Devil's_Advocate's page

Page 398 (Gamemastering > Building an Adventure > Adding NPCs)

Thanks John, I found it. That clears the matter up quite a bit for me.

So here's my advice for converting 2nd edition modules: roll with it and don't worry about the details so much. This is especially true in Ravenloft, where the ambience and the feel of the constant threat is more important than actually continually threatening your players' lives.

And what is he before the template? Make him a level 1 Aristocrat, or CR 1/2. Adding a +3 CR template would only make him CR 3.

The XP charts are your friend. While the add x to y to make CR z formula is good shorthand, as long as it all adds up to the same amount of XP, chances are the CR is about right.

Compare the end result of the Zombie Lord to what the general stats should be for a CR 3. If it doesn't add up, then he's not. Templates are often inaccurate at very low CRs.

It definitely is not adding up as far as HP's or AC are concerned, but I'm wondering if those particularly nasty SA's will balance it out.

one of the Forgotten reals 3.5 books had juju zombies in them. Unapproachable East was the name

I will definitely look that up!

Just to note, as a 1st-level human aristocrat zombie lord, he's still only a CR 2 (a human aristocrat 1 is CR 1/3). He's something of a glass cannon, really; if PCs survive his aura of death and once-a-day death touch they should cut him down in no more than a few rounds.

Also, I'd restructure the adventure so the PCs level up just after defeating Jean. It'll give them a boost for the final act and might even lower their defenses.

I didn't realize 1st lvl NPC's with NPC classes were only CR 1/3. That makes a little more sense actually. Where does it tell you how to determine NPC CR?

Try being a little less literal with your conversion. Trim his stench down to match a troglodyte and just mess around with Marcel's stats until he gets fairly close to whatever CR you want, using the tables in the back of the bestiary. If he ends up CR 3 with 3 zombies backing him up he should be a good capstone encounter. Be wary though, if you leave in a ju ju zombie the PCs will be toast, and they might be anyway depending on how much resources they burn getting to him.

BTW, that was the very first D&D book I ever purchased, from an old game shop which is long dead. I lost it years ago in a move or something, but could probably run it from memory at this point. Love it. Have fun.

The light of the moon shining over the dead shall gutter and fail turning all to red.

Awesome.

I was actually going to leave out the Ju Ju zombie because I don't have stats for one in either Denzens of Dread or the Pathfinder Bestiary.

However, I think I will take your advice about just getting his stats close to the target CR in the back of the Bestiary.

That's awesome that this was your first adventure. I loved it as soon as I read it. I have never been lucky enough to play in an adventure as interesting as this one.

This conversion is making me crazy. I tried to apply the zombie lord template from Denizens of Dread to a PF NPC (Aristocrat,) but no matter what I do the stats come out awkward. If I take a level 1 NPC and apply the template it should produce a CR 4 NPC. This is a problem because it will be assisted by 4 other zombies which will make the encounter too hard for an APL 1 party. According to the PF core Rulebook, an epic encounter should have a CR of APL +3.

However, even if he is CR 4 he only has 15 HP's unless I adjust the hit dice to match the CR, like I did in the above template. Does anyone have any suggestions for how to resolve this dilemma? :?

I know the encounter of which you speak, I'm working on converting it myself. I'd just make sure the players are level 2 by the time they fight him. He has some zombie lackeys, if I remember, so a CR 4 and a couple cr 1/2 or 1/4 zombies shouldn't be too hard for a group of 2nd level characters.

Remember also the advice that things from 3.5, if used unchanged, are generally 1 CR lower by Pathfinder standards, so that guy might just be a CR 3.

It's exciting to hear that someone else is converting this adventure as well. Maybe we should compare what we come up with and post a final version on the "Cafe de Nuit" Ravenloft boards.

I was planning on running the adventure in one session, so I might tell my players to make level 2 characters from the beginning. At the same time though, Ravenloft is supposed to be a tougher and grittier experience, so I don't want to make it too easy.

