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I don't really understand the question... You have a paladin that wants to take levels in ranger? Are you playing pathfinder rules, if yes there are no rules against this? Are you using a forgotten realms setting? More info on his chosen diety and paladin code would help. Details details details my friend, we are not all setting encyclopedias.
If only we have button allowing us to add tags faster (by highlighting a part of text and pushing bold button next to text window for example), at least in conversions/homebrew sections - adding tags manually to monster stat blocks, spells and other game-specific material is pain under the tail... That would be an awesome feature, a small bar at the top of the message box with a few buttons to control the tags available to us. Not actually modify the text when clicked, just add the tags. If text is highlighted put them on either side of the highlighted text, if not put the tags on either side of the cursor.the Dice and List tags could be more complicated, but not necessarily, just have it add the tags and leave the instructions at the bottom of the page as they are now.
I think of it more as a limit on what you could find in a shop. "oh you want this item that is a kagillion gp? Well i dont sell anything that powerful, but if you go see this powerful wizard he might be able to help""yeah i can make that for you but you will have to bring me X, Y, Z, pay me N gold. Walk my dog, fix my roof, find me a virgin, deliver this letter, and participate in a summoning"
If you drew your own map, based on Paizo's map, would that still be copyright infrigement?No. You may make your own versions of our cartography. So you could in theory make a map, the same dimensions as the PDF, with all roads, cities, and terrain marked in approximately the same places. I'm picturing very simple art, a dozen colors used maybe, triangles marking mountain ranges, dots to mark towns, squares to mark cities, stuff like that.This would be an accurate representation of the geography of Golarion, but would use none of Paizo's art work. Would you be allowed to mark locations with their names without infringement? Would this theoretical map be allowed to be distributed for free? for profit? would it fall under the CUP?
Seems mostly for flavour. The hand crossbow is smaller, easier to conceal than a light crossbow, makes sense to be on the rogue list, seems almost designed to be used with poisons, fired from stealth. This is not a weapon you use in a fair fight with your opponent, this is what you use when you sneak up on your opponent to plant a bolt in their brain stem.
I agree with you 100%, learning this rule set is a little bit like learning math. You can sit there and have someone explain it to you repeatedly, and it can all make perfect sense, and you think you have a good grasp on it. But then you go to apply it and you get tripped up, mixed up, and straight up forget things.The only way to truly learn it, to commit the knowledge to memory and have a solid base reference in your head, is to DO IT. You have to practice, sit down, start from scratch and build things using the rules. Choose 3 classes you like; build a level 1 character for each. Then sit down and level one of them up 2, then 3, then 4, then 5. For another one try "jumping" levels, level him straight to 5. For another one, try adding a couple levels of a different class to the mix. This will help you see how many exceptions there really are, there are lots. It will also get you used to adjusting character sheets to show exceptions, there are no solid guide lines for this, you gotta figure out what works for you.
The Beginner Box is very cool, especially if you have no minis or maps already. Grab a dry erease marker and some blank paper and you are off to the races. Consider running the beginner box scenario, then maybe some bashes or little missions you write to get people an idea of how things work. Then roll up new chracters and start Crypt of the Everflame, it is the start of a nice "mini AP" that ties 3 modules together. From Crypt move on to Masks of the Living God, and then on to City of Golden Death. You will be able to get multiple sessions out of each module, 2 at the least, many more depending on the length of your session and amount of RP. This little chain will get you up to level 6, close to level 7. By the time you finish you will probably be fast approaching the RotRL release date. Throw in another 7th level module after that and you should be golden.
From what i remember of the fountain, the writing is deciphered to say something along the lines of "if you drop a gold coin in and take a drink you will have a temporary boon bestowed upon you"
Just go with whatever makes sense to you.
Welcome to the community! I was in your shoes just a couple months ago and I can tell you from my experience that these forums will be your best friend in learning the game. If you are confused about a rule, or need some tips for running your game, or want some advice on anything pathfinder related there is a wealth of knowledge in past posts and a very useful search engine. And if you cant find what you are looking for start a new thread and ask away, we have some very knowledgeable forum junkies and very few trolls around here. Add to that the incredible creative minds lurking around. Have a plot idea you want some help developing? Post it and watch as the community adds their ideas to yours.
