DerNils's page

Thankfully you do not need to delve so deeply into customization. This is really something from Nerds for Nerds. But they provide Autoleveling choices that are not horrible for verybody.
And I can only repeat that the Owlcats seem to be the perfect mix of professoinals and Gamer Geeks - running the Tabletop Campaings in parallel with their work, absolutely awesome.
One of their recent updates was how even their Quality Assurance Tools have Golarion names :) Clockwork, Arbiter, Aeon and Scrivenite are some of their testing routines.

In my game, that will be one of the major hurdles of the relationship. I will Play it that being intimate is still something Arushaele craves very much, but knows she should not act on. And it will be the Players role to convince her that true love is not contingent on having sexual intercourse.

If it comes to it, I will go into the old "good" Vampire Trope - she will want to stop the drain, but it is really difficult for her to do so (she is a creature of Passion, after all).

I see no Major Trouble in replacing the undeground dungeon with the crowded/burning alleys of Kenabres. Have Terendelev literally jump between them and the Storm King in order to save them and get the deathblow for them. When she crashes to the ground, they are all thrown into the rubble of the disintegrating Arena.
They wake up covered in the blood and scales of their saviour,surrounded by Death and Destruction.

Hosilla could be the Head ofthe first search Party of the cultists they have to evade - getting Horgus, Anevia and Aravaschnial out of the grips of the Ivory Templars.

I recommend keeping the Encounter with the Mad Dwarf as Stanton Vanes brother/Cousin - it makes for great foreshadowing of Vane later on.

You could reskin the Meetings with the mongrelman as normal townsfolk/criminal Underground People that they Need to cope with in order to get into the right quarter of Kenabres.

Count me in as not liking abilities that let you share a space. It was already annoying with smaller creatures where it made sense. The ability is really nice and flavourful, but the mechanics are annoying. Could have worked the same way with being in an adjacent space.

I think the intent for LoE is made clear in the Fireball example. They are referencing a wall between the FIREBALL and ist origin, aka the caster, while still being in the radius.
If line of effect could go around corners, this would establish line of effect, but it doesn't in the example.

NB: As I am not a native Speaker, I only assume the origin of the FIREBALL references to the caster, not the point of detonation.

A beautiful idea with the seeds. Something I will pick up for my running Wrath of the Righteous campaign.

As Fitting, someone on the GiTP boards already built the treeslayer class :)

It is so awesome to have an excuse as an author to do good chapter breaks. Elan is a gift.

Another example of how I really have now idea how to adjucate bulk. What Bulk is a cart? Or a door? Is a door more than two Tower shields?
If I lift my buddy, is the bulk 6 for being a medium creature or 6 plus all his stuff? If it is with his stuff, do I Count his full plate as 4 (because he wears it) or 5 because I am not wearing it?

For a Ruffian with a Mace, I can only see
"Stop! Hammer Time!"

Hasn't it been stated that this is specifically done so we can seed our own stories in there more easily? The more Detail is added, the more difficult it will be to put my own parties in the Background for those AP's we did play.

And stating that there are all those high-Level parties would run into the good old Vampire: The Masquerade Problem. Why are we doing anything if there are so many, much more powerful People around?

Trying to put RPG rules and logic into world-building is an exercise in futility. This is not Sim World. And from an authors perspective I can tell you, you do not want to have 100 plus other powerful entities actively running around in your story. It makes for a bloody mess of a world.

Paizo is throwing us a bone and shows us their vision of Golarion after succesul AP's to make it easier for us to make a worldbuilding with our parst parties, and give us some starting points for new parties. That is it.

But a lot of them already are. By that logic, there could never be any threat to Absalom either, if you just look at the number of high Level good NPC's there.

Again, look at Wrath of the Righteous - right off the bat there is a Level 17 Paladin, leader of the Nation most opposed to the Worldwound. Why hasn't she closed it already? Or at least covered the threats of modules 1-4?

Why are there lower Level Pathfinder agents? The Top Tier pathfinders surely have the means and the Levels to adress all threats taht come up in any Scenario? Why bother?

One word - tapdancing.

I fully expect this difference to be covered in a Future social book (Intrigue 2e), and mostly by Skill Feats comparable to "Lie to me".
There are already inclings of it with the social Exploration activities in the playtest, but they were never fleshed out sufficiently to make for an interesting System.

But with perception and sense motive, it really Comes down to "Everybody always wanted this skill maxed, so let it scale automatically."

DerNils wrote:

I do not see how that helps - nobody says that selling these raw materials is any easier than selling the consumable. Probably not an awful lot of People interested in Phoenix Feathers or volatile acids that were not interested in an alchemical bomb.

