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One of my long-running fantasies is to run a sandbox campaign set in Ustalav, and for this purpose I am trying to collect all the source material I can find. I think I have all relevant sourcebooks and adventure paths. But I haven't really looked at one-shot modules and scenarios, and I am curious which of these are set in the Immortal Principality. Can anyone help me out?
I am curious: What products have been either released or announced for Pathfinder 2E Remastered which use the ORC license?
By this point, there is an awful lot of material published for both Pathfinder and Starfinder. However, all of it is published under the OGL - which Paizo is unlikely to use once the ORC license is finalized. Which leaves the question how, when, and if older rules material will be made available under the ORC license so that others can use it. I mean, I think it's a given that the Pathfinder 2E and the Starfinder rules will be released under the ORC license pretty quickly. But what about rules supplements? Or adventure paths and scenarios? Not all of these might be worth the effort of rereleasing them under the new license. And Pathfinder 1E material probably won't be rereleased under the ORC license at all, since that would require significant editing work - unless it's done as an update to the Pathfinder 2E rules via a crowdfunding campaign (as it has happened with the Kingmaker campaign, for instance).
I have one big wish: Would it be possible in the future to add the actual name of the product to the PDFs you provide as digital downloads? As an example, I've bought the recent Humble Bundle that included the Abomination Vault Adventure Path. The single-file downloads are provided as ZIP files with names like: PathfinderAdventurePath164HandsOfTheDevilAbominationVaults2Of3PDF-SingleFil e.zip So far, so good. However, when I unpack this, I get the following file names: PZO90154E.pdf
These are presumably the product codes, and I do not object to having the product codes as part of the file names. However, it would really help me if these file names also included the actual names of the product. When I buy PDF products, I rename them into something I can recognize, such as: Abomination Vaults 2 - Hands of the Devil.pdf
But, since these are not part of the file name, I have to manually type them. And what's worse, I can't unpack all my purchases into the same directory - I need to unzip each of the purchases into separate directory so that I know from the directory path which PDF represents which module! This is a major hassle each and every time I buy PDFs from Paizo, and I'd appreciate it if the actual module names were included in the PDF file names at some point in the future.
I'm about to start playing in the Giantslayer campaign, and I will play a Skald (Spell Warrior) from the Lands of the Linnorm Kings. He insulted the wrong Linnorm King (three guesses which one), and decided that getting out of the region was preferable to an ignoble end by the king's henchmen. Nevertheless, he is searching for an opportunity to witness event worthy of a new saga - hence his presence in Trunau. As a skald, he should interpret events around him through the lens of Ulfen sagas and folk tales, and constantly make references to these tales. And this is where I could use some ideas and assistance. - Who are the great culture heroes (and villains) of the Ulfen?
The "Lands of the Linnorm Kings" seems to be a bit light on these topics - so feel free to come up with any ideas of your own!
I'm currently trying to create a character for the Giantslayer Adventure Path, and right now I am contemplating a Skald/Spell Warrior. But I am a bit confused how Weapon Song works. "Enhance Weapons (Su) At 1st level, the spell warrior can grant a +1 enhancement bonus to the weapons (including ammunition) of allies within 60 feet. At 5th level and every 5 levels thereafter, this enhancement bonus increases by 1. The maximum bonus gained is based upon the number of weapons affected: +5 to one weapon, +4 to two weapons, +3 to three weapons, or +2 to four or more weapons. Fifty pieces of ammunition count as one weapon for this purpose. The wielder of a weapon enhanced by this raging song counts as if he were under the effect of an inspired rage raging song for all purposes involving the skald’s rage powers. These bonuses can also be used to add any of the following weapon special abilities to the weapons enhanced by this ability: dancing, defending, distance, flaming, frost, ghost touch, keen, mighty cleaving, returning, shock, seeking, or speed. Adding these weapon special abilities consumes an amount of bonus equal to the special ability’s cost (see Table: Melee Weapon Special Abilities). These enhancement bonuses and special abilities overlap with any enhancements or special abilities the weapon already has, though duplicate special abilities do not stack. If an affected weapon is not magical, at least a +1 enhancement bonus must be added before any other special abilities can be. Let's say that, by default, I plan to boost the four party members who fight with weapons. Does this mean that I effectively "top out" at Level 5 unless I decide to enchant fewer weapons? Or is this limitation merely to the direct to hit/damage bonus, and could I shift the "excess" bonuses to weapon special ability (for example, "+2 flaming weapons" at level 10)?
