ArmosD49's page

Thanks Lincoln. The stomach is essentially where they will start having to find a way out before the remnants of their boat is completely dissolved in the stomach acid of the beast. I didn't think of oozes, that could be fun.

The air quality would be breathable if accompanied by a disgusting smell especially if they are anywhere near the digestive tract. Hrm, you bring up a good question about what happens when they cut into the inside of the beast. Maybe muscle contractions that cause the "floor" to become difficult terrain or a simple reflex save to stay upright.

Another possibility is to have "tonsils" or other similar organs that are used to keep things out of/remove irritants. I could go the cheesy route and have strange immune system "oozes" or another kind of creature come and pursue them. Fighting off an infection of the adventuring party variety. Thanks again for both of your suggestions and questions.

I plan on running a game where the group has been swallowed by a truly massive creature. Think Lord Jabu Jabu from LOZ:OOT or the worm in Gears of War 2. I was wondering if you guys had any ideas on what to populate the insides of this creature with? And how do I separate the rooms of this "dungeon"?

My ideas for a large monster being a parasite of sorts. And treasure being those from ships being swallowed (it's a giant sea serpent).

Any Advice or recommendations would be helpful.

I have a crowded game of 6 people. Several people have expressed an interest in playing but I cap my games at 6. I have a player who is a good friend of mine but they don't seem too interested as they only show up 50% of the time.

I was wondering if any of you had a similar experience and had any advice?

I want to talk to said player and ask him if he would like to bow out of the game but I am unsure on how to go about it. I don't want to hurt their feelings but at the same time I want to have interested players who want to be there.

Any thoughts or advice on the matter are appreciated.

First of All I can tell you put a lot of work into this. And I like the way Rogue Trade allows for all sorts of flavors and it gives you an increasing bonus, which is nice. I think it may be a bit too much of a bonus.

If you compare it to the Rangers Favored enemy ablity (I know its different) But the max skill is +10 against one Favored Enemy at lvl 20. So maybe instead of every 2 levels every 3 levels (1,4,7,10,13,16,19)and the maximum as +7 (Lucky Number?)

Sneak Attack: I agree with you on the +2 to damage increments is better than the +3

Ranged Sneak Attacks: I agree about it only being within 30 ft. But maybe you could have a talent that adds 15 ft to the range and then an Advanced talent that adds another 15 ft to the range. (Maximum of 60 ft)

Rogue Talents: I agree with JediSSJ's comment about them getting too many of these. Maybe tweak the Extra Rogue Talent Feat (once every 5 levels or something) and have a few select levels that they do not receive a Rogue talent. At level 20 Could be Master Talent in relation to Master Strike.

Master Strike: I like JediSSJ's idea of a list of abilities. It seems fitting for the way you've made the Rogue Talents. A few ideas could be, having a concealment bonus for a number of rounds per day. Making opponents re roll perception checks to spot you. (Out of combat) Being able to take 20 on one skill check a day in a full round action. (The Perfect Touch.

I really like what you have done so far and I look forward to the next edition.

This is my edit to Firearms in general. I find it gives guns an advantage but not overly so. This is all my own Homebrewed creation.

BULLET PROOF: By ArmosD49

Size Modifiers: Some creatures are large or even bigger, while they are indeed easier to hit for basic touch attacks, their immense size and sheer volume provide limited protection.

Large: +1 touch AC against firearms only.
Huge: +2 touch AC against firearms only.
Gargantuan: +4 touch AC against firearms only.
Colossal: +8 touch AC against firearms only.

Damage Reduction: The resilience of some creatures skin and or body structure provides additional protection against bullets.

DR still applies normally to all guns, however if using a special material or magic weapon that bypasses the DR the bullet still has to make its way home. For every 5 DR the creature has it gains a + 2 Touch AC against firearms.

Health: The sheer amount of tissue that a bullet has to go through can prevent some damage.

For every 85 hit points a creature has they gain +1 Touch AC against Firearms. A creature with 169 hit points will still only have +1.

Example: Jimmy is fighting a dragon (Gargantuan Wyrm) with his Trusty +1 Musket Rifle, within the first range increment the Dragons Touch AC is 4. But it has DR 20/ - Magic. The gun bypasses the DR but because it is so large and its hide is so formidable it gets a bonus. Because of all these factors the Dragons Touch AC against firearms is treated as Touch AC 20. Here is the mathematical formula for determining it. (Touch AC(4) + Size modifier against Firearms(4) + DR rating (8) + Health(351)/85 (4) = 20 This essentially means more work on my part, I just wanted you to know that it is a formula and not some randomly contrived number.

For reference, Touch AC of Dragon to begin with 4, after application of rules 20, Normal AC 39

Feats: These are custom made feats by yours truly to help PC's with Touch AC Against Firearms.

