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Hi there! When there's a chance, could someone mark sessions 55 and 75 as full please? Thank you!

Well, they're expensive as all get out, but you can always buy a metamagic rod of quicken spell. It doesn't take up any higher level slots but requires a free hand (in addition to your spell casting hand) and the cheapest one costs 35,000 gp and only effects spells of 1st-3rd level. The next tier costs 75,500 gp and effects spells of 1st-6th level and the final one is a whopping 170,000 gp but can be used on all spells. Each rod can only be used 3/day though so you'd have to get a lot of these if you want all of your spells to be quickened.

Well, you could always get a sufficiently powered druid to cast Awaken...

I'm not sure if I can add anything more that hasn't already been said, but I sincerely hope this situation works out, no matter what the ultimate solution. Yubein, your daughter has a lot of guts just for trying to play such a difficult and, for lack of a better term, baggage-laden class as a Paladin. If my avatar is any indication, I'm a large proponent of the class and always find myself saddened to hear stories like this. While it is true we don't have the GM's side of the coin, there are at the least far more tactful ways to deal with any possible variation of "it's for the story" (if that was even the situation).

I know my words are of little to no help, but I always saw the Paladin class as a representation of man's desire to overcome a base nature and strive toward something more. Becoming a Paladin in my mind was always less of an accomplishment and more of a promise to keep striving, to the end of your days. I wish you and yours the opportunity to move on and the perseverance to keep trying.

At this point it should be at the printer if not on a slow boat from China.

Defiantly true, but I can retain some degree of hope no matter how false can't I?

I know the product has probably been completed (mostly) by this point, but if there happens to be rules for gaining a Pegasus mount, I'd dance in the streets.

Name: Layden
Race: Human
Classes/levels: Fighter 9
Adventure: Varnhold Vanishing
Location: Vordakai's Throne Room
Catalyst: Phantasmal Killer

The Gory Details: Upon reaching Vordakai's throne, Layden was terribly upset with the death of the people of Varnhold and strode forward into melee combat, winning first initiative. Vordakai went immediately afterword, casting his spell upon a former Grey Maiden (I had run this same party through CotCT).

Fortunately, the party cleric managed to bring her back not long thereafter but Vordakai proved to be a terribly difficult opponent.

I can certainly understand not wanting to give players who buy mithral and adamantine armor a set of "free" weapons of the same material. However, I may point out that gauntlets, as far as weapons go, are somewhat awful. The only thing a gauntlet does is allow you to deal lethal damage with an unarmed strike. Unless you have improved unarmed strike, you provoke an attack of opportunity with every strike and you're still dealing 1d3 points of damage. Players may still use adamantine gauntlets to punch down a wall, but it will take a very long time to actually get through.

I suppose it would be great if you get swallowed as you already have a light weapon out and AoO wouldn't matter but otherwise, you'd still have to take a feat just to use it properly. If armor suits came with free spiked gauntlets, I would probably agree with you guys. They are considered actual weapons and as such, don't require additional training. Are the gauntlets an advantage? Yes, but I don't think it's as big as an advantage as it might initially seem.

If it is as you say then I my only question is, have you explained this to her now? I'm not sure what this Paladin's charisma is currently at but having a high score is not always necessary if your player actually wants to play a "shy" paladin. I would let them know this would mean several of their powers are weaker and if they would rather have those powers or a more forceful personality, then I see no issue for a re-roll in this case.

The first time a person plays any tabletop game, I always try to make sure they are having as much fun as possible and make the learning curve as shallow as I can. After all, if their first experience is not what they hoped for, they may not want to have a second experience. As they get more used to the game then start introducing greater difficulty and up the challenge.

We had a character in my CotCT group that was a Barbarian/Fighter/Shadowdancer/Rogue. It worked out pretty well for him.

My number one choice is Kyra but I would think Ezren would make for an interesting contrast between the two. Two Neutral Good characters who couldn't be more different from each other? Sold. I would also not mind seeing something where Merisiel and Alain team up for some reason. I'm sure the two would have a good time at each other's expense.

Sadly no. It's flavorful for a follower of that deity to use a favored weapon but unless you take feats for it, you get no special benefit for doing so. No other class gets free proficiency with it either unless it's a default option for that class. For example, a ranger who follows Calistria doesn't get whip proficiency for free but a bard still would because the class has whip proficiency by default.

