I wrote verse for my Enmity Cycle game, basing it on the Persian poem The Conference of the Birds. In this famous long poem a group of birds travels through seven valleys, seeking enlightenment. Here, the Bulbul (a bird with significance in Persian literature) guides the reader on a flight through Thuvia's five cities, seeking unity.
I dribbled the poem out poem along the way as my party repaired the severed head. Our bard riffed on it in some of the final battles, adding his own verse which was a lot of fun.
Sharing here in case it helps anyone's game or sparks inspiration.
______
Dear bulbul, welcome! You will be our guide;
It was on you Artokus Kirran relied
To carry five secret messages between
Five nomadic city-states, wings unseen.
He knew your language and you knew his heart—
As his close confidant you learnt the art
Of pushing jealousies deep underground,
And for these exploits was Thuvia five-crowned.
But talk of five implies plurality –
When five has gone there will be Unity.
(This is the oneness of diversity,
Not oneness locked in singularity);
We journey to the valley of community
a place of kinship and austerity.
There we will understand unspoken words
Too subtle for the ears of mortal birds.
‘Before we reach our goal,’ the bulbul said,
five majestic cities lie ahead.
To Aspenthar's sands, where banners twirl,
Mighty legions march, where power unfurls.
To Duwwor's river, with flowers bright,
And windmills turn in time, in gentle light.
To Lamasara's heart, where the muses weave
What potent visions artists dare conceive.
To Merab's port where cultures twine,
Into an alchemy of goals aligned.
To primal magic at the mountain’s feet,
Turning nature to help sustain its beat.
Fly, little bird, be resolute and brave!
Learn of each and every desert enclave.
Through diversity achieve amity
For all of Thuvia's humanity.
______
You can also corrupt this poem, for example:
Dear crow, beware! You will be our spy;
For you were Artokus' secret spy
To whisper five seeds of discord, fluttering between
Five rival city-states, like murder unseen.
As someone who worked very hard on this for the VO community I would be sad to see it go away forever. So, I will do it myself.
Here is the official VO Handbook made by the VO Taskforce in 2022, with the input of the global community of VOs. This was created by myself, VO Joel Hager, and VO Numbat.
For anyone who is not familiar with this document, it contains the following key sections:
I'm recruiting one person for this campaign. It runs from levels 4-6. Please take a look at my profile to see if you'd be a good fit. I anticipate this module taking 3-5 months, with the lower end of that more likely.
We use Slack for OOC discussion and collaboration, so please be ready to participate there
To apply: tell me what kind of PC you would build, using the house rules I listed.
Can't wait to start! We can discuss character creation and whatnot in Slack. For now I'm looking at these guidelines:
____________________
CHARACTER CREATION
This module has a theme of art and artists. While you'll need to be capable adventurers you probably want to have some kind of connection to the art world, be that as an artist yourself or a tastemaker.
I'm open to ideas if you have a particular concept in mind too.
Starting Wealth
You start at level 4. 140 gp lump sum per PC, or an item array of 1 level 3 item, 2 level 2 items, 1 level 1 item, and 30 GP. Honestly I think the lump sum is easier but maybe you prefer the other way!
Access
All Uncommon options from sourcebooks are available. Rare, or Uncommon from an AP, check with me first.
____________________
PAPERWORK
If you've player with me before you know I have a macros sheet for you to fill out in addition to the normal slides. You can use the macros for your own character profile too.
On the cusp of completing a grand project that would wow audiences and build solidarity between the five squabbling cities of Thuvia, a trio of renowned artists suddenly go missing. Who could be behind such treachery—and why?
I know several new players who've since used the guide as a reference point, so I've been meaning to revisit the guide with fresh eyes. I've since revised it to be less of an "expectations" list and more of a personal essay about what I think works.
I want to share in a new thread because the old thread became a little argumentative. Perhaps this new version is more palatable to the community at large while also providing useful information.
The Glass River lives up to its name: the barge, Queen of Elysium, sways slowly as she makes her way upriver towards the enigmatic nation of Razmiran. Your destination is the Exalted Lodge, the Pathfinder Lodge founded two years ago at the behest of a silver-masked priest named Narsen. The ruined old fort was refurbished, and now the Exalted Lodge stands proudly on a bluff overlooking the Exalted forest
All Hail Razmir, Master of the 31 Steps!
Accommodations are hardly adequate on a ship like this; Razmir is always frugal. At least it’s not cramped: even after the founding of the lodge, few choose to visit Razmiran. There are only a few others who booked passage on this vessel.
You lean against the railing and once again open the letter you received from Fola Barun:
Letter from Fola wrote:
Most esteemed colleagues,
I hope this letter finds you well. I am contacting you with an important request that requires individuals of your proven experience. I need a group of capable of agents to assist Venture Captain Narsen at the Exalted Lodge in Razmiran. He is apparently being plagued by a Razmiri vampire who is specifically targeting Pathfinder agents from a lair somewhere in the Exalted Wood. Narsen cannot leave his lodge unattended long enough to deal with this threat himself and thus far has lost every local agents he’s sent to investigate the problem.
