KissMeDarkly's page

Blood-stained War Cassock

Let's ignore the Armor Class Bonus... let's look at the three times a day, the wearer can use his Channel Energy ability as a swift action. Channelling Energy deals 1d6 plus an additional 1d6 every two caster levels. So at third level the cleric can channel a 2d6 energy blast twice in a single turn. Six times over three consecutive rounds. By 11th level, the cleric or paladin channels energy of 6d6 strength. Twice in a single round. And at 20th level? That's up to 11d6.

Let's go back to that 11th level cleric. Assuming an average of 18 points (3 dmg./d6.) You could potentially deal 36 damage to undead OR heal 36 damage to living creatures OR deal 18 damage to undead and heal 18 damage to living creatures.

Your item is too powerful for just 6000 GP.

Armbands of Shared Pain

To be honest, Dragonborn3, I feel this is one of those "good, but not good enough" submissions. Your writing needs to be a little tighter and more polished. The second to last sentence needs a re-write. As I have before, I cite the need for paragraphs in this submission. Also, some description wouldn't have hurt.

MARBLES OF MISCHIEF

Awesomeness. Love the idea.

One thing I'm seeing a lot as I read this thread is a lack of paragraphs and this item suffers from that.

Now, the wording feels clunky and definately is need of polishing. Certain sentences feel like they should've been lumped together. Some words should be changed to represent the Marbles as plural and not singular. Compare what you submitted and what I edited:

As a standard action the marbles may be poured from the bag and directed at an enemy. The marbles will then, at a speed of 50 feet, torment the targeted creature by forcing themselves underfoot. In effect, every 5-feet of movement the target makes requires a successful DC 15 Acrobatics check to avoid falling prone.

As a standard action, you may pour the marbles from the bag and direct them at an enemy. Moving at a Speed of 50 ft. per round, the marbles will place themselves underfoot, if able. Every move action the target makes requires a successful DC 15 Acrobatics check to avoid falling prone.

Also this is too much dice rolling. I removed your Acrobatics check per every 5-feet of movement cause assuming it is a Human target with a standard move this causes 6 Acrobatics checks.

Hunter’s Moon

Montalve, this is a solid item. It just has a few issues.

That name isn't doing it for me. Perhaps if it was Hunter's Moonstone? A small change, yes, but it changes the feel of the item (for me at least.)

Second, I don't like how limited the item is. It only works on someone I point it at? Thumbs down to that. A better mechanic would've required that the moonstone be dipped in the blood of the enemy / prey to be hunted down. Get rid of the distance requirement. It limits the item even more by making the PC have to be right on the target's heels to be of any use.

Personally I feel, you should've allowed true seeing to show a target that they are magically being followed by showing the same path of reddish mist the Hunter's Moon created. Allowing for the chance of a Hunter becoming the Hunted.

Carved Finger Bones of Obligation

What is asked... is given.

Pierce, this is a well written submission. My main issue with the item lies with the replacement of skeletons. This could easily get annoying / confusing for the Player whose PC owns it. I know I wouldn't want write-ups for 5 different skeletons.

I also think it should be without a slot. Not everyone will wear this around their neck.

Here's another item I just have to comment on.

Draeke, I immediately saw why this item didn't make the TOP 32. That first line probably sealed your fate.

Originally developed by the clerics of Torag, this raspberry flavored candy bears the name given to it by a humorous bard.

GAG ITEMS ARE BAD. It's like starting your turn at bat with 2 Strikes & 3 Fouls against you. The judges do not like gag items. Clark has said multiple times that he feels it is a waste of his time. Time which he isn't being paid for, I might add.

Also... It breaks the 4th Wall.

The item mechanics immediately made me feel like I was playing a game and not adventuring into the unknown with my trusty companions. An item should NEVER do this.

okay, here is my item, if Clark or Sean (or anybody really) would give me some feedback that would be great!

Wes:)

Sphere of Searing Smoke

Right off the bat... the price is off. The pricing doesn't seem to include the costs of all three powers the Sphere grants: fire resistance, unobscurred vision through smoke/fog, summoned fire elemental. Though I think you added the Elemental as an occassional drawback it should be considered a power, cause if a PC decides to throw the sphere at an enemy, it releases the imprisoned fire elemental near / next to the PC's opponent when it breaks.

The requirements should include something to account for unobscurred vision through smoke/fog. I suggest including obscuring mist. Unless someone knows of a better spell.