It might come from the old 3.5 rule set. If you played a cleric with the war domain, you got free weapon proficiency and focus with that deity's favored weapon if you took that domain. This was replaced with the current war domain and all clerics are automatically proficient with their deity's weapon but they don't have weapon focus automatically.

Most likely, this feat chain was aimed toward Tieflings and Drow who naturally can use Darkness as a spell like ability. Most notably, Drow get both that and Faerie Fire. Look at the Dragon Empires Primer if you get a chance. I think there were a few Stunning Fist related feats in there if I'm not mistaken.

Yeah, sadly there are very few other options. The Forgotten Realm 3.5 setting had a PrC that allowed a pegasus mount but so far as Pathfinder is concerned, there isn't really a way (aside from the aforementioned Leadership feat or DM intervention). I was hoping the Beast Rider cavalier variant would allow it but no such luck. I've wanted to play a Pegasus Knight (like the ones from Fire Emblem) for quite some time. I hope you have some luck.

In this case, no. The at will designation simply means that the Gelugon can cast as many Cones of Cold as he wants (for example) in a day but must still take normal actions to do so.

From pg. 304 of the Bestiary under Spell-Like Abilities:
A constant spell-like ability or one that can
be used at will has no use limit. Reactivating a constant
spell-like ability is a swift action. Using all other spelllike
abilities is a standard action unless noted otherwise,
and doing so provokes attacks of opportunity.

Merisiel: "Maybe we should have checked to see what the chief's Leadership score was before we refused his tryout..."

My group ended up giving the job over to Vencarlo.

I'm 26 and started playing in the last days of 2nd edition when I was 13. It's fun to realize I have literally been playing D&D for half my life. I'm also male and have never served in the military.

Yeah, Radovan doesn't strike me as the disciplined type as awesome as he is. Still, the abilities and style of the Monk fit well with his "up close and personal" approach to combat. Maybe he's a Martial Artist from Advanced Combat?

Show me one power a paladin has that would not fit thematically on a warrior empowered to visit holy wrath upon tyrants and villains by a Chaotic Good god.

Aura of Courage? Cayden Cailean walked into the definitive epic level dungeon on a drunken dare. Fearlessness comes with the territory.

Aura of Resolve and Aura of Righteousness? Coercion and mind control are generally high on Chaotic Good's list of Bad Things. Free will is, after, all, their greatest good. Of course you can't control their minds!

Aura of Justice? Justice doesn't remotely mean lawful. Chaotic Good stands for Justice even when the Law falls down in providing it. Besides, the actual mechanics of the ability work to give the little guy the power to fight back against their oppressors.

Why on earth should Cayden Cailean wait for someone to take a prestige class to empower them? He's as Good as they come, and he's a God. He can make you as Holy as he damn well pleases.

Should Cayden Cailean (or any other CG diety) have some sort of divinely inspired warrior? Probably. I can definitely see a place for that sort of warrior and the ethos would be very interesting to look at if very different from a standard paladin. I played RotRL with a friend doing this exact same thing and trust me, she had difficulty on more than one occasion living up to an extreme CG alignment. That being said, the abilities shown above I think don't really jive with a CG alignment. Here's why.

I think it's a fair point at this juncture to assume that both a Paladin and a CG Paladin (now called a Vigilante for sake of argument so I don't have to type CG Paladin all the time) would fight against a LE tyranny. The Vigilante would have more options available initially but both could easily take up arms against the tyrant yet for two very different reasons. Paladins would see the regime as a blight on the community. Commerce doesn't run correctly, children don't play, people are forced to be in their homes at night, etc. These people are what motivate him to fight in their defense. The Vigilante would be just as concerned but for a different reason. He would see that Old Tom (tm) couldn't go fishing at night any more, or that Billy couldn't marry his love because the Regent decided not to let him "because". The Vigilante would be concerned about these people primarily through the individual.

