Does anyone know where there is a good discussion of mounted combat and the related feats. I have a character who wants to take some ranger levels, but I do not plan on enough to make a full fledged animal companion really worthwhile, even with Boon Companion. Mostly my character is archery focused, but my understanding is that down the road there may be a fair amount of mounted combat, possibly involving flying mounts - griffons, etc.
I have searched the messageboards and the guides, but nobody seems to have written a guide or made a discussion thread specifically focusing on mounted combat and the benefits of the dozen or so mounted feats.
A solid group of players are seeking a replacement DM. We started and played about two weeks before our esteemed DM became bogged down in RL and had to bow out. We are seeking a new DM interested in running this most lawful and evil of campaigns.
Here is the link to the old campaign. We could either continue from where we made it to, or start over since we did not get very far.
I am in a campaign and last week it mysteriously dropped into the Previous Campaigns. I contacted the DM and he said that everything looks correct as far as the game setup and this does not seem to have affected any of the other players. If someone could help resolve this it would be appreciated.
I am sure this question has been asked, but I cannot find a concise answer.
In the vast majority of campaigns I see, GMs or DMs post links to maps. Some of these maps have been created using MapTools or similar products. Some are hand drawn and scanned in. But many are parts of PDFs from Paizo or other modules/APs. Is it a violation of the copyright to post these to say Google Docs or a related storage site (Imageshack, etc), and to then share them only to the link so that players can view the map. Usually these maps have previously been imported as backgrounds into MapTools and have had sight lines, grids, coordinates, character tokens, monsters, furniture, and other things added, but they still use the original map as the background.
This question came up recently in a discussion with someone who is considering running on of the Paizo APs on this site.
Leaving Rolgrimmdur was not easy. Fortunately you found a small dwarven caravan heading east to trade with your brethren in Maheto. For the first few days as you all marched east out of the mountains, the voyage was uneventful. However, on the fifth day, as you were preparing to make camp, you spotted a dozen horsemen following you. Knowing that anything was possible, you group formed up prepared for the worse, as southern Galt frequently provides. Fortunately, as the horsemen approached, it turned out to be an elvish mage, his guards, and several elvish merchants. Although initially standoffish, after determining that neither group intended to initiate combat, the elves dismounted and asked whether they could join your camp for the night as numbers are always safer in lawless Galt. The leader of the dwarves after grumbling about elves and their flighty natures, agreed.
While sharing the evening meal, the elves informed you that bandit activity had increased to the west of the Verduran Fork and that the dwarves should take care crossing the plains between the Fog Peaks and the forest. Over the next week you crossed the hills to the south of the Fog Peaks and crossed the plains without incident, although on more than one occasion, you could see your group being watched and followed by horsemen. Fortunately they must have decided that a dozen armed dwarves was not worth the risk.
Two days ago, you crossed the Verduran Fork and joined up with the main road heading north and east along the river. At this time, your traveling companions bid you farewell as they continued east to Maheto, while you turned north following the road to Yanmass - the gateway to Casmaron.
To say that your trip has been longer and dustier than expected would be an understatement. With every step, you can hear the dust grind in your armor, and whenever you take a drink of water, you can taste the mud from the dust that has accumulated on your lips. The fields on either side of the river and road do not appear much better. While you are not by any means a farmer, the short stunted corn and wheat make it apparent that many may go hungry this winter.
At last, three days after parting from the other dwarves, you see the guard towers of Yanmass appear on the horizon. At first they are but specs, but soon they grow in height and as you approach the city walls you also begin to see what appears to be a tent city outside of the city. You knew to expect this, Yanmass is the first point of entry into the Avistan, the place where huge caravans from Camaron cross north of the World’s Edge Mountains with exotic goods from lands to the east.
About a mile outside of the tent city, as you look behind yourself, you see a rather strange sight. Two halflings riding up the trail. While halflings on mounts is nothing unusual, the fact that one of them is using an elk as a steed does indeed cause your eyebrows to raise. Thus, you stop and step to the side of the road while watching the pair approach. When they pass you, you stoically acknowledge then with a nod of your head which they return with a wave before continuing on their way toward Yanmass.
Shaking your head in bewilderment at the rather strange pair, you then turn and continue your way into the city of tents. As you pass through the tent city, you see strange wagons and peoples. People wearing turbans and carrying strange curved blades. You even see huge wagons with sails atop, as though designed to sail across the land like a ship on the sea. Finally, after nearly thirty minutes of walking through the tent city, you see the gates ahead, still standing open as the sun inches closer to the horizon behind you. And inside the gate, your future. All you know from your companions and the elves you met is that your goal is an inn of less than perfect repute that is alleged to be a popular gathering point for adventurers and guards, and unfortunately those seeking to prey on the unwary. This is the Inn of the Spider Queen. While the elves spoke of it with disgust, like a dwarf would speak of an inn run by a duegar, they did say that if one were seeking those desiring adventure, it was the first place to go.
