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The maps in Paizo adventures are not really compressed or shrunk.

Well, actually, they are. If you extract the images from the PDFs (I'm pretty sure they were JPEG - its been a while), you'll notice that the size is less than the size a raw bitmap image would be at that resolution and bit depth. That is the point of compressing them. The distortion in the extracted images blown to scale is the result of the compression.

I am not an expert in publishing or cartography, which maybe you are. But I am a principal engineer at a compression software company.

How they appear in the books is the size that the cartographer created them (and how Paizo commissioned them). In other words, what appears in print is about the highest resolution that the maps exist in.

I am pretty sure that Jared Blando is not creating these maps in a native-JPEG editor at the small size they appear in the module. I doubt any artist would. In many earlier modules, I have extracted and printed them at scale and they are still distorted, but look much better and are totally useable with miniatures. The images in this module are compressed to a higher degree for some reason, and this makes them look worse at scale - to the point where they aren't really worth printing.

Also, I seriously doubt Blando's contract with Paizo says "make us maps that look great small but crappy at scale". If you want to see what his maps really look like, go here, where he sells full-size versions of the maps he makes for another publisher (which Paizo should either let him do or do themselves by the way): The Red Epic

Thanks for submitting your speculation as if you really know what you're talking about, though. I always appreciate when people reply to my posts.

Will Paizo ever be publishing high resolution (suitable for printing at scale) maps for it's modules? I really want to run The Dragon's Demand for my group, but I always print the maps, and the maps for this one are so compressed in the PDF that they really suck when blown up to scale.

I'd be willing to pay extra for this. Jared Blando is doing for your competitor exactly what I'd like to see Paizo do. For example:

http://theredepic.bigcartel.com/category/hoard-of-the-dragon-queen-digital- downloads

I usually print out the maps, tiled on large paper and tape them together. The maps in this module are compressed way too much. Blown up to full scale, or even 10' per inch for the bigger ones, like the monastery, they look pretty crapy. Very disappointing. Why don't you guys make high resolution maps downloadable for purchasers of the product? The embedded maps in this one kind of suck.

Whats the point of all these beautiful maps if only the DM ever sees them?

The core game mechanics, in their entirety, are a stinking, disorganized pile of legacy complexity and painful-to-resolve-at-the-game-table confusion. They should be completely re-factored and streamlined from the ground up. Then, all the rich character creation content that we all love could be rebuilt back onto a cleaner and more coherent foundation.

Or we could just keep piling new stuff into the current mess and I'll love it just the same.

What do the back of the cards look like? Does it say "Dragon's Demand" on there anywhere, or have a dragon picture or anything like that?

The third volume of Reign of Winter heavily features centaurs

Thanks. That's the kind of stuff I'm looking for.

I'm looking for some centaurs to drop into a Fangwood Keep centered campaign. I'm hoping to find a tribe detailed in an adventure path or module somewhere that I can modify and drop into this. I know of the Nomen centaurs in Kingmaker, but those aren't fleshed out much. Anybody know of any others I might look at? I don't care what level they are - I'll adjust as required.

Bestiary question:

So.... if Savith beheaded Ydersius at the lake of fire (B5), why is all this cool stuff still here (for example the epic library not far away at B14)?

Wouldn't the Azlanti have hauled all this stuff away? Or did they decide "ah well, since we gave them such a bad day already, we'll just leave them this awesome sanctum full of priceless knowledge". Did I miss something about the Azlanti withdrawing after Ydersius's defeat?

Seems like this would have been a fine place to loot.

Sadly you have to expend rounds on a 1-1 basis for these things, but keep in mind by the time you CAN use it you have it for almost a full minutes worth of time a day already, so it's not so bad.

Thanks for replying to my post.

So you're saying it dissipates when the summoner stops expending his rounds-per-day to maintain it, right?

So I was wondering if there are any rules regarding how a mount must move during combat.

Since you said Cavalier... a couple other notes:

You need to keep your eye on the Cavalier. He gets huge bonuses on charges and so will want to charge all the time. The reason he gets those big bonuses is because it is supposed to be difficult to set up a charge. Make sure you know at least the following:

from Charge:

* Movement During a Charge: You must move at least 10 feet (2 squares) and may move up to double your speed directly toward the designated opponent.

* You must have a clear path toward the opponent, and nothing can hinder your movement (such as difficult terrain or obstacles).

* You must move to the closest space from which you can attack the opponent. If this space is occupied or otherwise blocked, you can't charge.

* If any line from your starting space to the ending space passes through a square that blocks movement, slows movement, or contains a creature (even an ally), you can't charge.

* If you don't have line of sight to the opponent at the start of your turn, you can't charge that opponent.

* If you are able to take only a standard action on your turn, you can still charge, but you are only allowed to move up to your speed (instead of up to double your speed) and you cannot draw a weapon unless you possess the Quick Draw feat. You can't use this option unless you are restricted to taking only a standard action on your turn.

from Mounted Combat:

* If your mount moves more than 5 feet, you can only make a single melee attack (so your mount can't single or double move, then you full round attack)

My question is whether or not the dinosaur has to take time to turn around once he has ended around. Can he just do an instant 180 turn like a normal character or are there rules that govern movement kind of like when a character.

