Ah, Oppara! Is there a better place to be? Oppara's not just about the monuments and structures, though no one can dispute the glory of the Grand Bridge, spanning the mighty River Porthmos, nor the grandeur of the two stone lions that alternately pace, snooze, and roar atop the Lion Gate, Oppara's main entrance. Oppara is also a working city, with two harbors so busy that ships have trouble finding slips. It's a city of art and music, where you might find anything from the magnificent plaza around the Imperial palace to a tiny, secluded jewel of a courtyard, with mosaic paths, a sparkling fountain, and ornate stone benches beneath olive trees, cool in the afternoon heat. Full of art, music, debate, and delicious foods, Oppara is a treat for all the senses. It's difficult to say whether the view of the black cliffs under the sunlight or the thousand lamps of the night streets is the more magnificent sight.
Really, what does it matter that the gold has been stripped from the magnificent buildings it adorned in the past? The marble and stone beneath is still majestic, and the buildings still impressive. And so what if the laws and customs of Taldor seem to be falling behind the rest of the world, as the nobles and politicians quash all the so-called 'advancements' of other countries and governments. There's something to be said for stability, and Taldor has stability to spare.
I'm delighted to be running the politicking and influencing-heavy AP "War for the Crown" for you guys! Let's get this show on the road and start discussing the game and characters.
Background:
AP Blurb wrote:
As the political scene in Taldor explodes into chaos, players take on the role of agents, advocates, and saboteurs working for Princess Eutropia to help secure her claim to the Imperial throne and prevent the Empire from collapsing in on itself in civil war. Along the way, the PCs must uncover hidden secrets of Taldor’s past—many deliberately hidden—and grow from relative nobodies to powerful politicians and spymasters in the deadliest political arena in the Inner Sea.
Arenas
Since this was available to purchase in Roll20, we'll have a mapping/combat website there. We will also have a wiki because of the number of characters and non-combat challenges in this AP. I see not many have tried this as a pbp, so I'm hoping we can make it work by being creative and flexible. A lot of the GM threads mention what a blast their group is having with the AP, so be innovative and flexible and have fun!
Prequel
I'm going to start with a quick prequel adventure with very short scenarios. This will help you learn about Taldor, flex your characters, get used to working as a party, and become acquainted with some of the major NPCs in the AP. Combat in the prequel is short, so it'll be easy to do in pbp.
Live sessions?
As we get rolling and into bigger dungeons, I was wondering if you are open to scheduling a dungeon-delving session on Roll20/Discord so we can move through large dungeons in a timely fashion. We can start in pbp and decide as we see how well combat rolls. Since I've purchased the Roll20 packages, it'll be very easy for me to run the combats relatively quickly on Roll20. Keep it in mind and we can decide later. I hate to schedule a weekly session because there's so much RP in this AP, but I can tell you when a big dungeon is coming up and we can decide if we want to schedule an online session when convenient for everyone. Even 2 hours can make a huge difference to the pace of the game.
Builds
Paizo classes, archetypes, and prestige classes allowed. Archives of Nethys will be our general source for what's allowable. No guns or third-party products, please.
Build your character at first level with a 20 point buy, full hit points (of course), max starting gold.
Your character should have two traits. One can be selected (as appropriate for your character) from Paizo products. The other should come from the campaign traits in the pg. If none of those work for your character, we'll come up with something together.
Your backstory should agree with the conditions in the PG, though you do not have to work Martella in. The intro will help things fall together organically.
Skills: Use background skills. This takes some of the skills out of the adventuring group and gives you two extra skill points each level for them.
Planning: This AP is scheduled to move players from L1 to L17.
Advancement: I plan to let you know when to advance your characters, depending on the needs of the AP. I will try to be certain you get enough experience in (combat or skills or RP) to justify the level-up.
Posting: I'd like to generally get one post in from each PC daily during the week. I know weekends and holidays can be tight, but please try to post, especially if we are in combat, so it doesn't drag out too long.
Formatting: "Character dialogue." Internal thoughts. Out of character
My address book shows "50 of 446 addresses" and seven or so pages available, but all the pages past the first are blank. I certainly don't have 446 addresses in my PM directory.
Life was going along fine. Then, something happened to change that. Then something else. And another thing. Suddenly, you were on the road with nothing but your pack and a little money. Friends, family, fiancees - all have turned their backs on you.
Worse, whatever you tried has failed. New job, new town, new trade - nothing has worked. Did you inadvertently offend some stray, arbitrary god? Did someone lay a curse on you?
You haven’t found a reason for the change yet. Perhaps it is just the vagaries of fate. Or perhaps wandering is no worse than your life before. Whatever the case, the lonely road seems to be your destiny now.
Welcome! Discussion for "Regular Joes" 1E-feeling campaign using basic PF rules.
Character creation:
Stats:
Either: 18, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9
*OR*
One 18 and roll the rest, 4d6 drop the lowest.
Classes:
Build a 1st level commoner (max hp is PF 1st level standard).
Equipment:
Hold off for now. I'll work on it.
No traits. No backstory required. Not Golarion. No standard pantheon - that'll be revealed as we go. Making it all up as I go. If you want to make up some sort of commoner, peasant, low-life backstory, feel free.
A gentleman regarded Westchannel and the islands beyond from the vantage of a balcony on the western shore. The sunset behind him shone a brilliant orange on the walls of high vira and palaces of Rego Corna, northernmost of the island sectors of Westcrown, laid out for his view. It illuminated the lesser sectors of Laina and Aerum precisely as beautifully, which the man found amusing. The fresh breeze from the Inner Sea blew the short cape from his shoulders and snapped the pennons adorning the mansion where he resided, pennons proclaiming this house the residence of the highest prelate of the Church of Asmodeus.