Thus, after dipping your hand in a basin of water outside of the gate and wiping the dust and grime from your face - your beard will require far more than a little water to clean - you enter through the gates seeking the Inn of the Spider Queen.
Tybek:
After leaving Maheto and your less than reputable past behind you. You travelled north. First reaching the mountainous Faldamont, another small city with a sizable population of dwarves, but the dwarves in Faldamont, unlike Maheto with its fine craftsmen, were primarily miners. With little call for your skills, you once again turned to acquiring money and goods which were not yours. Resulting in you leaving the city in the wee hours of the morning via a high wall with the guard close behind.
After Faldamont, you continued north leaving the foothills of the World’s Edge Mountains and entering the broad plains of northern Taldor. With a continuous wind blowing from the thousands of miles of plains to the east in Casmaron, the sand and dust made travel by foot from farming village to farming village less than enjoyable. You had managed to pocket enough before leaving Faldamont that you did not need to resort to less than reputable means of getting food, however, you spent many long nights sleeping outside on the plains while listening the the distant howling of wolves and the other night sounds. Sounds which to a dwarf born and raised in a city like Maheto were strange and alien resulting in but a few hours of restless sleep each night. On one night you even heard a roar which you imagined to be a lion, causing you to hide is a dry stream bed for nearly a day before finally emerging to see that no lions were about.
Unlike the major trade routes to the east and southwest of Yanmass, the road you followed was not much more than a path. Fortunately, you were traveling across a part of Taldor still regularly patrolled by the Taldan Horse and, thus, managed to avoid the bandits and other threats you had heard much about in various taverns as you continued your slow trek north.
After several days of solemnly making your way north alone, fearing that you might die of thirst after having finished your last two wineskins the prior day and now having to subsist on the last half filled waterskin, you notice a lone traveller following you on the path. You continued your slow but steady dwarven pace, but it was soon apparent that this long legged traveller was faster than you and shortly before evening he caught you. You quickly noticed the symbol of Cayden, a tattered pewter mug, hanging around his neck. Open to any companionship, you struck up a conversation and eventually decided to make camp together.
During the evening meal, which was quite spartan due to neither of you being properly prepared for this journey, Arindale introduces himself and tells you that he is a priest of Cayden. At this point your smile grew several sizes, and might in fact have stretched you face far beyond its normal size. You then asked whether clerics of Cayden can in fact create mead from dust and receive as a confirmation a skin full of mead. Perhaps not the best mead in the world, but for being in the middle of nowhere, it tasted like heaven. That evening you consumed several more and have no recollection of what occurred, but remember awakening late the next morning when the sun was already well above the horizon.
After waking up late with a wicked headache, you again began the trek north, now accompanied by your new companion. Late that afternoon, you saw the guard towers of Yanmass appear on the horizon. At first they were but specs, but soon they grew in height and as you approached the city walls you also begin to see what appears to be a tent city outside of the city. You knew to expect this, Yanmass is the first point of entry into the Avistan, the place where huge caravans from Camaron cross north of the World’s Edge Mountains with exotic goods from lands to the east.
As you passed through the tent city, you saw strange wagons and peoples. People wearing turbans and carrying strange curved blades. You even saw huge wagons with sails atop, as though designed to sail across the land like a ship on the sea. Finally, after nearly thirty minutes of traversing the tent city, you saw the gates ahead, still standing open as the sun inched closer to the horizon off to the west. And inside the gate, your future. You did not know what to expect, but after being run out of two cities due to acquiring things from others which they did not wish to relinquish, you knew that this is your last chance in Taldor. If you are caught stealing here, your choices are north across the Fog Peaks to chaotic Galt, west to Andoran, or east to mysterious Casmaron, none of which you wish to visit broke and covered in dust.
As you first entered the tent city, your new companion, Arindale, asks one of the guards where a cleric of Cayden and a dwarf can find a good drink. He told you that if you had any useful skills, you should seek out the Inn of the Spider Queen, not the most reputable of inns, but a place where those with the right talents and an interest in adventure could frequently be found gathering.
Thus, after dipping your hand in a basin of water outside of the gate and wiping the dust and grime from your face - your beard will require far more than a little water to clean - you enter through the gates seeking the Inn of the Spider Queen.
Ranim:
While always considered the gifted one by your friends in the caravan, being stronger than all but the biggest men and with a personality that could charm even the grouchiest of people, you were also the most impulsive. When the caravan arrived in a new city or town, you would be the one to wander off and explore the taverns and libraries. You step-father and the others in the caravan never complained as you were good at taking care of yourself, and usually brought a whole stream of people back wishing to watch the performance.
