Devo's page

I've played in three - maybe four - Kingmaker campaigns so far. One got as far as Book Four before fizzling out. Most of the others didn't get past Book Two. Each time, no one was really interested in the micro-system of kingdom management.

My Mummy's Mask campaign just ended, so I asked my group if they'd like to give Kingmaker a go again. We were all enjoying the last iteration, but our GM was pulled away by health and family issues. I'll be GMing this one, and I'm really looking forward to it.

I want the whole group involved in building up the Kingdom, as I think the Kingdom itself should be a character in the game. I also want to encourage players to express their characters through the kingdom, e.g. give the warpriest of Sekhmet the opportunity to fulfill a lifetime goal of building up an invincible army or build a massive temple to her goddess that doubles as a huge bloodsport arena. To encourage this, I'm recreating the kingdom building rules as something more akin to a card game.

The general principle is that instead of Build Points, Influence is used to purchase kingdom and settlement improvements. Influence comes in three flavors: Economy, Stability, and Loyalty. Each role (Treasurer, General, Warden) is associated with one of these attributes. In the Income phase of each turn, each player has the opportunity to earn Influence based on the result of an Economy, Loyalty, or Stability check.

It behooves each character, then, to not only improve the kingdom as a whole, but to focus on improvements that benefit them personally. The higher the Economy score, the more Influence the Treasurer will receive. The goal is to get players to negotiate what improvements are made to the kingdom based on what their character would want. In theory, though, if they have enough Influence they can make purchases for the Kingdom independently of what others want. Encourage cooperation, but allow for individuality.

I'm looking forward to seeing how this plays out.

We are a month away from starting the campaign, which means we are at least six months from playing this system. We've tried one test-run, though, and it feels like it will work.

I'll come back and share how it's going as the play tests continue - and how my players do when they eventually get to that point.

My Refugees of the Weary Sky game on Sunday will be in the Cascade area right above the main PFS hall. It's where most of the Open Gaming has been this weekend.

We'll look for you there! How do we find you?

What level are we thinking of running with this? My wife and I are in this game and we can do 3-4 or 6-7.

I am running a session of 8-17 Refugees of the Weary Sky on Sunday May 28th from 1-6 p.m.

I have these players so far:
1. Pirate Rob
2. Brett C.
3. James H.
4. Robert R.

We have room for 2 more. I put the game up on our warhorn event with those two spots open if anyone wants to grab them.

Walter

I signed up with my wife. It looks like we'd be in slots six and seven, so let me know if you'd like to limit this to just six people and we can back out.

Otherwise, if we are playing up, we'd be bringing a Fighter 11 and Skald 11. We have other characters if everyone wanted to play down.

Curses! That post from handoftrace was supposed to be from my account. I had logged in under her account to verify her schedule in a different window. When I came back here, my post posted under her account.

The Vigilante would be a fun way to do a split-personality, if you wanted to be "broken" from your experience in the asylum.

One of our local PFS players went looking for ammunition for his kineticist and came to the conclusion that copper pieces were the cheapest he could find.

Now when he encounters a problem, he just throws money at it.

I've played Black Waters with the character I'll be bringing, so I'd like to avoid that one. I have other characters, but Kos is my 4th level character.

My wife and I are signed up and we have a variety of characters. If Knil117 has just level 2 and 4 characters, I think we'd want to bring our level 4 and 5. That would be a level 4 melee warpriest and a level 5 Zen archer.

I'm looking over the Season 0 and, honestly, I can't see one I wouldn't want to play.

We'll talk it over and see if we can get a prioritized list together.

What are the rules for the updated chronicle sheet? I know we can earn credit for replaying them, but can we assign the updated chronicle to the same character that has the Season 0 sheet?

She does have a valid account. Her account settings were set to not allow email from other paizo.com members, though, and I suspect that might have been an issue.

I bought two tickets to Paizocon and tried to transfer one to my wife. The ticket just disappeared, though - she didn't get the ticket or even an email. I sent an email to support on May 5th, but haven't heard back from them yet. I know they're busy, but what can I do to get this resolved before the lottery comes to an end on Monday?

It looks like you've already which way to go with the character, but had you considered a Mesmerist? It has all the skills you want (and 6+ per level) and the stares and tricks can be easily translated into either pulling secrets from others, or locking or unlocking "secrets" within the minds of others.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the 3rd level spell, Coordinated Effort. That grants a Teamwork feat you own to others, which they can gain the benefit of so long as you are part of the team.

You have to wait until 7th to get it, but you can pick up Amplified Rage at the same time, letting you get other feats earlier on in your career.

Displacement is one of those spells that I always wish had been written better. How does it interact with other abilities related to concealment?

