventurers all get their own colour-coded Construct Armour and form magi-mecha sentai team alpha! or something, can they merge into an even bigger suit of Construct Armour? '... and I'll form the head!'

... Just sayin' is all... ;)

Couldn't find a thread via search-fu, so I thought I'd just ask...

Is there anything in the books which suggests you can't use the Run action with movement modes other than ground speed (i.e. Flight, Swim, Burrow, or Climb speeds)?

If there's another thread which answers this a link would be appreciated.

Cheers all.

Is it just he, or has the profanity filter been stepped up to an annoying level?

What I mean is, it's editing words when the end of one word and the begining of the next word happen to spell a swear word. Anything ending in 's', followed by the word 'hit', for example, is getting edited - which is pretty tough in a game with hit points and rolls to hit, and stuff... Words ending in 'c' followed by 'until' also triggers it.

It's bad enough I couldn't describe a crow that 'cocks it's head to one side' before... this is getting ridiculous!

Set-up: Relaxing at the ‘Supine Giant’ (ah, random tavern name generator, where would we be without you?!) our heroes-to-be are shocked (shocked, I tell you!) when a badly wounded young lad stumbles in, with a tail of goblin bandits raiding his family’s farm. Once the cleric has healed the boy he explains that he managed to escape, but that his parents and young sister are still held captive in the goblin’s lair... and yes, he can show them how to get there. Deciding to head out in the morning, the PCs all get a good night’s rest...

... Come morning the PCs, with the boy and a small group of well-meaning villagers, head to where he says the lair is. They don’t get too close, but the lad points the way, then waits with the villagers for the heroes to go in and do their stuff. The lair is a small cave complex in the forest.

The adventure is using the classic one easy, three average, and one challenging format for encounters for this APL 1 group. The first (easy) encounter is the bandits’ hobgoblin second-in-command, who’s taken it upon himself to keep watch on a small ridge overlooking the way to the lair; the second is a trained wolf used by the bandits as a watchdog; then there are two groups of three goblins each within the lair, and finally their bugbear leader (the challenging encounter).

Since they know they’re close, the Wizard casts her Mage Armour spell (since it lasts two hours with her Gifted Adept trait), the Cleric casts Guidance on everyone, and with crossbows loaded and ready (longbow ready with arrow knocked for the Wizard) the PCs try their best to sneak up to the lair.

With no real party skills in either sneaking or perception, it’s unsurprising that the hobgoblin spots them before they spot him, although they manage to get within 80 feet of him before he sees them (or, more likely, hears the dwarf’s armour clanking around). For his surprise round, he fires a whistling arrow to the mouth of the lair as a warning. The PCs now spot him, but the guard-wolf will arrive in 5 rounds (to take actions in round 6), and the goblins in the lair now know something’s up.

Amazingly the dwarf gets the best initiative roll, but all the PCs beat the hobgoblin’s pitiful roll of a 3 (5 with his bonus). He’s positioned up a small ridge, standing behind a waist-high rock, so he’s got +4 AC from cover (and higher ground if anyone makes it into melee). The PC’s volley of crossbow bolts clatters off the rocks, but the Wizard’s arrow strikes home for an impressive 8 points of damage. The PCs also all move in closer (the last 10 feet between them and the hobgoblin is up-hill difficult terrain, but they’re not there yet), the Fighter and Cleric moving 20 feet, and the Magus and Wizard moving 30 feet each. All find trees to claim cover. Between the arrow in his shoulder and a racial hatred for elves, the hobgoblin fires his long bow at the Wizard, the shot missing.

Still a full 60 feet away from the hobgoblin, the Cleric and Fighter both run to the base of the ridge (but can’t run up the difficult terrain) and again claim cover. The Wizard fires again, misses, and moves up (now 20 feet from the target). The Magus moves up (now 20 feet away), and (holding his crossbow in one hand) casts Daze, but the hobgoblin saves. The hobgoblin fires at the Wizard again, and misses again.

Behind cover, the Cleric drops his crossbow and readies his warhammer and shield. The Fighter drops his crossbow, readies his shield, then draws his battleaxe as he ascends the ridge to the hobgoblin’s side (now within melee range). The Magus drops his crossbow, draws his flail, and ascends the ridge to a flanking position on the other side of the hobgoblin. The Wizard fires again, but with little chance to hit fails to do so, but does move up onto the ridge (out of melee range of the hobgoblin). The hobgoblin drops his longbow, draws his longsword, takes a 5 ft step away from the Magus (so he’s no longer flanked, but can still attack the Fighter), and (since he’s not got time to ready his shield as well), takes a swing with both hands. A critical threatens, but doesn’t confirm, the Fighter takes 10 damage (note: if that had hit the Magus instead, he’d be on zero Hit Points right now).

Finally making it up the ridge, the Cleric drops his warhammer in order to cast a Cure Light Wounds on the Fighter (using Shield of Faith) and healing... a pitiful 2 points of damage. Using Spell Combat (at last!) the Magus casts Flare, but the hobgoblin saves, then takes a 5ft step and attacks to disarm, successfully, knocking the hobgoblin’s longsword out of his hands. The Fighter takes a 5ft step to get back into a flanking position, then attacks, threatening but not confirming a critical, and inflicting 7 points of damage, which drops the hobgoblin.