Bullet Dodge:You have been shot at.... a lot
Prerequisite: Dex 15, Dodge or Gunslinger
Benefit: +2 to Touch AC against Firearms.

Lucky Punk: Did he fire 5 or 6 shots?
Prerequisite: Halfling Luck or Charisma 15
Benefit: Before an attack with a Firearm is made against you, you may spend a hero point to inflict a -8 penalty on the attack role. You may also do this after the attack roll to make the attacker re roll. (you cannot do both)

Armor Lining:
Prerequisite: Armor proficiency with the armor worn.
Benefit: You may add 1/3 of the AC bonus granted normally to your Touch AC against Guns. (AC bonus of +3 = +1 to Touch AC against firearms)

Riot Shield:
Prerequisite: Shield Proficiecy with Tower Shields and Shield Focus.
Benefit: You may add the full bonus of your Tower Shield to your Touch AC against guns.

(This only includes the bonus of the armor you are wearing and not the enhancement. Example: a +1 Hide Shirt will only provide you with a +2 Armor AC bonus to Touch AC against guns. The enhancement should already be included in your touch AC)

Let me know what you think.

I've been in and run games with similar players. If I'm running the game I usually require a background of sorts with important, people, places and goals to the PC. Using that I can usually get players to go where I want them to.

However you will still find those players who are adamant in their disruptive or uncooperative behavior. The people above me have suggested very good ways to talk to players about this and ways around it. If they have effectively written themselves out of the story you are trying to tell have them roll a new character. I'm not saying just let them roll a new character every time they get bored with their current character. (My Rule is: If a character dies or is "written out" of the story that player can make another character at -1 level to the previous character)

That should at least provide a pause in their uncooperative actions.

ArmosD49 wrote:

I was wondering if any other GM's Ban or Alter any of the official Paizo classes? If so, why? Also instead of Banning do you Alter the Classes to tone them down or up? Do you Ban any archetypes or multiclasses?

I am seriously considering banning the Summoner and definitely banning the Synthesist Archetype.

I just wanted to get other GM's Opinions.

It depends on the world I'm running. Virtually anything other than Fighter or Rogue can be subject to banning depending on the setting that I'm running. Classes that remain are subject to modification again depending on the setting. if it's the Hykranian Age of Conan, or the Gothic Earth of Living Death, than expect lots of things in the banning and modification areas.

The important thing to remember is that what you leave out of your worlds defines them almost as much as what you put in. Golarion as it should be noted does not have everything.

You want to make those two changes to your campaign? Go Ahead. Any change you wish to make is perfectly legitimized by the fact that you are the GM. You do not need message board vindication to justify your decisions. All you need are clear reasons in your own head and a full knowledge of what you are doing.

I am aware of my power as a GM. I don't want to abuse it because I've met some seriously power tripping DM's. Also I just wanted to know if anyone else had banned classes and why. I see that I am not alone in my thought process.

Paladins
Reworked to where they can be any non-neutral alignment (LG: Paladin, CG: Liberator, CE: Anti-Paladin, LE: Blackguard). They are the champions of uncompromising ideals. Sort of the opposite of Druids in that way. Any ability that works against evil, for law, etc has an additional alignment added to it. i.e. A LG Paladin can use Smite against both evil and chaos. (on a side note in my setting generally only Outsiders (angels, demons, etc) are effected by alignment spells/effects).

I really like your Paladin alteration and I might use that.

I haven't had to completely ban too many classes, but it is well-established in my group that playing anything outside of the core book needs to be backed by proven experience and any appropriate FAQ's should be on hand (looking at you Synthesist Summoner). We usually manage to avoid having to boot classes by letting people know that they have to know their character, have to be able to complete a single turn in combat in 2 minutes or less, and have to have cards/ quick references on hand for any abilities/spells/summons with stats or complex effects.

I would say summoner, gunslinger, some oracle builds, some monk builds have all been marked advanced players only for our group and are the closest to haing been banned. Synthesist is strongly discouraged all around, because even when everything relating to it is on hand someone still ends up feeling like they have to "double-check the math" or "make sure that's being applied right".

We've talked about banning the Pistolero and Musket Master archetypes for the gunslinger as well, mainly because they're just so much better than the base class. There's virtually no reason to play a gunslinger who isn't one of those two archetypes, and those archetypes seem to contain the majority of the issues that seem to come up in relation to gunslingers, both in power and action economy, so they tend to be blocked just to avoid frustration on all sides.

All very good points that I agree with. I might steal your 2 minute rule, I know a few players who like to 'Strategize' about everything.

I have had very different players play Summoners and both were aggravating.

One played the Brood Master archetype. He brought combat encounters to a crawl when it came to his turn. Even when he had everything streamlined it took him 3 times as long as everyone else on a good day. I admit I could have helped him along with this character better.