Facing doesn't matter when you are on the ground. There are no rules governing facing, so whether he could turn around or not is not relevant.

As you noted, facing does matter when you are flying, but only during your move, not before or after.

Cleric Cloud subdomain:

Thundercloud (Su): At 8th level, you can, as a standard action, summon a storm cloud. This power functions as fog cloud except that creatures inside the cloud are deafened and take 2d6 points of electricity damage each round from the flashes of thunder and lightning. Once created, you can concentrate on the cloud to move it up to 30 feet each round. You can use this ability for a number of rounds per day equal to your cleric level. These rounds do not need to be consecutive.

At my table, there are two competing interpretations of this:

1) The storm cloud lasts only as long as you are willing expend your "number of rounds per day equal to your cleric level", and immediately dissipates when you don't wish to expend any more of those rounds. With your remaining rounds, you can summon and move a new cloud just the same.

2) Once you summon a cloud (using one round of your ability), the cloud stays and dissipates according to the fog cloud rules. No further rounds of your ability are expended unless you choose to spend one to move the cloud, as stated in the rules.

It seems to me that both of these interpretations are compatible with the "These rounds do not need to be consecutive" clause. The real question is: what is the duration of the fog cloud?

Thanks for posting your group's experience with this module. It's very helpful to someone preparing to run this unique adventure.

I was wondering if you might also comment on how the defense/supply/discovery camp mechanic has played with your group, and if you would recommend using it as is. The discovery part seems a bit weak to me, and I am not sure how that will fit into my group's style of play.

I should have posted this here:

Question about Issilar:

I have a couple questions about Issilar's stat block.

I can't figure out how the First Mate, in the Game Mastery Guide, p295, gets 4 attacks when wielding 2 short swords.

Melee +1 short sword +15/+10 (1d6+6/17–20) or
+1 short sword +13/+8 (1d6+6/17–20), +1 short sword +13/+8
(1d6+5/17–20) or
+1 short sword +13/+8 (1d6+6/17–20), mwk whip +11 (1d3+1
nonlethal)

I get the 2nd attack on the offhand from Improved two-weapon fighting, but what about the main hand? What am I missing?

I do have to say I made a mistake. The Wolf mount is an option that does get to size large for small cavaliers (I remember reading somewhere that they had to take the other option but I can't find it and it may have been a drunken hallucination).
Other than that none of them get large.

Shame really, I *LIKE* the cavalier class, it may not be the most optimiz-able class but the flavor really appeals to me.
I was extremely upset the Hound Master didn't make it into Ultimate combat (I feel a mount-less option would really make the class my go to choice).

So under Beast Rider it says: "The animal chosen as a mount must be large enough to carry the beast rider (medium or large for a small character; large or huge for a medium character)." And, like you said, it says a small cavalier can take a wolf, which is similar to a riding dog.

The beast rider does make a sacrifice, however, in that he is not proficient with heavy armor like the regular cavalier.

They other confusing thing is that they then go to great lengths to limit the medium cavalier's mount, even if it is a normally huge creature, to large size. I think this section all poorly written actually, since they just said huge is ok in the previous paragraph.

Anyway, at this point, I think the real question has become, is there a good gameplay reason not to advance the riding dog to large at 7th level?

Well first Riding Dogs are listed as valid mounts for cavaliers (The beast rider archetype adds them as valid choices).

As for that ruling remember the list of allowable mounts is not a suggestion, they are an inclusive list and the only way to get another option is through a house ruling by your GM.
Now with that said if you look over the list of allowable mounts for small cavaliers NONE of them (including the new ones from Bestiary 2 and Ultimate Combat) are greater then size medium and those that have advancement statistics none will advance past medium.
Add to that the ruling under Beast Rider that specifically states only Medium sized Cavaliers can select a mount who's normal size is large or huge (but limited to medium by the animal companion rules {like the Bear}) can at 7th level increase them from medium to large.

They've been very careful to restrict the mount options for small cavaliers as tightly as possible and I can't see a RAW legal way for a small sized cavalier to choose a large sized mount.

Interesting. I will take a look at UC tonight. If that is the case, maybe it would be more appropriate to advance the Riding Dog at 4th level along the lines of the pony or camel, with no size increase, like:

4th-Level Advancement: Ability Scores Str +2, Con +2.

Thanks for your advice!

Actually looking through the APG and the new information in the Ultimate combat it appears that small sized cavaliers cannot get large sized mounts no matter what they do. That appears to be an option limited to medium sized Cavaliers.

Thanks again for replying.

Does it say that specifically somewhere, or are you inferring it from the mounts that are listed?

Actually no, the riding dog companion doesn't advance at 7th level. There is no 7th level advancement listed for dog's under the Druid animal companion so there is no legal 7th level advancement.

There is no "riding dog animal companion" ever mentioned in those rules. Apparently it is worth stating this a third time: Dog is not the same as Riding Dog. The Dog animal companion rules do not apply.

