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Val is appalled at the demon's killing of helpless prisoners, but he tries to remain cool. He steps forward, and draws a bead on the green leech. Using Desna's Fervor, his hands flash supernaturally fast to fetch more arrows...If the first hit(s) take it down, remaining hits go to Red leech
<---threat!!
Sorry all, I was delayed. Y'all done good without me so far...
No AOO as I had now out--but not even necessary! Taking +2 to hit/AC from BoF Val is about to sway away the annoying tiny demon, but it disappears under Tysi's barrage and he gives her a fist pump in thanks. He then locks eyes with the big demon. I know your kind's ways...AND YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE!! He points, and a greenish Ray fires out to strike the demon... Dimensional Anchor
I really hope that's enuff...
ROUND 1
DEMON!! You can't quell Desna's chaotic spirit with your foul magics!! Val gives the quasit a contemptuous glare as he steps back next to Hal. He is heedless of the beastie's AOO, trusting his armor...
...which does in fact turn the blow aside. The cleric grins fiercely at the demon. Let me show you how it's done... Cast Blessing of Fervor. Only one I'm not sure of is Ozak... Kal, get those swarms. I'll handle these little blighters (after I give Big Ugly a surprise). Everyone else..BRING THAT DEMON DOWN!!
<--finally the bot has mercy!! How DARE you accuse ME of blasphemy!! I am Desna's faithful servant and you SHALL know the truth!! Having moved closer to the new group, Val is near enough that the anger and righteous indignation in his eyes is clear...and they can almost feel the heat of the cleric's power...
ROUND 1 Val desperately attempts to dodge the beast...
And cannot. He's badly injured...and thinks this might be a way to convince the elves of their sincerity... In Elven he cries out DESNA'S BLESSING ON MY ALLIES!! as he channels to heal (excluding Bug Boy) being sure to Cather the elves in the "blast"
spread out!! he moves south toward the elves, hoping to convince them with words of healing failed
Val speaks respectfully in perfect Elven (having been raised by elves, he's quite comfortable...) General, I beseech you, reconsider. You know that your characterization of the Society is really a caricature; while there are those Pathfinders whose goal is treasure, as a whole we are a positive force in this world. I myself fought at the Siege of the Diamond City with many Society members, who saved many innocent lives while fighting back the demon scourge there at the onset of the Worldwound...problems. You also know that the Queen is honor-bound to return the favor of our Venture Captain. Is his request really so onerous that your reaction is entirely fair?
Varian Jeggare...isn't he the one who invented those scroll "shuffle-books" that he's so fond of? The newcomer wasn't particularly stealthy, but simply walked in as the Master of Spells had started his spiel so you didn't notice him. A human, in weather worn blues-and-greens, and a twinkle in his eye. He wears the Starknife of Desna over a brilliant silvery breastplate (mithral). He has a very serviceable bow slung on his shoulder. Zey, this all sounds...too easy. Simply delivering a message, and babysitting some rangers? This sounds very simple for as seasoned a group as this. What are you not telling us?
Mentally Val tells the party i prepared Locate Object specifically for this reason... Cast Locate Object. I'm hoping the description of the Plates is enough to give me s reading...
this is a magically Desecrated area. I don't have the means to counter it. I would bet those Plates are at least partly to blame...
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Hey, forums. I'm a long time gamer, 1E veteran, and a player of numerous game systems. I love games, RPGs especially, and I'm a big fan of Paizo. I wanted to say that up front because I'm about to dive into some issues I've been experiencing, and I hope that understanding how I feel helps put things into context. I have joined up with a new game group recently, and am joining them mid-way through the campaign they are playing. I believe they are doing some variation of one of the AP's- I think maybe Age of Ashes? At any rate, the party is all level 7, I was given a +1 striking weapon of my choice, a +1 resilient armor of my choice, and 1500 gp budget for items to kit myself out with, which seems pretty fair. The first character I built was an investigator, Professor Bartholomew Digby, who taught history at a gnomish college and decided to take sabbatical and do some field research. I kitted myself out to be a largely ranged support character, who used the empiricism methodology and various feats to maximize my Recall Knowledge checks and the return I could get. Idea: I strike and/or study the enemy, learn their weaknesses, and provide that to the party. If the enemy stays at range, I support with Devise a Strategem, shortbow strike, and a move action as needed to reposition. If it gets to melee, I have Dirty Trick for some unexpected debuffing and a shortsword. I had great plans of being "Indiana Jones meets Guy Fieri" with an unpredictable mix of erudite professorisms and wild excitement as I encounter something new. It lasted all of 1 encounter in the first session. I failed an acrobatics check to cross a rickety pier, fell into the water where I was set upon by 3 crocodile-like monsters, and within 2 rounds was brought to Dying 1. I made my recovery check only to be critically hit twice the next round, straight to dying infinity. "Fun." The next character was an Elf rogue (thief) with some swashbuckler dipping, who I wanted to play as a total goth, full of boredom from such a long life, so off adventuring we go! Lots of daring, thrill of adrenaline type things... in my imagination. I have a +17 Deception check, but in