The Cleric channels energy to heal another 2 points on the Fighter, as the others start to go through the hobgoblin’s gear – none notice the wolf nearly on them!

Leaping out at the PCs the wolf attacks the Wizard, but her Mage Armour keeps her safe. After this surprise round, everyone but the Magus beats the wolf’s initiative.

Taking a 5ft step towards her allies, the Wizard triggers her Protective Ward. Picking up his warhammer, the Cleric steps towards the wolf and swings, but misses. The Fighter steps closer and swings, hitting for 8 damage. The wolf bites at the Fighter, but is fended off by his shield. Using Spell Combat the Magus casts Flare, but the wolf saves, then steps over to attack, hitting with his flail for 5 points of damage, dropping the wolf to zero exactly.

Holding her bow in one hand, the Wizard draws her rapier, steps over, and attacks, hitting and finishing the wolf.

Finally out of combat for a bit, the group check through the hobgoblin’s gear, and another use of channel energy from the Cleric brings the Fighter back up to full hit points. The Wizard cleans everyone up with Prestidigitation... just ‘cos she can...

Heading down to the cave entrance, the PCs note it’s quiet... too quiet... and remember the hobgoblin’s warning arrow. Cautious, after some discussion the Magus casts Dancing Lights and sends a ‘vaguely humanoid shaped’ glowing figure into the cave ahead of them, hoping to trigger some sort of reaction before the group themselves do. Suspecting the possibility of traps, the Cleric casts Resistance on everyone. They’ve recovered their crossbows, but advance with melee gear ready (thinking it more likely in the confines of the cave), except for the Wizard who’s got her bow ready.

At the first goblin ambush point one of the goblins rolls a terrible 2 for his stealth (12 with bonuses), which most of the PCs beat with their Perception rolls. The DM interprets this as the ‘Dancing Lights lure’ having worked and has that goblin yell and fire an arrow at the apparition. For once the PCs have surprise. The Wizard fires at the goblin, hitting it for 4 damage. The Fighter charges, swinging and missing, followed by the Cleric, who hits for 4 damage and drops the goblin. The Magus just moves up.

By this point the two remaining goblins and the PCs have all noticed each other. With a 20 each on their initiative rolls both the Fighter and Cleric, as well as the Wizard (who rolled a 19, 24 with bonuses) get to go before the goblins, the Magus goes after. The Wizard fires and hits a goblin for 5 damage. The Fighter charges the other goblin, swings, and misses (with his second natural 1 on an attack roll in a row...). Charging the wounded goblin, the Cleric quickly finishes it with 5 points of damage from his warhammer (praise Torag!). The last goblin drops his bow, draws his sword, and stabs at the Fighter, threatening but not confirming a critical, and doing 2 points of damage. The Magus charges the goblin, hitting with his flail and dropping it with 8 points of damage (note: after some dithering over casting Daze or Flare or trying for a Disarm the conclusion was, ‘it’s a goblin, just kill it already...’, which worked out well!).

The Cleric’s third use of channel energy brings the Fighter back up to full hit points and they continue on.

Thanks to the earlier warning, the final three goblins and the bugbear are now well prepared, and the PCs will have to encounter them together, instead of as separate fights. The bugbear has the three prisoners as hostages, and is willing to use them if things get bad. Trying the ‘Dancing Lights lure’ trick again causes the Bugbear to grab the little girl hostage and threaten her if the heroes don’t show themselves. The PCs, sensing a dramatic final encounter, take a moment to prepare – the Cleric casting Bless, the Magus and Wizard both casting Shield, and the Wizard triggering her Protective Ward, then enter. The bugbear orders his minions to attack, drops the girl, and charges...

The Cleric noticed the goblins ready to ambush them just in time, so there’s no surprise round. He also, once more, goes against the statistics and gets the highest initiative... followed by the bad guys, then the other PCs...

The Cleric charges and hits the bugbear for 5 damage (and also prevents the bugbear charging them as it had planned...). The bugbear retaliates, but the Cleric fends him off. The goblins fire at the remaining three PCs. Even with his Shield and the Protective Ward the Magus gets hit for 2 damage... but so does the Fighter (a high roll’s a high roll...). The Wizard returns fire but misses. The Fighter charges the bugbear, hitting for 10 damage (leaving it on 1 hit point). The Magus moves then casts Burning Hands on two of the goblins – one takes 3 damage, the other makes its save and take 1 damage.

With a mighty blow the Cleric inflicts 8 points of damage on the bugbear, finishing it! The two burnt goblins fire at the Magus, but his Shield and Protective Ward make the difference this time and they miss. The last goblin fires at the Wizard, and likewise misses. The Wizard fires at a goblin and misses. The Fighter charges the lesser burnt goblin, and cuts it down with 10 damage. The Magus charges the remaining burnt goblin and hits for 3 damage (putting it on zero; note: it he’d bothered to use his Arcane Pool he’d have dropped it with the 1 extra damage).

