Jacob Proffitt's page

My players have a very low tolerance for exploration so in the past, I've pretty much just picked out my encounters and turned those parts of quests into narrative play. "One day in the desert..." became a common lead in for large parts of Mummy's Mask.

So you can imagine how thrilled I was to see Ultimate Wilderness's new Discovery and Exploration section.

I am, in fact, so thrilled that I'm giving it a test drive for Brinestump Marsh (which we are starting in a few weeks as we wrap Mummy's Mask). So, here for your feedback and potential theft, is my adaptation.

First, some explicit rules teaks. Brinestump Marsh is only two miles wide at its widest so this is extremely small for a territory. Assuming a standard twelve-mile hex, Brinestump is on the order of less than 1% that size. So I'm making three rules tweaks up front.

• First, I'm cutting the time period down from a whole day to a piece of a day. I'm not sure if I'll use four hours or one hour increments for skill checks.
  
• Second, this area is for first level characters so I'm putting the CR at 1/2 so the territory DC is 15. This is mostly because I want the success rate to approach closer to half than a quarter.
  
• Third, I'm saying anything with a structure a person can stand in counts as "unusually large". (The cavern doesn't count as finding it is only an entrance.)

PCs can start with a boost by using Gather Information in Sandpoint.

• DC 10 - The south border is quite steep and might provide a useful overlook worth taking in if you wish to explore the swamp some. (Reveals a way point)
  
• ​DC 12 - Old Magus the Witch of the Swamp can be found if you follow the right path. (Reveals a location)
  
• DC 15 - If you want to know more about the swamp, Walthus considers himself something of a Warden of the Swamp. Tall claim for a small man (halfling, whatever). Easy enough to find, though: just take the first path and follow it to the cove. (Reveals a way point)

To make the spooky nature of the swamp evident (and remind myself to play up the atmosphere), each period spent exploring requires a DC 12 Will Save to make the skill check.

Brinestump Marsh Territory CR 1/2
Exploration Check Survival DC 15
Location discovery scores

Old Megus's Shack - 1 (base score 3, unusually large -2)
Licktoad Goblins - 3 (base score 6, unusually large -2, deliberately hidden +3, traveled to or from often -4)
Shipwreck - 4 (base score 6, unusually large -2)
Shipwreck - 4 (base score 6, unusually large -2)
Brinestump Caverns - 6 (base score 6)

Simple Way Signs (1 discovery point)
Visit Overlook - A successful DC 10 Survival Check to find an advantageous overlook.
Discover the Witch's Walk - A successful DC 10 Survival Check to find the overgrown trailhead. Only useful for discovering the Witch's Shack (area J)

Moderate Way Signs (3 discovery points)
Warden's Shack - Clear the house and discover (and talk to) Walthus

Complex Way Signs (5 discovery points)
Discover (and interpret) the fan/map in the Licktoad Village. Can spend on each of the locations depicted (shipwrecks and cavern).​

Random Encounters
Frequency Every exploration period
Chance of Encounter 20%
Encounter Soggy River Monster

I started an adventure subscription which shipped on 7/29, opting for issue #11 (which arrived in good order). Now my subscription says:

"Most recent volume:
Volume #11 shipped 07/29/08 via UPS Ground (estimated 2 business days in transit)

Next volume:
Volume #14 is scheduled to ship September 2008"

This is not a happy-making discovery. I certainly never received the option to skip both the ending of the current adventure and the beginning of the next! Since I'm also not seeing the 15% advertised discount on other items I'd like to order (even after placing them in the shopping cart), I'm wondering if there isn't some bigger problem with my subscription.

I like the bard upgrade in general. I think that the lower levels are still a little weak, but around level 8 they get pretty powerful performance effects. This is good. I think bards need more than a combat upgrade, though, and I'll try to explain.

One thing that remains missing, IMO, is a well-defined party role. The class still comes across as "jack of all trades" (though I don't think that it's an earned impression in Pathfinder, it still remains). I think my problem is that bards still lack a well-defined party function and a sense of flash (and if there's a class that should have flash it's the bard!). I think Terry Zimmerman has a good start with adding some of the swashbuckler abilities but that doesn't sit quite right with me--at least in terms that it's only a piece of my itch with bards.

This is too bad because I think a bard does have a natural party role that the rules have simply never supported. When a party comes to the "talky bits" (audience with the king, recruiting cannon fodd... er... henchpersons, negotiations with a potential short-term ally), the party naturally wants to turn to the bard. The problem is, bards don't have any built-in, natural abilities in that department. And they should! Something like the Dread Pirate's honorable line of abilities would be a good start. Something that codifies a bard's sense of fame and general welcome. Something that gives bard players a clear path that allows them to fall into success during those talky bits.

At a minimum, a bard should get natural bonus(es) to diplomacy--without a performance check. i.e. they should be naturally glib. It wouldn't hurt if they got some Sense Motive (which, BTW is missing from both the "Unchanged Skills" and "Altered Skills" lists) as well.

Here's where my creativity runs out. If I were to get any fancier, I'd try to put together a "Fame" or "Reputation" stat (like in d20 Modern maybe) and see where that goes. Maybe call the diplomacy/sense motive bonus "Fame" and bump it every couple of levels?