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My current players are approaching the conclusion of Rivers Run Red. After they're done clearing Hargulka's Stronghold, I expect they'll return to their capital (they're 14 months into kingdom building) and find the destruction caused by the owlbear, then track it back to its lair for the big finale.

Problem is, their capital was built around Oleg's Trading Post, the owlbear lair as written is ~90 miles away, and they've dutifully explored almost the entire map except the bottom two rows. I'm struggling with how to explain how a Huge enraged monster traveled 90 miles (some of which is through developed/settled kingdom territory) to trash the capital and then traveled 90 miles back to its lair - but the kingdom leaders somehow managed to travel all the way back up to the capital (probably through some of the same hexes as the owlbear, given where they're built roads) and only discover or hear about it when they get back tot he capital.

I could move the owlbear lair closer to the capital, but it will beg the question of why they didn't find it during their previous exploration. I could have the owlbear attack a different town, but the only other settlement they currently have in their kingdom is around the Sootscale caverns/silver mine and it's only a few months old, e.g., not very big.

Thoughts/suggestions? Maybe I could I move it off the map to the east - outside the scope of their charter, but I'm sure that wouldn't stop them.

Thanks!

After completing Book Two, my PCs are now following up on some of the clues that will eventually point to Nyrissa (e.g., the dead unicorn, the ring of bestial friendship, Hargulka referencing "the Green Queen," the Dancing Lady referencing "the Queen of Forgotten Time"). This includes talking to some of the other fey they've befriended in the Stolen Lands: the pranksters, Melianse, Tiressia.

What might those fey know of Nyrissa and what she's been up to?

I know a spontaneous spellcaster can always use "spells per day" slots to cast lower level spells (e.g., using a 3rd-level slot to cast a 2nd-level spell), but can a spontaneous caster choose to fill a higher level "spells known" slot with a lower level spell? (e.g., using a 3rd-level "spells known" slot to learn a 2nd-level spell)?

The spell text says it doesn't "restore permanently drained ability score points" but it's silent on temporary damage. Seems odd that it wouldn't, given that it cures/removes almost everything else. Thoughts?

A bunch of old college buddies and I get together once a year for a long weekend of rolling dice. Last year, we finished a 5-year run through D&D 3.5 Red Hand of Doom, so this year we're switching to Pathfinder and starting a new campaign we're calling "Kingmaker: Half-Orcs Rule!" Only 5 of us have played Pathfinder with any regularity, so it's definitely not a group of optimizers.

I'm the DM and there are 8 either guys, though it's rare that all 8 can make it - so I'll likely have 6-8 players in any given year. I'll be leveraging the 6-player conversion (which is AWESOME) put together by the community here (which is ALSO awesome). If any folks out there have experience running or playing in a party that big, I'm thankful for any extra input on how to help it run smoothly and fun.

The other complication is that we collectively decided to make it an all half-orc party. Again, any experienced feedback on how to make that work would be great.

And, of course, there's the overarching question: is this a fun idea or a disaster waiting to happen - or both?

For example, does a life oracle need line of sight to create a bond with his Life Link (Su) ability?

Can you cast silence on a force effect, such as a spiritual weapon?

(I posted this in "Advice" last week - hoping for more feedback in here!)

Once a year, 8 college buddies and I get together for a long weekend to roll dice. I DM this group, and after 4 years, we're finally finishing up Red Hand of Doom (3.5E) this year. Next year we're planning to switch to Pathfinder and play one of the adventure paths - but which one?

Factors:
- The party will be 8 PCs (with a DM PC as needed), but figure we have 0-3 people unable to attend any given year. I know I'll have to put in some serious work scaling the AP as written.
- We all have 20+ years RPG experience. 5 of us play an online Pathfinder game regularly (Rise of the Runelords), but the others will be completely new to Pathfinder, and this may be the only time they roll dice all year.
- I'd prefer to limit to Core and APG, just to keep the options from overwhelming for the new folks, and to help keep the PF regulars from dominating the game with optimized builds.
- I'm inclined to start in the second book of whichever AP we choose, simply because spending a year or more at levels 1-3 will be frustrating for everybody. An option is to run L1-3 with the existing online group, then have the others join in starting in the second book.

RotR is out because many of us are already playing it. Kingmaker would be a blast with this large of a group, but I don't think it works when we're playing so infrequently. I've read through most of Serpent's Skull, but I'm not very familiar with the remaining APs.

Looking for some collective experience and wisdom here - thanks!