The Cleric charges the ‘healthy’ goblin, hitting it for 2 damage. The goblin drops its bow, draws its sword, threatens but doesn’t confirm a critical, and does 3 damage to the Cleric. The near-dead goblin withdraws 30ft... only to be felled by an arrow from the Wizard. The Fighter charges the last goblin, but misses (another natural 1 rolled on a charge!). This time spending an Arcane Pool point (after being berated for not doing so earlier by the other players) the Magus charges the last goblin, and hits for 7 damage, dropping it.

The thankful prisoners are rescued, the goblinoid bandits' loot recovered, and everyone returns to the Supine Giant for a pint of the local brew to celebrate!

Notes: with this sort of 1st level introductory adventure, with low hit point enemies, the action economy advantage of Spell Combat had little chance to play a part – by the time the Magus had reached melee, they were already dealt with. The fact he forgot about the Arcane Pool (after starting off ‘saving’ it and never really needing it throughout) points out its minimal effect at this level – but then again, pretty much all effects are minimal at level 1 (his Burning Hands spell couldn’t even drop a couple of goblins on its own). If they’d met a creature with DR/magic it would have rocked, but such encounters are rare at 1st level. Every use of a cantrip with Spell Combat ended with the creature saving, but at least he got to attack as well, instead of ‘wasting’ a whole round on a cantrip which proved pointless – this was perhaps the best bit of the class when compared to a first level spellcaster who doesn’t have a solid weapons-based fallback (like the elf Wizard did). Compared with the other three PCs the Magus played closest to the Wizard, but the role of ‘melee fighter with hardly any armour’ somehow seemed a lot more dangerous than the ‘ranged fighter’ role the Wizard took with her longbow. The hobgoblin’s melee attack in the first encounter, which had a 50% chance of targeting the Fighter or the Magus, highlighted the fact that even 10 hit points is awfully low for a melee combatant at level 1 – while his Disarm attempt worked, again the combats didn’t last long enough for it to make much difference, so perhaps taking Toughness and Dodge as his level 1 Feats would have been a better choice, looking towards combat maneuvers when the BAB difference starts to increase at higher levels.

All in all not too bad... or too good... but the 4 man party could have done better with a skill monkey as their number four, instead of a Magus: a Bard or Rogue (or even Barbarian or Ranger) would have covered the holes in Stealth and Perception better. The Magus lacked the raw AC / hit points / melee attacking and damage capability of a pure full BAB class, so even in a smaller group would have been a poor replacement as the primary combatant, but may have done better covering for a Wizard in a smaller group, since level 1 spells and level 0 cantrips are much of a muchness, and having your spellcaster with a few extra hit points and at least some armour (as well as a decent melee weapon) takes a little pressure off covering the guy. Of course, the ‘elf archer’ Wizard build worked better in the end anyway – focusing on two Ability Scores (Dex and Int) instead of four (Str, Dex, Con, and Int) makes a difference!

Counterstrike (Ex): At 16th level, whenever an enemy

within reach of the magus successfully casts a spell
defensively, that enemy provokes an attack of opportunity
from the magus after the spell is complete. This attack
of opportunity cannot disrupt the spell.

With the above wording, does this mean Counterstrike bypasses the usual limits of a whip not threatening the area it can reach? I can guess the intent is 'no', but based on the wording ('reach' Vs 'threaten')..?

The obvious two:

Extra Arcana (get an extra one Arcana)
Extra Arcane Pool (get 2 extra pool points)

Any others spring to mind?

Checking the base 'empowering a weapon' ability of the Arcane Pool class feature again, it struck me that it fast becomes a very inefficient use of your pool points.

For one pool point you empower your weapon for one minute. But the Magic Weapon spell empowers it for 1 minute per level. When you hit level 4 and get the Spell Pool feature you can choose to spend one pool point to add a +1 bonus for 1 minute, or spend one pool point to cast Magic Weapon and add a +1 bonus for 4 minutes. At 5th and 6th levels at least the base Arcane pool feature adds a +2 bonus, Vs. the spell's +1, so you can choose +2 bonus for one minute, or +1 bonus for five or six minutes, for that use of a pool point. Then you hit level 7, gain access to the Magic Weapon, Greater spell, which actually gives a slightly higher bonus (or rather the same bonus, one level earlier) and lasts for 1 hour per level, for the cost of 3 pool points (Vs. the 3 minutes you'd get using the base ability). At 11th level you get the Improved Spell Pool, so get to choose: for 2 pool points you get either the 'base' Arcane Pool bonus for 2 minutes, or Magic Weapon, Greater for 11 hours...

Obviously the Arcane Pool ability lets you add in nifty effects instead of the various raw 'pluses', but by level 11 you're 3 BAB behind the pure melee guys, so you may want the pluses to try to keep up.

I'm guessing the base ability and the spells can stack as well (seeing as the base Arcane Pool ability stacks with magic weapons), but from a standpoint of managing your resources using that base ability becomes something of a waste after first level, and just gets worse as you progress through the class.

Maybe the base Arcane Pool ability should last for 1 minute per level, to help balance this and maintain it's usefulness? I'd even go so far as to suggest letting it jump to 1 hour per level at level 7, to match the spells. It's the key ability of the class in many ways, and should be a good one. Also, allowing a longer duration means the character can actually do more melee fighting, matching the 'focused in melee and spells' fluff more than the BAB gap (Vs full BAB melee fighters) as the class progresses would tend to suggest at the moment.