The pennons were hardly needed, for the man wore the full splendor of the Cardinal’s robes to which he was entitled. Though not of lofty stature nor impressive build nor exquisite face, the man’s impeccable grooming and posture displayed the impressive red and black garments to their full effect. No passers-by could mistake the gentleman for anything other than what he was: Cardinal Goro Altoviti, late of Egorian, newly named high cleric of Westcrown.
Though most nobles and clergy in Egorian regarded Westcrown as a sort of disgraceful exile, Cardinal Altoviti had requested it, if by requested one understood constant petitioning of his superior for a number of months. She was dismayed to have her most promising protege suffer a transfer to such a mean post, for it reflected badly upon her as well as he, she thought. Nonetheless, she had finally granted his request, persuaded by his smooth reasoning and considerable charm, precisely as he knew she would.
Altoviti had eschewed the clerical chambers in the Qatada Nessudidia, the great temple of Asmodeus in Westcrown, much to the relief of their current occupant. Instead, he had used persuasion and wealth to separate an ancient crone of a near-extinct family from her too-large hereditary mansion - as the last of her line, she had no need of it - and sent her to a more fashionable retirement in Egorian, where she could be entertained by parties and opera nightly in that glittering city. Altoviti now had his own headquarters, secure from the prying eyes of his church’s useless priesthood in this city, where he could quarter his own staff and meet with adherents freely.
He had relocated to this new demesne quite recently, receiving the polite, uncertain bows of the Wiscrani with impassive and precise courtesy. Now he could take a few moments to survey the heathen territory of his new priesthood, with the church at his back and his enemies before him, bathed in orange light. He had scarcely relaxed into sunset musings when a knock came upon the door.
“Enter.” A cloaked, hooded, and gloved figure let itself into the room, gliding over to bow profoundly before the Cardinal.
“Well, what news?” the great man asked.
“They are parochial and suspicious,” the man replied, “And it may take some time to gain trust.”
“That is no surprise; it is just as we thought,” replied the Cardinal, “And you cannot complain of being short of money or support to accomplish your goal. I desire results, not excuses.”
“As His Excellency wishes,” replied his companion, coolly, “As I have no cause to complain about support, neither shall you have cause to complain of my results. Gold opens many doors, and this is a poor city; once a few fall, an avalanche will follow. The old noble house are the worst, yet they must do business with tradesmen and craftsmen, each of whom know a little of their habits. I, though, shall know all their habits together, and you shall know what I do, My Lord.”
“Tread prudently in the city, and I will do the same in the church. When we see the tracks of our quarry, or a stray ear or antler behind a tree, well, then I will summon the huntress.”
The hooded man chuckled. “As you say, Excellency.” At a dismissing wave of Altoviti’s hand, he bowed and withdrew.
All is dark. Then come the visions, dreams, of Jenivere under sail, canvas snapping in the fresh breeze… a privateer draws close, but the captain and first mate order the crew to the guns, and the pirates are driven off… a storm rolls the ship, passengers staggering to their bunks to strap in while the crew reefs the sails… the magnificent sunrise the morning after the storm… fishing off the side in calm waters while the dinghy ferries passengers from a tiny port… a fresh wind rolls the waters, making balance uneasy and the stomach queasy…
Whisperleaf:
You are at dinner - “mess”, the sailors call it - one of the last you’ll be aboard Jenivere. In a few more days, Eleder will be in sight, along with the end of the voyage. You finish your oddly-seasoned meal and rise to leave the table, but the man sitting next to you scoots back at the same time. The leg of his stool lands atop your foot, a piercing pain…
… that’s real. Stomach heaving, head reeling, your foot is being pinched very painfully. Why are you lying on sand in the pale light of dawn? Or dusk? And what’s making your foot hurt? You raise your head groggily…
Your foot is in the pincers of a giant… thing. Sleek and dripping wet, it has your foot in the grasp of one of its two pincers while an ominously sharp-tipped tail rises above its back. As you stir and sit up, it releases your foot and backs off, obviously startled.
Around you lie people you recognize from on board the ship, other passengers, and even a prisoner. A pile of personal goods lies likewise above the high-tide line, very near your head. You recognize some of your things among the jumble. But none of the crew or officers are here. You’re the only one awake, and you’re all alone with three pincered, stinging things the size of a large dog emerging from the surf, in search of a meal. Your foot is bleeding, and the scent of your blood seems to be attracting the others as the first quickly recovers from its startlement.
You take 1 point of damage from the bite on your foot. You are dressed as you were at the last mess - if that’s armored, you still have your armor on. The pile of gear is nearby and your weapons are there. It’s your turn.
Kintargo has always seemed a city apart from the rest of Cheliax. Separated from Cheliax proper by the Menador Mountains, it is physically apart. Filled with ships and travelers from far countries, it is culturally cosmopolitan, very different from the other major Chelaxian cities. And, despite the presence of the Church of Asmodeus, the stubborn independence that characterizes Kintargans keeps the flame of rebellion alive here.
Still, when knights of Iomedae defeated the Hellknights of the Order of the Godclaw and began calling for open revolution against the rule of Asmodeus and House Thrune, the citizens of Kintargo generally thought them naïve and foolish. Over the past few decades, the citizens and rulers of Kintargo have learned a great deal about keeping their heads down and not drawing attention to themselves, simply going quietly about their business and ignoring, as well as they could, inconvenient dictates of Asmodean rule. They feared the call to revolution would result in disaster.
House Thrune acted swiftly to declare martial law in the major cities, including Kintargo; much to the surprise of the citizenry, who had not risen in rebellion at the call of the “Glorious Reclamation”. Thrune sent one of its own, Barzillai Thrune, to be Archduke of Ravounel: a surprising move, since nobles in favor tended to remain in Egorian, leaving those nobles who had made a political misstep to be shipped to the hinterlands in virtual exile. But it was rumored that Barzillai had volunteered to rule the archduchy, and, when Kintargo’s Mayor, Jilia Bainilus, disappeared ten days ago (on a ship bound for Andoran, according to some rumors), he moved in to personally rule Kintargo. To help keep order in case the Glorious Rebellion infected Kintargo, he imported Hellknights from the south and began enlisting loyal Chelaxians in a sort of home guard, called the Chelish Citizens’ Group.