Can a rogue sneak attack against someone with Displacement? Displacement says you can target them normally, but you cannot sneak attack someone with total concealment.

You cannot take attacks of opportunity against someone with total concealment, either. Can you make an AoO against someone with Displacement?

Where do you draw the line between, "This works because it acts as if it had concealment" and, "This doesn't work because it's not *actually* concealment"?

It was built by an aristocrat of questionable sanity to see which of his children was worthy to inherit his kingdom.

In reality, the maze is an extension of a ritualistic circle, which is in the center of the maze. The ritual required the willing sacrifice of seven direct descendants of the ritualist and would grant the person conducting the ritual immortality/lichedom. Six of the children were killed, but the youngest made it to the center and defeated her father and his minions. She became trapped in the maze as a ghost and can grant wishes/information, but her older siblings are trapped in there, too, and are far more hostile.

In Society it isn't an issue, but the problem I've always seen with small martial characters is that you'll never loot weapon or armor that fit you. It can get expensive keeping up with everyone else.

Congrats to you both. We expect great things from you.

Is there any reason why the barbarians couldn't take the Rage Song of the Skald and then use their own Rage ability in the same round? Sure, the morale bonuses won't stack (and the AC penalties likely would), but then you get to use both sets of rage powers.

I went with the claws on my Tengu Investigator so that I could grab Snake Style early on (3rd level). It's been a godsend to defense.

I then went into Brawler at 5th (with Extra Flexibility) and love his combat options. I'll probably hit Brawler 2, before continuing on with Investigator.

Mending takes 10 minutes to cast. Unfortunately for PFS, you can't buy a potion above minimum level, which means no potions at 3rd level (is a pistol 3 pounds?) You could probably buy potions of Heightened Mending, though, to get around that.

If that's your off hand, what's in your primary hand?

Could you just add shield spikes to the shield and call that your primary hand/weapon? You could then hold wands/rods in your other hand.

You'd want Improved Shield Bash to make the most of it, but there's a benefit to carrying around a shield for those rounds when you are casting or doing something else.

Treasure Stitching is the cleric equivalent of Shrink Item. It's a 5th level spell, though, so might be out of reach. How long do you need to carry your shrunken object? Will it fit into a 10' x 10' x 10' cube?

Can you cast 5th level Cleric spells or afford enough scrolls to get you through?

Shrink Item does not work on magical objects. Is that going to be a problem?

Would a 1-2 level dip into Monk be worth it? I would then be threatening all adjacent squares unarmed (kicks) and 10' ring with the spear. With 2 levels I could either get Combat Reflexes and Dodge/Improved Grapple/Nimble Moves through Hungry Ghost or Monk of Seven Forms, or 2 style feats (Crane and Dragon) through Master of Many Styles, +3 to all saves, plus Evasion. At the cost of 2 levels of Investigator and 4 skill points. Either way, this won't come until Investigator 4 to get Studied Combat.

Snake Style is pretty useful for your personal defense, as it allows you to take an Immediate action to use Sense Motive as your AC against a specific attack. You then take the 5th level Investigator Talent that lets you roll 2d20 on Sense Motive checks.

I named mine Cyst.

1. Call out to the Wizard to see if it's you he's trying to kill or the other vampire. If it is a revenge killing, then maybe you are just caught in the crossfire.

2. Ask your GM if the fire from the wagon is producing enough smoke to provide cover from the sun.

3. Ask your GM if you can cut a large enough chunk of bark off of the tree to use it as cover.

4. Charge out, grab the wizard, and use *him* as cover from the sun. Better yet, if you can cast Resist Energy (Fire), grab the wizard and hide out in the burning wagon.

Ill Omen -- no save and target rolls 2d20 and takes the worst on their next d20 roll

Air Bubble -- doesn't last long, but might prove useful

Stricken Heart -- 2nd level, but does damage and staggers opponent without a save

Don't forget the Dire Collar, which, at only 1000gp, is available early on.

I was thinking of playing a Tengu Empiricist with claws, instead of the sword, at early levels. That would allow me to take Snake Style at 3rd (to use Sense Motive for AC against 1 attack a round), then Empathy as his 5th level talent, to roll 2d20 on Sense Motive checks.

His ability to read people is his real power!

Do you know if you'll be able to leave the dungeon? I'd focus on classes that can be self-reliant the entire time. You may not be able to get more gear than the dungeon gives you, so focus on someone who can operate with the same stuff they came in with.

A Warpriest (who can use spells to enchant/boost their weapons or armor -- and self-heal) or a Brawler (who's versatility can make use of whatever you find) would be my suggestion.

My fiancee and I are looking for a weekday evening Pathfinder game, after life slowly dissolved our last group. We both come with plenty of experience, a preference for character-driven roleplaying, and all the benefits of being clean, polite, and mature gamers.

