Goatlord's page

Megadeth reference FTW.

I think it's supposed to be "Kneel Before Zod".
But you guys can edit that, right?

Or get a figurine of wondrous power: bronze griffon...

Agreed.
Maiden for the win.
I love to see the random metal references here in the blog.
Brings back good times from so long ago.

Der Kommissar is in town?

TriOmegaZero, I agree....
But then (and only then), ironically, are you 'technically' unemployed.

I still can't wrap my mind around that.

MSG

I think Spycraft did a great job with class design.
A little studying of the classes side by side reveals the key components of their design concept (though I don't have my books here at work).
There were some online posts from the designers on a board many years ago... but I can't recall where, that talked about it and made it seem pretty simple to me.
[regular format for class features by class level (type A every 3rd level, type B at 8th and 16th or something), special class-themed abilities at certain levels (can't recall which) that were 'strong', and a 'gamebreaker' at level 20 (I think)]

It IS a dangerous topic though... we all saw how even FIRST party publishers can suffer from 'power creep' and 'codex escalation' (as the warhammer guys call it).

Balancing class options with the traditional HD/Skill Point/Skill list/Weapons and Armor is a lot more complicated than it looks.
Mix in oddball class abilities and various types/levels of casting ability (sorceror vs. wizard vs. bard vs. summoner vs. paladin) and you've got great potential for something too strong or too weak to sneak by...

MSG

Got your gander up?

Or "got your dander up"?

awesome. I voted for this kind of adventure in the 'what should future APs be' thread!

MSG

Hail and well met, scions of Cheliax!

I, Torath Voralius, favored of Asmodeus, bid thee welcome with this, the first post in our new discussion forum.

While many of my brethren (including Chot and Thalvish) are attending the Grand Convocation, I am toiling beneath the Dark Lord's whip in a distant land. I pray that my success in this endeavor furthers his goals, but I must confess that they are inscrutible to me at this time. Perhaps the coin I earn with my hours of long toil will be turned towards further exploits of glory in Cheliax's name? One can only hope this approaches the glory my comrades are earning in Absalom at this hour.

Honor to the Paracountess, all Glory to our lord and master Asmodeus!

Torath Voralius
High Priest of Asmodeus

Arrrgh.

You win, Paizo.

Again.

Canceled the regular edition hardcover and placed the order for the Deluxe Collector's Edition.

I'll hate the extra wait time, but this is a must have for a Paizoite fanboy like me.
Now will I ever run the whole thing?
Guess I'll have to try that in 2013.

Marcus

It's sad/bewildering to hear the vast differences in Free RPG Day experiences.

I've been hitting my local game store (Rogues' Gallery in Round Rock, Texas)for Free RPG Day for a few years now. It's never been all that crowded and I've been able to get what I want each time.

This year I was unable to get there near 10AM (when they open) due to my son's swim meet. We rolled into the store near 1115AM and the selection was still good... but I had missed out on the Slavers of the Sunken Garden and Shadowsfall (due to their low count/box, I'm sure).

I was still able to get the PF mod, DCC mod, 40K mod, SR mod and a d6 and a d8 (thanks to wife and son, as they have a 2 items/person rule). I bought some other things while I was there, as I try to do each time I drop in (despite my Paizo subscription and online discounts).

I'm sorry for those of you with poor experiences. You (and your FLGS)really missed out on a nice opportunity.

Thanks Rogues' Gallery!

Marcus

Brax,

Just upped my 15$ to a 50$ pledge due to your challenge.
Count me in.

Marcus

I LOVE the flavor here.

I think this is a PERFECT fit for the Norse/Scandinavian concept for 'hag-riding' and many other folk tale witch concepts.

Not great for combat, but a nice option to have rules for.
I think some cool stories can be told around villains/NPCs with these kinds of powers.

MSG

Really excited here.

When I checked in yesterday evening, I saw we were just ~40$ short so I upped from Diabolist to Archmage to make sure we'd get it...

By the time my Amazon checkin and payment was complete I found out I'd been beat to the punch by Peter Goeders! (curse you, Peter... whoever or whereever you are :) )

Even though I didn't get to be that final drop in the bucket, I'm REALLY excited that we all made it through. If that Dec 2012 date holds up, it will certainly be a Merry Christmas to me.

Looking forward to the project and the finished product.

Now where do I go to get read up on Midgard so I can be more useful in the design/forums?

Marcus

YES!

