As a (former?) regular reader of the blog, I wanted to express a level of frustration I have with one element:
The web fiction.
I actually very much enjoy the stories, and read them when I get the opportunity. However, often I only have a few minutes at lunch to peruse the blog during the day. While this was (once upon a time) sufficient, I found that the web fiction took a surprising amount of time to scroll through, particularly on a smartphone. I didn't have the time to read it over lunch, and as the "wall-o-text" became a regular part of the blog, I have found myself skipping reading the blog altogether for weeks on end, and often missing posts I would have otherwise liked to see.
I understand that the web fiction requires a lot of time and effort, and I would likely actually read it (in its designated section) with it removed--but because of its current place in the blog, I have largely ceased to read the paizo blog--I just don't have the time or inclination to sort the fiction from the FAQ, so to speak.
[Edit]: I actually wouldn't mind a short paragraph from the week's fiction (with a link to the rest) at all! It'd likely just get me hooked, regardless. It's just the full text of the web fiction embedded in the blog that bothers me.[/Edit]
I know that initially this was discussed with some frequency, but I still felt the need to voice my concern, and didn't see an appropriate recent thread. Thanks for your time!
I've been personally hoping to see a segment (or book) with some apg-style favored classes for some of the alternate races that are common in some areas. These could be quite helpful for things like CoT (Tieflings) or CC (Changelings).
I'd love to see a few flavorful replacements for the skillpoint/hit point for Changelings, Aasimar, Tieflings, Changelings, Gillmen, Dhampir, Orcs, and Changelings (etc.)
I've been considering a bard for Serpents' Skull (a sea-singer, to be specific, even if most of the campaign has nothing to do with the ocean). I just figure a sailor or piratey-sort could make for a nice thematic transition into the campaign.
Problem is, I know that the bard will need to have things to do besides cast--but I'm not sure precisely how often. ;-) I'm currently planning around the halfling bard concept (which suggests making an archer of some sort) but given the sailor-theme, I thought stirring in a smidge (maybe 1-3 levels?) of gunslinger might be fun, and give the bard something to do when hesitant to cast.
That said, I was wondering if anyone has tried mixing a few levels of gunslinger in to another class, since the update--does it provide reasonable functionality? I've no doubt I'd have to invest in things like Deadly Aim, Point blank shot, and such. I'd prefer to avoid paper cartridges if possible--the GM wants to make firearms pretty rare.
Last night, I replaced a villain from CoT: Mother of Flies with a ninja. The following playtest contains spoilers for one encounter in PA#29. Players of that campaign, or potential players, are discouraged from reading it if you have not yet gone passed that book. I'd also request that my players not read this, just in case. ;-)
Council of Thieves Playtest: Ninja:
In this encounter, I made relatively minor modifications of Maglin, Council Hushman, to convert him from Rog7/Asn3 to Nin10. In the interest of space saving, I'll assume our beloved designers have access to Maglin's stat block unless requested otherwise. ;-) In brief, these changes were as follows:
Swapped Cha and Str, giving him 10/17/12/13/8/10. Corrected Sneak attack to 5d6. Converted class abilities from rogue to ninja (No Trace, Light steps, lost Evasion and Trapfinding). For the 4 ninja tricks, I modeled them largely after the character as listed, leaving the 4 tricks as Bleeding 5, Combat Trick, Shadow Clone, Vanishing Trick. Master Trick Assassinate (DC = 10+5+2=17). The original weapon was a rapier; for flavor (and because of the picture and an awesome mini I had) I changed it to an adamantine claw, and treated it as a shortsword with a +5CMD to disarm (didn't come up during the fight).
Initial observations: This isn't how I'd have built the ninja myself, perhaps, but I wanted to keep his skillset similar to the original character to provide a better benchmark for behavior/utility/power.
Encounter Modifications:
Rather than have Maglin wait inside, I had him wait with the rogues outside on the rooftops. Kruthe had actually dies earlier in the campaign; I played his character as a zombie, with the added defenses and weaknesses.
Party: Level 9.
