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I just wanted to check something. If my ranger character with Favoured Enemy of Outsider (Evil) encounters such a creature on its home plane I still get the bonuses to attack, damage and skill checks yes? The fact that they are not outsiders on their home plane doesn't suddenly mean he forgets the best way to overcome them does it? Thanks in advance!
I just wanted to ask a quick question that I couldn't find a clear answer to by searching these forums. Barding for a medium sized animal (e.g. a medium size dog) costs double (PF p162). Making that Masterwork presumably costs an additional 300 gp (double the normal 150 gp to make masterwork armour). However, if I then want to make that barding magical, is the cost of that doubled too? I imagine it is about imbuing magic into an item, and so that shouldn't be too much different than doing so for normal armour, thus I wouldn't expect this to be doubled too. However by RAW I can see that it should be. Is there an official ruling or FAQ? As this will be for PFS play I am keen to get it right.
All, Whilst I currently game in a mix of systems and settings I would very much like to join or form a regular group that plays Dungeons & Dragons 3.5, ideally using the Eberron or Freeport settings (maybe combining both) or even Dark Sun (using the Paizo Dungeon and Dragon magazine articles). I would like a group who can play serious but also have fun, and who know the system and / or setting fairly well (but by no means need be experts) so I don't have to explain everything and drip feed rules and setting. I would be happy to join a group as a player or even GM. If GMing I would likely run the published scenarios for Eberron and Freeport. I would like to play regularly, either a weekly game on a week night (though not Friday), or less regularly but for a longer session on a weekend day (for example a game every two or three weeks on a Sunday running for a 6 hours with breaks). Any interest?
My Druid character has just got to level 10 in PFS play and I have just over 14,000 gp to spend. What would be a worthwhile purchase (or purchases)? He already has:
I was wondering whether to make his Masterwork Cold Iron Great Axe magical, or maybe upgrade one of the +2 items. Or maybe buy a magic item for his animal companion dog? Any idea welcome!
I have a Ranger character who has just hit level 4 and I thought I would take a look at alternative class features and saw the Skirmisher archetype in Advanced Players Guide (page 128). This archetype gains Hunter's Tricks at the expense of spell casting. I am very much interested in taking this archetype, but I cannot do so until level 5, however I just wanted to confirm that although I would gain no benefit until level 5 I would need to choose not to take the Ranger spellcasting feature at level 4 - correct? So I give up a benefit I would get at level 4, for a benefit I won't get until level 5. If so that is cool with me, I just hope the character doesn't die before then! :) A related question though is that, up until now I have been using a Wand of CLW without making a UMD check as it is a spell on the Ranger list. Now I have effectively had that benefit through three levels, however because I have now decided on my intention to take SKirmisher, I presumably should start to have to make UMD checks and handwave / retcon how I was able to use my wand to easily previously. Correct? Thanks in advance!
Paizo changed how Ability penalties work in Pathfinder compared to 3.5. In D&D 3.5 you recalculated your Ability score based on the penalty and then worked out the new modifier based upon the adjusted score. Examples: Dexterity Score of 16 (+3 modifier) suffering a -1 Dexterity penalty results in a temporary Dexterity Score of 15 and a +2 Modifier. Dexterity Score of 16 (+3 modifier) suffering a -4 Dexterity penalty results in a temporary Dexterity Score of 12 and a +1 Modifier. In Pathfinder you don't amend your ability score or modifier, instead you simply suffer a -1 penalty to skills and statistics for every 2 points of ability penalty you suffer. Examples: Dexterity Score of 16 (+3 modifier) suffering a -1 Dexterity penalty results in no change to the Score or Modifier and there is not even a penalty applied (so no effect really) Dexterity Score of 16 (+3 modifier) suffering a -4 Dexterity penalty results in -2 penalty to Dexterity related stats and skills and thus an effective Dexterity modifier of +1. Now, my question is whether Dexterity Ability penalties stack with losing Dexterity Bonus to AC (and thus CMD)? E.g a unarmoured character with a BAB of +1, Strength of 12 (+1 modifier) and Dexterity 16 (+3 modifier) is flat-footed in the first round of combat and so has an AC of 10 (normally 13) and a CMD of 12 (normally 15). If the character is then struck by a spell that imposes a -2 Dexterity penalty before he has his action (i.e. he is also still flatfooted) is his AC calculated as 9 (10 for being flat-footed -1 for the -2 Dex penalty) and his CMD calculated as 11 (12 for being flat-footed -1 for the -2 Dex penalty)?
It came up in another thread that errata had changed the Pinned condition in the following manner:
Am I right in taking this to mean the Pinned character is denied its Dexterity bonus to everything, i.e. Reflex Saves, Dex based Skills, AC, CMD, CMB (if have Agile Maneouvres or character is Tiny or smaller) etc? Or should it actually read as "denied its Dexterity bonus to AC."?
Green Ronin have just kicked off a Kickstarter for the "third" version of Freeport City of Adventure (if you count the systemless Pirates Guide to Freeport as the second). This one will be bigger than ever and full colour, however it will not be systemless again, but rather statted up specifically for Pathfinder RPG. I am not convinced tying into a single system again is a good idea and will be passing on this Kickstarter (unless by some miracle they do a stretch goal of a systemless version, or even a 3.5 version!) I bought the PF Freeport Companion in case it went out of print and it got to the point I couldn't find 3.5 players, but with this coming out I think I might need to quickly Ebay it (I will keep the 3.5, Savage Worlds, 4e and M&M2e companions though and look forward greatly to the FATE companion!) What does everyone think?
