Erithtotl's page

My players encountered this creature tonight. As we played through the encounter, it seemed to me the signature ability is broken, or I am interpreting it wrong.

https://2e.aonprd.com/Monsters.aspx?ID=854

Captivating Pollen (enchantment, incapacitation, mental, poison) The viper vine releases a 60-foot emanation of invisible pollen that stays in the air for 5 rounds unless dispersed by a moderate or stronger wind. Each creature that enters or starts its turn in the area must attempt a DC 33 Will save or be captivated. The viper vine can't use Captivating Pollen for 1d4 rounds.
Critical Success The creature is unaffected and is temporarily immune to Captivating Pollen for 24 hours.
Success The creature is sickened 1.
Failure The creature is fascinated, and it must spend each of its actions to move closer to the viper vine as expediently as possible while avoiding obvious dangers. If a captivated creature is adjacent to the viper vine, it stays still and doesn't act. It ceases to be fascinated if it's no longer in the pollen aura at the end of its turn.
Critical Failure As failure, plus the creature is stupefied 2 for 24 hours.

So, with a single action it releases a 60' emanation that lasts for 5 rounds. Players in it have to make a high DC will save or be fascinated AND move towards the creature/stand next to it doing nothing AS LONG AS THEY ARE IN THE CLOUD (which lasts for 5 rounds) AND it can do this every 1-4 rounds, meaning it can keep the cloud going forever.

Now fascinate normally gives a -2 to some checks, restricts concentrate actions but is broken as soon as the creature or friendlies are attacked. But the AND part is not fascination, but rather an additional effect not seemingly subject to fascinate's limitations.

So in this case a party of 5 had 3 characters fail their saves, meaning the other two had to take on a level 13 creature.

I decided to let the players re-save every round, since otherwise 3 of them would just stand their slackjawed for the whole fight, and in fact everyone would likely fail their saves eventually as well (I also didn't have them roll additional saves after they had succeeded).

Also, how does the incapacitate trait work since the attack doesn't have a 'spell level'.

An evil druid has raised someone (who died) close to a player as an agent of his druidic circle. Trying to think of what a good monster base might be for this? Want something humanoid (or could even pass as human in a pinch), sentient, will probably give it the druid abilities it had in life.

I can create something from scratch but wondering if anyone has a good idea of something Pahtfinder to use for inspiration, or even something from mythology.

So I'm a very experienced GM but relatively new to Pathfinder 2. I've been running a side game with friends on Roll20. A few people started with Fall of Plaguestone and more joined in as the COVID pandemic had everyone with more time on their hands. We've since moved on from Plaguestone and into stuff of my own creation.

The recent setup is the party was hunting a bunch of kobolds through the forest when the ground gave out and a couple of them ended up falling 25 feet into an ancient dwarven crypt. They duested themselves off and the rest of the party came down via rope (currently 5 players, all 4th level). As they are examining the crypt an ochre jelly comes oozing out of part of the collapsed ruin.

Initiative goes off. Party rogue, not knowing what it is, runs up and stabs it, splitting it in two. There are now two 75 hp ochre jellies (Which do full damage per the rules). Party champion makes a surprisingly good Occult role untrained and announces don't hit it with slashing piercing or electricity. Unfortunately he doesn't have any fire or bludgeoning weapons so he lights a torch. Party fighter (a glaive specialist with no other melee weapons) throws a moderate alchemist fire for like 8 points. The jellys go, first one crits the fighter (who is already down 7 hp from the fall), and grabs him. Second jelly goes, grabs the party fire sorcerer, crits again (knocking her down to 1/3rd hp), and grabs.

Party cleric casts 2 action harm, rolls 4 damage on 2d8.

Sorcerer goes, fails to break out, does get off a burning hands, rolls below average and the ooze doesn't crit fail, so it takes another 9 or so.

So coming around on initiative, we've got two ochre jellies with about 50-60 hp each, grappling the party fighter and sorcerer (the only one who can do consistent non-slashing/piercing in the party. Its quite reasonable via this thread: https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2rrdi?Ochre-Jelly-maintaining-a-grapple-damage

that the Jellies will do 4d4+6 plus 2d4 acid on their turn, or about 21 each, easily taking out the sorcerer and either taking out or almost taking out the fighter, with the rest of the party left with torches doing 1d4+1 as their only options.

