Golden Orb

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Organized Play Member. 3,134 posts (19,600 including aliases). No reviews. No lists. No wishlists. 3 Organized Play characters. 21 aliases.




I just released The NPC Index: Warriors on Pathfinder Infinite.

NPC INDEX: WARRIORS

You'll find in there over 100 statblocks for enemy Barbarians, Fighters, Champions and Rangers which should help a lot with prepping sessions or even coming up with encounters on the fly.

These cover levels 1 to 20 and it includes a simple system to add ancestries to the statblocks, exponentially increasing the variety of enemy martial NPCs you can throw at your party.

Check it out!


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Hey guys, I have just published my first release on Pathfinder Infinite. It's a ruleset for running ship to ship combat encounters in a 2e ocean based campaign, but also includes ship roles, feats, abilities, treasure and lots more.

Check it out via this link (I hope you like it!)

This started as a homebrew doc as part of a 2e Skull and Shackles conversion and became something much bigger.


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Hi, I know there has been some discussion on this and while I haven't gone through all of the threads, was there ever an official response as to why Starfinder APs don't have interactive maps available with them?


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After more than 5 years of playing on these boards we finally bring our Carrion Crown game to a finish.

It's needed a huge amount of commitment from both myself and the players but it was ultimately so worth it. As far as I know there are only a very few adventure paths to actually finish and it's easy to understand why so this is a little bit of blowing my own trumpet - I hope you'll forgive me that - I am just very proud that we achieved it.

Here is the gameplay thread if anyone is interested. It's a good read and full of great characters and memorable moments.

For anyone about to begin a game then I wish you luck, it's a great undertaking. For anyone who is part way through, stick with it!

Here's to another 5 year game starting soon.

Liberty's Edge

Hey guys, I'm just curious how often death occurs in your average adventure paths? I know some are obviously deadlier than others, some GMs go out of their way not to kill PCs (and some go the other way!), unlucky rolls can lead to deaths and so on.

But I'm just curious going into an adventure path how many actual PC deaths is considered average/usual?

Liberty's Edge

Hey guys.

Just curious how much trouble other groups had with Scarwall? For us, playing through the anniversary edition, it is probably the hardest dungeon I've played in many years.

Our composition is Inquisitor, alchemist, monk and archer fighter. The GM wanted a grittier feel for this campaign and so 9th level casters were off the table.

We're all experienced players but it feels like every single room wears us down a little more and the majority of them are life or death, frantic encounters. We have little in the way of restorative magic aside from what scrolls we could buy and our AC and saves just don't seem high enough to escape without serious debilitation and no reliable means to rest or resupply.

My alchemist is sitting on 6 strength drain, 6 con drain and 4 cha drain. The monk is carrying three negative levels and I don't think the others are in much better shape after six sessions in here.

Is it really meant to be this hard? How did you guys cope?


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I was just wondering if anyone had started converting legacy monsters to SF?

I am about to start the task of converting a whole bunch and will be happy to shre if people will find them useful.

It seems a relatively straightforward task but there's a little bit of work to convert multiple attacks, assign SF gear, change spells and so on.

Anyone already started doing this?

Liberty's Edge

My tabletop group are using these rules for the first time and generally we love them, they certainly make poisons and diseases far deadlier and really scary, especially at low levels.

But I wonder if someone can explain to me exactly the process of recovery, we got bogged down quite a bit in our last session debating how it should go.

With a disease for instance, I fail my save and become a carrier. That's fine. The next day I need to save and fail and fall down the track. But what about a disease that requires two saves in the cure condition? Does that mean that now I am in the Weakened state I actually need 4 saves in order to get healthy? And if I make only one of those saves, I stay on Weakened and then fail my second save so I move down to Impaired? And suddenly need 6 saves to get healthy?

The other element that's confusing me is this clause:

SRD Unchained diseases and poisons wrote:


Poisons work differently—fulfilling the cure condition removes a poison from the victim's system, but she remains at the same step on the track and recovers gradually. (Treat a poison that has exhausted its duration in the same way.) For every day of bed rest (or 2 nights of normal rest), a victim recovers one step; this recovery is doubled as normal by Heal checks, and tenacious poisons might require a longer recovery period.

So if I am poisoned with Green Lotus and fail my first two saves I fall down to Impaired. Then I get lucky and roll a 20 thus fulfilling the cure condition of one save. Does that mean I am no longer poisoned? But that I will remain at Impaired until I get 2 days of normal rest to move me one place up the track and another 2 days rest makes me healthy? But this time is halved with bed rest and possibly halved again with the Heal skill?

Liberty's Edge

D:OS2 is nearly here and I am hugely excited for it.

The first game wasn't perfect, but as I said in another thread, it was the best depiction of tabletop-style turn based combat that I can remember in a video game.

Added to that the great visuals and story, deep mechanics and variety of enemies and locations AND co-op, then I am massively excited for the sequel where it takes all these things and seemingly just amps them up.

There is also the GM mode to play with that is just the cherry on the cake.

Liberty's Edge

So I am about to dive headlong back into PC gaming after about 10 years of Playstation.

The machine I'm putting together is pretty hefty and will run any AAA at top settings. But beyond the Destiny 2s and BF1s of this world, my question is what essential games have I missed over the last 10 years that I need to jump back into?

I'm assuming some usual suspects like Skyrim and Witcher 3 will make this list, but what else is there that has passed me by?

As a guide, I enjoy FPS and RPG games mostly. Divinity Original Sin 2 is probably the game I am most excited about playing this year.

Liberty's Edge

Is anyone playing this?

