Fatespinner's page

Gary was a legend, a hero, and a role-model. My early days in the Paizo community brought me frequently into Gary's orbit and I can genuinely say he was one of the reasons I kept coming back.

Farewell, noble PostMonster. You will be sorely missed.

I am posting my support of your offline testing several days after the fact!

Truly the end of an era. Though I parted ways with the Paizo community several years ago due to a combination of factors, these campaigns remained one of the shining lights in my memories of this place.

I am going to have to dig through at some point and see what all developed after Runzyl's departure... his storyline was one of the things that kept me coming back here even after my interest in the rest of the content here waned. Eventually, though, my personal life took over and I no longer had the ability to post as often (much as Aubrey is encountering now).

Still, thank you Aubrey and everyone, really, for perhaps the most memorable campaign I've ever been a part of. Cheers!

Truly the end of an era, but hopefully the beginning of an even better one! Best of luck in your new endeavors, Wes!

I will most certainly continue to follow this campaign where time allows (such as holiday weekends like this one). I just don't think I'd be able to regularly contribute often enough to avoid stalling the game over much (I'd be lucky to manage 3 updates a week I think).

On the plus side, if nothing else Vethran can assist the party pretty much anywhere within a 1000 mi. radius of Sandpoint. Alwyn just has to give a sending with a detailed description and Vethran can provide site-to-site teleportation.... or heavily discounted magic item crafting. :D

This is, of course, at Aubrey's discretion, but I don't see any reason why Vethran would just stop helping with what is clearly an important quest. It does seem fitting that he would remain to help lend his intellect and magical prowess to the rebuilding of Sandpoint though. I strongly doubt anyone else in town has his capabilities.

*brushes cobwebs off his avatar*

Hey everyone. It's me! I'm not dead. Not biologically dead, anyway. Ithuriel contacted me a couple days ago and let me know that these threads were miraculously still alive. It's been months since I've been to Paizo at all since work keeps me INSANELY busy.

It's good stuff, though, a much-needed respite from the way my life had been going these last few years. That said, it is most unfortunate that I do not have the time to commit to the games that I once did. ESPECIALLY for Runzyl. There's just far, far too much math involved in playing that character at this level and my posts (before hitting submit) often looked like the chalkboard of a calculus class.

That said, I will be very sad that his story cannot continue further. Aubrey has done an exemplary job of bringing depth and grandeur to a character who is, in a mechanical sense, essentially a blender permanently set to 'frappe.'

It has been one of the best and most memorable campaigns I have ever participated in and it is with great reluctance that I take my leave, but I feel like the flow of the narrative will move along much better without me holding things back. I am greatly sorry, and I wish you all good gaming in the years to come!

I'm going into my last "hell week" at work. I'll be working 12-14 hour shifts every day up until Friday, and then I'm headed to a local con for the weekend (and my birthday). I should be back to my regularly scheduled shenanigans on the 14th. Thanks for bearing with me through this.

I'm going into my last "hell week" at work. I'll be working 12-14 hour shifts every day up until Friday, and then I'm headed to a local con for the weekend (and my birthday). I should be back to my regularly scheduled shenanigans on the 14th. Thanks for bearing with me through this.

Don't get me wrong, this is entirely voluntary. I *could* if I were so inclined, work normal 40 hour weeks through this. But when the company gives you the chance for 26 hours of overtime (at 150% pay of course), you've gotta take that leap. 3 years of off-and-on unemployment has taught me to sink my teeth in like a rabid wolverine and shake it violently until money comes out.

Sorry about my recent absence. I started a new job this week and they offered me "as much overtime as I can handle" so naturally I've chosen to work back-to-back 66 hour weeks.

We don't have access to Paizo from the new job's network sooo... I'm going to be scarce until this new application rollout completes (at least a couple weeks). Apologies to all.

Sorry about my recent absence. I started a new job this week and they offered me "as much overtime as I can handle" so naturally I've chosen to work back-to-back 66 hour weeks.

We don't have access to Paizo from the new job's network sooo... I'm going to be scarce until this new application rollout completes (at least a couple weeks). Apologies to all.

I tell everyone the same thing about the Arizona vs. New York argument:

You don't have to shovel sunshine.

Even though I haven't been there for 4 years now, Phoenix is still vastly superior to upstate New York. :)

Take care and good luck with the moving!

I never thought I'd have to say this before, but Vethran is actually running out of fireballs this fight...

Sorry to hear about it, man. I definitely feel your pain RE: employment woes. I've had 5 jobs in 3 years here in upstate New York. None of them have lasted more than 8 months. Hopefully things will work out for you guys in the long run! Best of luck.

I'm kind of hoping either the bears or the giants (or both) will come charging through the wall of lightning on their turns but, if not, I'll let the wall go on my next action.

Of course, if someone wants to slap some energy resistance on themselves and charge through it, the damage from the wall isn't really that high.