While you assist Narsen with his issue, I have a secondary request for you. Narsen has been true to every letter of his agreement with the Pathfinder Society so far, but we have not made the inroads we hoped for when we made him a venture captain. Much of Razmiran still remains closed to us, and even when concessions are made it often only Pathfinders who are also Razmiri priests that are allowed to observe political activities or investigate reports of undead who have crossed Lake Encarthan from the Gravelands.
We need more Razmiri agents whose loyalty to the Society supersedes their subservience to the priesthood. Of particular interest to me are reports of a vigilante going by the name “Shattermask”. While he seems to have a severe violent streak and a quarrel with the Razmiri priests, he has also eluded their capture for years while performing ever-more violent acts of defiance. I believe that if he could be convinced to temper his actions and work with the Society, he could be a valuable ally and an opportunity for us to gain greater insight into both the true situation in Razmiran and, possibly, Narsen’s motivations. My most recent reports indicate that Shattermask is also hunting the vampire plaguing Narsen’s operations, so it may be that you can establish an alliance with him through shared purpose. If you are able to contact him, please give him the sealed letter I’ve enclosed offering him reasonable accommodations for travel to the Grand Lodge and the possibility of a contract, or even a field commission, available for a trustworthy Razmiri ally who isn’t under the priesthood’s thumb.
I would ask you to be careful about saying anything with regard to the offer to Shattermask in Narsen’s presence. Narsen did not attain the power and position he has without being able to derive an ocean of insight from a droplet of evidence, and I fear he hews a bit too closely to the letter of his word without regard for the spirit in which it is received.
Take care and return safely,
Fola Barun
Let's introduce our PCs! How're you spending time on the barge? Have you visited Razmir before or did you help build this lodge?
Every darn time I have a summoner at the table I come to disagreements, bemusion, or confusion. This is because I don't have the time to build and play one myself, and I don't remember all the wonky rules. It seems players often make honest mistakes with Tandem Action, and other errors in their own favor.
First
Any tips from fellow GMs on adjudicating this class? What're your "gotchas" you watch out when you have a high level summoner at the table? What about interactions with abilities that alter the action economy; I'm thinking Eidolon Mounts/Mount rules, Haste+Tandem, etc? I have the faq bookmarked on my own site but it's still a cause of intense frustration for most summoners I've come across; this compounds the bad feelings at the table.
Second
A source of frustration for me personally is players not unclear about their turn's action types; for example not being clear about what's a tandem action, turn ending, etc. Any tips for better communication from the player side of the screen? Would love to pass this along to players at the FLGS. Right now I ask players to verbally declare tandem actions, and tell me when the turn is over (this goes for all players).
Drives me nuts seeing all these vestigial categories with topics like "Isn't Thaumaturge name bit problematic both on thematic and cultural perspective?" that have just squatted at the top for almost 1.5 years.
Also doesn't seem like a great look for Paizo, with these deprecated threads often with playtest critiques pushed to the front and center
The Avid Collector boon is still needed to get access to the most basic aeon stones such as the humble dull grey aeon stone.
However, the LO Field Guide "Secrets of the Pathfinder Society" section provides ALL Pathfinders (who own the book) with access to:
⠀• agate ellipsoid
⠀• azure briolette
⠀• dusty rose prism
⠀• pale orange rhomboid
⠀• pearlescent pyramid
⠀• pearly white spindle
⠀• western star
We have Wayfinders. We have unique access to advanced "secret" aeon stones. But not the simple ones published the CRB.
Agents should at least have access to the 9GP dead aeon stones for continual flames or general bling, gold nodules for exploring new cultures, and emergency tourmaline spheres for those missions that just don't work out.
Dispel magic only available at level 2 is useless at mid-level on because of how Counteract works. I’d love to see more casters willing and able to dispel in pfs.
Happy to run this! If you haven't played with me before, please take a moment to glance at my GM profile to review style and expectations; it's mostly standard stuff.
— Doug
____________________
SIGNING IN
1. Sign in on RPG Chronicles for chronicle generation and reporting.
2. Put your token on the maps & character reference slides.
3. Enter your Perception, default Exploration Activity, and any secret rolls you want me making for you on the macros sheets. There is an example sheet in there too.
I will be tracking hero points with a Spreadsheet — please note in the discussion here if you have a campaign coin and who you're giving any glyph hero points to.
In the jungles of the Mwangi Expanse, a large group of Pathfinders stands ready to travel beyond a magical gateway whose mysteries stymied a group of the Pathfinder Society's founders.
What lies beyond the doorway is also the crux of the plot of an ancient evil fey, the Thorned Monarch.
Will the Pathfinders unlock lost fey magic, restore buried secrets from the Society's history, and purge the world of the Monarch's evil — or will they fall before the fey's minions and tricks?
"…it is miss labeled when we are looking for something called an errata, and it's in a tab called the FAQ, which right now doesn't function as written it functions as the errata, so you might as well call it that."
Usability just means how easy an interface is to use. Some people on the forums have found the FAQ pages difficult to navigate. I believe this NNG article sums up the core issues at stake (as well as why accordion menus may be an acceptable use case for some). Here is a collection of feedback gathered from elsewhere:
Drakvamp wrote:
"Burying something you want the community to access more often, at the bottom of a menu tab, is not good menu design…"
Pirate Rob]"As a perfectly normal and average Pirate Rob, despite not getting mobile scrolling frozen I find the page nearly unusable on mobile and an unwieldily pain to use on desktop."