It's pretty fun and I have to admit that the novelty of the music kicking in and looking over your shoulder to see Jason stalking you down hasn't worn off yet :)

It's definitely overpriced at this stage given there are only three maps and all of those are basically the same but I'm hoping future DLC will be free for those who paid full price but I suspect that won't be the case.


I have a quick search for this but can't find an answer, if anyone can link me to a thread then please do so.

My question is about how Unchained's Wound Threshold rules interact with an Alchemist's extracts?

The Alchemist's level is treated as their caster level for the purpose of preparing extracts which are described like spells in potion form.

When that alchemist is wounded or critical and his caster level drops, does this affect the extracts he already has prepared given that they were brewed when he was not injured? Would those extracts suffer a lower duration or potency because of the drop in caster level?

I would assume that when critical he could not prepare any new extracts of his highest level Formulae (if he had left slots open for example).


Greetings, True Believers!

Welcome to the recruitment thread for Dawn of Legends, my attempt to add a superhero flair to the core Pathfinder Ruleset.

I have spent some time working on a ruleset document that draws together rules from a variety of sources including Gestalt, D20 modern, the PF Technology guide and my own homebrew musings. This has led to quite a complicated character creation segment but one I hope you will embrace and take in the spirit it is intended - helping to create unique and interesting heroes as opposed to just squeezing out the very last drop of mechanical advantage.

The link to the campaign doc is HERE - be warned it is lengthy and I'm aware some of the formatting hasn't worked but those sections aren't hugely relevant to get you going anyway. I won't look to reproduce it all here, only a few important elements.

1 - Recruitment

I am looking for TWO players to round out the team. Four friends from these boards have been helping me from day 1 with this and so they are in and helped me get the game rolling - the thread is HERE. However one has needed to drop out due to time commitments which has given me the opportunity to open this out.

2 - Setting

This game will be set in a kind of cross-over between the Marvel comic universe and Marvel movie universe. You don’t need to have read Spiderman’s entire back-catalogue or seen every Marvel movie/TV series to follow what is going on but equally there might be a couple of nice easter eggs for those more familiar with the source material.

The game will follow your heroes as they begin protecting the streets of New York and progressing up to cosmic levels of world-altering power.

3 - Character Creation

Please read this section in the doc carefully. Certain elements are strightforward (Gestalt, 25 point buy etc) but others require a bit more thought (mutant and alien races, starting boons, changes to skills and classes etc)

Please note that no class is banned. However, I am changing certain classes and details of that will be found in the doc.

Honestly I am probably less inclined toward summoning-type classes and those with animal companions because with five players + pets + all at Gestalt - things could get unmanageable very quickly. It is something I am more than willing to discuss but see point 5.

4 - Posting Requirements

I pride myself on being a GM that is in for the long haul when he starts a game. I have three long-running games on these boards, all over 2 years in real-time play and see this new endeavour as another long-term commitment. I have drafted the outline of a full Adventure Path-length campaign but I will be asking my players for patience as I will need to produce maps and descriptions of every area from scratch as we go along.

Having said that, I think all pbp games die if they do not keep moving forward. I will be asking my players to post a minimum of once per day but preferably more. Rest assured I will be doing the same as GM in order to prompt and keep things moving.

I admit that I am also quite demanding. In as much as not only do I want frequent posts, but also good quality as well. Despite the flashy powers, I want this to be a story-driven game so please bear that in mind when you apply.

5 - (Huge) Caveat

This game is more a thought experiment than anything. Superheroes should be monstrously powerful in comparison to your average Joe on the street. But at the end of the day it is a game and requires challenge to remain interesting.

My friends and I have been playtesting scenarios and character builds for the past couple of months but honestly all the prep in the world will not throw up every issue that we might come across. I am fairly relaxed with the rules when it comes to conflicts but the golden rule here is going to be that I need players who will be open to changing elements of their character/tactics that are clearly breaking the game. I’ll be looking for your support as players in this since I see this as a collaborative effort and certainly not ‘players vs GM’ - I’m not interested in that sort of adversarial relationship at all.

6 - Nuts and Bolts (actual play)

I house-rule initiative so that each group rolls and then whichever side has the highest average goes first. All members of that group will act, then all members of the opposing group - I have found this to be the most efficient means of keeping things moving in pbp.

Maps will be produced for each combat and linked just as a static image each round in the main body of the game and in the Campaign Info tab.

I will roll all saves on behalf of characters, let you know if you have been successful, and then you will be able to respond accordingly in your next post.

…..

Rather than let this already very lengthy post continue rambling on, I will open this up to questions and allow you time to read the doc.

Recruitment will stay open until around the 24th Feb but I suspect there may be quite a few questions so I will come back to that and give a definitive date nearer the time. I am also in GMT so that will affect my posting times and when I can respond to you.

If you managed to get to the end of this, thank you for your patience and I look forward to hearing from you!

TL;DR - Superheroes, homebrew, gestalt, create your own race. Superheroes. Quick and quality posting requirements. Lots of house rules. Superheroes.


Man..... I am never moving home again. Yesterday sucked!

But we are in our lovely new home now and it was great to wake up to birds singing instead of traffic and kids arguing :)


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The Sun seems to have been hanging in the sky for days. It beats down on the glass and concrete jungle beneath like a hammer. Heat shimmers from the tarmac of Bowery so that almost feels soft underfoot to the morning commuters who rush hither and thither in power suits that might look cool in the boardroom but do nothing for them on this sweltering New York afternoon.

When temperatures rise, so do tempers.