You're missing the point: you can use the raw materials to make another item: one's that's actually useful. It's what people will do if the DM starts making it hard to sell things.

I don't think it works that way - the raw materials of the consumables will not be the same raw materials you use to create permanent items. They just have the same monetary value for simplicities sake.

Again, it comes down to how much control you as a GM want to have over the magic item population. If you don't care, just tell your Players up front "buying/creating consumables wastes money".

For PFS, that is not even a concern - nobody will craft stuff, and wether you drink the potion you found in the module or not does not Impact your income.

I do not see how that helps - nobody says that selling these raw materials is any easier than selling the consumable. Probably not an awful lot of People interested in Phoenix Feathers or volatile acids that were not interested in an alchemical bomb.

I am also unsure it will lead to any actual in game Problems. It is sad that crafting consumables is not very interesting outside of being an Alchemist, but that is another niche Problem.
The whole characters crafting their own stuff always goes way too much into an economy Simulation game than I am comfortable with. So either it is an immersive roleplaying Thing, where the GM controls what formulae are available and this may make consumables interesting (as he just does not hand out easy access to wands) or you handwave this and just explain to your players that crafting stuff is not cost efficient.

Everything I read about Hellion screams he will absolutely vent his Anger on the Messenger. That means wherever you meet her again, I would show how he punished her, e.g. by serious mutliation, branding, something in that direction. It also gives a perfect push to her to get over her attachment to this crazed god. For the long con she could end up in contact with Unity, because it actually Shares the Goals of a machine-dominated world with Hellion. This would enable you to have a more active Agent of Unity running around, something that is severely missing from the AP as is.

A similar idea to what I am toying with for one of my characters is her offering her body as a Transport for Casandalees memories. Again, this would enable a much more active role for Casandalee AND you have the nice roleplaying/Moral challenge of what do two souls in one body mean, especially as they are destined for godhood.

This is going to tie the John Wick and Bill and Ted movies together.

That would explain so much AND establish an interconnected Keanuverse. Shared Universes are all the rage. Johnny Mnemonic was just a prequel to Matrix. Speed 1 and 2 took place in earlier versions of the Matrix!

I do think this is just the first bout of negotiations. And while I like Spidey in the MCU, I totally get where Sony is coming from. That offer was atrocious. By the logic of that offer, they only have to make half of what Spidey did in his last movie to be better off than this deal - and even VENOM did make 800Mil.
Not all Sony Spiderman movies were great, but they are absolutely valid movies. Spiderman 2 remains one of the all time greats. As Rysky mentioned, "Into the Spiderverse" just netted them an Oscar. I would feel confident in Sonys shoes as well.

I honestly do not think Disney will back off that easily, not after having Far From Home set up their Spidey as the heart of the next phase. But who knows?

Can we just accept that the rules for Fantasy superheroes can not be made into a functioning real world? The PF2 design Team has stated multiple time that is one of their reasons for totally decoupling NPC creation rules from PC rules. The CRB is not a world simulator, it is a very limited scope Hero Simulator.

Now, back on Topic (somewhat), I agree that the current Price philosophy does not encourage PLAYERS to use consumables, which is unfortunate. I will probably make stuff like potions very much unsellable, just to encourage the Team to simply use them.

I am not so worried about the pricing per HP on higher Levels - there consumables are limited by Action economy, not Price economy. Sure it saves Money to guzzle 3 lower Level potions instead of a high Level one, but in combat you Need to minimize those interact Actions.

Out of combat healing is already easily covered by Skill use, that is not what potions are for.

As always you go beyond everything expected - it is so inspiring to see the awesome lengths you guys go to to immerse yourself into the game. Kudos to all of you. I look forward to that video!

You cannot get a world description out of a three Level rarity System. As Quandary mentioned, you have to get that Information out of the regional or monster descriptions.

As to knowledge wise, yes, probably even commoners know general stuff about outsiders like Angels and Demons - these will be their bedtime stories and stuff you talk in church about.

The Advantage I se is that Alchimists Hand out item Bonuses, which are much rarer than circumstance or Status bonuses. Again, not awesome, but something. So if you are already have aid, you cannot be inspired as well, but you can take the relevant buff elixir.

On the side rant, while true, they are Kind of linked.

I personally really like both the new flavor and Anathema to all demons. It makes them way more linked to the Sins they represent, showing that those aren't just some normal Monsters, These guys are the incarnation of lust. And they of course get hurt by chastity.

And the bonus working on people that can get attracted to them makes perfect sense as well - it will always be easier if your target is already predisposed to be charmed. It's just like my Players get a circumstance Bonus to persuasion if they do some Research into what their counterpart is actually interested in.