Wes, your submission needs to be seperated up into paragraphs. I can see at least two places were a new paragraph should have been made.

Okay, I am working from memory, so this may be a little rough but here goes.

Amulet Of Shadows
Aura Moderate Necromancy; CL 8th
Slot Neck; Price 267,000gp; Weight -

This amulet is carved from a single piece of silver into the shape of a skeletal hand. Clasped in the hand is a piece of rare black marble, streaked with read streaks and the "chain" is a braided strand of human hair.. Three times a day as a standard action, the wearer can grasp the amulet and cast Animate Dead as if they were an 8th level wizard. The undead create by one use of the amulet last until they are destroyed or until the wearer creates a new batch of undead with the amulet.

Requirements: Craft Wonderous Item, Animate Dead, the maker must place a drop of their own blood on the stone at the center of the amulet. Cost: 107,000 gp

Well, I read this item, figured I wouldn't respond let Clark & Sean do their thing, but this one just kept bugging me.

David, I see some problems with this submission.

First, the item is a Spell-in-a-Can.

Next, for me at least, is that the name makes me think SHADOWS, not UNDEAD. This bugged me so much that after glancing through the rest of the 129 posts (at the time) I decided to reply any way.

The name should be geared more towards what the item does. It grants the wearer an undead minion. Example: Amulet of Death's Release.

Then, the name is also to... blah. Amulet of Shadows = no mojo. My TOP 32 submission from last year made Wolfgang Baur pull it from out of sequence. That's what the name for every Superstar submission should be aiming for.

Now, the price feels off. I tried figuring this out and came up with this:

SPELL LEVEL 3
CASTER LEVEL x8
CONTINUOUS 2,000 GP
CHARGES per DAY (3) 1.667
CONTINUOUS ITEM 50 % OFF
SPELL DURATION x4

((3 * 8 * 2000) * .5 * 4) / 1.667

PRICE: 115,200 GP
COST TO MAKE : 57,600 GP

When held against a suit of armor that is currently worn by the gem’s wearer for three rounds, this small quartz gem transmutes the armor into smoke, which the gem absorbs and stores.

I like this for the possiblity of getting it around someone else's neck. Jump on someone's back, get this over their neck, hang on tight and in three rounds there goes their armor! SCORE!

My only questions are these:
What counts as being held? In hand & pushed into the armor? Just lying atop the armor?

Must they be three continuous rounds?

Charles, you also failed your Perception check.

Should be sleeping, but felt the need to reply before I go back to bed. I'm totally loving this item. It's got great imagery and I could totally see myself getting this for one of my characters.

Clearly, designing an awesome wondrous item in 200 words is very doable

I agree with you 100%, Vic. Even after I revised my Spell-Catch Guantlet to deal with some of the issues/flaws it had. It still only has 200 words.

Look, I finally posted something (kinda) relating to this years contest. hangs head in shame.

My kobold character has the same disease. He just sits there now.

But it's good to have you with us.

Cheers

So that's 760 gold. Merzhan gets a wand of invisibility (5 charges, 450gp), an everburning torch (110gp) and four potions of cure light wounds (200gp), just in case. The potions should be spread around so that if someone needs a quick fix, the clerics and druid aren't the only ones who use them. I suggest Navorn, Divel, Merzhan and one other, Svetla (is she keep onboard?). Maybe Merzhan can carry the torch too?

Svetla purchased 8 potions of CLW & 4-5 vials of anti-toxin.

I have the same problem. Also the Druid is missing though 1-2 of his bookmarks are still there pointing to the wrong pages.

Also just noticed pg. 548 follows pg. 552 for some reason.

Still interested. I was actually waiting to see where the conversation at the inn about orc or necro hunting was heading before posting Svetla's actions in town.

The PFRPG Bestiary itself has an extensive section on how to build and balance monsters, and it's those rules we used when we were rebuilding the SRD 3.5 monsters.

Drums finger tips together, "Ex...cellent."

KissMeDarkly wrote:

I WANT WHEELERS!

Oh dude, I just saw this in the theater a few months back. STILL creepy as all hell. There is something there, isn't there. I almost wonder if its the same thing that make Star Trek's borg so scary, distinctly human creatures melded with machines. But the wheelers ARE much more fantasy. Hmmmm...

