Giuseppe Capriati's page

Hi folks!
After I finished running my homebrew of a Norse-themed campaign set in the Lands of the Linnorm Kings, I just wanted to say that I think the whole area is full of potential.
I know the area was more associated with Pathfinder 1, but as far as I have understood, this is not to be taken as a strict rule.
Also, I know some viking themes emerge in Reign of Winter and Jade Regent, but they do only incidentally and sparsely.
I am SO curious to see how the talented writers at Paizo deal with a Viking-themed campaign. I would personally go down a sandbox route mixed with some linear adventures, such as this outline.
- 1st module: The characters join a raid sailing under the command of a Linnorm King. Something dramatic happens and they somehow become heroes (they are the only survivors, their Linnorm King betrays, does something unexpected, has to be saved by them).
- 2nd module: The characters go back to the Land of the Linnorm Kings and are noticed by Arma, who asks them to go beast hunting. They also have the chance to interact with the other Linnorm Kings, perform tasks for them and gain Reputation.
- 3rd module: Now heroes of some renown, the PC take on the challenge to defeat a linnorm and become Linnorm Kings themselves. After gaining the title in the first part of the adventure, they have this huge sandbox where they can choose to build their "kingdom", raid foreign lands or rival clans, build ships, build an army, muster followers, and so on.
- 4th module: A huge conspiracy involving several Linnorm Kings is set in motion. The heroes have to choose which sides to take.

This is just an example, but it is indicative of how much potential is there. After Opir died in the canon, and new Linnorm Kings vie for power, the land is rife with adventure and... its theme is very strong! We also have the Viking archetype already!

Please Paizo make my dream come true!

EDIT: This was originally a new thread, but I moved it here.

In PF2, you have only three categories of bonuses: status, circumstance and item. Bonuses of the same type don't stack, so I'd start with making sure that you know which of these three types each bonus is.

This is very unlike PF1, which had 435 types of bonuses, and several of them (esp the "untyped") stacked with each other, so you had to track far more stuff to make sure what's your actual bonus.

Yes, most of them are circumstance bonuses, but usually they do not apply to the same check. I.e., you have a +2 circumstance bonus to Athletics checks made to climb and a +1 circumstance bonus to Deceit checks made to Lie.

@Superbidi: I wish we too had so few of them. Usually skill feats are the main source of them, and you get a lot of skills feats as you progress through the levels. We use Foundry, and to be honest, one of the worst things is that they cannot be (currently) automated, so you need to remember them.

But this conversation sparked an idea. I think that a specific script might help: for example, when you roll Athletics and you have a +1 bonus made to Climb, the macro asks you if you are using Athletics to climb everytime you make an Athletic check, and if yes, it automatically adds the bonus. I should bring this discussion over to the Foundry community, they might be able to help!

Hi!
So, lately I have been thinking a lot about all those small, circumstantial bonus characters get (mainly from feats). You know, bonuses such as +1 to Athletics checks made to climb, +2 to resist the negative effects of cold weather, +1 when using Perception to discern when someone is lying to you, and so on.

These bonuses have been bugging me since Pathfinder 1E, for the following reasons:

- Players tend do forget about them, and so do I. Even when the circumstance to use them arises, they are so rarely used that no one remembers.
- Players feel overwhelmed by having to remember them, especially when using higher level characters. As an example, I have been playing Sundered Waves recently, and although we had a really huge blast, my players (who have previous experience with Pathfinder 1 and 5E) felt a bit discouraged by the sheer number of small things they had to take in and keep in mind while we played.
- They can be easily given at GM's discretion. When I know a character is grown in Irrisen, I will give him a +2 bonus to saving throws against the effects of cold weather anyway.

This post is not aimed at criticizing those bonuses, however. Since they are in the system, I would like to know why do you think they are useful, what do they add to the game experience in your view, and, most importantly, if you can share any tips on how to manage them, helping the players to remember them without feeling overwhelmed.

Thank you in advance!

** spoiler omitted **

That's interesting! Thank you for your help Michael!

So, while reading PF2E world guide, I noticed that a number of changes happened in the current state of the Lands of the Linnorm Kings, such as:

Now, my question is whether these changes happened in the course of any Adventure Path, and/or if there is some source where I can learn more on how these changes came to be.

Thank you!

As a follow up to my previous post on dynamic dungeons, I appreciated a lot the table on page 38 of Eyes of Empty Death, which describes how foes move through the dungeon when they are not in their areas of encounter.
I also liked the box at page 40 where you make a certain NPC retribution proactive. I like to see enemies moving around the dungeon, and sometimes even setting out to look for the heroes!

I may have chosen my words poorly. By "heavy" I didn't mean "morally heavy", but "serious" in tone. I feel like you have mixed point 1 and 4. Agents of Edgewatch was great but it was... colorful, for lack of a better word. Even the most disturbing NPCs (like a certain prince...) still have a cartoonish feel to them, although they do terrible things. It was empathically taxing to play those scenes, but they still had a tragicomic feeling to them. A certain poisoner was not funny at all, but the whole event in which you have the chance to "meet" him was kind of light in tone. This is all personal feeling, just like my original post.

If I meant "morally heavy" I would have mentioned a certain bargain you can make in Abomination Vaults. That was really interesting and I loved it, but that was not what I meant by heavy. I mainly meant serious in tone, with few funny NPCs and scenes, and a general aura of heroic seriousness.