I have just noticed that the online Prestige point total for my main PFS character (Grelow Harnson, Half-Orc Druid 4, #4025-2) is stated as being 25. However, from my Chronicle Sheets that total is 26. I have managed to reconcile the difference and it is because I originally played two Season Zero scenarios with Grelow as a 3.5 character (for which he gained 1 prestige for each scenario, so a total of 2). When I converted him to Pathfinder RPG rules, the Season 1 Guide to PFS stated that "all characters will need to adjust their current PA total
So, my question is, does it really matter that the online Prestige Tally is 1 short? If so, is there a way to adjust that tally? I believe that the Chronicle Sheets are considered to take precedent over the online reporting - is that correct?
For anyone interested in the Smallville and Supernatural RPGs by Margaret Weis Productions you should be aware that the licences have come to an end. In terms of PDFs this means that you will no longer be able to purchase them after 28th February 2013 (i.e. the end of the month). I have tweeted DriveThruRPG to see if we can still download PDFs already purchased after that date (I got some in charity bundles and although I think I downloaded them, I am not 100% sure as I don't play either game). In light of the hoo-ha surrounding WotC pulling sale of their PDFs I thought it best to spread the word so people get fair warning.
Dungeons & Dragons PDFs are back on sale! www.dndclassics.com Its basically a filter for DriveThruRPG.com / RPGnow.com so if you made any previous purchases they should all tie in. Hopefully the catalogue will be building over time back to what it once was. I have already made purchases of Basic, 3.5 and 4e PDFs :) <Does happy dance>
I am seeking roleplaying gamers to potentially game in Wolverhampton on a weekly basis on a week night (likely Wednesday or Thursday but its open for discussion). Participation would be on a campaign by campaign basis (so no one has to play in a campaign, setting or system they don't want to) and I tend to prefer campaigns that last around 6 months of real time (though am open to longer campaigns if people want). My primary game of interest is Dungeons & Dragons, both 3.5 and 4th editions (I am also playtesting D&D Next) with the Eberron, Dark Sun and Freeport settings; so I am mainly hoping to meet players willing to play in, or GM, those systems and settings. However, I am interested in playing / running short campaigns in other systems as well if people are interested including: FATE (Starblazer Adventures, Legends of Anglerre, Kerberos Club)
I would prefer to meet any prospective players for a drink (pub or cafe) and chat first to see if we get on and share a similar playstyle. Even if you're not into D&D but would be up for one of the other games listed above I would be interested to meet so I can potentially get in touch if and when I run one of those games. If you're interested please reply on this forum thread or PM me. I am also a co-organiser of the West Midlands Roleplayers and Gaming Meetup Group so if you want you can join and RSVP to any of my meetups there too. Cheers! Grant Erswell
Well, I actually sat down and read for a couple of hours last night and so finished reading the Dragon Empires Primer. So now, at long last, I am getting around to reading the D&D3.5 Monster Manual (I hadn't read this before because until switching to train travel to work my reading was limited to PDFs). So what great monsters should I look forward to reading about? What monsters may seem "meh!" but are actually very cool in play? And what are just plain dumb (but potentially funny)? Get me excited about reading the Monster Manual!
D&D 4e has a few things about it that I do not really like so I decided to write up some house rules to try to address these. These rules have not yet been playtested and I am still unsure about some of them, but I thought I would share them here for comment. Heroic Effort
Reasoning: This allows PCs to use an Action Point every encounter, rather than every other encounter but at a price. It also complements other house rules, i.e. Sustaining Powers and Wounds. Light Source Extended Radius
Source Bright Radius / Dim Radius
Reasoning: This smoothes the transition from bright light to full darkness. It also provides more opportunity for Low-light vision to be of benefit (only a candle creates an area of Dim light by default). Sustaining Powers
• At Will and Encounter Powers require a Move Action to sustain the Effect
The Effect of the power can be sustained until the end of the encounter or for 5 minutes, whichever comes first. If the Target of the power’s Effect is a single character or item then that Target cannot be changed while the power is sustained. The Target must remain within the Range of the power; if the Target leaves the Range of the power then the Effect ends, e.g. if the power has a Melee Touch Range, then the character sustaining the power must keep touching the Target in order to sustain the Effect. If the Effect of the power has the potential to affect several Targets within a Blast or Burst, then the Effect continues to affect all Targets who remain within the Blast or Burst. Unless the Effect is a Zone, the Blast or Burst remains within range of the user of the power.