the first battle against something that (admittedly) was a bit of a solo boss monster, I was only able to successfully Feint with a roll of at least 14. I tried to use Tumble Through, to equally unspectacular results. The enemy's AC was high enough that even if I bluffed, I still had to roll at least a 12 to hit, even with a +16 on my rapier strikes. I never bothered making secondary attacks, preferring to try to debuff, reposition, etc. I had an almost impossible time getting ONE hit in, much less follow up attacks at bigger and bigger penalties. This enemy had a greatclub, knockdown, and an opportunity attack that meant once he hit (and he basically ALWAYS hit), he got a free trip attempt (which he nearly always made) and did a boatload of damage. WHen you're prone, you can't crawl away or stand because he gets a free attack (which also has knockdown). It only occurred to me later that I could have used my Mobility feat to crawl 10 feet away, then stand, and avoid a hit. In combat I was just frustrated. My second character didn't die... but in 2 rounds I was dropped to 3 hit points. I very much could have. And the entire game session, I never dealt a single point of damage. I didn't do a single thing that contributed ANYTHING AT ALL except soak up attacks, and that's not really a consolation. Is pathfinder even worth playing if you're not a caster? The Sorcerer in the party on a flying broom was the only person who made any impact at all. I don't feel like a hero, I feel like Nodwick the hireling... only not even that. At least Nodwick gets a name. I never even got to introduce myself to the party before dying in my first encounter with my investigator, and the session ended after the last completely unfulfilling, grindy, near tpk encounter with said greatclub boss dude. So my question is this: What's the point of AC if every enemy basically always hits you? Why bother investing in skills if the one's you're the best at don't even have a 50% chance of success? Who cares what your class DC is- enemies rarely ever fail and never by 10 points so that Critical Failure on spells is essentially only there for PC rolls. Next game I wanna play as one of the monsters and at least get to feel marginally competent. I've literally had better luck playing Call of Cthulhu characters and level 0 apprentices in prior games, because at least then I didn't kid myself into thinking my character had any real capability. I'm extremely demoralized and discouraged, and honestly, I don't want to be! I want to be excited about Pathfinder 2 and I just can't find it, which is a shame because 1st edition was amazing and I have some of my fondest gaming memories playing it. What am I missing? I've got a 25 AC and as high of an attack as I can manage, a +17 to my best skill, +4 Dex, and I still felt worse than useless. Honestly, it would have been a better way to contribute to the fight by NOT trying to attack and staying just outside of the monster's reach- the one thing I DID feel good about was having a 40 foot move and Mobility. Everything aside from that just seemed pointless. I'm getting Steve Jackson Games flashbacks.... shudder....
Here's one I whipped up at work this afternoon in paint. It should work well enough for the map of the library Graulgaust gives to the party in case they decide to eliminate the Cult of the Canker. Feel free to share it with whoever- it's set up so anyone with the link can grab and use it.
I plan on running Menace Under Otari from the Beginner Box as an intro into PF2. As I purchased the digital version of the Beginner Box, I had to re-create the maps which would ordinarily be a flip mat. Not an issue- I love crafts and making physical maps. When I began to do the same thing for the adventure itself, however.... Well, I don't know if I can fit a map that's literally 4.75 feet by 3.6 feet on my gaming table at all! It's SOOOOO HUGE!!!! I love large play areas, and I know that not everything needs to be tiny... but the actual physical size of a 1 square = 1 inch translation of these maps requires an enormous amount of space that I simply don't have. My game crew meets at various locations around town, so the option of "just go digital" doesn't work for us. I'm still burnt out on digital gaming from the pandemic, and despite hearing nothing but praise for Foundry, I just don't want to do that. I'm excited to meet up and play in person with my friends again, and to do that I need physical maps! Has anyone put in the brain sweat to shrink down some of these enormous areas a bit? I know it won't be necessarily 100% accurate to the original module, but if it means not having to have 17 square feet of space just to put down the map, I'll do the work to make adaptations work!
Hey Paizo boards! I'm starting up what I call "session .5" this weekend for a new Abomination Vaults campaign. I grabbed everything I could from the amazing Humble Bundle sale, and it's allowed me to start up a new gaming crew to hopefully turn co-workers into "friends and co-workers." This weekend, we're doing group character generation. So far, the crew has expressed interest in playing a Catfolk Rogue (probably Thief?), an Android Alchemist (maybe Bomber?), a Half-Orc Dragon Barbarian, a Gnome of some sort, and a class with access to a Turtle pet somehow, either familiar or animal companion. I have extensive RPG experience, but none with PF2. Any advice on which rules I should have down before I try to walk us all through character generation and the first few sessions? We all committed to this game as a learning game, so mistakes will be made all around, but if there's any particular land mines I should look out for, I'd appreciate your thoughts. And before I go, I'd like to say thanks for being one of the best gaming communities out there. It means a lot to me that I'm still here 12+ years down the road and that's still true.