Honestly, you're right that most of the Paladin's abilities don't lend themselves to a lawful individual. I would argue that at the very least, a Vigilante wouldn't spend much time erecting fields that benefit a large group. A Paladin is an agent of a community (those of Erastil doubly so) be it their homeland, church, or order. They gain their powers from a desire to put the needs of that group above their own and as such, protect that community even though it makes them a target. It is their greatest weakness (binding their desires to others who may or may not have the Paladin's best interest at heart) but also their greatest strength (inspiring them to courage even if they don't agree with their charges because they have to). Paladins are also much more likely to work in a large army unit and use their auras to protect their brothers in arms.

The Vigilante on the other hand has himself and his deity as the only two people who dictate his actions. His focus on the individual may give him powers that help individuals (maybe being able to remove fear if not preventing it for example) but he can hang the desires of the community if it's not the right thing to do and do what's best for them anyway. It is this dedication to the individual that makes auras very...unfitting in my opinion. Why bother defending groups of people when you are more than willing to operate on your own most of the time? Why not just get everyone vulnerable out of the way and deal with the problem yourself? Being immune to those effects does make sense for a Vigilante but forcing people into a small tactical bubble to protect them from the same doesn't seem like a top priority. Vigilantes want to protect the little guy and as such tend to work with smaller groups outside of a hierarchy. Sometimes the larger groups can get things done, but they lose sight of each person's needs and as such, just don't work as well as small squads or even just a lone hero.

I see the argument for both classes but I just think the two would work differently enough that opening default Paladins to all alignments or even all good alignments doesn't quite make sense. Paladins work well as scions and protectors of a community while Vigilantes stick around to get the job done and often move on to fight the next great evil. While both are dedicated to good, they have such different viewpoints that I think it only makes sense that a LG and CG holy warrior would use at least somewhat different tactics. That is my argument such as it currently stands.

I have to go with Jessica as the Grey Maiden. I both have run the entire AP and have the shirt and it's an excellent costume.

Bioware's RPGs had a huge influence on Jade Regent, particularly the Mass Effect and Dragon Age games. Those games have a huge influence on most of what I design, in fact, because I find them to be EXCELLENT examples of how to build a compelling story within the framework of a system of rules. You'll see this influence on my adventure in Serpent's Skull, "Souls for Smuggler's Shiv" as well.

This actually slipped past me. I've played very few of Bioware's games. Of the older AD&D series I only ever played Icewind Dale and 3/3.5's Neverwinter Nights. I got Dragon Age for my birthday last year and I still can't get it to run properly. Sigh. Back on topic though, regardless of what influences inspire ideas in the Adventure Paths, I must applaud you guys on a job well done. After all, only the first adventure is out and I'm already chomping at the bit, so to speak, to run this one.

Fire Emblem is a relatively niche series and of my gaming group, I'm the only one that plays it. Still, it just goes to show how well designed these adventures are if they can inspire fond memories not only of roleplaying, but of going through other fun games I've had the chance to play over the years. Here's looking forward to volume 2.

So looking over the player's guide, I'm getting a general impression that Jade Regent bears some striking similarities to Fire Emblem. The guide suggests that Jade Regent centers on the following:

A number of these are also overall good elements of storytelling and familiar (if not necessarily common) fantasy tropes. Mind you, I'm not complaining in the least and instead think it fantastic if more than likely unintentional. I just thought I would bring this up and was wondering if anyone else had noticed... Either way, this adventure path has me very excited and I can't wait to run it. The first adventure alone has thoroughly blown me away.

We started a few weeks ago and here is the group as it stands now. I'm having a lot of fun running the path and my group just made it out of a nearby shrine less than a mile from Kelmarane.

Alshain Al-sa'lak (CG male halfing Cleric of Desna): Alshain is the teams medic as well as a skilled fortune teller. He came to Kelmarane to find Haleen, practically one of the family, along with his sister. He is ever optimistic and cheerful and never fails to consult his harrow deck if something is amiss, someone needs advice, or he's just curious.

Pitaline Al-sa'lak (NG female halfing Fighter/Abjurer): Pita as she likes to be called is the more down to earth sister to Alshain. What she lacks in social graces, she makes up for with knowledge and physical grace. She is the moldspeaker and will do her best to live up to expectations whilst also helping her brother search for their adopted sister.

