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So for well over two years now, Clinton Boomer and I have been brainstorming and designing (in our free time) a dark, new modern campaign setting for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. We call it, Bloodlines & Black Magic. If you've been itching for some modern Pathfinder, you should really check out what we're building! What is Bloodlines & Black Magic?:
Bloodlines & Black Magic is a campaign setting based on our modern world that pits rich political elites, desperate cultists, supernatural horrors, celestial powers, secret magical orders, and ancient bloodlines in a clandestine war against one another over a reality which nearly all of humanity can neither see, nor comprehend. Hidden from the mundane world, only a rare few individuals ever gain a glimpse of this dimension of horrors, this realm of human tragedy and desperation, learning secrets that – if spoken in public – would mark most of them as insane (or worse). Aligned with secret organizations or working as individual agents, Bloodlines & Black Magic gives these modern heroes a dark universe to explore, painting the canvas of the modern world an even dimmer, decaying grey than it already is. Bloodlines & Black Magic draws liberally from the lore of our modern world, weaving historical facts, modern myths, and secret conspiracies into a supernatural world that could be, if only we had the eyes and patience to pierce the neon-stained billboards which hides it from our view. Steeped in esoteric lore, popular culture, current events, and a connected, global culture, Bloodlines & Black Magic pushes the boundaries of what we think we know, delving through the mirror and into the deeper parts of the human abyss. Want to learn more? Check out the Bloodlines & Black Magic KS page!
Meet the Team!: Bloodlines & Black Magic has an excellent team that includes: Matt Banach has been a freelance writer and game designer ever since he entered the fray by making the Top 16 in Paizo's RPG Superstar 2009. Over the years Matt has also contributed to Darkness Without Form: Secrets of the Mimic, Kobold Ecologies, Adventure Quarterly, multiple short works of fiction, and some soon-to-be-released stuff for Rogue Genius Games. Clinton Boomer is a playwright, screenwriter, short-story author, novelist and ENnie-award-winning game-designer who began writing professionally after placing in the Top 4 of Paizo Publishing’s inaugural RPG Superstar competition in 2008. He's worked on the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting, Horror Adventures, Ultimate Intrigue, Splintered Godhood (from Legendary Games), and his the author of his own novel, The Hole Behind Midnight. Stephen M. DiPesa has been working on RPGs and game-related fiction for close to 20 years, now, having written (and periodically developed and play tested) for such lines as Mage: The Ascension, Mage: The Awakening, Vampire: The Requiem, Werewolf: The Forsaken, Changeling: The Lost, Hunter: The Vigil, Mummy: The Curse, Dark Ages, Aberrant, Curse the Darkness, as well as several others that he’s not allowed to talk about, just yet. Erik Frankhouse has been a freelance game designer since 2003. He started in the video game industry with THQ and later became lead designer and art director at Forever Interactive. He went on to start his own video game company, Sunder Studios. In 2011 his heart brought him back to tabletop as a designer and cartographer. You can find his work within the pages of TPK games, five time ENnie nominated and silver awarded Razor Coast, and now here with Bloodlines & Black Magic. Ben McFarland is a multi ENnie award winning designer. Ben cut his teeth on Open Design and has since gone on to design material for Paizo Publishing, Wizards of the Coast, Kobold Press, Rite Publishing, Atlas Games, Storm Bunny Studios, and many others. Ben has worked on three Kickstarter projects for Kobold Press -- Deep Magic (2014 Judge's Choice Ennie), Midgard Tales, and Southlands (2016 Silver Ennie for Best Setting). Jaye Sonia is the owner of Storm Bunny Studios, the creator of Rhune: Dawn of Twilight, and the co-creator of Bloodlines & Black Magic (with lots of help from his friend, Clinton Boomer). While Jaye focuses primarily on his own campaign settings, he has worked on numerous other products since he started designing RPG material well over a decade ago. Brian Suskind A professional screenwriter in his day job, Brian Suskind is the ENnie award winning designer of numerous RPG projects. His work has appeared under the banners of Kobold Press, Zombie Sky Press, Storm Bunny Studios and Legendary Games.