"No... I JUST did this to find something and it was quick to find what I was looking for. You start at the bottom dropdown and work your way up and that took maybe a second or two. Ctrl f and shifting through took another few seconds. So maybe 10-15 seconds to find what I waned. If that's too long, I don' know what to tell you."
Some users have pointed out issues with the code. These are not always replicable for all users.
BigNorseWolf wrote:
Graystone wrote:
"No... I JUST did this to find something and it was quick to find what I was looking for. You start at the bottom dropdown and work your way up and that took maybe a second or two."
"Tried this. Click Interstellar species no problem. Click An actual FAQ question and open it, the screen breaks.
Firefox broke after one FAQ. Chrome broke after 4 ish."
"Yep, it's completely broken on (my) Firefox: when you open one list, it doesn't allow you to scroll up or down anymore at all, even if you close the list. Only reloading helps."
"There's something weird going on with pages that have collapsible menus. At a certain point, everything locks up and you can't scroll up or down, preventing you from reading everything on the page.
The phenomenon seems to be rather prevalent with the PFS pages, which have a lot of collapsible menus.
I've tried it on both my desktop and on my phone, in Chrome, and it happens on both devices. I've heard other people having similar issues as well, so it's not just me."
I personally have a really hard time navigating the page with a screen reader (while I am not visually disabled I do try to test things as a blind user at times). The accordion menus on the Org Play FaQ pages seem excessive whereas the Pathfinder FaQs hide mountains of text in unordered lists behind single accordion buttons.
Dennis Muldoon wrote:
Graystone wrote:
"AGAIN, my point is that there is virtually no difference between no hidden content and hidden content that can be unhidden in seconds"
"This is only true if it can truly be unhidden in seconds for everyone, which I highly doubt is the case here. For instance, I suspect the current setup is more challenging if you're searching for something on that page using a screen reader."
A Lighthouse audit found accordion button aria attributes do not match their roles. Screenshot. In addition, multiple navigation landmarks with the same parent region are not distinguished from one another because they have the same "" label.
Semantics
Heading elements are not always in a sequentially-descending order.
Visually Hidden Content is Picked up by Assistive Devices
The PFS/SFS FaQs contain hidden sharing buttons. They are set to transparent color with CSS, meaning they are visually hidden but picked up by screen readers.
I can't help but wonder why these elements have been obfuscated. If they were meant to be removed they should also be flagged as aria-hidden. That said, direct-linking a FAQ item would be a super useful feature!
Search Results
Results UX
The search expands accordions and then fades out the rest of the text to leave the results highlighted in the foreground. This means you have to scroll around a lot on the page to locate your result (gif example).
This makes it really difficult to locate what you want, especially if there are multiple results in multiple FaQs.
Fuzzy search or autocomplete may also be useful as a search for "flick" yields no results but "flickmace" gets you to the errata 4 entry. Many users may not know the exact keyword they want (I suspect most users would not know their exact keyword).
Color Contrast
Search highlights relevant key words but the `match` css is red (#ff0000), which is too low contrast for small text on a white background (3.69:1; WCAG 2.0 level AA requires a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for small text like this). Adding simple CSS to highlight that class with a yellow background-color would help.
Red is also a problem color for red/green colorblind people such as myself. This is an issue I have on play-by-post as well because the dice roller is a small green font on white background.
______ SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
I have intentionally left my own opinions or ideas for solutions out of the conversation for now. Usability is about more than one person's subjective opinion or even a small sample size of one person or group. Accessibility is much more than just passing an automated checker.
It would be amazing if more people need to share their experiences, so we can better understand one another. Hopefully, the Paizo team would be interested in hearing about this stuff.
The two-column layout is a stable of TTRPG publications, but it often makes using a screen reader or extracting text difficult because columns are not consistently recognized by software. here is an example from a recent publication demonstrating this. This is an extremely common issue I've come across, and it's one applicable in all gaming environments.
In addition, the watermark that appears on every page on Paizo PDFs gets picked up by screen readers and text-to-speech programs, but it should be flagged as decorative just like you would a running head in a textbook.
I would love to be able to download simple, one-column, accessible, PDFs. I'm not even disabled, I just want to copy text for handouts or use a text-to-speech program while prepping games. I cannot imagine how difficult this must be for those who truly depend on screen readers. Maybe there is some other solution I don't see.
That said, my own experience is that two-column, structured documents are very difficult to create as readers are often inconsistent, and building accessible and structured PDFs takes effort, time, and testing. Things I am sure many users here will inform me that Paizo devs don't have the time or budget for.
However, I wanted to discuss this here and see if others would find value in this.
Some of the treasures such as cordelia’s construct key are rather complex and can summon other creatures on top of having multiple activations, so it's a long handout. I'd recommend printing only what you're gonna use.
After King Merlokrep was defeated by human adventurers decades ago, the Truescale Kobolds were routed. His amazing, extra spiky crown was stolen away by the pinkskins! This crown is a relic of awe, and legends say only the truest of all kobolds can bring the Crown of the Kobold King back home.
That was a long time ago. Generations of kobolds have come and gone. Your clan slowly reformed… digging new tunnels, fighting monsters in the dark, laying cunning traps, and making a home for themselves. Indeed, the Truly True Truescales have finally carved out enough tunnels to have a real home again!