I agree that the Basic formula to make it a D&D movie instead of any other Fantasy is the day to day magic and a band of heroes. On top of that, use some iconic monsters in their actual role (not the travesty of the beholder Thing in the D&D movie). Trouble is, a lot of D&D Iconic Monster are hella generic. But taking cues from Marvel again, that does not Need to be a Problem - you can just namedrop some stuff, like famous Locations, gods or Monsters (Waterdeep, Vecna, whatever) and the Geeks will rejoice, while you are not trapped in doing any super specific storyline.

Oh, and it would be awesome if it didn't START with some apocalyptic threat. Have them fight a Gnoll Warlord or something, and when he is defeated you can Point to "Lord Soth will get you for this".

That is what I thought. It just does not roll intuitively from the description of the Feat itself:

"Even in the worst circumstances, you can perform Basic Tasks". Actually, Assurance almonst never helps you in bad circumstances - it helps you if you are sick or wear heavy armour, etc.

Just to clarify my concern - A simplke check to climb a wall is DC 15. A Level 2 Rogue with Assurance in Acrobatics has an Assurance score of 16.

Now ist raining. Does that Change the DC to 17 or would it inflict a modifier of -2 that he ignores thanks to Assurance?

I am looking Forward to the inevitable Forum lists of 100 pieces of Dubious Knowledge on Dragons/Undead/etc :)

Doing a D&D movie all dead serious would not be really close to either the source material OR the reality of 90% of the gaming community. Look at the most succesful current D&D Entertainment, Critical Role. They hardly ever have a session without SOME humour and some of their greatest hits are their silliest episodes (flying cow herd, anyone?)

I would like my D&D movie to be in a vein of the MCU, Indy or Mummy movies. Because D&D is about fantasy superheroes, and that works for me best with a light touch.

And taking into account MAP, it will not even be a rare Occasion.

I really need to see tables for common modifiers before thinking about what to take. Because a lot of the design space is covered by modifying the DC, where Assurance doesn't help you, instead of giving you a modifier. If you look at the excerpt table from the "Mastering Pathfinder" blog, I am not sure how many common skill Tasks will have modifiers.

On the stormy sea example - it is important to know if the storm will represent a modifier OR up your DC because it suddenly is a "hard" Task instead of an average one.

Wonderful Story, and a great way to convey EVIL in a relatable manner. Thank you for your thoughts on this, I always love insight into writers process.
And kudos for showing off a caring, intelligent Champion in a very unobtrusive way.

We all know the most important part missing - on a crit success, all your parties disposition towards you lowers by one step. Nobody likes a know-it-all ;)

That is what I actually meant with hard cash - if enough People aren't bothered by the Internet rage, why would Disney or JJ care? People vote with their wallets, not their online presence.
I am massively annoyed by TLJ, and was part of the online community that delighted in panning it - but that doesn't mean I am in any way representative of the current Star Wars viewers.

What I am sure about is that there is no way to make this trilogy in any way coherent and satisfying to me. The storytelling and toneshift between TFA and TLJ are too big, and there are simply no clear clues as to where the third part should lead. It may well become a good movie, in the way that RoS was better than PM and AotC, but it will not become a trilogy with a clear and interesting arc anymore. That ship has sailed with TLJ.

The only thing JJ has going for him is that Rise of Skywalker may well be the last part of this trilogy, but no one in his right mind expects it to be any kind of end to the Star Wars Universe. Not the way RotJ was. So he can get away with using his famous mystery boxes, because he knows some other filmmakers/TV series can pick it up or not.

Just getting back to the Sorcerors have the Advantage of not needing to do anything specific to regain Focus - is that really an interesting ability? I have a hard time coming up with incidents where that is really cahnging anything. 90% of the time it will be all of the Party is hanging out to regain Focus, the sorcerer just hangs out without doing any fluffy praying/reading whatever.
In the borderscenario where only the sorcerer has spent Focus, everybody else wants to go on, you have saved a grant total of 10minutes time versus any other class. That will be relevant - in some very specific chase Scenes, I guess? I just can't get excited over this "Advantage".

I am not worried about this instance either, but having sometimes concrete measures and sometimes vague ones does not make reading this more organic to me, either.

And lets face it, Pathfinder is as far away from "Magic is imprecise and chaotic" as it can be, whatever is written in the fluff description. You actually CAN set your watch to Magic Duration, because it is precise to the second. Suddenly saying it gets imprecise out of Encounter Mode is, well, not very consequent.

I have been a big fan of Lizardfolk since Earthdawns T'skrang. Nothing beats a Dandy Lizard Swordslizard with a parrying blade on its tail :)
And while I am not super interested in Leshy, it adds to the uniqueness of the Pathfinder World, so I am all for it.

