Jodah's page

Something just occurred to me.

I like to use a little music in my games. Just some various mood stuff to make combat less boring and provide some background noise.

And I suddenly realized that the Six Trials, being a chelish opera, would have a musical accompanyment. What's more, each scene and act is fairly set as to it's mood. Thus, one could actually throw together a playlist of music, one song for each scene or act.

However, my knowledge of music is kind of shallow and limited. Anyone else out there with ideas?

Well, this is it. Im trying out 4th edition. This summer, with my little brother and his friends. My own little campaign set in ustalav. The general theme is going to be vampire hunting/general monster hunting. But, I'm finding myself a little stymied, in terms of monsters. I just dont have a good feel for the realities of Ustalav.

I understand varisia top to bottom. Trolls and giants in the mountains. Goblins on the coast. Horrible things skulking in the thassilonian tombs. The occasional elder thing from beyond reality. Frog-men and body snatchers.

But what exactly is ustalav like? It seems civilized and settled; there are cities and towns aplenty, with only a few things like haunted castles and some messed up stuff around gallowspire. But beyond that, I dont know. Is the place really overrun with vampires? If you walk down the road, how likely is it that a wraith or zombie will eat your face? What are the towns like? It seems to be kind of caught in a stagnat time period compared to the rest of avistan.

How much of a problem are the Orcs of Belkzen? Are there bandits? Is there a militia, or an army? Something about the cities description reminds me of 1600s germany, or regency england (or at least be blackadder portrayal thereof. Or at least, the damn romantic poets lounging about)

Numeria is right next door. Do gearmen, the Technic League, or barbarians with lazers crop up alot?

I'm just having a hard time trying to justify 4th edition's assumed playstyle with the setting I want to use.

Any thoughs?

Im afraid that, for the moment, I'm going to have ask the guys at paizo to cancel my subscriptions for the time being. I want to make it clear that this is in no way because I am dissatsfied with their products, its just that:

1. Times are tough

2. I'm nearly halfway through second darkness, and if I was asked to run another game, I would just send the new group down CotCT. For the moment, I simply dont NEED another AP.

I'll re-instate my subscriptions after legacy of fire, in time for the big 3.P release, and I'll have a look at Legacy of fire in retrospect. Hells, maybe i can convince someone else to run legacy of fire, then I can finnaly play instead of just DMing all the time.

Summation: cancel my subscriptions. I'll be back in 5 months or so.

A random thought that I figured the community should ponder: does Pathfinder deserve a place in TVtropes? It certainly has quite a few featured, such as Our Monsters are Different, Adaptation Distillation, they changed it now it sucks, psycho lesbian, fantasy counterpart culture, genki girl (from hell: Laori Vaus), and many others.

World of Darkness has a page, so does Forgotten Realms and Eberron, and Warhammer 40K has an epicaly huge and entertaining presence. Shadowrun too.

So, how about it? Should Paizo fans descend upon TVtropes and carve out a presence there? Are there any noted Tropers on the boards here?

state your thoughts

Just wondering:

Has anyone given any thought to converting the eberron races (and artificier class) to the PFRPG? the main things that I feel would need converting are ability score adjustments and the artificier's XP payment system, as well as a few class abilities

Lets get started:

Warforged-mostly can stay as-is, but perhaps this might be a chance to make them slightly more balanced. they're already kind of LA +.35

so, how about this: remove the charisma penalty (thus differentiating them from dwarves, and making them unique among basic races in their wis penalty) but dont give them a mental score boost, like the half-orc got. this puts their ability scores slightly behind everyone else's, and should completely negate their near-broken status (I like warforged for flavor and RP, and personaly wish they were less broken). Favored class is either fighter or artificier

Changelings- give them +2 to any ability score, as human or half-elf. Replace speak language with linguistics, or just give 3 bonus languages of their choice. pretty solid. favored class bard or rogue

Shifters- already kind of too good. they can stay as-is, maybe remove the cha penalty (I feel it was over-used in 3.5) and/or give them a wisdom bonus. +2 Acrobatics, Climb. Favored class ranger or druid.

Kalashtar-????????????????????????. I dont do psionics

Artificier- their class reserve could just be removed whole cloth, but I feel there's some room here for improvement. they could be given some sort of at-will power like all the other caster classes have been given, but that might be off-flavor; the artificier has always been a prep-heavy batman that HAS to go into battle loaded down with gadgets and tricks. I am a proponent of removing alot of the expensive component costs from their infusions, though.

Any thoughts, advice, or opinions?

Just a little stat-block I slapped together for the caverns beneath the golden goblin, a sort of sub-boss to toss into the troglodyte tribe, and give the trog group there a little more personality.

Kronk is an exceptionaly debased worshiper of the demon lord of fungi, a bent and croocked creature covered in mold and parasitic growths who drools and mumbles. His fellow troglodytes fear his random temper and ability to cough up corrosive acid, but value his savant-like knowledge of demonology and support spells. built using PFRPG rules

Kronk the Insane CR 3
Troglodyte Thaumaturge 2 (Cyth-V’sug)
CE Medium Humanoid (reptilian)
Init -1; Senses darkvision 90 ft.; Perception -1
DEFENSE
AC 15, touch 9, flat-footed 15 (-1 dex, +6 natural)
hp 33 (2d8+2d6+12+6)
Fort +6, Ref -1, Will +4
OFFENSE
Spd 30 ft.
Melee 2 claws +2 (1d4+2) and bite +0 (1d4+2)
Special Attacks stench (DC 16, 30 ft, sickened 10 rounds), Acid Dart +1 (1d6+2)
Spell-like Abilities 1/day- magic stone, entangle (DC 13)
Spells Prepared (CL 4, ranged touch +1)
1st- bless, doom (DC 13)
0- detect magic, stabilize, create water
STATISTICS
Str 10, Dex 9, Con 16, Int 6, Wis 9, Cha 14
Base Atk +2; CMB +2
Feats Toughness, Multiattack, Additional Traits (scholar of the great beyond, magical knack),
Skills Knowledge (the planes) +4,