Of course, it's far from perfect. At times your friends perish in haphazard mining excavations… but that is the price you have to pay to acquire hoards of shiny treasure; there's also a new kobold in town annoying everyone with sermons about some pinkskin named "Iomedae," but everyone puts up with her ravings… for now.
Worse still, Queen Qweenzeenk was recently coronated, but her consort slipped on the dais steps and poked out her eye with the ceremonial spear. Her rule may be ill-starred.
Finally, and worst of all, the horrible Pinkskins above have cleared so much forest they've moved near your territory. Trees crash and saws buzz above the tunnels, making a huge racket. The pinkskins kill any kobolds on sight — for such petty crimes as taking a salted fish! They're all horrible.
Everything is changing. Someone needs to fix these problems, or the Truly True Truescales may have to go find a new home all over again! Are there any Truly True Truescales true enough to step up and help their people?
A skull with glowing eyes was among the many objects which recently turned up in the Pathfinder Society's vaults, and none of the other objects are quite so talkative as this one! In fact, the skull isn't an object at all, but a person. The Society isn't sure who, or what, they are, and the skull seems to have lost their memories. Nonetheless, the skulls request—no, insists—that the Society return them to their former glory at once!
Grand Archivist Zarta Dralneen has determined that the skull is from Quantium, the magic-filled capital of Nex. She dispatches a group of Pathfinders to conduct a simple research mission and guide the skull around the city, hoping to jar the skull's memories and learn the truth.
"See the world," they said. "Simple research mission," they said.
______
You're sailing South on the Obari Ocean, en route to Quantium. The Society covered your expenses for the voyage, asking you to keep your wayfinders and other signs of affiliation with the Society under wraps, and to travel aboard a low-profile merchant vessel to avoid attention.
Though the journey is free, it is unpleasant; about the rickety Opportune, you must contend with uncomfortable bunks and dusty provisions — not to mention the creaky, leaky ship lurching across the waves.
Please introduce your characters! How are you coping with this journey? How do you feel about visiting the majestic city of Nex… that is, assuming the Opportune doesn't sink en route?
1. How do you pronounce Zykyryz? I'm going to say "Ziick-yirrr-yeez"
2. "She heard from Sebnet that a recent Pathfinder mission involved eliminating a smuggling ring operating under the city, and that the conflict had spread up to the surface in this area." — what scenario is this? I've run almost all the 2e scenarios but I'm not such what this refers to.
Welcome! We can use Discord for discussion but I will put important links here.
______ Google Slides
We will use Google Slides for our tactical maps. I will add artwork and maps and handouts as we go. For now, I like to provide a character reference slide for everyone. This functions like a table tent would at a live table, and you can out your artwork and other reference info on it. I will also track hero points on this handout. The is a marching order handout on Slide 2 of the presentation, go ahead and put your token there.
I suspect Eleanor has 3 or 4 glyphs and Josh has one, and iff Dennis is playing he has 4. So we can assume everyone will start with 2 hero points for now.
Venture-Captain Bjersig Torrsen has set out the call for a group of Pathfinders to compete in a race known as the Balgirdtrek. Taking place in the Land of the Linnorm Kings, this race is an annual event that includes participants from both the Varki and Ulfen people of the region. Bjersig hopes that by having the PCs participate, they might not only bolster the Society's reputation in the Saga Lands, but also document this exciting event. Although the Society has the organizers' official permission, some of the Ulfen competitors in particular see the Pathfinders' participation as an intrusion on their time-honored pastime. The true challenge of this race is not monsters or villains, but the harsh nature of the grueling marathon itself.
Dot in here with your PC. You can delete the post after you dot in — the game will then appear on your Camapigns page, which is located at https://paizo.com/people/YourUserName/campaigns For example, my campaign page is at https://paizo.com/people/DougHahn/campaigns.
Don't have any questions or feedback at this time.
I made a half-page handout for exploration group activities, with each terrain type from the scenario included. I also included Vantage Point and Subsist DCs for each terrain type where relevant. Finally, I converted the base exploration rules into another half-page handout.
When I pick avatars for characters I go through every page by hand because the filters are out of date. It's a major roadblock to me because the site conks out all the time and I lose my place in the galleries. All too often, the process can take hours.
Thanks for your interest in this game. Very excited to GM the special! If you haven't gamed with me on the Paizo boards, take a look at my GM Profile to get a feel for my style and expectations.
Having made several recent forays into a set of unearthed ruins in the volcanic region of Droskar’s Crag, the Pathfinder Society has uncovered what could be an access point to the lost dwarven city of Raseri Kanton. Pathfinder agents from across Golarion have come to support the Society’s latest large-scale endeavor. However, the Aspis Consortium have also begun exploring the ruins, so it’s a race to see who can reach Raseri Kanton first!
I am taking applications for this game here. Please see my profile regarding post expectations and overall style to ensure a good fit!
As this is the highest-tier scenario currently offered in PFS, I want to try and make it a special experience for everyone involved. To that end I am recruiting a balanced party who can proactively focus on this scenario, keep things positive in the face of challenging encounters, and collaborate successfully.