Might it be that me not finding Agents of Edgewatch heavy was due to the fact that I live in a country where the whole unfortunate events leading to the campaign being dubbed as badly timed had much less resonance? I don't know. Perhaps Agents of Edgewatch was "edgy", but I wouldn't define it heavy in tone (in my sense).

So how'd you play them all in the time since they started being released?

The larger ones (such as Age of Ashes and Agents of Edgewatch), we didn't finish because our group went different ways before the end. We arrived at a reasonable point though (4 of 6, and 5 of 6 respectively) and then narrated the ending.

Sometimes we had to cut here and there to make the game go quicker. We are also a tight-knight group, we have been playing together since Rise of the Runelords. Our turns in combat can be very fast.

But not being able to finish all the APs we played is exactly the reason why I think shorter APs are better suited for my group.

Having translated and played almost all of 2nd edition APs, this is my (and my group's) wishlist going forward.

1. An AP which is a little heavier in tone. By "heavy" I mean serious, both in theme and NPCs. Something more along the lines of Hell's Rebels, Reign of Winter, and so on. I would not rather *every* AP to be this heavy though, just one.

2. A mix of old-school and new entry writers for APs. I appreciate the work all the new writers put into recent APs, but I also have a deep appreciation for Logue, Pett, Hitchcock, and so on. I would like to see more diversity in the writers' roster for the APs.

3. A viking-themed AP. We had Jade Regent passing through the Lands of the Linnorm Kings once, and Reign of Winter set in Irrisen, with several ties to the Lands of the Linnorm Kings. But I (we) would love to see an entire AP devoted to Paizo's takes on vikings.

4. Some scenes with a bit more edge. I know that having a Shayliss Vinder kind of scene might be too much nowadays, and that even a Foxglove-like obsession could prove a little too disturbing today, but I believe that it is possible to evoke similarly involving scenes while being politically correct.

5. A more dynamic approach to dungeons. I would like the enemies in dungeons to interact a bit more than just "if the PCs make too much noise here, the urdefhans in area A12 come investigating in 1d4 rounds." I know this is a complex one, but it is on my wishlist nonetheless.

6. Keep experimenting with the shorter APs. The way we all play RPGs is changing, and we find the new format much more suited to our needs. We cannot afford to play 5+ hours/week anymore, and longer APs, although immensely enticing, just stay that, because it would take us two to three years to just complete one.

7. Keep exploring new ways of implementing APs with virtual tabletops and shorter game sessions.

8. And more importantly, keep up the good work and thank you for allowing us to tell such wonderful tales through the years!

Has anyone noticed that Grabble Forden (p. 45) can make his ranged attack as a free action? Even his Drain Bonded Item and Poison Conversion abilities are labeled as free actions. Is that a typo of some sort or is that exactly as intended?

Hey James,
I am struggling a bit to justify rationally how small towns such as those frequently depicted in APs could contain such a variety of ethnicities.

In real history we had a true mixture of cultures only when easily accessible traveling means (cars, airplanes) became available. Before that, migration usually concerned groups of people (tribes relocating, settlers founding new colonies) and only very rarely single individuals. Travels were perilous and they took very long, cultural shock was definitely a thing, and people moving in new areas usually did not enjoy all the benefits (usually political rights) granted to normal citizens.

In the Age of Lost Omens, we do not have all of those modern means of travel, and the world is probably much more dangerous than ours, due to monsters. The common pantheon and tongue surely help, but I still feel like that is not enough to justify the huge diversity of ethnicities in small settlements. I feel like common folk travel too much in a world so dangerous as Golarion is, and with a technology level not high enough to ensure safe travels.

May I ask your 2 cents on this? I feel like there is something I am missing from my picture.

Mornin'! Nice day for fishing, ain't it?
I am trying to figure out how Stealth works in 2E and it is not clear to me whether it is an Exploration activity or it should be part of Encounter mode.
Let's say Merisiel is sneaking into a chelaxian vira trying to avoid being noticed by guards. Should I put a gridded map in front of her and let her take turns using the Hide and Sneak actions? Or should I avoid using a map for now and just consider her as taking the Avoid Notice activity? And if this is the case, would this be a single check for the entire vira, or should I ask her to roll for each new room she enters?
Another exemple: let's say Merisiel is in Citadel Altaerein, the dungeon from the first PF 2E AP. After an encounter in the first room, she decides that she wants to scout ahead for the group and check future rooms before the party enters them. Now, do I describe this scene without using the map (physical or virtual) relying on description, or should I ask her to move square by square and use the Hide and Sneak actions as required? I am quite sure that what Merisiel wants is not covered by the Scout activity. Would this be another Avoid Notice activity? Or should I stay in Encounter mode?

Thank you for your insights!

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

"Is there any test we could make in order to gain your permission to get into the pyramid? Perhaps a riddle, or something?," Ben asks, remembering the sphinxes of legend from his readings.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (11) + 16 = 27

Here I am, it took forever to recover and I am still not fully over it, but I can post now.

Nidhi starts to tear up. "Oh! Oh, BEN~! That - that's so romantic! Mark my words: I will help you on your pure-of-heart quest!" She covers her heart with both hands, "it's like an unrequited love, isn't it?" Nidhi wipes away a single tear and composes herself after her theatrics. "If Cahal were my Sphinx..."