Reasoning: Powers seem to have been designed with a focus on how they will be used in a combat encounter, thus their effects are measured in short durations so as to avoid “instant wins”. However, this limits their usefulness outside of combat; this rule aims to rectify that somewhat. The Action Point requirement means only one Effect can be sustained per encounter, and likely only every other encounter due to the rate at which Action Points are earned. The action cost means that for At Will and Encounter powers the player must choose between moving or attacking, and with Daily powers the choice is between sustaining the effect or attacking; this is hoped to balance the extra combat benefits sustaining such Effects will bring. Concern - certain effects may make no sense to be sustained in this manner and I wonder whether I should exclude triggered effects, but this would then exclude Displacement which is actually a power I could envision being sustained. This is the one house rule I am beginning to consider dumping and accepting that certain powers like Spiderclimb are of much more limited use in 4e. Wounds
A Wound can represent a physical injury such as fractured ribs or a bleeding head wound, or it can represent a mental impairment such as a stifling loss of confidence, a temporary phobia or even hallucinations. The difference is purely descriptive; Wounds work in the same manner whether they are physical or mental. The exact nature of the Wound is determined by the player of the character who has suffered the injury and an appropriate description should be recorded against the Wound. The description should relate to the cause of the damage that resulted in the Wound e.g. an appropriate Wound resulting from a Wailing Ghost’s (MM p117) Death’s Visage power would be “A crippling fear of death”. Effects of Wounds
Wound Effect
Wounds & Healing
In order to recover from a Wound a character must begin an Extended Rest with full Hit Points. At the end of this Extended Rest (and after Healing Surges, less any Wounds, are restored) one Wound can be removed. Reasoning: This rule allows for more gritty adventures where the consequences of an encounter last beyond an Extended Rest; this is especially pertinent for campaigns where combat is unlikely to occur more than once a day. This rule both reduces the ability to survive further encounters (by reducing Healing Surges) and also provides consequences in combat at appropriately dramatic moments without requiring constant penalties to be tracked. * * * One issue I still have no house rules for are Saves for things where Strength or Dexterity should have some effect on ending the effect, e.g. maybe make an Acrobatics check to prevent being pushed over a cliff rather than a simple Save, my only issue is determining the DC. Still thinking about this.
Although I appreciate 4e as a game, and have even run a campaign of it, I had my issues with it and believed that I still preferred 3.5. However my recent experiences of running the 3.5 Freeport Trilogy and having to GM pre-written NPCs I found myself longing for the ease of use of 4e's NPC stat blocks. And although I dislike house ruling things (adding in official optional rules I am fine with) I decided to try to put together a few house rules to patch the things I didn't like about 4e (you may have seen my threads on Lingering Wounds etc). And now that I have put together a list of house rules and optional rules and material (from Dragon magazine) to use I find I am excited about GMing some 4e again and trying out some of these rules. Indeed I am so enthused I bought Adventurer's Vault off Ebay (flagged up following reading of the Alchemist Theme from Dragon). And yet funnily, I am also still looking forward to D&D Next. I also am curious about running 3.5 campaigns where I create the NPCs and so am more intimately aware of their capabilities and spell choices. I hope that such games will run smoother. D&D seems to be that odd game in my collection where I am actively enthused about multiple editions of the same game at the same time - something that has not happened before (normally I move on to the next edition and leave the old behind, or don't bother to upgrade). I guess its because each edition 3.5, 4e and Next seem to be quite different in the mechanics whilst still retaining a familiar central core of rules (the d20 mechanics, abilities, classes etc) and so all interest me on a mechanical level and offer different things. So hats off to WotC for producing a game that has done something no other game has managed to do!
One thing I don't really like about D&D 4e is the fact that with an Extended Rest all PCs recover all their Hit Points and all their Healing Surges. In my Eberron campaign the PCs normally only faced a single combat per day (or couple of days) and so they always started fresh. There was no way I could grind them down over time so that they may enter the final confrontation wounded and needing to work smart to finish things quick. It also meant that if death was going to be a real threat from combat, that threat needed to be via a single encounter, which was quite a balancing act. So, I am looking to either discover an optional rule (perhaps from a WotC book, or an Unearthed Arcana article I missed on DDI) or make one up myself. The sort of thing I was looking for was if a PC takes an amount of damage in a single blow that equals or exceeds a threshold (Healing Surge Value, Fortitude Defense score etc) then the PC takes a Wound. The effects of that wound would be that they recover 1 (or maybe 2) less Healing Surges following an extended rest. I am not sure whether it would also be interesting, or just too much hassle, to have each wound also apply a penalty, either an across the board -1 to attacks, defences, skill and ability checks, a -1 to d20 rolls (incuding Saves and Death Saving Throws), or perhaps a selective penalty to defenses (-1 to Reflex to describe a blow to an arm or leg, -1 to Will for a blow to the head etc). I am not sure how Wounds would be recovered, perhaps 1 Wound per Extended Rest that you begin without suffering any HP damage? This way if you end a day with no surges, at least some HP damage and a Wound, you would not be recovering that would that night. I did also consider whether an Extended Rest should not recover all HP, just Healing SUrges, so if you had HP damage and no surges before the Extended Rest you may need to spend some of the newly recovered surges immediately following an Extended Rest to recover your HP. This would mean you start the next day with less Surges, but if you go a day without injury you will be able to recover completely. So pointers to existing rules? Any advice on what the Wound Threshold should be equal to? Should a Wound impose any penalties? Is this even a good idea? BTW The above has been greatly influenced by Earthdawn for those familiar with that system. NOTE: I have posted this over on RPG.net too so if you have already posted there you don't need to post here too.
Its funny, I am not the biggest fan of D&D 4e preferring 3.5, also D&D Next has just been announced, and yet I found myself yesterday ordering the D&D 4e Dark Sun books from Amazon. I had heard of Dark Sun previously but no mention of it grabbed me, however recently I saw some posts and photos from a group in my Meetup group who have been playing 4e Dark Sun and something piqued my interest. I started reading a few reviews and suddenly I was grabbed! Its a harsh sword and sorcery setting with city states rather than nations, rulers who use forbidden magic, and somewhere the gods have forsaken and where magic items are very, very rare! Cool! No setting since Eberron has grabbed me this much (not Glorantha, Anglerre, Spinward Marches, Mars or Golarion) - Dark Sun makes me want to play possibly in spite of the game system, whereas most other settings I will play because I like the system. So, I have bought the books and am awaiting their arrival. Has my order been made in haste? Will I be happy with my purchase? Is Dark Sun just that great of a setting?