Now the players did get unlucky here with the back to back crits, though with a +15 against 4th level characters with ACs around 21 thats not that unbelievable (about a 1 in 15 chance).

I don't see a way out for the party here. It feels like in a relatively confined space (30x50 room) the ochre jelly is WAY above a CR 5 monster. They fought a troll in a previous encounter while already severely weakened (coming off two major encounters with only 10 minute rests) and did just fine. In this case the party came in at full strength. If anything, a full strength 5 player 4th level party should overmatch a single CR5 monster.

Sure I made some mistakes by not realizing how badly the party was equipped to handle this. But it does feel like the ochre jelly should have some more weaknesses than just a low AC.

Thoughts and advice?

I just received this update for this order:

Pathfinder Core Rulebook Deluxe Hardcover
Paizo Inc.
Moved from order 7878654, placed May 23, 2019
79.99 79.99
Pathfinder Lost Omens World Guide Hardcover
Paizo Inc.
Moved from order 7878654, placed May 23, 2019
36.99 36.99
Pathfinder Bestiary Deluxe Hardcover
Paizo Inc.
Moved from order 7878654, placed May 23, 2019
69.99 69.99
S Starfinder Alien Archive 3 Hardcover
Paizo Inc.
Will be in your downloads once shipped
39.99 39.99
S Starfinder Adventure Path #18: Assault on the Crucible (Dawn of Flame 6 of 6)
Paizo Inc.
Will be in your downloads once shipped
22.99 22.99
S Starfinder Adventure Path #19: Fate of the Fifth (Attack of the Swarm! 1 of 6)
Paizo Inc.
Will be in your downloads once shipped

I have already received the regular editions of the Bestiary and Pathfinder Core Rulebook via subscription. I'd rather not get the deluxe versions as well so can they be removed?

Also, I had planned on cancelling my Starfinder Adventure path after Dawn of Flame #6.

Can that please be done so I don't get #19.

Thanks.

Anyone else seeing this today for Pathfinder 2 subscriptions?

I have started a Core Rulebook subscription. No matter how many times I keep selecting 'start with core rulebook' it keeps adding Planar Adventures. I definitely don't want this.

Please make sure my sub starts with the 2.0 content!

Thanks

Hi,

I currently have the first 3 core rulebooks for Pathfinder 2.0.

Is it possible for me to get that converted into the subscription?

Thanks

HI, somehow I ended up with doubles of all the Starfinder minis. Can I get my order changed so I'm getting ONE of each, instead of TWO.

Thank you!

I believe in 5e if the group is required to make checks for something like stealth then only half are required to succeed. Given the rules around Exploration mode something like this makes sense.

So as I read it on page 291, all skills are modified by level regardless of proficiency. So a completely untrained lvl 20 pc with a 18 associated ability will still have a +18 modifier. A legendary indivishal will have a +23. That seems bizarre to me, even taking into account some actions can't be done untrained.

I searched this forum and the GenCon event listing and I don't see any Pathfinder Playtest events. Is that correct or am I missing something?

Just downloaded this and was looking through it.

I noticed the Space Goblin has a +3 DEX bonus but ACs are 11 and 12.

Am I missing something or is this an obvious error?

Option was only to start with #2, but I'd love to get #1 (with the appropriate cost) once its off backorder?

Please add it to my newly purchased sub if possible.

I'm at GenCon, this adventure sold out on day one and its listed unavailable on the website. Will it get more printings? I loved the Starfinder intro game and would like to have from the beginning so I'm subscribing, but it starts with #2.

Hi,

I never received the Gargantuan Skeletal Dragon from my Skull and Shackles order.

Did it ship?

Can someone figure out what happened to it?

For the math challenged, i'm now up to 18 business days since this was supposed to have shipped.

A package containing 2 items from Paizo Order #1335556 is expected to ship from the Paizo warehouse by Thursday, January 21 via Standard Postal Delivery, estimated 4 to 8 business days in transit.

I haven't gotten this. It's been 2 1/2 weeks since it was supposed to ship.