Please post with the PC you want to bring, tell me something interesting about them, and let me know how many other games you're signing up for in the special. I want people who will be engaged with the material; this means posting at least once a day and checking in on the threads multiple times a day.
I will be choosing applicants based on fit, party balance, and availability to focus on this game. To hold up my end of the bargain I will be GMing fewer scenarios this gameday to focus only on this game and (hopefully) the special. We’ll lock things in as fast as we can.
I will post RPG Chronicles info here when we're done recruiting. I also have a character macros sheet I ask player to fill out, and a reference slides sheet.
The scrollmaster Effeflinn Whyst is never seen outside the libraries of the Pathfinder Society’s Grand Lodge. She speaks only in ancient songs and rhymes, and some claim that she has memorized every book in the archives. Kreighton Shaine, the enigmatic Master of Scrolls, avoids her at all costs. The two elves clearly share some history, but no one has ever learned their story.
When Effeflinn suddenly rushes through a portal in the Grand Lodge, and Kreighton goes in after her, the Society organizes an expedition into the mysterious and deadly caverns on the other side of the portal. Where have the scrollmasters gone? What secrets have they kept, and why? The Society is going to need its best agents to face the dangers and solve the mysteries in the Cavern of the Sundered Song.
- Encrypted / Decrypted letter from the Peddler (I encrypted it according to what the scenario says)
- Letters to minions (Letter to Cole about previous targets, and letter about meeting place) (I made these up)
- Chase handouts with skills listed in order of ascending difficulty
Ran this today; the party did just about as well as possible, skipping all the combats they could and it ran in 5.5 hours. This was expected in a high-tier game, but making a note here in case it helps others with scheduling.
I'd also recommend GMs take careful note about fleeing thresholds, as I made a mistake on the first combat and it lasted a bit longer than it should. (I would love to see this on the statblock page somewhere!)
Page 8 wrote:
If the group earns at least as many Truce Points as half the number of PCs (rounded down)
1. Fill in the macros sheet here — each PC has a tab. Check "Send to GM" for all skills you are comfortable with me using for secret checks like recall knowledge.
2. Fill in the character reference here with your PCs' tokens and marching order. We'll hand out extra hero points for PFS glyphs and campaign coins too because I want to recognize everyone's efforts.
3. Sign in here. You must include your exact XP for the PC you are putting the credit on. It will be 8 XP / 20 bundles. You can sign in when we get close to the end.
⚰⚰⚰
Character Building
• Please use Treasure for new Characters (either the item array or lump sum) for your gear; you are level 3.
• I want to use Ancestral Paragon for this as well, essentially giving everyone an extra ancestry feat. Just a little something extra to build with since we won't be leveling during the module!
• Uncommon options from rule or campaign settings books are fine; anything rare or from an AP should be cleared with me first.
Centuries ago, the massive Shining Crusade destroyed the Whispering Tyrant Tar-Baphon, an incredibly powerful lich. Knowing he might someday return, the Whispering Tyrant’s foes sealed his remains away under his old tower, Gallowspire, and formed the nation of Lastwall to guard his crumbling edifice for centuries… until three years ago, when the Tyrant was reborn. In a matter of weeks, the furious lich laid waste to Lastwall. The lost nation, now known as the Gravelands, is a haunted and desolate place overrun with undead. On the edge of the Gravelands, someone from the tiny village of Fiorna’s Faith sends a desperate message…
Building an automaton. I can't find much in current LO offerings beyond what's already on Pathfinderwiki.
Any resources out there on this, as well as the history of that region (Rahadoum and such)? Happy to purchase a 1e AP (no need to worry about spoilers), or other source book.
• Sign in
• Character reference Slides — add your tokens and shiny snazzy campaign coins (congrats Dennis)! Everyone will start with 2 hero points as there are prolific GMs in this group, and this is already included.
• Character macros — grab a tab on the sheet and fill it in Happy to help if you need assistance. This is where I bootstrap secret checks and such.
I always wanted to play a puppetmaster magus in 1e and never got a chance. Also, the party needs a Face.
How would you make one in 2e? I’m looking at laughing shadow magus chassis, expansive spellstrike, and all-in on Captivator feats and starting with 16 charisma on an elf (+dex, int, cha).
Witch dedication is probably more efficient to get access to Occult spells, but the captivator feats more closely align with the 1e archetype (and the fast-tracked expert casting track is cool).
----
Build starts at 10 for a module and ends at 13/14:
2: Expansive Spellstrike
4: Captivator Dedication
6: Captivating Intensity
8: Heightened Captivation for Heroism
10: Expert Captivatot casting (Gurts losing the 10 laughing shadow feat)
12: Dimensional Disappearance
14: Effortless Captivation (sustain hideous laughter as a free action)
Captivator Spells:
0: Daze, Infections Enthusiasm
1: Lose the Path
2: Hideous Laughter (remove AOOs even on success so I can spells strike!)
3: Heroism (Heightened when I access level 6 spells at 12)
4: Confusion (I wanna just spellstrike to confuse someone)
5: Synesthesia
----
I don’t know if there’s any code to crack other than “just admit your magus will always be sub-optimized if you want to also use charisma."
A couple of months ago I started a website collecting some player guides that I felt were missing from the community, as well as some excellent docs written by another VO.
Then I started wondering why we were doing all this work alone when there are smart people on these boards already writing awesome guides.