"Oh, thank you Nidhi," Ben answers, a bit hesitantly. Of everyone in the party, she was the last he expected to receive sympathy for. And while the others did not understand his motives, perhaps not even Florence, Nidhi did. "Thank you so much, it means a lot. You know, I learned the language of sphinx for the sole purpose of one day being able to conversate with one of them! I'm pretty fluent at it! Oh, and I also made a lot of exercise with riddles! Sphinxes love riddles!"

"Ben, how the heck did they even find us? Let alone get all of them to us so quickly? Flo? Do you know?" Zilchus asks. "They got here is force and quickly. That's worrysome."

"They know we have the mask, Zil. And we made no efforts to conceal our next move, so I guess that was pretty easy for them. This is precisely what I was worried about before we decided to head out in the desert, and the reason why I insisted so much that Nidhi refrained from telling everyone about our great exploits..." Ben answers, the matter of the sphinx largely set aside, for the moment, and perhaps forever.

Before resuming the travel, Ben walks closer to Florence and whispers something in her ear. "I know, that sounded...creepy, you are right. But I conceive arcane magic as an amoral field, one where moral concern should not be involved. I know there are divergent opinions, but mine is more than an opinion. It's my faith, shared by most of those who believe in the All-Seeing-Eye. I know you don't share it, but I hope one day you will at least respect it. That look in your eyes...I know what you are thinking about me, because many look at me in the same way. But this time it was nothing strange or individual or personal. Just applying the tenets of my faith and my own convinctions to a concrete case. "

No plan survives contact with the enemy. Sǣran read those word countless times, and heard them even more often, and although usually agreeing with them, his agreement was lacking a direct, first-hand experience. Now he has it. Prone, with another Pathfinder above him and a ghoul at a few feet of distance, in the heat of the battle and with no simple choice, Sǣran understands why a tactical mind is not simply a keen intellect well versed in theorizing about war. It takes some exercise and a good measure of cold blood to reason tactically while in combat, and Sǣran does not have this gift, at least not yet.

The only way in which I can be useful to my group is to draw the ghoul's attention and take one hit for them...

Putting his arms over his head in a protective way (total defense: +4 dodge bonus to AC for 1 round), Sǣran tries to crawl away from the undead (provoking an attack of opportunity).

Sǣran's AC for this round is 15: +4 for total defense and -4 for being prone.

I enjoyed playing this scenario so much, thanks both to the incredible group and the GM. My schedule is going to be a little more compressed in the next few months as I get back to Italy and prepare myself to move over to the United States in fall. As much as I would love to continue this, I feel like it would be better for me to bow out once we complete part 1, both to allow me to take care of my real life things and not to hold back the group with my rather slow posting rating. I plan to start a PbP scenario as a GM in summer as part of Pathfinder Playtest, and I have to take that into account too. I thank you so much for making this my best experience with PFS so far!

"There's something I should tell you, nothing...nothing bad, at least I don't think it is - not anymore, anyway. May I come by your room later tonight, after we get back to Tephu? I don't want to talk here..."

"Of course you can, Flo. I'll be waiting for you then," quickly replies Ben, his eyes still wandering over the water in search for answers to one more question. I wonder what she's going to tell me...

***

When, later on, Florence will knock Ben's door, she will find a simple note attached to it. The note reads as follows.

Meet me downstairs.

If Florence descends, she will find an elegant chariot waiting for her just outside the inn, with a driver ready and one door open. Ben is holding that door open for Florence, a kind smile on his face. "I had to try this out before using it on the field," he explains, inviting Florence inside. "We should be able to talk in private here, but I would like you to enjoy a small trip through Wati in complete relax. We both deserve it. We can talk about what you have to tell me either in the chariot or later in my room, as you prefer. Now please, would you like to enter my creation?"
_______________
Ben paied a local to act as a driver, asking Abdur for someone with good reference. He is willing to pay more than usual (up to 5 gp) to ensure that driver is a competent one, and not scared by the task of riding a phantom chariot. More than willing to continue this interaction in spoiler from now on.

Ben smiles at Florence. "Please, take a seat," he offers, making room for her next to him. His eyes aimlessly wandering over the water, Ben speaks in a hushed tone, as though trying not to allow his thoughts to get bigger and more dangerous by giving them verbal substistence. “I am worried about a lot of things. And I had no doubt you would notice.” The scholar takes her hand, finding it almost instinctively, without even needing to look at it. He holds it for a few seconds, than he gradually releases his grasp. “What we are doing…is dangerous. I have seen it. Neither in my dreams, nor in my visions, but in my heart. I feel we are getting ourselves into something treacherous. Countless hours I have spent thinking about all the possible outcomes, calculating every chance that something could go wrong, and in the vast majority of cases the mask causes our death.” At this point, Ben finally turns his head and looks Florence in the eye. “Only a few weeks ago, I would not worry about this, because I had nothing to lose. But now, now I feel like for the first time in my life Desna has smiled upon me, Shelyn has bestowed her grace on me, and they gave me you. A life with you, or perhaps I should say the idea of a life with you is not something I would lose as easily. But I know that we must fight, that our future may depend on this nonetheless. That if I want Golarion to be a place where to live in the future, we need to thwart the evil plot of this dark cult, and only we have the knowledge to do so. And so I will fight, and give my life in the process if needed. It is just that now my life is much more dear to me, because of you….” With that said, Ben caresses Florence’s cheek and sighs. “Let’s just try to stay alive, OK? I trust in us. We will prevail.”