The GM learning curve is certainly a steep one, but these forums make for an excellent stair case. There are many threads around here for new GM advice, just do a couple searches (the Advice and Beginner Box boards will be your best bet) and start reading some posts, you wont regret it.
Resurrection is costly, if the players have an agreement that they will do whatever they can to restore a faller comrade to life start killing them off. Use this to make them "pay back" all the money they gained by selling at 100% Or have a thieves guild move into town that starts imposing a tax on everything sold, purchased or services rendered. Have someone (the aforementioned thieves guild?) steal their custom magic items. They have observed how powerful they are any want them for themselves, seems plausible.Then they might go on a mission to get it back, but by the time they do it is appropriately powered for their new level. As for the stats, well there's not much to be done that's not going to make the players feel like you are nerfing them pretty bad. You can try making generous use of the Advanced simple template. Get the Combat Manager program there is a thread on the boards here somewhere concerning it. With it you can select your monster and with the click of a check box apply the template automatically. this might help even the playing field. As for the number of players that is always a tough one. I had to turn away a couple potential players from my game recently because we are already at 5. All i can think is to add a few extra monsters, give the casters the ability to summon monsters. Maybe the bad guys have pets. Maybe their god is watching over them ready to grant them a boon if needed. See how the encounters are going, if they are slashing through it and taking no damage have the baddies call in some backup that was lurking around the corner. If they are having a tough time of it, well those guys never actually existed and your players will be none the wiser. And remember that the screen is your best friend, fudging is ok when it adds to the enjoyment of the game for your players (first) and yourself (second).
They know they are demon worshipers, the cult worships the demon lord Sifkesh, it is she who grants divine spells and the like. They are not aware (apart from a very few who may come to realize it) that they can be manipulated by Mishtal for her own ends. Mishtal continues to pose as a herald of Sifkesh until she can safely reveal her true intentions, or they are revealed against her will. All followers with her taint remain devoted to her no matter what. They do not realize it affects them this way, they only know that great power can be harnessed through it. Though they are well aware of what they are worshiping, it is a secret society, they know their practices would not be accepted. Many are prominent members of society and pay false homage to the common gods of the area. A noble family, with a very strong tainted bloodline, directs cult activity. They also have spies strategically positioned in cities and have infiltrated select institutions. The survival of Mishtal is not well know in the cult, the leaders have recovered scrolls prophesying her return. They did not know the amulet is linked to the ring, or of the hands existence until the ring communicates with the amulet. This triggers a vision of the ringed hand and a compulsion obtain it and unite the two.
Pretty good story Choon, however this particular hand is evil, NE but very ambitious. Story details follow, i hope none of my players are reading these forums, but if you are, stop reading! backstory: It is the hand of an Erinyes named Mishtal, who was cast out from Hell and imprisoned in the Abyssal plane. Eventually "rescued" by Sifkesh (a Demon Lord) she was bound into service to act as a herald of Sifkesh in the Material plane. She led a fledgling cult into prominence and power. Sifkesh had learned of an ancient dark ritual that would grant her the powers of a true god. This ritual required the self sacrifice of thousands in her name, a mass suicide. Sifkesh did not know however that her herald plotted with a select few high ranking cultists to betray Sifkesh and seize power for herself. The ritual was interrupted by the allied forces of good deities before it could be completed. Many of the cultists were slaughtered to prevent them taking their own lives, some were taken prisoner and others escaped. As part of the ritual the Erinyes spread a demonic/infernal taint, Sifkesh believed this to be on her behalf, however it was designed to bend the cultists to her own will. Those who survived and escaped the slaughter retain and pass this heritage through their bloodline. All who carry the taint are loyal first and for most to Mishtal, though they do not always realize this. It was during the battle at the ritual that Mishtal was defeated. But she had taken precautions, binding herself to the amulet and ring. Her power drained and body destroyed in battle only her hand survived. One of her most loyal servants, a powerful mage, recovered the hand. Knowing that she had no chance of achieving her goals with the gods on watch he hid the hand away, that it would remain hidden for centuries until she had faded from memory. He did this in hopes that one day she would return to complete the ritual she set in motion. Thats what i've come up with anyways, now i just need a good name for the cult, i'm terrible with names.