However, in recent years, you have discovered that heat and cold do not bother you as they do others. During even the hottest of days in Taldor, you would hardly break into a sweat. As the caravan began to make its return trip north and west out of Taldor and back toward Cheliax and eventually Varisia, you decided to leave. The impetus for this was a story you had overheard after singing in a tavern as part of your usual pre-performance advertising. It was a story of riches and danger from far to the north of Taldor. While you did not hear much, you did learn that many years earlier some cult had caused great unrest after summoning and releasing elementals in this remote northern region of the country. The rather intoxicated man who was boasting of this claimed that somewhere up there assuredly lay a kings ransom of treasure, and to prove this, he raised his hand and showed the gaudiest bracelet you had ever seen. While his story sounded absurd - why would someone summon elementals and bury treasure in the middle of nowhere - you nonetheless impulsively decided to strike out and see if you could find this treasure.
Thus, the next day you found yourself singing to entertain the daughter of a noble who was traveling to her father’s estate near the city of Yanmass far to the north. The trip was to be by river barge which would take nearly two weeks to travel the distance up the Sellen River and then east along the Verduran Fork to Yanmass. The trip passed uneventfully other than a few stray arrows which were fired while passing through the forest, only to be met with return fire from the guards on the barge and the mage who was the young lady’s advisor and protector.
Two days before the expected arrival in Yanmass, the barge was forced to stop when the usually full Verduran Fork’s flow diminished to not much more than a stream. At this time, you bid the young lady farewell and decided to continue the last day or two to Yanmass by yourself on foot. While you had never heard of Yanmass before two weeks earlier, you had learned much about it from the guards on the barge. Thus, after a day of near solitude slowly walking next to the river, your path met with the trade route from Oppara and southern Taldor after which the traffic picked up, as did the dust caused by the extraordinary dry conditions in the area.
A day later, you finally began to see the guard towers of Yanmass appear on the horizon. At first they are but specs, but soon they grew in height and as you approached the city walls you also began to see what appeared to be a tent city outside of the city. You knew to expect this, Yanmass is the first point of entry into the Avistan, the place where huge caravans from Camaron cross north of the World’s Edge Mountains with exotic goods from lands to the east.
About an hour before reaching the tent city, you heard the sound of hooves and the sudden bark of a dog behind you. Assuming that this was another caravan from the south, you tiredly stepped to the side to let them pass. As you did so, you were surprised to see not a caravan, but the unusual sight of two halflings, one astride an elk and the other riding a large hound. Even with your traveling experience, you do not recall ever seeing anyone riding an elk. Thus, you simply stood and watched as they approached. When they reached you, the one on the hound gave you a cheerful wave and wished you a good day as they passed. You returned the wave and then once again stepped back onto the road for the last few steps before you finally reached Yanmass.
As you passed through the tent city, you saw strange wagons and peoples. People wearing turbans and carrying strange curved blades. You even saw huge wagons with sails atop, as though designed to sail across the land like a ship on the sea. Finally, after nearly thirty minutes of walking through the tent city, you saw the gates ahead, still standing open as the sun inched closer to the horizon behind you. And inside the gate, your future. You did not know what to expect, but had been told by the guards on the barge that those seeking adventure in the Fog Peaks and other less inhabited parts of Taldor frequently begin in a less than reputable inn known as the Inn of the Spider Queen.
Thus, after dipping your hand in a basin of water outside of the gate and wiping the dust and grime from your face - your hair will require far more than a little water to clean - you entered through the gates seeking the Inn of the Spider Queen.
Arindale:
After leaving Oppara with a full keg of ale and a sturdy mount, at least that is what the old horse trader told you, you and your companions made your way north following along the western wall of the World’s Edge Mountains, seeking adventure where ever it could be found, which on the side of the mountains controlled by Taldor for three millennium were few. Your team managed to route a group of kobolds which provided for a good night in Maheto and a new keg of Maheto Dwarven Stout.
You then proceeded north to Faldamont where you heard rumors of a tribe of goblins which had apparently taken root in a old cave a few hours east of the city. Without a second though, you and your crew immediately set forth to dispatch of these vicious vermin. Having left late in the afternoon following a drinking bout, you found the sun rapidly setting to the west without and sign of the supposed goblins. Thus, you set up camp for the night.
As the healer for the party, you were assigned to the last watch in the morning. You were awakened about two hours before dawn by the party fighter, Marteen. Smiling and nodding, you took your watch. However, shortly after getting up, the prior day and nights beer caught up with you. While visiting a nearby tree, you heard the screams begin. More like cats being tortured than any intelligent creature was your best description. You quickly returned to see the party mage receive a dog slicer to the gut, the party fighter was already down and the rogue fighting a losing battle. Knowing that the twenty or more goblins were more than you could handle, you slunk back and hid in the bushes until the noises stopped.
When daylight finally broke, you crept back to see the carnage from the prior night. Searching the area, you managed to find some equipment scattered about, but the rest of your party were missing, and you assumed dead. The horses were also missing. Embarrassed and unwilling to return to Faldamont, you recalled that the parties goal was Yanmass, or something like that.