Seven nights ago, outspoken leaders of seditious groups and prohibited faiths disappeared, along with several buildings which were burned to the ground. The Night of Ashes left underground groups leaderless and in disarray. Whatever membership remains of such factions as the Sacred Order of Archivists, the Bellflower Network, the Silver Ravens, and the worshippers of Sarenrae and Milani has gone to ground. Seven proclamations issued by the new ruler have caused tension and unrest in the city, with citizens fearing worse to come. Tension has only increased when minor protests have been dispersed by the new dottari, Hellknights of the Rack.
The first major protest in the week since Thrune took power in Kintargo is rumored to be starting soon. The gathering will be in Aria Park, immediately south of the great Opera House where Barzillai set up his residence. The people plan to gather to protest the occupation of Kintargo’s seat of power by Paracount Barzillai, and the imposition of the seven proclamations. It seems the independent spirit of Kintargo is recovering from the setbacks of the past ten days.
Even with the cobblestones of Argent Avenue and the foliage of Aria Park still wet from the morning’s light rain, dozens of Kintargans have begun to gather along the facade of the opera house to protest the city’s new lord-mayor, Paracount Barzillai Thrune. The city’s new leader was appointed by Her Infernal Majestrix, Queen Abrogail II, in the wake of the previous lord-mayor’s sudden flight from the city — an event that still has local rumormongers whispering furiously. In a scant seven days, Paracount Thrune has instituted martial law, a curfew, and seven outlandish and polarizing proclamations. These actions and more have called many of Kintargo’s dissatisfied citizens here on this overcast morn. There’s been no sign yet of Barzillai Thrune himself, and the opera house’s doors remain tightly closed—as they have since the man chose the landmark as his new home—but judging by the growing sound of the protesters, he surely can’t ignore the scene on the streets below much longer.
The protest has been bruited about for a couple of days, though nobody knows exactly when it is supposed to start or what precisely will happen. Some of the locals move with purpose, assembling into tight groups which are starting rough chants to make their positions known; other citizens wander around between the chanting clusters, curious or perhaps trying to make up their minds about what position to adopt.
Street vendors, taking advantage of the unusual opportunity, set up their carts nearby, and the fragrance of hot food wafts through the air as a few children dash between the protestors, chasing one another with screams and laughter. The event could almost be festive, save for the undercurrent of tension and the silent vigilance of the half-dozen or so guards lined up in front of the opera house's tightly closed doors.
Go ahead with intro posts for your characters, including a physical description and any RP you wish to start with the others. Once everyone has posted, the action will continue.
This is the discussion for a "Three Musketeer"-style campaign. I'll start building the campaign info tab soon. My players can feel free to post and start discussing character ideas whenever they like. It's going to take me a little bit to build the campaign, but we can get started with the first encounter fairly quickly once characters are built.
This will be an original and, I hope, organic campaign. A few of us were discussing what made another campaign so fun to play and great to read, and decided that we as players had done a lot of world-building, not waiting on the GM to post and then just relax. Our characters played off one another well and we made up a lot of incidental things that the GM rolled with beautifully. Though this will be set in Golarion in a specific timeframe, I hope players will feel free to help build the world, particularly in setting and feel, but also in NPCs, events, vendettas, etc. Because it's original, there's a good chance I can weave them into the story.
So get ready to buckle some swashes! Be bold and daring! Our adventure begins SOON.
Welcome to the discussion thread for the Hell's Rebels Campaign. Please look at the Campaign Info tab for background information and rules about character creation.
To begin character creation, click on "My Account" in the top line menu of the Paizo Forums. You will be prompted for a signin even if you are already signed in (to verify that you are you before account changes are allowed).
The third box in the left column is for Messageboard Aliases. To start a new character, click the "Create New Alias" switch at the bottom of the Messageboard Aliases box. All you need to create the alias is a character name. You can select a picture later, and you can change the name until you have made 10 posts under that name. You do not need a faction.
Once you have created the alias, it will be displayed on your alias tab, visible when you click on your name on the top menu (Hello, Name). When you click it from the alias list, you will be on the information panel for that alias. You can edit the alias with the button on the upper right and store all sorts of information there, from stats to gear to spellbooks - whatever you like. By convention, we put our stats first. Here is a good, brief example of a formatted stat block. Formatting features like italics and [/b]bold[/b] are described at the bottom of each text entry box, under "How to format your text." Click the Show button to display the list of tags allowed in the posting.
Right now, I am preparing the campaign and recruiting a few mentors for those who have not played Pathfinder before (or who have not played much). You can discuss questions/concerns here, or you can PM your mentor for specific advice/information.
Welcome! Feel free to talk about character creation outside this forum, on Vent or other personal chats. A lot of the base classes and races should look familiar to you, though their roles may differ from what you expect based on how the character is tailored. A fighter can be a tank, but so can a cleric, who also heals, etc. We'll stick with core classes and races to make it simple.
Getting Started!
1. Download and read the Hell's Rebels Player's Guide. The link is under Player Resources on the Campaign Info tab.
2. Think of a name and create an alias with that name.
3. Post here and introduce yourself!
Don't worry too much about a lot of the stuff in the Campaign Info tab. We'll take time to get the characters built and the party equipped, and we'll go slow enough that you'll get the hang of things.
I created two new Campaigns here and here. I populated all the campaign threads and the info page, we've been planning in both threads, and now I can't make the initial post in either Gameplay thread.
I get the empty box as usual. When I paste the text there, it allows me to use the Preview button, but nothing shows up besides the populated text box. I can Submit, it takes some time, then nothing displays but the empty text entry box again. No new entries appear on the Messageboard sidebar log, either.