I remember when RotRL first came out. reading through that first adventure fired my DM imagination. I had so many ideas for side-treks and crazy happenings, custom content. Whole mini-adventures into the mushfens to harvest crazy fungi (from a Dungeon issue, the one with the crashed airship), Achmed the Sane, traveling proprietor of magic items.

in CotCT, I came up with an encounter that I never even used. And now, in SD, I have a really great idea involving a Tsocar (Lords of Madness) trying to infiltrate the Order of Cyphers. And this idea reminded me of the recent dirth of creativity I've been having.

Maybe Its because its summer, and my CotCT group are a bunch of sub-munchkins (they claim to want to play, but they just make fart jokes around the table, or discuss other things). Maybe once I get back to campus and start DMing for real players, I'll get my groove back.

But, Ive noticed the same thing on the boards. Very few people seem to be posting their own ideas or custom content anymore.

Is the creative bloom off? Has Pathfinder's world become set in stone? Or maybe it was the mini-dungeon setup of CotCT-the AP seemed so packed as it was, adding more seemed foolish. Has Paizo printed less open-ended material, or are they now addding so much material, in the form of setpeices, that custom content is superfluous?

Any thoughts?

So, after looking at Shadow in the Sky, and the

Seriously, of all those creepy-ass stories that have provided me with such great gaming ideas, that particular story genuinely freaked me out the most. You know the one I mean, damn you. Innsmouth was disturbing, Mountains of Madness was fascinating, but the Colours...First the hounds, then the Shoggoths, Gugs, plus the Havero, Shinning Child, and other Cosmic Horror creatures, I've grown to expect a large number of HTFBRs in Pathfinder, but these things take the cake, despite it being a lie. Tell the truth, you sick bastards are going to print the Colours, arent you? Own up.

Paizo, you guys friggin rock.

I really, really like Paizo's Iconic Characters. I like the dedication and detailed design, their diversity, everything. But there's something that we havent seen much of so far; downtime.

I recall, back in Age of Worms, there was artwork in Dragon of the old iconics not fighting monsters, but going to the theater, the drow bard watching avidly with opera glasses, while the palladin was bored and the tiefling lounged out on the seats, incising the other patrons and the cleric. Or the Tiefling and Cleric having some "girl time" being fitted for dresses, and the seamstress being horrified by the tail.
I really liked these little glimpses.

So, what I'm wondering is, will we see much artwork like this in pathfinder? I realize that space is short, and would be better served with epic vistas or combat. I suppose that the PAthfinder Companion might have room for this. I'd like to see the occasional bit of mundane stuff, like valeros getting ready to choke down Some Hagfish slime while a mass of drunken patrons chant CHUG, CHUG, CHUG, CHUG, and Merisel and Seoni in the background, looking disgusted.

Or the COTCT group sitting in a small inn room, with Seelah and Lem arguing heatedly while Ezren attempts to diffuse the situation, and Harsk is just sitting, calmly tossing throwing axes at a woodcut of queen Ileosa, giving a little glimpse into the dilemma of the Campaign.

(Just some little ideas that cropped up while I was typing)

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh, the alpha release 2.

I lament the skill system change, but accept it, and admit that it is now much improved than the original, and it does keep the decisions and variability in the game. The fixing of Polymorph and Wild shape was simple, elegant, and a godsend. As for magic item creation, I like the crafting time clarifications, but I'm not certain that the removal of XP costs is completely balanced.

Sorcerers are great, and any fears I had about bloodlines were completely and utterly assuaged. I feared that they would stranglehold sorcerers into fiend/celestial/dragon-types stuff. Paladins, seem unchanged mostly, with only a minor tweak here and there. Honestly, I didnt look too closely at them.

looking very, very good. I just wish we could see the ranger ASAP.

I know this is fantasy, but I enjoy mixing fantasy with science, and I'm a staunch proponent of the idea that magic use should be kept to a minimum. So, If you want a disease, you may as well pin down what it's agent is. Yes you could go metaphysical, with some sort of curse or black goo, but If you can create the same effect with a magicaly-empowered bacterium or undead fungus, why not?

So, what is Blood Veil's Agent? it's derived from Vorel's Phage, and foxglove manor was pretty heavy on the fungus. plus, a virus isnt as interesting. I just love the idea of an undead bacterium or fungus; why should only multi-cellular animals become undead?

Just curious whether there's an official answer out there, in case one of my players tries to cast a carefully-worded divination spell, or has a flash of inspiration to place two lenses in a tube and make a "making small things look bigger" device. Or someone decides hoard moldy bread.

Here's a side treck/random encounter, suitable for use in korvosa, with two different stat blocks, depending on party level.

Avras Nathemis was a brilliant but cruel acadamae student, a prodigy of evocation who invented several force spells, and also dabbled in the arts of necromancy. He was very nearly a sorceror, so great was his connection to magic; a natural. He loved to fighten lesser humans with his power, and often snuck out after dark to carouse and intimidate. So, when he fell for a plain but spunky and intelligent varisian girl with sorcerous powers, things went bad. Arsheli's family was renting a small flat in Waydon Street She wasnt interested in a nasty, egotistical, if handsom chelish mage, and he treated her as more of an abstract ideal to be obtained than an actual person. Eventualy, he tired of what he say as her "playing hard to get" and attempted to abduct her. It didnt go well. Arsheli's brothers beat Avras to death and dumped him in a sewer. An otyugh came along, excited by the smell of fresh meat, and was rather shocked when the corpse sat up, screamed, and shot bolts of magic at him. Avras jittered and jerked to his feet, as his skin dried and turned brittle from the massive arcane energies pulsing through his body.