Not sure if this has come up before (please direct me if it has), but it suddenly struck me (whilst looking at the 'Words of Power' playtest stuff) that there's no real reason you couldn't design metamagic feats which reduce the spell level, by making the spell worse in some way, instead of increasing it by making it better.

The obvious suggestion would be a 'Ritual Magic' feat which allowed you to cast a spell at one level less than normal by increasing the casting time to something like an hour. Or a feat which allowed you to reduce a spell's level by expending expensive material components where none are usually needed. Or a feat which turned an area spell into a single-target spell.

Maybe, if reducing the spell level seems too powerful by itself, such reductions could only be used to off-set the increased level 'costs' of other metamagic feats? So, you could maybe maximise your spell by casting it as a ritual using expensive components and having a dozen acolytes on-hand to assist you?

I'm sure such a system would be open to abuse... but it seems like it could be kind of an interesting idea...

Thoughts, comments, suggestions?

So... just me then?

BTW I can see the OOC text in the normal pale blue in the preview screen, but not on the main threads...

If anyone can offer an explanation as to why this stuff may have suddenly messed up for me, that'd be great. Everything was fine one day, messed up the next, with no changes from my end as far as I can tell. I've since run the windows update I keep putting off, to see it that helped... but it didn't.

Here we go, and welcome all!

A few additional notes:

The Barony:

The Barony of Redwyrm is located in the north of Taldor on the Tandak Plains where the Fog Peaks come closest to the Verduran Forest. Like most such holdings, the Barony is something of an island of civilisation within the untamed wilds – secure trade routes link the Empire together, but only on maps is it one contiguous whole: the reality is that between the various holdings of Taldor’s feudal Lords are tracts of wilderness where the chaos of the wild, of banditry, and of monstrous creatures rules more than the Crown Prince.

The northern most part of the Barony encompasses foothills of the great Fog Peaks mountains, whilst the south gradually leads into the depths of the fey-infested Verduran Forest. Most of the Barony proper is gently rolling grasslands dotted with small forests and woods, and is divided up into villages and market towns surrounded by farmland and ruled by Baron Otto’s vassals in the name of Redwyrm.

Chivalrous Combat:

In general chivalrous combat isn’t to the death, and striking an opponent who has yielded or who’s unconscious is considered a serve breach of honour (possibly even opening one up to a charge of murder or attempted murder).

There’s no rule demanding blunted weapons - although the tournament joust does specifically use blunted lances, chivalrous combats outside of such a setting more often use the real thing.

The use of all magic isn’t forbidden – the general principle is spells cast on an ally are fair, those cast on an opponent or the field of battle itself are foul (akin to firing crossbow bolts at your champion’s opponent during a joust). ‘Boost’ spells, particularly those of a divine nature, are commonplace (many knights are seen receiving various blessings before going into combat), although some of the ‘flashier’ spells (especially arcane spells) are seen as ‘cheating’, even if they fall within this general description – e.g. casting Invisibility on a combatant is seen as blatant cheating, whilst casting Enlarge Person is seen as a dishonourable way to win, but casting Shield is no problem at all. Wandering into the middle of a combat to cast spells on an ally is also right out, but if (for example) a knight fighting in the sword ring can get to his ‘corner’, then it’s okay for his companions to cast Cure spells on him. Magic effects such as Bardic Performance are usually considered fine, unless they specifically target a single individual opponent as an attack or something similar.

Chapter One – The pas d’armes

‘Ah, that is so much better!’ Lady Rebecca exclaims as she takes a deep breath of the late spring air, even standing in her stirrups to do so; and her words seem confirmed by her mood – dressed in elegant yet practical tunic and riding britches, her flowing hair – the famous flame-red hue of the Redwyrm line – free to the breeze, the slender young lady appears many times happier than she has been the last few days, even weeks, as the tournament in honour of her sixteenth birthday approaches. She’s been expected to attend more and more social and political functions clad in the new finery her step-mother, the Baroness Hilda, has been buying endlessly for her with Baron Otto’s coin, appearing as pampered and pretty as can be. Those closest to the Lady Rebecca have noted well that she’s been coming near to bursting in her frustration at it all. With the steady influx of noble retinues arriving for the great event, not only has the whole castle... if not the entire Barony... been in turmoil barely more than organised chaos, but the young men’s eyes have been turning to Lady Rebecca as the unofficial ‘prize’ many of them seek... or, rather, the key to the ultimate prize of the Barony itself.

The epitome of a devoted daughter, and at times seeming wise beyond her years, Lady Rebecca has done her best to go along with all the pomp and ceremony, following in the Redwyrm tradition by putting the needs of the family and the Barony before her own desires. However, no matter the nobility of her lineage or her character, the Lady is still a young woman, and even the Baron and his wife couldn’t begrudge her a day away from it all, hunting in one of her favourite spots – the woodlands beyond the village of Dwarf’s Bridge. So the Baron, and even Baroness Hilda, finally conceded and let the Lady Rebecca have her day... on the condition she ride with an appropriate escort... which is how you find yourselves trotting through the main street of the village, between thatched wattle and daub cottages, with excited bare-foot children cheering you as they run alongside, the scent of home-cooked meals and spring-flowers both heavy on the warm breeze, and approaching the dwarf-crafted stone bridge which gives the village its name. It’s as you round the last cottage and the bridge comes into view that you behold a sight you’d not expected...