When I created the campaigns, I did have to put a first post in Gameplay, which I subsequently deleted after the rest of the campaign was set up because I didn't have the first real Gameplay post ready.
It's not an emergency because we won't start until 2/1, but I would like to be able to use these two campaigns without having to set up new ones.
Thanks for your help!
ADDENDUM: I disabled Oladon's Campaign Tools extension for Chrome and re-tried it. No joy.
I also tried using the ADD POST tool instead of just typing in the empty text box. No joy.
I did notice at one point that the url ended in "gameplay#2", so I may have dorked it up by deleting the first post. D'oh.
Discussion thread for the daily posting Hell's Rebels campaign. Feel free to start discussing party/character builds!
And please do coordinate party composition (roles). There's no need to build characters in a vacuum and then have them not function well together. And for once, I'm not running a GMPC healbot - not with two games to run. I also won't have a big stable of prebuilts to flesh out the party, as Council of Thieves provided. If everybody stays in this track, you've got a classic 4+1 setup, leaving that sweet "fifth-class" slot for somebody who enjoys support or versatility.
I'm looking forward to seeing what you guys come up with. I'm still planning on getting the initial posts up the weekend of the 30th/31st so you can take off running on 2/1.
Though my target is daily posting, it seems like people with those "real lives" things sometimes have trouble posting on weekends. If that's the case here, that's cool; gives me time to catch up with other things or to put up larger, scene-setting posts.
I'm currently gathering players and prepping material.
If you want to keep your Darkness character, check the HRPG first for background material, then decide about your old character. You'll need to change the backstory and traits to fit Hell's Rebels.
I'm considering making this a hybrid campaign and scheduling a Skype/TTop session when we get into combat, so we roll through more quickly. Any thoughts on that idea? I can post a summary of the combat in the gameplay thread after the session.
I'm very happy some of the Darkness crew are interested!
A giant has passed. If you have never read any of his work, stop by the library, pick up one of his works, then just try to shelve it and walk away. His strange, lovely, horrible, beautiful stories will haunt you.
I run a game with some of my friends and have managed to get my boyfriend interested in playing, but recently realized he may be feeling uncomfortable about gaming alone with so many women. That got me thinking.
Do males play RPG's? Sure, I see a lot of boys... er, males... er, men (What is politically correct? I don't want to be offensive) at Gamestop and the other video game stores, but it seems to be strictly ladies' night at the gaming table and VTT.
So, do males enjoy role play? You know, beyond hitting stuff and blowing it up? I want to make my game fun for everyone, not just for women. How do I get them engaged in the game when we're not killing things?
Is there anything special we should do at the table to make males feel comfortable? Obviously, the talk about 'Aunt Flo' needs to stop when men are present. Do the scantily-clad, sexy pictures of the characters we girls identify with make men feel uncomfortable? Maybe we should cover our gaming books?
And what about male characters? I realized that my male NPC's tend to be stereotypically aggressive, smelly jerks. What should I do to make them more human... you know, more like a woman?
I appreciate any advice. I want the games I run to be welcoming to the other 49% of the population.
Westcrown is bustling on Fireday afternoon. Merchants close up shop and people leave work a little early to spend an extra hour in taverns and restaurants before hastening home to bar the windows and doors against the shadows. A cold breeze from the north chills despite the generally moderate climate of the Inner Sea.
A boarded-up tavern sits near the pier where one of the island ferries disgorges passengers commuting to their mainland homes from their jobs on the island. None many can afford to live in Parego Regicona, and few would be welcome to. Despite its prime location, the tavern has a rather weathered but neatly painted wooden sign on the front: Under New Management. Closed for Renovations. Former regulars give their old haunt wistful glances as they wonder when the place will be open again, but easily find another spot for a plate of stew, fresh bread, and a glass of wine. Visio's has been closed for quite some time now. Apparently the new owners had plenty of money to buy the place, but not enough for all the changes they wanted to make. Don't know why they need to change things. It was fine the way it was, when the Visio family ran it.
A group of Hellknights clop through the city past the tavern as the bells strike three times, pedestrians scattering from their path. They seem to be in no hurry and look around casually as they trot past, alert for trouble.
Several of us have had issues lately wherein the dice differ either between our preview and our committed post, or a prior post and the post seen the next day.
I don't have proof but will try to catch it with screen caps. It's possible it is a mass delusion.
This is the first place we noticed and commented upon it, since all the initiatives were eight at first, then they weren't.
This thread is to discuss the new Council of Thieves campaign and characters. Please check out the main tab for background and character creation information. Become familiar with Westcrown as you are able given time constraints. We'll be learning a lot more about the city, but it's helpful to start out with the basics in the campaign's Player's Companion. Links to info are on the main tab.
Please post to check in when you receive this, and welcome!
CoT was engrossing enough that my players did not want it to end, ever. I'm running a followon campaign in which Lord Mhartis is Mayor Pro Tem, elections are scheduled in about two months, and Chammady Drovenge survived and aided the party. The PC's managed to convince Admiral Vourne that they had thwarted a threat not only to Westcrown, but a potential plot against the queen. Why? Because the Church of Asmodeus is entirely silent in the AP.
My question is - why? The plausible theory my players came up with is that the church is in league with Mammon's forces, since Mammon is a servant of Asmodeus. Otherwise, why wouldn't they aid the party against the usurper? The PC's figured this was a first step for a total church takeover of Cheliax, with deniability on the part of the Church of Asmodeus if it failed. They convinced Vourne of this as well, and have been summoned to Egorian to Abrogail's court to receive some sort of honors/reward. [You should have seen their faces when they read the imperial summons, heh heh heh.]
I find their logic rather convincing. Has anybody else played it differently? Is there an official explanation I've missed? Any other good theories?
Has anyone encouraged/prohibited classes in this AP?