***

"I can make them work, yes. I learned the spell during our journey, I just need to copy it down in my spellbook," Ben answers to Zilchus with a grin. "A boring spell, but it will save us many worries. And we should thank Stelle for that." At this point, Ben looks in the halfling's direction and smiles. "I didn't know you had such a deep knowledge of spellcraft, Stelle. This is a rather rare spell indeed, I really respect that!"

Ben gives Zilchus an "are you kidding me?" look for a moment, before he realizes his friend could have indeed missed some of the details. His students at the university thought Professor West Dickens's lessons were quite hard indeed, due to the Professor not understanding that his auditorium was not entirely composed of renowned Osirionologist. Ben smiles at the thought and calmly explains the situation. "Because Chisisek’s tomb is there, of course. Until now, he is our best lead to the Sky Pharaoh. Although you question is a thoughtful one, indeed. Why should we delve into this any further? I mean, why should we care to disturb the dead? We have the mask, and we know that it is likely to be a part of the Sky Pharaoh's soul, and that without it his soul cannot rest in peace. But we also know that we might cause a tragedy in attempting to reunite the fragments of the Pharaoh's soul, so...Effectively, I don't know why we are pressing forward so hard," Ben confesses. "Perhaps it is just because I don't want this to be over and lose your company..., he admits in a whisper, looking at Florence with particular intensity, but also to the others, in turn.

"What do you guys think? What should we do next?"

Sǣran's hand instinctively reach for the chakram at his hip upon seeing the leshy pop out of nowhere. A tad nervous, the half-elf decides to wait before indulging in his first impression and attack. A choice he does not regret. In fact, Sǣran finds himself blessing his rationality when his elven eyes show him the scene of Lazarus trying to parlay with the creature.

I have never seen anything like this before...

Trying not to draw too much attention on him by walking as slowly as he can, Sǣran starts silently making his way toward the group, positioning in a vantage point should the worse happen.

Stealth check to move silently: 1d20 + 2 - 1 ⇒ (17) + 2 - 1 = 18
Acrobatics check to walk on narrow surfaces: 1d20 + 7 - 1 ⇒ (8) + 7 - 1 = 14 If the surface is at least 7 inches wide, he will not fall.

"Watch out, everyone!"

Ben concentrates and two beams of fire dart from his pointed fingers!

Benedictus casts scorching ray at the lynx in front of Stelle.
Scorching ray attack #1 (+20 true strike): 1d20 + 7 + 20 ⇒ (15) + 7 + 20 = 42
Fire damage #1: 4d6 ⇒ (1, 6, 5, 4) = 16

Scorching ray attack #2: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19
Fire damage #2: 4d6 ⇒ (1, 3, 2, 6) = 12

"Yes, that' a good idea," agrees Saeran with a nod to Lazarus before walking toward one of the broken windows. Once he is there, the half-elf tries to peek inside.

Perception check: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

More confident with his weapons dangling from the metal ring affixed on his belt, Saeran also takes a look around the building, inspecting its perimeter unhurriedly.

Perception check (take 10): 10 + 6 = 16

"Does someone among you have any experience with crumbling buildings? I fear that if we dislodge the wrong things with our movement, we could cause more parts of the structure to collapse..."

The half-elf waits for an answer, then takes a sit on a nearby rock, pulls out his journal from his backpack and starts drawing a sketch of the building in front of him. "This is sublime, in some way. I don't know why precisely, but I find this place romantic, as the echo of a story long lost to time."

After finishing his sketch, Saeran puts the journal back into his backpack and examines the upper part of the ruin, in search for a place where his grappling hook may be fixed. If he finds such a place, Saeran uses throws the grappling hook using his hands and then tries to climb up the walls of the ruin.

Climb check: 1d20 + 8 - 1 ⇒ (11) + 8 - 1 = 18

If he manages to get on top, and the building is roofless, Saeran tries to take a peek in from above.

Saeran’s eyes go wide in stupor and surprise when Mireille hugs him. Although strongly inclined to favor rationality over emotions, the half-elf has feelings just like anyone else, and the whole sneaky escape has excited him too. He didn’t think his first assignment would end up being so peculiar, but in the end he finds it strangely electrifying. The presence of Mireille added some extra spice to it, casting up a sweet, almost romantic aftertaste to the whole experience. That is something new to Saeran too: perhaps too focused on self-improvement, he never seriously considered giving an important place to feelings such as love in his life, less out of an aware choice than to a subconscious deal with himself.

Lingering perhaps a few seconds more than necessary in Mireille’s embrace, Saeran eventually smiles, feeling the tension and the pressure of the mission suddenly wearing off. He immediately feels relieved and excited, as though his weight was abruptly lightened by an external force. “We did good. And we must thank the others for their work and courage. I hope they will be able to find us here.”

Naturally letting the embrace dissolve, Saeran starts slowly pacing inside the room. “If they do not come here within a few minutes I will go look for them, just in case. If I don’t see you again, I hope you the best, Mireille. You trusted me, but it was my very first field mission, you know? Perhaps your trust was a bit misplaced,” he says with a brief laugh, “but in the end everything turned out just fine so…I’m glad you did.”

