Eric Jones's page

My kids (9 & 12) want to play Pathfinder. About a year ago, we played through part of Rise of the Runelords, which they liked a lot, but they want to do something different. My wife will be playing too, so it's likely going to be a party of 3. The 9 year old is talking about being a a Druid.

At their ages railroading is actually a plus. Light NPC interactions are good, but heavy roleplaying is not really their thing. Interesting combat or problem-solving encounters are the best. On the other hand, my wife doesn't really enjoy lengthy/tactics-heavy combat encounters (problem-solving is again a big plus). Situations that put characters in difficult moral situations aren't great for the kids; clear good versus evil is ideal.

And it would nice if the AP worked pretty well out-of-the-box since they want to start soon, but I understand having a party of 3 will require some modifications.

I was looking at Wrath of the Righteous or Reign of Winter, both of which seem to have good reviews. I thought I'd crowdsource my thinking and see what the wider world thinks.

Thanks.

Does Paizo have the right to reprint the SCAP HC if it goes out of print, or is that something WOTC can veto?

You can add me to the list of subscribers who think (1) Paizo has done an amazing job with Dungeon and Dragon in general and (2) Paizo did an top-notch job handling what seems in most other respects to be a debacle.

However, I am a little disappointed that I have to wait until September to choose back issues if I decide to go that route. I'm concerned that by the time September rolls around, there won't be anything left to choose from. Do we have any assurance that worthwhile issues will be available? If we discover in September that nothing we want is left, can we switch to Pathfinder? I'm putting off making a decision for the moment, because I would prefer to fill in gaps with back issues I want/need (namely AOW AP; I have naively been waiting for the hardcover I was sure would be available eventually). On the other hand, I don't want to waste my choice if nothing I want is going to be available.

As an aside, you can also mark me down in the Pathfinder-price-is-too-high camp. I love the APs; they are the reason I decided to subscribe to Dungeon magazine. However, as much I would like to, I'm afraid I can't justify the monthly cost (I realize many of you can). This is one of the reasons I'm reluctant to choose Pathfinder. I have no doubt as to its quality. However, I'm only entitled to 3 volumes based on the issues owed to me, and since I know I won't finish the AP out, it seems silly to tease myself with its beginning.

I've discovered this thread a little late. I'm DMing AOW online. Although we just started, I think the party could possibly have the worst mix:

Halfling Druid (riding dog companion)
Half Orc Monk (emphasis on grapple)
Gnome Bard
Elf Ranger
Dwarf Divinist

So no tank (the druid with 18 Dex is actually the closest thing), no cleric, and the arcane caster is specialized in divination magic. Even worse, the divinist's player had to drop out, so I'm currently running the dwarf is an NPC.

I'm looking for a RAW interpretation of this situation. Suppose a bard has 4 ranks of Perform(Woodwind). Unfortunately, he doesn't have time to draw his flute, so he decides to try to inspire courage by singing. The bard as 0 ranks in Perform(Sing).

On the one hand, he has at least 3 ranks in a perform skill, and all the rules say "if a bard does not have the required number of ranks in at least one Perform skill, he does not gain the bardic music ability until he acquires the needed ranks." However, he doesn't have at least 3 ranks in the perform skill he is trying to use.

I think the rules are unclear on this issue, and I'm not even sure what common sense dictates. Just because I can play a flute doesn't mean I can sing. However, jack-of-all-trades is the nature of a bard, so maybe for Bardic Music purposes being able to use one perform skill is a good enough basis to for inspiring courage through music generally.

Thoughts?