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Okay so we all agree it's Peak, right? Like the ending is hitting all the same energy as the ending of Gurren Lagann and FF14 Endwalker in All The Best Ways
Am I crazy, or is there not a link to a PDF document with the classes in it like previous playtests?
I recognize that hairline.....
What does this mean for PF2 content that hasn't been updated to Remaster? Namely anything from Secrets of Magic, Guns and Gears, and Dark Archive? are the classes and other rules content from those still okay to be used in PI products?
Oh man, are we going to end up going head-to-head with someone who's secretly an enemy spy, only to end up with a knife-point confession of love later that night? But seriously, this looks super fun.
That said, was hoping that since Androids are being actually created in Starfinder timeline, was hoping to see an option for them to emulate non-human Ancestries, especially non-Medium ones.I want to tackle this comment, because it has come up a few times. The team is VERY excited at the possibility of doing more with the "android chasis" but also don't want to complicate the Core Rulebook design too much. That being said, there's been a fair amount of hype for us exploring "Xenometric Android" as a potential versatile heritage in some future products. :) That's entirely fair, and glad to hear it's at least being considered! My mind initially just went to a Heritage that grants Adoptive Ancestry, but an Aiudaran/Dromaar-style Versatile Heritage makes way more sense.
Android and Vesk, both looking pretty good. Even having all the PF Heritages for Android as one is a nice touch. Vesks I've no complaints. Looks great. That said, was hoping that since Androids are being actually created in Starfinder timeline, was hoping to see an option for them to emulate non-human Ancestries, especially non-Medium ones.
Gonna be doing my best Fire Bomber impression with a future Rhythm Connection Mystic, because I can't wait to make the universe Listen To My Song!!!!
My current thoughts are to be a Tanuki Gunslinger once Tian Xia Character Guide drops my furry bois. Just a big racoon-dog boi with a big ol' cannon. Another alternative is an Inventor or even a Wood/Metal Kineticist that's all about making Karakuri constructs to help out around town.
As a machinist/mechanic, I absolutely love Ten. Somebody's gotta keep that airship afloat, might as well be the Funky Bug Boi.
I just did a skim-through of the AP to see the number of fiends for my own players, and it definitely is surprisingly few for how much I'm used to seeing them as enemies in APs. I don't think I saw a single Demon, and only a scant few other fiends. But you could probably swap a few in in place of some of the Undead encounters in Book 3 at the least.
Will they dual-wield Scimitars? /jk In all seriousness, thinking something similar. Got an idea for a Cavern Elf Witch using the Chaos Patron from Witches+, slowly learning to come out of the demonic worship in which they were raised.
The dawning realization behind the Grand Sycamore Ballroom and what it was referencing... I may not be able to attend PaizoCon in-person, but now my players' PCs can!!
There are the three Aquatic Sinspawn in Area C24. So I'd say that those would also satisfy the quest requirement.
Yeah, I added my own NPC teacher that's focused on medical treatment and is one of the primary on-site doctors, as a member of the Emerald Boughs. And with how many Prepared Primal Casters are among the Magaambya staff, it's fairly easy to assume there are a few able to prepare Remove Disease. I also ruled Izem Mezitani as an Angelic Sorcerer given his Aasimar Heritage, which would also give some Divine Access.
I'll echo Strength of Thousands as well, for the reasons listed above. I will of course also step up to the plate for Outlaws of Alkenstar. The first Book has been Very Solid in terms of both it's story AND it's encounter balance. It starts out as an Revenge Story that eventually evolves into something more, and isn't afraid to play with all the tools the game has to offer (Chases, Victory Points, all that fun stuff). My group's been having a blast so far, and it very much feels like while SoT gets away from the faux-Euro in terms of it's cultural touchstones, OoA gets away from your standard fantasy and fully embraces the craziness of it's Steampunk roots.
If they went back and did one of these for Strength of Thousands that expanded on the Fellow Students/Teachers, I'd buy it in a Heartbeat.
And so my watch begins.
With Book 5's release, and it opening with quote "One Final Semester" of Teaching, it operates under the assumption that a single academic semester is a three-month long period. So having the first year be 4 semesters worth of class time definitely works out. I'm planning on doing it that way myself, so that, when the year comes back around and we get to the Attendant Ceremony in Book 1, the players will have had enough opportunities to bank Rank 3 in their primary branch, as well as Rank 1 in their secondary, assuming they get 4 successes.
Just got my PDF today and did a full readthrough rather than just my usual initial skim, and HOLY CRAP this Book may be my favorite one yet. This thing's got all sorts of awesome stuff the party can get up to on Akiton, and has just enough of that Magitek mix that I can't wait to eventually get to in my own game of this. One thing I really enjoyed was the "One Last Semester" at the beginning where the party can get in one last hoorah of Academic Life before setting of for the Doorway. Between some fine interactions with several of your fellow teachers that you got to know more in Book 4, to some of the subtle ways it prepares the PCs for situations they'll encounter once they actually get to Akiton, and of course I have to love the lovely little cameo from everyone's favorite former Runelord. It's all just the right mix of fun social stuff I've loved from the AP so far, and then goes into the Crazy Awesomeness that I really haven't felt from a Book 5 since Rasputin Must Die! (Also, I LIVE for every time there's been a Title Drop in the AP, and good ol' King Bitey-Bois' one was a Treat)
*Rapidly vibrating with excitement*
This is all really good information! Glad someone else wrote something like this up, as I've been somewhat dreading doing it myself. My only hard-set plans had been to add in a few of my own Magaambya-attached characters from 1st Edition as teachers, so very happy to see something like this.