I’d love to collaborate on some open-source docs, specifically designed to help out new players! So, I am sharing this project with the world and inviting anyone to join in.
The guides need editing help all around. They also need fresh ideas from people who are subject matter experts (especially in VTTs like Foundry). Anyone can contribute — either with the writing, editing, or technical details. To make edits you don't even need to know any code, just Markdown. (If you used Reddit before you probably know enough Markdown; it's easier than Paizo forum code!)
It's easy to submit an edit. It's then reviewed before being published, so you don't even have to worry about breaking anything. All you need is a GitHub account and you're a few of mouse clicks away from helping out:
How to make edits:
1. Make a GitHub account.
2. Click on the little pencil tool when you hover over a heading area
3. Click Fork this Repository (basically, make a copy of the site)
4. Edit the document
5. Scroll down to Proposed Changes and add a title for your proposed change, and some text as to why
6. Click Propose Changes
7. Click Create Pull Request (this is just a fancy way of telling the authors to review your changes)
8. I will review and approve or reject your change with a reason why
9. The change will be merged into the master document and published
10. Give yourself a Hero Point for helping the community
Tying to bring some positivity to the top of forum
In-person play is picking up in our area, and it's so great to make new friends and reconnect with old friends.
Last week I gamed with someone I hadn't seen in over 2 years. We also have a couple of really awesome new locals coming into the store too. I find myself genuinely happy when I'm on the way to the FLGS, in a way that was missing from online games.
What's something you're enjoying about Org Play lately?
Viltydus has a strong knack for assigning tasks that glorify his pupils and allow them to use their strengths to achieve success.
I loved the narrative prompt to choose tasks that the PCs are actually good at, as sometimes GMs do the opposite thing for repeatables. The other advice on choosing the encounters is excellent, too.
Running this ins a 6-hour session at the FLGS next weekend. Finishing my read-through today and I anticipate needing to run an efficient session.
Has anyone run this yet?
I am actually thinking of removing ALL undead encounters from part 1 except the plague zombie(s) trapped in the room in the inn, and just using it to slowly ramp up the atmosphere. (I personally enjoy the "slow burn" kind of horror movie). Thoughts on that?
How long did it take your group? Any GM tips? How did your players enjoy it?
Never even opened the box for Book of the Dead. It's just sitting in closet.
I know this topic has been discussed before and the answer was essentially "We won't ever do a PDF-only subscription because then we would't sell hardback books."
That answer is from 2010. Today, I suspect that a significant portion of Paizo's audience prefers PDFs and doesn't even want physical books. I donate all my books to the local gaming community these days, but even then they see little use as everyone seems to prefer PDFs now. In the end, it's a bit of extra work to pretend I'm not wasting a lot of paper.
Every community is different, so this may not be the case everywhere. I think there's also a strong contingent of people who like the hardbacks (perhaps more so in this digital age).
Has Paizo's stance evolved over the last 12 years? "We must give our customers something we don't want, otherwise we will go out of business" may be a flawed business model.
Another idea might be to opt out of physical books. I'd pay the same… I just don't want the hardback books.
Full Name
Magnus the Magnificent
Race
Human
Classes/Levels
Arcanist 1 | HP 9/9 | AC 12; Tch 11; FF 11 | F +3; R +1; W +3 | CMB-2; CMD 9 | Speed 30 ft | Init +3 | Quarterstaff: -2 (1d6-2) | Perc +2
About Magnus the Magnificent
Male Arcanist (School Savant) 1
CG Medium Humanoid (Human)
Init +3 (Reactionary); Senses Perception +2
Languages Common, Aklo, Gnome, Goblin, Sylvan, Thassilonian
Arcane Reservoir (Su): An arcanist has an innate pool of magical energy that she can draw upon to fuel her arcanist exploits and enhance her spells. The arcanist's arcane reservoir can hold a maximum amount of magical energy equal to 3 + the arcanist's level. Each day, when preparing spells, the arcanist's arcane reservoir fills with raw magical energy, gaining a number of points equal to 3 + 1/2 her arcanist level. Any points she had from the previous day are lost. She can also regain these points through the consume spells class feature and some arcanist exploits. The arcane reservoir can never hold more points than the maximum amount noted above; points gained in excess of this total are lost. Points from the arcanist reservoir are used to fuel many of the arcanist's powers. In addition, the arcanist can expend 1 point from her arcane reservoir as a free action whenever she casts an arcanist spell. If she does, she can choose to increase the caster level by 1 or increase the spell's DC by 1. She can expend no more than 1 point from her reservoir on a given spell in this way.
Arcanist Exploits: By bending and sometimes even breaking the rules of magic, the arcanist learns to exploit gaps and exceptions in the laws of magic. Some of these exploits allow her to break down various forms of magic, adding their essence to her arcane reservoir. At 1st level and every 2 levels thereafter, the arcanist learns a new arcane exploit selected from the following list. An arcanist exploit cannot be selected more than once. Once an arcanist exploit has been selected, it cannot be changed. Most arcanist exploits require the arcanist to expend points from her arcane reservoir to function. Unless otherwise noted, the saving throw DC for an arcanist exploit is equal to 10 + 1/2 the arcanist's level + the arcanist's Charisma modifier.