... Camped by the inn next to the bridge are several small and colourful pavilion tents, each flying pennons, similar to the multitude which have been springing up at the tourney grounds near Castle Redwyrm these last few days. Tethered by the tents are several impressive horses – obviously knights’ chargers by their stature and trappings – and seated at wooden tables outside the inn are a group of four men in plate armour whom one would assume are the owners of the beasts. With food-laden plates and bowls, and flagons overflowing with the local brew, it seems clear that the knights are freely spending coin – much to the delight of the locals, many of whom seem to have gathered to watch the men... and possibly to await something even more entertaining. Sure enough, as you approach, a liveried servant rushes to whisper in the ear of one of the knights even as he points in your direction. The knight – a large fellow with rather craggy features and a beard little more than dark stubble to match his tousled dark hair - casts a glance over his shoulder at you, the smile on his face splitting to a toothy grin as his eyes come to rest on Lady Rebecca. With a shout he rouses his companions, who proceed to don helms, take up arms, and mount their steeds, even as the servant hurries over to your hunting party.

With the knights behind him readying themselves and trotting their horses out to block the bridge, the servant steps forward and bows low. His livery, as well as the shield of the lead knight, sport the design of a golden griffon, three claws up and ready, on a field of dark green...

... ‘My Lords, my Ladies,’ the servant announces, ‘my Lord has declared a Passage of Arms on this bridge, and prays you tell – will you turn from your course, surrender your spurs in defeat and disgrace, or match my Lord and his company in honourable combat?’

Lady Rebecca seems both nervous and excited as her amber-hued eyes dart between the four ‘defending’ knights and her own retinue, but she manages to maintain her composure, and steadily asks of you all,

‘It’s another half day’s ride to Millar’s Ford, and Father wishes us returned by dusk... I did so want to go hunting today, but I’ll not ask anyone to risk themselves just to indulge my whims... On the other hand, there’s quite the crowd gathered here and, perhaps, the honour of the Barony to uphold...’ she glances once more towards the knights on the bridge, then back to the hunting party, ‘... what do you suggest?’

I’m thinking of starting a homebrew PbP campaign, set in Taldor and based on a traditional medieval / feudal ‘knights in armour’ genre. Player characters would be members of the household of Baron Otto Redwyrm, hereditary ruler of the Redwyrm Barony in Taldor. As I picture it, the campaign would start with a tournament (jousting, melee, all that good stuff), and lead into political intrigue and adventure. Loyalty to the Baron and his household would be a key defining factor of the player characters as they look to aid their liege and his noble family. The game would suit characters designed with medieval combat (e.g. charging stuff down with a lance from horseback) and / or intrigue (e.g. flirting with milady’s serving girl in order to discover who her mistress’s new lover is) in mind. Think the film ‘A Knight’s Tale’ as a starting point. It won’t suit characters designed to be ‘exotic’ (e.g. weird exotic weapons, bizarre choices of deity, arbitrarily foreign characters, etc.), or designed with some other genre in mind (e.g. rapier-wielding fops or kung-fu monks). Nor will it suit characters designed with rebellious social backgrounds or ideas (e.g. member of a thieves’ guild, political agitator trying to destroy the feudal system from within, poor outcast who hates the nobility). As always, try to take the presented genre and campaign concept into account when designing a character... and don’t just jump at the chance to play a character designed for some different campaign by porting it into this one – take a moment and make sure you’re actually interested in this style of game! That way we’ll all be happier... ;)

Player characters would be 15pt ‘standard fantasy’ purchase build.
Maximum Hit Points at level 1.
Characters start at level 1.
Two traits, one must be a campaign trait (from below).
Average starting cash for starting equipment (but check the campaign traits first, most modify this a little or a lot).
Some restrictions on Race, and requirements to take the campaign traits (see below).
No Inquisitors (I just don’t like ‘em, and it’s not that style of game anyway), hero points are not being used, but most other APG stuff is fine.

Notes on Classes: Cavalier’s are ideal for knights in this game, Order of the Lion or Order of the Sword being most appropriate. Fighters (particularly the Roughrider variant) and Paladins (particular the Shining Knight variant) are also good choices. Good choices for ‘Lady in Waiting’ characters are any classes which don’t tend to rely on armour (since they’re usually dressed in finery, not for brawling) – like Sorcerers, Wizards, and Witches; Bards (Court Bard and Detective being good variants), or Rogues (Investigator, Poisoner, Rake, Spy, and Swashbuckler all being pretty good variant choices). Bards or Rogues of the acrobatic, comical, and sneaky type make good jesters. Alchemists, Bards (particularly Archivist and Magician variants), Summoners, Sorcerers and Wizards suggest themselves for the Magus role; whereas Clerics, Druids, and Oracles are the obvious choices for the Chaplain role. Barbarians, Druids, and Rangers all have the skills to play the Forester role.