Thus, you turned north following the little travelled road from Faldamont to Yanmass, using the gifts given you by the Lucky Drunk to heal those in need, and in return being given food and drink, perhaps not the best, but enough to keep you alive. Also, while walking the long and lonely road north, you came to realize that alcohol was one of the root causes of your current situation. And while Cayden is the patron of those who drink, he is not the patron of those who die because of drink. Lying awake at night under the stars one night, you make a vow to never again allow the alcohol to control you. You may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but you at least came to realize that there was a time and place for drink, and on the trail in dangerous lands was neither the time nor the place.
After many days of travel, you lost count after two, or was it three, you came upon a lone dwarf also making his way north. Not having seen any other travelers on the desolate path for more than a day, you slowed down your pace and joined the slow but steady fellow. He told you his name was Tybek and that he too was heading north in search of a change and adventure. That evening, Tybek explained that he was parched and the little water remaining in his waterskin just did not do the job like some good dwarven stout. Smiling and forgetting your vow, you called upon the Lucky Drunk and produced a skin full of mead, perhaps not the quality of the dwarven drink Tybek sought, but from the smile on his face, you assume that it did the job.
After a having a skin full of mead yourself, you suddenly recalled your vow to yourself. Thus, you chose to instead consume water for the rest of the night. You could not say the same for your new dwarven friend. As you watched, Tybek continued to partake of your god’s blessings eventually becoming roaringly drunk and making strange proclamations about living in a clock tower and seeking some elemental spark or something to make a super clock. What exactly a clock is you never determined as Tybek then fell asleep drunk not awakening until well after sunrise the next morning.
Later the next day, you and Tybek finally saw the guard towers of Yanmass appear on the horizon. At first they were but specs, but soon they grew in height and as you approached the city walls you also begin to saw what appeared to be a tent city outside of the city. Not really having an idea what Yanmass would be like, this city of tents was strange and foreign, as was the garb of many of the merchants and guards.
After walking through the tents for a while and staring at unusual clothes, the beautiful women, and the strange humped beasts being hitched to wagons, you stop and ask a man where a cleric of Cayden and a dwarf can find good drink. Laughing, the guard tells you to find the Inn of the Spider Queen.
After another thirty minutes of walking through, and occasionally getting lost in, the tent city brought you to the city gates, still standing open as the sun inched closer to the horizon behind you. With your mouth parched from the dry dusty trail you had followed for several days, you hope this Spider Inn or Queen Inn or whatever it was, had good drink, but also recalled you vow to yourself.
Thus, after dipping your hand in a basin of water outside of the gate and wiping the dust and grime from your face, you enter through the gates and began to look for the inn hoping your companion recalled what it was named.
Braden - Part 1:
After several years of self study with occasional training from a traveling wizard who would pass through your village about once a year, you finally decided to seek adventure. Although you had read about numerous exotic places, Jalmeray, Rahadoum, Varisia, you realized that you lacked the experience and funding to go to these places. Thus, you decided to seek your future closer to home. You left your village on the edge of the Verduran Forest and began to follow the edge of the forest north and east heading for Yanmass, gateway to the east, and the city where adventures into the northwestern corner of Taldor were rumored to begin.
Your travels began uneventfully, but after two days, you were attacked by three goblins while resting for your second breakfast. Fortunately you managed to make the ground so slick that the goblins all fell to the ground. You then quickly grabbed your backpack, jumped on your faithful hound and rode off into the morning sun (with you tail between your legs).
Two days later, still being much more careful watching where you took your meals, and also realizing that you may not have packed enough food to supply six meals a day for the entire trip to Yanmass, you spotted one of the strangest sights you had ever seen. Following behind you was not more goblins, not the Taldor Horse, but rather a very small person riding along on a elk stag. So bewildered were you that you completely forgot to jump on your faithful dog, instead you simply sat there and watched as the elk riding halfling approached.
(See combined background for continuation of this background).
Maegge - Part 1:
Having been forewarned that the Lumber Consortium was seeking you, you managed to mount your mighty elk steed and flee from the druid grove before any harm came to you or the druids. Unfortunately despite your best efforts, the Lumber Consortium trackers have followed you for several days. You have managed to keep just ahead of them seeing what you believe to be their trackers far behind on several occasions. On the morning of the third day, you finally exited the dark and comforting confines of the Verduran Forest and found yourself in the dry expanse of the plains of northern Taldor.
As the druids knew that you would be unable to return to the Verduran for some time due to the long memory of those in the Lumber Consortium, they asked you to investigate what was causing the unseasonably warm and dry summer in northern Taldor. You were unsure what the druids meant, but upon exiting the forest, you immediately sensed the unhealth that was before you. Dry and dusty ground with stunted or dead grass. Hardly enough for Gimpy, let alone the wildlife which should have been living on the plains.