The Bugle reported yesterday on a shop keeper who got beaten in an argument that got out of hand, an argument that apparently started because his ice-box was out of order. But that’s the way sometimes in New York. People talk about the NY spirit, after 9/11, the Fantastic 4’s battle with Galactus and, most recently and shockingly, the Chit’auri invasion. But there’s only so long that you can step on folk before they get tough and start stepping on others who haven’t toughened up enough.

That’s why crime is on the rise.

The big ‘A’ on the Avengers Tower still glows but everyone knows that team doesn’t exist anymore. The Fantastic 4 and Doc Strange are still around, but those guys spend most of their time in Europe – or in the Doc’s case – who the Hell knows where? Besides, truth be told they’ve never been too interested in purse snatchers and drug dealers - they play for bigger stakes.

But try telling the people in the Harlem projects that Reed Richards just disarmed a bomb in Latveria when the pimp next door has been beating his girls night after night. See how much they care about foreign affairs.

The cops are stretched paper-thin and often outgunned by the metahumans who now seem to be more and more prevalent in the city. It’s heroes’ like Spider-man, Luke Cage and Moon Knight, even the Punisher, that people look to for hope that it’ll be safe to walk home at night.

Yet for all these flaws and hardships, there are still people in New York who are tired of getting stepped on. And for better or worse, have decided to start pushing back.

In your first few posts, could you please introduce yourself, provide a physical description (whether in costume or out), what you are doing currently (it is a Tuesday morning and you are in the Financial District downtown. Skyscrapers tower above you, the crowds are bustling and there are all the sights and smells of a big city) and optionally whether there is any exposition you want to give on your view of the state of the city/current hero and villain situation)

Liberty's Edge

Just blew me away. Marvel do such an amazing job of blending action, comedy and emotion.

Absolutely awesome.


Discussion board. Hello!


A playtest area for characters and homebrew rules for this superhero endeavour!

Liberty's Edge

I've been looking at Unchained's Automatic Bonus Progression rules recently and it's a system I quite like.

However, it states that wealth by level should effectively be halved when using this system. I was wondering if there were any abstraction that actually removed wealth by level at all?

I am aware of Burning Wheel's resource attribute mechanic but I'm reluctant to introduce a random element to purchasing power. I am thinking more along the lines of something like a Resource Point system where you gain a certain number of RP per level that can be exchanged for items of a particular value. So this could represent good links with the black market underground or the fact that you might be personally wealthy or that you have a side business or whatever - it just removes the temptation to loot every body and peel the lead from the windows of every room you go in.

The issue I'm having is that I can't find a formula that adequately replicates the wealth by level table that I could use to determine how many Resource Points a character should gain per level to make this work.

So my question is whether anyone has better math-fu than myself to come up with that equation or if anyone has any alternative suggestions of how I could make this work?


Hey guys.

I've been toying with some kind of modern-day/superhero vibe game and am looking for some adventures and ideally paths to run.

Iron Gods at least thematically had some of the elements I'm going for but, since I haven't read the books yet, how easy might it be to convert this path to modern day and 'real world?' I.e. Is it engrained in fantasy to the point where a conversion like this would be impossible?

Thanks!

Liberty's Edge

Trailer

So, thoughts?

Personally I thought it looked amazing and can't wait to see it. Black Panther and Spiderman should be great additions to the MCU.

#TeamCap

Liberty's Edge

After GM'ing exclusively for the past four years and taking both Jade Regent and Carrion Crown to completion at the table I've earned a break and one of my buddies is going to run Giantslayer.

So as a four man team we have a Witch focused on control, a melee ranger and vivisectionist alchemist handling the up close work and some decent skills. And then there's me, really unsure what to play.

I like the idea of buffing the team but I'm not sure they really need it and we are kind of lacking in both healing and ranged support. I'm a little scared of getting squashed by a raging giant so I'm thinking an archery class might benefit us all the most.

So the advice I'm after is archer bard, archer inquisitor, archer cleric or anything else I haven't even considered? Which is best/going to bring most to the party?


Copses of thin, ugly trees that have long since shed their leaves for the last time line the muddy trackway.

The trees seem to lean toward eachother, as if conspiring and whispering in the wind rather than reaching and striving for the thin, watery sunlight that washes over the land as they should. A vast silence reigns over the land; miles of untracked fields separated by beaten tracks, partially frozen in the early autumn frost, and wild moorland that stretches as far South as the Hungry Mountains and as far north as the Shudderwood.

It started raining an hour ago and has shown no sign of abating. A thin, persistent drizzle settles like a shroud over the land, falling from a sky like grey slate.

This is Ustalav. The grim, mirthless, darkness of Ustalav.

...............

The letter arrived two weeks ago and yet it’s contents are indelibly marked on your mind even now. The words swim to the surface as you make your way along the partly cobbled track.

Please come to Ravengro immediately.... Petros Lorrimor..... passed away...

Finally the small village of Ravengro materialises out of the mist.

Quick bit of exposition, where you are when you receive the invitation, how you react and so on? You can then move on to arriving in town for the first time, possibly running into eachother as you seek lodgings or whatever you want to do. The funeral is set for tomorrow.

I will put up a map of Ravengro as well shortly, the lettered and numbered locations will be detailed as you progress through the book.


Discussion is up


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They say that shadows of deceased ghosts
Do haunt the houses and the graves about,
Of such who life's lamp went untimely out,
Delighting still in their forsaken hosts.
Joshua Sylvester

From the whispering shadows of haunted Ustalav an ancient evil rises to grip the world in a new age of horror!

This is a recruitment thread for the awesome Carrion Crown.

IF YOU ARE A HERO WILLING TO STAND AGAINST THE DARKNESS, ANSWER THIS CALL!