Ben takes the magic belt and wears it: it does not shine behind his tunic, but he makes him feel immediately more nimble. Now, I just hope this isn’t cursed too…

Before moving forward, the Osirionologist concentrates for a few seconds as he mimics the enveloping silhouette of an armor around his body. In the blink of an eye, an armor entirely made of sheer arcane force surrounds him. Ben casts mage armor on himself. “Now we can go,” he says with a smile to Ptolomy before following Zilchus (provided his friend does not detect traps, of course.)

Once in front of the intersection, Benedictus renews his arcane sustain to the lights and moves them at the center of the intersection. Listen, Ptolomy. Make yourself invisible and see what’s in the room to the west and let me know through telepathy. Remember, do not put yourself into any risk, OK?

The faerie dragon complies with a grin. As soon as he turns the corner, he marks one of the walls with his symbol before moving on.

Very nice preview. I love the possibility to choose a tertiary stat to boost, so as to allow more freedom in combining the different heritages with the classes. And I also like the separation between innate heritage feat and "acquired" feats: the latter seems basically like alternate racial traits you can select as you character progresses, suggesting that he or she does not only develop his class-related abilites, but also somehow make his heritage and natural gifts stronger. I like the roleplaying potential of it.

And I don't know if I am wrong, but it seems to me like we have a picture for each ancestry as fighters (the goblin was a fighter, judging from his equipment, and both the dwarf and the elf here seem fighters as well to me, their gear is very Valeros-y). Does that mean that we will get a picture of each core class-race combination? That would be incredibly awesome, let me say it...

Invigorated by the travel, Benedictus allows his more examining-inclined companions to do most of the inital work in the hidden library. He watches as Nidhi eaves open the thick and heavy secret door to reveal a pitch black room beyond, rubbing his hands together in excitement.

“Back to researching! Oh guys, I’m so excited!,” he says to no one in particular as he eagerly peers into the room over Nidhi’s shoulders.

Resisting his urge to enter, Ben lets Zilchus go in first, and then sends Ptolomy inside. The faerie dragon flutters behind Zilchus, approximately 15 feet from the ground. Then Ben himself steps inside while pronouncing a few, quick arcane words and causing a group of four glowing spheres of light to appear above his head and pierce the dim-light in which the room is cast into. When the scholar raises his head though, he sees Zilchus plunging into the darkness.

“Oh gods, Zilchus!”

Ben takes another worried step forward, moving his lights in the center of the room and then slowly lowering them halfway through the pit.

“Are you alright?,” asks Ben as his eyes tries to get an answer to that question before it is spoken.

“Guys! Guys! Do you have some rope? Zilchus has…fallen into a pit. Quick!”

Ben takes the rope from whoever offers it and lowers it into the pit, or otherwise assists the one who is performing the task.

“Take the rope!”

Once Zilchus has been pulled up, Ben tries to check his conditions, although he’s not particularly good at it.

Heal check: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15

“Where those spikes poisoned?,” he asks to Florence, waiting for her response.

Realizing that other will tend to Zilchus’s wounds better than him, Benedictus casts detect magic as he closes his eyes and puts his hands perpendicularly to his body.

How tall is the ceiling here?

Knowledge (dungeoneering) to see if Ben knows about the existence of animating treasure chests of Golarion...: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (4) + 10 = 14

Nidhi, your post are very direct and I will not answer them, because I feel like things could get too personal otherwise.

The only thing I am going to say is that keeping a parallel interaction going on in spoilers while the story progresses is a huge time investment, since it effextively doubles your daily posts. Now, I don't have that much time now as I had when roleplaying with Florence, so for me is a sogn of respect toward Stelle. The golden rule of PbP: *finish what you start*, is the most important rule for me as a player too. I would hate to start a direct interaction with Stelle and then having to stop abruptly because I do not have enough time, or make her wait for days before I answer, or worst lag behind in the story and hold the whole party back. This is why I gave up on the idea as soon as the GM poked us tp move forward; before I hoped to have the interaction count in my daily posts, after the GM's intervention I was made aware that it would not.

Also, consider that when you start such an interaction you are also somehow binding your interlocutor to it. And while I knew Florence well enough when we had our spoilered interaction in the past (still I contacted her in private to double check), I cannot say the same for Stelle. What if she didn't have the time to keep a parallel interaction in spoilers? I would be puttong some pressure on her, and that's definitely something I always try to avoid.

That was not a light-hearted decision, and I hope that in the future, when there is something you do not understand about me, you will refrain from assuming it was out of laziness. And remember this: English is not my native language. Writing a post takes me much more time for me. Try to write a post in Italian, French, Spanish or German after a whole day of work, and we will see if you will still put forth the laziness argument :)

"My uncle once told me: «If you fear nothing, then you are not brave. You are merely too foolish to be afraid». I'm sure Lazarus is perfectly aware that he has put himself in danger, so his action has to be defined brave, I think," answers Saeran with an almost supernatural calm as he follos Mireille to her house, keeping his eyes open for danger in the meantime.

Ben does not leave without Florence, and when it becomes clear that she is still sleeping, the scholar decides to stay at the Tooth and Hookah and work on his book. He details the discoveries made by his group with scholarly accuracy, but the book features several breaks from archaeological dissertations and historical disputations in which Benedictus tells the story behind the discoveries as an exciting, action-packed novel.