Background: Baron Otto is the current ruler of the Barony of Redwyrm in Taldor. The family name and coat of arms - a red dragon salient (leaping) on a field of gold – comes from the Baron’s famous ancestor ‘Gustav of Many Quests’ who is said to have slain a mighty red dragon who was laying waste to the area in the early days of Taldorian history. The family sword ‘Peace-bringer’ is the ancient enchanted bastard sword said to have been used by Gustav to strike the killing blow, and its sheath is said to be made from the hide of that dragon.

The Redwyrm family have, for generations, been considered one of the more stable influences of the Empire – generally supporting the Crown Prince, but more concerned with maintaining the stability of their own lands than in expanding their power. Baron Otto is no exception to this trend, but has suffered greatly in recent years with the deaths of his wife Helena, eldest son and heir Hans, and infant son Peter in what is believed to have been a random attack by brigands whilst they were travelling to visit one of Helena’s cousins. Conspiracy theories, naturally, abound about the incident, and for many months Baron Otto was inconsolable, even by his one surviving child, his fifteen year old daughter, the Lady Rebecca. However, just over a year ago, the Baron re-married, this time to the current Baroness, Hilda. Despite being more than twenty years the Baron’s junior (he’s in his mid-forties, she in her early twenties) most agreed that Hilda was an excellent choice for the new Baroness being, as she is, the daughter of one of the Baron’s most trusted allies (Earl Steven of Stonebridge). The whole Barony now awaits the day when a new male heir will bless the Redwyrm family. In the mean time, Lady Rebecca is the subject to a great deal of courtship from young nobles all over the Empire, each hopeful that, if the unthinkable happens and the Baron dies before producing any more sons, any husband of Lady Rebecca will inherit the Barony. For her part Lady Rebecca, never one to show much interest in the games of court, seems content to do her best to ignore the fuss, even as she prays daily for a little brother to take any such burdens of responsibility from her.

Still, it behoves the Baron to pander, at least a little, to the whims and fancies of the Imperial court, which is why he’s arranged a great tournament in honour of his daughter’s upcoming sixteenth birthday. The tournament looks set to be the event of the season, and the whole Barony’s been consumed with nothing else for weeks, as feasts have to be arranged, hordes of noble guests and their retinues accommodated, entertainments organised, and prizes commissioned. The Baron’s household in particular has been hard-pressed to keep all the visiting V.I.P.s both happy... and restrained... as some of the young knights visiting the realm appear to be taking the opportunity to enjoy themselves a little too much with wine, food, music... and harassing the local girls.

Races: Noble Taldorian characters have to be at least half-human; that is to say human, half-elf, or half-orc. Non-noble characters can be of any of the usual PC races.

Heraldry: Noble characters will bear the coat-of-arms of their family, with an appropriate mark of cadency (a small personal mark placed at the centre top of the coat of arms) to denote exactly who they are within that family. Half-breed characters (as well as illegitimate full-blooded humans) will also bear the bend sinister (a diagonal line across the coat of arms from top right to bottom left as you look at it). The human parent of half-breed characters will be a Taldorian noble - if this is the character’s mother, then he or she will bear the coat of arms of his or her maternal grandfather (his mother’s father), rather than his mother’s husband (but will include the bend sinister mark in any case). Male characters bear their coat of arms in the classic shield shape, females in a diamond or ‘lozenge’ shape. This personal coat of arms will be on the character’s signet ring (used to place wax seals on letters and documents, a little like a signature or PIN is used in modern times), as well as on the livery of any retainers they may have, their shield, clothes, their horse’s trapper, their own tabard (worn over armour), etc..

When designing the family coat of arms for your character keep in mind a couple of basic ideas: there are five main colours used in heraldry (red, blue, black, green, and purple) and two metals (gold, depicted as yellow, and silver, depicted as white). The general rule is that you should never place a colour on a colour, or a metal on a metal – this is to do with practical visibility in battlefield conditions (a yellow design on white, or a purple design on black, for example, would be hard to see at a distance and at a glance, due to lack of contrast). For the same reason designs shouldn’t be overly complicated (you need to be able to tell at a glance who the other guy is). Since Taldor follows strict laws of primogeniture (that is to say, the eldest male heir inherits everything) impalement and quartering of arms (the combining of the coats of arms of two families) is exceedingly rare – since heiresses are exceedingly rare in the first place, and even then are often married off to non-inheriting noble sons who then take on the whole of the heiress’s coat of arms as their own; only if an heiress marries an heir are the arms impaled or quartered. Crests (a figure on top of the coat of arms) and supporters (figures either side of the coat of arms) are sometimes awarded by the crown in acknowledgement of some great deed or service to the nation, but no character will start will such prestigious augmentations to their coat of arms. In general a family coat of arms should be related to that family, such as a family rich from timber having a tree on their coat of arms, or a family with a legendary dragon-slayer in its history having a dragon. It’s possible for a character to eventually be awarded land and titles of their own, along with the crown’s permission to create new arms of their own... but such things are for later in the campaign.

