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A few things:
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![]() A few things:
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![]() That's what I'd hope and how I want to interpret it. I was just looking at it side by side with Monstrous Mount from Inner Sea Combat, which is more explicit. It did seem grey enough to me that I wouldn't be 100% comfortable telling someone it was a valid option for a Paladin, hence the clarification request. ![]()
![]() Just to be clear, especially as the Qadira clarifications are still forthcoming: The AR provide a way for Cavaliers, Rangers, and Paladins to get a Shissah companion:
AR wrote: A PC who must select an animal companion from a limited list (e.g. cavalier, paladin, or ranger) may select a shissah in place of a horse, but unless it is that PC's first animal companion selected, the PC must spend 4 Prestige Points to gain such a mount; each additional shissah acquired costs 4 additional Prestige Points. However, the other cool variant horses, the Genie-Touched, are still inaccessible to Paladins and Rangers, by the strictest RAW. The feat requires the "animal companion or mount" class features. The Divine Bond (Mount) and Hunter's Bond (Animal Companion) class features wouldn't qualify. If that's intended, that's fine. If there should be a way for those classes to take them, a clarification would be appreciated. ![]()
![]() I'm sure we'll need to work out the local details about our requests, but I had a question about how recurring events will be handled. If we have a recurring event with no end date, do we request support for a limited period, or the entire duration? If it is a limited period, how do we decide how long to request coverage? Steve, while that might be a possibility, I'd say the opposite might also be true. I can see this program as providing an incentive that gets first-time or otherwise reluctant GMs to start running more, hopefully not just at supported events, but also at others. ![]()
![]() It's cool to see so many people interested in joining the GM pool! As others said, evergreens are a good place to start, especially if you'd like more experienced GMs to participate. My one comment would be that it's most important to get started running something you really like. You should be having fun as a GM too! If there's a scenario you really loved as a player, that might be a better starting point than an evergreen you're not very excited about. Oh, and on the more unusual character descriptions, I have: ![]()
![]() Jessica Price wrote:
It took me long enough, but holiday travel meant the Adrienne Mayor book finally escaped from my "things I'll get around to reading eventually" shelf. I'm loving everything about it, especially how it manages to bounce back and forth between looking at classical histories/myths and modern archaeology. Just wanted to say thanks for the recommendation! ![]()
![]() One note from my in-person run: In Ustalav one of the rooms mentions containing an unassembled ballista, a bit of description I read without thinking too much about it. Naturally, the party couldn't wait to put it together. On the fly I flipped open Ultimate combat, and after two failed tries putting it together they gave up. In the future I'll either prep a bit about siege engines in advance or (as I realized in hindsight) specify a lack of ammunition. ![]()
![]() Isabelle Lee wrote: I would love to write some classes for the neutral and evil deities. ^_^ I would love to see one or both of those books. I'm super excited for this book already, to the point where I've almost exclusively been playing my neutral PFS characters until I get a look at the goodies in here, since many if not most of by goodies follow relevant deities. That said, if we could get a Chronicles of the Righteous style book for the Psychopomp Ushers, Primal Inevitables, etc. first that would be literally the best thing. ![]()
![]() I'm very excited for this, but I did have a few questions from my first pass through. ![]()
![]() A couple others, that might not strictly qualify as unresolved arcs, including a few from general lore as opposed to specific scenarios. Trying to avoid specific spoilers. #5-16 Sanctum of the Sages and #6-04 Beacon Below:
Sanctum of the Sages introduces two "beyond the scope of this adventure" doors, one of which is explored in Beacon below. Maybe we can go through the other sometime? But most importantly:
True Dragons of Absalom Spoilers: Hats! What is he wearing this season? Fashion-Forward Shelynites want to know! ![]()
![]() I do wish there was a bit more leniency with the rules on this issue, now that it's been brought up. Considering how incredibly lenient Campaign mode rules are in some respects, not having more flexibility respect to running the whole thing seems especially weird. It's currently kosher to run an AP with 30 point buy, Race Builder races, gestalt 3PP classes, and a smattering of 5e rules kludged in if you really felt like it. But deciding book 3 doesn't make sense for your party and doing something homebrew or substituting a different published adventure is no good. For APs, at least, I'd like to see the ability to play campaign mode on a book by book basis. That removes any potential issues with people leaving a group early or joining late, and gives AP GMs a lot more flexibility in how they run things. ![]()