Bichalla (CN female gnoll Ranger (Skirmisher)): Bichalla was the runt of her tribe and was kicked out relatively early in life. She ultimately became a slave of Garavel's and currently travels with the party to gain her freedom someday. She is a devout worshiper of Sarenrae and hopes to find redemption out in the sands. (As GM, I basically reskinned a half-orc with a few minor adjustments to allow someone to play a gnoll)

Diya al Din Aoukar (CG male half-orc Inquisitor of Sarenrae): Diya became involved in Sarenrae's church at an early age but was never really considered as a candidate for the cloth as he was too suspicious and not as forgiving as typical priests were. His devotion and strong mind made him and excellent candidate for an inquisitor and he now heads to Kelmarane to restore the local church for his faith.

Manara binte Amina (NG female half-elf Rogue): Manara grew up in Solku after Kelmarane fell. Her elven father recently told her of her mother's sacrifice in the battle for Kelmarane 20 years ago where she gave her life as a holy knight of Sarenrae. With her mother's scimitar in hand, she goes to free the village that meant so much to her mother.

Here's hoping the adventure path continues to amaze and impress.

As I haven't run the Rise of the Runelords campaign, my group doesn't know very much about the NPCs, and I'm wondering if there's a way to use a PC instead of Ameiko for the role. Maybe one of the PCs is actually a son/daughter of hers and she gets whacked somewhere mid-adventure? Now s/he has to take her place, etc?

I know I'm not James (well, I am James but not THE James) nor do I work for his company but...

That being said, I'm always a big fan of putting a spin on APs. Cressida and Trinia became much more important in my Curse of the Crimson Throne game than normal. If you think your players would enjoy protecting and assisting one of their own, then by all means go for it. From the sound of it, as long as the group has motivation to go from Varisia to Tian Xia then the AP will function as written. Of course, I'm more than open to be corrected if I'm wrong (not working for Paizo and all). Still, I think it's an interesting idea and I hope it works for your group.

On a side note, my group is fascinated by a return to Sandpoint. Especially the other GM in our group as he ran RotRL and it looks like I'll be running Jade Regent.

Leonard Nimoy, Sir Alec Guinness, and Anna Torv are all fantastic actors who I could easily listen to all day. Any one of them would be amazing.

Honorable mention awards go to Neal Stephenson and Ed Brubaker for Sci-Fi and Detective/Noir games respectively. I highly admire the storytelling of both to a great degree.

The Boon Companion feat is in the Seeker of Secrets book.

To the OP, you may be thinking of the Horse Lord Ranger out of the APG who gains that ability at level 12 as well but can only ever take a horse. That at least sounds similar to what you are thinking of but doesn't seem to be what you are looking for. Sorry I couldn't help more.

Edit: Technically the animal can be anything that serves as a mount. A camel or horse for a medium ranger and a wolf or pony for small rangers are possible.

I often find myself fulfilling clerical duties (because no one has heard that one before). As a holy warrior of an allied faith, I must ask this. What is your favorite battle prayer?

Very well. Thank you all for your assistance and the prompt replies and clarification. You have been most helpful.

I'm new to the Pathfinder society and there is a question I have that may have already been answered in previous posts but I have been unable to find clarification on my own. It regards mostly to weapons as I'm interested in weapons that may not be commonly found during scenarios. I am aware that +1 weapons are always available but my question regards anything more potent.

Let's say I want to play with an Aldori Dueling Sword which is a relatively uncommon weapon. I can buy one, get it to a +1 and all that. However, if I want to upgrade it beyond that I've found two possible scenarios that are not directly countered by the rules. The first is that for anything more powerful, I'd have to wait until I found a +2 Aldori Dueling Sword or a +1 Flaming Burst Aldori Dueling Sword (for example) in a scenario. In that case, I find it unlikely at best I'd find more than one and would be better served going with a more common weapon like a longsword. If I do find this upgrade, I can pay the difference of my +1 Dueling Sword and the new one I find but otherwise cannot upgrade it and I have to have a corresponding faction TPA to make that purchase.

The other is that I can get up to a +1 dueling sword, then wait until my TPA is high enough that I can buy whatever further enhancements I wanted. In this case 22 in order to upgrade from my +1 to a +2 or to a +1 Flaming. If this is the case, than it implies I can buy equipment found during scenarios regardless of TPA but anything else would have to wait until my TPA gets high enough.