I think 96K is a very tough goal, but potentially reachable if

1) All of the fence-sitters decide to get their feet wet...
And
2) If all of us spread the word to more and more folks.

I'm gonna make a few phone calls and see what I can do to stir the pot with a few of my friends.

If you all want to beat those Vampire folks (and get all of the sweet new swag), we need to pull together and make a last valiant push.

It IS doable.

Orcus awaits.

Marcus

Also very excited here.
I can't justify more than the 250$ (which is still a lot of money,IMHO), but I'm pullin for as many people who are on the fence as possible to get in on this.

We need to hit the 80K level.
We really, really need to hit the 80K level.

I'm been pining over missing RA and RA reloaded for a few years now.
I've debated hunting down a copy and expected to pay nearly 250$ for that... and then have to convert the damn thing.

If you are like me (and I know many must be), bite the bullet and get in on this. I think the notion of a RA campaign is a cool (though not widely supported?) one, but as others have said, this product begs getting looted: a few levels here, a room there, a concept over there, etc.

Do it.
Do it now.

Marcus

I, for one, appreciate the NEW plan more.

MSG

My friends and I regularly build teams of PFS characters so that we can always (mostly) play together with fun synergy.

Our most famous/infamous is 'Team Cheliax' [with a Human fighter, Human Cleric of Asmodeus and a Dwarf Cleric of Torag]... all LN(E) loyal servants of Cheliax who have travelled the length and breadth of Golarion

but we also have 'Qadiran Mounted Brigade 57' [a Gnome cavalier, Halfling summoner w/ quadruped mount eidolon and a Human paladin]
- our original intent was to have all small, mounted, Qadira faction characters.... but the paladin player rebelled.
- this team has had some serious troubles with several scenarios... we knew the mounted theme (and the small size) would be a hindrance, but...

and we have 'Team Monk' [Human Cleric of Irori/Master of Many Styles, Human Monk (Sensei), Human Unarmed Fighter/Master of Many Styles/Magus]
- all characters are Lantern Lodge, all have at least one level (and are supposed to have most levels) in Monk.
- this team is quite effective, as we build a LOT of synergy with character selection, especially feats.

MSG

Hope you are loving that Pacific Northwest weather, Adam.
It's pleasant and cloudy here in Austin today.

Congrats again.

Marcus

Solid idea.
I think there is VERY LITTLE (if any) potential for abuse....
and certainly not 'world-shattering' levels of abuse.

I, too have made mistakes with 1st level characters that I wished I could rectify.
This proposal would have fixed my issue, 100%.

I am also curious as to the degree of 'retraining'. I support changing everything but character name and PFS#. Certain combinations of race, class, and faction can end up playing much differently from what the player might have expected....

MSG

my vote is for C

Wow.

Great news for you, Adam.

We'll miss you in Austin / Central Texas.

Make sure you come back for Owlcon....

Best of luck in Seattle!

Marcus

Believe it or not, my group tried to avoid conflict w/ the guards. We cooperated, and not just for show. I flubbed my slight roll and the perceptive inspector found the braid... then demanded we hand it over. I tried to talk my way out of it, but the Liangshen guards were out for blood so they attacked us.

I kinda wish there was an option that allowed for a peaceable solution.... but I wasn't bright enough to expect that simply wearing the braid hidden under my clothes was enough to avoid the fight.

MSG

This thing is super cool.

Thanks for the old skool text adventure.

I was a poor VC, but eventually found at least 2 ways to win.
Way to make me suffer.... curse that swarm!

MSG

My humble suggestions for future FAQ weekly blog names:

How about "Beneath the Planet of the FAQ Attack"?

or my favorite:

"Life, Liberty, and Pursuit on the Planet of the FAQ Attack"

That would be really boss.

MSG

Wow.

I guess I understand the intent here, and I see the potential for abuse if some kind of control is not put in place.

Fundamentally (like Hogarth), I simply don't understand the idea behind the ruling:

This is PFS.
I will find potions on enemies. They will often be cure potions. I can consume them at will, without hurting my final reward for the scenario. If I am lucky and I find a wand of cure, I can do the same thing, with NO penalty/cost.

If I find any other items of note, I can take them; I can wield/wear them, or I can just lug them around. If that's all I do, my final chronicle reward is unaffected. (heck, even if I defeat an enemy and DON'T take his loot, I can get full gold on my chronicle sheet)

If I choose to use them in casting a spell, or resale, or barter w/ NPC, or any other situation, I reduce my final chronicle gold amount.