It took a week to get out of the sewer, using his magic to drive off the denizens of korvosa's waste disposal system. Avras clawed his way back into the now-wretched sun, his rotten eyes blinded by it. the world looked different. All the beauty had drained from it, every touch of feeling and emotion was gone. He could see every grand monument, every pretty girl, every bustling square was the same, but there was no joy to be had from them. He set off to find something to hurt.

That was many years ago, and Avras is now a minor terror. On occasion, people in Old Korvosa hear a knocking on their door in the dead of night, and a dry, cracked voice asks to be let in, to "sit and yarn for a while, and maybe have a bite of your soul." The voice hangs about for a while, often for hours, always chatting eloquently in it's dry, cracked way from outside. Those who rush outside to confront the voice are never seen again. On occasion, those traveling the nightime streets see a figure lurching toward them down an alley, a thin arm raised and arcane power crackling along it. Most make it home to bolt the door behind them. Some dont.

Avras loves the terror he inspires, and seldom bothers to kill anyone right away. He picks a mark, and stalks them for days at a time, moving in for a slow kill, hounding them wherever they sleep. His driving force in undeath is to find and kill Arsheli, but since her family long ago packed up and left, the trail is completely cold. Now, he spends his time terrifying the poor and continuing his studies. His creativity and genius have left him without Avras even noticing, and he wastes a massive ammount of magical supplies pointlessly aping arcane research. In his self-absorbed madness, he doesnt perceive that his mind is dead and dry. To keep himself in newt eyes, he does occasional work for crime lords, as a strong-arm intimidator. He maintains a lab in the basement of a abandoned building on Waydon Steet, filling it with necromantic traps and hoarded arcane bric-a-brack.

Down a dark street, a rag-clad figure lurches and staggers toward you, a dry hissing on it's cracked lips. A wide hat sadly does not obscure it's face, and as it steps into the light, you can see the grey-brown, tight, mottled flesh, covering a jittering skeleton awash with motes of crackling blue light.

The Waydon Street Lurcher CR 3
Advanced Deathlock
NE Medium undead
Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Lifesight; Listen +8, Spot +8 Defense
AC 15, touch 13, flat-footed 12 (+3 Dex, +2 natural)
hp 25 (4d12)
Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +5
Defensive Abilities +2 turn resistance, undead traits Offense
Spd 30 ft.
Melee Bite +2 (1d4)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 4th)
At will—detect magic, inflict minor wounds (DC 13), read magic
3/day—cause fear (DC 14), magic missile, summon monster 1
2/day—ghoul glyph (DC 15), blast of force (+5, 2d6, DC 15 or fall prone)
Tactics
During Combat The Lurcher is cruel, sadistic, and cowardly. It tries to keep foes at a distance with summoned monsters, while it uses ranged magic, starting with Cause Fear on a heavily-armored foe such as a fighter or barbarian. If faced with a serious melee foe, it attempts to kill it with a blast of force.
Morale If reduced to 10 hp or less, or faced with a serious melee threat, the Lurcher flees back to it's lair, leading any persuers over a previously-cast ghoul glyph. It heals itself at every opportunity.
The Lurcher always attempts to flee rather than stand and fight.
Statistics
Str 11, Dex 16, Con —, Int 14, Wis 13, Cha 16
Base Atk +2; Grp +2
Feats Improved Initiative, Lifesight
Skills Concentration +10, Hide +10, Knowledge (arcana) +9, Listen +8,
Spellcraft +9, Spot +8, Use Magic Device +8
Languages Common, Abyssal, Infernal
Gear Eternal Wand of inflict light wounds, black onyx gem worth 50 gp,
37 sp, 5 gp, 21 cp, scroll of blast of force, scroll of identify.
SQ Turn Resistance +2

The Waydon Street Lurcher CR 6
Advanced Evolved Deathlock
NE Medium undead
Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Lifesight; Listen +5, Spot +6
Defense AC 18, touch 13, flat-footed 15 (+3 Dex, +3 natural, +2 armor)
hp 43 (6d12+6), fast healing 3
Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +6
Defensive Abilities +2 turn resistance, undead traits
Offense Spd 30 ft.
Melee Bite +4 (1d4+1)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6th)
At will—detect magic, inflict light wounds (DC 15), read magic,
3/day—scare (DC 16), magic missile, summon monster III
2/day—ghoul glyph (DC 16, paralysis for 1d6+2 rounds), manyjaws
(DC 17, 6 jaws, 1d6 each)
1/day—Contagion (DC 17)
Tactics
During Combat The Lurcher is cruel, sadistic, and cowardly. It tries to keep foes at a distance with summoned monsters, while it uses ranged magic, starting with Scare on a heavily-armored foe such as a fighter or barbarian. If faced with a serious melee foe, it inflicts a disease upon him.
Morale If reduced to 20 hp or less, or faced with a serious melee threat, the Lurcher flees back to it's lair, leading any persuers over a previously-cast ghoul glyph. It heals itself at every opportunity.
The Lurcher always attempts to flee rather than stand and fight.
Statistics Str 13, Dex 16, Con —, Int 14, Wis 13, Cha 18
Base Atk +3; Grp +3
Feats Improved Initiative, Lifesight, improved toughness
Skills Concentration +13, Hide +12, Knowledge (arcana) +11, Listen +5,
Spellcraft +11, Spot +6, Use Magic Device +13
Languages Common, Abyssal, Infernal
Gear Eternal Wand of bull's strength, empowered spellshard (magic missile), black onyx gem worth 50 gp, 37 sp, 5 gp, 21 cp, scroll of manyjaws, scroll of identify, bracers of armor +2
SQ Turn Resistance +2

There are certain monsters in the SRD that just dont get used. Thoqqas. Lamias. Tritons. Locathah. Yeth Hounds. In the case of Tritons and Locathah, this is justified (they're aquatic. there's too many aquatic creatures.)
Part of the re-imagining of classic monsters (goblins, ogres, ect) also seemingly includes using these seldom-written-of guys. Just look what Paizo did in rise of the runelords; built a whole new monster pack; the Lamyros.