So up next for the party I'm running Feast of Ravenmoor and i have been trying to work out how to incorporate my cult into the story. I'll spoiler the rest since there may be module details. Feast Of Ravenmoor:
In the back story for the module there are 2 Dark Stalkers who pose as druidic advisers to the mayor. One of them has recently been killed. I am thinking of replacing the Dark Stalkers with Cultists, with one of them remaining.
The Cult has a sort of espionage/infiltration unit, goals of obtaining information and manipulating others to their will. They do not seek to convert other religious followers as they only deem those with the demonic taint to be worthy of joining their ranks. So they have sent these two to play the roles of spiritual advisers of their gods. In the module the whole situation of the town worshipping an evil god (Ghlaunder) is setup by an evil druid. What should i be cautious of for NPCs who worship multiple deities, should i just not do it? I wonder because of the two ways i could go with the druid.
Apart from adding a few hooks and bits of info here and there i plan or running the module pretty close to as written.
I will have to see what they do with the hand in this session, so far the cult has not been notified that the hand has been uncovered. It was taken out of the jar only briefly, and the remnant magical aura of the tower kept the ring from contacting the amulet. Once taken from the tower it will start to regain it's desecrate aura, that seems like a good mechanic for what i was thinking it would be doing. The jar is blocking the Ring's signal and the fluid is sapping its power.
The way i see it is the amulet is storing a large portion of this person power. The soul was trapped in the hand, the power in the amulet.
The cult will either already have the amulet, or know where it is being safeguarded. As for abilities from wearing the amulet, I'm thinking right off the bat is the ability to command anyone who carries the demonic heritage, and the ability to identify those carriers. Once i nail down what powers this person had then i will put a couple of them into the amulet.
Let me reiterate a big THANK YOU, to everyone who contributed to this thread. It has given me an amazing plot to drop into my sorta lackluster game in progress. So glad I came to you with that hand that i made up in a moment of panic instead of just making it a boring old animated hand in a jar.
Ok, so I think i've nailed down that this is the hand of a very powerful being, some of the powers the hand itself posesses, how the body and powers can be restored, and the some details about the people seeking it out. Any ideas as to who this person is, the setting is in Golarion so i have some source material to draw from. I initially thought about a Zon-Kuthon tie in, but it was becoming a little too sadistic for my tastes.
Any thoughts on that? If not, by all means that's fine, i've already gotten more than i hoped for out of this thread.
I'm hopeful that their first response will not be pvp, they get that they are supposed to be working together.
I'm looking forward to this to get the paladin involved in playing a paladin, so far he has really only been a fighter that can detect evil and lay on hands. (former WoW player, he wanted the shiny powers i think) Before i start this i'm going to have a private chat with him about what playing a paladin really is. This is the first game i am running and was actually just happy to have players, i didn't take the time to nail down his paladin code as i should have.
So the hand has the ability to grant powers, but at a price. I like that, not sure what the party will do with that. I'm thinking about that the amulet, which is linked to the ring. It will restore the body in full once they are brought together. This is why the cult is after the hand. To restore the demi-god/demon prince. This however does not restore him to his full powers. He is powerful, but he is not at his full horrible glory. In order to regain his powers a large scale sacrifice is required. And those sacrificed must be descendants of his original cult. This will become the new goal of the cult in the event they obtain the hand. When the body is restored, the dormant taint grows stronger in all those who have it, and begins to manifest in those with the strongest. Before this they had only been sought out by the cult to be drawn into their ranks. Now those with the strongest presence begin to be drawn to evil acts, some even gaining visions of the cult with a compulsion to seek them out. All with this taint are compelled to submit to the sacrificial ceremony to restore the demi-gods power if instructed to.