![]() FWIW, Vudrani and various other ethnicities are still explicitly legal via a variety of other sources, notably the Inner Sea World Guide and Inner Sea races. I don't think adding Vudrani to the Guide would be controversial (unless it causes a cascading series of formatting troubles or something). If the word count can stand a slight increase, throwing in a line explicitly saying something along the lines of: "This list is not exhaustive, check the Additional Resources for ethnicities made available by other sources" might be nice. ![]()
![]() Godwrecker, I'll give you an update about the play by post game later today, but in the meantime, I wanted to let you know there is PFS in Maine. While he's based in the Boston area, Venture Captain David Montgomery has taken point on coordinating PFS up there. He can tell you what's going on up there. Send him an email at cambridgepfs (at) gmail, and he should be able to help you out. ![]()
![]() Two additional suggestions: For in person play, your local Venture-Person who you can find here, is probably a great source of information about what's going on in your area. Even if there's not someone who's exactly where you are, someone in the general area can likely either answer your questions or introduce you to someone else who can. Another online option is Play By Post. Games tend to take a long time to complete (~4-6 weeks is most common), but the daily time commitment is much less (~15 mins per game you're playing in). It's not everyone's cup of tea, but it can be nice to have a little bit of gaming to do each day. There are lots of ways to play it, but the most common is right here on these forums. Play by Post Gameday V (basically an online convention) begins at the end of the month, so pretty much everyone's holding off on starting new games until then. I will be offering a game specifically for newcomers to PBP, so if that sounds like something you'd be interested in, let me know and I can hold you a seat. ![]()
![]() Fully aware this is possibly the worst possible time to ask this question, but giving it a shot anyway... Is there any hope for a Campaign Clarification to make Occult Hellknight Signifers more viable? Path of the Hellknight and a recent PFS scenario have made me interested in having my Psychic join the Order of the Gate. There's just one problem... Currently, the prestige class requires one of two feats: Arcane Armor Training or Warrior Priest. Arcane Armor Training provides 0 mechanical benefit, while Warrior Priest requires a dip. While I can work with those restrictions, it'd be nice to have an option that's more suitable, especially as Path of the Hellknight does present a canon Psychic/Hellknight Signifer. As it's from a Campaign Setting book, a clarification is likely the only way to make a change possible. To throw a couple suggestions out there, Logical Spell or (non-PFS legal) Third Eye from Occult Adventures both seem relatively on theme. At first glance, there's not a "warrior caster" sort of feat that's a good fit for the occult classes as a whole. ![]()
![]() I cant wait for this one, though count me as another voice sad we're not getting ten pages on the spice trade. Jessica, would you have book recommendations for people interested in learning more about the real world cultures that provided inspiration for parts of this book? I know next to nothing about the Scythians, and have only really encountered early Persian history as it related to Greek and Roman history, for example. I've been trying to read more about events, regions, and cultures that haven't been featured in my formal history courses, and this is definitely one of those areas. ![]()
![]() John Compton wrote:
On this particular point, I think a relatively minor change that would go a long way would be to open up at least some of the tasks that call out Profession (Merchant) to a broader range of options. Showing up in three of the goals and one of the rewards can make it seem almost mandatory. Perhaps open it up to any Profession of Craft, to represent the different sorts of businesses, legitimate and otherwise, that fall under the Exchange? It wouldn't change the mechanical burden in most cases, but allow for a bit more diversity in flavor. ![]()
![]() Fromper wrote:
This is definitely true, I GM for an extremely pessimistic dwarf, who jumps to extremely pessimistic conclusions about everything. He's usually right. ![]()
![]() Your primary isn't at risk. The primary is: Primary:
The PCs complete their primary mission if they explore the Jistkan ruins as far as area A9 and discover clues of Zefiro’s destination in eastern Cheliax. Doing so earns each PC 1 Prestige Point. The second half of that refers to the information on the warrant. As long as you at least see the warrant you meet that part. But pretty much every Pathfinder should care about one of the few allies the society has in the country, and a source of uncensored historical information, getting carted off to prison. ![]()