I had one gentleman who wanted to play a paladin but thought it might make the AP too easy. He's switching to fighter/ranger, which should be fine.
I have another who wants to play a necromancer, and I'm worried that he won't have any fun. I don't see much in the way of undead he'll be able to command, even in the first book. Besides, creating undead does not endear one to the populace, so I worry about what it will do to trust levels if he's found out.
We're planning on doing without a cleric or paladin entirely. I'll run a GMPC bard to buff and heal.
Those of you who have started already, any thoughts on the above?
Our drive ist kaput - Phillips LiteOn drive. I can buy one new online for $50 with a month warranty, but swapping the PCB with the flash memory requires desoldering and soldering the connections to the drive. They'll do it for me for $10, but I have to send the old one in and that'll take some time. The new drive ships overnight weekdays and it wouldn't take long to install.
Has anybody done this successfully? If so, does the replacement last? Ths box isn't even 1-1/2 years old yet and the drive is shot. It's very disappointing and, naturally, out of warranty.
OK, so it's the beginning of What Lies in Dust and I have a player who followed up socially with Chammady Drovenge after the mayor's dinner. She, knowing he's part of the group who's been foiling her plans, seduced him successfully and they now have a hot and heavy secret affair going. This is based on her actions detailed in the final book with the priest of Abadar, so it's in character.
I figure she'll use him and/or the party to do what *she* wants done as long as she can pick the things that will float their boat. So I'm looking for ideas that will advance her ultimate agenda. Here's what I've come up with so far:
1. Sian is still out and about. I think she'd use Sian to assassinate the priest of Abadar's family, then try to point the party that way to kill Sian and tie up that loose end, knowing they could do it.
2. She might send them on ventures to get them out of the city and disrupt the activity of the Hellknights, who are still a force for law and order and troublesome to her plans.
Anybody see other things she could point them toward, preferably which tie in with the ultimate plot targets? Not having run this before, I'm not sure which events in books 4-6 work out well and which could be changed or swapped using the party as an unwitting tool of the Drovenges.
After three years, three months, and eighteen days, my group finally finished Shackled City. It would have been a lot shorter but also a lot poorer without all the wonderful, imaginative additions from generous DMs here. You guys rock!
I disagreed with Paizo's "Adimarchus is wholly evil and unredeemable" dictate in the last adventure. That sort of thing does not sit well with my happy ending-loving party. Reinstatement into the ranks of heaven didn't seem right, either. And the whole "Adimarchus is dead and you're all done now!" was pretty abrupt. Here's what we did.
The party remembered even before the final fight that he'd reappear lying in state on Occipitus, so after killing him in Skullrot, they placed the body into bags of holding and rested up prior to a trip to Occipitus to dispose of the bodies in the pillar of fire.
When they arrived in Occipitus (with Nidrama in the party), I used Delvesdeep's dream sequences as a basis for the exposition of Adimarchus' fall, all created from the stuff of Occipitus by his restless, insane spirit. They appeared not in an osseous forest or celestial wreckage, but in a green, sunny field with an angelic Adimarchus beseiged by hordes of demons. They promptly decided to aid the lone figure and wiped the floor with the demon horde. Adimarchus thereby began indifferent to them and they won a VP by making him so. Once Addy saw his lost love Nidrama, the scene shifted, mirroring Adimarchus' memories, to effectively a stage setting of the Nidrama/Adimarchus meeting on Celestia. After a few minutes of talk and role play, he'd frown, shake is head, and say, "Wait, that's not right," and the scene would dissolve to the next one. So, in this case, two "angels" formed right behind him, sprouting from the ground but obviously formed by it, and attempted to arrest him.
They did all the right things to make him friendly, protecting him from arrest while urging him to submit to the will of heaven. Confused but swayed by their high Diplomacy roles, he agreed to let them help him. They teleported to the base of the skull, only to find it looking like the top of Skullrot, where the scene with Athux in the cage and Graz'zt trying to bargain Addy into the trap played out. Again, they interrupted, attacked Graz'zt on his behalf, removed Athux from the cage (and boy were they surprised when he transformed to a mini-Graz'zt) and kept Addy cool through the whole thing. Once both aspects were dead, he came to himself for a brief time and led the way into the skull, asking their advice on what to do next.
They voted that he should make things right with heaven and submit to their justice. They hadn't missed a single VP in the whole thing, so he agreed. They offered to plane shift him to Celestia (though I don't think any of them had the key to the plane so I'm not sure what they were planning?). He said he had a better way and would try to repair the damage he'd caused if they let him. They agreed, and he stepped into the pillar of fire. As he immolated, the flames licking his body changed from red to white, and white flame slowly grew in the red pillar until the entire thing roared white. The skull became filled with blinding white light. Eventually, the light faded, the roaring diminshed, and the pillar dwindled to nothing. They looked around to find themselves on a green hillside in Celestia, the Cathedral of feathers barely visible a long way downhill from them. There was no sign of Adimarchus. A host of angels (and eventually a few deities) gathered and told the party he'd given up his substance to rejoin the fallen parts of Celestia to the realm, his substance returning to the stuff of Celestia in the process. Their gods met with them and they were thanked and rewarded. I'm asking for a synopsis from each of what their character would want to do after their return to Cauldron (and all of them elected to return even when offered a free trip to paradise). We'll meet over dinner next week and wrap up their life stories.
It went amazingly well. I had three outcomes planned based on their VP's from the various scenes:
1. Rekill both his forms and dump them into the fire.
2. Get him to a neutral state where he'd agree to call off any wars on heaven or the material plane but would remain in Occipitus and war with his fellow demons (remain fallen).
3. Rejoin the celestial realms, giving himself in the process (best redemption I could see him having).
Addy even rolled a nat 20 on his petition to heaven to allow scenario 3! I guess it was destiny.