Human Fighter (Sword-and-board)
Human Cleric of Desna
Human Rog7/ShD2
Tiefling Sorcerer
Accompanied by Alberten, Src7.
I had collected the party's perceptions the day prior, and rolled scores for them secretly as they entered the alley. The rogue also actively requested a perception roll, which I allowed (yay, natural 2--they ambushers remained hidden).
Alberten, the rogue, and the cleric enter the shop. Maglin, meanwhile, quietly and invisibly approached, and death attacks the sorcerer. Sorcerer fails the fort save, and dies on the spot. Zombie Kruthe busts from the back room of the shop. All six rogues fire their crossbow bolts to round out the surprise round.
The Fighter rolls a high initiative, and (taking the initiative) runs into the shop and closes the door, leaving the tiefling's body outside. (The player gets Alberten for the remainder of the encounter). Alberten casts Arcane lock on the door.
The ninja gets two of his buddies to assist in inserting quieting needles in the body (I spot-ruled that this meant it took three rounds total, and delayed the last rogue by an additional round. Judge me if you will.) Three rogues moved above the shop as the party battled ZombiKruthe; one cut a hole in the roof, the other two dropped fireball beads in. BOOM.
The rest of the rogues move to the back door. Party Rogue tumbles past Kruthe into the back room. The cleric saw the rogue appear from invisibility, so she casts invisibility purge. Foes bust in the back room, throw their beads of fireball, and start trying to work in sneak attacks (fat chance, plus the party Rogue evasions the heck out of the DC14 beads). Kruthe is finished off as the ninja arrives (and is disgruntled to find his invisibility purged) with his assistants in tow. The remaining beads are lobbed in, dealing damage to a few party members.
The ninja was now visible, preventing trivial death attack. Ninja Through tumbles on the part of the ninja (two failed, two passed) and a reposition on the part of one of the rogues, the ninja flanked the cleric for sneak attack+bleed 5 three times; two of them, the fighter was in range to use In Harm's Way to take the damage, poison, and bleed (saved vs fort 14) The travel domain's teleportation effect allowed the cleric to escape when cornered.
An attempt was made on the rogue and the fighter, both failing with very high rolls (both had actively sought AC-building items) making the cleric the prime target. This meant that the ninja had a hard time getting full attacks with the extra attacks, though. The ninja survived primarily by using his thief buddies to soak attacks; he went down a mere two rounds after the party fighter members turned on him, since he lacked access to vanishing trick.
Final notes and observations:
The power level in this circumstance was probably similar to the original. Standard Action Death-Attack study, though, seems like it might still be a little on the crazy side--had the ninja not stopped to Quieting-needle the body, he would have gotten at least one free DA on the rogue before the cleric even had the chance to Invis-purge, much less thought of it.
Accidentally posted this in the wrong forum last night. Sorry for the double post!
TOC :
Introduction
Playtest Group
Prior Impressions ( Original
Magus)
Revised Magus: Encounter List
Player - Voiced Concerns
Final Impressions
Introduction :
I 've been running a Council of Thieves campaign
that acquired a Magus (original version ) when a
new player joined the group during book 3 , after
the last round of official playtesting closed . He
upgraded the character to the new rules when
the revised version was released. Impressions of
the session follow .
Prior impressions : For reference , my
impressions of the (original ) Magus at 6 th level
were middling at best- - the class just had trouble
keeping up with other base classes damage or
utility wise . The player used spell combat a
couple times, then just gave up . The player
largely felt forced into the role of a mediocre
melee .
* Revised Magus*
Encounters (2 sessions ):
1 ) Roleplaying /Problem solving Encounter
The player was only loosely involved in the
roleplaying encounter; things took a turn for the
worse. Initiative was called , but the sorcerer
pulled out Memory Lapse successfully . The
group retreated . The group pulls out a bag of
tricks ( yes , they had a bag of tricks ) and the
Magus adds a dash of pyrotechnics to create a
cat - astrophic distraction .