Turning east, you began to ride as quickly as Gimpy could take you, pausing to rest only when necessary and using magic to enable Gimpy to carry you farther each day than would be expected from a normal elk, or horse. On the third day after leaving the Verduran, about midmorning several hours into your days travel and having not seen the trackers in well over a day, you saw in front of you what appeared to be another halfling with a large dog and a beautiful owl perched on his shoulder.
Hesitantly riding forward, you saw that it was indeed a single halfling just finishing up a midmorning meal. When you reached him, you dismounted and introduced yourself.
(See combined background to continuation).
Maegge & Braden - combined Part 2:
Maegge rode up to Braden on his majestic elk, looking like a halfling noble, if not for the twigs in his hair and general appearance of one who has spent many days living off the land without a shower or bath. Braden was unsure of who this strange woodsy looking halfling might be, but offered his hand and asked if the elk rider might want to join him in second breakfast. Having been on the trail for several hours already, Maegge agreed and soon the two were talking, Braden explaining his interest in magic and desire to adventure and see the world. Maegge being more reserved listened carefully before telling Braden that he is being followed and that they should continue east before the Lumber Consortium hunters caught up.
Thus, the two halflings, one riding a majestic elk and the other on his faithful hound, began to make their way east toward the Verduran Fork and distant Yanmass thereafter. As they proceeded, the dry and dusty trail did not improve, but fortunately, the spirits of nature had granted Maegge the ability to create water out of the dust, so both were able to drink when their mouthes become parched and provide their mounts with water when needed.
Two days later they crossed the Verduran Fork at the ford just north and east of where the river enters the forest and then turned to the northeast toward Yanmass. The travel was uneventful and you both discover many commonalities in that your skills are not those common among the halflings or gnomes you both grew up knowing while living in and near the great forest.
After another two days on the much busier north-south trade route from Oppara, you finally began to see the guard towers of Yanmass appear on the horizon. At first they were but specs, but soon they grew in height and as you approached the city walls you also began to see what appeared to be a tent city outside of the city. Not really having an idea what Yanmass would be like, this city of tents was strange and foreign, as were the garb of many of the merchants and guards.
A mile or two before reaching the outer ring of tents, you passed a lone woman walking north who greeted you with a wave and an accent which you believed to be Varisian, or at least not from the small woodland villages you both grew up in. Shortly thereafter, just before reaching the tents, you passed another lone traveler, this time a stout dwarf. When he turned to give you a stoic welcome common among dwarves, you saw that he was covered in dust from days on the road. However, his piercing blue eyes that almost appear to shine like a light from the heavens was what made him so memorable.
After walking through the tents for a while and staring at unusual clothes, the beautiful women, and the strange humped beasts being hitched to wagons, you stopped and asked a man where two tired travelers can get a good drink. With a laugh the man tells you to find the Inn of the Spider Queen where many travelers, and adventurers tend to congregate.
You then continued your ride through the tent city, a ride which gathered many stares as with all the various steeds and beasts of burden, few had likely ever seen an elk used as a mount. Alas, you finally saw the gates ahead, still standing open as the sun inched closer to the horizon behind you. With your mouthes parched from the dry dusty trail you had followed for several days, you hoped this inn had good drink.
Thus, after dipping your hand in a basin of water outside of the gate and wiping the dust and grime from your face, you enter through the gates and began to look for the Inn of the Spider Queen.
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After being directed down several wrong streets and even one alley, you finally see ahead an old and worn sign waving in the light dust filled evening breeze. It is readily apparent that this is your goal as the sign has on it a rather poorly drawn picture of a spider with a crown perched upon its head at a rather odd angle. After looking at the sign and the building from which it hung, you proceed into the Inn. From outside, you can noticed that the inn is a two story structure and appears to stretch back for a fair distance. A plaque on the door, done in a picture, indicates that no animals are allowed inside the Inn. The plaque indicates that all steeds or other animals must be put in the stables and pens behind the Inn.
Those with animals or those who want to look at the stables:
The stables behind appear to be well tended and contain a number of animals including over a dozen horses, including several with eastern bloodlines you have never seen before, several ponies, a half dozen dogs and a number of more exotic animals including one hippogriff, two camels, and even an ostrich. It is apparent that travelers do frequent this inn.
The charge is:
2 silver wolves per night for a horse or pony;
1 silver wolf for a dog; and
5 silver wolves for unusual or exotic mounts (including elk).
An additional note attached to the sign with prices indicates that the owner of any animal which attacks and harms any employee or other animal will be responsible for paying any and all costs incurred.
As soon as you open the door to the Inn, you smell years of unwashed bodies and spilled alcohol. Clearly this is a working man’s tavern, not that where one would expect to find a noble or member of high society. The interior is dark, even at this early hour, and filled with smoke from the pipes of two men sitting by the fireplace. However, what catches your attention is the centerpiece of the room. Behind the bar and covered with either very clean glass or some type of magic are several beautiful and disturbing pieces of artwork.