I assume the INTENT is to allow parties without clerics/druids/oracles/witches/paladins/etc to function by providing some 'built-in' healing options. After all, we really do want to "play, play, play".

The result, however, is weird. And gets weirder when sunder and other methods of item destruction are concerned. If my party willingly destroys items, I get full reward... but only if that destruction is not for casting a spell, or some other 'gain'.

I hope there is a more 'polished' way to word the ruling, that makes this more clear/less seemingly arbitrary.

Marcus

Mark,

Thanks for the clarification.

Guess I was too focused on the possibility of 5 + 2 levels of unarmed damage/AC...

MSG

[The braid does not stack]
Unfortunately.

It's a great idea for an item, very flavorful... a fitting reward for a 3 scenario arc (where at least 2 encounters were very deadly).
It's technically applicable to all classes, but unfortunately really only truly good for monks with the flurry of blows class feature.

I wish it stacked, but understand why it shouldn't.
It just pains me that I got lucky and played these with a monk... but I won't actually buy this monk item because it is simply not cost-benefit effective for me (due to being a Master of Many Styles).

Guess I need to get over it, wait for some more prestige and then buy an amulet of mighty fists.

MSG

Reading all of these posts brought an image to mind...

You know that line at the airport?

The one that the
pilots,
flight attendants,
and people who travel a lot and who submit their information to get a more thorough background check performed
get to hustle through while the rest of us wait forever?

I think that (if we are not going to make character auditing mandatory) that is a nice model to consider.
A voluntary process that takes more time for the player, but rewards them with convenience (or something else).

You can't tie it to passport/drivers license, but you COULD tie it to character sheet.
It would be nice if a player could submit their information into an online engine (on paizo.com, of course) and it would audit (like Herolab does) and then allow you to print out that character.
The printout would have a watermark or seal or ID# or something that would 'authorize' that PC at that level as being fully legal.

Then the player could just carry that printout around and the GMs would know they had already been audited and verified as kosher.

If we didn't care so much about Fame/Cash/Equipment, we could just expect players to re-enter their data each time they level (not after each session they complete).

That might be pretty cool.

I find it hard to believe that a company (like Lone Wolf, for example) would not like the benefit of being the one who supplied 'that software'. After all, if it's good enough for Paizo, it's certainly good enough for my home game...

Marcus

I agree with the majority of the posters here... it was a pretty easy adventure.
I really liked some moments: desperately trying to get away from the nomad bandit guys [we had 1 ranged character], meeting the friendly nomads and having to negotiate, the boat combat

and I really disliked some moments: the unneeded ambush encounter down 'death alley' (why would anyone try to travel down a river that has a well-established ambush zone with enough death going on that bones and such are on the banks?), and the magus (first melee round - one attack w/ spell on sword took me from 18hp to -12hp...)

I like this series of mods. I like the overall story. I also like the special benefits for playing them all.

I do not like the magus. It would not have mattered which character in our group she attacked. They would be on the deck, close to (or fully embracing) death.

Marcus

Owlcon 2012. Sunday morning. My final session. 6 man table, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd, 4th, 4th level PCs.
We played at 4-5... doing quite well until the final encounter.

[Side Note: the Andoran (?) faction mission to hit 20 defense points is not at all easy. We had all of the wacky skills and the rogue rolled very well on the disable device... and we maxxed out training on all but 1 unit of melee dudes.... and we hit 21... I would imagine many tables have issues with that Faction Mission]

The bandit leader dude reamed one of our level 4 characters in a single attack to start off the combat.

Don't get me wrong... I LOVE the concept. I think it's well executed. I just didn't realize how brutal a cavalier was, I guess. The GM (good ole Dragnmoon) rolled double 19s and critted our fighter/rogue, killing her instantly (well past negative con) in one brutal attack. Even though we had 10 defense points, there was nothing we could do.

[Side Note 2: we barely used defense points. Cool mechanic idea, but hard to remember what they did, and to use them. A reference card and some kind of tokens to track them would help...]

I hate PC death (when it's not due to stupidity or taking big risks), but the mod was waaaaay cool nonetheless. The whole 'seven samurai' vibe was going strong (though Dragnmoon has never seen Seven Samurai or The Magnificent Seven... can you believe it?), and the idea to build in the very orderly defense point subsystem really has the potential to streamline and speed up the session.

My only suggestion would be to have a printout that summarizes the rules for the village preparation. It should not have DCs, but should have # of peasants, time, tasks, etc. The players had a lot of questions (but were really intrigued by the 'mini game' in the module) and it just burned up more time than it needed to because we didn't have a PC-friendly reference to help us make our decisions.