And now, they've taken derro, a creature that doesnt even get artwork in the MM, and turned them into fertile design space. Creepy, short, blue people with huge white eyes who randomly abduct people and do weird things to them, then dump them back on the surface; mutilate pets and cattle, and in general, act like demented Greys. That's really, really cool. No, they're not so far advanced that we humans cant understand their ineffable benevolence; they're just crazy.

Derro are actualy mechanicaly very interesting, with nice spell-like abilities, auto-sneak attack, and sorceror charisma, they make good enemies.

a trawling of wikipedia led me to the entry on trolls, and dredged up some old memories from kindergarden of a woman who came and told us about scandinativan folklore. and, as i ferreted about in the entries, I realized that there's alot of great material here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huldra
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norse_dwarves
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jotun

and then I realized that the guys at paizo love urban legends, pop culture, and folklore inspirations for Pathfinder; just look at the Sandpoint Devil, Black Magga, Ghouls, the Wendigo, and the blood-bathing historical lich. and, just like other settings have an "asialand," Pathfinder has a "Norwayland." then, I thought of Metalocalypse, Tim the Enchanter, Linnorms, Guys in horned helmets on longboats, trolls that turn to stone when the light hits them, and that Ride at Epcot I went on when I was 8, and all in all, a Scandinavian-based Adventure Path sounds really, really cool. and unique, too. asia, ireland, lovecraft, england, and all those places get lots of love in fantasy, but sometimes it seems that no one cares for the swedes.

Come on, who wouldnt love a campaign where everyone b%@+~es about how cold it is, eats alot of fish, hang about in boats, and fight old-fashioned TROLLS. and giant snake-dragon things. and there would be dwarves too. dwarves with swedish accents, not scottish.

the only problem is that many of these folkloreic creatures are already pretty heavy in RotRL, so there would need to be a good deal of shaking up. but a bit of fudging could also give you wights. lots of room for aquatic monsters, like Grendels, giant snakes and wolves, and some really badass gods. If only Kenkus were OGL, they would make a great PC race/antagonist

would anyone else be stoked for a Land of the Linnorm Kings AP?

I'm sure that players and DMs both have thought up plenty of great character concepts by now that they may or may not have gotten to play. I thought I would make a thread for such a purpose.

1. Female Half-Elf (varisian) Bard. sensitive and intuitive. See's ghosts and spirits everywhere. Focused on skills and casting, rather than combat

2. Male Human (Chelaxian) Palladin. A fallen member of the Order of the Nail, is searching to relcaim his honor after refusing to obey an obviously evil order. uses a halberd.

3. b%#%**#-crazy goblin rogue. initialy treated as a pet, the party soon learns to appreciate his offbeat improvisational genius.

4. Blonde bearded Horned-helmet wearing Human Barbarian/Fighter from the Land of the Linnorm Kings. Drinks like a german, sails like a dutchman, fights like a demon. Axe-and-board style.

5. Male Human (Chelaxian) wizard. Has Psudodragon familiar, and specializes in abjuration and Force-based evocation. aspiring pathfinder, and way too unprepared for the horrors that come from true knowledge

6. Female Dwarf Archivist. Already knows way too much about the horrors that come from true knowledge. accompished demon-hunter/exorcist/investigator.

7. Badass human (shoanti) Ranger/Monk. Leaps out of trees and whacks you with a dual-weilded quaterstaff, while his wolf bites you in the arse. Not very happy with chelish colonists.

8. Female Tiefling (chelaxian) Warlock. Sassy and spunky, with well-hidden psychological trauma in her past. Future Hellfire Warlock, and proud of it.

9. Male Half-Orc Ranger. Good-natured and simple. Uses an absolutely massive composite longbow and has a vulture companion.

10. One-eyed Male Elf Duskblade. A scarred veteral from the Minrai Forest, his failure to beat back the evil eats at him to this day. Seeking anonimity and escape amongst the humans

11. Male Human (chelaxian) druid. wears a heavy leather robe that looks suspicously like a longcoat, uses a scimitar, and has a gecko companion. An actual badass druid. Good sense of humor.

12. Male Human (varisian) rogue. very subtle and considerate, but all too willing to whip out his war razor.

13. Male Dwarf Wizard (transmuter). Nerdy and enthusiastic about magic and mechanisms. Has a barn owl familiar, uses transmutation magic, and still drinks with the best of them.

Inspired by PF #5's lengthy and disturbingly awesom article on Lamashtu, I decided to make use of it's content with a nice little encounter. Suitable for PCs of 6th to 8th level, I think. I would toss the opening event somewhere rather nasty and blighted, like a wasteland or swamp. I just figured I'd post this in a rough form, since I dont have the time to polish it up. Creative DMs can spin out an interesting story without me writing down every little detail or possible hook.

Asskani is a highly respected cleric, on a vision quest supervised by her mentor, Miski, a much more tallented preist. Miski has had only two sucessful pregnancies, thus making her status much lower than Asskani. Miski nonetheless has a great deal of attackemnt to Asskani, despite some hidden resentment. their tribe currently possesses the skull of Mashaag, and Asskani is following it's instructions toward what she beleives is another powerfull relic. she's extremely high on herself, and therefore, when the party sees her wandering along, seemingly listening to a skull, she attacks without warning, beleiving herself equal to any isolated group of "pretties."