Here is what does apply: The Cavalier class says: "The GM might approve other animals as suitable mounts."

Riding dog seems a pretty suitable mount. So if a GM approves it, he has to come up with advancement rules for it. The Druid animal companion section says: "As you gain levels, your animal companion improves as well, usually at 4th or 7th level"

The medium to large transitions of the other mounts happen at 7th, so it makes sense to level the Riding Dog at 7th level.

Thanks for replying.

The Small cavalier's 4th-level mount is equivalent to the Bestiary riding dog.

Umm, no. Its not. Add the 4th level Dog advancement in the Druid animal companion rules to the starting Dog stats in the same section, and what you get is not equivalent to the Riding Dog. Furthermore, neither the Druid animal companion section, nor the Cavalier base class mention anything about Riding Dog.

Perhaps its worth pointing out again that Dog and Riding Dog are two different creatures.

Before 4th level, the riding dog is too young to ride, or the cavalier isn't experienced enough tc control a companion-quality riding dog, whichever you prefer.

Now you are just making stuff up. The reason a Cavalier can't choose a Dog (Dog, not Riding Dog) or Boar until 4th level is because they are size small until 4th level.

Anyway, the question is already answered: Use the Universal Monster Rules to advance the Riding Dog to size Large at 7th level.

Thanks again for replying.

Have to be 4th to even take dog. before that its pony or wolf for small cavs.

A Small cavalier can select a pony or wolf, but can also select a boar or a dog if he is at least 4th level

That is true, but this is only because of size. Until 4th level, a dog is small, so a small creature couldn't ride it.

But it doesn't really matter, because dog and riding dog aren't the same. Riding dog isn't covered in the rules.

A medium to large advancement at 7th level, like the wolf, which is exactly the medium to large monster advancement rule, is the way to go.

Cheers.

They use the standard dog rules for having a dog mount.

Thanks for replying, but that doesn't really work. The dog is small, while the riding dog is medium. The advancement rules for small to medium are quite different than medium to large.

Dog 4th-Level Advancement: Size Medium; Attack bite (1d6); Ability Scores Str +4, Dex –2, Con +2.

The riding dog already is that size and has that attack.

After looking a bit more, I think I will just use the wolf companion 7th level advancement as is, as they are straightforward, and these two animals are somewhat alike:

Wolf 7th-Level Advancement: Size Large; AC +2 natural armor; Attack bite (1d8); Ability Scores Str +8, Dex –2, Con +4.

I have a halfling cavalier with a riding dog mount in my campaign. I am wondering, are there some animal companion stats for riding dogs somewhere? Like 4th/7th level advancement bonuses? I can't find them.

It seems odd to me that I can find companion stats for something so unlikely as elasmosaurus, but not so bloody obvious as a riding dog.

Crystal ooze on a successful hit, causes 1d6+1, plus 1d6 acid, plus grab, plus toxin for Fort save DC20 or become paralyzed for 3d6 rounds? That seems pretty harsh for CR4. Plus its immune to lots of stuff. What am I missing? I'm afraid it's going to kill my four 5th level players.

"When the savage lord of Ustalav’s werewolves is mysteriously murdered"

That first sentence needs some minor attention.

Now that I've complained about the image resolution being too high, let me complain about it being too low :)

The maps in the adventure paths are beautiful. I love to extract the images and print them out full size for the table. Theycome out a bit blocky, but generally look good enough, except for the full pagers, which are too low a resolution to enlarge to 1"x1" size without looking pretty shabby. This is a shame because they are such awesome maps, I want to share them with my players.

I wish there were some way you could make higher resolution map images available to subscribers.

Thanks for all the great content.

There is a complete, very high-resolution (6300x7874) map of Golarian embedded in this document (Its the route to Taizon map, which shows just part of it). Oops!

No wonder these PDFs can be so slow to open, especially on iPad.

I apologize if this question has already been answered.

Will the printed maps have the location numbers?

you make a reflex save."This save DC is Constitution-based." means that the lizards constitution modifier is what determines the dc for the save. (10+1/2 hd +ability modifier) so if someone cast bull strength on a friendly shocker lizard the dc would be 14

Ahh, right. The DC. Thanks!

The shocker lizard's Shock (Su) text says:

"Shocker lizards can deliver an electrical shock to a single opponent within 5 feet. This attack deals 1d8 points of nonlethal electricity damage to living opponents (Reflex DC 12 half). This save DC is Constitution-based."

So is it a Reflex save or a Con save? This looks like an error to me, but maybe someone can point out something I've missed.

Not sure if anyone has commented on this yet. Since updating my iPad to iOS 4.2 a few days ago, I no longer have this issue:

http://paizo.com/paizo/faq#v5748eaic9na5

Has anyone noticed that the PDFs don't display correctly on iPad? The capital A used in the headings doesn't show and the other letters are mispositioned around its spot. Tried with GoodReader and iBooks. Also tried on MacBook pro and had the same problem. Looks fine on my windows readers.

I am seeing this issue with all of the PDFs I have purchased from Paizo.

Any ideas?