Memorandum. Ask Nidhi to review these novel passages, she may very well help me make them more exciting.

Eventually, Ben understands Florence is going to miss their date. Although enjoying his break from researching and adventuring, and his love for spare time to devote to writing and reading, the Osirionologist reacts with a bit of sadness.

I wonder when, if ever, will we have another chance to be together, me and her alone, for more than a few minutes. This was a good opportunity.

Ben grumbles and shrugs, closes his book and makes his way to his room, planning to spend the rest of the morning reading a few books he had kept for later for too much time.

***
Upon finding the headband, at first Ben reacts as genuinely as possible: as he was used to do when his father brought him back to Egorian some exotic item from his travels, Ben now smiles, his happiness in the purest of forms. Ben unwraps the gift, and immediately wears the headband, without even caring to identify it.

Wait, what if this one is cursed too?

Ben widens his eyes, removes the headband and analyzes it. Only when he is certain about its magical properties he actually wears it. The scholar rushes to the small mirror he keep in a drawer next to his back and meticulously analyzes his appearance, making all kind of facial expressions he is capable of, varying in tone from the perplexed disappointment of the stern scholar to the joyful laughter of the young adult in love and the genuine smile of happiness for having received a gift.

A gift…last one to make me a gift was…but of course! This has to be a well-orchestrated surprise!

Ben facepalms, feeling incredibly naïve for not having realized that before.

I gave her my headband, so she decided to buy another one for me. Must be it! And now she’s waiting for me in her room, perfectly awake! Wait, what if the headband was here this morning already and I didn’t see it? What if Flo spent the whole day in her room waiting for me to knock on her door to thank her? Oh, this I am such a disaster!

Without realizing that the consequence of his argument is not necessarily linked to the premises, and hence probably false, or probably just feeling a bit less logically-inclined than usual considering the matter at hands, Ben rushes out of his room and knocks on Florence’s door.

Not receiving any answer from within, he takes a deep breath.

I knew it! Now she hates me and won’t open the door!

Ben shakes his head.

No! I will fix this!

Ben rushes downstairs, and starts asking around for Abdur. Once he manages to speak with his patron, Benedictus asks his for the key to Florence’s room. “I know if may sound weird and perhaps even a bit creepy but trust me, my friend, it is for a good reason!”

Regardless of the answer, (since I don’t want to make this longer and halt the group), in that moment Florence comes downstairs. As soon as he sees her, Ben rushes to her and shows his new headband with pride.

“Do you have anything to do with this?,” asks Ben, with the gentle and excited smile of a child. “I love it! Thanks! And sorry, I was so stupid not to realize you were waiting for me to knock on your door throughout the day! Or maybe…” asks Ben, with an ironic smile, “you were just sleeping?”

Ben breaks into a genuine laughter, suddenly realizing his naivety thanks to Florence’s sleepy eyes.

Prof. Benedictus Dickens wrote:

I'm working at university, actually. I am a researcher, and every now and then I teach to students. When I will complete my PhD I hope to come to the United States and find a job there, possibly as a teaching post-PhD.

What is your field of study? I work near many postdocs at a National Lab/UCB (University of California, Berkeley) in the U.S..

History of philosophy, with a specialization in medieval and early modern philosophy :)

BEN, I thought you were big into music from your Roll20 picture but you changed it. It looked like some guy shredding on the guitar. I'm surprised you haven't shared your musical interest/talents with us. I'm curious about the music and Hollywood influences on Europe. Like, were blink-182 and *NSYNC a thing? What about MTV before it was ruined by reality tv? Did you have anything like Daria? Remember, I live under a rock.

They were definitely a thing, Nidhi, but on my part, only Blink 182 along with Green Day played a role in shaping my musical interests. We love american music, and actually one of my favorite kind of music, punk-rock was born in the United States and thrived there. That's part of why I know English a bit better than the average Italian guy, I suppose.

MTV was a huge channel through which those influences spreaded in Europe, and I used to watch it when I was an adolescent. Now I don't watch anymore though, and it has lost most of his popularity.

As for my being big in music, well, I guess it was an important part of my life. I say it *was* because I had to make a choice a few years ago, and I decided to invest my time and energies into study rather than music. I still love music, I love to play guitar and singing, and it still gives me pleasure, but I'm doing it just for fun now, with friends or when the opportunity arises. In my regular life, I am a scholar just like Ben. In times like these it might sound as a very odd choice to prefer philosophy over music, but that was where my heart took me.

As a listener, I still love punk-rock music, and rock music in general (both old and new), but I'm also keen on classical music and opera. I consider myself a listener with broad interests :)

Ben tries to accept Zilchus’s retort as calmly as possible. “Woah, someone’s touchy today…” The scholar barely manages to keep inside of his mouth a few words on Zilchus’s bad drinking habit causing him to be so oversensitive.

***

Once at Milki, Ben lets Nidhi and the others explain the recent events to Abdur. As for him, he feels tired and confused, with too many questions floating in the vast seas of his restless mind. When Abdur asks him to follow, the scholar does so without protesting or asking why, as if he was absendmindedly carrying out an order. When the old friend and sponsor asks Ben to remove the headband, though, the scholar is hesitant, but eventually complies, and imbibes the drink offered by Abdur as asked.

I'm kinda disappointed by this preview. I expected a few more innovations and changes, but the class feels much the same to me instead.