And THAT is getting tucked away for possible use in my Mwangi Expanse campaign. Excellently written, and now I totally want to see more of this. Meaning I'm likely to try and do something with it myself.
I just checked, and I could have sworn she was a Musket Master Gunslinger, but I guess I presumed wrong. Honestly, with how awesome the idea of a Vrock Gunslinger is, I'd say just rebuild her as a Musket Master Gunslinger so that she can treat two-handed firearms as one-handed for the purposes of reloading. Or, if you'd rather avoid the work, you can always treat her as if she could do that and just full-attack with the listed attack modifiers. The PCs are 20th level, they should be able to handle it.
I know I've been riding a melatonin high since I got the news that I made it. Congrats to everyone else for making it in. Can't wait to see the finished product.
Can confirm, am also checking. I'm also using the rules I submitted for another project, so I can't post the part that uses them until I find out whether or not they're gonna be included in the Zine or not.
While I haven't quite figured out all of them, the ones I do know for sure I'm using for certain boss fights in my Return game are going to be: Zutha: Decisive Battle With Magus - Chrono Trigger
Alaznist is a bit more interesting, with her being the final battle. That said, my current plan for that fight is to use "In The Final" from Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. But I'm sure there's a better fit for her personal theme.
Yeah, Shrink definitely would benefit from a Duration Heighten. As someone who loves spells that significantly alter one's size, the ability to keep a literal pocket-healer would be so much more of a great option if this spell lasted more than 5 minutes. Especially with the Shrinking Potion (Greater) specifically calling out a higher-level Shrink spell while having an hour duration. I personally present the Following Heighten effect for Shrink: Heightened (4th) The spell's Duration becomes 1 hour.
Paizo Blog: Battle of the Pantheons: Pathfinder Society contest hosted by the Know Direction Network
So excited for this!!! But I'm not seeing a link to the submission form.
When I ran it, I heavily used the soundtrack from Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles. It's got a very fantastical feel to it, and really emphasizes the whole "travelling caravan" feel of Jade.
Well, considering that the adventure that canonizes her survival, the amazingly-named, Sheer AWESOMENESS-INCARNATE premise that is Rasputin Must Die!, has the PCs fighting Rasputin of all things, it actually gives a very good reasoning for why it's the actual Grand Duchess. So, while I can understand if you personally aren't a fan of it, it still makes 100% sense in-universe for why she has become the new Queen of Irrisen.
Okay, I can definitely agree that there isnt all that much info concerning the more subtle route, but I did manage to find a way to get around it. The pieces are there for you to work with, but it's definitely a big case of "see what the PCs do and act accordingly". The way I see it, is that Corstela is prideful, but willing to accept those who bring information. It says in the descriptions for a few of the manor rooms how things play out if the PCs ask for an audience for Corstela. Given a peaceful front, the PCs should be able to at least accomplish this, and from there they may be able to infiltrate the Order as potentially interested members. Play Corstela up as pridefully arrogant, but still as someone who desires to learn as much as she can. How far this goes though, is entirely up to you and your players. If they do decide to murderhobo it up, note that in the initiate's statblocks, their tactics state that they won't fight unless they have one of the monks with them, and even then are very likely to surrender without aid. Assuming your PCs aren't horrible folks, very few initiates should die when they decide to storm the manor. Like I said, the pieces are there for you to work with, but it really comes down to seeing what your players do.
It actually states in the gauntlet's description that as soon as you put them on you immediately become aware of their abilities. That's how my PCs figured it out.
Tell ya what, I'll just go ahead and spell it out. Return assumes that the prior PCs are not currently in the picture as of the start of this adventure. For those that would get involved, it is spelled out properly in Books 2 and 5 of Return where exactly their adventure takes them should they choose to get involved with the plot. Now, if you want to use your Rise PCs, it is certainly possible to elaborate on this adventure that they have, but Return is just as much the story of new heroes going above and beyond those that came before then. Honestly, if you truly have your heart set on using your Rise PCs for this AP, I'll strongly suggest reading all six books beforehand, see what plot points are still usable, and then build the story from the ground up in order to create a story that naturally flows beyond Rise. I'm currently in the middle of running Return, and I'm rewriting and expanding upon a good chunk of the AP, with Books 4, 5, and 6 all being heavily modified to allow for a truly epic conclusion.