Obviously the party easily killer her, and takes her gear, including the skull. This doesnt sit too well with Miski, who learns of Asskani's fate at the end of the day via a scroll of Commune. Miski sends a nightmare coupled with a bestow curse, saying within the nightmare that she will remove the curse and cease her attacks if the party brings the skull to a specified location. Obviously, she intends to kill them anyway, aided by her eldest child, a deformed throwback with a normal right eye, but two snake-like left eyes.

The skull itself is extremely offensive in the typical demonic way, making crude observations, derogatory comments, and similair.

Asskani CR 5
Female Gnoll Cleric 4
CE Medium humanoid (gnoll)
Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Listen +0, spot +0
Defense
AC 19, touch 13, flat-footed 18
(+4 armor, +1 Dex, +2 natural, +2 deflection)
hp 55 (6d8+12)
Fort +9, Ref +2, Will+4
Offense
Spd 30 ft.
Melee MWK Morningstar +11 (1d6+7)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Spells: Madness, Evil
1st- Sheild of Faith (already Cast), Divine Favor (already Cast), Doom (DC 16), Lesser Confusion (DC 16)
2nd- Touch of Madness (17), Cure Moderate Wounds, Spiritual Weapon (+9, 2d4+1)
Tactics
During Combat Asskani Summons a Worg and casts Spiritual Weapon
in the first few rounds, then moves on to Doom and Lesser Confusion.
Then she enters melee, holding the charge of touch of madness for emergency use.
Morale Asskani does not flee from any fight
Statistics
Str 18, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 16, Cha 9
Base Atk +4; Grp +8
Feats Extra Turning, Improved Natural Armor, WF (morningstar)
Skills Know (religion) +8,
Languages Boggard
SQ Rebuke Undead
SpecialAbilities Gear scroll of summon monster III, Cloak of Resistance +2, Gold Holy Symbol of Lamashtu

Skull of Mashaag
(CE) Int 12, Wis 15, Cha 12
Commune 1/week
Knowledge (religion) +15, Bluff +8

Miski CR 8
Female Gnoll Cleric 7
CE Medium humanoid (gnoll)
Init –1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Listen +0, spot +0
Defense AC 18, touch 12, flat-footed 18
(+4 armor +2 natural, +2 deflection)
hp 51 (9d8+9)
Fort +9, Ref +2, Will+4
Offense
Spd 30 ft.
Melee +1 spell-storing Quarterstaff +
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Spells: Madness, Chaos
1st- Sheild of Faith (already Cast), Divine Favor (already Cast), Doom (DC 17), Lesser Confusion (DC 17)
2nd- Touch of Madness(2)(DC 18), Shatter (DC 18), Cure Moderate Wounds (2)
3rd- Bestow Curse (DC 20), Blindness/Deafness (DC 20), Rage
4th-Confusion (DC 20), Planar Ally
Special Attacks: Touch of Lamashtu (1d4 cha, DC 16)
Tactics
During Combat Miski begins by casting Planar Ally, using her child Neshtak to stall for time.
She then casts rage upon her son, or curses a warrior, or blinds a caster. she keeps the charge
of a touch of madness ready in case anyone comes close
Morale Miski holds little regard for the well-being of her minions, and leaves them to their fate if necessary. she flees If reduced to 30 HP or less
Statistics
Str 14, Dex 11, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 14
Base Atk +6/+1; Grp +8
Feats Mark of Lamashtu, Spell Focus (necromancy), improved natural armor,
Skills Know (religion) +12, Concentration +12, Heal +14
Languages Gnoll, Abyssal, Common
SQ Rebuke Undead
Gear: Scroll of Vision of Lamashtu, Wand of Searing Light (21 charges) [+6]3d8 dmg
+1 spell-storing quarterstaff (contains Bestow Curse), Silver Holy Symbol of Lamashtu

Gashtag, Slightly more powerfull Barghest CR 5
Barghest
CE Medium Outsider (Chaotic, Evil, Extraplanar, Shapechanger)
Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., scent; Listen +11, spot +11
Defense AC 20, touch 12, flat-footed 18
(+2 Dex, +8 natural)
hp 39 (6d8+12), DR 5/magic
Fort +8, Ref +7, Will+7
Offense
Spd 40 ft.
Melee Bite +9 (1d6+4) (10 ft) and 2 claws +7 (1d4+2)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks: Feed, At will: Blink, Levitate, Misdirection, Rage;
1/day- Charm Monster (15), Crushing Despair (15), Dimension Door
Tactics
During Combat Gashtag Casts Blink in the first round, then Rage in the following round.
He then enters melee with a vengeance, asving Crushing Despair for a large group.
Morale Fights to the death
Statistics
Str 18, Dex 15, Con 15, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 14
Base Atk +6/+1; Grp +14
Feats Improved Initiative, Combat reflexes, track
Skills Bluff +11, diplomacy +6, disguise +2 (+4 acting), Hide +11, Intimidate +13,
Jump +12, Listen +11, MS +11, Survival +11, Sense Motive +11, search +11, Spot +11
Languages Abyssal, Common
Special Qualities: Change shape. DR

Fiendish Worg CR 3
CE Medium Magical Beast
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., LLV scent; Listen +6, spot +6
Defense
AC 14, touch 11, flat-footed 17
(+2 Dex, +2 natural)
hp 20 (3d10+8), DR 5/magic
Fort +6, Ref +6, Will+3, Resist Cold 5, Fire 5, SR 9
Offense
Spd 50 ft.
Melee Bite +7 (1d6+4)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks: trip, Smite Good 1/day (+4 dmg)
Statistics
Str 17, Dex 15, Con 15, Int 6, Wis 14, Cha 10
Base Atk +4; Grp +7
Feats track, alertness
Skills Hide +4, Listen +6, Move Silently +6, Spot +6, Survival +2