Hey all, I've had a few folks from other sites (mostly social networks) ask about playing in my campaign setting Rhune: Dawn of Twilight and I'm making a concentrated effort to move that discussion away from places like Facebook (which I find very distracting at times) and wanted to start a thread here to address some of their questions. I'm setting it up sort of like an FAQ (for the time being) and will be checking it bi-weekly (Tuesdays and Thursdays). If you've messaged me or asked about something specific, feel free to dive in here! Cheers,
PS... for folks running Rhune, feel free to post about your home brew stories and adventures here! I want to hear about them!
Sheboygan NonCon, “The Quick & Dirty” The idea behind Sheboygan NonCon is pretty simple – drinking great craft beers and playing great games! This February, we’re bringing as many of our local friends together to drink beer, roll dice, and to kill dragons. This is going to be a three-day event, with several tables designated for open gaming, and a loose schedule of pre-planned games. Of course, since this is our first year, we’re playing it pretty loose. We haven’t scheduled any games, nor have we asked GMs to run specific tables. Instead, we’re coming together and just playing some games. While it’s true some GMs are planning ahead for the event (because that’s what awesome GMs do), we’re not posting a schedule of events until we know how many people will be in attendance, how many GMs we’re going to need, and what games they’re going to be running. As for time slots, we’ll be using the space provided by 8th Street Ale Haus from 11 AM to 1:30 AM each day, with the event officially kicking off at 5 PM on Friday and ending at 5 PM on Sunday. During those hours, we’re going to be running games in 5-6 hour slots. We’re going to have roughly eight tables available for play, not including the Card Bar! Our time slots for games are as follows: Friday
Saturday
Sunday
The Tentative Game Schedule Friday – Going Old School! 1st and 2nd edition dungeon grinds, as well as some Pathfinder and a table or two of Numenera! Saturday – Pathfinder Society, old school Gamma World, assorted board games, Dungeons & Dragons (2nd edition), Dungeons & Dragons (5th edition), Numenera, and a Pathfinder Special Event! Sunday – Pathfinder (Rhune), assorted board games, Star Fleet Battles, and whatever else people feel motivated to try or play. *If there is enough participation and interest, we may run a multi-party Pathfinder event on Saturday night.
Hey guys, I just wanted to let everyone know that last week, we launched our Kickstarter for the expanded and updated Stormpunk Character Primer and Beyond the Glittering Fane adventure arc. We're nearly at 200% funding and, since launch, have met many of our stretch goals! If any of you are interested in checking out what we've got in store, you can follow the link here. Thanks way in advance for all of your interest and support! Cheers,
So, my players finished part 1 of book 2 and are out on the Fevered Sea, looking for plunder and additional crew members. Being new to all this pirate business, they decided to go with what they knew... and have since press-ganged some 30+ additional persons into service, including all of the able-bodied males (alongside a few women and children) of a Mwangi village into service. Naturally, I assumed they'd quickly be going into the "slave trade" and was a little surprised when they informed me otherwise, as such work "would be evil" and they're "not those sorts of pirates." Besides being speechless, I sort of wanted to point out they were, by press-ganging others into service, already in that business, as most people view forcing another sentient being into any sort of indentured servitude an evil act. As does kicking people off of boats into shark infested waters (whether to prove a point or gain infamy) or slaughtering people just to take their stuff. Now mind you, I don't have a problem with my players going the "evil route" for this AP. But I'm at a loss, as they're almost universally (well, one of the five isn't) working to stay neutral and actively arguing that all of the ruthless stuff they're doing isn't actually evil... ..it's just part of being a pirate (and clearly CN). So, here's my question; How are you treating piracy in the AP? What do you consider evil acts and what do you consider to be safer, morally "grey" areas?