Coridan wrote:

I'd love to see some monsters of the Mana Wastes, what kind of weird creatures might evolve to survive in a magic-dead zone.

Hum, interesting. No plans for this at the moment, but hmmmm....

How about adding these together? Wheelers + Mana Wastes = GOLD!

That being said, we've got a clever work around I'm excited to show you next year.

KMD drums his fingertips together, "Ex...cellent."

KissMeDarkly wrote:

Familairs Additional/ Alternate familairs for wizards

Granted.

Awesomeness... + Infinity!

KissMeDarkly wrote:

Add On Attacks Some kind of pre-made attacks section that can be easily added.

Interesting idea, tell me more...

The basic idea started as my desire to include the Shrieking Eels from The Princess Bride in the Animals section of the PF Bestiary. However..., [FIST SHAKE] Jimmy J., [/FIST SHAKE] has confirmed in the last PF Chat I was able to attend that Shrieking Eels didn't make it into the Bestiary. So I was going to add a Sonic Attack ability to the Giant Moray Eel.

So... I thought: What if there was a List of Pre-Generated attacks that could just be added to a Monster template? Include the CR Bump somewhere in the attack details. Instant variations... Ta-Da!

I'd also like to see a Ability/ Attack List make it into one of the Bestiaries. With my recent plans on creating the Isz in Pathfinder, I've come across many cool abilities I would've liked to have been aware from the start of the project. Like... the Dire Weasel and it's ATTACH Ability. Makes perfect sense for the Isz and add Bleed to ATTACH and you get a Bite Attack that deals damage every turn.

Although I haven't seen examples in any published material, I really like the idea of creatures that are hard or impossible to hurt even with magic or magic weapons, but are vulnerable to things that (like themselves) are not completely real, for example illusions, fairy items, dreamstuff, weapons with the unreal special quality (doing reduced or no damage to real creatures and requiring a feat to use properly), things purely imagined by children, things recently created with Nolzur's Marvelous Pigments, you get the idea. This is a chance for the somewhat neglected school of illusion magic to shine, since illusions are all too real to creatures that are themselves less than real. An unreal creature could use an illusionary bridge. A phantasmal killer would not scare such a creature to death; it would instead initiate actual combat. An unreal creature might not be able to do much direct harm to a real creature, but it would nevertheless provide an entirely new category of challenge to an adventuring group, which would need tools to cope with unreal threats. I hope there's some food for thought at least. It would be so cool to see something along these lines in a Pathfinder Bestiary!

I liked the Berbalang from the AD&D Fiend Folio. Any creature that projects a copy of itself while its true self is hidden somewhere in a trance might work with some of the ideas for unreal creatures above (and earlier in this thread).

This idea adds an interesting twist to the game. I like this idea. I REALLY LIKE THIS IDEA. RREEAALLYY!! LLIIKKEE!!

Well, I was at my local B&N looking for things to inspire me for running a Zorcerer of ZO game I'm thinking of getting off the ground with my niece & my nephew with help from their dad. I ended up in the mythology section to look up American Tall Tales when I spied this book, The Mythical Creatures Bible: The Definitive Guide to Legendary Beings by Brenda Rosen. For $14.95 this book is hand-sized, full color, with an image on every other page. From the quick glance I took, I decided to make you aware of it, Wes.

Changed my Amazon order to 1 Day Delivery earlier. I want my three books ASAP. SNAILS ON SPEED! TO THE RESCUE!

GO PAIZO! GO!

So I just got a print copy of Zorcerer of Zo in my hands this morning and while reading through it I realized I have forgotten one of my favorite monsters.

I WANT WHEELERS!

This was such an interesting creature from the Lands of Oz books by L. Frank Baum. Checkout the Disney movie, Return to Oz (1985) if you don't know what I'm talking about.

I had thought the Crawling Claws of FR were closed content, but they released them as part of the d20 Modern SRD. interesting.

Indeed it is. Although, I'm slightly annoyed. I would've had a different (and possibly) better villian submission in the RPG Superstar Contest '09 if I had known that Crawling Claws were open content.

Thanks for making me aware of this, Goblin.

Wes, I want to see these in PF Bestiary II:

SNAILS ON SPEED!!!

Would those posters who are readers of The Maxx comic confirm if the isz actually talk? In the cartoon, they are able to

Zipper, I'm tweeking the ability in general. But I agree with you on changing it from Extraordinary to Supernatural better fits the ability. It should've been Supernatural from the start.

