FraterEAO's page

Definitely dotting this. I'm loving the new flavor, and can't wait to see some of the new mechanics.

I can't really add anything more than schoolgirl-esque giddiness that this is being done. Great job!

An air-bender type, but not just any old monk with can channel air-powers with ki points a few times per day or an "air" mage who throws lightning bolts around. I want a character whose primary schtick is hurling devastating bolts, bullets, scythes, and any other constructs made of wind. He forfeits alternate casting abilities (unrelated spells) for raw attack power. I imagine spell-like abilities for wind-powers that deal slashing/bludgeoning/piercing damage that counts as ranged touch attacks but is offset by not automatically piercing damage reduction (it might at later levels).

Something about flying around tearing apart legions of minions with razor-sharp wind slashes is really appealing to me, but it's probably far from an optimized idea. Oh well.

This post isn't very constructive, but I'm dotting this to look over in more detail later. From what I've seen, you've put a tremendous amount of work into the class and, at the very least, it looks cool.

Took the survey. I hope it helps.

This definitely has my attention.

Aha! Thank you, Sunshine Rat!

Now that I think about it because Native outsiders are a subtype of an Outsider. Which means for one package they gain

Darkvision 60 feet.
Proficient with all simple and martial weapons and any weapons mentioned in its entry. (Multiple weapon training)
Immune to X person spells like Charm, Dominate person or any spell that targets humanoids.

The only cons are they do not benefit from Enlarge person.

I'm dumb, but can anyone point out where this is stated? I've skimmed the PDF and the only thing I see for the Outsider (Native) entry is:

"A native
outsider race has the followings features.
• Native outsiders have the darkvision 60 ft. racial ability.
• Native outsiders breathe, eat, and sleep."

Thanks!

6. Thick, congealed strands of necrotic energy start leaking in to the Material Plane causing anything the tar touches to wither, die, and reanimate. Brave heroes must find the source of the spill of negative energy and plug it before [the main world of your campaign] completely plunges into the Negative Energy Plane.

Some background first: I'm the GM for a group of very casual gamers. They're great once things get started, but they also have a tendency to treat the game as (1) little more than a glorified board game and (2) a reason for hanging out with everyone. So, it takes a lot for them to really get involved in the adventures and actually roleplay without a LOT of prompting on my part. One of the players has stepped up and has been chatting with me about his character's background (he's the only one who has ever voluntarily come up with a back-story) and how that will mesh well with the adventure path I'm going to start running. Because he's been so proactive before the adventure has begun and the fact that the ARG playtest has begun, I wanted to reward him. I told him he could build a Standard Race of his choosing with 10 RP as long as he created a somewhat believable story for his race. I know that the race maker is for GMs only, but this guy has been playing for quite awhile and is more than willing to edit the race if it's deemed too overpowered.

So, with that being said, would you mind critiquing his race for me? I've looked it over and it FEELS slightly overpowered, but I'm also fairly new to GMing. Anyway, here it is:

Lyon-Thai are not, on their own, especially infused with magic. Despite this, it is not uncommon for them to choose crafts or professions that are rich with the arcane. Though often irreligious, the Lyon-Thai are deeply spiritual, and believe that they descended from a powerfully magical people who resided within a sentient plane. They believe that when they die, their souls return there, but the plane chooses to block most other travel there, making it a sort of holy place that the Lyon-Thai aspire to reach as a final resting place for their souls. Tall and dark-skinned, they tend to stand out (literally!) in crowds, but their peaceful and flexible nature enables them to integrate into any reasonably friendly society. Though they are happy to mingle, they do place the importance of family above nearly all else, so when a Lyon-Thai travels alone, it is typically a sign that he is a great adventurer--or, more likely, in exile.