I'm hoping we can find a group just starting into a long campaign (perhaps an AP?), but a good game with mature players is what we are really looking for.

Transportation (possibly even hosting) isn't an issue, but we are near Lloyd Center, so distance could be a factor. We are non-smokers and prefer the same.

To follow up, contact me here or at DScheirman@Comcast.net

Purify Food and Drink?

Another point to consider that hasn't been mentioned here is that because the pit is in an extradimensional space, spells won't cross the boundry from outside the pit to inside (or vice-versa). No fireballs thrown into the pit unless you are right at the edge, reaching in.

I instituted a "Mook" rule in my last campaign where the goons had the capabilities of an 8th level fighter (for example) but only 40 hit points (again, as an example). This let me give the big bad a lot of help that the PCs couldn't ignore (a dozen or so of these guys could put some major hurt on the PCs), but the mooks drop fast enough that they aren't cluttering up and drawing out the fight.

I would think that, with combat going on, the horses would squeeze together in a corner out of the way. (Stack two mounts in each 2x2 square.) If they couldn't keep away from the fighting (at least 10' from a combatant and someplace where they are not providing cover for either side), they'd panic and bolt unless someone was controlling them via Handle Animal.

I'd probably pick one of the mounts as an alpha and make will saves for it. When it decides to leave, they all follow.

It's expensive, but I've always liked the Ring of Inner Fortitude.

The Least version (at 18,000gp) reduces ability damage or temporary ability penalties by 2 points (for each stat affected by the effect) and ability drain by 1 point.

Useful to counter the -2 Dex from Enlarge person for Combat Reflexes builds. (And to reduce the side effects of mutagens.) Handy to have around to reduce damage from poisons and shadows, too.

You are FateWeavers, charged with uncovering lost prophecies and ensuring that they come true. Dire consequences will follow should you fail.

You are the remnants of a renowned mercenary company, who nearly disbanded after your last mission -- a personal mission of your former paladin commander -- failed miserably. The worlds most renowned sword maker has come to you saying that he is ready to build his ultimate sword -- a Rune Sword -- and needs your help gathering the necessary components.

You are all apprentices to a powerful and renowned adventuring group, who are on their way to destroy an evil black dragon and recover an ancient artifact. Left outside to watch the horses, what do you do when the masters fail to return?

Including training could work, but the story would have to be built around it. There could be some extra bookwork, too.

First and foremost, you'd have to have buy-in from your players. They would have to know that when they leveled, it will take some time in-game to get all of their new abilities. The best way to keep everyone happy with that would be to have points in the story where characters level, rather than tracking XP. That way, you don't have someone levelling mid-dungeon, unable to take advantage of their new abilities.

Then, it's extra bookwork, but I'd suggest opening up new level abilities to characters pre-training at a cost. Maybe the fighter can only use the new feat he's learned a number of rounds per day equal to his level, or the wizard can cast 3rd level spells but each spell memorized takes up two slots. It's not until they've had a chance to practice their most recent breakthroughs that it becomes second nature to them.

This practice should occur at lower levels when they meet with more experienced "trainers". That trainer wouldn't necessarily need to know the specific feat or spell the character wants to learn. When the fighter comes in and says, "I've figured out that if I do *this* with my sword, I'm more likely to get past my enemy's armor or defenses". The trainer responds, "Okay, let's practice with that until you can make it work under stress."

Later, as Zigniber mentioned on page 1, the characters know enough that they can "train" themselves, but they still need some downtime to practice what they've learned in the field to make it useful on a daily basis.

Yeah, I like the possibilities, but since it's more complicated than an animal companion, I'm concerned that there will be some point in the story where it simply wouldn't be able to come along with me on the next step of a journey. Then what? Abandon it?

I'm happy to wait a few levels. From a roleplaying perspective, I'd probably start small, like a backpack-portable shrine, and go bigger and flashier as I got more powerful. The full-blown War Altar would probably be a mid-level goal.

We are going to be starting up Wrath of the Righteous soon and I'm contemplating a fiery preacher type sermonizing and leading the battle from atop his mobile altar / war wagon. As early as possible, this might be a legendary item.

I know that it's hard fitting large creatures into some adventures, because of time spent in dungeons, etc. A vehicle would have even more restrictions than a creature: stairs could be hard to navigate, stealth would be unlikely, corridors could be filled, can't squeeze, etc.

For those in the know, would this adventure allow for a war altar, or should I abandon the concept?

As a Legendary Item, it could eventually be made Intelligent, granting it the ability to self-ambulate, fly, shapechange (turning into something equally large/huge), and summon it's own propulsion (Phantom steeds?). It could also be more durable, etc. It would be really fun to design.