I don't think KissMeDarkly intends to make a carbon copy of the Isz from the series. That's usually a bad idea because the game mechanics rarely allow you to perfectly match the source material or just leads to retarded levels of power or rules that are unprecedented. The save suggested by KissMeDarkly (and Disguise Self) is fine because only creatures that interact with the disguise are going to know what's up.

Zipper, you are correct in all of this. The Isz I plan on releasing will be geared more towards making a playable monster that feels as much like an Isz as I possibly can. I'm going to try to keep the CR down to a CR 3-6. But I have a list of 15-20 things that I'll try to work into the final Isz.

DARK ISZ
Fey Type
Tiny (1 1/5 ft. tall)
No Eyes

Thinking about monsters in previous editions of the game, it strikes me this should be an aberration.

Lots of nightmare monsters and creatures touched by the Far Realms were aberrations, as are many shapechanging creatures.

The isz started out as Aberrations. But as I began the designing of them, That's why this thread started out asking the question: Which Type? Aberration, Monstrous Humanoid, or Outsider? As I began to look at the design aspects of monsters closer, I began feeling that aberrations weren't a perfect match. While mechanically the Isz could be any of them, I've decided to go with the Fey Type for these reasons:

This is a must see. I watched the trailer three times earlier today. I can't wait until January 1st.

PLUS Tron: Legacy will be in IMAX 3D!

Patrick, I would very much like to get back ontrack with the game.

I'm sorry I allowed this to happen to your game. I'd gotten sick sometime around April or May and was still reading the posts, but not adding to them while sick. Then I admit I got a little sidetracked, trying to get a game going with my in-town friends. After awhile I'd come across one of the two game threads and realize I needed to get back on track, but I would put it off until I could "catch up" with the threads or until after I got the sleep I needed before I went into work.

I was a procrastinating bastard. I make no excuses for my procrastinating bastardship, especially after seeing that my last post is about 125 posts ago. But, I will try to post at least three times a week if I'm allowed to stay in the game. I will also offer my services. I'll do Harrow Readings for any of the replacement players you get whether I'm back in the game or not.

Taking a classic (The Black Cauldron) and using it unapologetically. I've decided to go with this Big Bang! event.

Vaiden the Blackheart, a Koldun who has mastered the 10 Gifts, has rediscovered a fourth Hidden Gift, once known in Gifted circles as the Forbidden Gift. Using all of the Gifts, Vaiden has begun crafting a cauldron that will enable him to animate the dead. Once finished, he will animate an army of undead warriors with which to conquer all of the Sky Islands.

I have no idea what the Forbidden Gift is yet. I'm looking suggetions. I'm thinking maybe Cerebus (Death). But it should use something with an evil stigma to it. Like Shadows or Death. Also, the creature relation has to be there.

Suggesttions? Comments?

Disguise Self is easily the spell needed to recreate the Isz's ability to appear like what they are dressed as. Below is the spell disguise self which I copied from www.d20srd.org and the version I've written for the first draft of the Isz. Now the isz's ability isn't an exact copy of The Maxx, but does grant anyone who might encounter an isz a chance of "seeing" it for what it really is.

Disguise Self

Illusion (Glamer)
Level: Brd 1, Sor/Wiz 1, Trickery 1
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 10 min./level (D)

You make yourself—including clothing, armor, weapons, and equipment—look different. You can seem 1 foot shorter or taller, thin, fat, or in between. You cannot change your body type. Otherwise, the extent of the apparent change is up to you. You could add or obscure a minor feature or look like an entirely different person.

The spell does not provide the abilities or mannerisms of the chosen form, nor does it alter the perceived tactile (touch) or audible (sound) properties of you or your equipment.

If you use this spell to create a disguise, you get a +10 bonus on the Disguise check.

A creature that interacts with the glamer gets a Will save to recognize it as an illusion.

Disguise Self (Ex): An isz can alter its appearance simply by dressing up, thus taking the appearance of whatever it has dressed up as. The extent of the apparent change is up to detail of the disguise worn.

The spell does not provide the abilities or mannerisms of the chosen form, nor does it alter the perceived tactile (touch) or audible (sound) properties of the creature.

If you use this spell to create a disguise, you get a +10 bonus on the Disguise check.

A creature that interacts with the glamer gets a Will save to recognize it as an illusion.