Kydeem, your ideas are great and are going into my next session. I took your note idea and ran with it, last night i planned it out for my party. Its looking pretty perfect party dynamics wise too. I cant wait to play saturday. I'm not too sure if my party will be able to handle it, this is the first experience with PnP gaming for 4 out of 5 in the group. But they have been having a little trouble getting into RPing their characters. I am really hoping this is going to help, kind of like a guided RP encounter. I'm giving the voice in the head to our most experienced RPer, with subtle manipulations that the hand is doing in all of the other notes. The party is good, there has been very little inter party conflict so far. We are only at level 2 though. I've gotta kinda use a hammer to drive in a screw to setup the backstory as to why this hand in a jar was sitting in this ancient tower that was sealed for thousands of years, but artifacts have a funny way of doing things. I am going to have fun with the eldritch heritage npcs just coming out of the woodwork for them. So the followers devoted to this demi-god disbanded when their leader fell, a cult of around 120 followers. The power they obtained was not lost as the high members became very rich. They established themselves a noble family in the area, using deceit and betrayal they gained social power. This house has carried the legacy of the cult in secret throughout the ages, waiting for the return of their dark prince. They know that the demon prince's taint, bestowed upon every member of his cult, has spread throughout the local populace. There is an artifact in the noble family's possession that can identify the dormant taint within a person. In some this taint plays a bigger role in their lives, it especially makes them more susceptible to demonic manipulation. In recent years with the economy of the region thriving, the cult has become increasingly active. They operate in the utmost secret, only accepting members who carry a strong presence of the taint within them. They are taught how to harness this inner power for nefarious purposes. (all members of the cult have receive 1 level of sorcerer training after joining, many receive further levels).
Wow, expectations of this thread blown out of the aether. The minute i get home tonight my campaign notebook gets opened and then will probably serve me as a pillow when i fall asleep on it hours later. You guys have put so many ideas into my head. I like the Aroden idea, i might adapt that. But i'm not sure about smiting all humans, many of the cult will be human.
As for the Mt. Doom situation. The only way the demi-god may be truly destroyed is through the destruction of both amulet and ring. Which can only be destroyed together (oh and they are artifacts).
Delicious.
You guys are awesome, I think i have just found my BBEG. I already had a cult/off shoot sect of an evil god in the works, this will tie in great. And give them a reason to be after the PCs. This is the first campaign that i'm running so i think i'm going to stay away from wishes for the time being. I also liked the idea of a mini servant hand, but "hand of a demi-god" is just too juicy to pass up.
I don't know if you have any access to the Bestiary, but there is a Crawling Hand monster already statted out (and also its Giant Crawling Hand brethren). Depending on how tough the party is or how powerful this wizard was, you may want to modify these, and have them fight it. The ring could be something like a decoy to get people to disturb the jar, then the hand surprises them and uses that to attack. Yeah, i saw the stats for the hand, and they might yet have to fight it, however the first time they opened the jar they were quite careful about not letting it get any footing to run/attack. So i gave them that and let them get it back in the jar. I'm more looking for something story wise, rather than just another thing for them to smack.
Ok here's something fun that i threw into my last session completely off the top of my head, and now I'm not sure where i want to go with it. Looking for ideas, and more so rule-wise explanations (doesn't have to be completely RAW). Maybe this should be in homebrew? feel free to move if you think its more appropriate there. The setup: So my party was in a dusty old room that had not been occupied for a a couple thousand years. This was just kinda of an entrance way that i didnt have much planned for. I said there were some old dilapidated shelves with nothing of value to be seen, (illegible papers turned to dust, some broken jars and beakers etc.. but they were adamant about searching it and rolled a 20. So POP into my head comes a shiny object, its a ring. But the ring is on a hand, and the hand is in a jar filled with some liquid. (it should be noted that this tower was build by a very powerful wizard) The bard mage hands the hand out of the jar and lets it hover and it starts to twitch. The strongest grabs the hand and tries to pull the ring off, which is stuck. Magic is detected, but no one takes the time to examine the ring, hand, or jar of liquid closely. So I still have a lot of options with this. They decide they will deal with it later and put the hand in the jar and the jar in a backpack. So now i need to decided what that hand is going to be. My first thought was a Ring of Sustenance keeping the hand alive, with a Permanence spell to keep the ring attached. Perhaps the hand of a noble identifiable by a signet on the ring. (DC ridiculously high so they need to research/find someone who knows) Now you guys have me thinking though, Ring of Restoration, Permanence as before, but an additional property to the fluid in the jar which suppresses the regrowth. When the hand has been removed from the jar long enough, the hand starts the grow a body. What could a possible property of the fluid be, is there a spell that makes sense here? What I don't want is them just forcing the ring off for the sake of the ring. They get enough treasure, i want this to be something interesting. Any ideas/ thoughts?
I have head the "Price of Immortality" trilogy works well strung together, those should get you to about level 6. Those are the adventures "Crypt of the Everflame", "Masks of the Living God", and "City of Golden Death". You might have to provide some filler encounters or be willing to be generous with XP and in order to get the level bumps you need.