As an offshoot from the discussion whether or not androids are "alive", let's consider who gets to be a "legal person" in the Pact Worlds - someone who is either a citizen or a non-citizen who could become one. And for that, the question whether someone is alive cannot possibly matter - because the bone sages of Eox are very much "people" as far as the Pact Worlds are concerned, yet very much "not alive". My suspicion is that this decision is made by a committee staffed with representatives of the Pact Worlds governments, and they make this decision based on a number of criteria. The first one is that members of the species must be intelligent enough to understand the general laws and customs of the Pact World - they need not be lawyers, but they must be able to figure out what is and what is not appropriate on the member worlds with some coaching. In game terms, this probably means at least an average Intelligence of 7. Furthermore, they must be willing and capable of respecting those customs. Members of the Dominion of the Black, for instance, are certainly intelligent enough - but their intelligence is extremely alien and they show unrelenting hostility to the Pact Worlds. Thus, no citizenship for them. And then there are outsiders and aliens that evolved in extremely alien environment whose society is just not comparable with that of the Pact Worlds and who have just as much difficulty grasping Pact World society as humans have grasping theirs - though considering some of the Pact Worlds species (such as Brethedans), they must be very alien indeed. Beyond that, there are further criteria on whose importance each Committee member will have a different opinion. One of these is whether the species in question has souls - indeed, this is said to be the main reason why Androids are accepted as citizens in their writeup. There are several effects that refer to souls in the Starfinder Core Rules - raise dead, reincarnate, and the Soul Upload Trap. Other effects presumably exist within the setting even if they are not explicitly mentioned - for instance, divination effects that contact souls in the afterlife. If one or more of these effects work on member of the species, then they can be said to fulfill this criterium. However, note that fulfilling this criterium will not impress the representative from Aballon. Another one is whether the species in question has free will - that is to say, are capable of making autonomous decisions for themselves. A slave species (whether biological or machine) cannot be held responsible for its action - but that also means it does not have a choice whether or not it can adhere to Pact World laws and customs. Note that "slave species" has a different meaning from "species that has been enslaved" - individuals of the latter may rebel and flee their masters, while the former is genuinely incapable of doing so. Further criteria depend on the individual Committee members' biases and prejudices - most will generally try to look for things in the alien species that has some resemblance to their own species or culture. Great cultural works, recognizable worship of deities, an aptitude for tinkering... any of these and more can sway the verdict of council members. Conversely, anything that evokes similarities to traditional enemies (the Swarm or the Dominion of the Black, for instance) might sway a Committee member against the species. Once the Committee members have deliberated, they will eventually make their decision and assign the new species a status from the following list: Legal Person: Members of this species will be fully recognized as people and may not be harmed without clear justification, nor may their property be arbitrarily seized. They may apply for citizenship in whatever Pact Worlds entity is willing to take them in (though Pact Worlds members might give citizenship even to members of species that don't fall into this category, this probably won't be recognized by most other jurisdictions). Their governments may establish full diplomatic relationships with the Pact Worlds. Citizens and organizations operating out of Pact Worlds space may not wage campaigns of aggression or even genocide against them. Protected: They aren't fully recognized as legal entities of their own right, but it was a fairly close thing - they impressed several Committee members enough that they are given some weak protections (this will likely require fewer votes than "Legal Person" status - perhaps "Legal Person" requires a majority vote, while "Protected" requires only one-third). Citizens and organizations operating out of Pact Worlds may not kill them for their body parts or make gross alterations to their habitats - in effect, the Pact Worlds governments designate their environment a "nature preserve". In practice, this means little - Pact Worlds citizens may still kill individual members without repercussions back home, and some limited resource extraction remains permissible, with a fair amount of flexibility on what precisely is considered "limited". However, if there is a big enough stink back home there may be legal sanctions. Which can be effectively evaded by just creating a new company that doesn't operate within Pact Worlds space (the Pact Worlds governments have better things to do than trying to patrol worlds outside their system), in which case any repercussions must come from locals - or outside activists (most prominently the Xenowardens). Not protected: The species in question receives no protection at all from the Pact Worlds governments, and may be freely killed or enslaved. Belligerent, redeemable: The species might qualify as "Legal People", but it is currently hostile to the Pact Worlds. However, there is hope that this state of affairs may cease at some point in the future. Obvious military forces may be engaged at will, but attacks and atrocities against recognizable "civilian" populations and installations should be avoided. The military forces of the Pact Worlds governments are held to the highest standards here (though even so, the rules for "collateral damage" remain very generous), while mercenary forces and private adventurers will hardly monitored at all. Still, the (admittedly low) possibility to be charged for "war crimes" remain, especially if they interrupt delicate peace negotiations. The Pact Worlds government might accept individual members of the species as refugees, or even as representatives of a "government in exile" (and smuggling such people out makes for an excellent adventure hook), though such refugees will be watched closely and may face prejudices from the local population. Belligerent, irredeemable: The species is considered hostile and may be engaged at will with any and all means, and erradication would be seen as a positive goal by the Pact Worlds governments - examples include the Dominion of the Black and the Swarm. It would require extraordinary evidence to change this status. So, what does all this mean in practice? Whenever there is a report of a new, apparently intelligent species coming in - whether from the Starfinder Society, colonists, assorted organizations, or individual explorers and adventurers - the employees of the Committee will take note of it and add it to a list of species to investigate for possible legal personhood. This list is very, very long, and getting longer all the time. But there are ways of fast-tracking this process. The simplest way is for a member of the species to show up on Absalom Station and declare: "My species wants to establish diplomatic relations with the Pact Worlds." Even then there will likely a bunch of interviews (possibly involving requests for further information and all sorts of medical and magical examinations) and a waiting period of a few days until the Committee can make its decision. Gee, I hope the alien diplomats have some good local guides and bodyguards (i.e. player characters) who can protect them during this time! It also helps if a Committee member strongly supports the application of a particular species, which usually means that their government has some sort of interest in the species or their world that would benefit from establishing diplomatic relations. To a lesser degree, this is also true for corporations and other organizations - if they hope to make trade deals with them or otherwise see something beneficial to their agenda, they can make an effort to convince the Committee members of it and fast-track the process. Sometimes the Committee members' government benefit from the trade and will be easily convinced, while sometimes the convincing needs a little push (bribery is such an ugly word...). However, sometimes rival corporations and organizations will oppose the fast-track process for their own reasons (usually because they want to exploit the world on their own terms) and work behind the scenes to slow it down. Very occasionally, lone individuals or small groups manage to get the fast-track process started on their own, without the backing of governments or large corporations - usually by making a huge PR splash. Player characters with the Icon theme (and possibly the Envoy class) will have the best chance at this. It's not easy, but if they get enough public attention those Pact Worlds governments who are responsive to public opinion might get behind their efforts. If there is no fast-track process (and truthfully, these tend to clog the Committee's agenda), then the assorted sub-committees will gradually gather more and more information and have their experts evaluate it until they are confident about the quantity and quality of their data and the analysis of the data. Worlds colonized by Pact Worlds members that see frequent trade will almost inevitably accumulate the most data, while lone accounts of explorers will be filed in the archives until more information comes up. Very occasionally they might send one of their experts to an alien world to evaluate a local species, especially if the world might feature other things of interest (such as tradable or extractable resources), but for the most part they will leave such exploration to the Starfinder Society with whom they have a good working relationship - many Starfinders report their encounters with alien species to the Committee, while the Committee is generally happy to share its information about species in its archives with Society members. Well, these are my thoughts on this issue. What are yours?
Starfindet is, of course, a brand new setting with little existing setting material. However, it exists in the same universe as the Pathfinder setting - if temporally removed - and it occurs to be that there ought to be plenty of material out there that could be plundered for Starfinder. Hence this thread - I am not as well versed in my Golarion lore as others here, and I am sure I am not the only one who would appreciate some pointers in where to focus my research (whether setting supplements, certain Adventure Paths, or anything else). For the sake of comparison, "Distant Worlds" rates the full 10/10, for its full (if out of date) description of the Pact Worlds - including planetary maps! So what else is out there worth looking at?