![]() I'm excited about this one, but still not quite grasping the "right way" to run the trap in A11. How are PCs supposed to get to all eight statues without triggering the trap? It sounds like touching any of the chains triggers it, so it seems almost impossible to navigate the room safely, even if they do manage to notice all the switches. The only option that comes to mind aside from shooting the winches is spells like mage hand. For that matter, how would the Inquisitor disable the trap? He's probably not shooting the winches every time he wants to use the room, and his Acrobatics is pretty mediocre at both tiers, so he's probably not dodging and weaving through the chains. ![]()
![]() There are more than a few scenarios where recovering Pathfinders, sometimes dead sometimes alive, is very important to the scenario's success. In some, it's your primary mission. Usually, the "reward" comes in the form of the GP and PP you'd earn from the scenario, though sometimes there's a relevant boon. ![]()
![]() Summon Shadow Rules: Summon Shadow (Su): At 3rd level, a shadowdancer can summon a shadow, an undead shade. Unlike a normal shadow, this shadow's alignment matches that of the shadowdancer, and the creature cannot create spawn. The summoned shadow receives a +4 bonus on Will saves made to halve the damage from positive channeled energy and the shadow cannot be turned or commanded. This shadow serves as a companion to the shadowdancer and can communicate intelligibly with the shadowdancer. This shadow has a number of hit points equal to half the shadowdancer's total. The shadow uses the shadowdancer's base attack bonus and base save bonuses. ![]()
![]() While GMs and players can make a big difference in a scenario (for good or for bad), focusing on the actual content of a scenario seems to be the intention here. My first thoughts, in no particular order, overlapping quite a bit with some comments by others:
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![]() I'd throw in a fifth mounted question, that I've seen more than once. How does Mounted Combat interact with grapple? Specifically it comes up in the context of grab. If a creature with reach grabs a mounted character, is the rider pulled off the mount? Do the mount and rider both move adjacent to the grabber? ![]()
![]() It doesn't seem that they can. However, you can access the familiars of other Society witches in your off time. See here for a bit of discussion. It costs half the fee that it would take to scribe the spell [normally=10*(Spell Level)^2], which is pretty reasonable, especially as you can take 10 on the spellcraft checks, which makes failure almost impossible. ![]()
![]() Hi everyone, I just had a situation come up that I haven't seen before, so I wanted to see what the proper way to handle it is. It basically boils down to this: When casting a spell with a casting time greater than a standard action (like Summon Monster or Sleep), do characters who begin to threaten the character while the spell is being cast get an AOO? The particular situation involved a character summoning from a position of relative safety. An enemy approached by double moving, and was able to threaten the target. Giving them an AOO seems to be legal, though it also seemed strange to basically get a double move and an attack. Just wanted to double check that letting the AOO happen is the best way to rule. ![]()
![]() Hi all, I noticed a couple of conflicts with the Additional Resources that seemed beyond the scope of the Additional Resources Update thread. ![]()
![]() Bumping this because of the discussion that dominated the thread about pregen-only scenarios, not the OP. I'm about to run my first Core table of a Season 7 scenario that has a connection to #6-98. Trying to phrase this in as spoiler-free a way as possible, if any of the players have the chronicle and certain other conditions are met, certain content related to the special appears. I assume the normal firewall between the campaigns applies, but that does mean that there's no way for the 6-98 boon-related content to appear in Core? ![]()
![]() The point I'm trying to make is that hard is good, but mathematically impossible is not. For example, Act 3 is supposed to end after 70 minutes or when all three districts are reduced to 0. Using the numbers given, there is no possible way to reduce any district to 0, never mind all of them. Getting a district to 0 in act 2 would require every table to run both floating encounters in the same district, and even then it couldn't be the Northeast. I'd like there to be enough encounters that you won't get through all of them, but at the low tier I'm not sure that's the case. Anyway, my advice for people running the low tier would be to save encounter A1 for last in part 2, as it's the easiest one to stretch out if necessary. ![]()