Another played the Synthesist. He was a one man wrecking ball that could grapple everything. Only things with freedom of movement and other special abilities could escape. His AC and Str were at levels I could not fathom on a Player Character. 32 AC and 41 Str at 13th level. I remember checking his math and abilities with it working out correctly.

I understand the Power Gamer Argument and I was able to circumvent it while still making it fun for the group. However he still out shined everyone in melee. And the abilities of the Synthesist make closing the gap on ranged no challenge.

I dunno, maybe I made a mistake somewhere or could have better handled the situation. I'll be sure to re-re-re-read the summoner and his archetypes before I make a decision.

The only class I may Alter is the Ninja, because going invisibly as a swift action is a little too cheap.

I was wondering if any other GM's Ban or Alter any of the official Paizo classes? If so, why? Also instead of Banning do you Alter the Classes to tone them down or up? Do you Ban any archetypes or multiclasses?

I am seriously considering banning the Summoner and definitely banning the Synthesist Archetype.

I just wanted to get other GM's Opinions.

I think they are represented just fine by the standard human race. Unless you want to go with the "johnny bravo" style of amazon where they were 8 feet tall. Then a unique race would have to be made or they could be considered a race of all female giants.

Its still a martial Two Handed weapon and Jotun grip is in relation to Two Handed Weapons. So only the -2 penalty from Jotun grip would apply. If he at some point got Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Bastard Sword it would not be considered a two handed weapon and would have no penalties to use it in one hand.

Just remember things like strength and a half on two handed weapons only apply while using a weapon in two hands. Also the additional Bonus from power attacking with a weapon in two hands only applies like the above.

Thanks a bunch Cheapy. My group is pretty much a cheese platter.

I have a power gamer(s) in the group that I run. And he was explaining how his character got around DR. I understand that it is only treated as the Eidolons alignment for overcoming that DR. He's using the instance that if it can overcome Alignment like a +5 magic weapon does then it also overcomes Admantine (which is overcome by +4.

I could just make a GM ruling on it. But I like to be fair and research such things before condemning something.

That would get around it yes and thanks for answering.

But the Magic Attack Evolution would not allow you to bypass Silver, Cold Iron and Adamantine DR by itself correct?

I understand the Eidolons do not naturally have magic attacks. You must first purchase the 1 point Evolution Magic Attacks. At 10th level I understand you can add an Alignment to the eidolons attacks for overcoming DR.

My question is can it over come DR/Silver or DR/Cold Iron or DR/Adamantine?

If so what/where is the ruling for that. As I understand it now it could only overcome DR/Magic or DR/Alignment. I apologize in advance if this question has been answered already. I did attempt to find the answer on my own.

I allow the Leadership Feat, but I can understand the grievances of other GM's who do Ban it. Currently in my game there are 2 players who have taken the Leadership feat. The main problem I see with it are for inexperienced players who want to do more (By having more than one character). This leads to a bog down in combat/roleplaying when the inexperienced player can't decide what to do. What compounds the issue in my game is that the inexperienced player is also a summoner. So at a minimum he has a total of 3 characters to go through before his turn is up. But overall the feat is fine in my opinion.

Thanks that helps out a lot. Someone is not going to be happy.

Binding Outsiders entry

The first step in calling extraplanar assistance is to determine the method of bringing the outsider to the Material Plane. If the caster is a cleric, the spell of choice is planar ally; wizard, sorcerers, and summoners rely primarily on planar binding (or summon monster, which controls without requiring binding). However, none of these necessarily bind the outsider to the caster’s needs, and a wise spellcaster augments the summoning with additional encouragement, usually in the form of gifts or bargains.

I am aware that is for Binding an Outsider, but it suggests a limitation on what an Elemental or other Outsider can or is willing to do when summoned through the Spell. From what it says in the Summon Monster Spell you can order it to Attack, Not Attack and Attack specific enemies or perform other actions. I think the "other actions" is in regards to combat actions such as Combat maneuvers and etc. If that is not the case then what can it do?

Examples:

Could it scout ahead and report back?
Could it guard a particular party member?
Could it retrieve an item from a location?
Could it catch a falling party member? (air/water elemental)
Could it put out a fire or move a rock out of the way?

I am trying to establish the limitations so there is less confusion amongst my players. Also does it mean A full round action where it says 1 round in regards to casting time? And I assume if this is the case it comes in on your next turn, correct?

Any help in this matter is much appreciated.

Ive had this issue before in the games Ive run. Usually its all good RP that results in one or more of the party members disliking the others.

I usually try to remind my group out of game that while this is a game for fun thats not the case for the PCs they are RPing. They are usually in very dangerous Life or Death situations together. Litterally every member of the party has saved every other party member from sure death at one point or another.