Either way, thanks for the advice!

I know this is probably too elementary for many, but I'm taking a first shot at DM'ing, and I've chosen a 2e adventure that I'm trying to modify to the Pathfinder system. However, I'm having trouble deciding what CR to make the boss monster, which is a zombie lord.

According to the encounter guidelines in the Pathfinder core book, a challenging encounter for an APL 1 party would be CR 2. That seems impossible though because in the original adventure this zombie lord also commands 4 other zombies in the encounter as well. Furthermore, the zombie lord template I'm using (from Denizens of Dread a 3.5 monster book from the Ravenloft setting) instructs you to add +3 CR levels to the base NPC from which it was made, so even if I use a level 1 npc, the minimum zombie lord level I will get will be a CR 4.

Any advice would be appreciated. Also, I'm basing this adventure on the "Night of the Walking Dead" adventure module from the 2e Ravenloft game.

Not exactly. Hit dice are not the same thing as levels. A hit die is part of a level, but only part. When you get a level of fighter you gain a hit die and everything that comes with that as well as other stuff (class features).

Also monsters can have both. For instance, a minotaur who is also a 4th level fighter. He has 10 hd (6 naturally and 4 from the 4 levels of fighter). So level is not an accurate way to describe those 10 hd the minotaur has since it really refers to just the 4 levels of fighter.

OK, I see. Thank you =)

Levels give hit dice, but not all creatures have levels. All creatures do have Hit Dice.

If I am understanding correctly then, the HD that a creature has are essentially its levels. For example, a level 3 fighter is equal to a monster with 3HD? Is that correct?

Why did 3.5 constantly reference a PC/NPC/Creature's Hit Dice (HD) rather than levels? I apologize for asking such a basic question.

Make cheat-sheets for yourself while preparing your adventures. Include the obscure details in the encounter notes/write-up.

I created a bunch of sheets to go with my GM Screen .. for example, a pair for Overland travel with things like encounter distances in each type of terrain, weather effects, the random weather chart, and so on.. anything I thought would be useful when running overland travel.

Incidentally, is any of this information on the Pathfinder GM screen? I was going to use a Ravenloft GM screen because I want to run Mistfinder, but I might change if the PF screen has more relevant information.

Devil's_Advocate wrote:

Does anyone have any advice for learning the more specific rules such as those that appear in the chapter on environment? The rules governing wilderness, traps, doors, weather, etc. are daunting to say the least. Furthermore, I don't want to have to interrupt my games to look up a lot of environment modifiers.

Make cheat-sheets for yourself while preparing your adventures. Include the obscure details in the encounter notes/write-up.

I created a bunch of sheets to go with my GM Screen .. for example, a pair for Overland travel with things like encounter distances in each type of terrain, weather effects, the random weather chart, and so on.. anything I thought would be useful when running overland travel.

That's a good idea. I guess an Excel sheet would work well for this sort of thing.

Does anyone have any advice for learning the more specific rules such as those that appear in the chapter on environment? The rules governing wilderness, traps, doors, weather, etc. are daunting to say the least. Furthermore, I don't want to have to interrupt my games to look up a lot of environment modifiers.

Devil's_Advocate wrote:

ugly child wrote:

Hi Devil's_Advocate,

I 've actually completed a short pdf of a conversion guide for using Ravenloft with pathfinder. You can find it for download.

mistfinder.blogspot.com/

I love the setting and can't recommend it enough.

The link to your PDF is broken Ugly Child. Do I need the Pathfinder Bestiary to run it, or do the Ravenloft campaign guides have their own npc's that I will need to update?

Try this.

Awesome, got it. Thanks!

Hi Devil's_Advocate,

I 've actually completed a short pdf of a conversion guide for using Ravenloft with pathfinder. You can find it for download.

mistfinder.blogspot.com/

I love the setting and can't recommend it enough.