Okay I know that if I GM a higher level scenario e.g. 3 to 7 and I don't have a character in that range yet that I can hold onto the GM reward Chronicle sheet and apply it to my character when they do reach level 3. However, what about GM reward Chronicles that could be applied to your current character now, but you want to postpone so that you could either keep playing current level, or because you want to apply GM Chronicles in a different order than the chronilogical order in which they were earned. The situation I have is that I just ran two Level 1 to 5 scenarios at Conceptionm 2012. I applied the GM reward Chronicles to a character I have not yet created (as my character died in a scenario the previous day). However, I have been asked to run some PFS for a local group and thought it would be a good idea to start with the First Steps trilogy. However as the First Steps scenarios are only for Level 1 characters, if I applied my two con Chronicles to my new character first, I could only apply ne of the First STeps Chronicles to the character before he hits level 2 and becomes ineligable for the other First Steps Chronicles. So in summary, assuming I do not play my new character until after I have run the First Steps scenarios, can I apply the Chronicles in the following order:
Even though I GMed them (and thus earned the chronicles in the following order)?
This is a bit of a rant so apologies in advance! :) Paizo seem to be going from strength to strength with the Pathfinder RPG and the Golarion setting, and they seem to be expanding in more and more ways doing new cool stuff (painted minis, cardboard minis, gamesmastery cards, an MMO, comics, novels etc). The Pathfinder Society organised play is extremely popular with conventions specifically for them (PaizoCon UK here) and many tables running at other conventions. The books look great, full colour, glossy pages, complemented by good pricing on PDFs. The map packs and flip mats complement the scenarios and adventures. So with all this going on I really wish I could fully embrace Pathfinder and Golarion and love it. I want to be part of that popular community (as after all RPGs are games that require other people to play), and I want all the cool tools to inspire me when I am not playing. Alas, I find I cannot embrace Pathfinder as I would wish. First off I am still a bit bitter that Pathfinder RPG has helped to make D&D 3.5 games harder to find, especially at conventions. I look at the Pathfinder rules and despite liking some of the improvements I can't help wince when I see stuff that are steps backwards from 3.5, things that are more vague or unclear now, things that are less intuitive now, and things that didn't address the real problem about an issue and instead made other things worse. I look at the Golarion setting and although it is growing on me I still see the collection of mini settings, the too close to Earth like cultures that breaks my sense of immersion. I look at the collection of sourcebooks and see the setting bloat and that it has spread across both 3.5 and Pathfinder material - there is no way I could catch up and get to know this whole world. I don't know, sometimes I wish I could just abandon 3.x completely and be happy just pursuing that other love of a gaming system FATE. However I like my the 3.5 system too much and so will continue to make do with Pathfinder if its the closest I can get to it - the community is largely inviting (snipes at 4e aside) and I am trying to be a part of it. Anyway, well done Paizo, I envy the success you have had with Pathfinder, I just wish your efforts could have been done under the official D&D brand and Eberron was the setting of choice for your organised play.
Okay this may sound like an odd question but I am very short on shelf space and will likely be setting some Shadowrun books to make a bit more space, so... Now that I am considering GMing PFS I am considering buying hardcopies of some books I already have in PDF (that and the fact that the Inner Sea World Guide is absolutely horrendously slow to render in PDF on my laptop). So what is the width of the spines of the following books / items? I.e. how much space would I need on my shelf to fit these all in? GM Screen
I enjoy playing in PFS games but know that it can be hard to get into scenarios at some of the conventions I attend, so I am thinking about offering to GM some scenarios. I GMed PFS during Season Zero when it was run under the D&D 3.5 rules but haven't run PFS since its move to the PF RPG rules. The reason is that I haven't read the PF RPG rule book, and honestly can't see myself doing so. I know the 3.5 rules fairly well and I have read the bits of PF RPG I need to play my characters, but because of this I am not aware of all the changes PF RPG made. For example I initially did not realise the Heal skill can be used to heal some Hit Points now via "Treat Deadly Wounds", or that every class can now find traps regardless of DC and the Trapfinding class ability just provides a bonus to do so. The point is there may be more significant rules changes out there that I am not aware of and if I were to GM would potentially rule incorrectly in line with 3.5 rather than PF RPG. So, if you sat down at a table to play PFS and the GM says up front: "Just so you know, I am familiar with D&D3.5 but haven't completely read the Pathfinder RPG, so I may make a few wrong rules calls. If its really important to the scenario, please call me on it. However if it is not so important, please let it got for the moment and inform me after the session or in a break, okay?" How would you react? Would you be annoyed that your GM is not competent enough? Your thoughts and feedback would be welcomed!
I was wondering whether anyone has used the concept of Reservce Points from Unearthed Arcana in either their D&D 3.5 game or Pathfinder RPG game, if so how did it go? The idea is you have an number of reserve points equal to your max hit points, and these can be used to recover from HP damage by transferring from reserve points to HP at a rate of 1 per minute. It effectively gives a PC twice as many HP per day, but with the normal maximum HP for any particular fight.
Apologies if this has been asked before, but I wonder if anyone could enlighten me as to what the letter codes for scenarios mean? What I mean by that is what does the D stand for in D0: Hollows Last Hope and D1: Crown of the Kobold King? Is it an indication of a linked set of scenarios, the location in which they take place etc? Is there a key to what the letters stand for?