In the middle, directly behind the bar is a large painting of a hideous monster. It looks like a spider, but the body is bulbous, huge and purple. However, instead of a spider’s head, it has the upper torso of a dark skinned female humanoid. In one arm it holds the torso and head of a knight, in the other the lower body of the same knight, apparently ripped in half by the creature. Most terrifying is the look on the creatures face which makes it look as though she is in ecstasy at having destroyed the warrior of good held in her hands. Behind the spider queen is a huge web of multiple colors which almost seems to change as you look at them as though you were looking at this through moving water.
On either side of the central picture are two other smaller paintings, which you would call creepy at best. To the left is a picture of a large web. In the web is caught a man wearing the garb of a cleric of Iomedae. Next to him is a beautiful woman, but from her back sprout eight legs as though a spider were sprouting from her back. It is apparent from the picture that this queen of spiders has just caught her next meal, or perhaps mate.
To the right of the spider queen picture is another scene which will leave nightmares for years to come. This time though, while there is no web, you can see the same woman as in the picture to the left of the spider queen. This time however, she is lying on the ground being poked by three goblins. Close inspection of the picture reveals that the sticks the goblins are using are blunt and their eyes are black, as though undead or under some spell. At the same time, the woman is smiling and in fact resting slightly above the ground supported by the eight legs protruding from her back. In the back of the picture, you can see approaching from behind the goblins what appears to be a brave warrior prepared sneak up behind the goblins to rescue the fair maiden, completely oblivious of the perilous web of deceit into which he is being ensnared.
Finally, above the fireplace at one end of the room is a fourth picture. While this one does not have any spiders or spider queens, it does show a large building ablaze with flames while a small child dances and laughs in front. In the windows of the building you can see several other children attempting to escape the inferno.
_________________
Spoilers for the Spider Queen picture.
Dungeoneering or Nature DC13:
The upper body of the spider queen appears to be that of a dark elf or drow.
Planes DC18:
You have heard of demons and devils from the Abyss and Hell that combine animals and humanoids into monsters of untold evil, but never one such as this.
Dungeoneering DC17:
You have heard of a creature called a Drider which is part dark elf and part spider.
Planes DC 25:
You recall seeing mention of a horrid creature which resembles this in an old dusty text while looking for something else. The text was from another material plane and noted that the drow in that land worshipped a chaotic and evil demon lord named Lolth, a demon lord so powerful that she ascended to godhood.
_________________
Spoilers for the pictures to the left and right of the Spider Queen picture.
Dungeoneering DC22:
This looks like a creature know as a Jorogumo. Jorogumo’s entice potential mates and then after mating, paralyze their mates, lay eggs in the still living body and then bind the living paralyzed body in a cocoon until the eggs hatch and use the captured victim as food.
History DC22 or DC15 if from the Verduran Forest:
You recall a story of a spider woman who lived in the Verduran Forest many years ago that fits these pictures. You believe she was killed or driven away by the druids and rangers of the forest together with the brave halfling wolf riders.
________________
Spoiler for the picture over the fireplace.
History or Local DC18:
You recall reading somewhere that about twenty years ago, there was a horrible fire in an orphanage in Oppara. Reports afterwards said that it was started by a young boy who had hoped to meet some famous adventurers. The adventurers had canceled at the last minute to attend a banquet with Grand Prince Stavian III. The child was so distraught that he lit the orphanage on fire causing the death of many other children and a number of adults caring for the children.
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After looking at the rather disturbing pictures, you glance about the room and see a number of people. At one end around a table next to the fireplace, which is not lit due to the heat of the day, sit four men wearing long flowing robes with turbans on their heads, likely caravan guards if you had to guess. Before the fireplace in two large rocking chairs are two older men happily chatting while enjoying strangely crafted pipes unlike anything you have seen before. In one corner sits a tall dark man wrapped in a cloak and carefully watching all who enter the inn. In the middle of the room at a large table are several gnomes and a halfling who are attempting to talk two male humans and a lady elf into a game of dice. Finally, at a booth along one wall sit three people, two with swords sheathed at their sides while the third, a shorter woman, has a long cloak drawn around her.
There are still several open tables. As soon as you enter, the barkeep, a large man with a big smile, calls out and welcomes you. Shortly thereafter, a rather scantily clad woman approaches and asks whether she can get you anything to drink or eat. She also invites you to grab a table before they are all taken by the evening crowd.
Welcome all to the OOC page. Please jump in and get to know each other.
I have gotten the initial IC post about 1/2 done - takes a while to create it with all the backgrounds. I hope to have it within a day or two - except that work seems to keep sticking its nose into my pbp time and may push it a day or so.
Once again, congrats on being selected and get ready to see just how evil the elements can be.