Salient point : The Magus had just gotten the
revised rules for this encounter, and didn 't know
he could burn a pool point to prepare
pyrotechnics . As a result , he had bought a scroll
for this encounter . Subsequently he has stated
that he intends to reserve points specifically for
spell preparation . More on this later in 'Player
voiced concerns '.
2 ) 4 CR 6 Ftrs + 1 CR8 Undead
With an arcane pool enhancement , the Magus
dealt respectable damage throughout the
combat. He otherwise conserved spells and
points , leaving him a fair bit behind the fighter in
damage , but he out - dps 'd the rogue . A Dazzling
Display was used VERY effectively on all but the
undead foe.
3 ) Roleplaying Encounter
The Magus succeeded on two knowledge checks ,
adding information about a relevant spell , and a
particular denizen of another plane. Salient
point : The Magus used the skill list to good
effect . The naturally high Int meant that the
player was able to accommodate more skills
than 2 + int melee types typically have .
4 ) 1 CR 9 Evil Outsider , 3 tough CR6 Evil
Outsiders .
The cleric took the cake on this one , Dismissing
my Big Bad Monster . The Magus was the star of
the subsequent cleanup with the three Evil
Outsider Mooks ( who had a significant HP each)
as he enhanced his scimitar, such that it was not
just superior to his comrades ' weapons, but also
specifically keyed to their weaknesses .
5 ) 1 CR 9 Sorcerer
A third weapon enhancement was used.
Spellstrike was used heavily with a whip in this
fight to mediocre effect , mostly due to low dice
rolls. Things picked up when the Magus used
web to limit the sorcerer 's mobility , then moved
up . He tried to cast something with spell
combat, but failed the check . He then used
burning hands with spell combat ( burning away
the web, of course) . The player - sorcerer , as an
irrelevant side note , used improved counterspell
to totally mitigate several lightning bolts , but he
ran out of appropriately leveled spells pretty
fast.
Player Comments/Concerns :
- The player is still concerned with a lack of
variety of attack touch spells for use with spell
combat, mostly due to the lack of variety rather
than any balance concern .
- He also actively voiced a degree of concern
regarding Knowledge pool and Pool Spell , saying
he felt like it was taking something from Divine
and Sorcerous casters . He agreed that Pool
Spell's cost made it appropriately expensive , but
Knowledge Pool , on the other hand , was cheap- -
he intends to now use a few points daily for
'niche ' spells he doesn' t know but might need .
He still is uncomfortable with Improved Pool
Spell's 'best- of - both - worlds ' capability, and flat
disagrees with getting access to the whole
wizard spell list (" which even a wizard doesn' t
get ") - - although that 's 19 th level , which this
campaign won 't reach . As a DM , I actually
agree - - I wouldn 't mind seeing the Knowledge
pool and Improved / greater spell pool come
back as part of an ' archmagey' base /prestige
class, but they don 't seem to fit the Gish theme
to me, and could potentially cause balance
issues ( but I haven't seen that reflected yet ,
obviously ) .
- The player feels that conserving Arcane Pool
points is a facet of playing, but doesn 't feel like
he has too few- - he 's pretty happy with the
number .
Final Impressions :
The Revised Magus's damage potential seems to
be a little lower than other DPS - focused classes
( when played in this manner , anyways ), but
utility seems to make up for that . After the
revision , spell combat and spellstrike saw good
use, and the weapon was enhanced several
times. A full adventuring day 's worth of
encounters didn 't see him run out of pool
points , but he did have to conserve; I felt like
the number of points available to him was good
( opinion alert ) . The player is pretty happy , and
other players don 't feel like he 's outstripping
them.
My concern , and that of the player himself, is
the Knowledge Pool / Improved and Greater Pool
Spell abilities ; the only playtesting input I can
provide is that my player intends to use several
of his points from now on to prepare spells he
thinks he 'll need for a day .
If the duration of the playtest is extended , I 'll
have another session 's input this weekend .