Mongoose have relinquished the RuneQuest and Glorantha licences but are keeping the MRQII system and rebranding it now as Legend (not Wayfarer as previously intended). Planet Mongoose Blog Announcement I am actually really excited about this new game. They will have learnt a few lessons from MRQII and so will likely clarify some of the sticking points. Also it will be digest sized, which I love! The name "Legend" allows for some cool supplement titles too in the vein of "X of Legend", e.g. Monsters of Legends, Arms of Legends, Vikings of Legend, and perhaps Heroes of Legend, Adventures of Legend etc :) And it will be an open system, presumaby released under the OGL with the whole of the core line OGC apparently. Excellent. Is anyone else excited about this?
Well last night we finished the first D&D 4th edition campaign I have run. In total it was about 26 sessions including one session to complete character creation and was set in Eberron. The campaign concept was created collaboratively with the players over a forum prior to the game and then character concepts were provided that then allowed me to write scenarios tailored around their backgrounds and motivations. It was a great mix of roleplaying stuff - battles, investigation, diplomacy, exploration and puzzle solving. I feel I have definately confirmed that D&D 4th edition is a full roleplaying game able to support all that - indeed we had a cuple of sessions with absolutely no combat, just in character roleplaying and skill checks & challenges. The campaign concept was that the PCs would be working for the dragonmarked house Orien as trouble shooters this allowed for me to start things by assigning missions, but allowed leaway to evolve into personal quests. It also gave them easy access to transport to get across Khorvaire and see what Eberron has to offer. The characters were: Lefty - A warforged Monk whose construction was odd in that it was all backwards - left threaded screws etc. He was searching for his creator. Tyr - A changeling Bard who had worked for Karrnath during the Last War and had inflitrated Thrane and worked under a number of guises to sabotage their war efforts and also frame senior members of the curch for crimes. Lakashtari - A kalashtar Paladin wishing to protect his people from the predations of the Quori. Just Jo - A Human Rogue and Dragonmarked bastard child of House Orien, recently discovered he was being inducted into the House. A while back in another thread I stated that due to how busy I am I actually find published scenarios don't work for me, that due to being a slow reader I can write my own stuff quicker. It was queried how I could write 90 pages of campaign stuff quicker than I could read it and my reply was that I didn't! And I can now show you what I mean because I have uploaded my campaign notes for my players (and anyone else interested) to review - all 12 pages of them!
I have just been re-reading my PF Gazateer and it indicates that the in game year will increment along with the real world year, i.e. when the Gazateer was produced in 2008 the in game year was 4708 AR, and now in 2011 the in game year should be 4711 AR. So presumably some events will occur in game that will progress the game world - and I am curious how much impact that has had so far and how that relates to Adventure Paths and Pathfinder Society. For example, are the events in certain APs now assumed to have happened? Are any of those events particularly world changing (or at least nation changing)? Is there even much of a metaplot in Golarion?
I attended the Conception convention in the UK this last weekend and took the opportunity to get back into playing PFS (I dropped out after GMing in season 0). One thing I noticed was that all of the scenarios I played and many that I observed overran the 4 hour time slot for each game. Some overran by just 20 minutes or so (but with only an hour between slots that is significant) and others overran by more and had to be "called" - i.e. we didn't properly finish the scenario. I wonder therefore whether PFS scenarios should perhaps be a little more simpler in their plotting to allow completion in the appropriate amount of time for a convention slot (in the UK at least slots are 4 hours). One scenario I played and observed a second group play (they were playing in my lodge) seemed to have about 4 or 5 combats in addition to some social and investigative scenes. Way too much for a con slot. Perhaps scenarios could be rated for how long they may take to run, perhaps by GMs who have actually run it, at least that way certain long scenarios could be avoided for cons, or tabled for a double slot. Also, I know it may be controversal, but I sometimes think the faction missions add an extra layer of plot that isn't really needed and detracts from the time that can be given to the main plot itself. Taking into account initial introductions, paperwork at the end, and comfort breaks, a con slot only really provides a little over 3 hours of actual play time. With challenging combats lasting 45 to 60 minutes it seems that you should only be looking to have two such combats per scenario, maybe 3 if two of them are time limited (e.g. city watch turn up after 3 rounds and arrest everyone, the PCs must hold the line for only 3 rounds while the NPCs get to safety etc). What does everyone else think? Bearing in mind 80% of my PFS play will be at cons, this is a significant issue for me.
I was wondering whether there are any Pathfinder RPG GMs in the West Midlands area of the UK who would be willing to run Pathfinder Society games. Specifically, games in the Telford, Wolverhampton and / or Birmingham areas? I am co-organiser of the West Midlands Roleplaying and Gaming Meetup Group and am interested in try to get some semi regular PFS games going, perhaps monthly, but am in need of GMs. For more information see here:
I am just converting my Season Zero PFS character to PF RPG rules. The character in question is a Druid and in season zero it was assumed I had taught him his maximum number of tricks (6 for Intelligence 2 and 1 bonus trick). However, reading the latest PFS Organised Play Guidelines it seems that my animal companion cannot start with any tricks, and that I can only attempt to teach him one trick at the end of each scenario. First of all, is this correct? Are there any special rules for Animal Companions (a class feature) as opposed to just buying animals? Secondly, if this is the case, then as I am converting my character with two scenarios under his belt can I theoretically get my first GM to oversee 3 training rolls (to account for the 3 scenarios I would have played - two Season 0 and the first PF RPG scenario I play)? Thirdly, am I allowed to Take 10 on training rolls. When I level up I will have +1 Cha, 2 ranks in skill, +3 class bonus, +4 for Link with Animal Companion. This is a total +10 modifier and so if I can take 10 I can teach any trick without fail.