I am looking for 4 – 6 experienced play-by-posters for a very fast based, adult-themed game. By adult-themed I mean that although we aren't talking R-rated, I am graphic in my descriptions, fully embrace the horror theme of this AP and am looking for like minded, mature players. Ideally you won't have read or played through (much) of this AP before but as long as you can separate player and character knowledge we should be cool.

Posting Considerations - Fair warning
I tend to demand quite a lot of my players in that I really enjoy a fast posting rate – ideally a minimum of twice per day (although I love an extended dialogue or logging in to find 12 new posts!) – and I also like quality roleplaying within the group and with NPCs.

Combat is by far the slowest part of a pbp so I reserve the right to bot a player if they haven't acted in combat in a reasonable amount of time (usually this is measured in hours) and to remove them from the game if they have not posted for 7 days without previously stating that there would be a break.

I know it's a lot to ask which is why I'm putting it right up front. In exchange I can promise you a very regular, high-quality experience with dynamic combat, exposition and an interesting world in which to play.

Sound fair? In that case, keep reading.

Character Creation
Alignment: Any non-evil
Ability Scores: 20 point buy, no stat beneath 8 and none above 18 after racial modifiers
Races: I won't lie, I'm a traditionalist So although I will consider the uncommon races, there has to be a compelling reason why you are playing a Grippli Paladin.
HP: Max at 1st and then half+1 every subsequent level
Traits: Two traits, one campaign and one other
Starting gold: 150gp
Classes: Everything except Summoner and Gunslinger. Also, the Slumber Hex is also out. I love the witch and shaman classes but hate that ability both as a player and GM. Occult classes are welcome although I am the first to admit I am not fully conversant with them yet so if I ask stupid questions about your build or for you to clarify something in the game, forgive me.
Third party content Not acceptable for this game, sorry
Skills: Background skills from Pathfinder Unchained will be used. I'm not sure about compressing the skill groups yet, I'll read over that chapter again to better understand it.

Running the Game
I do some weird stuff to keep the game moving;
Identify I hate pausing to identify magic items because it could be a week in real life before we go back and identify the dagger you've found by which point I can't remember what room you found it in. Urgh. I make the identify spell an addition/expansion of Detect Magic.

Initiative This is the biggest one. I roll all initiative and whichever group, heroes or enemies, has the highest (average), they act first and all members of that group act in whichever order they post. That order can change round by round for the heroes because they act when they post. This keeps combat moving very quickly and prevents a single combat taking a whole week to resolve but equally, it has other effects such as devaluing a high individual initiative, makes certain spells more powerful, others less so, risks an individual enemy getting mobbed by action economy and so on.
It is definitely not without it's drawbacks but the fact it keeps a potentially slow medium moving is fine by me. I make changes to feats such as Improved Initiative and Selective Spell to compensate for this difference but won't go into that here.

Maps: Combat will be run using maps from MapTool. I will post a map at the beginning of the first round and every round after.

Saving throws: When called to make a save I will always roll for you and post the result so that you can post appropriately depending on the outcome. This is also true of static skill checks.

Hero Points: I do use the hero point system although with a few alterations, nothing major however.

Your Submission
I don't need a novel as a backstory, but quality writing is appreciated as well as a few lines on physical description, personality and the role you would full in the party.

Recruitment will run for at least two weeks and I will put an end date up closer to the time, likely to be around the 17th.

This game will not be run with the intention of handing out PFS credit

Have I forgotten anything? I'm sure you awesome lot will remind me :)

Have at it!

Liberty's Edge

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This link talks about the official announcement of a big budget movie based on the D&D brand. Which is an interesting move in itself.

The article says that D&D is "by far and away" the biggest brand in fantasy story telling. Is that still true? 10, even 5 years ago I would have agreed but now...? Not so sure.

Are these different types of media an area Paizo could also expand? Should they?

For some reason I'm feeling like it's a little bit of a desperation move from Wizards to raise their brand identity again. I don't know why I think that, but that's what ny gut is telling me.

Interesting times!

Liberty's Edge

With the introduction of psychic magic in Occult Adventures I was wondering if, with the now near 40 classes and who-knows-how-many archetypes, if there are any fantasy or superhero tropes we can't cover now without 3pp material?

One that springs immediately to mind for me is some kind of shapeshifting class, essentially a druid but without spellcasting or an animal companion, or at least reduced casting in exchange for increased shapeshifting.

Any others you would want to play but don't feel like the rules are in place to support it fully?

Liberty's Edge

In a generally good-aligned community, do you allow your players to get free healing services from the church?

If so, do you find this reduces the challenge of say, clearing a dungeon of Shadows when they can just pop out and get restored (aside from paying material costs of course).

What about channelling to heal wounds?

Or if you do charge your players for these kinds of spellcasting services, how do the clerics justify it if they follow a good-aligned God?

Liberty's Edge

So I was in work today and I was served a coffee by a girl I later found out was named Sara Mocha (true). It got me thinking that she is probably the person most destined, based on her name, for the job that she eventually found herself in that I have ever met.

I was wondering if anyone had any characters who were similarly destined for their eventual race/party role or conversely came out as the exact opposite of their birth name.

Post 'em here!

Liberty's Edge

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There's a lot of excellent advice on these boards about what to do with the main villain of this AP, especially how to introduce him earlier. I've taken on board a lot of it and I just wanted to share a little about how I've gone about integrating him into the story in my own ongoing PbP game here on the paizo site.

Well the first mention for me was in book 1 where Kendra got a letter of condolence from Adivion and apologies that he couldn't be there in person. He also said he was working on a position for her at the University of Lepistadt having some influence with the Dean there. This provided a hook for book 2 where he actually showed up in person. He, along with Judge Darramid, was the main driving force for the party taking on the Trial of the Beast. I utilised the FANTASTIC LETTERS FROM THE MAIN VILLAIN idea that Loki_Thief came up with and the first of these arrived at the end of Book 1.