The link to your PDF is broken Ugly Child. Do I need the Pathfinder Bestiary to run it, or do the Ravenloft campaign guides have their own npc's that I will need to update?

I'm a big fan of self-conversions. Do you want to run Ravenloft the setting or Ravenloft the adventure? Because expedition is pretty decently done.

I'm in the process of converting the Conjunction modules for pathfinder, using a combination of the original 2e box set (pre-conjunction) PF core/APG, Sword and Sorcery Ravenloft 3.5 book, Heroes of Horror and various Dragon Magazine updates.

I'll probably run it next year or the year after, depending on how quickly my current campaign progresses.

I think I want to run the setting. I love gothic horror, and I love D&D, so I think it is perfect for me. Furthermore, if I start preparing now, I could have a great campaign ready in time for Halloween.

I'm trying to decide whether I want to run a game in the worlds of Ravenloft or Greyhawk. Which would be easier to convert? Furthermore, should I use the "expeditions" books that were published for 3.5, or should I get the 3.0 stuff or older and try to convert it? I'm a new DM so suggestions from veterans are very welcome. =)

Devil's_Advocate wrote:

Have I understood the magic system correctly?

Perhaps.

Some spells require a target to save against their effects (the caster supplies the DC based on things you included, the target makes the check) to either avoid them or mitigate them.

Some spells require an attack roll of some kind. These are usually against 'touch AC' rather than the full AC that includes things like armor, shield and natural armor (thick hides, exoskeletons).

Some spells require both.

And some spells require neither.

Does this make sense so far?

Examples:
Charm person requires the target to make a WILL save to avoid being charmed.

Fireball requires that the targets in the area make a REF save with success dealing half damage while failure gives full damage.

Shocking grasp requires the caster make a melee touch attack to deal damage. On a successful touch attack the target takes the damage without save.

Disintegrate requires that the caster make a ranged touch attack against the target. If its a hit (does nothing on a miss) then the target gets a FORT save. If successful on the save they take 5d6 damage otherwise on a failure they take 2d6 per caster level (upto 40d6 maximum for a 20th level caster).

Maze simply effects the target without save.

Power word spells also effects the target without saves (though other criteria need to be met for how effective they are).

Hope this helps,

James

OK James, I think I am understand; thank you for expounding. I pretty much understood the system, but I forgot about the 'touch' line of spells that use an attack roll.

I'm playing my first PF game this coming Thursday, so I was doing some simulated encounters with the character I created to try and make sure I understand the mechanic.

4E requires a roll against Fort/Reflex/Will Defenses, instead of saving throws.

Yes, spells in 4e work just like combat powers, so this system is somewhat different for me. And thank you for the welcome! =)

Actually, you don't need to roll a die unless you need to make a concentration check, which being distracted would force; You might have to roll an attack roll, though.

The save DC is 10+spell level+ main casting stat modifier, not caster level.

Yes, most spells are automatic successes in that you succeed in casting them. If they make their save or you miss with your attack roll though, then not so much

Welcome to Pathfinder and the Paizo boards btw!

What would the attack roll be against? For instance, if I am casting Daze or Sleep, would I roll an attack roll?

So, I've played D&D 4e, but I'm trying to switch to Pathfinder; however, I have question regarding the spell casting mechanic. If I understand correctly, spell casters don't roll a die when they cast a spell that they have either prepared or that is within their ability to cast unless they are distracted. However, the target being cast upon will often roll a save that has a DC of 10+CL+spell mod.

Therefore, does this mean that there are some spells that will just be considered automatic successes if the caster is not distracted?

Have I understood the magic system correctly?

Devil's_Advocate wrote:

OK, so if I have a level 1 Halfling Bard with 8 STR and 16 DEX what would the his CMB score be?

CMB +2 = +0 BAB -1 Str -1 (Size)

CMD 11 = +0 BAB -1 Str +3 Dex +10 -1 (Size)

OK. Thanks.