I GMed more than played during Season Zero of PFS, and so only actually managed to play 2 sessions with my character Grelow Harnson. When PFS moved onto using PF RPG I wasn't sure whether I would play PFS again, and even if I did, as my character hadn't levelled I thought I would just have to start from scratch anyway - so I binned my character sheet and chronicle sheets. Now however I have decided to re-join PFS for play only and have started to read the new organised play guidelines (I haven't read it all yet as it is quite a few pages in length, I am a slow reader and have two other RPG books on the go at the moment as well!) I have got far enough in my reading to notice that my two Season Zero scenarios would have actually given some benefit - 750 GP to spend on gear, a 375 GP max limit on a single item, adjusted prestige and perhaps more importantly I would have 2 XP and be only a single scenario away from reaching level 3. So, my question is: Is there a way I can still gain the benefit of the two Season Zero scenarios even though I no longer have the Chronicle sheets? The sessions have been recorded on the site: Date:Sat, Jul 11, 2009
Date:Sat, Jul 11, 2009
Unfortunately I have also just noticed that the first scenario was actually credited to my first character slot 4025-1 (one I never played) rather than my second character slot 4025-2 (Grelow Harnson). If Wintergreen reads this - would you be able to help out?
Okay, I am going to be making my PFS character and an odd thought occured to me... Some spells and abilities cause you to take an ability penalty for a limited amount of time. While in effect, these penalties function just like ability damage, but they cannot cause you to fall unconscious or die. So if my character takes a penalty to an Ability it is in effect just as if my character had taken Ability damage. Some feats have prerequisites. Your character must have the indicated ability score, class feature, feat, skill, base attack bonus, or other quality designated in order to select or use that feat. [...] A character can’t use a feat if he loses a prerequisite, but he does not lose the feat itself. So if a penalty to an Ability causes it to be less than needed to meet a pre-requisite for a Feat, I assume my character lose access to that feat - is this correct? If so, then I might have a problem...
So if my character had a Dexterity less than 17, would he lose access to the Improved Grapple feat as soon as he became grappled (as his effective Dexterity would now be below the pre-requisite 13)? Please say I am wrong!!!!!!! My only defense against such a ruling would be:
Diseases, poisons, spells, and other abilities can all deal damage directly to your ability scores. This damage does not actually reduce an ability, but it does apply a penalty to the skills and statistics that are based on that ability.
I have just started readingthe PFS organised play guide and noticed that it states that it is assumed that all players (not just GMs) will own a copy of Pathfinder Chronicles: Seekers of Secrets — A Guide to the Pathfinder Society as well as the Pathfinder RPG core rulebook. I had been planning on getting this anyway, but I am cuurious why this supplement is considered so important for every player? Surely the rules of playing PFS are in the organised play guide, right? Are there special rules I need to know about before playing PFS? I doubt I will have time to read this before my next con and so wonder whether I should not bother trying to get into a PFS game there until I have it. I am really puzzled about what this volume could contain that is so important - is it in game info a PFS character should know? I had intended on only getting this in PDF format, but if it is so important does it get referenced a lot in play and thus worth getting in hardcopy too? Thanks in advance for your answers.
I would like to suggest that Paizo introduce PDF Bundles and PDF Subscriptions that include a discount for those of us who find shipping costs of physical product too high and / or simply don't have the shelf space to accomodate hardcopies. Also for those who simply just prefer PDF only. For example Bundle 1 could be the 3.5 PF Campaign Setting Books:
These would cost $181.88, but a 50% discount may encourage someone to purchase all these (as opposed to just cherry picking the ones they want and spending less overall). I would also suggest a PDF subscription for each of the lines (Campaign, Companions, APs), maybe have the bundles contain everything in those lnes up to the point you launch the subscription offer. Would this be a possibility?
Okay, I am getting back into PF so that I can play PFS. I plan at some point to read the PF RPG core rules cover to cover - but that won't happen for a while. So until then I will be reading just the rules I need for my character but I am interested to hear what changes Pathfinder made to 3.5 that tripped you up or that you didn't realise straight away. E.g. I have only just realised Swim doesn't seem to suffer double the normal Armour Class Penalty like it did in 3.5. So what things should I keep an eye out for?
I thought I might re-post this here after getting some feedback on rpg.net. I finally got round to putting together my list of optional rules for 3.5 to mimic the best bits of Pathfinder RPG and 4e. So here it is so far: Optional Rules Implemented
Recommended Options
Recommended Class Options
Recommended Feats
So what other things do you like about PF and 4e that you think could be implemented in 3.5 (in some format) by using officially published optional rules, feats, class variants etc?
Is Table 8-6 Armor Class Modifiers (on page 195) in error? It states that when a target is grappling (but the attacker is not) the target loses any Dexterity Bonus to AC. This loss of Dex to AC is not stated in the Grappled condition, instead you lose 4 points off Dex (and so AC will be at -2 effectively unless your Dex exceeded the Max Dex Bonus to AC for your armour already). So is this an error (likely a holdover from 3.5 where grappling did mean you lose Dex bonus to AC against anyone you aren't grappling? Also, the GM screen states that Pinned is "As grappled, except creature is flat-footed, takes a –4 penalty to AC, and can only take verbal or mental actions (except checks made to escape)." Is this an error too, as it would imply that the -4 Dexterity from Grappling still applies when Pinned, when per the Pinned condition in the core book (page 568) it does not mention a dex penalty and explicitly says Pinned does not stack with Grappled. So for characters with Dex of 13 or less, when Pinned does their AC include the Dex penalty or not (as if the -4 Dex does still apply Dex modifier would be a negative for anyone with Dex of 13 or less)? Thanks!