I'm expecting my second edition book to arrive in the next few days. Does anyone have some suggestions for good places with new player info/tutorials/explainers to help get me up to speed? I'd like to convert my dnd 5e game to a PF 2.0 game to finish up the rest of the Reign of Winter campagin I've currently got on hiatus.... but to do so, I'd like to get a handle on what the main concepts are so I can better teach them to my players. I'm totally fine with a "we're all new at this" approach, where we learn things gradually, but I'd like to minimize the reading during the session if I can. If this has already been covered elsewhere, sorry! I'm still getting used to the forums after a fairly long hiatus.
This entire post is going to contain spoilers for portions of Broken Moon, the 3rd module of Carrion Crown. I have a 7 PC party, built around 15 point buy. We're running through Broken Moon at the moment and we've gotten to the final dramatic confrontation at the Stairs of the Moon. As I've got a heavy number of players (made worse by the fact that one's a summoner and thus effectively 8 players' worth of actions!) I am doing some pretty heavy revamping of all the modules. Technically they're all level 8 by now, but since they haven't rested yet I've asked them to keep their level 7 stats for now. I'm planning on presenting them an obstacle they'll run away from and return to later on.... or else they may be in for a difficult battle. Between fighting the upgraded versions of Mathus Mordrinacht (who I've reworked into a short sword two weapon fighter, using Dazzling Display, Hammer the Gap, Shatter Defenses, and Scent of Fear to gain pretty sizeable advantages based on high attack rates, accurate strikes, and cc), Estovion Lozarov (a higher level conjurer than by book), and Cybrisa (higher level druid, wolf domain, focused on cc and buffs). So fighting all 3 npcs alongside my beefed up Vilkacis will, I hope, encourage the party to run away...... and return at level 8 to fight them all again with a full next level kit. Advanced Vilkacis (CR 10)
DEFENSE
OFFENSE
STATISTICS
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Curse of Lycanthropy (Su): Any humanoid that is bitten by a creature possessed by a vilkacis must make a DC 18 Fortitude save or be infected with lycanthropy as if bitten by a werewolf. If the victim’s size is not within one size category of the possessed creature’s, this ability has no effect. The save DC uses the vilkacis’s ability scores and is Charisma-based. Lycanthropic Empathy (Ex): A vilkacis or creature possessed by a vilkacis can communicate and empathize with wolves and dire wolves. It can use Diplomacy to alter such an animal’s attitude, and when doing so gains a +4 racial bonus on the check. Rejuvenation (Su): A vilkacis that is destroyed in combat restores itself after 2d4 days. The only way to permanently do away with a vilkacis is to locate its canopic stone, the occult artifact that binds it to the Material Plane, and then destroy the artifact in the presence of the vilkacis’s mortal remains. Once the canopic stone is destroyed, the vilkacis can no longer rejuvenate and can be destroyed as normal. Vulnerability to Silver (Su): Vilkacis are particularly susceptible to silver. A vilkacis struck with a silver weapon takes an additional 2d6 points of damage. If a creature under the effects of a vilkacis’s bestial possession is damaged by a silver weapon, it also takes this extra damage and receives another saving throw to resist the bestial possession. If successful, the possession ends, and the vilkacis is driven into an adjacent square and cannot use its bestial possession ability again until the following day. NOTES: This is the normal Vilkacis with +4 HD and the Advanced template applied. Instead of increasing the natural armor as the template suggests, I took inspiration from Undead Revisited (which is a phenomenal asset to any GM, particularly for this AP!) and the "distorted shadow" template. Notice the Space/Reach portion of the OFFENSIVE stat block? That's right: 10 foot reach. That, in combination with the incredible Dex mod, Combat Reflexes, and Lunge, should result in me being able to truly terrify many of my players. It's not that I think dishing out lots of damage is terrible.... it's the touch attack and 20' threat range. I should be able to make them think twice about playing some of the tricky maneuvering games they're so fond of. Alternatively, I was thinking about giving it a third natural attack (incorporeal bite) instead of natural armor, reflecting the attacks it grants to someone who is possessed more closely. Any thoughts? My
My party is rather large (6 players) so I am having to beef up encounters as I go. Here are a few additional encounters I've come up with: Harrowstone Zombie CR 2