I am a dumb person, and I have accidentally put Blood of Fiends and Blood of Angels on this order even though I already own them. Could you please remove those items and replace them with the following:

Pathfinder Companion: Qadira, Gateway to the East (PFRPG) - Non-mint
Pathfinder Companion: Andoran, Spirit of Liberty (PFRPG)

Thanks ever so much!

Vatters said he was on vacation in the discussion thread and likely wouldn't be around for a bit. As it's been two days, should I go ahead and take a turn for him?

Not that he needs the help, but don't forget, Heathy, when Hudak is enlarged the base damage of his bastard sword goes up from 1d10 to 2d8 since it grows with him!

Joy responded to my PM saying that she just doesn't have the time to commit to more campaigns than she's already involved in at this time, so we're down one person at least. I'll talk to Kamau's player soon as well and find out if he's interested in rejoining or not. Then we can discuss what our options are from there.

Hmm. Joy had gone MIA a week or so before I got caught up in RPG Superstar and all of the other subsequent events that have kept me away from the computer since.

However, I have since become employed and do not have the regular availability to post that I once did. I could probably manage a post or two a day, though, and given enough interest... I think a reboot could be feasible, picking up where we left off.

I doubt if many of the participants are still floating about, so I think it's safe to call it dead. I do apologize.

I went with Nethyrmaul instead of Kaladrax (didn't think I needed two dracoliches). I hope he looks just as awesome.

Also, holy crap... I need to get painting soon so that I can clear my schedule for this incoming tidal wave of product!

So, uh, I didn't realize it until just now, but Vethran has message prepared as a cantrip as well. Chalk it up to the chaos of the moment and a lapse in judgment.

Runzyl's Sense Motive was a 19. But he wasn't really trying to preempt Rolund's attack. His challenge was given in RESPONSE to the attack. So I presume the attack went through.

I don't suppose you did it in a day, though...

No, that's true. It took 4 days. I did, however, once drive from Phoenix, AZ to Dallas, TX in a single day. That's just shy of 1100 miles.

Oh it wasn't ENTIRELY in jest. I didn't bother to Google the specfics, but I figured it couldn't possibly be more than maybe 500-600 miles from the northern tip of Scotland to the English Channel.

We Americans have a tendency to think of distances of less than 500 miles as "not THAT far." Having personally driven from Arizona to New York (a distance of over 2200 miles), 300 doesn't seem like a lot to me. But that's cultural differentiation for you. ;)

From what Aubs has said about here he lives and his in-laws live, I'd put it at 200-300 miles, you have to go out of your way a bit due to a big line of hills (that I live on the edge of) and the passes though them between the decent motorways.

Isn't 300 miles pretty much the entire length of Great Britain?

In all seriousness, good to hear that your wife is doing better, Aubs. I know the feeling of having a spouse in the hospital.

I'm really sorry for the long absence, guys, I've just been caught up in a lot of RL stuff recently. I'm going to take this opportunity to gracefully bow out at this time. This particular game just moves way too fast for me to keep up with right now. Feel free to have Ragnvaldr follow the party around and be a tanky NPC type until he can die heroically or something. Or maybe he just goes off on a wild vampire hunt or something. Whatever works for the story. Sorry. :(

Sorry. I'm here. I just started a new job last week and just now finally got a workstation issued to me. My time at home has been crazy and I haven't been following as closely as I ought to have been.

Sorry about the leave of absence, guys. After I missed making round 2 of Superstar I really kind of wandered away from the Internet for awhile, focusing on all the stuff I'm dealing with IRL (trying to get a start date for my new job, fighting with the unemployment department, dealing with legal problems, etc.). I appreciate Heathy picking up my action and I'll try to be around more frequently.

Cheers guys, it's been a pleasure serving alongside you all and I will certainly be following to see who wins in the long run! :D

Nope. No more than a fighter with Quick Draw can draw his sword when it isn't his turn (also a free action). There may be a feat or rage power that allows him to rage off-turn, though. I know there was one in 3.5.

Tenro: My item was the Spectral Lampblack and my archetype is the River Warden. My real name is Zachary Hensley. :)

I'm still here. Runzyl doesn't have much to contribute at this point, so assume that he's just kind of quietly following along. I do try to check in here at least every other day or so, so don't count me out. I have been a little preoccupied with RPGSS stuff, though. :D

BTW, could this be used as weapon to prevent a creature from teleporting away?

Certainly, if you can pin it down long enough to apply the lampblack. Remember that it only lasts 10 minutes, though, so it's probably better to just have a scroll of dimensional anchor on hand! It's cheaper that way, too.