Campaign Traits: Unlike published Adventure Paths which necessarily have to appeal to the widest choice of characters possible, this campaign’s choice of characters is more restricted in keeping with the overall setting, theme, and plot. As such the Campaign Traits listen below have more than the usual restrictions placed on them:

Knight (requires a human-blooded male character with the Armour Proficiency (heavy) Feat and at least one rank in the Ride Skill): As a younger son of a noble family, destined to inherit nothing when your father passes, you’ve sworn feudal service to Baron Otto Redwyrm in order to make your way in the world. Your ultimate hope is that by your service and deeds you’ll eventually be granted estates of your own from the Baron’s hand, but in the meantime as a member of the Baron’s retinue you can at least live well, attempt to improve your standing at court, and perhaps even catch the eye of a noble lady who’d make a good future wife. To aid in your ambitions, your family have provided you with the trappings of a knight, necessary for such service. You start play with a hand-me-down suit of full plate armour (recently adjusted to fit you) with a tabard bearing your coat of arms; a fine charger (a combat-trained heavy horse) with military saddle, bit, bridle, and trapper bearing your coat of arms; a large steel shield (bearing your coat of arms); a lance; a courtier’s outfit (including a signet ring with your coat of arms, and 45gp worth of additional jewellery to complete it); and an additional 40gp with which to purchase extra weapons and equipment. This is instead of your usual starting cash. (Cavalier characters, who already start play with a horse, don’t get an additional horse, but instead get barding for their mount equivalent to chain shirt armour).

Lady in Waiting (requires a human-blooded female character): The daughter of a noble family who have sworn fealty to Baron Otto Redwyrm, you are serving the Baroness Hilda (the Baron’s young second wife, recently married) as a lady-in-waiting. This affords you the opportunity to sample courtly life as you try to catch the eye of a prospective noble husband. As an unmarried young lady of the court you’re the object of the chivalrous attentions of many of the young knights who try their best to prove themselves worthy of your love. You have the ability to show your favour towards one such worthy by presenting him with some token (usually a scarf or handkerchief) which he can then wear when he undergoes trials and challenges. As long are you’re observing the recipient of your favour, or he can be certain you’ll hear about his deeds, and he openly displays your token he gains a +1 bonus to all d20 rolls made to overcome challenges and trials in your name (such as competing in a joust or melee, or slaying some fearsome beast). You can withdraw your favour at any time by showing obvious distain and contempt for your former champion, after which you can bestow your favour on another, if you so wish – withdrawing your favour whilst your champion is in the midst of a challenge or trial imposes a -1 penalty on all his d20 rolls until that challenge is over. Both the bonus and penalty associated with your favour are morale-based. In addition to your usual starting cash you have a courtier’s outfit, a signet ring bearing your coat of arms, and an additional 45gp worth of jewellery, as befits your standing at court.

Jester (requires a small-sized character): a member of the time-honoured tradition of the jesting profession, you serve Baron Redwyrm as combination entertainer, confidant, spy, and some would even say friend. By tradition as a ‘fool’ you’re allowed to say things which would get most people executed, and to escape with only a beating – thus it falls to you to point out when the Baron is acting like a complete ass, and to level insults at his noble rivals when etiquette prevents him from doing so himself. You sleep outside the Baron’s quarters, and are expected to be available to serve him twenty-four / seven, which means you’re in possession of more of his personal secrets than anyone else, and are perhaps the most trusted member of his household. It’s far from unusual for the Baron to send you on missions of a delicate nature, and other members of the household, from time to time, ask similar things of you. You gain a +1 bonus to the Perform (comedy) skill and it’s a class skill for you. In addition, you gain a +1 bonus on Saves and opposed Skill checks to keep from revealing secrets which have been entrusted to you. You start play with a fine motley jester’s outfit (an entertainers outfit), complete with bells (although, when you wish, you take no penalties to Stealth checks for wearing this outfit), in addition to your usual starting cash.

Magus (requires an arcane spellcaster): You serve Baron Redwyrm as his official magus, advising him on matters pertaining to the arcane and supernatural, as well as other scholarly subjects, and casting spells for him and his household. Holding one of the highest and most valued positions in the household you command a certain amount of respect, and many come to you for advice and mystical aid. Serving a noble like the Baron offers you a lifestyle envied by many spellcasters, as well as access to both the social setting of the court, and certain of the Baron’s funds – you manage a small budget with which to purchase supplies of a mystical and scholarly nature for the household. Although not a noble, you start the game with a signet ring bearing your own unique symbol (which matches your Arcane Mark if you can cast that cantrip), as well as a fine scholar’s outfit. You also have a budget of 1,000gp to spend on scholarly, alchemical and magical items (such as scrolls, potions, and minor wondrous items) for the use of the household (these ultimately belong to the Baron, although in general you regulate their use). Your own starting funds are unchanged.

Chaplain (requires a divine spellcaster): You serve Baron Redwyrm and his household as an advisor and guardian in religious and spiritual matters. Often called upon to counsel the Baron and other members of the household on personal matters you hold a position of great trust and respect. Not only do you officiate at regular services at the Baronial castle’s chapel, but you join the Baron and his retinue when he travels, and even when he goes to war. You conducted weddings, funerals, and baptisms, bless new constructions and freshly planted crops, and also provide healing and medical services for those in need. You begin play with a fine set of cleric’s vestments, as well as a signet ring bearing the symbol of your faith, in addition to your normal starting funds. Your connection to your particular flock is a strong one: whenever you use a form of divine healing (whether as a divine spell or through the use of a class ability) on a member of the Baron’s household you heal an additional point of damage; your status as a religious authority within the household also grants you a +1 bonus to either Intimidate or Diplomacy (your choice at chargen) when used against members of the household.