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These zombies don't resemble normal zombies; they look like burnt husks of meat, with smoke rising from in between cracks in their flesh. Anyone struck by them is overcome by flashes of intense pain as they feel the pain of the prisoners burning to death. This is reflected in the zombie curse: if you can't act normally, it is because you feel like you are burning to death. Take advantage of their scent tracking ability to have them follow players to wherever they are staying, and use their climb skills to have them ambush from the rooftops. Any unusually intelligent tactics can be ascribed to the fell influence of Harrowstone. A pair of harrowstone zombies can make a devastating ambush: have 1 knock on the door (bonus points if it is the Professor's body!) and the other leap down from the roof when the players attack. Harrowstone Skeleton CR 1
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These skeletons replace the burning skulls in the town hall encounter. I think 3 of them should make a nasty surprise for the party. Their first clue that something is wrong is when the doors of the town hall burst open at the same time the lamps in the room flare up. They have to deal with the fire and the skeletons at the same time. Bloody and burning together is easy to parse: describe it as the skeletons continually weeping bloody tears and wailing in unbearable pain. You could describe their bones as crispy and blackened, dripping sizzling gobbets of fat. I think a "frying bacon" smell would really creep players out. These variant bloody skeletons can only be truly destroyed by cleansing Harrowstone prison of its unholy taint or by sprinkling their remains with water taken from area R10 in Harrowstone (the murky pond) that has been blessed. This quenches the fiery torment of their spirits and allows them to be at peace. Using the spirit planchette to determine this is a fantastic way to introduce players to its use.
Following the example of some of the excellent and entertaining campaign logs, I am going to post my own here. NOTE: This is told from a GM perspective and will have spoilers and my motives behind it. My party comprises of 5 members: Bahahdur, a tiefling Fighter from Qadira. His weapon of choice is a truly massive fauchard. While his face and neck are very human-looking, the knotted cords of muscle on his chest, back, and upper arms bristle with almost thorn-like hairs and patches of scaly, reptilian skin. He could never pass for human without his shirt, but between the multi-layered robes and veils of his home country and a bit of applied makeup, he has manage to keep his true race a mystery for the time being. Ergrag'k, a half orc bard from Ustalav. Ergrag'k is a reserved, thoughtful man, frequently lost in his own thoughts. He was rescued from certain death by Dr. Henri Meirtmane, Dean of Sinkomakti School of Sciences in Versex county, as a very young boy, and raised as the Doctor's own son from that point forward. It was only years later that the half orc learned that his entire upbringing was a gentleman's wager between Meirtmane and a peer intended to settle the question of whether an orc could ever "truly be civilized" or not. Zordlon, an elf alchemist from Kyonin. While he fancies himself a quite dashing and dapper figure wandering the countryside selling potions and alchemical wonders, Zordlon lacks the social graces to truly pull it off. His primary motivation is to give aid wherever it is needed, attempting to patch the somewhat tarnished reputation of his people in Ustalav and perhaps uncover a few interesting formulae along the way. Genivene, a human cleric of Shelyn from Ustalav. Genivene is something of a rarity in the Immortal Principality: she survived her childhood with her innocence intact. Her family sold her to a temple when she was very young, as they could not afford to keep her and knew the priests and priestesses would take good care of her. She grew up in the temple of beauty and knows little of the sometimes ugly life that her countrymen lead. Professor Lorrimor was always one of her favorite tutors, and his summons to Ravengro was too strong for the young priestess to ignore. Calphes, a half elf scrollmaster wizard (generalist) from Ustalav. Calphes is named for the city of Caliphas where he was born. When he displayed a strong potential aptitude for magic, his wealthy parents spared no expense and paid for his education at the University of Lepidstadt where he met Professor Lorrimor. Calphes has a strange sense of humor, and his schoolhouse pranks were legendary. While he doesn't openly consort with evil powers, openly wearing wizardly robes and his unpredictable nature breeds suspicion wherever he goes. So far the party has managed not to kill each other or engage in infighting- a good first sign!
I love your products, Paizo, and I was curious what your playtesting procedure is. How extensive are each of your modules tested before publishing, and what benchmarks do you use to determine how challenging or balanced something is? I know, for example, the adventure paths are intended for a 4 character party using 15 point buy on the medium XP track. Do you run adventures in house with iconics or pre-gens? Do you farm them out to groups? If any of this information is integral to your business strategy I can totally respect keeping that information confidential. I'm more curious than anything else. Is there a "How Things Work" style story to tell about the birth of a new module or campaign path?