Also, am I the only one who remembers the Outback being called Pangea at least part of the time?

Mr. Gone calls it Pangea. Julie & Maxx call it Australia or the Outback.

Howabout making the Isz fey?

I actually considered this cause I was looking for a good way to introduce the Isz into Galorian and one thing I thought up was to make then a creature of the First World. Now that I really think of it if the First World is what Maxx calls "Australia" it makes more sense.

According to the type description, fey creatures have supernatural abilities (their disguise ability could qualify) and connections to nature or to some other force or plane (The Outback could meet all three of those descriptions.) Here are a few more reasons to make them fey.

• Fey have d6 Hit Dice (Isz aren't particularly tough.)
  
• Base Attack as wizards (Isz are really only dangerous in large numbers.)
  
• Good Reflex and Will saves (Isz are pretty nimble, and their simple minds probably make them resistant to most mind-affecting attacks.)

Fey do get 6 skill points per HD. That might seem high for an Isz, but you can spend these on things Isz are good at like Climb, Jump, Hide, Move Silently, Spot, Listen, Disguise and maybe Tumble. Fey also get proficiency with simple weapons which makes sense for an Isz who should have no trouble swinging a stick or a knife at somebody (though they'd prefer to bite.)

Maybe the best reason to make them fey is right here (the picture is from Shocker Toys, a company that produced some Isz action figures.) That's what Sarah's Isz look like later in the comic series. They're little pink fairies that explode if they aren't kept in water.

Plus, all of the reasons you've given make sense. I'm still in the gathering info/ making decisions phase. Expect to see the Isz Stat block for Pathfinder before my birthday in November.

I'm pretty sure I'm on the Amazon wish list of sorts for The Maxx DVD

The next best thing: THE MAXX EPISODES. Apparently, MTV put the episodes onto their website on June 8th.

KissMeDarkly wrote:

All Isz are eyeless. I just realized that Isz are immune to Gaze attacks. woot!

That could open a whole host of problems/advantages.

o Blind Fight as a free racial feat.
o Sonic vulnerability of some sort. (double dmg, temporary blindness, etc.)

If I remember correctly they also had some sort of cool 'illusion' ability where normal folks could'nt actually see them. A reverse delirium of sorts for 'Werewolf' RPG followers. Although admittedly the 'illusion' was always the same 'little old lady'. Possibly a tad Fay-like, similar to gnomes getting free spells with an above-average charisma.

The illusion-like ability you're talking about is the ability to appear like whatever they happened to be disguised as. Mr. Gone would always dress them up as little old ladies when he had to bring them some place else. Thus you remember only seeing little old ladies. They could've just as easily been nuns or salesmen.

I planned on giving them blindsight [60 feet]. Don't know if I'll give them a vulnerability though. Mainly, because I don't know if the ability to "see" was echo-location or not. BUT, I'm getting a supplement for the game Heroes & Heroines, which includes stats for The Maxx. So I hope to be able do a proper write-up with that.

Sean, thanks for your feedback.

If you couldn't tell I'm kind of partial toward some sort of goblin.

With the way Goblins look in Pathfinder RPG, I totally understand where you are coming from, Daniel.

I don't know how or where I'm going to finally "place" the Isz. Maybe they were the result of some demon's experiment to make goblins more to his liking. Or maybe I'll make them creatures summoned from their home plane and something about leaving it warps and corrupts them. Also, making their home "the Outback", a demi-plane with strong ties to the Realm of Dreams.

I haven't pinned it down yet.

I'm not exactly sure how they formed anymore, I'll have to re-watch the VHS again

Man, I wish The Maxx & Daria were out on DVD.

All Isz are eyeless.

I just realized that Isz are immune to Gaze attacks. woot!

PLEASE, Jimmy J., make monster creation smooth and not clunky feeling as it is now.

Sidetrack: Also figured how to make the shrieking eels Paizo ain't putting into the Bestiary like I asked them to. Just take the electric eels and convert their electricity attacks to sonic ones! WOOT!

I haven't seen the show, but could it also be an Ooze? Dream realm tends towards aberrations, but also outsiders. Probably not monstrous humanoid.

No, the Isz are not oozes. They are little black humanoids about the size and temperment of a goblin. All Isz are eyeless. Black Isz are carnivores. They are stronger, faster, and have sharper teeth than white Isz. The Maxx #8 shows a sea of white Isz as part of the cover art. Note: The Maxx is the purple guy hanging from the cliffside.