Do you have the option of going with the Arcanist class from the beta Advacned Class Guide? That might prove to be the mix of Sorcerer and Wizard that meets all your needs.

The Cosmopolitan feat also adds two (INT, CHA, or WIS-based) skills to your list of class skills. Not optimal, but combined with a couple of traits to add other knowledges, you could have most of the knowledge skills available to you without dipping into another class.

By 4th level, a Sacred Servent archetype with the Knowledge domain would have all Knowledges as class skills.

When Iomadae is spared, have the remaining gods invest a seed of themselves into her spirit, so that they can continue even if the Big Bad destroys them. Maybe the next characters are Mythic, carrying the seed of one of the surviving gods inside of them. If they can build their power up enough, they can restore that god to the world.

Whatever you do, consider the ramifications of a world where all of the gods have died. You would have no divine magic outside of the Big Bad's lieutenants, and that can make it tough on the heroes. (And severely limit their character options!)

I think it could work, but as advised above, let the players know ahead of time that this is going to be a dark campaign and that what they are looking to accomplish is to minimize how much the bad guy wins by. Then tell them that how this campaign ends dictates how the next begins.

At the end of the first campaign, give them options that allow them to choose how heroic they want to be.

1. They defeat Dark Iomedae and destroy her corrupted essence. The big bad looses interest in this realm, now that his favorite toy is gone, and he turns his attention over to other realms. This world is left in the hands of one of his lieutenants and the world is wholly dark when the next campaign starts.

2. They defeat Dark Iomadae and bind her essence to one of the PCs, or a holy artifact. This artifact/PC is a god-like champion of good and the next campaign starts up with good having won over one island/continent/country. The fight continues.

3. The PCs sacrfice themselves to restore Iomodea to her true nature. Her one-time connection to the Big Bad makes her immune to his powers, giving the world a champion capable of defeating the Big Bad once and for all. The next campaign starts up with good having won over one island/continent/country, plus pockets of resistance all throughout the world, supported by Iomadea. The fight continues, but now there is hope.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned going Fighter(Archer), just for the trick shooting (trips, disarms, etc.). I think that Snap Shot is worth it just for the access to Improved Snap Shot and that extra threatened area.

Warpriest is a good second class, also, from the ACG playtest. You'd get full BAB on your bow outside of a flurry, WIS-based casting, self-healing, improved weapon damage, and some excellent tricks out of your blessings.

You could split up the point-buy, also, into a 15 point pool and a 10 point pool (or something similar). Players decide which pool is going towards their physical stats and which towards their mental stats. That pushes players towards a balanced stat array but keeps everyone on the same playing field.

Studied combat becomes a move action to activate (with the quick study bumping it down to a swift). You then gain a half your investigator level bonus to melee attack rolls (as it is now) and as precision damage to the target (not multiplied on critical hits). You gain that precision damage even when you make studied strike. In other words there will be some wording that needs to be changed in studied strike to make that clear, because its time does not.

Thoughts?

The extra damage did not make it to the update on the first page. Is this an oversight, a change of mind, or are you still working out the wording of the precision damage?

I love a lot about the Investigator. Here are some suggestions to try out.

I'm torn about how much damage potential the Investigator should have, given how good he is out of combat. Here are some ideas, though, that might make his combat abilities a bit more flavorful and appealing.

1) Studied Combat: Keep it a standard action and have it last until the end of the Investigators next round, plus half of his INT mod (minimum 1) in rounds. This makes it useful every time. Remove the limitation that it can only affect a creature once in 24 hours.

2) Remove Studied Strike and add to Studied Combat, "As a free action, the Investigator can spend one point of Inspiration to add his INT modifier to damage (minimum 1) to the target of his Studied Combat bonuses. He can choose to do this after he has hit his target." Add a Talent that grants the bonus damage to every hit made to the target before the beginning of his next round after spending Inspiration, or a Talent that allows the Investigator to add damage once per turn without spending Inspiration. (Not really fond of spending Inspiration to up damage, but it's one way to do it.)

3) Add a new Talent that grants the Investigator the Improved Dirty Trick feat, without needing to meet the requirements. The Investigator can spend an Inspriation as a free action to force the target to spend a standard action to remove the effect.

4) Add a new Talent that grants the Investigator the Greater Dirty Trick feat without meeting the prerequisites. (This requires the lesser Talent.) The Investigator can target AC or CMD with this manuever, whichever is lowest. The Investigator can spend a point of Inspiration as a free action to add his INT modifier to the number of rounds the target is affected by the condition granted by the Dirty Trick.

Back to reality and the original post: Can you even cast Aqueous Orb into a Created Pit? Doesn't that cross dimensional boundries, and therefore fail?