I've seen a number of threads lately discussing various aspects of character development and player behavior. I'd like to add my thoughts on this, as well as hear your own. This is intended to address issues of interparty conflict (in and out of character), ethics and alignment, house rules, and player expectation. In short, the areas where I see most real-world player conflict develop. RADU'S GUIDES TO HAPPY ROLEPLAYING 1) You are here to have fun. This is really a no-brainer. Pathfinder and other RPG's are made to be entertaining games. If you're not being entertained, something is wrong... BUT REMEMBER: 2) You are here to help EVERYONE ELSE have fun, too. This is really a corollary to rule 1, but it bears saying- this is not a solo experience. If something you're doing is contributing to someone else's unhappiness or giving them a negative experience, you need to figure out what it is and make adjustments accordingly. This is a game, but it is a group activity, not "The Me Show." Directly tied in with this is the concept of playing a character who has a reason to adventure and a reason the other characters adventure with them. Don't bring the Norgorber holy assassin character to the Party of Light trying to cleanse the Worldwound. Don't bring the Judge Dredd Inquisitor to the party of pirates, cuthroats and scoundrels. Don't bring the Lastwall crusader to the party of Apsis Consortium slavers. Be a team player, both in and out of character. 3) Stay engaged and interested, even when your character isn't present. Cheer at natural 20's and high damage rolls. Groan in sympathy when someone fails a save. Look up rules for players when it's not your turn. In other words: be an active contributor to the game, even when your character isn't. This applies to all situations, combat and non. Stay interested and involved. Take notes, even if your character wouldn't. Why? Because while I may enjoy the 20 int bard, I don't have a perfect memory, and I surely appreciate it when someone can remind me of details my character wouldn't have forgotten but I as a player have. 4) No texting, web surfing, or angry birds. Really this should go without saying. RPG sessions are for playing RPG's, not for fiddling with tablets, smartphones, and laptops. Don't check your email or facebook during the GM's narration. Don't text when your spellcaster's turn isn't up. PLAY THE GAME you came to play, and save all the toys and distractions for later. 5) Mistakes happen. Accept them and move on. This is a biggie. Players and GM alike *WILL* make mistakes. We all try to avoid them, but they happen. Don't be resentful or irritable about it. Persistently making the same mistake might be cause for concern, but most of the time it is better to have a short (SHORT!) discussion about things, find a resolution, and agree to address the issue out of game for the next session. Even if you KNOW something is being handled incorrectly it is better to address it in a way that doesn't torpedo the rest of the game night in a rules debate. 6) Spellcaster, Know Thy Spells! This could be re-phrased as "PC, Know Thyself!" Know your character's capabilities. Class features, feats, skills, magic items- there's a lot to keep track of. Perhaps making some note-cards or putting sticky notes in your rulebooks would help. It is up to you to know and remember what your character can do or be willing and able to look up those rules. Nothing in my experience slows down a game more than someone constantly having to look up what Beast Shape 3 does or forgetting what a feat does... but keep in mind rule 5 as well. Human fallibility happens, and so you should brush off the occasional memory glitches and focus on the chronic amnesiacs in the group. 7) Accept the die roll and resist the temptation to "adjust" It helps to have a clear understanding of how to handle dice. Some games have a "cock die" rule about dice that land oddly or are strangely balanced on objects on the game table. Some have rules about dice that fall off the table. Figure that out, and then accept whatever roll comes up. Yes, a natural 1 can be terrible sometimes... but it happens. It's going to happen about 5% of the time, in fact. Don't forget that natural 20's happen about 5% of the time, too. 8) No Summoner Geeks at the table! Or Monty Python and the Holy Grail, or... you get the idea. Different groups have different tolerances for this sort of thing, but generally keeping table talk about extraneous topics, even ones as amusing as Monty Python, to a minim is usually best. In my experience games take a long enough time to get underway that you don't want to derail that process with idle banter. YMMV, and so long as your group agrees with, enjoys, and embraces that style of play I say, "lay on, MacDuff!" In general, these have done me well. If you object to, disagree with, or have an alternative opinion I'd love to discuss them further. What are your guidelines?
I like the sunder combat maneuver. I've got an oracle of battle who runs around with an adamantine falchion and greater sunder, and I love being able to shatter weapons and armor completely in one strike. Enemy has a nasty magic weapon? Break it! Some of the other players have gotten angry at me for "destroying loot" when I have done this. We ran into some mooks lately who had +1 greatswords. I just flat out broke one and thanks to greater sunder the damage that carried over was enough to kill the dude. I crit'ed on the sunder, so it was somewhere in the realm of 50 damage or so. (We're level 12 and by this point I'm running around with 28 strength in most battles) Do you use sunder? Do you like it? Are your players discouraged from using it because they don't like the thought of losing out on loot? At level 12, destroying a +1 magical weapon is piffling. Even had we sold it it's only 250 gp a piece. Is losing out on an insignificant amount of gold and an item no one in the party will use worth me being too afraid of making everyone else mad to use the feats I bought? What is the most fair way to address this?