The section on Drift Navigation distinguishes between five different categories: - Travel In-System
Actual, physical distance only matters in two cases: If you are traveling within the same star system (which takes 1d6 days), or if you attempt to travel beyond the Galaxy (which is effectively impossible). For all other Drift journeys only the Near Space/Vast qualification matters, which is determined by the number of Drift Beacons. Physical distance seems to be irrelevant - it doesn't matter whether you want to travel to a star system a few light years away or on the other side of the galaxy. This obviously has a few implications. For starters, it is largely pointless to maintain a spatially coherent interstellar empire. Other settings might have "sectors" controlled by a particular polity, but these "sectors" are usually organized this way because their internal travel times are relatively short. In Starfinder, interstellar closeness has no advantages for an interstellar empire, so its individual worlds are likely to be scattered pretty much everywhere. Furthermore, attacks by invaders can come from pretty much anywhere - they can assemble in any star system and (unless you spotted their scouts) you will have no advance warning until the invasion fleet shows up. They don't have to pass through neighboring star systems or sectors first (where you could stop them) and you can't head them off at strategic "chokepoints". Which means that each world must be ready to defend itself against the initial onslaught until reinforcements arrive - which takes 1-6 days if there is a significant military base in the same star system, 3-18 days if the attacked star system is in "Near Space", and 5-30 days if it is in the Vast. Which implies that Near Space systems are more attractive for Stellar Empires, since they can be reinforced more quickly against attackers. Finally, since attacks could come from pretty much anywhere, it is vitally important that you gather information about pretty much anything in the galaxy. The more worlds you have explored, the more star systems you stay in contact with, the higher the odds that you will eventually stumble across aggressive and/or expansionist species which might one day threaten your own star system. And if you know about them, you can prepare for them. In other words, the Starfinder Society is one of the most vital organizations for the military defense of the Pact Worlds system, and I am sure all their military forces make sure to stay out-to-date on their latest findings. What do you think of this analysis? Agree/disagree?
Many of the monsters from the Pathfinder Bestiaries are explicitly inspired by real world mythology. Greek, Japanese, Inuit... the list goes on. However, has anyone created an actual list of which Pathfinder monster comes from which mythology? Many fantasy settings have "fantasy counterparts" to real world regions and cultures on Earth, and finding the right "regional monsters" would be useful for maintaining the proper atmosphere.
I am currently reading through a number of Adventure Paths, and have recently started on Skull & Shackles (still reading through the appendices of the Wormwood Mutiny). And this had let me to contemplate the overall political-economical context of the Shackles. I get that they - and the entire Skull & Shackles campaign - are intended to emulate the "Golden Age of Piracy" of the Carribean (plus assorted fiction about the same). But the piracy of the Carribean was fueled by the following: - The Spanish extracted massive amounts of gold and silver from South America, especially the Potosí region (which is a really fascinating location in its own right which deserves an RPG treatment). - Several other European colonial powers tried to get in on the action and not only supported efforts to sabotage the Spanish, but also each other. So if the Shackles are equally rife with opportunities for piracy, then there must be some truly spectacular trade routes which makes the risk of passing through the Shackles worthwhile. This despite the fact that the ports of the Shackles are not only friendly to pirates, but actively ruled by them. Yet the largest trade opportunities south of the Shackles seem to be with Sargava - which apparently bribes the Free Captains of the Shackles for protection from Cheliax. Which presumably also includes a sub-clause to leave some of their trading partners alone from time (pretty please?) since Sargava needs that trade to survive. So, what other trade could be going on through the region that justifies the risk? Mind you, my goal here is not just to nit-pick the setting but to provide some added consistency and flavour for the stuff they plunder - "Spanish Silver" meant something in the Age of Piracy, and I'd like to have similar iconic types of plunder for a Skull & Shackles campaign. Furthermore, if there are merchant ships from particular nations or companies that brave these waters again and again, then saying so will make the raids against them more interesting.