![]() I hadn't noticed the compass rose bit, but I had noticed the inconsistent terminology. I suppose knowing there's an explanation makes it somewhat better. I expect the below to become part of a review once I've completed running the scenario, but I think its worth saying in the meantime: I know it's been said many times above, but the HP for the different acts really doesn't make sense at all (Act 2 has 7 encounters, but complete success would require each table to succeed in 12 encounters, Act 3 has only 3 encounters versus 6 HP/table, and then Act 4 seems to dramatically overcorrect and wrap things up before most tables have even started the final encounter.) I'm currently running this as part of the PBP Gameday at the 1-2 tier, so it's not the typical experience, but I expect to run it in person in early 2016. We're about to wrap up Act 2, which is very good because I'm just about to run out of encounters for that act. I am concerned they'll run through act 3 and be stuck waiting for the other tables. I do hope future specials make sure that there's no chance for a party to just have to sit around and wait for others to catch up, especially at the low tier where combats can be quick. At the very least, throwing in several more floating encounters would be nice in the future. As a player, part of what's made these specials so fun is the feeling that there's too much for any one team to do, but I'm not really getting that from this scenario. ![]()
![]() Hi, Apparently I'm supposed to poke you if I haven't received a shipping confirmation yet? This order includes my August and September subscriptions (Sharaya helpfully consolidated them while fixing a billing address issue). If there's any particular object(s) causing problems, I'd appreciate them being sidecarted or cancelled. Thanks! ![]()
![]() Definitely interested in this. Because I'm usually playing PFS, the opportunity for something more exotic is interesting. I'm thinking about a Samsaran Shaman with the Ancestors Spirit and the Speaker for the Past Archetype. General concept would be that he (or she) has left Tian Xia to follow in the footsteps of one or more past incarnations who traveled this way, perhaps even one alongside Khiben-Sald himself. I'd plan on leaving the specifics vague, so that if you'd want to integrate them, you'd be able to fill it in as needed. If it stays as backstory the whole way through that's cool too. Thoughts before I get too far ahead?
About Layaali Twice-BornStatistics:
Layaali Twice-born Female Aasimar Oracle 5 NG Medium Outsider (native) Init +1; Senses Cannot see beyond 60 ft., Darkvision 60 ft., Perception +7 ------------------------------
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Spells Known (CL 5th, Concentration +9)
Spell-like Abilties (CL 5th, Concentration +9)
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Special Abilities:
------------------------------ SPECIAL ABILITIES ------------------------------ Channel (Su): You can channel positive energy like a cleric, using your oracle level as your effective cleric level when determining the amount of damage healed (or caused to undead) and the DC. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 1 + your Charisma modifier. => 5 + 2 = 7/day, 3d6 positive energy, Will DC 16 Clouded Vision: Your eyes are obscured, making it difficult for you to see. You cannot see anything beyond 30 feet, but you can see as if you had darkvision. At 5th level, this distance increases to 60 feet. At 10th level, you gain blindsense out to a range of 30 feet. At 15th level, you gain blindsight out to a range of 15 feet. Empyreal Focus (trait): The empyreal lord you worship (Vildeis) rewards your devotion by granting you an occasional boon. Once per day, before you attempt a skill check, you can use this boon to gain a +2 trait bonus on that skill check. Exalted Resistance: An aasimar with this racial trait gains spell resistance equal to 5 + her level against spells and spell-like abilities with the evil descriptor, as well as any spells and spell-like abilities cast by evil outsiders. This racial trait replaces celestial resistance. Halo: Some aasimars possess the ability to manifest halos. An aasimar with this racial trait can create light centered on her head at will as a spell-like ability. When using her halo, she gains a +2 circumstance bonus on Intimidate checks against evil creatures and on saving throws against becoming blinded or dazzled. This racial trait replaces the darkvision racial trait. Life Link (Su): As a standard action, you may create a bond between yourself and another creature. Each round at the start of your turn, if the bonded creature is wounded for 5 or more hit points below its maximum hit points, it heals 5 hit points and you take 5 hit points of damage. You may have one bond active per oracle level. This bond continues until the bonded creature dies, you die, the distance between you and the other creature exceeds medium range, or you end it as an immediate action (if you have multiple bonds active, you may end as many as you want as part of the same immediate action). Safe Curing (Su): Whenever you