Adivion offered support and advice and befriended the party throughout the Trial and was even present during the riot, helping to calm the crowd. Later, Auren Vrood was still present in the Schloss when the party arrived and was actually working on the machine whilst inside a force cage. The Beast turned up and a huge battle ensued with the Aberrant promethean afterwhich Vrood finished his work on the machine and took control of the Beast who attacked the party - leading to a very dramatic and heartbreaking choice of whether to destroy the creature they had befriended throughout the Trial. Following this the party returned to Kendra's house to find the place in disarray. Kendra was gone and Adivion lay dead.

What I really wanted to do was to constantly drop hints that Adivion was behind it all and the best way to remove himself from suspicion was to have himself killed (only to be later resurrected which also shows his level of planning, intelligence and resources). There were clues from the vision at the Stairs of the Moon, Lady Ivanja in the Lodge, the letters Adivion was sending and dialogue between characters.

Throughout it all I've wanted to portray him as the man behind the curtain, pulling all the strings. This culminated in the confrontation with Vrood in book 3 where the spirit retrieves his memories and showed adivion ordering Vrood to kill him and Kendra in order to put the party on Vrood's path. This was to punish Vrood for killing his friend Prof Lorrimor and also to distract them from his real work which was setting up the exchange of the Raven's Head in book 4.

This all worked beautifully. The party were convinced for 18 months in real time that Vrood was behind it all and were surprised when they managed to confront him and defeat him in Book 3 but when the spirit revealed Vrood's memories and the fact Adivion was behind it all - the player's were stunned. I then posted a huge reveal that tied together all the clues they had received in a kind of MOVIE FLASHBACK and the players were taken aback at how Adivion had weaved the whole thing together. He is rapidly becoming the best and most engaging big bad they have ever faced in their years of gaming and it's thanks mostly due to the fantastic writing in this AP and the advice I received on these boards.


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...And so our tale begins not in the biting ice and driving snow of Irrisen, but in the warm, sunny climes of Taldor. the old crone says, turning a page of the ancient book with her ancient hand. A place of fertile lands and welcoming folk, righteous knights and fair maidens - these are the tales of Taldor, not the cold and regal witch queens of the north, nor the giants and dragons of the mountains or the hard men and fickle fey of the planes of snow. It is a different land.... a different land indeed. She licks her dusty finger with a dry, black tongue and turns another page. And yet it is here, in the tiny hamlet of Heldren - the most unlikely place you can imagine - that our heroes gather...

---------------------------------

It's bloody quiet. Menander says, spitting into a glass and wiping it clean before placing it back on the shelf above his head. Been gettin' quieter for days an' all. If this keeps up we're not going to last the year.

Oh, stop being so dramatic. Menander's wife, Kale, chides him. A few farmers complain about frost on their cabbages and you're all doom and gloom. Look, I'm cutting the price of ales in half tonight and I've got a stew on, that'll get them in. Besides, it isn't that cold, I can still see at least some of the boys wearing short sleeves. It's just a lot of nonsense.

Aye... so you say. Menander replies.

......
.....
....
...
..
.

The Silver Stoat is the only inn in the tiny hamlet of Heldren and tonight the windows are bright and the place full for the first time in a month - Kale's plan has worked.

The patrons take to drinking the cut-price ale with chasers of strong, fiery liquor and a fire is roaring merrily in the hearth. Normally it would not be necessary to stoke a fire, as the summer months in Taldor are long and lazy. However, it has been colder than normal as of late and as the evening draws in it seems to be getting colder still.

Village Details:

Like in most peasant communities in southern Taldor, the People of Heldren mostly keep to themselves. Far from the politics of Oppara and ever-watchful for Qadiran aggression, Heldren goes on as it always has, as a relatively small and unimportant hamlet of farmers, herders, and woodcutters. But Heldren is home to a secret unsuspected by its normally complacent citizens: a mystical ley line connects their village with another far to the north. Could the recent appearance of unseasonable winter weather in the nearby Border Wood be a harbinger of worse things to come?

MAP OF HELDREN

NG village
Corruption –1; Crime –1; Economy –1; Law –3; Lore +0; Society +4
Qualities broad-minded, rumormongering citizens
Danger +0

DEMOGRAPHICS
Government council
Population 171 (152 humans, 6 dwarves, 5 halflings, 4 gnomes, 3 elves, 1 half-elf )
Notable NPCs
Councilor Ionnia Teppen (middleaged female human commoner)
Elder Natharen Safander (male half-elf cleric of Erastil)
Soothsayer Old Mother Theodora (venerable female human adept)

MARKETPLACE
Base Value 500 gp; Purchase Limit 2,500 gp;
Spellcasting 3rd
Minor Items +1 cold iron sling bullets (10), potion of resist energy (cold), scroll of aid, scroll of sleep, wand of magic weapon (24 charges), wand of scorching ray (42 charges), masterwork banded mail;
Medium Items arrow magnetUE, ring of force shield;
Major Items —

NOTES
Broad-Minded: The citizens of Heldren are open, friendly, and tolerant, and react positively toward visitors. (Lore +1; Society +1)

GAZETEER

Below are details on several prominent locations in the village of Heldren. Because of the village’s proximity to the Border Wood, most of Heldren’s buildings are constructed of lumber. Several farms lie outside the village itself, providing food for its residents and for trade with nearby villages.