Lyon-Thai - 10 RP
Outsider (native) (2 RP)
The only thing this gives me is Darkvision.
Medium size (0 RP) (for flavor, I'm saying I'm about 7 feet tall.)
Normal speed (0 RP)
Standard Language Array (1 RP)
Common, Draconic? (I haven't decided on my other language yet.)
Standard Modifiers (0 RP)
+2 Cha, +2 Dex, -2 Con
Outsider-y Resistance (2 RP) (modeled off of Fiendish/Celestial Resistance)
Resistance: Acid 5, Fire 5, Earth 5
Shadow Resistance (2 RP)
Resistance: Cold 5, Electricity 5
Adaptability (1 RP)
I get Skill Focus as a bonus feat at 1st level. I chose Stealth, so I have a +3 to it
Spell Resistance, Lesser (2 RP)
I get SR 6 + level, so I start out at SR 7.

The first thing that immediately comes to mind is the Acid and "Earth" resistances. As far as I know, those are one in the same. Also, for the "Outsider-y resistance," I told him he could take the Fiendish/Celestial resistances and re-flavor it. I didn't think it would be too game-breaking, but what do you think?

Thanks!

Oh good, something to distract me from studying for finals. If I fail, I'm blaming the GRC team. But, seriously, this looks great. I can't wait to look through it in more depth. Great work, everyone.

I'm posting so I can find this later. From the few pages I've read, I'm very interested in the project. Like Sasha, I'm curious if anyone is still working on this.

Color me interested! Sorry I can't add any more input than that right now (my brain is fried from lack of sleep), but I'm definitely interested in seeing how the GRC team handles magic in the modern world.

This is a fantastically creative thread! I've enjoyed reading everything and I'll definitely be consulting this thread if I ever get the chance to play a sorcerer. Keep up the good work everyone!

So you are creating a pathfinder compatable version of the Modern SRD? You will find alot of interest already existing in such a product. And I imagine many would be curious to know more about it.

Count me among the many. I'm very interested in seeing this product.

Best wishes to everyone at the GRC Team.

Thank you for the support! It means a lot knowing my idea isn't half bad :P

This sounds like a really good idea, but I think you might have to make up some positive energy fiends.

That's what I figured. I just found out that one of my players is wanting to GM this next session, so creating some new monsters isn't as urgent as I had assumed. Whenever I get around to creating some, I will post them here. If you don't mind, can you fine folks take a look at them when I'm done? I've only created one unique monster before, and that was an incredibly simple one. I'd love for some criticism when I get around to making the new ones.

Maybe use the whole "fallen angel" thing, somehow a planetar was corrupted, and now uses its connection to the positive energy plane to overwhelm a person with positive energy. I like to think of it this way: When a cleric channels positive energy, it's like a gentle massage, it leaves you feeling better afterward. When this corrupted Planetary channels energy, it's like being elbow dropped by a gorilla. It's still pressure on your back, the second, however is not so relaxing.

That's a very interesting idea, and I had debated using a similar idea, but I'm steering more toward using a fiend or aberration. Specifically, I think I'm going to make them qlipphoth. In my homebrew setting, the qlipphoth are basically a race of Lovecraftian aberrations that began to dwell in the Abyss and, over time, the fell energies there changed them into their current forms. There are probably holes in that lore, but my players won't know :P

Since life includes such fun things as cancer, botflies and ebola, I'd see nothing wrong with a demon or, especially, qlippoth, that infused a corruptive charge of positive energy into those in it's clutches, causing them to shudder and transform, gaining freakish new bodily modifications. Slapping someone with a tentacle, infusing them with positive energy, a force of life and growth and change, and causing their body to sprout a similar tentacle *that then attacks them!* could be fun, in an Army of Darkness sort of way.

Other attacks could cause something to sprout an extra eyeball that the demon can see through, allowing it to spy on them until they cowboy up and burn the sucker out with a hot poker, or create a tiny mouth in their hairline near their ear that whispers foul promises to them or keeps them awake until sewn shut or removed via powerful healing magic. Those who willingly serve such a power might have such modifications, and 'witch hunts' to find the demon's cultists might involve stripping people and searching for these extra eyes or hidden mouths. A powerful curse from the cult might be to force someone to sprout a limb or tentacle or monster part that is under the control of the cult, not the recipient, while their powerful allies and warriors might have some extra beastly features, such as a crab-like coating of skin on their outer arms, chest, and back, giving them a little bit of natural armor, or some other positive-energy-infused growth.