My next shipment is already coming up and I still haven't received the previous one:

Dear Ian,

Thank you for your continuing support of Paizo Publishing!

In the next week or so, we're expecting to ship the next product of your subscription.

When it ships, we'll be charging a total of $36.80 to your credit card. When we charge your card, you'll be given access to a free PDF edition of the product, and we'll also send a confirmation email to let you know that it has shipped.

If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know. Thanks!

Paizo Order #1360119, submitted February 8, 2010 at 05:57 PM (US/Eastern).

The order contains the following items:

1 x Pathfinder Adventure Path #30: The Twice-Damned Prince (Council of Thieves 6 of 6) (PFRPG) Print Edition (preorder) @ 13.99 = $13.99
1 x Pathfinder Chronicles: Guide to the River Kingdoms (PFRPG) Print Edition (preorder) @ 16.99 = $16.99

Subtotal (2 Items): $30.98
Shipping & Handling: $5.82
-----------------------------------
Order Total: $36.80

I have 3 Pathfinder subscriptions.

I chose to have them bundled together to save on shipping. Unfortunately this seems to be punishing me unduly this month.

I have been waiting for weeks for my Bestiary:

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary (OGL) Hardcover
Paizo Publishing, LLC (subscription copy) 1 @ $39.99 $33.99
• Pathfinder Chronicles: Seekers of Secrets—A Guide to the Pathfinder Society (PFRPG)
Paizo Publishing, LLC
Preorder - expected October 2009 (subscription copy) 1 @ $19.99 $16.99
• Pathfinder Chronicles: Book of the Damned—Volume 1: Princes of Darkness (PFRPG) Print Edition
Paizo Publishing, LLC (subscription copy) 1 @ $19.99 $16.99

But Seekers of Secrets is holding up the shipping of my order. So much so that it still doesn't have a release date despite it being October 17th!

What is more, I don't get access to the PDFs for any of these products despite the hundreds of dollars I've spent so far on Paizo products.

It is making me reconsider my subscriptions. Surely if you have a product that has been delayed it shouldn't hold up my whole order and prevent me from seeing the PDF versions!

I want to get the Pathfinder RPG subscription, but I would rather pick up my book at GenCon so I can get it signed and have it on day one.

If it is thought the book will ship and arrive before GenCon, then that solves my problem, otherwise will there be any kind of subscription pick up option at GenCon?

I know Pathfinder at it's core is supposed to be 3.5 compat, so the introduction of a bunch of alternative rules may not be what Paizo wants to do. I hate 4.0 but in some ways I'd like to see Pathfinder going farther than it is in making changes. But perhaps their own equivelent of Unearthed Arcana might be a good follow up.

Here are some rules that I'd like to see given the Pathfinder treatment:

1) Spontaneous casting clerics/druids: The main reason here is that with all the spell supplements in 3.5, it can become really intimidating for these classes to chose spells everyday. Spontaneous casting simplifies that problem.

2) Alternative class abilities to animal companions: I find that animal companions hurt a game a lot more than help. They give one character essentially two creatures to play, the companion is always getting killed at higher levels, and often has 3 or more attacks, which at low levels are very powerful and at high levels just mean that the player is rolling a bunch of pointless attacks that don't do sufficient damage to make a differene.

3) Alternative to wildshape: Like the shapechanger druid variant.

4) Lower magic settings. I have toyed with the idea of providing exta inherent stat, save and ac bonus to PCs and increasing the cost of permanent magic item to remove the overdecorated Christmas Tree effect of high level 3.5 play. I don't mean Iron Heroes here, I just mean %33-%50 less magic than standard 3.5

So rituals in 4e are a neat idea, though not entirely necessary for Pathfinder, given that you are not throwing out the whole spellbook like 4e has done.

But one balancing factor rituals do have is their long cast times keep certain spells from being used as quick fix-its and plot-busters. For example, by having 'discern lies' or 'detect alignment' type spells have a 10 minute casting time, it keeps players from easily circumventing mysteries and other plot elements, and most importantly, the need for use of interpersonal skills. Instead it becomes more of an interrogation spell for captured enemies.

So, my suggestion is, dig through the spell lists, find spells like this and give them long casting times. Problem solved without too much fuss.