Warning! This is a rambling post, apologies in advance! Many of you will know me as someone who is critical of the Pathfinder RPG and even as someone who can get passive / aggressive about it. However I am taking another look at the game based in no small part on the good word of mouth the Advanced Players Guide is getting (see my other thread about that here). I must admit I also miss playing in 3.x games at conventions - whilst I have played some Living Forgotten Realms using 4e it isn't always my cup of tea, I don't like the Realms as a setting and we always had to contrive reasons complete strangers would adventure together. Basically, despite Golarion not being my preferred setting (Eberron is), it isn't a bad setting and I prefer it to FR, and so I am thinking about taking a serious crack at getting into the PF RPG so that I can once again play in the Pathfinder Society at conventions. I played and GMed PFS in season zero quite a bit, both locally and at cons, but dropped out when it moved to Season 1 and the PF RPG. So, I think I am going to read the Pathfinder RPG cover to cover and likely buy at least the PDFs of the Bestiary and the APG, but I have a few concerns that I hope some of you guys and gals may be able to help me overcome. Firstly, I don't want to give up 3.5 - I just bought a load of 3.5 books and still want to run Eberron. I worry that I may really like Pathdfinder and that I will then feel that I have wasted my investment on the 3.5 stuff and that I would have to give up on Eberron because I hate things not quite "fitting" perfectly. Interestingly, I don't feel this way about 4e as it is different enough that I can see me running games in both 4e and 3.5 because they offer different things and both suppoty Eberron. But I can't see me running both 3.5 and PF because they are so similar. So is my investment of time (money is not so much an issue) in PF going to be worth it just for PFS play? PFS does seem quite popular at UK conventions, and there is PaizoCon UK just down the road from me (I went the first time when it was still using 3.5) but didn't go this year partly because it was Pathfinder and partly because it was so close to Continuum. Is PF going to be worth the time for what may amount to 6 to 8 games a year? Sometimes I wish I had never got into Eberron and instead got into Freeport as my preferred setting, that way I could run it using any bloody system without any fudging or conversion, I would simply buy the appropriate companions (I have d20 Freeport Companion, Savage Worlds Companion, M&M "companion" aka Warriors and Warlocks, and there are now 4e and PF companions) Secondly, if I do get into PF I worry that my rules knowledge of 3.5 will suffer as I will get the two mixed up, even runnig 4e I sometimes bring in 3.5 rules by mistake - and PF is even more similar! Thirdly, if I get into PF I worry that I may inadvertantly encourage other players near me to try the system out. While that may be a good thing, my big worry is that they may then covert over from 3.5 to PF and I will lose out on 3.5 players and 3.5 GMs. This issue is actally why I have such an issue with PF RPG - its the idea that it takes away the player network for 3.5; a game I still want to play. Indeed, I left my last group of several years partly because they were converting to PF. Fourthly, PF RPG seems well tied to Golarion as a setting, and while I have the original Gazateer and a couple of AP player guides, I doubt I will be pursuing the setting much (I still have Eberron to explore). Will this affect my enjoyment of the PF RPG? Will I miss out on some of the community spirit because of it? Fifthly, I have some issues with the changes PF made which makes me think should I just play Living Traveller at cons and house rule my 3.5 because for every good change I think of, there are some steps back: Grapple is one of them, and though I have read through the rules again and think I can get my head around them, I still prefer the 3.5 rules. Splitting out the Improved Disarm, Improved Grapple, Improved Trips feats. Indeed I think part of my hostility to PF was because I was all psyched up to play a Fighter in a mate's game with Improved Trip and Improved Disarm, only to find those feats were nerfed in Beta. Ironically, when most people were praising how PF makes Fighters better to play I was pissed off about the changes. Some introduced ambiguity and consequences of changes - using the term Flat Footed more frequently when I think the intention was just to mean "Lose Dex Bonus to AC", unlimited Cantrips without explicitly spelling out what a Cantrip is (see threads about Infinite Magic Missiles), Ability to demoralise for more than one round and then having to make FAQ changes to avoid Fear conditions from demoralise stacking etc. Cleric channelling - a change I actually originally liked but found later to make clerics even more essential than before, and could lead to an issue I have with 4e - PCs starting each day at full hitpoints and not being able to grind them down over a series of days (because if a cleric has Channels left at the end of the day there is no incentive not to just spam them on healing the team). Are these valid concerns? Are they valid only with certain playstyles (e.g. you can avoid cleric spam healing by ensuring at least two combat enounters a day)? Summary, aka TL;DR?
I guess I am looking for advice, experience and help to reassure me that PF RPG is a game that is worth pursuing and doing so won't make me feel I have wasted my time and money on 3.5, and indeed it would be a worthwhile addition to pursue alongside 3.5.
As many of you may know (because I have a stick up my arse about it:) I stuck with D&D3.5 rather than convert to Pathfinder. However, I am taking another look at it, in no small part because the Advanced Players Guide has been getting such good word of mouth. I was in my F(not so L)GS today and actually looked at a copy and noticed that on the back it had the 3.5 OGL Compatible logo. So I was wondering, would a purchase of the PDF (only $9.99) likely be worth it to use as a supplement in a 3.5 game? Are the class options open enough that they can slot seamlessly straight into a 3.5 game? Or is there going to be some level of conversion (skills names and ranks, feat names etc)? Or are some of its contents actually going to be no use because they are based on solely Pathfinder stuff (e.g. Sorcerer Bloodlines, Cleric Channelling etc). Has anyone tried using the APG material in a 3.5 game?