Nearly endless customization options, Adventure Paths and the best layout on RPG books I've ever seen.

WAR FOR THE CROWN PLAYER'S GUIDE

An excellent guide. If I may point out one thing that I really miss, though, it is the class-by-class breakdown. I know we have a huge number of classes now, so what I ask for becomes more and more difficult to achieve as new classes are introduced, but on the basis that Player's Guides do not come in a print edition I think that adding a few pages to the total would not be such a big deal.

I always considered the entry devoted to each class, detailing how its members relate to the adventure's setting, hands down the best part of Player's Guides and I would really love to see them coming back, if not now, at least in Pathfinder 2nd edition, where - at the beginning, at least - available classes will be limited to 12.

Apart from that, though, I consider this guide as one of the best I've ever read.

The smells of the museum, in particular the scent of musty, leather-bound tomes filling the air helps make Saeran feel at home. The half-elf visibly relaxes once he steps inside, as though he had just put down a heavy burden.

"Sǣran Imledrith," he says while offering his hand to Zefiro. "It is a pleasure for me to meet you, Mister Balinger."

Saeran keeps a formal and rather detached behavior, although there is admiration in his eyes. "The way in which you keep this place in spite of its countless years of service deserves an high respect, Mister Balinger."

Diplomacy to improve attitude: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (16) - 1 = 15

"We have been sent here by someone who has told us that you might have some information about Emberhold that may have evaded the official records. Is that true? There is something you can tell us about Emberhold or House Davian and its history that we would not find in any official records?"

"Hey, Ben? Are you feeling okay? You've seemed a little...testy...lately," she whispers. "There's nothing wrong, is there?"

Ben is at first surprised by Florence's words, but they stir something inside the deepest layers of his conscience. "I...No, I mean...," Ben mutters. "Nothing wrong, really." He forces himself to smile. "I'm fine, but thank you anyway."

Once back in the Dark Depository, Ben feels a bit uncomfortable. Florence's words have awakened a strange awareness in Ben's mind.

Am I really feeling ok?

Ben takes a deep breath, but when Florence speaks again he reacts in a rather surprising way, knowing the type.

"Maybe if you want to start over th...er, I mean Ben can probably give you the best idea of where to start looking..."

"Don't listen to her," says Ben with a smile addressed to Stelle. "She is just as skilled as I am at this. And probably it is better if we all follow her guide today, me included."

Ben smiles again, this time at Florence.

I trust her. And when I do not trust myself anymore, it is good to know that there is someone I can rely on.

For a day, Ben experiences the feeling of carrying over the orders again, as he was used to do when he was just a researcher in the University of Egorian. And that helps him relax for a few hours: leaving responsibilities aside for a moment feels good.

Knowledge (history) check: 1d20 + 17 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 17 + 3 = 38

Ben gasps when Florence mentions them *both* taking a bath.

Idiot, both and together is quite a different notion.

In order to conceal his blushing face, Benedictus focuses on the magic items, and takes particular interest in the staff.

“May I keep it?,” he asks to his friends. When Florence claims the corset, Ben blushes again, but skillfully conceals his reaction with a simple technique: keep talking. “Zilchus, Nidhi. One of you should really keep the boots.”

***

For the occasion of the dinner with Muminofrah, Ben wears an elegant suit in Chelaxian fashion he had brought with him upon his first arrival in Wati.

My father’s last gift…“Women will fall at your feets when you will be old enough to wear it. Handmade weaving my son, and the best cloth from Qadira. Wear it with pride!” I would have never thought to actually wear it…

The suit is black, with hellish red details. Ben chooses a bordeaux tie knot rather then the red and white pois papillon, but he ties the papillon around Ptolomy’s neck.

“You have to be elegant too, buddy. Today you will stay visible, unless a danger arises.”

***

“She looks so beautiful…” Ben comments, mouth agape, when Florence shows up. His lips make his words pretty clear to everyone, included Florence, although the comment was intended to be heard only by Zilchus. Realizing these, Ben blushes and swallows, musters his courage and offers Florence his hand, kissing it with courtly savoir-faire matured during his years in Cheliax.

Ben wears his elegant suit with self-confidence, used to wear suits from his times as a professor at the Egorian University.

“You look gorgeous…,” Ben whispers in Florence’s in a fluid movement after kissing her hand. “I’m sorry about before…”

Ben finds himself wondering whether to offer his arm or not to Florence in order to walking arm-in-arm with her to the dinner. A bit undecided, and still shy, Benedictus eventually gives up: he does not have enough resolve to take as much initiative, not in front of everyone. He blushes, clearly discontent with his inability to do what he is clearly wanting to do, and sighs.

“Shall we go?”

I am too mad at them to help them out. But I don't want them to die. So please, Ptolomy, speak on my behalf buddy. Here's what you're going to say...

Ptolomy's draconic but sweet voice fills the corridor. "That's a bone golem! Use adamantine, bludgeoning weapons! Oh and it is immune to almost all kind of magic! Healing spells will slow him down, though."

"No, I guess it is not. Mold spores are the key. Sothis is a nice find, I admit it, but we will investigate that lead later. We must first deepen our knowledge of mold spores, otherwise we will not be able to understand the secrets of Shory magic, and thus the power wielded by the Sky Pharaoh."