Forester (requires at least 1 rank in Survival, Knowledge (nature), and Handle Animal): You serve Baron Redwyrm as his forester, keeping poachers, bandits, and dangerous creatures from his lands, maintaining the stocks for hunting, and raising birds for falconry and dogs for hunting. Outdoor pursuits are a mainstay of the noble lifestyle, and you’re privy to many of the nobles’ more relaxed moments whilst you act as their guide, as well as having an intimate knowledge of the Baron’s lands, and the creatures and people who dwell within them. You gain a +1 bonus to Knowledge (nature), Knowledge (local), Survival, and Stealth rolls within the Baron’s estates, and are always able to find your way within these lands without resorting to any skill checks. In addition you can be accompanied by a pair of trained hunting dogs (as per ‘Dog, Riding’ p.87 of the Bestiary) from the Baron’s kennels and / or a trained hawk (p.131 of the Bestiary) from the Baron’s mews whenever you wish, even when travelling with the Baron beyond his lands, and you have a +1 bonus to Handle Animal checks when dealing with these animals.

So... any interest?

‘By 1922, the British Empire held sway over about 458 million people, one-quarter of the world's population at the time, and covered more than 13 million square miles (34 million km2), almost a quarter of the Earth's total land area.’ Wikipedia entry on the British Empire.

If there’s enough interest, I’ll run this. If not, then no biggie! ;)

A proposal for a PbP game using White Wolf’s Adventure! (d10) system:

It’s 1925, and the latest recruits in a long line of field operatives for His Majesty’s Supplemental Resources Office are about to have their first day on the job. A clandestine government group charged with investigating (and protecting the British Empire – and therefore the world - from) the strange and unusual HMSRO has existed, in one form or another, since the time of Queen Elizabeth the First. (Of course, now that the Americans have finally started to catch up with their so-called ‘Branch 9’ the Brits are happy to let them think that it was their idea first... after all, they’re so new to the whole espionage game and have yet to learn the value of both information and disinformation... why disillusion the poor yanks?)

HMSRO recruits from all across the Empire (the largest in history), bringing the talented, mystical, and just plain weird together in their common goal. There are strange things in (and beyond) the world which the vast majority of the population don’t need to know about, but which they need to be protected from anyway. If you believe the reports of past missions HMSRO has already sent people to the moon in Cavorite powered capsules, defeated the heat rays and black smoke of Martian war machines, used drugs to accelerate men to speeds where time seems to freeze and even (it is rumored in the highest and most secret corridors of Whitehall) created a machine which can traverse time itself. Yet it is now the dawning of a new age, an age where more and more players on the world stage of such bizarre happenings are surfacing, an age which needs new heroes to take up the mantle of HMSRO and deal with the things no one else can.

The current incarnation of HMSRO is overseen by legendary (within the organization) ex-field agent Director Wells, whilst Doctor Millie Griffin is in charge of the scientific research side of things... as well as being literally invisible. An animal-human hybrid called Montgomery acts as the butler and general odd-jobs man of the main London branch. HMSRO has field offices all over the Empire, but they’re generally staffed by only a handful of people, often just one person to note and report stories of strange happenings in their area. The organization is well-funded, but secretive, with few staff – the PCs would be the main field investigation team, the ‘troubleshooters’ if you will, sent to various places around the globe to investigate and combat weird goings on.

Obvious influences on the campaign concept are things like Alan Moore’s ‘League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’, Warren Ellis’s ‘Planetary’, and TV shows like ‘The X-Files’ and more recently ‘Sanctuary’ and ‘Warehouse 13’, and the ‘Men in Black’ films. The writings of H.G. Wells are, of course, influence #1.

Player Characters would need to be created as citizens of the British Empire (so not necessarily English by a long shot, since the Empire stretches across the globe) and can have all sorts of weird and wonderful backgrounds. They can be any sort of Inspired. They’ll all start with an Allegiance to HMSRO, and the one dot of Backing that comes with choosing an Allegiance, but can’t start with any more dots in Backing than that (since they start out as new recruits). Characters will also need to buy at least 2 dots of Resources (they get paid), and 2 dots of Cipher (they work for a top secret organization which ‘doesn’t exist’), but these aren’t free dots and need to be purchased at some point in chargen like any other Background dots. No duel Allegiances (so you can’t ‘also be a member of the Æon Society’). No cross-Inspired type Knacks (but remember you can always take the Gadget Background with yourself as a ‘medical Gadget’ to gain access to Knacks outside your Inspired type which fit your character concept). Remember when designing your character that the group’s goals are both investigation and protection – try to make sure you don’t create a character who’s useless in either of those situations. Also try to give your character a unique ‘hook’ – it’s actually pretty easy to end up creating a rather generic ‘kind of good at a few things’ character using the Adventure! rules, so try to avoid that and go for interesting character concepts: for example the two NPCs – Dr Griffin and Montgomery – are both based on stuff by H. G. Wells (The Invisible Man and the Island of Doctor Moreau respectively) and are both created with the rules for medical Gadgets to make them unique, instead of ‘generic smart scientist’ and ‘generic helpful butler’.

Feel free to ask questions and post comments.

So, any takers?