Hey Team Cosmo and Friends! I was just placing an order, reviewed my recent orders, and noticed I was charged twice at Gen Con for a book I bought at the booth. 1764614 Aug 4, 2011 Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Book of the Damned—Volume 2: Lords of Chaos (PFRPG) Print Edition $18.18
I only bought one copy of this book, but apparently it went into the system twice. Can we fix this? Thanks in advance,
Looking for something "Northern?" Looking for something "Steampunk?" Looking for something that focuses on Ragnarök, gunslinging dwarves, ancient runes, strange realms, and need to piece it all together before the Great Tree falls apart? Take a look at Rhune: Dawn of Twilight. Rhune is a Free (let me repeat that, free) Pathfinder compatible Stormpunk setting I released at GenCon last year that continues to grow and evolve (much to my delight)! It's illustrated by amazing, industry recognized artists, too! Additionally, I've recently begun to release a small newsletter to support Rhune: Dawn of Twilight called, Twilight's Dawn that offers additional pieces of lore about the setting, shares some of its amazing art, and even follows the slightly askew adventures of my local gaming group here in Kuwait! And, once again, it's free!! Issue #1 of Twilight's Dawn is available here. It features art from Hugo "Butterfrog" Solice, Jon Roberts, and Darren Calvert. Oh, and a bunch of nonsense by yours truly. Issue #2 of Twilight's Dawn is available here. It features a very cool cover by Terry Maranda! Additional art by Darren Calvert. Oh, and some crazy stuff about Rhune by yours truly.
Rhune: Dawn of Twilight is a unique campaign setting designed for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game™ that combines elements from traditional steampunk, planar travel, and Norse mythology. We call it “Stormpunk.” At its heart, Rhune: Dawn of Twilight is world counting down the days till its ruin – a land desperately in need of heroes. Competing factions, each with very distinctive views about Ragnarök, prepare for the inevitable. These factions bypass racial boundaries and national borders alike, creating distinctive groups with highly focused agendas. Some like the Clockwork Accord race to stop the Ragnarök Clock, hoping to use technology to bend the lands of Rhune to their will. Others, like the ælves and their druid allies, shun technology and actively work to return all of Midgard to its natural state. Some groups, like the Dwarves of Redwall, embrace the inevitable conflict and prepare for the final battle; training day and night for the greatest war they will ever fight. Players exploring the lands of Rhune will face distinctive challenges on Midgard, as well as on the other eight realms that make up the Great Tree. From the frozen wastelands of the north to the shadowy realms of Nachtland, players will explore lands of dark angles and strange realms that overlap both time and space. Some will do so as champions of ancient, noble gods. Others will serve as cultists to renegade godlings. Players in the world of Rhune: Dawn of Twilight will find ample opportunities to explore both traditional character roles while simultaneously approaching social issues all too familiar with the modern world. Players will have the chance to advocate philosophies and ideologies familiar to them, while still enjoying the action the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game™ rules encourage. You can now download the Rhune: Dawn of Twilight Stormpunk Character Primer for free. Just go to the website and enjoy! Cheers,
Hey Cosmo, I've been waiting for my Chronicles subscription to ship, so that a certain pdf about dwarves will show up in "My Downloads" and, so far, everything is waiting for my Adventure Path #29. So, I've got to ask. Is it due out soon? Are ninjas stopping you from getting it out? Do I need to come out there and help you guys fight em' off? Okay, seriously, is there a reason the .pdf won't drop before the item ships? I'm itching to use it and this "AP #29" wait is killing me! Cheers,
When we normally purchase a physical PFRPG item in store, the associated .pdf is free. Was this supposed to continue to be the case for physical items purchased (as a "web order", that wonderfully shorter line on the left side of the booth) at Gen Con? I know I received a .pdf copy of the PFRPG main book, but I also got two copies (1 ordered through the subscriptions, one on site at Gen Con). I realize that physical copies bought through other vendors wouldn't receive the .pdfs free, but I thought the web purchase through you would be the same as an online order. So, is this the case? If so, can you pull up my order history cause' I'd really love .pdf copies of my Cheliax: Empire of Devils and Qadira companions. Thanks way ahead of time!