The stuff formed from Occipitus was not real, so did not have the same properties as the original. The baddies could do only what Addy could do himself either fallen or in a good form. I took his angelic form from the AP and transformed it to good powers/spells (with a longsword and shield rather than the claw and whip). Graz'zt and Athux came from Hordes of the Abyss, modified to only be able to do what Addy could do magically. Physically, I left 'em alone, since he could create what he damned well pleased from his own plane.
Many thanks to everyone here who contributes in any way. My players are walking on air, and I owe a whole lot of the campaign's success to your additions, questions, answers, and opinions. I hope the above might give others ideas for their own campaigns. I even thank the Paizo booth guys who hard-sold me into buying the hardcopy at Gencon all those years ago. Thanks again! :-D
Seriously. This is seven years of Wayfinder magazine bestiary entries collected into one volume. 181 pages of new, original monsters. They range from the CR 1/4 creamfoot fennec (a cute little animal and new familiar option) to the massive CR 30 mawagetebab'dly (try saying that five times fast) which is a kaiju version of a hydra (!!!). There are monsters included here that are perfect for all terrains, various lands in Golarion, and suitable as encounters for various Paizo adventure paths. This is a resource a good GM should not pass up. Best of all, it's produced under the community use rules and therefore--FREE! Why would you not get this?
This product features a racial write-up of the mantaur, a new playable race that is half human and, well, half nearly a whole other human. It's odd. It's also based on an Internet meme that's been floating around for a bit after an image appeared on Reddit. That said, it offers a strange yet interesting new race compatible with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. The PDF is 8 pages, including the cover, title page, four pages of content, and two pages of required OGL info.
Physically, the mantaur is the torso, arms, and head of a human attached to a whole other humanoid body, minus the head. This unique configuration allows them to move either as a quadruped, with increased movement rate, or as a biped, with an extra pair of arms at their disposal. The breakdown of their racial traits puts them at an 11-point creature, with the lion's share of that going to the extra arms. One of their racial traits is androgyny, described “as being of both genders simultaneously.” As far as mechanics goes, this doesn't mean much. I can't think of any in-game mechanics that deal with it, aside from the elixir of sex shifting and possibly the Charming social trait. This seems like a missed opportunity to me to have added some new mechanics that might allow for this trait to be a racial advantage. Also, I should point out that in this reference, the term is being used to describe physiological traits, which may be problematic for some, especially since there is a section titled “Gender” that also uses the term to describe social roles. In the mantaur race, if the upper human portion of mantaur has physical male traits, its lower portion will have female traits, and vice versa. Socially, the mantaurs only focus on biological differences when mating, so there is little difference in social roles or fashion based on physiological makeup. Reproduction isn't explicitly tied to romantic partnerships either, which is a novel approach for societal norms and helps to define the mantaur as a distinct species, despite its very human features.
The book covers the other standard race write-up categories (society, relations with other races, alignment and religion, adventurers, and naming conventions) and provides height/weight and starting age charts, as well as favored class options for five Pathfinder core classes (barbarian, bard, druid, fighter, and monk) as well as the athlete, lover, and nomad classes from Little Red Goblin Games. Missing from the lineup are any new mechanics tied to the class. No new mantaur-specific spells, magic items, weapons, or equipment are offered, and that's disappointing. An offering of that type would have gone a long way towards helping to further solidify the idea of the mantaur race, as well as providing a little extra bang for the buck where the pdf is concerned. I'd personally be interested in seeing what sorts of equipment or magic would be developed by a race that has the advantages of quadrupedal movement and four arms, though not simultaneously.
One person comments on the original mantaur posting on Reddit: “I HATE THIS. I hate this so much and I want everyone to see it.” I was originally inclined to agree. Kudos to Scott Gladstein, Ian Sisson, and Christos Gurd for using it to develop a playable race that I don't hate and find intriguing. I only wish the race had received the full APG-style write-up. All in all it is a solid offering for the price range, and I give it 3 out of 5 stars.
Note to Rite Publishing: The cover image here at Paizo has Steven's name spelled correctly, but the copy I downloaded from DrivethruRPG still has it misspelled on the cover.
One of my favorite 3.5 products is Green Ronin's Advanced Bestiary. The templates there have been instrumental in creating memorable monsters for my Wounded Earth campaign. Being able to breathe new life into old monsters, turning them into something different, is a great tool for GMs.
That said, I'm embarrassed to say that this book went under the radar for me until recently. I'm glad it was pointed out to me, because it will take its place as an invaluable tool at my gaming table.
There are 32 templates presented in this book, each with one or more sample creatures created with it. Even better, there is plenty of flavor provided to make each creature its own unique being, not just a monster with mechanical adjustments. Each also comes with ideas on how to insert such a creature into an ongoing campaign. There are also new feats, both monstrous and general, presented with the entries here.
Here are some of my personal favorites:
Aware arcana: constructs created by spellcasters that are essentially living spells used as guardians. Living spells were some of my favorite creatures from the latter days of 3.5. Turning them into purposely made constructs rather than accidentally created oozes is genius.
Body Jumper: A creature that has transcended the flesh, and become a possessing spirit. The sample creature here (a dragon) is beyond creepy. Can't wait to use him.
Hatemonger: A template caused by a parasitic infection that makes the host creature succumb easily to darker emotions. This thing isn't just a template, it's the seed for an entire adventure.
Phalanx Creatures: Ever wanted to create twins with that special soul-bond? How about the ultimate army that fight as if they were simply parts of a greater whole? This template will do that for you.
While there are templates in here that didn't thrill me as much as others, nothing seems out of place or sub-par in comparison to the rest of the material. Formatting and layout are good. The artwork ranged from okay to outstanding.
The negatives here are few and outweighed by the overall goodness of the book. I noticed some minor proofing errors here and there. The creature stat block for the distorting creature template does not mention that the base creature is a krenshar; I had to figure that out from the illustration and the monster's abilities. The worst offender was the sample creature for the Betrayer template, which is alternately called "Iudas," "Iodus," and "Iuduas" within its stat block and description.