After the paladin in my group smote the dragon with the magic sword, Black Fang flew off. On their way back to town there was an earthquake, which i had planned to use as the tie in to get them to the Master of the Fallen Fortress scenario (transplanted from Absalom to the Sandpoint Hinterlands). However my next couple sessions were short players so instead I had them explore the town a little bit, pick up a couple odd jobs. They took a peek into The Old Light (using the BB Bash Demo "Relics"). With that scenario they built up a little reputation with the Sczarni down by the docks.
Once our full party was back in action we had a new player join up, a rogue in the employ of a collector interested in a certain tower, hidden in an over grown forest that a recent earthquake had opened. They were level 2 by this point so i had to bump up all the encounters since the module is for level 1.
Once they get back to town I have one of those "all roads lead to Rome" situations setup that is going to get them sent to Magnimar. A couple challenges on the road will bump them to 3rd level. Once there they will be launched into the Feast of Ravenmoor module. I've done a lot of stringing together of modules, which i am seeing a problem in. Namely a couple of my players are getting bored. I really recommend trying to learn what your players like and what they want out of the game.
I don't know how much if at all this helps, but that just my experience as a new GM.
I've just finished reading the adventure portion of the module (still have the Ravenmoor Gazetteer to go). I'm in college, no stranger to the plant in question, and it still took me until the "sold on the black market" line to pickup on the reference. I really like the way you worked it in though, this seems like very much the way a small rural community, without explicit or enforced laws would treat it. It is a recognized intoxicant, but it is social, spiritual, and used with care and respect. It does not carry the stigmas that we have attributed it in our world, the attitude is closer to what it would have been when it's use was first emerging. I'm not very familiar with drugs and laws in Golarion, but my impression is they are generally frowned upon (by the law/ "upstanding" citizens) with those visibly addicted even more so. However there are much bigger problems to be dealt with, perhaps that pack of ghouls living in the sewers, or the goblin tribe that continually raids the town. When there's a monster at the door and a stoner in the gutter which do you deal with first? I can't wait to see if my players pick up on it when I run this module. On another note, this is the first full length module that I will be running and I am really looking forward to turning up the creep factor on the adventure. Great flavour, especially hoping the feast will spark some good RP in my newbie group. Thanks, you did a great job.
That is the most sensible. Seems the same situation as anything else that gives you the same ability from different sources, your levels from the multiple sources (that give the ability) stack to determine the power level of the single instance of the ability that you possess. This especially goes for anything with the wording "Your effective X-level is equal to your Y-level (minus n)"
We had tons of fun. I see no mistakes here. :)
Less of what to do with infinite monies, more of how to get infinite monies: My friend told me about a game where they came across an ancient dragon, chained up deep in a dungeon...
DM just kinda sat there and went "well...s*~~..." I think that effectively ended their campaign since there wasn't too much of a challenge from then on.
I love this idea. +1 I could even see Masterwork quality being required for a balanced weapon, bumping up the cost to 600 for a single weapon. Similar to how the weapon must be masterwork in order to be made out of a special material. Seems fair as you are forgoing the feat tax to get your dex bonus.
This sounds like it would be really fun to play and figure out, but the way it will go is going to strongly depend on how well and willingly your players will disregard player knowledge in making their characters decisions. A couple questions for you that might get your brain cranking.
Another good source for inspiration you might want to consider is an episode of Stargate SG-1 called "Window of Opportunity" where Jack and Teal'c get stuck in a loop. It's more akin to Groundhog Day but you might see something you like in it.
The intent of the rule is a little shrouded by some less than perfect wording. But what is happening here is the ambiguity in the writing is being twisted into a mechanic that is A: not intended and B: broken (not to mention C: blatant munchkinery) The rules are written to maintain balance in the game, not to be analyzed from every angle in order to find the loophole that breaks the balance. In any case: Stop trying to argue with your GM, Rule 0 applies. The GM is always right, even when he is wrong.