Wraithstrike, in an attempt to address the recent halt in PDF sales by WoTC, has apparently reached Mr. Leeds and is going to speak with him in the future about that very topic. As I understand it, he's taking suggestions from the community in an attempt to redress this issue. So, I was thinking this would be a good opportunity to address what you'd like to see from WoTC, in regards to how it has handled the PDF issue, as well as other recent, community perceived, "Blunders." For what it's worth, this isn't an attempt to jump-start the edition wars or to pour hate on WoTC. Constructive suggestions, however, are welcome. So, if you were talking with Mr.Leeds, what would you be suggesting?
My predictions for Paizo, 2010 and beyond... 1) Gen Con sales for the PFRPG in August are insane. Long lines lead to an eventual sell out, angering some and upsetting others. Consistent maturity by Pathfinder players ensures there is no violence. Second and third print runs cause trees to die in record numbers. Former Vice President Al Gore points his finger at the Paizo and shakes it. Bad Paizo. 2) Paizo licenses its software developement to a cutting edge company, making to accessible accross platforms. Mac and Penguin users rejoice! 3) A PFRPG app is designed for the iPhone. It hits the top ten downloads on iTunes by summer of 2010. Geeks have an excuse to leave their phones on (silent ...I said keep it on silent, damnit) during game. Laptops gone, people have room to roll dice again! 4) Paizo starts its own line of plastic, collectible minis for the PFRPG. It fills the niche left by another company. The prices are competitive, encouraging gamers to save pennies and recycle pop cans. Paizo's carbon footprint is reduced. Former Vice President Al Gore stops shaking finger at Paizo. Good Paizo. 5) Paizo's positive communication policy broadens it's customer base. As other game companies tighen their grip, Paizo makes wonderful use of the mystical, open-handed technique. Players globally rejoice and name July 29th "Paizo for the Win" day. 6) Gen Con sees fewer and fewer attendees. Paizocon a massive success. Hotels in Las Vegas offer excellent deals to the fledgling publishing company. Paizocon 2010 held in Vegas! Woot! 7) Paizo and Open Design unite. The Game Designer's Academy is born and creative gamers all over start writing. More and more modules are produced. Paizo offers all of them as digital files, with high-quality, print-on-demand books available as back-ups. Trees thank Paizo. Al Gore smiles a little more.
Dead Customer Service, Did this order ever ship? I sent it to one of my fellow gamers (R.Wright) here in Kuwait and, after nearly a months time, he still has not received the package. My account was charged on the 18th of last month for the order: If you would like, I can give you copies of the trace code for the transaction. I don't want a refund or anything... he's just really looking forward to getting his Beta Pathfinder books! Where are they!?!?!?!? I feel like such a smuck telling him they should be in any day!! ;) Patiently waiting,
Hey all, I had a look around and noticed that, although there are a few threads covering NPCs, I have yet to see anything covering Pathfinder monsters (either converted or original). So, if anyone is game, I'd like to see Pathfinder takes on OGL 3.5 monsters. Here are two I created (specific to my homebrew, updated to Pathfinder rules). Enjoy. Clockwork Fireguard CR 2
During Combat: Clockwork Fireguards attempt to injure and drive off opponents at range with their imbedded repeating clockwork crossbows. When forced into melee, they fight with their batons. Clockwork Fireguards focus on a single target at a time and fight until disabled. Moral: Clockwork Fireguards until disabled or commanded to stand down by a controller.
Fireguard Plate (Ex): Clockwork Fireguards are built from a flame-resistant plate that grants them Resistance to Fire 5. Barrage Shot (Ex): Once per encounter, a Clockwork Fireguard can rapidly fire 3 shots at a single target within 30 feet as a standard action. The Clockwork Fireguard rolls once for the 3 shots and if it hits, it deals 3d4 points of damage. If it misses, the ability is still used. So, what do you think?