I then ask them that if in real life a guy saved your life multiple times... would you not let the small stuff slide. Sure you might not agree with every thing they do but if you can count on them to save your bacon they diserve some RP trust.

That usually works. They realize that each member owes thier life to each other and tend to work the small stuff out.

I did point this out to them but some of them preferred their "characters" to hold the grudge, no matter how unrealistic.

Hope that doesnt derail the issue, but if you have something in game that forces the party to stay together... then RPing party strife can be fun if all players are into it.

Two of the characters have formed a mental link (minor telepathy) after a series of events. And it has been fun to see this go on as they hear each others thought processes.

You said you've been playing this homebrew for a year. Has it been like that from the start or is this recent? If this is how they've rp'd for a year then it's going to be very difficult to strongarm them into trust without it coming off like a complete and total fiat. The mission where depending on each other is vital could work, but it also sounds like they're more likely to leave each other to rot. Not gonna say unsalvageable, but it will be very difficult to change in a way that feels natural, depending on how long this has gone on.

This has been going on for a while, I thought it may have just been a phase started by one of the PC's being manipulated by a spell. But after a while it never quite ironed itself out.

I do appreciate everyone's input and I will attempt to implement the suggestions in a feasible manner. Thanks again for the help and advice.

Are you giving the party hard enough challenges? If the challenges are too easy, the biggest threats to your cutthroat pirates are each other, and it will show. If you give them tough challenges where they must pull together to survive, they generally should do just that.

Anyway -- what sorts of things are they doing that show distrust? If they are small jokes that do not disrupt the game, that would just be your players roleplaying well. If they are actually trying to kill each other, then yes, you do have a problem.

One idea might be to have one of the NPC pirates turn on the other pirates (both PCs and NPCs) in the same sort of evil/stupid way that you want to discourage them from doing -- then have him get caught, with the result that the other NPCs (with or without the PCs) gang up on him and kill him, citing whatever "pirate code" that scumbag violated.

I think the challenges are tough, with failure resulting in adequate penalties, but I may need to reevaluate them.

That's a good idea, I'll probably use that.

I don't think it makes sense to ask a bunch of Chaotic Neutrals to trust one another.

May I ask what the goal is, of getting them to trust each other?

Even if they are Chaotic Neutral, they should at some point after being around each other for a long period of time, be able to depend on one another.

I honestly hadn't thought of a 'goal'. I just wanted the group to cooperate with one another. So in the middle of a fight person A doesn't decide to use the Person B as cover and then when Person B gets upset about it and 'retaliates' a brawl starts between PCs when they were already fighting NPCs. The enemies do capitalize on this but it only furthers the animosity between PC's.

Once or twice is fine, fun even. But its becoming a regular thing and its aggravating.

The tone is somewhat serious, at first they were pirates and then some of their actions incurred the wrath of some powerful groups, The Navy; because of their piracy, Rival Pirate Groups; for invading and taking property in their 'territories' and a Merchant Company for promising intel and then sending the group reported the wrong intel, purposefully.

They have a code of conduct, standard stuff aboard any naval vessel, chain of command, everyone has their posts, meal time, lights out etc.

They didn't all start out as cut throats, they have several different backgrounds. Map maker, tribesman, burglar, barber, swashbuckler, former slave (these are actual backgrounds they came up with).

In most cases, the group gels and people know their roles, but their is a lot of in fighting with this group.

I run a Pathfinder Homebrew, where the characters began as being part of a crew aboard a pirate ship. I had them all write back stories and they had to have one PC relationship (i.e. brother, business partner, companion etc.)and two NPC relationships they got to choose out of a list I made. The group is a really great bunch and they are all good friends and good Role Players. Unfortunately none of them really trust each other and the majority of the party (5 out of 6)are Chaotic Neutral alignment (fitting with the pirate theme). I thought that trust would foster naturally within the group but that has not been the case and the game has been going for almost a year.

Do you have any advice on how to build trust within a party?

Are there trust building exercises for RPGs?

Has anyone else had this problem?

Ok thanks guys that helps out a lot.

I have a player who likes to power game, which is fine but I want to make sure its legal using the rules of Pathfinder.

First Question is about the whip, can someone give me a significant reason as to why its an exotic weapon? I understand its advantages and disadvantages but I don't think a player should have to take the exotic weapon prof. feat to use it.

Second Question, can a player hold two weapon and only attack with one without incurring the two weapon fighting penalty or dropping a weapon? I.e. Attacking with a whip in one hand and using a short sword in the other for A.O.O.

Third Question, is it possible for a character to wield a two handed weapon while wearing cestas and threaten all the squares from 5' to 10'? I can see the physical reality of this, instead of using the reach weapon with just the pointy end he can use his fist/hilt of the sword to lash out quickly.

Thanks for any and all help on these subjects.

-Armos