I've been reading through the AP, and loving what I'm seeing so far. I'd like to expand the adventure path in a few places, if possible, because 1) there's a lot of cool adventures to be had and 2) it's a great chance to have some fun designing new hooks and tweaking stuff. I'm a very enthusiastic amateur game designer/tweaker/adventure writer, and really enjoy modifying, updating, and creating new content whole cloth, and I'm also an enormous horror fan, so this is like being a kid in a candy store. I've just purchased a couple of modules I've had my eye on for a while, and I'm wondering how well they could be incorporated into the AP. Please note: I have not yet finished reading all of the AP, nor have I had time to fully digest the modules, so these are merely outlines based on available information online. Expanding the Haunting of Harrowstone: homemade ghost stories and haunts in the Ravengro area as a whole, as the cleansing of Harrowstone prison released such a surge of wild energy that it "created" ghosts. I'm going to use this as a chance to really bring players up to speed on Ustalav's history, and the history of Canterwall, and have the surge of energies brought about by Harrowstone's cleansing spark up a whole wave of secondary haunts based around soldiers fighting against the Whispering Tyrant, a battalion of orcs from the time of Kazavon's reign haunting the road, still seeking to "cut off supplies" to an enemy long dead, and a spectral castle that used to be in the center of the nearby lake (whose name escapes me) that re-appears on moonlit nights. The players will learn that these are all new developments, literal ghost stories brought to life by the Whispering Way's meddling with the area. These are all local legends that the townsfolk of Ravengro are just as taken aback by as the PC's- stories that aren't supposed to be true, that now are. I'm going to tie in some hints of how the very act of gathering materials for the Carrion Crown is de-stabilizing the bounds between life and death, kind of like making ripples in a still pond. Ustalav itself is so thoroughly soaked in necromancy after centuries of undead rule that even gathering materials for such a powerful ritual has unintended consequences. Expanding the Trial of the Beast: No thoughts here... I think that other than adjusting everything for a tougher party I want to keep this "as is" because it's really well done already and has phenomenal flavor. Expanding Broken Moon: After the characters re-dedicate Highthrone to Desna (I can't remember what the original title of this place is, sorry), I plan on running The Harrowing, with suitable tweaks to make it part of the re-consecration process. In addition to the rewards of that module, after they complete it they receive the blessing of Desna as described in Broken Moon, and moreover discover that no time has elapsed in the real world- they're still on top of Highthrone after activating the Dusk Moth, and still hot on the heels of the Whispering Way cultists. I plan on running Carrion Hill in the place suggested in the AP, between Broken Moon and Wake of the Watcher. Expanding Wake: Haven't fully finished reading this yet, but since they're already at Ilmarsh and on the border of Lake Encarthan, perhaps there would be a good chance at some point to run a modified version of City of Golden Death, with the characters now fully aware of what the Whispering Way wants to achieve and racing to the Isle of Dread to recover some bit of lore and some powerful weapons to use against the cult on the island where Aroden slew Tar-Barphon so many ages ago. I'm going to let the PC's "buy time" by disrupting some of the waves of evil energy the cult has been sending out by using the Isle of Dread's own energy... after all, this is where the Tyrant died the first time, and the players can undo some of the damage wrought by the Whispering Way by taking advantage of that fact.... if they can survive long enough to pull it off. Then it's onto Ashes at Dawn and Shadows of Gallowspire... not remotely sure how to expand those yet, as I don't have all the books from my last order in. By this point, I think that beyond making the subsequent encounters tougher, I'll run the last two modules as written. I'm not sure how Shadows ends, but I think I was going to cap it all off by letting the characters flex some of their high level muscle by going through Academy of Secrets, or maybe running one of my other high-level modules from 3.0 and 3.5 if they still wanted to play that party. By this point hopefully I'll have enough experience running through a high level game that I can figure out what would work best. I've got a lot of experience with low and middling levels so I'm confident there, but once level 6 spells enter the mix I'm less sure of my GM improvisational abilities. Do you have any suggestions about this plan? Any thoughts about your own expansions?