1. Armory: A dirt path winds its way up a low hill west of town to the single door of this square stone tower. The tower is 30 feet high, with battlements on its roof and arrow slits along its walls. It is completely open on the inside, with no interior floors—just a wooden staircase running along the walls to the roof. The tower serves as Heldren’s armory and a place of refuge for the villagers in case the village is ever attacked. In times of peace, the tower is usually unoccupied, but a selection of simple arms and armor—crossbows, bolts, spears, javelins, as well as a few suits of leather armor, padded armor, and light wooden shields—is stored inside for the militia.

2. Isker’s Smithy: Although he spends most of his time shoeing horses and repairing farm tools, Heldren’s blacksmith, Isker Euphram (middle-aged male human expert), is quite skilled in battle. A veteran of Taldor’s army, Isker served in Zimar and on the Qadiran border for years before retiring to Heldren. Isker has taken it upon himself to oversee the training of the village’s militia. He keeps a few weapons for sale in his shop, including 10 +1 cold iron sling bullets. He also has a suit of masterwork banded mail for sale (a relic of his army days), and could craft other suits of armor if needed. His daughter, Xanthippe (CG female human expert), works as his apprentice. When not at her father’s forge, Xanthippe’s likely to be found at the Silver Stoat, holding court with her numerous suitors. Although widely considered the village beauty, Xanthippe is as proficient with her fists as with her hammer, and those few of Heldren’s young men who have tried to woo her too aggressively walked away with black eyes for their troubles.

3. General Store: Heldren’s general store carries everything a villager needs, as well as most gear an adventurer requires. Heldren sits on the road to Zimar, so plenty of trade passes through the village. The store’s proprietor, Vivialla Steranus (female human commoner), takes advantage of this brisk trade to stock her shelves. In general, most of the mundane adventuring gear listed in the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook can be found here, including five cold-weather outfits, leftovers from a particularly harsh winter a couple of years back. In general, Vivialla does not carry much in the way of armor or weapons, though she does currently have two magic items in stock: an arrow magnetUE and a ring of force shield.

4. Town Hall: Rather grand for a village of this size, Heldren’s town hall boasts a clock tower overlooking the town square. Its clockworks were imported from Qadira some time ago, and are kept in working order by Orillus Davigen (old male human expert), who can usually be found up in the tower tinkering with the machinery. The clock tower’s bells ring every hour from 6 am to 6 pm (the villagers prefer to keep things quiet at night), and can be used to sound the alarm if there’s a fire or to muster the militia in case of attack. The town council meets in the hall every week on Starday, though there’s usually little to discuss beyond minor disagreements between neighbors. The hall is big enough to host almost the entire populace for monthly village assemblies and large social gatherings, such as the annual Longnight dance. On the wall outside the front door hangs a notice board, where flyers are posted with local news, job openings, and goods for sale.

5. Willowbark Apothecary: A well-tended garden sits in front of this equally neat house, the home of Tessaraea Willowbark (female elf alchemist), Heldren’s resident apothecary. Tessaraea is a relatively new transplant to Heldren, having arrived in the village only 25 years ago after a failed adventuring career up north in the River Kingdoms. She is quiet and somber, and most of the villagers believe she suffered some great tragedy in her past, such as the loss of her one true love. In fact, it was Tessaraea’s brother who died on an ill-fated adventure, slain by a group of trolls. Devastated by his death, she gave up adventuring and moved south, settling in Heldren and taking a human-sounding surname when she opened her apothecary shop. Tessaraea sells a variety of herbs and all of the special substances and items listed in the Core Rulebook, as well as a potion of resist energy (cold) and a surprisingly large stockpile of alchemist’s fire—since her brother’s death, Tessaraea has had an unreasoning fear of trolls, and almost obsessively crafts the stuff for the (in her mind) inevitable moment when she must face them again.

6. Barber: An artist with razors and scissors, Argus Goldtooth (male dwarf expert) offers shaves, haircuts, and dentistry, as well as “leechery and other surgical proceedings.” Argus is a fair healer, though he’s prone to prescribing leeches (which fill several jars on high shelves in his shop) for most maladies, from stomachaches to broken bones. Argus also offers gold teeth to replace extracted ones, and is his own best customer—his easy smile reveals more gold teeth in his mouth than original ones. Though he would never admit it to anyone, Argus has something of a crush on his neighbor, the apothecary Tessaraea Willowbark. Argus has never acted on these feelings, but the two have struck up an unlikely friendship, and it’s not uncommon to find Argus helping tend Tessaraea’s garden on Sundays or sharing a pint with her at the Silver Stoat in the evenings.

7. The Silver Stoat: Heldren’s only tavern, the Silver Stoat, stands right on the town square across from the town hall. A fixture of village life, the tavern fills up with patrons in the evening as they gather to share gossip, hear news, and reward themselves for a hard day’s work. Anything that’s worth knowing in Heldren gets talked about here, and if asked where he got a particularly juicy bit of gossip or information, a villager will likely say, “I heard it from the Stoat.” Husband and wife Menander (male human commoner) and Kale Garimos (female human expert) run the Silver Stoat as if it were their family kitchen— there’s always a seat at the table or a space by the hearth for a guest, or a warm bowl of Menander’s hearty stew for an empty belly. Menander works in the kitchen, cooking up his famous venison flank steak and numble pie. Kale tends bar, serving up the tavern’s signature brew, Three Devil Ale, which she brews in-house using imported Chelish hops. Heldren doesn’t get many visitors, so there is no true inn in the village, but travelers are welcome to a spot on the floor of the Stoat next to the fireplace for a night, as long as they’re up early and on their way. Those who linger risk a rude awakening from Menander’s wet mop in their faces.