Is it true that Weapon Finesse allows you to use your DEX bonus instead of your STR bonus for any combat maneuver that happens "in place of a melee attack" (ie, Disarm, Sunder, Trip?)

OK, so if I have a level 1 Halfling Bard with 8 STR and 16 DEX what would the his CMB score be?

Since you add all normal bonuses to attack rolls to your CMB, it's more like the penalty cancels out the bonus.

In other words, yes.

Great, thanks =)

Will the Halfling bonus to attack rolls cancel out the small size penalty when rolling CMB attacks?

Yes.

Pathfinder SRD, Equipment, Composite Short Bow wrote:

For purposes of Weapon Proficiency, Weapon Focus, and similar feats, a composite shortbow is treated as if it were a shortbow.

Excellent, thanks! =)

If a bard is proficient with the shortbow, does that mean she is also proficient with the composite shortbow?

Morgen wrote:

Definitely grab agile maneuvers.

No need for Agile Maneuvers if he already has Weapon Finesse. The latter lets you use your DEX bonus instead of your STR bonus for any combat manoeuver which happens "in place of a melee attack" (ie, Disarm, Sunder, Trip).

Is this true? That is great news if it is.

Devil's_Advocate wrote:

Which is more appropriate for a PC that hails from Taldor?

Depends.. male or female? ;)

Male. lol.

Devil's_Advocate wrote:

When it says that Halflings get a +1 size bonus to attack rolls for being small, do I record that as 1 for my Base Attack Bonus?

No, it just gets added to all your attack modifiers. BAB is used for calculating a lot of things including some where small size has a penalty.

OK, thank you. =)

When it says that Halflings get a +1 size bonus to attack rolls for being small, do I record that as 1 for my Base Attack Bonus?

Which is more appropriate for a PC that hails from Taldor?

Actually, the customized summon lists starting with the AP's using the Pathfinder RPG rules are legal in PFS play. These would be the following so far:

Pathfinder #26: The Sixfold Trial (Iomedae)
Pathfinder #29: Mother of Flies (Asmodeus)
Pathfinder #32: Rivers Run Red (Erastil)

And I am sure when the new Guide comes out that Pathfinder #35: War of the River Kings (Gorum) will have it's customized list made legal also.

The next AP, Serpent's Skull, will be detailing Gozreh and Nethys, so the earliest you will get a customized list for Calistria will be sometime next year.

Issue 17 had Calistria.

PF AP #17 had the Calistria chapter, I believe. It included 4 bonus summons for Priests of Calistria (including a giant bee [I] and a hellwasp swarm [VIII]) but I don't know if (a) this would be acceptable for a non-cleric, or (b) if it is acceptable for organized play.

Awesome, I just bought the PDF online! Someone just told me that these extra rules are not legal for play, but I want it for the lore if nothing else.

Devil's_Advocate wrote:

Someone in the rules forum suggested that I ask this here. Does anyone know if there are any path variants for the summon monster spells? For instance, my character is a follower of Calistria, and I want to know if there are any summon monster paths that are flavored for this deity.

Several of the deity articles published in every third AP volume have included alternate summoning lists, but they are not legal for PFS play.

I see. That answers my question then. Thank you. =)

Someone in the rules forum suggested that I ask this here. Does anyone know if there are any path variants for the summon monster spells? For instance, my character is a follower of Calistria, and I want to know if there are any summon monster paths that are flavored for this deity.

a sling staff for a halfling will use the small chart, since halflings are small, and deal 1d6 damage.

The halfling proficiency with sling staff means that he treats it as a martial weapon instead of an exotic weapon, which basically saves the character a feat to be able to use it. It doesn't provide an extra bonus on attack rolls.

You use the normal cmb stats with the whip.