Ben gives little attention to Cahal. "Fine. I'm sorry about it, that's what I should say, at least. In truth, I think you have made the right choice. People like you should tend to their families and let people like me doing everything else. Good luck with your new life as a mother, I find it a reasonable choice for your ordinary mental skills.
Farewell, Cahal and thanks for what you did for us. And also thank you for saving my life from time to time. Should you ever need something in the future, let me know. The Gods have blessed me with the intelligence that you lack, and the minimum I can do to repay them is make up for it."

Ben smiles at Cahal, then to his allies. "I know we should be leaving, but I want to stay a bit more. There is another treatise on mold spores I need to read..."

⁞⁞⁞⁞ ROUND 6 ⁞⁞⁞⁞

‖‖‖‖‖‖‖‖ • Initiative: 23 • ‖‖‖‖‖‖‖‖

Ben is still undecided whether to keep supporting the group with his spell or to leave Cahal and Zilchus do their job as they insisted. The scholar calmly considers his options as the battle rages in front of him, and he decides quite soon that he is not going to be using other spells from his personal reserve of arcane energies. When he starts considering his other tools, Ben thinks about the grease wand in his pocket and grins a bit maniacally.

Imagine what would happen if I use this now…They would get totally mad!

Ben chuckles, but suddenly stops. No one should see him thinking about that, nor guess his intentions. A laugh betrays him though: half amused and half manic, his smile is a bit creepy, should someone look at it. But fortunately, everyone is looking at the battle and turning their back to Ben.

Come on, I deserve to have a bit of fun! Moreover, they deserved it for how they ridiculed me! No one ridicules Benedictus West Dickens. All who did have seen their dreams and hopes shatter in front of their eyes.

Ben scrunches his nose in anger and pulls out the wand of grease from his pocket. He points both the wands he is holding at the shadow mastiffs, as though holding a gun in each hand and starts moving them up and down alternatively as he lets the fate decide about his actions.

“Eeney-meeney, miny-mo, catch a tiger by the toe, if he squeals let him go, eeney-meeney, miny...MO!”

Ben laughs and uses his wand of magic missile.

Target is the red hound. (CL 7th, 48 charges remaining).

1st missile: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
2nd missile: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
3rd missile: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
4th missile: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Of course, the result of such a trivial game was already clear in his mind with only two variables. But that was fun anyway. The only problem is that his friends don’t know that he knew beforehand, but they don’t even know what the second wand is for either, and for that matter, they don’t even know what he’s doing back there, in the rear of the group…
_________________________

John Lynch, thank you for your comment. Don't worry, I didn't take it as an offense. In fact, I think perhaps I explained myself not that good. I make a point of *NOT* introducing to many sourcebooks at once for new players. I have my own format to limit available sources even for experienced players, which I call Pathfinder Vintage. Although the main aim of that format is coherence, especially when running Adventure Paths (treasure, player's guide, etc.), when I apply its rules to the adventures I usually get the new players to play (Crypt of the Everflame, Rise of the Runelords), it effectively coincides with a reduction of the sources available (for both me and the players) to the Core Rulebook.

So *THAT* is not the problem. Yeah, I feel the game is a little bit bloated, but at the same time that is the strenght of Pathfinder, offering so many options to the players. My point was another: the problem is that when starting to play, new players sometimes know beforehand the differences betweeen the various systems, and in our case we can limit the alternative to Pathfinder and D&D. Usually this a priori knowledge is based on hearsay, and it is quite reductive and incomplete. The result is that, in my experience, new players tend to think about Pathfinder as a game that will become increasingly difficult for them. They know I may limit the sourcebooks at the beginning, but they know that sooner or later they will need to expand their horizons, because to them Pathfinder is "the game that offers a lot of customization and character's options," while D&D is "the game that takes it simple." This is clearly wrong, but that's what they think, at least the prospective players I've met in the last few years.

Now, take this knowledge and apply it not to new players in general, but to the *new* audience RPG have now: many of the people who love customization, depth of options, roleplaying games in themselves, game mechanics and so on, they probably already play the game. My OP focuses on the new players who fall out of those categories: people who want to try the game out, that have no previous disposition to RPGs. Now, what I argue is that D&D is currently more attractive for this kind of players, which I argue, are the majority as of now in Europe, for the following reasons.

1. It is thought to be simpler.
2. It is thought to be newer, and hence more modern.
3. It is thought to be the RPG per antonomasiam.

Now, there's nothing we can do about point 3, and as for point 1, it is more a matter of marketing than game system in my opinion. But for point 2, well, a new edition is needed. That's the only way to make Pathfinder look like a fresh game, and not a game clinging to 20 years old rules, although revised 9 years ago. New players know that. They usually know that Pathfinder is based on 3.5, and they think about that system as unnecessarily complex. They want something new, something fresh, something modern.

Of course, it is important to stress that I don't think that new players are right. I think that Pathfinder 1st edition is not so hard, and its learning curve is not impossible, if a good GM aids the players. I'm just arguing that, according to my experience, it seems so for new players nowadays. And since new players today are a bit different from new players 9 years ago, I argue that new players today not that interested, at the start at least, in countless options but rather interested in simplicity, they usually tend to look at Pathfinder as a worse alternative to D&D for them.

In my opinion Pathfinder 1st ed is not hard. It is sometimes unnecessarily complex on certain things, as Erik Mona himself said in the KnowDirection podcast, but complexity does not equate with difficulty.