Hello fellow Paizo fans and horror aficionados! I would like to share with you the campaign wiki I have created for my upcoming Carrion Crown game. I am going to be DM for a group of 4, possibly 5 players, and since I prefer to do things in a total immersion style I have put a lot of effort into writing up a pretty extensive website for the game. Thankfully, wikispaces makes it a lot easier on me from that perspective, and the site is complete enough to make sharing worthwhile. Please check out the link below and let me know if there are any areas I can improve upon or if any of the interface is not as intuitive as it should be, but keep in mind this is definitely a work in progress. All of my players have this wiki link, and access rights to edit pages, and so the intent is to provide them with all of the background information they need to make our play sessions really FEEL like we're living in Ustalav, in all of its magic blasted, fog shrouded, monster ridden glory. Enjoy, and don't forget to post your feedback! Thanks! Website here: ktcarrioncrown.wikispaces.com
Do you have players who want to be lycanthropes? I do, too. I decided the best way to handle it is to break things down into a level-by-level progression for the template, building up to full power slowly enough that it won't overshadow standard race PC's and still allow access to the cool shapechanger stuff. Here's what I've come up with so far. I've based the ability access partly on what level characters get equivalent spell access, so things are balanced. The Change Shape being limited in rounds per day was done to make a balanced player character ability without overstepping the druid's territory, which I consider to have a "monopoly" on PC shapechanging access. This assumes that the PC is gaining class levels and goes by total Character level. These are racial abilities that scale up as character level goes up This results in a character that, while not 100% like the template, is so close you'd never notice the difference in actual play. Level 1:
Level 2:
Level 3:
Level 4:
Level 5:
Level 6:
Level 7:
Level 8:
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Level 10:
Level 12:
Level 14:
Level 16:
Thoughts/comments/suggestions?
That is essentially the argument I've heard from one of the guys in my gaming group, and I don't get it. He's playing a transmuter and doing a really good job of it. His spells have swung the whole flow of the battle before in really dramatic ways, and yet he'll comment on how something is "bad design" or "poorly written" if it's not exactly what he wants at the time, and it leaves me scratching my head. Case in point: we just hit the point where he gets level 5 spells. Looking through them all, he saw Polymorph. By most measuring sticks, polymorph is an incredible spell. It's powerful, versatile, and applicable to a staggeringly huge number of situations. It isn't the be all end all spell it used to be, but it was severely broken in 3.5 so I'm not complaining... and I'm an inveterate twink/minmaxer/character optimizer (pick your description of choice). Seeing how it duplicates the effect of a number of lower level, purpose-specific spells, he poo-pooed polymorph because "it's crap." By the same logic, the shadow conjuration and shadow evocation spells are worthless too, despite how versatile they can be in duplicating lower level spells. I made the case that you're sacrificing a level 4 spell slot to be able to case a whole SCHOOL'S WORTH of spells up to level 3 at the price of a single spell slot. Worth it? It depends on what you mean by worth it I guess. I think it is, especially for sorcerers or the frugal. Another case: in ultimate magic, there's the arcane discovery, "Staff like Wand" a wizard can take. Since it requires being an 11th level wizard with the craft staff feat, the earliest opportunity you can take it to my knowledge is level 13. He got so insulted when he realized this that he flew off the handle a bit. "It's bad writing. It's poor design." Really? Because there's an implied restriction to level 13+ wizards? While on the one hand he has a point that there's a practical restriction in that it requires a feat you can only get at level 11+, there's a difference between "you must be a level 13 wizard" and "you must have craft staff and be at least a level 11 wizard." The first case keeps multiclass characters at bay for 2 more levels. The second doesn't. For a single-classed wizard, the requirements are effectively the same.... but not everyone is going to play a single-classed wizard character, so I think these distinctions are important. Besides, there may be a way to get craft staff as a bonus feat that I haven't thought of, so it may be possible to get that discovery even earlier. My main point in this is not any specific issue with these two examples, it's the greater tendency to pronounce anything his character can't use effectively to be poorly written, badly designed, or worthless. I'm playing a cavalier in that game, but I don't use a lance (my mount has pounce, so I don't want greater reach than she has). Does that mean Spirited Charge or Unseat (both good feats) are poorly written? In his eyes they may very well be were our situations reversed. Do you encounter this often/have you encountered this kind of thinking before?
I just got in the first adventure, the Haunting of Harrowstone, and am reading through in preparation for running this AP for my group when we finish Rise of the Runelords. (The GM needs a break and I *love* horror themed adventures, so everyone wins.) One of my players has expressed a lot of interest in being an undead horde creating necromancer, poring through the APG and Ultimate Magic looking for an archetype that will allow him to do this in a satisfactory way. Rather than shut him down outright, I'm looking for ways to incorporate the possibility of evil PC's into the game. How would you handle this as GM? Is this the "right" AP for an evil party or not? From what my impressions are thus far, if he plays an openly evil necromancer type, he will quickly earn the hatred of Ravengro and probably incite a riot amongst the townsfolk. I am going to play the citizens as superstitious and scared folk, distrustful of strangers and desperate for anything that may give them a scapegoat or allow them to feel less helpless. When the guy openly toying with necromancy comes along, it seems to me to provide the perfect opportunity for this to boil over into violence. So I'm torn- on the one hand I want to encourage players to explore concepts that interest them, and on the other I want to give a genuine horror experience and play the campaign world as a living thing that responds to their actions, and I don't see how Ravengro is going to let an openly evil party operate. What would you do?