For a thousand years, Taldor was one of the great nations of the world. Its rule extended from Qadira to the Arcadian Ocean. But, as with most great lands, power grew into complacency and corruption. Slowly its lands claimed independence. Cheliax, Galt, Isger and Andoran all obtained freedom. Eventually, even Aroden, the patron of Taldor, forsook the land when his followers moved the center of worship from Oppara to Cheliax. Without their patron, noble houses throughout Taldor rose and fell, some continuing to worship Aroden and his ways of good and law, others not. To gain advantage against their neighbors, some houses sought darker powers, signing pacts with denizens of the lower planes.
As is not uncommon, when one focuses solely on ones neighbor, one frequently fails to notice what is happening beneath ones own nose. Thus, over the centuries, as former allies stared at one another from behind their fortified walls, evil slowly crept into the once great nation.
Then, a little over a century ago, the unthinkable happened: Aroden died throwing Taldor, Cheliax, Andoran and most other nations of the Inner Sea into a tumultuous period of revolutions. From these arose the Infernal nation of Cheliax, the egalitarian Andoran, and the lawless Galt. While Taldor avoided falling under the sway of the devil as did Cheliax, the infighting between the thousands of noble houses became even more pronounced with many nobles suddenly disappearing or being outright assassinated.
While eyes were focused elsewhere, with the nations which formerly worshipped Aroden coming to grasps with replacing this void in the pantheon, an unspeakable evil arose in the northeastern reaches of Taldor. A cult devoted to the evil powers of the elements arose in the little travelled foothills of the Fog Peaks. At first the cult was ignored as the land was desolate and unclaimed or unwanted by nobles fighting over precious lands in the south. However, soon unusual occurrences began to occur for which no explanation other than this cult was apparent. At first it was a slight increase in minor earthquakes, more frequent and violent storms, longer winters, and an increase in wild fires. But then as the years passed, these occurrences became more frequent and vicious and covered a far greater area of the Inner Sea. Droughts would be followed by floods, a volcano in the Fog Peaks, freezing blizzards in midsummer and blazing heat during the winter. In addition, organized raids of humanoids which would be expected to be fighting amongst themselves, as well as, bandit raids began to occur with great frequency. Not only were were these raids far more organized than previously, but the raids also began to include unspeakable monstrosities, such as demons and other strange creatures alien to the Inner Sea.
Over a number of years, these strange weather events and raids began to stretch beyond the borders of desolate northwestern corner of Taldor. First they stretched into Galt and then Andoran, eventually even affecting the lands of, the Five Kings Mountains, Kyonin, and Druma. Then suddenly, all the rumors of storms and earthquakes spreading from the sparsely populated lands in the northwest of Taldor suddenly ended.
Whether the horror stories from this twenty year period were nothing more than the creations of gullible minds, a few ales and creative bards, or whether these stories were true, you do not know. What you do know is that at about the time of the end of these stories, forces comprised of Sarenrae, Erastil and Iomedae worshippers, together with dwarven warriors, elven mages and other forces of good supposedly gathered in north eastern Andoran and set forth on an expedition across Galt. A few months later these forces returned looking beaten and bruised, but victorious. Since this time, there continue to be reports of raids by humanoids and brigands in these lands, but these are the not organized raids which had occurred previously, but rather they are quick and disorganized rape and pillage raids.
What you also know is that in any gathering of adventurers in Taldor or Absalom, there is at least one group claiming to have returned from the area north and west of Yanmass with their pouches full of gold and gems and magic. It is these stories which have drawn you to this desolate corner of Taldor seeking your own fortune. After several days on the trail, or boat if you are arriving by boat, you see the low walls of the caravan city of Yanmass, the northernmost city of any size in Taldor and the gateway to the Kellid lands to the east. You might be arriving with a caravan from the plains of Casmaron. You might have travelled south around the Fog Peaks from Galt, or east from Andoran, or north from southern Taldor, Absalom, and the Inner Sea beyond. Your reasons for arriving in the far north of Taldor is your own, but you know that the Inn of the Spider Queen is your goal. An inn of questionable reputation, but also the supposed gathering point for many heading to, and from, the wild lands to the north and west. It is here that you hope to find others of like mind, and soon be heading into these lands of rumors to make a name for yourself, to gain riches and fortunes, to discover whether these rumors of blizzards and volcanos and earthquake and storms are true, or if they are just tall tales from the lips of a bard.
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Yes, in case you are wondering, I have decided to rework the classic AD&D Temple of Elemental Evil - 1987 version. While I plan on staying with the themes and designs of the original module, the changes that have occurred over the past 25 years make much of the module untenable as a direct conversion. Thus, if you expect to find a bugbear behind a door, do not be surprised when it is a goblin, or an ogre, or a rabid wolf.
Even if you have played the ToEE in the past, feel free to submit an application. Also, if you have played any of the computer versions, that is fine. All that I ask is that you let me know how much you have played/read this module so that I can determine how much things need to be modified to keep everyone on their toes.
Also, if this module goes well, I would consider continuing the adventure into either the Slave Lord’s series (A1-4) or the Giants/Drow series (GDQ1-7). Obviously this would not be for quite a while as this massive 128 page module is probably the equivalent of 3-4 Pathfinder APs. (This estimation is based upon my having played several APs, I do not actually own any APs.)