Marcus

Mark,

As a monk player (in these scenarios just this past weekend), I wish the braid were better for monks who do not have flurry.

I love the originality of this reward, and I understand how it has been balanced (by taking the neck slot, no stacking w/ monks robe)... just wish it applied 'more broadly' to the many monk archetypes.

Marcus

Another solid Owlcon under my belt.

I was impressed again at the quality for a 'small con'.
The Warhorn site was a smart upgrade this year, and the prize support from Paizo was AMAZING.

[Thank you Paizo for the strong support! Seeing the year of the ruby phoenix wooden coins from Gencon again brought a smile to my lips. The boons were new and interesting (at least the immunity one and the free vanity and the perception bonus one), and many were distributed. The 'door prize' books were amazing and really unexpected (wish I had won that Second Darkness package!)]

Kelly, you did a nice job keeping things organized and orderly. The microphone and posted sign in sheets and catered meals and all were nice upgrades. Time warnings/notices were appreciated. Prize handout was a clever idea and executed cleanly.

Owlcon is not a huge con. It was surprising to play with and talk to at least 3 Venture Captains (thanks for coming down from the Windy City, Rene!, nice to see you again Dave, nice to meet you and welcome to the VC status Robert), and our local special guest Adam Daigle.

Nice to play at your table(s) again Dragnmoon, and to play with you at the Hall of Drunken Heroes (we should have been drunken to make it more realistic).

The Good Stuff:
1) Good scenarios (Quest for Perfection is solid, though I'm disappointed the Braid doesn't stack w/ Monk robe, Tide of Twilight was a nice continuation of Tide of Morning)
2) Good players
3) Good GMs
4) Great Paizo prize support
5) it was nice to see many of the same faces as last year

What Can be Improved:
1) While the noise level wasn't insane (i.e. Gencon level), the privacy/sound level of the games last year was superior. I really like the order imposed by the shared space, and the curtains separating us from the 4E folk were nice... but the small classrooms were great last year.
2) Game location was NOT posted in the booklet for the con. Let's communicate it in this thread next year, and in the Warhorn site.
3) Catered food was a GREAT idea... but I never heard that it existed until dinner on Saturday. Let us know ahead of time and be able to request stuff, and this will really reduce complexity/stress for those back to back sessions that might run long.
4) I wonder if there is a better time to hand out the boons/prizes. Interrupting the sessions in the middle seems a bit of a distraction. I don't have a better suggestion at this time, but I think there's an improvement out there.

Thanks again for some great games!

Marcus

See you all tonight.
Ready to run with Team Monk through various low level mods!
And Team Cheliax (all praise Asmodeus) will return to action tomorrow night in the high tier Hall of Drunken Heroes game!

MSG

Thanks for posting the change notes, Mike!!

Marcus

Just a few more days....

I agree, mission statements are so '90s.

To be serious here, have you considered a list of Core Values?

There's a decent book out there called "Tribal Leadership" that talks about stages of groups of people (tribes) and what it takes to advance to a place where your tribe produces excellent work and creates a 'healthy' environment. Core Values, and a wholesale embracing of them (using them to help validate difficult decisions, etc.) is a stepping stone into the highest stages. A high stage tribe creates the best products, has the most satisfied employees/members, and creates its own competitive advantage.

Management mumbo-jumbo books aside, I grok the concept of Core Values. To be honest, I think a short staff meeting at Paizo would generate this list, and it would not be full of surprises (when all is said and done).
It MIGHT be illuminating to some, and it might be a useful tool when tricky decisions arise.

Or you might think it's a waste of your time.

YMMV,

Marcus

I'm OK with multipart boons... not sure I think that forcing you to play the mods consecutively is the right method, but I'll see how it works out.

What I'd really like to see more of is permanent boons that have a specific (limited) effect that ACTUALLY COME IN TO PLAY.

A nice example would be the one from season 1 where if you complete the mission right you get an improved relationship with a noble family in the Lands of the Linnorm Kings (I think)... but only there. (the map of the Zho mountain passes from Silken Caravan is similar)

Boons like this are really cool when you understand that they are limited in scope (and power), but you have faith that the modules will take you back to that specific place....

Is this something that is being orchestrated on a grand scale?
Will we see more bonuses that are geographically limited... but WILL be used in other scenarios that same year?

MSG

Looking forward to meeting you, Robby, at Owlcon.
If you're playin, you need to get into those low level Quest for Perfection games with Team Monk.