Otherwise, thanks for the playtest ! I 'm looking
forward to th
TOC:
Introduction
Playtest Group
Prior Impressions (Original Magus)
Revised Magus: Encounter List
Player-Voiced Concerns
Final Impressions
Introduction:
I've been running a Council of Thieves campaign that acquired a Magus (original version) when a new player joined the group during book 3, after the last round of official playtesting closed. He upgraded the character to the new rules when the revised version was released. Impressions of the session follow.
Book:
The encounters below are from the Infernal Syndrome.
Group (7th level):
Playtest Magus(v2)
Rogue6/Shadowdancer1
Fighter (Sword-and-board)
Cleric of Desna
Arcane Sorcerer
Prior impressions: For reference, my impressions of the (original) Magus at 6th level were middling at best--the class just had trouble keeping up with other base classes damage or utility wise. The player used spell combat a couple times, then just gave up. The player largely felt forced into the role of a mediocre melee.
*Revised Magus*
Encounters (2 sessions):
1) Roleplaying/Problem solving Encounter
The player was only loosely involved in the roleplaying encounter; things took a turn for the worse. Initiative was called, but the sorcerer pulled out Memory Lapse successfully. The group retreated. The group pulls out a bag of tricks (yes, they had a bag of tricks) and the Magus adds a dash of pyrotechnics to create a cat-astrophic distraction.
Salient point: The Magus had just gotten the revised rules for this encounter, and didn't know he could burn a pool point to prepare pyrotechnics. As a result, he had bought a scroll for this encounter. Subsequently he has stated that he intends to reserve points specifically for spell preparation. More on this later in 'Player voiced concerns'.
2) 4 CR6 Ftrs +1 CR8 Undead
With an arcane pool enhancement, the Magus dealt respectable damage throughout the combat. He otherwise conserved spells and points, leaving him a fair bit behind the fighter in damage, but he out-dps'd the rogue. A Dazzling Display was used VERY effectively on all but the undead foe.
3) Roleplaying Encounter
The Magus succeeded on two knowledge checks, adding information about a relevant spell, and a particular denizen of another plane. Salient point: The Magus used the skill list to good effect. The naturally high Int meant that the player was able to accommodate more skills than 2+int melee types typically have.
4) 1 CR9 Evil Outsider, 3 tough CR6 Evil Outsiders.
The cleric took the cake on this one, Dismissing my Big Bad Monster. The Magus was the star of the subsequent cleanup with the three Evil Outsider Mooks (who had a significant HP each) as he enhanced his scimitar, such that it was not just superior to his comrades' weapons, but also specifically keyed to their weaknesses.
5) 1 CR9 Sorcerer
A third weapon enhancement was used. Spellstrike was used heavily with a whip in this fight to mediocre effect, mostly due to low dice rolls. Things picked up when the Magus used web to limit the sorcerer's mobility, then moved up. He tried to cast something with spell combat, but failed the check. He then used burning hands with spell combat (burning away the web, of course). The player-sorcerer, as an irrelevant side note, used improved counterspell to totally mitigate several lightning bolts, but he ran out of appropriately leveled spells pretty fast.
Player Comments/Concerns:
-The player is still concerned with a lack of variety of attack touch spells for use with spell combat, mostly due to the lack of variety rather than any balance concern.
-He also actively voiced a degree of concern regarding Knowledge pool and Pool Spell, saying he felt like it was taking something from Divine and Sorcerous casters. He agreed that Pool Spell's cost made it appropriately expensive, but Knowledge Pool, on the other hand, was cheap--he intends to now use a few points daily for 'niche' spells he doesn't know but might need. He still is uncomfortable with Improved Pool Spell's 'best-of-both-worlds' capability, and flat disagrees with getting access to the whole wizard spell list ("which even a wizard doesn't get")--although that's 19th level, which this campaign won't reach. As a DM, I actually agree--I wouldn't mind seeing the Knowledge pool and Improved/greater spell pool come back as part of an 'archmagey' base/prestige class, but they don't seem to fit the Gish theme to me, and could potentially cause balance issues (but I haven't seen that reflected yet, obviously).
-The player feels that conserving Arcane Pool points is a facet of playing, but doesn't feel like he has too few--he's pretty happy with the number.