Posting Requirements: I am looking for people that can check in on the thread at least a couple of times a day, and post at least 1/day on weekdays. Weekends are more relaxed although I will usually continue to post and update over most weekends.
Crunch Application Guidelines:
Modified Focus/Foible 25 point buy 1 stat must be 17 or higher before racial modifiers and 1 must be 9 or lower - minimum is 7 after racial modifiers and I expect you to play a low score (ugly, weak, clumsy, bad decision maker, etc).
Alignment is flexible – since you will be fighting a lot of evil, good/neutral is preferred. I also really do not like CN as it invariably leads to one of two things - party infighting or someone not playing their alignment. You are free to submit a CN character, but recognize you will need to have a very strong background.
HP Max @ 1st, 1/2+1/2 roll each level thereafter (ie-1d8--> 4+1d4)
Races: All core races are fine. In addition to the basic core races, the following races are all approved.
Any other race will require approval and a very good backstory.
In addition, if your race is once of the standard +2/+2/-2 races, you may change any one, and only one, of these modifiers to another stat of the same physical/mental group to flavor your character, but a good reason for this change must be included in your background. (In other wards, if you want an elf fighter, you may switch the +2 from Dex to Str, or for a dwarf cleric, you may switch the -2 from Cha to Int.) Just remember, I expect something in the background as to why you are an agile gnome or a strong elf. Note - you may not switch a bonus/penalty from mental to physical and vice versa. (ie - changing from Con to Dex is ok, changing from Con to Wis is not ok.)
Classes: - no summoners, no gunslingers, no ninjas, no samurai. Cavaliers are fine, but their mounted powers are likely to be not very useful in the large dungeons involved. Anything else from the Core Rules, APG, UM and UC is fine including archetypes. If you have questions, feel free to ask. As a note, I am not a huge fan of Alchemists, but will allow them as long as I do not think that the build is too unbalanced.
Cash: Average starting cash.
Traits: Two traits – no restrictions other than that only one per trait type is allowed. (ie - one combat and one religion is ok, two combat is not). If you wish to use a campaign trait from another AP, it will require approval. If anyone wants any other Paizo or 3PP content, it may be approved on a case by case basis, but requires approval before being considered and a link or cite to the applicable rule. Personally, I think that Paizo has enough rules, so your background will need a very good reason for something outside of the regular Paizo.
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Fluff Application Guidelines: Please let me know what your background and understanding of the Temple of Elemental Evil is. I know that there have been several video games and a 3rd generation D&D Return to the ToEE module of some sort. I am basing this off of the original AD&D module, heavily modified for Golarian and PF. I plan on changing a fair amount once we get into the real game, but would like to know how much people know about the campaign so that I can taylor my adjustments.
Questions for all submissions:
1) Before you is a huge web. In it are a priest of Iomedae and a beautiful maiden. You have time to rescue one of them, which one and why?
2) You are traveling through the forest and you suddenly see three goblins poking at a bound prisoner on the ground. What do you do?
3) You just returned from successfully defeating a dragon which had been terrorizing the local villages. An orphanage requested that the brave heroes come so that the children can meet them. You accept, but then receive an invitation from the King to join him at a banquet in your honor. You cannot do both, what do you do?
4) How do you expect your character to develop by level 5? Level 10?
5) Who is your favorite villain and your favorite hero from a medieval story and why? Can be historic, from a book, or from a movie.
6) Let me know if/how much you have played/read the ToEE - any version including AD&D, 3rd Ed., Return to ToEE, or any video games or novels.
7) You are sitting in a tavern when a distraught father runs in and announces that his daughter has been kidnapped by brigands and now they are demanding a ransom or will kill her. He says he has no money to reward the party but hears that the brigands have had much success. What do you do?
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What do you Need to Post Now for an Application:
Stat breakdown
Class – including any Archetypes
Skills, Feats and traits summary
Backstory / personality
Details on why your character decided to seek his fortune in this desolate corner of the Inner Sea.
I don’t need full sheets or profiles at this point, they can come post selection, but the more you give me, the more I will have to evaluate your application on. I personally use a fairly standard format for my characters, look at any of my aliases. I will not require this format, but if you use something different and I cannot find something on your sheet and you do not respond, I will make decisions based on what I can find.
Recruitment Timeline: Recruitment will be up for as long as it takes to get a decent list of applicants together, though at least through next Tuesday - July 24 at midnight Central US time.
I will be looking at a party of 5-6 for this PbP. However one spot is reserved – which leaves 4-5 spots available. I’m sure the player with the guaranteed spot will check in – and the player is planning on playing a rogue. I have no problem with more than one rogue/skill player, but just be aware that there is already a rogue in the party.
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I apologize for the long intro. Fire away with any questions that you might have and I shall endeavor to answer them.