8. Livery Stable: At the stable next door to the Silver Stoat, Sophia Imirras (female human commoner/expert) offers horses (and a single pony) for hire or sale, as well as stabling and grooming. Royal couriers on their way to or from Demgazi or Zimar often change horses here. None of Sophia’s horses are combat trained. Sophia also has two carts, a wagon, and a carriage for hire. A traveling noble gave her the carriage as a reward when she managed to calm the newly broken stallion he was riding before it could trample him. Both luxurious and ostentatious, the carriage sees most of its use at village weddings.

9. Town Square: The most notable feature of Heldren’s town square is the large statue of a beautiful woman right in the center of the town. Usually just called “the Lady,” the statue has been here for as long as anyone can remember, and no one knows who it actually represents. Some believe the Lady was the founder of Heldren or some ancient, forgotten Taldan noblewoman or even a mysterious fey forest goddess. Others have more sinister theories—an evil witch turned to stone for her wickedness or a magical statue through which the satrap of Qadira can spy on Taldor. On any given day, a few entrepreneurs selling goods or produce can be found on the square, and a market is held on the last Fireday of every month. Elder Natharen Safander also hosts the annual Harvest Feast in the town square, during which the people of Heldren erect a giant bonfire in the square and bedeck the Lady in garlands of flowers.

10. Ionnia Teppen’s House: The leader of Heldren’s village council, Ionnia Teppen, lives in this simple twostory house just off the town square. Ionnia’s family has had a place in Heldren’s politics for generations, and her membership on the town council was all but assured. She is by far the most influential member of the council, and most villagers consider her the defacto mayor of Heldren.

11. Temple of Erastil: Although Elder Natharen Safander is a cleric of Erastil, he tends to all of the village’s flock regardless of their faith. Though most of the villagers follow the teachings of Old Deadeye, the temple also contains shrines to Abadar, Gozreh, Pharasma, and even Sarenrae. Natharen doesn’t much care for the Taldan government’s intolerant stance on the faith of the Dawnflower, and believes that in a village like Heldren the sun goddess is as important as the god of agriculture. Natharen’s wife, Zaarida (female human commoner), is a Qadiran transplant and faithful worshiper of Sarenrae, and assists him during services and with the temple’s upkeep. The temple also has some minor divine magic items for sale, including a scroll of aid and a wand of magic weapon (24 charges).

12. Carpenter: Heldren’s foremost woodworker is Tengezil Frimbocket (male gnome expert), a gnome with a wild shock of electric blue hair. He decorates his creations with delicate and elaborate trim he calls “gingerbread,” a style that has proven quite popular among the well-to-do of Taldor’s southern cities. Tengezil claims to be from Wispil. Tengezil has a twin brother named Arbagazor, but the two were separated when they were young. Although Tengezil assumes his brother is dead his fate is still unknown.

13. Heldren Sawmill: Heldren’s sawmill stays busy day and night cutting timber harvested by the village’s woodcutters into planks for shipment to Zimar and other cities, and stacks of lumber are always heaped outside. Partners Alexius Demetri (male human commoner/expert) and Lycio Vallant (male human commoner) oversee the sawmill’s operation, which makes them two of Heldren’s wealthiest residents. Their large house on the north side of town is easily Heldren’s largest private home, nicknamed “Sawmill Manor” by the town.

14. The Butcher of Jalrune: The name of this butcher shop refers to the supposed nickname of its proprietor, Perkin Tarimm (male halfling expert/warrior), who claims to be a retired Zimar corsair. Customers are welcome to enjoy one of the pickled sows’ ears in the large jar on the counter while they wait for Perkin to prepare their cuts of meat.

15. Old Mother Theodora’s: Every village has its resident wise woman, and Heldren is no exception. No one in the village is sure just how ancient Old Mother Theodora (as everyone calls her) is, but she’s been around as long as anyone in town can remember. Old Mother Theodora is Heldren’s most skilled midwife, and she helped deliver just about everyone currently living in the village. She’s also a soothsayer and hedge witch, and villagers come to her to have their fortunes told or buy love potions or herbal remedies. Among the jars of dried herbs and strange ingredients in her hut, Old Mother Theodora also has a scroll of sleep and a wand of scorching ray (42 charges) that she might be willing to part with for the right price.

Above is a very detailed description of the village of Heldren and it's main locations and personalities, please take a few minutes to read it because it would be good for those of you have spent some time in the village to at least built up a passing relationship with some of these individuals. The Silver Stoat tavern seems to be the only place to be this evening so it would be helpful if you were either all there (for some reason) or making your way there. In your first post, please include a physical description as you start interacting with other PCs or NPCs and we'll go from there!


Welcome, players. Hope you brought your cold-weather gear!

Liberty's Edge

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Hey everyone.

If you like a fast paced game that still encompasses lots of exciting combat, exposition and description along with strong NPC interaction – this is the game for you, because I am a fan of all those things!

I am looking for 4-6 players who ideally haven’t read through or played this AP but if you have, provided you can separate player from character knowledge we should be fine.

Characters

Creation Rules:

• 20 point buy.
• No more than one stat beneath 8 after racial modifiers.
• No stat higher than 18 after racial modifers.
• 150gp starting gold.
• Max hp at level 1 and average thereafter.
• Core races only (I am something of a traditionalist here, not a fan of Grippli Paladins :/)
• Classes – any except for Gunslinger and Summoner. ACG classes are fine, Occult Adventure classes won’t be accepted.
• No third party content and Slumber Hex is out (sorry, witches)
• 2 traits – one from the player’s guide and one other. No rich parents trait. I would really rather traits that are picked for a role playing or character element than a flat +2 bonus to initiative because initiative ROXXORZ!!
• Player’s Guide can be found HERE
• Anything I’ve missed?