I'm definitely going to use those ideas, if you don't mind. They're awesome!

Hello all. I apologize if this post seems rushed and/or amateurish. I lurk in the forums quite a bit, but I rarely, if ever, post. Also, if this thread is in the wrong forum, I apologize.

Anyway, I was looking for some advice, pointers, and/or criticism about an idea I've been brewing for some time now. While lurking in the forums, I've noticed several very interesting debates regarding the Positive and Negative Energy Planes and alignment, namely, does the N.E.P. necessarily equal Evil and vice versa. I have noticed that some fiends tend to dip into the domain of negative energy, especially when it comes to Orcus [note: I am not above blatantly ripping off 4E lore or adventures if I/my players like them]. That led me to the question: are there any fiends that have such a link to the Positive Energy Plane?

For my next adventure (I'm the GM), I plan on running an alternate version of the 4E adventure "Keep on the Shadowfell." I'll basically be writing it from scratch, but I want to keep the concept of stopping a mad demonic (?) cult from opening up a portal to the Abyss (?) before it's too late. However, instead of a cliche' cult dedicated to Orcus, I want something that's a bit more...devious. I imagine a cult that, based on appearances, looks very similar to a typical good-aligned temple but, when the players delve into their beliefs and actions enough, they'll realize just how twisted and insane they truly are. This brings to the concept of the Malshapers and Ragnorra from the "Elder Evils" supplement (which is fantastic, imo). Ragnorra, to me, honestly loves all of creation and earnestly wants to bring the "flock" back to her fold (by corrupting them via the corrupted positive energy).

My question is, should I stick with Ragnorra and the Malshapers and, instead of opening a portal to the Abyss (as in the KotsF), they'd be opening a portal to where-ever Ragonna happens to be at the time? Or, should I substitute a positive energy wielding fiend of some sort instead? Or...should I just scrap the idea and run the adventure as written (well, converted to Pathfinder)?

Either way, if you know of any positive energy themed fiends, can you please point me in the right direction. I'd appreciate it. Any other ideas, advice, and the like is also very much appreciated.

Thanks!

One last thing and the second reason this whole concept came into being: I really love this mechanic:

"Despite the plane's life giving effects, living creatures entering the positive energy plane quickly become overloaded with life energy and may explode" (note: sorry, I can't find the official mechanic for the fluff at the moment)

This, to me, screams to be used by some extremely sadistic entity. I know that the healing energy is converted to temporary HP and most normal healing doesn't exceed a character's total HP...but, I have no problem house-ruling that away if my players are cool with it (they tend to enjoy most of my ideas). So, I'm at an impasse: have a sadistic fiend that uses positive energy to overcharge them to the point of annihilating them, or use positive energy to corrupt them into gibbering aberrations? Unless, of course, there is some way of merging the ideas without messing up the fluff too badly.

Sorry for the rant! Thanks again for the help!

Well if you're using gremlins as your main antagonists I'd go with maybe two different groups (I like Pugwampis and Vexgits, although don't overuse Pugwampis as they are the most annoying creature in the game). The Vexgits give you another monster that doesn't rely on the PCs making a whole mountain of double checks.

In any case the clues and witnesses should ultimately point the graveyard, and the PCs can find a crypt with a proper dungeon that the Gremlins and the witch are laired in.

As always, the help is most appreciated. Thanks again!

-Frater

Well if you want to lead the PCs to the Graveyard you'll need to provide clues.

So here are some encounter ideas with clues to be found.

Fire! The local inn catches fire. The PCs need to rescue the people who work there and try to put the fire out. If the PCs investigate the burning building they'll find the charred remains of what looks to be a deformed puppy of some kind. (A DC 20 Knowledge Nature check reveals it to be a pugwampi corpse, burned to death in the flames).

The Broken Carriage The wheel of a carriage falls off, causing it to buck and tip wildly, panicking the horses in front of it. As the runaway carriage charges through the town the PCs need to find a way to stop it before someone gets trampled (Ride, Handle Animal, Tanglefoot bags all useful). Investigating the carriage reveals that the axle rusted right through, and loose bits of soil and pollen can be seen in the wheel axle. (A DC 20 Knowledge Nature check reveals the pollen is that of a "Sombre Lilly" a locally famous white flower. A DC 15 Knowledge (Geography) or Diplomacy (Gather Information) check reveals that the only place they grow in town is the local graveyard.