The Book of Templates uses some base creatures that may not be readily recognizable to some Pathfinder players, as they are from 3.5 books from Mongoose Publishing and Necromancer Games. I'm always pleased to have new (well, new to me anyway) monsters available, but I would have appreciated a notation in the stat block of what book they were originally in.
All told, this book is a great find and I highly recommend it. 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 for this format.
One of the best things about the even-numbered issues of Wayfinder is that, as a pdf-only offering, they can provide more content. This issue has over 90 pages of quality content based on Qadira and Katapesh and should not be missed. (Why would you? It's free!)
Here are several of the many highlights of the issue:
The Censer Alchemist Archetype, by John Leising: A new archetype for the alchemist based on turning the alchemist's extracts into inhalants. An expanded formulae list adds plenty of offensive punch to this archetype, and when the chips are down you can even use your censer as a weapon.
Kirnoth's Bounty, by Frank Gori: A powerful artifact made more powerful by the addition of five scarabs that can be added to it, themselves useful magic items. This would be a great centerpiece for a desert exploration/tomb-robbing adventure.
Daeza's Abode, by Anthony Adam: What starts as as rescuing an old man from his attackers turns into a more complex mission involving mephits, a thieving wizard, and a genie's life in the balance. An excellent side trek adventure easily dropped into an ongoing campaign.
Katapesh: Birthplace of Gnolls, by Thomas LeBlanc: Gnolls presented as a playable race, complete with background generation tables, as well as new racial and regional traits.
Al-Bashir: The Golden Cage, by Shaun Hocking: An excellent write-up of the harpy-infested Qadiran ruin, full of details and background information that could be fleshed out into a full campaign for an interested GM with a party of players ready to clear the evil of the ruins so the Satrap can raise the city to its former glory.
Ships of the Inner Deserts, by Dain Nielsen: Hovering sand ships! Elemental engines! Need I say more? Grab one, capture your enemies, and take them to the deep desert. Then throw them in the Pit of the Sarlacc. (Sarlacc not included in this article, but seriously who needs it. Dune ships!)
A Visit to the Market, by Eric Hindley: 8 different stalls for your players to visit in the markets of Katapesh. A great way to roleplay some shopping before or after an adventure and expose the PCs to the local flavor of the city, and perhaps provide a seed or two for an adventure in the city itself.
I'm just barely scratching the surface here. In addition to these there are additional side treks, adventure seeds and plot hooks, the Hakima prestige class, genie bloodline traits, new environmental hazards, regional songs, the Spiderhawk magus archetype, the Safiir base class, a detailed guide to the Lightning Stones in Katapesh, new magic items, new animal companions, new rogue talents, new witch hexes, new monsters, rules for a game of chance complete with game board and pieces, weal and woe articles featuring detailed NPCs to aid or hinder PCs, and a complete Beginner Box adventure. Add to that wonderful fiction by Neil Spicer, Aaron Motta, Todd Stewart & Tanith Tyrr, John C. Rock, Jason Keeley, beautiful color and black-and-white artwork, and amazing maps, and you've got a hell of a magazine here. What are you waiting for? Download!
Spend part of my limited budget at Paizocon on this. So worth it!
Okay, I can finally get around to writing a review of this book. This is a good thing, because it's great. 123 pages of space-themed goodness for Pathfinder players and GMs alike. There are five new races, two new classes, and two archetypes available for players. If you're a fan of the Guyver, then you have to play a symbiote-synthesist, the summoner archetype. It's very obviously inspired by the manga/anime and renders it beautifully in Pathfinder stats. There are also new spells and magic items, and vehicles offered to enhance your game.
For GMs, there is plenty of help in taking your campaign to the stars. 29 different planetary environments are described in the first part of this section. If doing a Pathfinder version of Spelljammer isn't your thing, these could easily be adapted as traits for alternate planes in a plane-hopping campaign. Add to this new hazards, disasters. (Meteor strike, anyone? I'm planning on meshing things from here with Monte Cook's When the Sky Falls for some truly epic gaming.) The bestiary would have been satisfactory to me with just the elder ooze and star beasts alone. The other creatures are icing on the awesome cake. Round this out with three, count 'em, THREE full adventures by Colin McComb, Richard Pett, and John Pingo, not to mention adventure hooks for starting your own adventures, this book is well worth the price.
So this is is a fine way to get a taste of the stuff that Minotaur Games is putting out in its Monster Focus line. Monster Focus: Gravelings is a 4 page pdf: Cover, two pages of what you came for, and the OGL page. It introduces a new minor undead, the graveling, and plenty of mechanics and flavor to introduce it into your Pathfinder game and make the graveling your necromancer's new best friend. Most of the contents of the pdf come in pairs, with the exception of the graveling itself.
First are two feats, one to allow your spellcaster to take a graveling as a familiar, the second to allow for a gaggle of the things! (The text of the pdf says "swarm" not to be confused with the type of swarm seen in the Bestiaries. Besides, I think "gaggle" is the correct word to use when referring to a group of gravelings.)
Then there are two alchemical items, the first able to enhance your graveling if used during its creation, the other to heal it. Two spells are provided, one to animate a graveling, the other for a whole gaggle. A pair of minor wondrous items facilitate greater ease of graveling use. Finally, after the graveling stat block, a pair of clever adventure ideas to introduce the graveling into an existing campaign. All in all, this is top-grade content any GM should be glad to have to enhance a game involving necromancy, or for a necromancer PC to add a little extra panache. Judging this piece on content alone, it would be a five-star product. Alas, the aesthetics won't allow for that.