I wonder if either scenario in this case are correct or if neither. Perhaps both are partially correct. Any assistance I receive would be greatly appreciated.

I've mentioned this in another thread but I do not believe I mentioned it here. I want an AP that focuses on Aroden in some way shape or form.

+1 for sure. I think it would have the potential to be one of the most expansive and truly heroic endeavors in an AP thus far, and that's saying something. I'm always interested to learn more of the dead god and any number of factions (from the Pathfinder Society to the church of Iomedae and that's just off the top of my head) and factors could be included. Just the sheer number of possibilities makes this a must play scenario for me.

Personally, a Worldwound AP would be fantastically grand in scale and fun. It would have to be particularly intense to pull off well but the pay-off would be worth it.

I see the idea of a "War" AP tossed around and was thinking it would be a natural fit for Lastwall. The nation is particularly interesting and it would be easy enough to be stuck in a quagmire between orcish hordes from Belkzen and undead legions from Ustlav. Of course, Ustlav is about to get it's own AP so that may have to wait for a while. Heck, you could even include some political intrigue with getting allies from Nirmathas or even some of the rival hordes of orcs.

To my knowledge, orcs haven't been figured prominently in any AP so it would be fun to see them. They may be a bit too generic of a villain but I'd like to see an AP feature them at least for a while like goblins, drow, gnolls, kobolds, and serpentfolk have gotten. Edit: These have all been done well, and I'd like to see Paizo's treatment of the race as a foe.

As a player, I have had my character die before and have had many more situations where such almost happened. Heck, for one character I've gotten diehard more or less out of necessity. I have to say that I honestly prefer that level of danger. For me, the game is at its best when the heroes (PC's perhaps may serve better) effect the campaign world but don't always win. After all, if the actions my character engaged in were easy then I don't feel like much of a hero on beating any major campaign villains. The heart of combat is that it's not easy and (for the character) in fact is not even fun but something they have to do in order to succeed. This is were the character gets to shine as a hero in the mythological sense. Flawed but capable and ultimately triumphant.

As a DM, I feel much the same way. I often have a hard time challenging my players and when they're all joking about out of game issues while the raging 30 ft. tall monstrosity dies before it gets a turn in, something just seems missing to me. It feels like in effect, they were never in any actual danger and really, just about anyone could have taken out the creature, they just happened to be the ones to claim its head. It all boils down to, I think people appreciate the deed more after a struggle. There is a greater sense of accomplishment.

I too often take up clerical work (I know it's not funny). While clerics often make good combatants (my current one certainly does), I often find myself in the support role. Maybe it's because I don't like taking credit, even for things I've done, but I'd much rather heal and support and leave the flashy stuff to the fighters and wizards. The one bard I played ended up doing much the same (though she was decent at melee too). It also helps that I don't mind of taking care of the "med kit" so everyone else can have more fun with their characters. Cleric may be a role I was initially forced into, but it didn't take a lot of shoving.

If I had to pick a favorite, Iomedae kind of gives it away. The noble knight was a favorite archetype of mine since grade school. I rarely get to play them (most parties don't much care for that Lawful part) but they have a special place in my heart.

My tertiary choice would be a wizard but I'd play most likely an abjurer or conjurer. In fact, I did play the latter. Abjuration is by far my favorite school of magic. Defensive abilities? Awesome. The power to even out potent foes? Wonderful. Outright banishing powerful foes is also high on the list. For reasons, see the first paragraph.

As a GM currently running the AP, I'd say that both undead and evil outsiders will help as additional favored enemy choices. For favored terrain, plains and ruins (underground) might be good additional ones though you still won't be in either too much. Anything beyond that is gravy. Hope that helps.

Well, I suppose I'll take the plunge as well. Thank you all in advance for your advice. It is most helpful. Also, if one of the major issues is pricing (I was never quite satisfied with it but figured it was the best I could do), I'll kick myself in the face...somehow. I don't know how yet, but rest assured it will look incredible. Thank you again for your time.