Simplest way to play a Hogwarts style character, play GURPS. I'm sorry, did you just put the words "simple" and "GURPS" in the same sentence? Thanks that was a good laugh this morning. Though this might be the best way to get a truly Harry Potter universe character... you will have to put alot of work into it, and probably make up alot of rules/spells yourself (unless there is an HP sourcebook somewhere)
A druid who wears prohibited armor or uses a prohibited shield is unable to cast druid spells or use any of her supernatural or spell-like class abilities while doing so and for 24 hours thereafter. The druid does not lose the animal companion when wearing metal armor. Furthermore the only things lost are: ALL Spells, Wild Shape, and A Thousand Faces. And remain lost for 24hrs after the armor is removed. Since the rest are Extraordinary, the druid keeps everything else.The druid is not considered and EX-Druid for wearing metal armor once, however repeated use of prohibited items could reasonably put your status as a druid in jeopardy. And I really dont see how wearing metal is evil but using weapon with a metal blade is no problem. Never made sense to me.
I am his GM...and the prob is that he took bon companion and has a level 6 ranger companion now...lol What's that feat called again? I cant find it. Anyways ossian666 you are right, your levels stack for determining the power of the animal companion. So you are Ranger 5/Druid 1. that means your lvl 2 ranger companion advances to lvl 3 with a druid level.
If using the +3 lvls feat in conjunction with the 2 companion scenario, it is reasonable that this would only apply to your Ranger companion.
If you have one companion with this feat then yes, lvl 6 Ranger/Druid pet.
This table is still in error. On the Races page Halflings get +2 DEX +2 CHA, -2 STR. In the table it is +2 DEX, +2 INT, -2 STR. Unless it is the designer's intention to have different ability modifiers for PC halflings vs NPC halflings (doubtful). I don't have my CRB handy so i am not able to look this up and see what is written in print. Additionally, the Halfling Racial Traits entry on the Races page is missing a link to "Dexterity" when it lists the ability modifiers. Not a major issue, just for consistency.
123. You are far too brave to grant mercy.
When i was preparing for my current campaign i thought of doing this (luckily i have enough players now and didn't have to).
I also had the idea of having multiple ready to go, becoming allies or enemies depending on the players actions. Having them drop in and out of the game could also be good for introducing plot hooks. Personally, what I dislike more than a GMPC is a PC ran by the GM because the player didn't show up. There's something that's just uncomfortable about doing that for me.
I kind of understand why he went with the nat20 breaks the staff... Not to say that it doesn't go directly against the written rules. Nat 1, you miss, its inanimate, and you still miss, your swing tangles you up in your robes and you fall down,Nat 20, you hit it like the fist of an angry god, except you don't have a god's fist. You have a wooden staff, not even masterwork quality, this thing looks like someone grabbed a tree branch and stripped the bark. and the statue is constructed of high quality stone. I see the logic, even if the rules object.
My DM for the game that I am currently playing in has an emotion die. Smiley face, sad face, blank face, angry face, surprised face, and something else.
As for my dice collection it is fairly small. 3 sets of polyhedrals; Green and Gold swirls, Black with white flecks and blue numbering, and the red BBox set. Along with a nice red and black marbled with green pips 12D6 block. And about 20 odd dice from old sets/games, d6s, d10s, d20s mostly. No real rituals really, When I DM the red set usually goes out on the table for anyone who has forgotten/doesn't own dice. My girlfriend is using the green set until the ones she ordered through our FLGS come in. And the flecked black set are my DM dice. In my other game I play a TWF Ranger, for that one i assign one colour to one weapon, another colour to the other and roll both of my attacks and damage all together.
The session ended, he handed Sparkle back, and said "That die is @#$$ing evil. You should burn it." They never learn. That threat only increases Sparkle's fury. When his wife began running a game of her own (in which I play) she demanded the right to use Sparkle. I let her. His character was the first to die. Amazing story! Sparkle is clearly to be respected and feared.
Not to sound like a jerk, but if you really did READ the Hero's Handbook and the GM guide, all of your questions would be answered. The GM guide tells you pretty much word for word what to do for session. Seconded, Paizo did a really, really great job in laying everything out in those books. The Hero Handbook will get you acquainted with the basics of character creation. What the stats mean, what are skills, what are feats, how do i attack, what can i do other than attack, how does magic work. Stuff that you should know as a player is in this book. The GM Guide will tell you how to plan an adventure. Leading you though the Pre-made dungeon crawl it gives you examples of how a typical encounter is laid out, what information you should have together for an encounter. Then the book will explain what your job is as the GM, Pay close attention to this section as it, more then any other section, explains "what is role-playing." In fact I would skip right to this and read it now if you haven't already.