I'll echo what mister Wot said, this AP is the third in a trilogy, and expects a lot of events to have previously occurred. 12 years passing, Year of the Risen Rune, Shattered Star, and even one of the Novels having to have happened. And the bit about writing a whole new AP certainly follows if you plan on using the same PCs from Rise. That said, it would work surprisingly well for the "Next-Generation" idea you had, with the PCs being the descendants of your Rise PCs going off on their own to be their own heroes. Would even work with future events involving the Sihedron Heroes, which could easily be your actual Rise PCs.
Those are delightfully wacky. That's pretty much the exact best way to put it.
If we're talking favorite kobold designs, I'm definitely partial to the one's by Chris Zito. Long-eared lizard dogs are just so damn adorable. Here's a few examples:
It's just one of the major designs for these little boyos that I've latched onto and associate with them. That said, I really like the new designs for 2nd Ed, and cant wait to get the full page art for them.
Also, just realized why Corstela only has +4/+4 to hit with Baraket. She not proficient with Rapiers. That's why she takes a -4 to hit it.
So normally I am a pretty by the book guy, assume if something seems off to me the devs know what they're doing better than I do. But I have my group about to enter the goblin section of the armory and I gotta say, it seems really unfair. Level 3s already worn down by the whole roadkeeper gang suddenly finding a bunch of minions, 2 CR 4 blasters and a CR 5 witch? Who all have no reason to not instantly help each other the second the cleric casts fireball on an unsuspecting party. Am I missing something here? Are they never all there at the same time or is the level up to 4 meant to come before here or what? My experience with this was certainly interesting. While my players were certainly a bit more powerful than most (rolled for stats), as well as having 3 full martial frontliners, the party had two things going for them. 1) They rested before hopping in the teleportation circle. They were severely down, figured it out, and then did the smart thing of making sure to rest, while they were still down. Also, they were still Level 3 at the time. 2) The goblins aren't expecting the PCs to show up. Hell, the cleric is in his room munching and lazing, and the mooks are all in the tunnels. With the Witch around the corner guarding the dwarves, with her actual tactics-as-written being to make sure to guard the prisoners until either the PCs are dealt with or they engage with her. The only one who should see the PCs as they enter is the goblin snake, and they're more likely to sneak around and watch what they do before attacking immediately. Using this, the fight against the goblins should be one long encounter, with the various mooks and casters entering the fray at staggered entry times, giving the PCs to generally deal with each threat with not too much overlap. That said, it's still a rough encounter. The pally in my group got dropped by a scorching ray from the goblin snake and stabilized at 1 above negative CON. And hey, the PCs can always escape back into the teleport circle, which is likely to get the goblins to leave them be while they recuperate.
I love the idea of goblins using alternative learning methods to be able to use things like alchemy and magic without using written formulae. I think it's really clever, and I love seeing stuff like this. Give me more of this, please.
And while this may certainly be the way it goes, I think there is still a flaw in your logic. And that lies within the fact that you are assuming that Sarenre is gonna make one of her most powerful worshippers fall purely because he didn't immediately attempt to slay a demon lord upon first meeting them. It' just ends up being another case of Paladin Codes being interpreted as hard and fast rules with no allowance of deviation based on extraneous circumstances, like meeting with a Demon Lord, who you know you are trying to seek help from. Either way, you should be getting an item before then that legitimately only exists to allow you to be a bit more flexible, instead of making sure to kill every damn demon you meet along the streets.
While that is certainly an interpretation, that relies on the notion that demons are impossible to be redeemed. And yet, with Arushalae, your character has already seen evidence leading to the contrary. The notion that a demon lord is impossible to be redeemed is one purely based off a status quo of "well, no one's really tried". sort of deal, and is shaky methodology at best. As for the whole, 'attack her or fall', I'd say wait and see, as you should be getting a few nudges in the right direction that will help you see that just going all smite all the time in the Abyss is likely to get you killed. That and the fact that leaning that hard into such a literal interpretation of a Paladin's code to begin with doesn't really mesh well with Sarenrae's edicts either. Regardless, my best advice is to keep an open mind, and try to keep such player-oriented thought-processes as purely that of the player. After all, a lot of worshipers of Sarenrae were themselves redeemed. Praise be to Our Lady In Shadow!
I've actually been thinking about something along these lines myself. Basically, they would act as each of the corresponding "Big 6" items, but instead they would be based off the caster level of the item in that slot. Thus it still incentivises having an item in that slot, but leaves room for the items themselves to be cool/unique, instead of just (insert stat-booster here).
WHY JAMES!!!!! WHY MUST YOU FORSAKE US SOOOOOoooooooo....... Regardless, I am glad to hear that we are getting Official Boons printed for her at some point.
I'll say, I've been working on a few ways to add more to Shattered Star, and one thing I've seen/considered is adding elements from PFS Season 4: Year of the Risen Rune in order to add more chances for RP, as well as add a concurrent enemy for the players to face throughout the whole story. And hey, it will also add more to chances to foreshadow the final boss too.
Has anyone put forth the possibility of the "Nocticula's Redmption/Ascension" plotline? That's been teased for a while, and would certainly be one hell of a bang to end off 1st Edition with. |