cast a spell that cures the target of hit point damage, you do not provoke attacks of opportunity for spellcasting. Selective Channeling - When you channel energy, you can choose a number of targets in the area up to your Charisma modifier. These targets are not affected by your channeled energy. Missionary (trait): You’ve spent much of the last several years serving your faith, and the conviction and dedication to your church has impressed many. The faith has long supported you, and you are eager to repay the church in some way. In Katapesh, the establishment of a new village is always cause for interest to the nation’s churches, as establishing new temples in villages is an excellent way to expand upon the church’s resources and bring in more faithful. If the Pactmasters’ plans to revitalize and rebuild Kelmarane are successful, the village will need a temple, and your faith is keenly interested in being represented there. You’ve [come here] in hopes of helping to establish a new temple in the soon-to-be revitalized village. You’ve been selected for your dedication to the church and your strong social graces—pick one of the following skills: Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Knowledge (religion), Perform (any), or Sense Motive. You gain a +1 trait bonus on checks using that skill, and it is always considered a class skill for you. (perform [oratory]) Gear/Possessions:
------------------------------ GEAR/POSSESSIONS ------------------------------ Combat Gear dagger, light crossbow, bolts (7), acid, potion of shield of faith
Carrying Capacity
Background:
Layaali el-Batar used to be normal. She was born to a large family of merchants who loved her very much. She played games and drew in the sand. She was healthy and joyous. But she was young then… Only a child. The slavers changed everything when they attacked her family’s home. Some people died, but many of them were taken prisoner, to be sold as slaves in Katapesh. Life was hard after that, and Layaali’s joy became despair. But before they could reach the capital the slavers were attacked by a sect of battle-priests serving the empyreal lord Vildeis. As they fought with the gnolls, Layaali and her family ran. They made it far from the site of battle, but a pack of hyenas set upon them, and Layaali was killed. But it was not meant to last… One of the priests, a grizzled old man named Aram, brought her back to life with his holy powers. But when Layaali came back she was different. Changed… No longer human. Her body was weak, her eyes were clouded over in a golden film, and a brilliant halo shone brightly around her head. Clearly blessed by Vildeis, Aram began to preach to Layaali and her remaining family about the empyreal lord Vildeis, and by the time the el-Batar’s were safely back home all had agreed that Layaali no longed belonged with them. Layaali el-Batar was no more. The child was Layaali Twice-born, blessed vessel of Vildeis, the Cardinal Martyr. Layaali returned with Aram to the temple of his sect and trained hard for many, many years to become a battle-priest who could combat the evil throughout the world. Her healing powers were great, but no matter how hard she trained her body remained frail. Despite this, Layaali was as brave and self-sacrificing as any among Vildeis’ faith. She grew slowly, and by the time she finally came of age Aram had passed on. But many among the temple were her friends and family. She remained, and prayed and trained. She was always the first to volunteer to head out to combat evil, and accompanied many other priests on missions. Despite being unable to fight directly, she had a place among them, and was happy. Her healing powers saved many lives. When word reached the temple that the Pactmasters of Katapesh were sending a group to retake the town of Kelmarane from the gnolls who claimed it, Layaali volunteered to lead a unit to assist them. She hoped that being part of the founding would allow her to establish another temple to Vildeis, and help eliminate evil from the region. Her mission was approved, and along with two battle-priests (Mahmood and Alal) and a desert guide (Nafari), they set out across the deserts for Kelmarane. Along the way they came across a pack of gnolls with over a dozen slaves in tow. With Vildeis’ holy word on their lips Mahmood and Alal attacked the camp, making a large enough distraction for Layaali to slip into the camp and free the slaves. They fled into the desert together, with Nafari leading them and escaped. Mahmood and Alal never caught up with them. Saddened by her friends’ sacrifice—whether of freedom or life—Layaali got continued on, eventually reaching Almah Roveshki’s camp. Once there, she ensured that Nafari and the thirteen refugees were in good hands, and bargained with Almah to allow herself (and her sect) a place among their group. With the agreement in place, Layaali is about to set out with her new comrades to combat evil and take back Kelmarane from the gnolls of the Brazen Peaks. Information about Vildeis can be found Here
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