Final Impressions:
The Revised Magus's damage potential seems to be a little lower than other DPS-focused classes (when played in this manner, anyways), but utility seems to make up for that. After the revision, spell combat and spellstrike saw good use, and the weapon was enhanced several times. A full adventuring day's worth of encounters didn't see him run out of pool points, but he did have to conserve; I felt like the number of points available to him was good (opinion alert). The player is pretty happy, and other players don't feel like he's outstripping them.
My concern, and that of the player himself, is the Knowledge Pool/Improved and Greater Pool Spell abilities; the only playtesting input I can provide is that my player intends to use several of his points from now on to prepare spells he thinks he'll need for a day.
If the duration of the playtest is extended, I'll have another session's input this weekend. Otherwise, thanks for the playtest! I'm looking forward to the results!
After reading through the APG pdf, I've been impressed by the balanced nature of the feats, features, and spells therein.
That said, I was wondering about other DM opinions on Sacred Bond. Seems like a pretty significant increase in capability for the cost of a 3rd level spell that,by default, all clerics would automatically learn.
I'm not certain that is actually a problem--given the utility of selective channeling, it may instead just represent an alternative approach to what some of the clerics in my games call a 'feat tax'. At the same time, that significant a spell is worth a sounding board.
Has anyone running CoT tried going the extra mile and spinning up the Cugney's Wedding/Wave Door poem, or something like it? I was thinking about trying to write up something abbreviated and similar, but if another artistically inclined GM had already done so, all the better.
As I am currently running a druid, I frequently find myself trying to figure out adjusted stats in Wildshape. Several things factor in: size changes apply benefits and penalties to AC, To-Hit, and Damage (and reverse that trend for CMBs); strength and dex changes also modify combat stats. Natural armor is applied; etc.
To that end, I've tried compiling the total changes. These values are the total change to each stat; thus, if a druid has a +9 to To-Hit (TH) and they change into a diminutive animal, they end with a +11 TH.
To calculate these values for small druids, subtract 1 from the TH and AC values, and add 1 to the CMB and CMD changes.
*AC is starred because it presumes wild armor. If your armor or shield are not wild, subtract the value of the armor.
I have a more thorough spreadsheet showing my math, as well, if anyone's interested...I wouldn't be surprised to see an error or two.
The way bone armor reads, the benefit is an armor bonus. This suggests it is not intended to stack with any existing armor--is this intentional?
I ask, because the initial value is +2 armor bonus--which is equivalent to leather armor (a +2 bonus)--which the Oracle can already wear. It seems to scale up to match light armor, as well--but given that it is a standard action to activate (essentially costing a round) and only lasts a minute per level...it just doesn't seem to match the cost of a revelation unless it stacks with existing armor--or perhaps is a free action to activate, although I'd still be a little leery of it.
Examples:
Oracle with dex 14:
@ Level 1:
AC with Bone Armor : 14 (+2 dex, +2 BA)
AC With Leather Armor: 14 (+2 dex, +2 Armor)
AC With Studded Leather: 15 (+2 dex, +3 Armor)
@ Level 7:
AC with Bone Armor: 16 (+2 dex, +4 BA)
AC with Studded Leather: 15 (+2 dex, +3 armor)
AC with +1 studded Leather: 16 (+2 dex, +3 armor, +1 enh armor)
[Wealth by level: 23,500 gp. Cost of +1: 1000g]
@Level 13
AC WIth Bone Armor: 16 (2 dex, +5 BA) and 5 DR/Blu.
AC With +3 Chain shirt: 19 (+2 dex, +4 armor, +3 enh armor)
[Wealth by level: 140,000 gp. Cost of +3: 9,000 gp]
Obviously these are just examples, and obviously DR is not AC--but special abilities/mats can be added for the ac, and the armor scales past level 13. On the other hand, if Armor of Bones stacks with existing AC, it becomes worth the standard action and revelation, providing a temporary bonus to AC/DR.
I'm sure I've mis-mathed...but it probably gets the gist across. Thoughts?