Bonus Feat: Humans select one extra feat at 1st level.
Consume Spells (Su): At 1st level, an arcanist can expend an available arcanist spell slot as a move action, making it unavailable for the rest of the day, just as if she had used it to cast a spell. She can use this ability a number of times per day equal to her Charisma modifier (minimum 1). Doing this adds a number of points to her arcane reservoir equal to the level of the spell slot consumed. She cannot consume cantrips (0 level spells) in this way. Points gained in excess of the reservoir's maximum are lost.
Dazing Touch (Sp): You can cause a living creature to become dazed for 1 round as a melee touch attack. Creatures with more Hit Dice than your wizard level are unaffected. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Intelligence modifier.
Enchanting Smile (Su): You gain a +2 enhancement bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate skill checks. This bonus increases by +1 for every five wizard levels you possess, up to a maximum of +6 at 20th level. At 20th level, whenever you succeed at a saving throw against a spell of the enchantment school, that spell is reflected back at its caster, as per spell turning.
School Focus (Su): At 1st level, a school savant chooses a school of magic. The arcanist gains the abilities granted by that school, as the arcane school class feature of the wizard, treating her arcanist level as her wizard level for these abilities. She can also further specialize by selecting a subschool. In addition, the arcanist can prepare one additional spell per day of each level she can cast, but this spell must be chosen from the selected school.
Finally, the arcanist must select two additional schools of magic as her opposition schools. Whenever she prepares spells from one of her opposition schools, the spell takes up two of her prepared spell slots. In addition, a school savant takes a –4 penalty on any skill checks when crafting a magic item that has a spell from one of her opposition schools as a prerequisite. A school savant cannot select the school understanding arcanist exploit.
This ability replaces the arcanist exploits gained at 1st, 3rd, and 7th levels.
Skilled: Humans gain an additional skill rank at first level and one additional rank whenever they gain a level.
Spellcasting: An arcanist casts arcane spells drawn from the sorcerer/wizard spell list. An arcanist must prepare her spells ahead of time, but unlike a wizard, her spells are not expended when they're cast. Instead, she can cast any spell that she has prepared consuming a spell slot of the appropriate level, assuming she hasn't yet used up her spell slots per day for that level. To learn, prepare, or cast a spell, the arcanist must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the spell's level. The saving throw DC against an arcanist's spell is 10 + the spell's level + the arcanist's Intelligence modifier. An arcanist can only cast a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Her base daily spell allotment is given on Table: Arcanist under “Spells per Day.” In addition, she receives bonus spells per day if she has a high Intelligence score. An arcanist may know any number of spells, but the number she can prepare each day is limited. At 1st level, she can prepare four 0-level spells and two 1st-level spells each day. At each new arcanist level, the number of spells she can prepare each day increases, adding new spell levels as indicated on Table: Arcanist Spells Prepared. Unlike the number of spells she can cast per day, the number of spells an arcanist can prepare each day is not affected by her Intelligence score. Feats and other effects that modify the number of spells known by a spellcaster instead affect the number of spells an arcanist can prepare. An arcanist must choose and prepare her spells ahead of time by getting 8 hours of sleep and spending 1 hour studying her spellbook. While studying, the arcanist decides what spells to prepare and refreshes her available spell slots for the day. Like a sorcerer, an arcanist can choose to apply any metamagic feats she knows to a prepared spell as she casts it, with the same increase in casting time (see Spontaneous Casting and Metamagic Feats). However, she may also prepare a spell with any metamagic feats she knows and cast it without increasing casting time like a wizard. She cannot combine these options—a spell prepared with metamagic feats cannot be further modified with another metamagic feat at the time of casting (unless she has the metamixing arcanist exploit, detailed below).
Spell Books: An arcanist must study her spellbook each day to prepare her spells. She can't prepare any spell not recorded in her spellbook, except for read magic (which all arcanists can prepare from memory). An arcanist begins play with a spellbook containing all 0-level wizard/sorcerer spells plus three 1st-level spells of her choice. The arcanist also selects a number of additional 1st-level spells equal to her Intelligence modifier to add to the spellbook. At each new arcanist level, she gains two new spells of any spell level or levels that she can cast (based on her new arcanist level) for her spellbook. At any time, an arcanist can also add spells found in wizards' or other arcanists' spellbooks to her own.
Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: Arcanists are proficient with all simple weapons. They are not proficient with any type of armor or shield. Armor interferes with an arcanist's gestures, which can cause her spells with somatic components to fail (see Arcane Spells and Armor).
BACKGROUND:
“Captivating appeal, artfully wielded, is akin to magic.”
Magnus was the only child of an unmarried mother deserted by his father. Destitute, his mother left Magnus in the care of a workshop owner and his wife in Sandpoint when Magnus was six years old, paying them to care for her child while she worked in Magnimar.
Unknown to his mother, the pair abused Magnus while he was under their care. They mercilessly beat and starved him and forced him to perform heavy labor in their workshop. Further, they exploited and victimized the poor child, who looked thin and pale and wore rags for clothing. Abruptly, his mother stopped visiting. Unbeknownst to the boy, she had passed away, and his caretakers never told him he was an orphan. Magnus never knew his own surname.