Scabbard of Echoes
Aura faint illusion; CL 5th
Slot belt; Price 6,000 gp; Weight 2 lbs.
Description:

This deep blue scabbard is adorned with gold clasps and seems to flicker on occasion even when stationary. It is capable of storing any size bladed weapon that, when drawn, creates an illusion of the wearer drawing the same weapon to attack from a different direction. This momentary illusion allows the wearer to make a feint attempt as a free action with a +2 bonus after drawing her weapon. This may be done any time the weapon is drawn, but only once per round. Once per day, the wearer may speak a command word as a swift action before drawing the weapon to generate multiple illusions, all attacking from different directions. This increases the bonus on the feint attempt to a +10. Sightless targets, as well as those under the effect of a true seeing spell, are not subject to feint attempts made through use of the Scabbard of Echoes.

Construction:
Requirements Craft Wonderous Items, mirror image; Cost 3,000 gp

Edit: Pretty sure I didn't do it in the original. Spell shouldn't have been italicized after true seeing.

About 2 and a half hours now. You could watch an episode of the original trilogy. I find it rather relaxing personally.

I too have work tomorrow when the results are posted. I will have to wait about 7 hours after the post to see what happens. Work will seem to take much longer than usual I imagine. Still, best of luck to everyone. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

So I don't overwhelm the thread:

I've already started work on this mess as well, in the hopes that I see my item posted by not me on te 18th. And a few issues have hit already:

The already archetyped classes feel like well explored territory. Not that the only option for a Rogue archetype is to trade out either Uncanny doge or trapfinding and its improvement, but the APG gives a pretty formulaic method of doing that. If I follow that model, I've done nothing new and I have to make it really really sexy or it will look like just another hack at the same old stump.

Caster classes don't have a lot to poke at, which means that an unfortunately high amount of work there is going to play out like open heart surgery. Daunting and intimidating to say the absolute least.

So in the end its a question of how big a bite am I or anyone else willing to take? I have a few really wicked good concepts for the 'harder' classes, but the execution is not easy, and I've already tossed a couple aside due to the breadth of change and the complexity of writing such changes.

So what do you think the masses want is the real question. Do they want a sleek, tight, but by the book barbarian archetype, or are they willing to take the leap and sign on for a caster archetype that turns our expectations on end? Its a little intimidating, figuring out whether a safe design is actually a safe bet or not... I need to wander back to my pages of maddened scribbles now and rethink it all (again).

I've been thinking about what archetype I'll go with since before I even submitted my magic item. The one thing that struck me was exactly the type of worries you've posted which brings me to one conclusion. The designers must often feel the same way.

I think I may like a bit of expansion on the equipment tricks presented in Adventurer's Armory. What was there was interesting but I'm enthused to see more, hopefully with a bent toward different types of equipment (though scabbard tricks fascinated me quite a bit). Admittedly, either of the examples presented would be pretty cool, but I would like to see this interesting idea get a bit of extra meat to it.

I submitted too - didn't stress over it too much; got cranky with going over it over and over and over I simply junked the whole thing - then rebuilt it in 15 minutes and hit submit.

Some days you just have to let go :p

A good lesson, and one I finally learned. I wanted to participate last year but didn't because I didn't think I would be able to design a good enough item. This was a mistake. My submission is in and if nothing else, I'm just glad to have the courage to hit submit. Still, one has to get over others reading their work if one wants to be paid to write. Good luck to you all. You have my deepest respect just for entering.

Indeed, we have all won by virtue of people submitting to the competition. I can only hope the game continues to usher in such a wave of creativity amongst us all. By competitions such as this, we help pull through on the promise of years of entertaining gaming to come so be sure to assist in this noble endeavor.

Why not an Eldritch Knight? Admittedly, it is far from an optimized build but I don't think it's useless. The wizard levels in this case won't benefit from the paladin smite and divine grace abilities as much as a sorcerer would. Despite this, you'd basically have a slightly underpowered EK who should have gotten a bonus feat. The smite ability can still help on ray attacks and you can still get weapon specialization at the same time you normally would. It just depends on how much paladin or wizard the character wishes to take. If the latter is primary, then I don't really see a problem. If it's the former, you run into more issues.

Aretas wrote:

KaeYoss wrote:

Doesn't have to be cheating - he might have had the wrong critter!

The elementals have three versions that are each huge: huge elementals, greater elementals and elder elementals. He might have looked at the wrong stat block, seen "Huge outsider" and thought that this was his ticket.