Just thought I'd toss it out there. I've loved the wild mage since its 2E inception--the 3.5 Complete Arcane respin didn't particularly amuse me (no wild surges? A tragedy!) but I've been a huge fan of Sean's (google up his website--I don't remember if it's appropriate to post links here), among others. Makes for some of the most memorable characters I've seen or played. ;-)
Any chance we'll see a prestige or base-class rework of the 2E favorite (or the SKR OGL one, for that matter) in some shiny official Paizo source?
The druid section of the Pathfinder Campaign Setting refers to the Wildwood Lodge and the Isle of Arenway, somewhere along the Sellen river. Other than that statement, though, I haven't been able to find any additional info.
As I'm currently playing a druid in the setting, I was wondering if anyone knows anything else (such as it's specific location, for instance--the only thing that struck a chord with me was the island on he northeast corner of Andoran map). I'd love some extra info--are there any (Paizo) supplements that go into the druidic organizations more thoroughly?
In 2e/3e there is no school with more entertaining (and creative) possibilities than illusion. Unfortunately, it also serves as one of the more problematic elements, rule-wise. These spells require a LOT of DM judgement--and they should. It even spawned a Rules of the Game series of articles (All About Illusions) on WotC's site.
The following thoughts/issues are from extensive playtesting; I've sat on both player and DM sides of the illusion debate. I also went through the RotG articles for ideas about things that aren't very clear in the rule set.
1) The rules don't say what a figment's attack bonus is. RotG suggests using your attack bonus is a good default; others have suggested using something keyed off the caster's stat (INT/CHA/WIS). I'd prefer the latter, but regardless it probably needs clarification in the spell or in the school.
2) A few more examples would be helpful clarifying the differences between subschools, in some cases--for instance, you can use a figment to create an image of a soldier...but you couldn't use it to make yourself look LIKE a soldier (you'd need a glamer).
3) Disbelief -- Could use SIGNIFICANT clarification.
a) The rules don't say what happens if you successfully disbelieve a figment or glamer that doesn't have a visual element. I assume you remain aware of the effect.
b) According to PH173, you don't receive a saving throw against an illusion effect with a disbelief saving throw until you study the illusion carefully or interact with it. RotG suggests that studying the illusion 'carefully' means taking at least a move or standard action, probably as part of a course of normal events (since the victim doesn't actually know its an illusion yet). Other DMs force a Perception check (which is probably too much...although it might be appropriate to penalize those with poor perception that way, I suppose).
c) "A character faced with proof an illusion isn't real needs no saving throw." This line has provoked more arguments than the rest of the section combined. Note: In DnD, not a lot is totally implausible. For instance, Lenny the barbarian swings a sword through an illusory opponent. Lenny's player Joe wants an auto-disbelief. His DM instead says "He could be insubstantial. Besides, you have an INT of 6. Saving throw only." Who was right? The dividing line is blurry there. Maybe it should stay that way...but regardless, a few additional examples could be a good thing.
d) The rules don't say so, but if you create an illusion that allows a saving throw for disbelief, you should probably automatically disbelieve it (because you created it).
4) Shadows - Shadows have a few special points too--they are partially real, and some effects are boolean values. For my games, If a Shadow casts a save or die, I roll against their reality percentage to determine whether or not it takes effect (so a 70% real creature casting hold person casts, and rolls against 70%. If successful, the creature receives a save as normal). Being only part real cannot make a creature a more capable foe-- penalties (such as dex) probably shouldn't be reduced when calculating a shadow's AC.
5) A Final Wish - (Most) Illusions don't deal real damage. In 2e, they could deal "fake" damage until they recipient fell over from fright (shock roll). I'd be thrilled to see "illusory" damage make a return or a mention--even if it doesn't cause a shock roll, illusions tricking players or monsters into reacting differently because they're 'hurt' would be too fun. Tack on an auto-disbelief when they reach zero and don't die. ;-) Even if these arrived as higher-level versions...
I love illusions, both as a player and as a DM...and strongly disliked where 4e took them. Looking forward to my first Silent Image in the PFRPG final in August. Hope some of this was helpful!