Think of it this way, the TV series analogy:
Adventures are the "episodes." A single adventure consists of several encounters all building to some small to mid scale goal. Perhaps it is to just go down into the dungeon and kill all the monsters, or maybe there is some item that you need down there. Or maybe you need to travel to the capitol city and convince the king of something. Or someone needs to be rescued. An adventure usually starts with a "hook" something that you tell your players, or your players discover, that gives them the motivation to go do "something" (that "something" being your adventure). Adventures can last one, two or several sessions, it is possible to even have more than one adventure goal active at once (though you probably want to start slow). A Campaign is the "season." A campaign would consist of several adventures, strung together with a large or difficult goal in mind. Each of the adventures you go on contributes something to the larger plot while resolving the smaller individual plots. The players may not even know about the end goal of the campaign, with details being revealed to them over the course of their adventures. Campaigns can last months to years, it is all in your control as GM. The Paizo Adventure Paths are a perfect representation of this 3-tier concept. Each AP is a Campaign released in 6 books, each book being an Adventure containing multiple encounters. Sorry if this wasn't your question, but I hope it wasn't entirely useless. As for the mechanics and rules, yes there is a steep learning curve to them, even in beginner box format. But the rules can be fudged, especially in your first games. Know your dice, know your modifiers, and know your actions. And if you come to something in game that you are not sure of you have 2 options:
Glad i wasn't the only one to see it that way.
Step up seems like a feasible feat, sure a melee combatant know how, and this is represent by taking a five-foot step up to the opponent on your next turn. The feat allows you to do this as an immediate action, meaning not on your turn. Anything that allows you to act out of turn in combat should require an expenditure of some kind.
The table Racial Ability Adjustments is incorrect.
If you are looking for bases, the big black pincher binder clips you get from an office supply store work great. Just clip it on and then remove the silver wire arms by pinching them together. That is such a great idea! And relatively cheap too. With the added bonus of different sizes, 1" clips for your regular standies, 2" clips for your Big Bads. You can even get different colours if you have trouble keeping track of the baddies when you have multiple of the same.With these the issue of the card slipping out with wear over time disappears as well. Either by getting enough that you never have to remove them, or by the fact that these clip very tight and are very resistant to wear. Thanks TClifford.
I took it for granted myself that this is how it works. Same, and as the rules for PF tend to try and emulate most of the classic tropes of fantasy/fiction it seems this has turned into very much a RAW vs. RAI discussion. As for OP's questions, your ruling makes sense. There is nothing about a wand that gives it the ability to shoot. If it is a ranged spell in the wand then the magic shoots out of the tip, if it is a touch spell the "seeps" out or transfers through the tip.
The fairness argument is fairly ridiculous. This game is a STORY meant to be shared with your friends whenever you can manage to get together. Whether it be once a week or once every month or two. You continue to play because it is FUN. And life happens, people have to stop playing, and others who find that they now have time to play, for whatever reason. If there is anything in the mechanics that is preventing someone from having fun it needs to be adjusted. Having a level 1 tagging along with a party of level 11's will (in 99% of cases) diminish someone's fun, and thus needs to be changed. (sure there might be a few who would love the RP challenge, but i don't know anyone who would even agree to roll a character in that situation.) This is PnP, you tend to play infrequently. This is not WoW.... let me me repeat that for your players NOT WoW. You don't have to spend countless tedious hours over months grinding out levels in order to have a night of gaming with your friends. In fact, it is precisely this reason that i gave up MMOs, if my friends have already been playing for a year there is no real way for me to game with them unless i can sink a good chunk of my life into the game. (this is not to say some MMO's don't have ways of mitigating it, but with PnP its easy...) Just my take, sorry if it was ranty.
Harry that is a great idea, I think i will have to implement something like that. I had a hard time remembering who was holding what and there was only 3 players at the time. During our last game there was a bit of weapon confusion. The sorcerer could never remember to load his crossbow, and the paladin tried a couple times to shoot his longbow when he was holding his great axe. This might be a better question for the rules board, but how do you handle weapons carried? How many weapons can a character reasonably have available to pull out at any given moment in combat? I know it takes a move action to sheath (or a free to drop), and another move to draw, and they would be limited by their carrying capacity. But do you use any rules for how much stuff they can strap to their bodies?
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