You won't be able to switch creatures out from the summon monster lists. Each creature per level is balanced against the others and against the spell level. Also, swarms have some major benefits which makes them unsuitable for a first level spell. If it helps, you'll get to summon giant wasps at 4th level :/

You should hit up the pathfinder society forum and ask about path variants for summon spells. Off the top, I don't remember any, but it's worth checking.

And don't worry about the questions, that's what the forums are here for. You can't learn the answers if you don't ask the questions :P Also, I would be very, very bored if no one used the forums :/

Great! Thanks for the response Magicdealer. I've switched out the Sling Staff for a regular sling, so he won't need to take a feat for the martial proficiency.

Thank you Fizzlebolt for the great responses. It hadn't occurred to me at all that the Sling Staff was a martial weapon. Thank you for bringing that up. I will change his ranged weapon. You have been a huge help though. Also, if anyone knows where I can find that Calistria Summon Monster spell, it would be greatly appreciated! =)

For my first character, I am making a Halfling bard for an upcoming Pathfinder Society Organized play game, but I have some questions concerning his creation.

First, I have chosen the Sling Staff for his ranged weapon, but I'm not sure which damage size is appropriate since these staves are supposedly made for Halflings.

Secondly, does the Halfling proficiency with the Sling Staff translate into any kind of proficiency bonus to his attack rolls?

Thirdly, I also bought him a scorpion whip. Does one use the normal CMB bonus in order to trip or disarm opponents using a whip?

Lastly, my Halfling is a follower of Calistria. If I were to take the Summon Monster I spell, would I be able to re-flavor the monster so that it is a swarm of wasps rather than a fire beetle or snake?

Forgive me if these questions are naive or elementary.

Whips really aren't about damage. They are about pissing the enemy off by depriving them of their weapons and footing. It may not 'feel' like contributing much to a fight, but the reduction in an opponents offensive and defensive capabilities can be HUGE.

That is a good point as well. Maybe if I complement it with a decent ranged weapon like a sling or a bow it will work. I'm just worried that I will be in a situation where I'm not doing damage since I want to use this character in Pathfinder Society games.

I will definitely look into those options; thank you both. =D

Devil's_Advocate wrote:

I was looking at the damage that a whip does, and it said 1d2 or 1d3. Since there is no such thing as a 2 or 3 sided die, how is this done?

Roll a d6. 1-3 is 1; 4-6 is 2. Or 1-2 is 1, 3-4 is 2, and 5-6 is 3.

Got it; thanks for the help everyone.

I want to create a halfling bard who uses a whip for a primary weapon since he will be a follower of Calistria. However, I noticed the whip only does nonlethal damage. I've already taken the weapon finesse feat in order to allow him to use his dex bonus instead of str since his strength is only 8. Are there any other feats I could take at level 2 to make the whip do lethal damage or to boost its damage?

I was looking at the damage that a whip does, and it said 1d2 or 1d3. Since there is no such thing as a 2 or 3 sided die, how is this done?

I have not rolled a cross gender character in a PnP game yet, but that's because I'm new to PnP; I will try it soon. I played mmorpg's for several years though, and I will say that some of the female characters I played were some of the most fun. I think it is because it's easier to see the character as a character you are storytelling rather than a representation of yourself if the character is the opposite gender. When I played male characters, there was always a sense that this is me in this fantasy world. With the female characters I tended to see them as creations, and I wanted to see how they fared in the game world.

I don't know if that will work the same way in a live table top game though. I am not an actor at all; I am completely a storytelling style of role player. I don't enjoy acting, so it will be easy for me to play the character as "... and Befana tries to persuade Character B to do X or Y... etc."

I have been a huge fan of the original Everquest, so recently I looked online to see if it's still possible to get a hold of the EQ RPG books. However, I read that they were based on the 3.0 rules system. Is it possible to convert 3.0 games to Pathfinder?

Also, were PnP RPG's ever written for "Ultima Online" or "Dark Age of Camelot?"