Neshtak
Advanced Hyena CR -
CE Large Animal
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., LLV scent; Listen +6, spot +6
Defense
AC 14, touch 10, flat-footed 13
(+1 Dex, +4 natural, -1 size)
hp 48 (6d8+24)
Fort +8, Ref +5, Will+3
Offense
Spd 50 ft.
Melee Bite +9 (2d6+6)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks: Trip
Statistics
Str 18, Dex 13, Con 16, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 6
Base Atk +4; Grp +11
Feats track, Weapon Focus (bite), Improved Toughness
Skills Hide +4, Listen +10, Spot +3

Once the winter break ends, and I start DMing RotRL again, my players are likely going to be entering the mushfens. Before I start HMM, I'm throwing a fungus fetchquest at them, using some of those crazy fungi from the back of a dungeon issue.

The Mushfens, aside from several cool monsters and hazards, seems to have what I presume is a thassilonian ruin, the Lady's Light, quite close to magnimar (i'm not expecting them to trek all the way to the Sunken Queen). I assume it's some sort of lighthouse structure.

I was wondering if anyone has come upon any published info on this point on the map, or if anyone has put something there in their own game? The mushfens used to be Lustland, correct?

Personally, I think that the final battles in HMM is a little bleh, or at least not as good as the rest of the adventure. Particularly, Lamatar bayden has some really B*&!#in artwork but is statted up as a mundane wight. I realze that this is probably due to HMM's editing and contraction. It's a crowded adventure, with lots of crazy stuff happening. But, nonetheless, I feel that cool artwork deserves a cool battle, and so I therefore knocked together a creepy cold advanced wight that hides in a fogbank, slowly saps your strength and throws snowballs at you, then leaps out to eat your soul. I used spells from the Spell Compendium, the Spellstitched Template from Complete Arcane, and the Lifesense Feat from Libris Mortis, which makes the whole strategy fit together. Lamatar can see the life of living creatures, and uses it to track their location even through the Fog Cloud. I think. Maybe it doesnt quite work RAW, concealment and line of sight is nearly as bad as grappling and AoOs. and it's obviously not OGL. But I think it's a neat idea

Lamatar Bayden
Advanced Spellstitched Wight
CE Medium Undead
Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft, Lifesight 30 ft; Listen +17, Spot +17
Defense
AC 21, touch 11, flat-footed 20
(+1 dex, +6 natural, +4 armor)
hp 84 (12d12+12) DR 5/Silver and Magic
SR 13
Immune Undead, Cold
Aura corona of cold
Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +12
Offense
Spd 30 ft
Melee claw +10 (1d4+4+1d6 cold plus Energy Drain)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks Spell Like Abilities
2/day-Mage Armor (already cast), Fog Cloud, Snowblall Storm (5d6 cold, 10 ft radius Burst, DC 15 ref half), Grease (DC 14)
1/day-Summon Monster IV, Orb of Cold (+7, 12d6, DC 17 fort or be blinded for 1 round), Curse of Impending Blades, Mass (-2 on all opponent's ACs, no save), corona of cold (10 ft radius from you, 1d12 each round to all creatures in area, DC 16 fort neg, -2 to str & dex)
Tactics
During Combat
Lamatar keeps Mage Armor always active. At the begginning of the fight, he drops a Fog Cloud on the battlefeild, then hides within the chill mist, using his lifesense to keep track of his foes. he casts corona of cold and a quickened Snowball storm, then Curse of Impending Blades and another Snowball Storm. Then, he drops a summoned wolverene on the partys rear, before finally moving into melee. He attempts to stay within sight on only one or two opponents at a time, melting into the fog if he thinks he might be pinned down and casting grease to slow down the party. From saftey, he casts Orb of Cold, then continues to harry the party until defeated.
Morale
Lamatar, as a souless puppet of fell powers, fights to the death
Statistics
Str 18, Dex 12, Con -, Int 11, Wis 15, Cha 16
Base Atk +6/+1; Grp +10
Feats Improved Initiative, Improved Toughness, Quicken Spell-like Ability (snowball storm), Lifesight, Blindfight
Skills Hide +16, Listen +17, Move Silently +24, Spot +17
Languages Common
SQ UndeadTraits,Turn resistance +2
Special Abilities: Energy Drain DC 19

This gracefull orca moves through the waters of the varisian gulf with an air of purpose. as a spray of water is expelled from his blowhole, you can see two small crystals orbiting his head. You also hear a complex, barely-audible hum, as though someone was humming joyfull arpegios underwater.