Marcus

All right!
Sounds like Saturday night is shaping up...

I'll bring Torath (Cleric of Asmodeus 11) for Hall of Drunken Heroes, and Jianguo (Clr1/Mon2) will be on hand in case we play Penumbral Accords.

Adam, sounds cool that your cousin will finally make it out. Perhaps you both should jump in on the Saturday night game (that is not the interactive) and make us play low level ;)

MSG

Bust a deal.... face the wheel!

Who rules Bartertown?

Gotta love it. Thanks for the smile this morning.

MSG

My votes:

Linnorm Kings (vs Irrisen or not.. love to see new linnorms and barrows and perhaps some kingdom/amry building)
ROTR2 or more Thassilon (perhaps shattered star covers this)
Osirion
Worldwound (demon incursion fighting w/ the lads of Lastwall)
Geb vs. Nex (and the Mana Wastes)
Numeria (but without so much technology that it becomes commonplace. Make future/space tech be rare and limited to bosses and the like)
Megadungeon/Kaer Maga (could combine dungeon and city adventuring into one big AP, could include some Thassilon love too)
Darklands, focused on dwarves (no Dark Elves please... let's look at Dwarf vs. Orc, dungeons deep/caverns old, buried horrors, etc.)

I also think different themes could work well. I'd like to see:
Mercantile (resource management, trade routes, etc.; like caravan in Jade regent)
War/Aftermath of War (rebuilding, perhaps recovery while being occupied after being on the losing side. Having PCs be members of military unit or involved in military ops before/during/after the campaign has some promise, but seeing this scenario through the eyes of a commoner who must suffer through these times, but is forced to turn into something more)

MSG

BALANCE.

I enjoyed 3.xE....
but the concept that no one was ever a wizard20 because the prestige classes were better IN EVERY WAY than the base classes was just dumb.

I also loved the IDEA that was a rumor when 4E was about to release that race had a level component.
I would really like to see a meshing between race and class to combine unique effects:
like the fact I level my dwarf fighter to dwarf5/fighter5 (at 5th level).... and that dwarves would get some special training/abilities/maneuvers that they have access to (but are not forced to take) when wielding axes (for example).
I think race has more untapped potential than is currently accounted for in traits/feats/prestige classes.
I don't like restrictions (like dwarves can't use swords), but I do like a situational bonus that rewards me for going with some racial predispositions.

To be honest though, I'm happy in Paizo land.
I don't want 5E to fail, but I'd rather see the things I like in Pathfinder (or PF2E if it comes to that). I love Paizo products (art, editing, formatting, content, design, etc.)... I want to be a 'one system guy' right now, as I don't get as much time to play as I'd like.

MSG

Why aren't you raising your HAMMERS high?

After all, 'blood and death are waiting, like a raven in the sky'

MSG

@Silverhair:
Looks like all of your characters are viable options. I'll be looking for you.

@Daigle:
Glad you remember us.
We do strive to be memorable ;)
I never did manage to get you to sign my copy of Book of Drakes at Gencon this year. I'll bring it to Owlcon, just in case.

Since Team C has already played the interactive, we've got an open space in our schedules... if ya wanna hang out (or possibly run another session of In Service to Lore) at the late Saturday slot, Kelly, Sean and I will be available.

Marcus

@bdk86:

unfortunately Team Cheliax already played the interactive at Gencon this year. Much insanity was beheld at the level 11 table (with then-Venture Captain, now-PFS overlord Mike Brock). We all escaped alive, eventually.... though Torath had an 'unfortunate' encounter with a very sexy assassin in his lordly tavern suite.

@silverhair:

Well, even though you're not coordinating or gming, perhaps we'll run into one another. Bring a level 2 and join up with Team Monk! We'd love to have ya.

MSG

Thanks for the reply.

I'll keep waiting and checking.
I've got a party of 3 that want to play the Quest for Perfection mod series together...

MSG

maybe Im confused...

I now have an account and access to Warhorn...
but I can't actually sign up for anything.

Do I need to wait for a reply/some action from Kelly before I can do that?

MSG

Registered (and paid) for Owlcon.
The Team Cheliax fiends will all be present at XXXI.
Email sent to Kelly for warhorn access.

We're bringing Team Monk (new lower level characters with at least one level of monk).

Looking forward to familiar faces (Dragnmoon, Daigle, Woodfin, Silverhair, etc.) and some fun games of PFS madness.

MSG