One winter day, with bruised and reddened skin and no shoes, Magnus went to fetch water at the well. At this point, Magnus disappeared from the history of Sandpoint for decades, though what exactly happened is unclear. The spry old man who would reappear to the town told his story thus:
It happened that a tiny, whimsical-looking humanoid with gossamer wings watched him that day he fetched water. Curious, this pixie followed him around for some time and took great interest in him. Noting the bruising and fear on his face, the kindly pixie, Thiana, took compassion on the boy. Putting his caretakers to sleep with magic arrows, she spirited the boy away.
Thiana took Magnus to the First World—her home—via magic that only worked where boundaries between the planes were thin. Upon arrival, the wide-eyed boy discovered an infinite plane of constantly varying wilderness, with trees as tall as mountains, living bodies of water, and traveling fairie courts. There, even the laws of nature seemed to be suspended. Magnus found all manner of strange creatures: gnomes, dryads, faeries, nixies, as well as more sinister fey. His new companions took care of this child and effectively raised him.
Nothing from his world could possibly compare. The fey treated Magnus as a novelty, and invited the child to all the parties, competitions, and storytelling festivals, where the food, drink, and entertainment were unmatched.
At one such festival, Magnus drew the attention of a fey lord, a being of high station and prodigious personal power. He ruled over a great city in the First World, and his word was law. Taking interest in this curious child, the fey lord invited Magnus into his court. After some time, the fey lord grew old, and when a fey lord or lady dies, the court does not remain leaderless for long. Upon his death, through some twist of obscure fey law or more likely as the fey lord’s last mischievous trick, Magnus was appointed ruler of the fey city, at least for a time. However, rulership came with the caveat that Magnus would need to return home upon completion of his reign.
Time passed differently in the First World than it did in Golarion, and a hundred years transpired with Magnus ruling his fey city. Though initially hesitant to accept a child’s rule, during his reign the fey city passed a century with the grandest parties and most spectacular entertainment only a child living in a fey realm could envision. He surrounded himself with things of utmost beauty, and the whole thing became a great game for both Magnus and those he ruled. His fey subjects dubbed Magnus ‘the Magnificent.’ Still, all good things come to an end, and eventually his hundred years of felicity also passed. Magnus had to return to his own world.
After saying goodbye to Thiana, with sorrow Magnus made his way back through a rift in the planes. Going back also had severe repercussions, however, and Magnus’s age magically caught up with him, changing him from a happy-go-lucky child (albeit one that had lived over a hundred years) to an old man. Even so, Magnus remained energetic and overactive.
That is the curious, practically unbelievable tale told by the old man now calling Sandpoint home. He complains that being back in Golarion for the past few years has been tediously boring. Nothing could live up to the parties, festivals, nymphs, and other beautiful things. Seeing his old age and white hair, Magnus now mistakenly frets that he has experienced ‘Bleaching’—the physical decolorization and aging of a gnome caused by lack of exposure to new and exciting experiences. Magnus claims that if he can immerse himself in new situations, he can halt or even reverse the physiological drain, restoring color and joie de vivre to his life.
Since his ‘return,’ Magnus has spent his time seeking after new experiences, entertaining children with magical cantrips, waiting for ‘visits from Thiana,’ and occasionally putting his neighbors to sleep or charming them with his magic (some of these endeavors have even earned him some substantial gold, whether ill-gained or not). Most consider him a senile or crazy old man living just outside of town, with the exception of Ameiko Kaijitsu, who seems to think there might be more to this old man. The two have hit it off (or at least Ameiko is significantly entertained), and Magnus has a massive, poorly concealed crush on her, which seems amusing to Ameiko. Still, Magnus's pastimes are starting to become mundane. He needs to cause a sensation.
At least, that's the story the old man claims. Whether it's true, in part or in whole, is something most in Sandpoint dismiss in amusement. But the old man insists it is true.
Appearance: Magnus is stooped by time, an old man leaning on a staff. He has an aged face with great snowy brows. His eyes are remarkably lively, and sometimes he even appears wild-eyed. He has a long white beard, and is prone to dressing in robes that change colors slightly, almost looking like prismatic light, as he moves. He speaks with a melodic voice.
Personality: Meddlesome and brave, the eccentric Magnus is fey-like in his personality. He is mischievous, crafty, capricious, and charming. He takes very little seriously, except for magic, which he treats as an art form. Magnus considers himself a great master of this art, though much of his mastery is in his imagination.
He trades in mischief and favors--a powerful bargain tool of the fey. If anyone accepts his offering or gift, he feels they are indebted to him. He will rarely do something tedious when more fun could be had.
Though often impatient, he can be a brilliant and careful tactician when required. Magnus has found that sometimes, playing the part of a senile old man can have its advantages.
He is a fierce champion of the underdog and downtrodden, especially children. Magnus has no sense of direction whatsoever, and hates cold iron.
Quotes:
“In the art of magic, keeping a secret is the greatest sleight.” ”Fiddlesticks!” “To be a scholar study math, to be a smart study magic.” “Sleight comes with exercise, subtlety comes with experience.” ”Any impossibility turned into a possibility is magic.” ”And furthermore! I forgot what I was saying…” ”The young man knows the rules, but the old man knows the exceptions.” ”The object of the art of enchantment is not to reproduce reality, but to create a reality of the same intensity.”