I've found that first level survival is never a sure thing, but in my experience it's really the low hitpoints that make the difference. I don't like feeling like my players are only a hit away from death and I have to pull my punches-- a single lucky roll on a greataxe can spell doom for many 1st level PC's. My solution has been to give 1st level characters HP as follows: Roll 1dX+X+Y hp, where X is your class HD size and Y is your Con mod. Put another way, it's an extra 1 HD at 1st level. I don't think it will really hurt game balance long term, but in the short term until characters start to get their "sea legs" around level 4 it keeps me from worrying too much about killing someone outright due to a die fluke. Thoughs?
Paizo, I spoke with one of your CS reps on the phone about an hour ago, and not only got my issue resolved (and quickly) but politely and definitively. I don't know how often you hear this, but I'd like to say thanks. You are always polite, efficient, and understanding whenever I have had occasion to contact you, and I have always been 100% satisfied with my interaction. Thank you for continuing to demonstrate to me why Paizo is the absolute best company in the industry. I love your products, I love our shared enthusiasm for the game, and I love your genuine concern for my satisfaction. A+, guys!
I am planning on running the Carrion Crown AP with my game crew in a few months when our current campaign wraps up, and I am a huge fan of point-buy for character generation. What level of point buy do you feel is appropriate for this AP? What's the "standard" level that Paizo designs around re: stats and XP progression? I know there's a fast, medium, and slow progression, and several levels of point buy. I had the medium XP progression and 20 point "high fantasy" point buy allocation in mind, but I am curious what you all think.
In the Elemental Body line of spells, it states you gain "push" when you transform into an earth elemental. The only problem is... Earth Elementals don't have push in the Beastiary. I'm sure this is an oversight--- in my games I plan on ruling it this way: Small and Medium earth elementals push 5'. Large earth elementals push 10' Huge (and elder) earth elementals push 15' Alternatively, I would just treat it as a free bull rush with CMB = the attack roll and resolve the bull rush as normal. I'm leaning much more heavily towards the second interpretation currently, even though push now indicates it's a fixed distance. My reasoning is that grab acts as a free grapple attack with CMB = attack roll, so having push operate as a bull rush in the same manner seems balanced to me.
I'm playing an Elven Bard in a pathfinder port of the Age of Worms and I chose Silent Image as one of my spells. When the party was involved in a barfight that we needed to escape, I case Silent Image and specified I was crafting an image of a solid bank of fog, like the whole inn was inside a cloud. The DM rolled a Will save for everyone present and we concluded the encounter. After we got into the street, I used a second casting of Silent Image to put up a sort of "one way curtain" of an empty street. If you passed a certain point, the illusion would have no effect on you, but from the perspective of the bar it seemed as if the street we fled down was empty. Think of a curtain at a theater--- once you passed the threshold the illusion would have no effect, but until then you saw what my Bard wanted you to see and not what was actually there. During that session, I was allowed those uses but afterward my DM let me know that I shouldn't try to imitate the effects of other spells using Silent Image. I countered that the difference between calling up an illusory fog cloud versus a wizard actually casting Obscuring Mist was pretty large: Any spell effect I choose to imitate visually using Silent Image has a significant cost associated with it. 1) the spell slot I used to power it.
Mainly points 3 and 4 are the big ones for me: why use illusions at all if you can't create useful illusions? I'd rather use my standard action each turn to attack if the alternative is concentrating on an illusion of something that won't really help my party out. I suppose this comes down to intent. The DM has asked me not to try and break the game, whereas I do not see how this is game-breaking. I'm not being obtuse or a munchkin here; I really don't see how illusions can be useful at all if you can't create illusions that have a real effect on the flow of combat. It doesn't seem like it's worth learning if all I can do is create an image of a person or a sword or treasure chest or what have you- those don't really impact anything in battle, and since I'm a Bard I've already got ways to be useful outside a battle. What I'm asking is this: How do you resolve illusions? What can they do and not do? Do you have any suggestions for ways to make Silent Image and family useful in combat?
This isn't so much playtest feedback as my play experience from playing 3.0 and 3.5 so often: Please remove/revamp save or die and save or suck spells. They're some of the most anticlimactic and unexciting spells out there, despite their spectacular effects. Charm Person-- why not give a scaling bonus on all Charisma related rolls relative to the caster? It achieves the same effect (or similar enough) but is no longer an automatic spell. Blindness/Deafness --- I've added in a 1 round/level duration on this spell, with another save each turn. It's almost an insta-kill spell in disguise at lower levels. Nearly a TPK when I had a drow party with a sorcerer go against my party. Blinded the rogue and wizard, the fighter was grappled, and the druid was deafened then had deeper darkness tossed on him for good measure. There are, of course, many many more save or die spells (or save or suck spells, such as Feeblemind). They make the game less fun and far less interesting. There surely must be a way to preserve their effect while tweaking the mechanics to be less absolute. |