I tend to ask a lot of my players in that I like good quality roleplaying in a pretty aggressive timescale as well. Ive seen so many games die here because they are just too slow so I am asking my players for a minimum of one post per day though would prefer more. Obviously we all have lives but I really like to keep my games rolling so if you don’t feel like you can commit to that please think about it before applying.

House Rules

Initiative:

Slow combat is probably the number one reason why games die out so I like to keep fights flowing.

• Enemies will take average initiative, separated by mobs. I will roll for Heroes and order you according to whether you scored higher or lower than the average. For example:

Skeleton 1 init: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14
Skeleton 2 init: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3
Necromancer init: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9
Hank the Ranger init: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13
Bobby the Barbarian init: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18
Presto the Magician init: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21
Shiela the Thief init: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13

Heroes Group 1 = Presto and Hank

Heroes Group 2 = Bobby and Sheila

Round 1 – Enemy (Necromancer)

Then:

Round 1 – Heroes (Presto and Hank)

Then:

Round 1 – Enemy (Skeletons)

Then:

Round 1 – Heroes (Bobby and Shiela)

Any of the players in a group can act in any order. So this round Hank might go first because he happened to post before Presto, in the next round it might be the opposite.

Hero Points:

I like Hero Points and give them out liberally based on player’s doing cool stuff, thinking laterally, overcoming challenges or roleplaying well. I have changed them slightly for the Pbp format.

Hero Points can be spent at any time and do not require an action to use (although the actions they modify consume part of your character’s turn as normal). You cannot spend more than 1 hero point during a single round of combat. A hero may have a maximum of 2 hero points at any one time. Whenever a hero point is spent, it can have any one of the following effects.

• Bonus: A hero point grants you a +4 luck bonus to any one d20 roll. You can use a hero point to grant this bonus to another character, as long as you are in the same location and your character can reasonably affect the outcome of the roll (such as distracting a monster, shouting words of encouragement, or otherwise aiding another with the check).

• Extra Action: You can spend a hero point on your turn to gain an additional standard or move action this turn. If that action is casting a spell, the spell must be at least three spell levels lower than your maximum.

• Inspiration: If you feel stuck at one point in the adventure, you can spend a hero point and petition the GM for a hint about what to do next. If the GM feels that there is no information to be gained, the hero point is not spent.

• Recall: You can spend a hero point to recall a spell you have already cast or to gain another use of a special ability that is otherwise limited. This should only be used on spells and abilities possessed by your character that recharge on a daily basis.

• Reroll: You may spend a hero point to reroll any one d20 roll you just made. You must take the results of the second roll, even if it is worse.

• Cheat Death: A character can spend 2 hero points to cheat death. How this plays out is up to the GM, but generally the character is left alive, with negative hit points but stable. For example, a character is about to be slain by a critical hit from an arrow. If the character spends 2 hero points, the GM decides that the arrow pierced the character’s holy symbol, reducing the damage enough to prevent him from being killed, and that he made his stabilization roll at the end of his turn. Cheating death is the only way for a character to spend more than 1 hero point in a turn. The character can spend hero points in this way to prevent the death of a familiar, animal companion, eidolon, or special mount, but not another character or NPC.


Please let me know if you have any questions and I hope you have fun submitting your characters! I'd like a few paragraphs on your characters backstory and style, it doesn't have to be Shakespeare but I appreciate if effort has gone in.

Recruitment will close one week from today – Sunday 9th November.

Liberty's Edge

Hey guys, a situation came up in my game where a witch cast a melee touch attack spell on our swashbuckler.

Before I rolled the attack, the swashbuckler declared he wanted to parry. Rather than get bogged down in an arguement, I just ruled it was fine and moved on.

But after the game it did provoke a discussion so I was wondering whether this had been addressed anywhere?

Liberty's Edge

I'm not sure if there's a thread on this already, and if there is I'd appreciate someone linking me to it, but how does shopping for expensive items at high level work exactly?

Most cities of even metropolis size seem to have a base gp limit of less than 25k. So where can I buy anything more expensive than that? I know cities can place an order for the item or you could commission it to be crafted or even craft it yourself, but in a campaign where you are in any way time-bound waiting 75 days to craft something like a Robe of the Archmagi just isn't feasible.

Am I missing something obvious here? (I hope so)

Liberty's Edge

There are plenty of threads about which AP is best but I was wondering which play by post game is your favourite to read?

Some of the games on these boards have fantastic role players and read like novels.

If I were going to read through one just to enjoy the story and interaction between characters (and maybe steal some ideas for my own game), which would you recommend?

Liberty's Edge

I'm just wondering what the community see as the pros and cons of each and, generally, which they prefer?

Liberty's Edge

Best place to discuss character concepts, backstory, ask clarifying questions about the campaign Tec.

Liberty's Edge

Calling all players!

Liberty's Edge

Gameplay now open

Liberty's Edge

Discussion is now open

Liberty's Edge

Recruitment for this has already been completed.

Liberty's Edge

Hi all

I have a question about those occasions when a pc is stuck in a cloud or pitch darkness or sleetstorm effect.

How do you resolve them getting out of it when they dont know which way to go? For example, in a large area effect like sleetstorm that completely obscures vision, I think its perfectly possible for a character to walk in a circle for the duration of the spell, especially if they fall prone and have to struggle to get up. Do you allow your pcs to simply walk in one direction until they are out of the effect? Or a wisdoms or survival check to determine direction and avoid getting lost? A perception check to pinpoint the sound of battle and head that way?

Interested in your thoughts