Meki !'eloo
Male Singer Orca
N Huge Magical Beast
Init +6 Senses Low-Light Vision, Blindsight 120 ft, Spot +12, Listen +12
Defense
AC 21, touch 11, flat-footed 19
(+6 natural, -2 size, +2 dex, +1 insight, +4 armor)
hp 94 (9d8+54)
Fort +11 Ref +8 Will +5
Offense
Spd Swim 50 ft (10 squares), Swim-by Attack
Melee Bite +12 (2d6+12)
Space 15 ft; Reach 10 ft
spell-like abilities (CL 9): 1/day: Sound Lance (9d8, Fort DC 15 half), Fog Cloud,
Spells Known (CL 8)
2nd (1/day)- Swift Fly, Sound Burst (DC 14)
1st (3/day)-Expeditious Retreat, Improvisation(16 points, max 8/check, 8 rounds), Swift Invisbility, Cure Light Wounds (1d8+5)
0 (6/day)-Mage Hand, Detect Magic, Dancing Lights, Light, Message, Ghost Sound, Lullaby
Tactics
During Combat
Meki!'eloo makes good use of his maneuverability, disengaging from combat to cast Improvisation and Fog Cloud from a safe distance. He then charges in and bull-rushes his opponent into the water. From there, He attempts to parley once he knows his opponent will take him seriously. Should words fail, he fires a sonic lance at the squishiest looking-target, and retreats. He then casts Swift Invisibility and Charges, biting any opponent that proves capable of damaging him from afar, taking advantage of his Spring-attack feat. Ideally, all of his foes wind up in the water, at which point he moves in to finish them off, attacking from below. When hunting, he casts Either Swift Invisibility or Swift Fly to get the drop on his prey, then spends a few rounds tossing the wounded seal about before swallowing it.
Morale Meki!'eloo is fairly self-regarding and does no appreciate pain. if reduced to less than half his HP, he decides that his foes arent worth his trouble and heads off to heal himself.
Statistics
Str 27, Dex 15, Con 21, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 15
Base Atk +6, Grp +22
Special Abilities: Bardic Mysic 4/day (inspire competence, inspire courage, fascinate, countersong), Bardic Knowledge +5, Hold Breath
Feats Practiced Spellcaster, Swim-by attack, Improved Toughenss, Improved Initiative
Skills Listen +12, Spot +12, Perform (sing) +10, Knowledge (nature) +5, Diplomacy +4, Spellcraft +5, Jump +12, Swim +18, Speak Language (2)
Languages: Common, Aquan, Elven, Draconic
Gear Pearl Tooth of Power (2nd), Ioun Stone (dusty rose prism), Ioun Stone (blue spindle) [+4 armor bonus]

Meki!'eloo is a young, curious male who hangs about in temperate waters, eating Pinnipeds and fish. He's mostly killing time and improving his hunting and musical abilities so he can land a mate next year, though his hunting strategy is more effective among the ice flows of the arcitc than rocky coastline and sandy beaches. At the moment, he's discovered the usefullness of the Ioun Stones made by humans after finding a sunken ship with a hold full of treasure, and he's looking to aquire more of the fascinating little gems, since they're one of the few magic items he can use. So, he's started hanging about shiping lanes, looking for a chance to get some cool loot from those clever little land monkeys, perhaps by scaring them or doing work of some sort. So far, he's aquired a pearl-inlaid tooth via taking out a merchant's competitor by sinking his ship.

The event has caused a bit of a stir in magnimar, and many sailors and merchants are clamoring that something is done about the spate of savage orca attacks on shiping. One especialy hard-hit importer of foreign carpets suspects something is amiss, and that the orca is some kind of demon in whale form under the control of a evil mage, and I looking for a mercenary group to kill the beast.

A DC 25 knowledge (nature) check allows a character to know that Whales are actually quite intelligent, and also sometimes potent spellcasters. It's not information particularly well-known, as Whales dont exactly bandy about the fact that they can talk.

The background for this idea comes from a D&D session a few days ago. I was playing a high-level summoner sorceror, and the party was under attack by dire sharks in the water. Halfway through the fight, I got exhasperated with the low AC but massive HP of these damn things, especialy since I was swallowed by one. So, after I blasted my way out of it's stomach with a Icelance, I dropped a trio of feindish Orcas on their finned asses. to which a fellow player replied, jokingly:

"great. of all the horrible demon things you could summon, you pick free willy. what are they going to do, gum the sharks to death?"

to which I replied that Orcas are badass sadistic bastards with huge teeth who love to torture their food before they eat it, tossing it back and forth between podmates.

I was exaggerating: they toss the food back and forth to stun and disable the prey before they eat, not out of cruelty. probably. But it made me realize that there's alot of interesting design space in D&D for whales and so forth. It also reminded me of old games like Echo The Dolphin. I only played it once, but I read it's wikipedia article a few years ago.

Anyhoo, though I like whales as much as anyone, i despise hippies and soft-hearted ignorant enviromentalists (I like realistic, educated enviromentalists, though, just to clarify). So I wanted to avoid the whole "big, cute, wise giants of the deep who wouldnt harm a soul and like, help disabled kids or something" thing. Ugh, disney. So, to add more versatile badassery to Whales, and add an interesting new faction to Golarion's Oceans, I give you:

Singers
Singer is an inherited template that can be applied to any cetacean (whale, porpoise, or dolphin). Singers are whales and dolphins who, having already acheived intelligence independently of one another, have culturaly spread Bardic Lore amongst themselves to such a degree that practicaly all of them can cast songmagic. Dolphins focus on intercommunication and illusion effects, while orcas use utility and mobility/buff spells to get the drop on their prey. Sperm Whales focus on the bard's few agressive spells and information-gathering, the better to hunt their Kraken prey, while Pilots and other Cachalots are diverse in their castings. Blue whales are diverse as well, but often select spells that allow long-range communication and divination, and seldom bother with agression

Size and Type: change type to magical beast. HD, saves, BAB, ect remain unchanged,
Armor Class: unchanged
Special Qualities:
Spell-like Abilities: Singers gain three unique spell-like abilities, each castible 1/day, from the ceric, bard, sorceror/wizard, or Water domain spell lists. These are usualy weather-based, sonic effects, or enchantment effects. the maximum level of the spells can be no higher than 1/3 of the base creature's HD
Musical Affinity: Some Singers have the spellcasting ability of a bard of 1/2 their HD, as well as the Bardic Music class features of the appropriate level.

Some Singers instead gain the spellcasting ability of Sorcerors or Clerics, though these individuals are rare in the extreme. They have access to the Water, Animal, and Protection Domains.