I'm confused, he's 11th level so he can summon a Large elemental or huge? Also, its a full round to cast it. Does it come into play at the end of the round? Or at the beginning of his next turn? My PC brought it in as a standard action and put that bad boy into play right away on his turn (My mistake)

There are ways to summon as a standard action, but they require 3.5 books.

It takes 1 round to summon. That means the monster appears and attacks at the beginning of the next round.
If he took augment summon the monster could be quite strong, but it still would not be broken. You may need to check with your player to see exactly what happened.

You are correct in that the monster takes a full round to summon but the text of the Summon Monster spell (or Nature's Ally) states "The summoned ally appears where you designate and acts immediately, on your turn." The summoner effectively "gives up" their turn to summon a monster and have it fight for them. They then can act normally on subsequent turns whilst the monster continues pummeling foes to pieces.

In response to the OP, he can summon a huge elemental but there are three types of huge elemental. Huge is the first and weakest type while greater and elder are both still Huge size and considerably stronger. If you check here you can see that the huge elemental is the third from the bottom. There are two stronger versions that are the same size and this is likely where the confusion stems from. The Huge elemental is considerably weaker than the elder entry which might account for the lack of balance you are experiencing. In effect, KaeYoss has the right of it.

I recently finished a high level game with a Conjuration specialist wizard myself. It took some getting used to but I never noticed summoning being overpowered so long as some care was taken whilst doing so. I hope this helps solve the problem you encountered.

Probably my best memory was running Expedition to Undermountain for a relatively inexperienced group. Early on, the party manages to capture one of the goblins on the first level to question. Though they get no particularly useful information out of him, they decided to keep him so they can turn him in at the prison once they get back to town.

Later, the party encounters a bridge leading across a relatively deep (40-50 ft) chasm and the rogue decides to scout ahead. He rolls poorly on his stealth and attracts the attention of some monsters waiting above the bridge. This results in said rogue getting flanked on a bridge as the other party members move out to assist him.

The party's dwarven barbarian gets low initiative so the path to fight the monsters in melee is blocked by the time it gets to her turn. Her first instinct, throw the goblin at the monsters so they will eat him first. She then flings the goblin with all her might and gets a 1 on the attack roll resulting in tossing the goblin approximately 5 feet and into the chasm.

Thank you very much for your words. It was very encouraging to hear.

First of all, thank you for taking the time to appropriate feedback to us all. It's greatly appreciated.

Secondly, I know you guys got many more entrants than expected but I was wondering if there was any feedback for "All Promises Kept"?

Thank you in advance.

Question about the Key-Lock Killer

** spoiler omitted **

I actually did use him as a plot device in a character's back-story after the EoA.

As a common paladin player myself, detect evil can be a tricky ability to get used to. It first of all has a range of 60 ft. It does not matter if there is evil further away, you detect nothing if the evil is outside of this range. If Rovagug himself were 65 ft away from you, the spell would have no effect. (barring any strangeness like a projection of evil or something). This also applies for anything on the outside of the cone. If an evil creature were directly to your left and you detected evil in front of yourself, you wouldn't see the aura of the creature to your left.

To my knowledge, stealth does not have much of an effect on the aura but if you can only see the aura, the creature is still invisible as far as miss chance and effects that target creatures. You wouldn't be able to smite or cast a targeted spell, but you could at least attack the square and possibly hit them. Aura detection and physically seeing the creature are two different things. You can know where the aura is and still fail your perception check (though I usually allow a bonus to perception if you detect such an aura that's a house rule). This also applies to creatures that are actually invisible as per the spell. You can know what square(s) they occupy, but not actually see them.

You generally do need to continue to announce you are detecting evil as the spell is a concentration effect. As such, you need to spend a standard action each round as per pg. 183 in the core rules. Outside of combat this has little effect save that you can't walk as quickly (no running or double moving) or cast a spell or something while using detect evil. In combat, unless you are targeting a specific creature which paladins (and paladins only) can do as a move action, detect evil takes at least two rounds to detect the strongest evil, and three before you detect all evil auras.

I hope that clarifies detect evils abilities and limitations somewhat. I'm a bit long-winded but I hope it proved at least somewhat informative.