Apparently the Pathfinder Games Mastery Guide includes rules for chases. Could someone give me an overview of what these rules are like? How many pages do they take up? Are they at all like the OGC chase rules as seen in Spycraft 1e and M&M 2e's Masterminds Manual? Are they geared at chases on foot, on mounts, in vehicles or all of these? Do the rules introduce any new Stats for vehicles etc? Do the rules take into account different base speeds for characters and / or the Run feat? How complicated are the rules? Are the rules Open Game Content? Any experiences of using the chase rules would be welcomed. Cheers!
I have both the PDF and hardcopy of this book now (thanks to pre-ordering direct from Cubicle 7) and once I get a chance to read it I will likely try to see how well it could run a campaign in the Eberron setting. I love FATE for how easy it can be to convert stuff - Aspects allow such conversions without any number crunching, but still have a mechanical impact. Combined with Starblazer Adventures these two books could probably cover most types of settings. Anyone else planning on getting this? If so what are you hoping to use it for?
Is there anyway for a Cleric to Channel as a Move Action rather than a Standard action? Are there any Feats that allow this? Is there anything from 3.5 that allows Turn Undead as a Move Action? Last night for a combat that lasted less than 3 rounds (and in whhich my cleric got to act twice) I "had" to Channel twice, which meant I couldn't do much else. I don't begrudge this (well maybe a little :) but I would like to find a way to still heal the party but also contribute and shine in a battle. I have thought about getting Sacred Healing and Sacred Purification from the 3.5 PHB2, Sacred Purification allows as Swift action a limited form of channeling (only d8+Cha mod) that also damages undead (something that would have been useful last night). Apart from Sacred Purification from 3.5, if there is nothing else, what do you think would be a fair Feat to allow Channelling as a Move Action? Some suggestions are below: Quick Channelling
Some suggested restrictions.... 1) Channelling as a Move Action requires expenditure of 2 Channelling uses. The cleric may still channel as a Standard action if they desire for the usual single use cost. 2) A cleric cannot Channel as a Move action and then also Channel as a Standard Action in the same round. 3) Channelling as a Move Action only heals / inflicts half the number of Hit Points than usual (round down), thus a 7th level cleric normally able to channel for 4d6 would channel for 4d6 divided by two. Should all 3 restrictions apply, just 1 & 2? Or just 1? This is more of an exercise in thought as I don't like to use homebrew stuff, but thoughts are appreciated.
I was wondering whether there was any chance of producing a PDF of the core rules stripped of all art that wasn't directly referenced in the text (i.e. keep diagrams to explain combat etc)? Or even just one stripped of the page borders and background images (as often most pages don't have art other than this)? I am using the Pathfinder PDF on my Eee PC 901 and it can take a while to render pages. I have tried to use it without showing large images, but the page border images are still present and the text is shown on a grey background in Adobe Reader rather than white :( Also some of the text is obscured by what would have been transparent sections of an image (e.g. the grey cleric image placeholder on page 39 obscures quite a bit of text in the left hand column). So, any chance? Pretty please? :)
I am a big fan of Sovelior Sage for the 3.5 D&D ruleset and use it alot (especially as the PDFs for the PHB, DMG and MM were never released by WotC). One of the big pluses was that it was available to download and use offline - so you didn't need a web connection to make use of it. I was wondering whether a downloadable version of the PRD could be produced for much the same reason. Also, I think it would be great to have some more direct links to subsections of the pages - I was struggling to find the Wizard Cantrips in the Spell List page the other day without having to use the Find in my web browser (ditto for grappling etc). I ask a lot I know :) On a sort of related note - is the PF RPG pdf hyperlinked internally at all? E.g. able to click on a spell name in the spell list and be taken to the page where that spell is detailed? Cheers!
I have just read the Pathfinder RPG Grappling rules and I actually find them in IMHO as complicated as the 3.5 rules (not that I find thge 3.5 rules overly complicated). Does anyone else think this? For example: Tracking who is winning
In 3.5 once you intiated a grapple you were both considered grappling - no need to track a winner or loser. Extra Modifiers to remember
Humanoid creatures without two free hands attempting to grapple a foe take a –4 penalty on the combat maneuver roll. 3.5 only worried about this if you actually tried to attack with a weapon whilst grappling, if you're simply grappling it didn't matter. Tracking when Dex Bonus to AC is lost
Recalculating AC and CMD (and possibly CMB)
Losing Grappler can make iterative attacks with a weapon!
However, a losing grappler can "Instead of attempting to break or reverse the grapple, you can take any action that requires only one hand to perform, such as cast a spell or make an attack with a light or one-handed weapon against any creature within your reach, including the creature that is grappling you". So an attack using a light weapon would actually be an attack roll, not a CMB roll and as such would not incur the -4 penalty. Also if they have iterative attacks, then presumably they could use a Full Round Action and make multiple attacks. So a Fighter Level 6 winning a grapple with a Fighter Level 6 could take a Standard Action to maintain the grapple and make a single CMB +1 attack roll against the opponent. Whilst the Fighter 6 who is losing could take a Full Round Action and make two attacks at (BAB + Str) and (BAB+Str-5) - equivalent to CMB and CMB-5. I can understand some changes - they make things simpler etc, but other things seem to have been added in which IMHO seem to add extra complication. As it is I am not sure which I consider simpler and as I am more familiar with the 3.5 version I prefer that at present.
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