Hmmm. What's the schedule of a PbP like these days? It's been years since I've been in one - but if it sounds feasible, I'd really enjoy it :)

The pace is slow (I'm currently running one that I've put on temporary hiatus to focus my efforts on the contest) but I'm playing in a couple run by Aubrey the Malformed on the boards here that are absolutely fantastic. One of them is a Rise of the Runelords campaign that began when the AP was first released (when Paizo was still doing 3.5 and hadn't invented PF yet). We're still playing it, and we're all level 10 right now. So... about 2 levels a year, give or take.

I've never had mountain dew, there is no such thing in Greece o_o!

WHAT?!? How do you survive like that?!

I, too, hope that the twist will be a CR below 4. I love low-level monsters!

With my Round 2 submission now safely submitted and (hopefully) not disqualified, I wanted to thank everyone again for your support and hope that my future submissions continue to entice and excite you!

Mine is in. I also made 3 archetypes this week and had to eventually narrow it down to just one. I'm pretty confident that it'll do well though! Best of luck to everyone.

...and while you're at it, I would not be displeased to see Mike Kimmel's Glose and my own humble Viel restored to a more respectable spelling.

Yeah, once I settled down and pulled my heart back down out of my throat, I also noticed a spelling error in my title: Spectal Lampblack.

Fortunately it was not my own error, but rather that of whoever wrote the blog post. It has since been corrected. :)

Something that's never specified in these "removed by water" items: Can prestidigitation clean it off you?

I'd say not. The pigment bonds pretty fast with the skin and the magic prevents casual rubbing off or, indeed, even sweating it off. Even walking through knee-high water isn't an issue (since that's not "complete immersion"). When the entirety of the magical effect is encompassed in liquid, however, the protective bubble created by the item buckles under the strain of the liquid and washes away.

How's that for some hand-waving? ;)

Greetings to my fellow contestants! Since everyone else is doing the "get to know you" thing, I guess now is as good a time as any to get in on it.

I am 30 years old and I live in Troy, NY. I've been playing RPGs since 1991 and have been GMing for about 16 years across a variety of games. I am married with a 6-year-old daughter (who I taught to play Pathfinder thanks to the Beginner Box), currently unemployed (though I'm fairly certain that is apt to change later this week), and so incredibly excited to finally get into this exclusive club!

I recently discovered a detail that forced me to scrap my entire archetype concept and start over from the ground up. I'm sure I'll have something finalized before the deadline though!

Everyone seems to be assuming it is a one-use item, but the text doesn't actually say that and it is exceedingly expensive (more than a scroll of wish) for such.

Is it supposed to be unlimited use?

It was intended as a single-use item, yes. Also, a scroll of wish would cost 29,050gp... so the lampblack is a steal by comparison.

I was unsure on how to price this item, in all honesty. A scroll of sequester would cost 2,450gp and served as the basis for this. I initially doubled that price, since sequester doesn't allow the subject to remain conscious but then thought that was too high based on the short duration of the lampblack. If I had it to do all over again, I would probably reduce the price of this item even further. Maybe down to 3,600gp.

So, erm, I just rather suddenly acquired a flurry of deadlines. ::glances at messageboard title:: Things may slow down a bit here in the coming weeks. Apologies in advance! (Vote for me!)

Got my e-mail, have made all of the various jittery posts on Facebook and whatnot. I am so excited to be here this year! And a big howdy to my fellow contestants!

To be honest, the inspiration for this item came about during a certain PFS scenario (which shall remain nameless to avoid spoilers) in which a mage's faithful hound is positioned in a narrow hallway with no possibility of avoidance. Since the hound activates before a rogue can get close enough to attempt to disable it as he might attempt with any other magical trap, the only valid options were to teleport the entire party around the obstacle, dispel it (a straightforward and effective yet boring solution), drop a silence on the area (which would prevent the barking but not the automatic bite attacks), or have the incredible fortune of an Arcane Trickster with Ranged Legerdemain in the party (highly unlikely) to disable it from outside the activation range. The spectral lampblack would render a single person completely invisible to the hound (which is able to perceive normally invisible or ethereal creatures), allowing them to get close enough to attempt a Disable Device check.

Of course the lampblack fools all forms of magical sensing, which includes symbol effects, explosive runes, etc. as well as scrying sensors, magic mouth triggers, and a host of other magical nuisances. I felt that the rogue class and its iconic trapfinding/disabling abilities took a backseat to things like dispel magic at higher levels, and I really wanted to provide a way for rogues to get in there and "do their thing" without relying on wizards and clerics to simply dispel or otherwise completely circumvent magical obstacles.

And, to answer Steve Miller's question, the lampblack would not defeat discern location since it is not actually creating a magical "sensor" which reacts to or perceives the user's presence, it is FINDING that person. This is my interpretation of how/why discern location circumvents normal protection from scrying (as it states in the spell description).

Thank you all very much for your kind words! It is an honor to be selected this year and I will do my best to live up to the standards of this fine competition! I am still in shock over seeing my name up here!