Once a year, 8 college buddies and I get together for a long weekend to roll dice. I DM this group, and after 4 years, we're finally finishing up Red Hand of Doom (3.5E) this year. Next year we're planning to switch to Pathfinder and play one of the adventure paths - but which one?

Factors:
- The party will be 8 PCs (with a DM PC as needed), but figure we have 0-3 people unable to attend any given year. I know I'll have to put in some serious work scaling the AP as written.
- We all have 20+ years RPG experience. 5 of us play an online Pathfinder game regularly (Rise of the Runelords), but the others will be completely new to Pathfinder, and this may be the only time they roll dice all year.
- I'd prefer to limit to Core and APG, just to keep the options from overwhelming for the new folks, and to help keep the PF regulars from dominating the game with optimized builds.
- I'm inclined to start in the second book of whichever AP we choose, simply because spending a year or more at levels 1-3 will be frustrating for everybody. An option is to run L1-3 with the existing online group, then have the others join in starting in the second book.

RotR is out because many of us are already playing it. Kingmaker would be a blast with this large of a group, but I don't think it works when we're playing so infrequently. I've read through most of Serpent's Skull, but I'm not very familiar with the remaining APs.

Looking for some collective experience and wisdom here - thanks!

Should the Enhanced Cures and/or Safe Curing revelations apply to cure spells used offensively against undead?

I'm planning to run a buddy through a solo run of the Serpent's Skull AP. We normally play pretty straightforward (e.g., he's currently running a group, including me, through Rise of the Runelords and we're playing Core Rulebook/APG with no archetypes), but since this will be a solo campaign, I'm amping it up: epic point buy, Core/APG/UM/UC and archetypes ok. I'll start him at level 2.

He's going to play a gestalt Ranger/Magus using both the staff magus and spellblade archetypes (I'm tweaking the black blade into a staff). I'm going to play a DM PC (we've done this plenty in our 20+ years of playing together, so no issues expected) to complement his abilities and fill in the gaps without overshadowing - probably also a 2nd-level epic point buy gestalt.

By my read, key lacking areas are healing/restorative magic, anti-undead, ranged attacks, and anti-trap skills. (Social skills will be handled more through roleplaying than ranks and dice.) I definitely don't want to overshadow him in melee, arcane spellcasting, or survival skills since those are his focus. And I want to minimize things to keep track of, so no familiars/mounts/animal companions/eidolons.

My random thoughts:
- oracle/alchemist (gnome pyro Flame oracle?)
- gunslinger/alchemist (gnome pyro again, with a rocket-launching musket?)
- gunslinger/cleric (my current front-runner)
- alchemist/rogue (tinker nerd)
- cleric/zen archer monk

Advice from the creative character-building crowd, including race-class combos I surely haven't thought of?

I know an alchemist can add formulae to his book as a wizard adds spells to his spellbook, but what about formulae that are essentially divine spells and would never be found in an arcane scroll or wizard's spellbook? Is the "one new formula per level" mechanic the only way for an alchemist to add, e.g., lesser restoration?

Does the rounds per day limit apply only the clairvoyance ability, or also the ability to see through fire/fog/smoke? I read it as the former, since there's no activation action listed (e.g., "As a swift action, you can...") as most of the other rounds per day revelations have. Thoughts?

I'm planning to run the Serpent's Skull AP with a single player in an online campaign (MapTool + Skype). He's playing a gestalt Staff Magus/Ranger with epic (25) point buy. I was thinking of starting him a 2nd level and seeing how it goes, modifying the encounters as needed. If that's not working, I give him a level boost and/or add a DMPC (either from the existing NPC set or someone new) to help cover his weaknesses (maybe an archer bard or cleric/rogue).

For those of you who have run/played SS, any advice on how to help make this work?

I'm planning to start running a new campaign with only one player - occasionally face-to-face, but mostly online using Skype video and MapTool. I'd like to at least start with a published adventure or path, but I know I'll have to modify quite a bit.

For background: we both have many years of playing/DMing experience (mostly in the same group) and our play styles are very compatible. When I DM, I often use a DMPC and it's never caused issues. We've successfully done solo stuff before, but just one-offs with established characters as part of larger campaigns. We played 3.5 lots and have played pathfinder for about a year - not beyond mid-levels yet. The player here is very focused on character concept and development (more fluff than crunch), though he enjoys a good fight as much as anyone and wants his characters to be effective.

Any advice on what adventure might work, how I'd have to tweak it, what PC classes work best solo, and whether I should include one or more DMPCs?

(I've also never used MapTool as a DM before, so I'll happily take any advice on that topic, too.)