Hey All, One of the biggest things I heard people complain about with 3.0/3.5 when it came to spells and magic was the relative weakness of lower level spells at high level play because of static DCs. Using the core mechanics, spell DCs don't scale (without Feats, and even then it's only a one time boost). Yet, saving throws continue to increase with levels. The effect for many spells that targeted high level opponents became pretty predictable. Unless the opponent rolled really low, they were probably going to save. To scale DCs, I simply adjusted the mechanic slightly. The current formula is [spell's DC following the 10 + spell level + relevant ability modifier formula + any Feats]. Once that is set, only boosting ability scores (Fox's Cunning, the like) or reducing them (poison, ability damage, ect) would really change the DC for a spell. However, if you want the DC of a spell to scale by level (effectively allowing spells to become more powerful as the characters become more powerful), you can use the following optional formula: Method 1) 11 + 1/2 character's level + relevant ability modifier Let's look at how they stack up for a standard 10th level Wizard (no special Feats) with an Int 18 casting a 5th level spell: Standard 3.5 DC: 10 + 5 (spell level) + 4 (Int) = 19. Method 1) 11 + 5 (1/2 character level) + 4 (Int) = DC 20. This is close to the original method, but yields a slightly more potent spell. If we take a 1st level spell, however, we see the difference: Standard 3.5 DC: 10 + 1 (spell level) + 4 (Int) = 15 Method 1) 11 + 5 (1/2 character level) + 4 (Int) = 20 Obviously, the highest level spells a character can cast for his caster level scale pretty evenly. However, a more powerful character (10th level) casting lower level spells (using Method 1) sees a more accurate representation of his command of magic/connection to deity. So, what does everyone think?
Good Morning everyone, Lately, I've been looking at rearranging and consolidating the skills we used in 3.5. Although I began to address this some time ago, the Pathfinder Alpha release was a real inspiration. The release of 4E has only reinforced what I had intuited before; There is a general push to simplify and speed up combat within the d20 system without sacrificing too much in the way of character background/scope. I don't think this has been successfully accomplished in 4E (weighing in with only 17 skills, total). I think Pathfinder has been doing a much better job (30+ skills), although some reduction couldn't hurt. What follows is my take on skill allocation, by class, as I'd like to see it in the future. Some skills have went away (Profession, for instance), others have been replaced, and others have gotten facelifts to fit what I feel was the original intent behind them (Knowledge: Engineering is a good example). All in all, I'm attempting to streamline the skills while expanding them across the board by class. I'm also attempting to remove some of the skill gaps between classes (rogues and bards still have the most; barbarians still have the least), while maintaining a logical association between class and skill. Originally, I tried to post my chart for simplicity, but I wrote it in Excel and the boards here don't like the formatting. Even after formatting it by hand, it wouldn't post accurately, so I had to use the list below. If anyone would like a copy of the original spreadsheet, message me and I'll send it over. Otherwise, give it a look and tell me what you think. If anyone has any questions as to why I moved, changed, added, or removed a skill, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to explain by choice: The Skills, by Class: Barbarian - Acrobatics, Athletics, Craft, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Perception, Stealth, and Survival. Bard - Acrobatics, Appraise, Bluff, Craft, Diplomacy, Know (Arcana), Know (Dungeon), Know (Geography), Know (History), Know (Military), Know (Nobility), Know (Religion), Know (Streets), Linguistics, Perform, Sense Motive, Sleight of Hand, Spellcraft, and Use Magic Device. Cleric - Appraise, Craft, Diplomacy, Heal, Know (Arcana), Know (History), Know (Nobility), Know (Religion), Linguistics, Sense Motive, and Spellcraft. Druid - Athletics, Craft, Diplomacy, Fly, Handle Animal, Heal, Know (Geography), Know (History), Know (Religion), Linguistics, Perception, Spellcraft, and Survival. Fighter - Athletics, Bluff, Craft, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Know (Dungeon), Know (Military), Know (Nobility), and Survival. Monk - Acrobatics, Athletics, Craft, Intimidate, Know (History), Perception, Perform, Sense Motive, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth. Paladin - Athletics, Craft, Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Heal, Know (Military), Know (Nobility), Know (Religion), Perform, and Sense Motive. Ranger - Athletics, Craft, Handle Animal, Heal, Intimidate, Know (Dungeon), Know (Geography), Perception, Stealth, and Survival. Rogue - Acrobatics, Appraise, Athletics, Bluff, Craft, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Intimidate, Know (Dungeon), Know (Streets), Linguistics, Perception, Perform, Sense Motive, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, and Use Magic Device. Sorcerer - Appraise, Bluff, Craft, Diplomacy, Fly, Know (Arcana), Know (Streets), Perform, Sense Motive, and Spellcraft. Wizard - Appraise, Craft, Fly, Know (Arcana), Know (Dungeon), Know (Geography), Know (History), Know (Military), Know (Nobility), Know (Religion), Linguistics, Spellcraft. Altered Skills Old Skill ------------------------------->New Skill Climb ----------------------------------> Athletics
I rolled Climb and Swim into Athletics to simplify. I rolled Disguise into Bluff because, essentially, that's what a disguise is; an attempt to bluff someone into believing you're someone else. I think that having an actual Disguise Kit should give a character a bonus to Bluff. I think lacking the proper tools should impose a penalty. Escape Artist could be placed under both Athletics (break free) and Acrobatics (slip free), which is apparently what another game company did with their new edition ...cough cough. Personally, I think it should fall under Acrobatics solely, as their is generally a burst DC listed besides things like ropes, chains, and the like anyway. I don't think training in a skill would make you stronger (breaking or bursting ropes and chains is STR based), and is misplaced. That's just me. Knowledge (Engineering) is one of those skills used to identify the strengths, weaknesses, and inner workings of things like castles, walls, bridges, and the occasional siege engine. I think the game would be better served if this skill was called Knowledge (Military), as it would cover those things, as well as rank structures, army tactics, unit identification, customs, and so forth. I think it would broaden the scope of the skill. In addition, I think it would give the Fighter class a Knowledge Skill to showcase. I don't think great generals are made by swinging a sword alone. I'm still tossed up as to whether I should add this skill and leave Knowledge (Engineering) alone. Knowledge (Local) became Knowledge (Street) because, frankly, that's really what the aim of the skill has always been, in my humble opinion. I think it's a nice reflection to Knowledge (Nobility), which deals with the upper crust, etiquette, ect. It's now called Streetwise in 4E. Knowledge (Nature) became Survival because the two already overlap, mostly. I can't think of too many things (besides identifying monsters associated with Nature) that Survival can't cover. I rolled Knowledge (Planes) into Knowledge (Religion) because, for the most part, the Planes are where the Gods and their servants live. I can't think of too many cases where you might need to know something about a particular plane (Heaven, Hel, Dis, the Summerlands, whatever) that you haven't learned from myth and religion. Profession - Yeah, regardless of other threads, I think it's useless. Creative role playing, a back story, and a rank or two in craft is all someone really needs to generate an occupation. I fail to see why we need a mechanic to assist in creative role playing. What does Profession really do, mechanically, in D&D besides generate income for the character during downtime.... And Lastly, Ride. Here's the thing. I have never met, heard of, or read about someone that rode an animal in any skilled capacity that did not also know how to handle it on the ground? You can own and ride a horse, but you don't know how to feed it or lead it? I think Handle Animal should cover Leading, Training, and Riding Animals. So, what do you think? Cheers,
So I'm running "Within the Circle" by Sam Brown (Dungeon #130). After passing the first encounter, the PCs move north along the river toward the Muckdweller village and completely fail to notice the trap in the road (a 10' pit). The lead PC is a Paladin on horseback, leading by about 10'. His horse sets off the trap and they both tumble in. It was pretty funny. Needless to say, I've got to ask. Has anyone ever had a PC riding a horse set off a pit trap before? How did you handle it? |