The cover is the least offender. Yellow on blue provides a bold scheme (though I could do without the shadow effect behind the text). The pencil sketch of the graveling on the cover harkens back to the old 1st edition Monster Manual, and a little old-school is always fine with me. However, the text of the product itself is...well, muddy would be a way to describe it. It's like watching a reel to reel film that's nearly, but not quite, in focus. (Ironic, considering the title of the product line.) If this had any more than two pages of content, it would be maddening. I prefer paper over electronic product and enjoy pdfs best when they're short and easy to read on the screen; this one is the former but sadly not the latter. The penciled labyrinth border at the bottom of each page doesn't help either. Seems like an afterthought and does nothing to pretty up the page. So regretfully I have to give this one 4 stars, hopeful that the other products in the line have the same quality content, and hoping they were made with a cleaner production.
Old school feel and a nice bit of dungeon dressing
This product harkens back to the days of 1st edition AD&D, where the Dungeon Master's Guide had appendices full of random tables providing details for the DM making up a dungeon on the fly.
Raging Swan has taken one particular feature, the portcullis, and provided the mechanics (in game features of the portcullis, variances for construction materials and the conditions they're in, as well as lifting mechanisms) along with two mechanical traps (the falling and toppling portcullises) and a nasty magical trap in the wailing portcullis (every evil necromancer on the block will want one for his inner sanctum).
And, of course, the flavor. The bulk of the pdf is a random table with a hundred different details that can be ascribed to a dungeon portcullis. These could leave PCs scratching their heads, or inspire a GM to produce an encounter to await them beyond the barrier. All in all, very good stuff.
If I have any complaints about the product at all, it would be the wish for a bit more art. If nothing else, there's a lot of white space on the title page that was begging for something to be placed in it. Even a simple portcullis design centered above the title would have been sufficient. Still, for the price tag, this can't be beat.
This latest issue of Wayfinder focuses on one of the coolest locations (excuse the pun) in Golarion: The Land of the Linnorm Kings. As usual, the issue features great articles, stories, and artwork packed with a lot of Viking flair. Some highlights of this issue:
Kalyna Conrad's "Ice and Darkness" a tale of two brothers and their fated encounter with a great beast of the North. This links to a Weal and Woe article by Conrad, with Eric Hindley, featuring Bram and Liut as NPCs years after the story takes place. Finally, "A Cold Reunion" brings the brothers back together in an adventure scenario full of chills, terrors, and a big bad with a new template.
The Frost Dancer: an archetype for the Shadowdancer prestige class, by Clinton J. Boomer.
A slew of magic weapons, armor, and items, all fit for a brave Ulfen warrior.
"Linnorm Games" A dice game by Dain “Zylphryx” Nielsen, perfect for those long sea voyages between raids.
A Bestiary containing 14 strange and fearsome beasts to plague the far North in your games.
All this and more fantastic stories, poems, articles, and artwork. And it's free!
A great read and a great source of Pathfinder goodness!
No one should pass up downloading any and all issues of Wayfinder, ever. Devout fans of the Pathfinder system and its accompanying game world work hard to produce a slick, professional product chock full of excellent writing: fiction, poetry, NPCs, monsters, scenarios; you name it, it's in here.
Some highlights from an overall outstanding issue:
Neil Spicer offers up a pair of NPCs: a master smith and the sinspawn that plagues him. In a related article, GMs get a mini-adventure featuring the two.
"Vikram's Jernul" A tale by Adam Daigle, in which a mighty barbarian struggles against a tenacious foe: illiteracy.
"Realm Building" Blake Davis, Charles Davis, and Thomas LeBlanc provide new and expanded rules for for use with the kingdom building guide in the Kingmaker Adventure Path.
In "All in the Cards," Liz Courts shows us a unique way to generate character stats by using Paizo's Harrow Deck.
The Bestiary provides eleven new monsters to harry your PCs as they adventure in Belkzen, Ustilav, and Varisia, including offerings from two of 2012's RPG Superstar Top 4: "Tom Qadim" Phillips and Mike "taig" Welham.
These are just a few of the great pieces in issue #5. I'm always just a little more excited for the odd numbered issues, as their release coincides with Paizocon, which means printed copies. There's something satisfying about getting your hands on one at the 'con, and passing the time on the flight home reading some good fiction. Want a print copy but can't attend Paizocon? A monetary contribution to Wayfinder towards publication costs gets you a copy. Are you a third party publisher of Pathfinder compatible products? Take out an ad in Wayfinder and expand your customer base. Do you have a piece of Pathfinder fiction, an article, or creation to share? Send it in to Wayfinder. If your piece is selected for a print issue, you get a copy.
Wayfinder is just good stuff from good folks. Period.
Having just joined the Pathfinder Society and created my first character, I decided to buy a shirt to represent his faction: Qadira.
The shirt itself is great. I love the color; the faction logo is a quality print and looks like it will stand up well to the standard wear and tear of washing; the shirt itself is 100% cotton and should be light and comfortable for summer wear.
The shipping, however, has me a bit puzzled. It arrived in three days (not surprising, since I'm only on the other side of the state) by standard mail. I was surprised at the size of the package; it looked like it contained a coffee cup rather than a t-shirt. When I opened the box, I found a plastic bundle the size and shape of an apple turnover. Much to my surprise, the shirt had been...compressed, for lack of a better word, into this shape for packaging. I understand this is probably convenient for storage and shipping. However, the shirt came out of the package so wrinkled that it looks like it has a ruffled hem and sleeves. I've never had to iron a newly bought t-shirt before wearing it, but I may have to with this.
So, all in all, very satisfied with the product...not so much with the packaging.
I just received my Guide to Korvosa today and am very impressed with the level of detail here. The way the whole book is written "in game" makes for an excellent presentation. So long as I can keep my players' prying eyes out of chapter 5, this will ensure their ability to immerse themselves in the game world once I run my Crimson throne campaign.
Only down note I've found thus far: The inadvertent binding of the map into the book. Still, follow the directions above and it will come out just fine.
As an English major, I must have this shirt...even if I have to follow someone down a dark alley, knock them over and go through their pockets for the dough to afford it. ;-)