I would hope that alignment in bestiaries only applies to outsiders and other things that are innately tied to alignments. Any other generalisations really take away from Pathfinders direction to Show that intelligent cultures are always complex.
Why introduce Core Goblins but still list the average Goblin as CE? It would also make it much easier for new Players to see which creatures are inherently evil due to their nature.

Having finally looked at this great side by side, I am not as bothered by Amiri anymore. She always was very slender, the armour just hid it better.
Everything is much much brighter, which is probably good if you want to jump off the page, but I liked the grittiness of the old somber tones. Well, these are only the first illustrations, lets see what Valeros breastplate Looks like in a sewer.
Also much more improved and varied facial expressions, Wayne really has learned a lot in between regarding faces.
I am not so sold on Merisiel, but her Alien proportions are a choice. It's just not one that I like. Pathfinder Elves as spindly twigs is not my Preference.
And Droogami has been replaced by his own plush toy.

I am still confused why this Comes before Godzilla vs Kong. Seems like a serious step down to tussle with a big ape after they just had ALL OF THE MONSTAS!

That sounds very good. I look forward to how this gets employed, as per the playtest that would have meant the leader is using two tactics? "Avoid Notice" and "Lead other" (or whatever it is called). Or maybe it is something linked to your Expertise Level, e.g. Masters Can use a Skill and help someone else?

We had a rather Long initial discussion at the beginning of "In Pale Mountains Shadow" on how Riding mixes with Exploration tactics. I went the harsh route that riding, especially for untrained riders, takes an Action and therefore Counts as a one Action per turn tactic. My Players mitigated that by having one of them lead most of the animals while riding, while the fast Monk went scouting and the others just walked along.
This didn't feel too forced, but in the end I realised we had discussed almost thirty minutes just to establish the group would travel at half pace.
As DM Livgin said, Things like the manticore encounter could lead to interesting decisions, avoiding the ages old "we have one Paladin so we never sneak anywhere" conundrum. If tactics can override skill roles and still have an interesting effect, that opens up new storytelling possibilities. Still, I already hear some of my players moaning how their Full Plate friend can stealth fine while traversing a mountain path and suddenly becomes unbearably loud in the dungeon.

I remain optimistic - with more space, more described tactics and a better integration with the travelling rules, this could have interesting effects. At worst, it's a subsystem that is easily ignored, so no problem for me.

I tried to use Exploration mode in the Playtest and it felt utterly useless and complicating things that never needed to be complicated. Added on top was the utter pointlessness of choosing tactics in most Scenarios so it felt like wasted time to even do so. Worst offender was the Manticore that only didn't find you if the whole party went sneak tactics, completely independent of their actual skill in Stealth.
I am still interested to see if it has evolved into a working system, but it will only ever be used by me if it gets integrated in their scenarios.

Downtime never was interesting to me either, all their systems before were minigames on top of an already complicated game. I do not see that changing much in the current iteration. It feels like something for Pathfinder Society.

This is a wonderful idea, and by kickstarting it on Gameontabletop, I very much hope one of the Stretch Goals will be translations! A German Hardcover of this would be wonderful.

And even a single skrull is interesting enough as an enemy. Especially if you take their "able to duplicate genetics" to "able to duplicate superpowers" as they have done with the Superskrulls in the comics.

The Skrulls also keep on lying to Carol up until they are on the Station. There is ample room for Skrull antagonists, even without them being specific bad guys. I Can very much see a future movie where Talos is the Antagonist again, due to a conflict where his protecting the Skrulls will endanger another species or somesuch. Antagonists are great when you can sympathise with them and/or understand their Motives.

That is why people like Loki or Thanos, because they are both sympathetic and have genuine goals/beef, independent of wether those goals or specifically the way they want to achieve them are acceptable.

Iconics, like Super Heroes, don't age or Change clothes/gear. That would defeat the purpose of them being instantly recognizable.
There are some interesting permutations like their mythic versions or scifi versions, but generally they are supposed to look like that all the time.
And honestly, the not aging thing is something that PC's Can probably relate to. The typical AP takes you an insame amount of Levels in a super short time period - levelling has nothing to do with age.

Theres no diplomacy quite like Barbarian diplomacy :)

What irks me slightly about the picture is that Amiris sword actually looks a bit too small to be a giants blade - if you look at the sword at the Jarls side, it is quite a bit larger, never mind his axes. But perspective is complicated and we don't see the full sword. That was just my first Impression.

Great stuff on showcasing Amiris inner thoughts and how rage empowers her. Specifically her strength being challenged - so quite a bit of Nuance here, introducing the Giant totems anathema very naturally into the storytelling.