I just had an idea for how to run a post-Jade Regent campaign which I want to share with you. I freely admit that I stole this idea from the Vorkosigan Saga novels by Bujold (which I recommend as reading material for this kind of campaign, especially "Memory" and its sequels which focus on the life and work of a particular Auditor). As the "Continuing the Campaign" chapter in "The Empty Throne" points out, the PCs work better as elite agents for Empress Ameiko than political leaders - and Ameiko desperately needs people she can trust as her agents. Yet being an "elite agent" should feel as a true reward to the player characters after all they have been through. Therefore, Ameiko appoints one or more of the PCs as Imperial Auditors (in particular, those who have displayed both wit and common sense and who would do well as investigators - the other PCs get other courtly titles and will act as their bodyguards and assistants). The mission of Imperial Auditors is basically: "Go and investigate problems for the Empress" - sometimes the Empress has very specific problems in mind, while at other times she only has vague rumors to go on. It's the job of the Auditors to go forth, investigate what the problem is, and then figure out a solution is possible. The Imperial Auditors speak with the Voice of the Empress, and their powers are exceptionally broad: - They are automatically in command of any government officials and military forces, and may demand pretty much anything of them - and only the Empress can gainsay them.
The restrictions on their office are mainly political. First and foremost, since they speak with the Voice of the Empress, everything they say and do reflects on her and her government. They not only have to be impartial, but also appear to be impartial. They are also supposed to be past any material or political ambition, since they already hold one of the highest offices in the government. While they may replace officials and commanding military officers if they find sufficient cause, they should not simply take over themselves but find suitable replacements out of the appropriate hierarchy (subject to later approval by the Empress). So while the PCs turned Auditors can be sent after dangerous monsters and so forth (which definitely count as "problems" for the Empire), their main job is to ensure that the Minkai runs well. Initially this means investigating which of the nobles, officials, and military commanders are trustworthy and loyal - and to find and root out any cults, secret societies and so forth which are hostile to the throne. And if Ameiko isn't already set to marry one of the player characters, one very important task is to vet any potential husband for her so that the succession is assured (and of course, the PCs will also experience some pressure to have heirs of heir own - the more potential heirs are out there, the less likely it is that someone will take another stab at wiping out their house!). Your thoughts?
Last year until early this year I ran a campaign which used the Kingdom Building rules extensively. In the end, I must say that we were dissatisfied. Part of it was that I rushed the final campaign arc due to time constraints, which caused a higher ratio of kingdom building turns to adventures than was probably good for the game. But another was that the PCs focused on building large and prosperous settlements first before expanding their territory to any significant degree - which in turn meant that very quickly they had so many bonuses that they never ever failed a Control Check. This, I think, is a fundamental problem with the rules. The Control DC is equal to [Kingdom size in hexes + number of districts in settlements], but districts, if properly developed, bring many, many more bonuses to Kingdom Attributes than hexes, while both a district and a hex add a meager +1 to the Control DC. Therefore I have a thought: What if districts add more than +1 to the Control DC, in order to encourage rulers to spread out their territories more instead of just focusing on city-building? And what value would be suitable for this?
I am currently reading through "Jade Regent" and am contemplating running it as my first Adventure Path. However, what I can't quite get around my head are the logistics required to travel across the High Ice. First of all, how can a wagon train travel across the ice at all? Do they convert all the wagons into sleds? As far as I can determine, the text doesn't say. Furthermore, the High Ice sounds more like Antarctica than the Arctic of Earth. So what kinds of beasts of burden that can pull the wagons during these conditions? Ordinary horses might not last long. And what about fuel for the fires and other supplies that are needed during the trip and cannot be replaced for the duration? (How long did the trip take in your campaigns, anyway?) While the route might make sense in the summer, attempting the whole trip during the polar winter sounds absolutely insane for a caravan, and I am worried that the players will think so, too. So how can I make this sound less insane?
I am not very well versed in the lore of Golarion yet, but one thing I liked about the Forgotten Realms is that that setting always had a large range of "famous spellbooks" by well-known mages that the PCs could find as treasure and learn new spells from - as well as possibly other important lore information about the world. Yes, Pathfinder has something like that in the pre-constructed spellbooks in Ultimate Magic - but these are awfully generic and don't really tie into Golarion. So... are there any sourcebooks and supplements that do list such spellbooks with better tie-ins to the setting? And failing that, which famous historic mages might have left behind such spellbooks that adventurers could find, and what precisely might those spellbooks contain?