Abilities: change from base creature as follows: Int +(8+1d6), Cha +(8+1d6). These ability scores can be adjusted manualy within discretionary limits, to provide individuality.
Skills: Singers gain additional skill points via their increased intelligence scores. they treat Perform (sing), Knowledge (all), Diplomacy, Sense Motive, Spellcraft, Jump, and Speak Language as class skills. singers speak aquan, though most learn common as well.
Challenge Rating: 1-4 HD:same as base creature +1 (+0 if cant cast bard spells); 5+ HD: as base creature +2 (+1 if cant cast bard spells).
Alignment: usually Neutral (any)

Personally, I felt that this encounter was a little bleh, so I spiced it up a bit by showing off the Faceless Stalker's abilities to greater effect, and creating an interesting "fake-out" encounter. I figured I would share it in case anyone else was looking for ideas. I also added an aditional faceless stalker, to make the "assassination attempt" more beleivable

When the PCs enter Alderns townhouse, allow them DC 25 Listen checks. Those who suceed hear, from upstairs a voice say quietly "they're here. Be ready."

On the second floor, they can make another DC 15 listen check to hear the clink of glass bottles and a soft feminine giggle. When they reach the top floor, they see what look like three young humans in affluent clothes lounging about in the empty house. One is relaxing on the couch, drinking from a glass wine bottle. the other two, a young man and woman, are sitting close together on the bed, making out. when they see the PCs, they yell in surprise, and the young woman hides on the other side of the bed. Obviously, they're just a bunch of bored rich kids hanging out in an empty house. They can explain to the PCs that the place has been empty for weeks, and that workmen boarded it up some time ago. The three act very impressed by the PCs, and ask them all sorts of enthusuastic questions about their investigations.

The young woman actually comes up the handsomest-looking Male PC and shyly says her name is Andrea Karlov, and offers to show him around Magnimar, since he's new in town. Allow the PCs Spot checks versus her Sleight of Hand check to notice that She has palmed a long knife from inside her sleve. Those who make the check get to act in the surprise round as she abruptly Sneak Attacks the PC she was talking to, a sweet smile on her face. At this point, the other two stalkers Draw their weapons and Assume their natural forms, Sneak attacking PCs who still have not acted yet.

The young man stands and draws his filigree'd lowgsword, an odd expression crossing is face, as though he was having intestinal trouble. The expression clears into one of sudden releif as, with an abrupt suddenness, his features puff up and bulge out, his arms extend, and all previous evidence of humanity is erased in an instant. (show them the Picture of a faceless stalker). He rotates his shoulders bonelessly and gives a sigh of contentment. "damn, that felt good."

The Stalkers then follow the listed tactics, fleeing once the first one dies.

The encounter went very well last night, and was a good way to finish up the session (with the sawmill and Xanesha saved for the next one). One player said, upon seeing the picture
"wow. they're as flexible and strong as gumby and herculies combined"
to which another PC replied "Gumberculies? I love that guy!" They got nice and pissed off after the fake-out and all the combat feinting, and so when the last surviving Stalker slithered out the window and onto the street below, the wizard ran up to the broken window and Fireballed her spongey ass as she tried to escape.

Two ideas seem to have wiggled their way into my campaign like a Kyuss worm into a hapless human's brain, and seemed to go down very well with my players. These ideas are the following:

The Licktoad goblin tribe;
this marsh tribe is noted for the ferocity of their warriors, and the unshakable morale of their commandos, and also for their slipshod tactics, even for goblins. this is due to their tradition of every goblin soldier carrying a toad with psychotropic properties into battle. As the battle beings, the goblin licks the toad's skin, this receiving a dose of mind-altering substance. (+2 to con, insensitivity to pain, immune to fear for 4d6 rounds, 2d4 wis damange after the effects wear off).

Nualia's Yeth Hounds;
Lamashtu being the Mother of Monsters, these Yeth Hounds guarding the chapel are particularly monstrous. They dont fly except in emergencies, but have increased offensive power. Bees constanty pour from their mouths, and also from wounds inflicted on them. These Yeth hounds have the following special abilities:
Breath Weapon: once every 2d4 rounds, 20 ft line, Reflex 1/2 (DC 13) 2d6 dmg+poison (DC 13, 1d4 dex/1 con). Their bite also deals an additional 1d4 damage, and exposes the target to the poison.
Swarmhost: once per day, a Dogwithbeesinitsmouthandwhenitbarksitshootsbeesatyou may vomit forth a swarm of bees. this counts as a use of it's breath weapon, and deals 5 damage to the DWBIIMAWIBISBAY. The swarm has only 1/2 normal HP.

Just thought i'd share what I thought were pretty neat ideas. It gives an interesting little hook with the Goblin Ghouls later on
"from their gear, you recognise these little horrors as Licktoad Commandos. But, their special padded satchels are empty, and you can see small, transparent bones scattered about the area. They have lost their toads...and they dont need them anymore. No more pain, no more joy, no more fear. Just hunger."

Im finnaly getting around to DMing the Age of Worms, but the group is made up of my little brother and his friends, who are all beginners, and one or two are first timers. Im looking for general tips on running the Whispering Cairn, and any help would be appreciated.

also, im running into a quandary about party composition.
so far, I have a Human Warlock and probably a Samurai. I know we need a healer, and a rogue, and a wizard now. but, it just seem to me that this composition is lacking a more mobile combatant, like a ranger or monk, whoch i think would be very useful. any advice?

the title says it all.

Ive been sitting on an egg (pun intended, the race I made lays eggs) for a while now. My first feeble crack at an article for Dragon. But, it seems that the collumn I would be writing it for has dissapeared. does anyone know if Winning races is ever coming back, or If I should send in my idea regarless, and try to revive it?