The Mayor's Tombstone As the players are walking to town hall they might see the mayor in conversation with his rival. A DC 15 Perception check allows the PCs to see a large stone tablet of some kind teetering on the roof above the mayor and his rival. Roll Initiative. The PCs have a surprise round, before the tiny gremlins are able to push the large rock over the edge on their initiative in the first combat round. A successful Bull Rush check (vs the Flat-footed mayor or his rival assume CMD of 10) is enough to push them out of the way of the falling block.
The block itself does 3d6 damage, and 3 splash damage on a failed Reflex Save (DC 10) to anyone in the two squares it hits.
Putting the tablet together reveals it's actually a headstone with the mayor (or his rival's) name on it. Doing so takes an hour of work and a DC 10 Linguistics...

This is wonderful! I will definitely be using this!

One question though, do you think it's best to work with only 1 gremlin (the pugwampi) or a group of them? I'm really liking the mystery approach that you've set up, but I ultimately want it to lead them to a dungeon-like setting for the "meat" of the adventure.

Thanks again for the help. I really appreciate it.

angry town mayor or angry witch...why not both?

The way I had envisioned it, if the mayor is corrupt and wanting to bribe the witch into helping, the two of them would need to be on fairly neutral grounds with each other.

If I may ask, how would you go about mixing the two plots?

Also, thanks for the quick reply! :)

Hello everyone. As the title says, I'm a fairly new GM and I'm looking for ideas, advice, critiques, and any other tidbits of wisdom more experienced GMs could lend to me.

The adventure will be for geared for a party of four 1st level players: an aberrant sorcerer, a ranger, a cleric, and a magus (who volunteered to play-test it; he knows that I've been lurking around the forums for months and was very curious about the class). Their abilities round out to a 25 point buy, mostly because half of them went ahead and rolled their stats while I tweaked the other half's in their favor (just to balance things out--I didn't feel like telling the other two to re-"roll" with a 20 point buy).

The adventure will revolve around a group of gremlins that have infested a small village. The gremlins penchant for mischievousness (aka, chaos and dismay in a tiny package) has the town suffering: items around the town are breaking seemingly by "accident," small livestock is going missing, and the townsfolk are beginning to think that they have been cursed.

I'm looking to play up the atmosphere of paranoia in the town before the players go off and clear out the nuisance. The vast majority of townsfolk have no idea what "gremlins" are, so they think they're either haunted by vengeful spirits or forsaken by their gods. I'm really wanting the players to think along the same lines to make the gremlins more memorable than small, ugly fey who like to break things.

I'm still open to adventure hooks, but what I have planned right now is to have the players heed the call of the mayor's aid. The mayor, believing that he is cursed, has locked himself away in his "death-proofed" home (think Final Destination). He refuses to leave, which also means that the town is without a leader. The heroes are called in to investigate and eventually put a stop to whatever is ailing their town. The BBEG of the adventure will be a very pissed off witch who, for whatever reason (magic!), has an affinity for gremlins and is doing everything in her power to make the mayor suffer, possibly due to unpaid alimony (I'm not quite sure yet).

Either that, or the mayor hired the witch to make one of the townfolk absolutely miserable. He hired the witch, who subsequently sent out her gremlin horde, because outright assassinating the guy would be far too obvious, especially if this is a political thing (again, not sure). If I choose to go down this path, then I figure the adventure will cover 2 sessions worth of gaming, while the first will only cover 1.

/rant

*How can I create story events that come across as the village is haunted that will eventually lead the players to the town graveyard (where the gremlin lair is)?

*Which background to the adventure do you think is more viable: angry witch wanting to make the mayor/town suffer, or corrupt mayor trying to make an political rival (?) suffer by hiring a gremlin-loving witch?

Any other pointers, tips, and advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot for tolerating the above wall of text!

-Frater