While the standard district map for Kingdom Builder settlements - 3x3 blocks subdivided into 2x2 lots - suffices for rules purposes, it bugs me that the square grid looks like no street map of any European town I've ever visited (and being German, I've seen quite a few). Most European towns - and the typical D&Desque fantasy settings that derive many of their tropes from European history - look much more organic, gradually growing out from a town center along a hub-and-spoke model (if you have never been to Europe, I recommend looking at a few city maps of European cities). As it happens, my Cold Frontier campaign is nearing the phase where the player characters will found their first settlement. Thus, while I plan to keep the standard district grid for game mechanical/administrative purposes (mainly for the adjacency rules), I will also permit the player characters to map their settlements in additional way: First, take a hex grid. Each hex has a side-to-side distance of 200 yards. Then, once you start building something, designate an arrangement of approximately 10 hexes as a "block". Feel free to vary that number a bit - wealthier areas might have more hexes while poorer areas will have less - but they should have an average of 10 hexes or so. Then you can start putting the "official buildings" from the normal district map into these hexes - but also minor buildings, streets, small rivulets, and anything else that strikes your fancy. Then, if you are starting on a new block, you can designate a new 10 hex configuration as a neighboring block - and so on. The end result should be a settlement that grows much more organically, is more interesting to look at, and should be more atmospheric for encounters staged within the settlement. And frankly, if I could figure out a way of using the "adjacent building" rules with this map, I'd do away with the normal district grid entirely. What do you think?
I was wondering - how much "in-game" time did your characters spend on exploring the region before starting on the second adventure? I am asking because I am currently preparing my own campaign loosely inspired by Kingmaker. This campaign takes place on a remote northern continent and the idea is that the characters spend the warmer months of the first year - spring to fall - exploring the region, return home for the winter, and then return with colonists in the next spring. Given the climate, this will give them about seven months for exploring the wilderness before the next campaign arc starts - and I was wondering how much of the area they will be able to explore in that time.
I've decided to submit an entry for the first time. But now I have noticed that you don't have a lot of time for writing submissions for the later rounds after you receive notifications that you have passed the previous round - only four days after the winners of the previous round were announced. That's not a lot of time, especially for those of us with busy day jobs (personally, I see myself writing various lengthy project reports until the end of March...). So I was wondering how the veterans of this contest dealt with that. Did you write entries for subsequent rounds in advance, under the assumption that you would progress to that round?
Backstory: I am a very occasional player in a "Kingmaker" campaign whenever I visit my hometown. I found the basic concept - first exploring a hex map and then establishing a nation on it - fascinating, and I am contemplating running such a campaign for my own group. However, I don't want to use the Kingmaker campaign as well, as this would constitute spoilers - but I could really use some advice on such a campaign based on other people's experiences with the campaign, without spoilerific specifics. I'm posting my ideas on the campaign idea on my blog, with the basic summary here and all other present and future blog entries being found under this tag. The basic idea is that the PCs are first sent by a major trading company (think East India Company or Hudson Bay Company) to explore a wilderness region on a remote, small northern continent and find exploitable natural resources - and once they have done that, they are sent to establish a colony so that these resources can be systematically exploited. In the meantime, some ancient ancient threats are lurking in the desolate center of the continent (of course) which will gradually reveal themselves over the course of the campaign. So, on to my questions. First of all the exploration aspect. Do you think the initial map size of the Kigmaker campaign was too large, too small, or just the right size? And how manageable becomes the campaign when the map expands later on? Once the PCs become rulers, did you allow for some mechanisms where they could just send scouts to map the remaining spots on the map? And if so, what were those mechanisms like? Then there are the actual Kingdom Building rules. To reflect that the campaign is set in a harsh northern climate, I am considering reducing the output of farms - perhaps they produce less or nothing at all during the winter and early spring? Furthermore, I've noticed the absence for building any kind of port facilities in the rules - and that is an omission that needs to be rectified, as a port and supply ships are supposed to be a major lifeline back to civilization, and being cut off from that lifeline should be a major disaster for the fledging colony. Finally, I find the basic grid pattern for the settlements boring. I live in Europe, where basically no city looks like this. I am contemplating letting my PCs draw their own city maps from scratch, as long as they designate specific areas as 4-lot spaces - as long as they are all of roughly equal size, this shouldn't be a problem - right? What other advice can you give me? What are your own experiences with such campaigns? I am especially interested in hearing your stories and house rules if you have used the exploration and nation-building rules for campaigns other than Kingmaker. |