For the uninitiated, the Isz are a creatures from the comic book The Maxx, which was later made into a cartoon on MTV. The isz come from the Outback, a quasi-dream realm created by Julie, the main heroine's subconscious. Originally white, the isz becomes black upon entering our world. So I'm writing them up (the black isz anyway) as a monster in 3.5 to be converted to PFRPG as soon as I get my PF Bestiary.

I'm just trying to get my head around what Type of monster the isz happens to be. Is it a aberration? A monstrous humanoid? Or an outsider? All three of them make sense to me. I figure that it all hinges on the isz's ability to disguise itself and flawlessly appear as whatever it has been disguised as.

I'm leaning towards Outsider. Comments & Suggestions are sought.

If this thread has to be moved, I request the d20/OGL forum.

I'd like Paizo to make...

Something that makes Monster Creation easier. I'm sitting down with the Monster Manual I in front of me, trying to work thru the Monster Creation rules. And there has got to be a better and easier way to make new monsters than these lame instructions.

Fair enough and I appreciate the honest critique.

And I appreciate your detailed reply. The Ogler has given me the idea to create a floating eye monster of my own. I'm still working out some of the details. Lord knows, I could use some more practice with Stat blocks before the next RPG Superstar contest. Especially, since the contest will use PF RPG this year. I WILL MAKE IT PAST THE TOP 32! I'm probably going to try to stat out the Black Isz from The Maxx sometime before the end of the year. If nothing else, this'll be something different and unexpected if I decide to put it into a game.

Ryan, I was wondering if by using two ray beams simaltaneously on the same target increases the Save Difficulty of an attack OR does it just require the target to make the Save twice. I would definately like it if the Save Difficulty increased, making for an interesting dynamic.

Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of an OGL beholder-esque creature and I like butterfrog's other artwork. I want to enjoy this creature, but I can't.

First, the name, the Ogler, has to go. It just doesn't sound disturbing enough for my tastes. I've come up with something I like: the vile oculi.

I also don't care for Hugo's artwork on the Ogler. Something about the artwork gets under my skin, especially after seeing the other work he's done. Mostly, it's a dislike of the huge eyeball at the top of the Ogler. I think this could've been better as an eye-stalk comprised of nerves and veins holding an eyeball above the ogler. Then there is the way the other eyes look. They need to be smoothed out, to look more like actual eyes. Some could've been half-open, others could've been larger or smaller to show that eyeballs from multiple creatures were used in the creation of the Ogler.

I like most of the stat block, but not the use of black tentacles or summon monster III. These just feel 'wrong' to me. Although with the creation explanation, it can make sense.

I'm on the edge about wall of fire. I think a breathe weapon of fire that shoots out in a line, like some dragons breathe weapons do, might have been better. But I also understand that wall of fire makes a good blocker of exits to keep the party within that 30 ft. range of the Gaze Attack.

I'd like Paizo to make a change to the Forums so that would I could watch threads I haven't posted in, but find interesting and want to keep track of. Maybe cap this at 20 such threads at a time.

Dogbert, I definately plan on doing this more like Indiana Jones and Goonies. I planned on having traps that the PCs could work through regardless of what class they are, about 1/2 of the traps. I'm using some of the Challenges from Dungeon and looking up some more puzzles to work into the over all theme.

Daniel, I'll check out the thread(s) you're talking about. For some reason I totally zoned out and didn't think to search the forums here or over at RPG.net for stuff. This will change.

Riddles... are still up in the air. Unfortunately, most of the riddles I Googled won't work. I need to look around for some good ones, if any, to put into the game. I'll also give the players the option of solving them either with a Knowledge Check or to actually solve it themselves.

Monster Summoning traps... no. I'd prefer not. I want to try for a 100% monster free adventure. BUT I'll also ask my players what they'd think of playing a module free of fighting monsters. That will be the final decider. BUT, I'll make sure to have 4-5 prepared just in case I have to "fix" this on the spur.

Haunts... I'm on the edge about these. I loved the haunts of ROTR #2: The Skinsaw Murders. But Rise of the Runelords had a very concrete way of deciding which PCs set off which haunt. I'd need to come up with something that'll work for this adventure.

Also, I've named my dungeon for the purpose of this game. It is the Shrine of the Seven Lucky Gods. So I'm going to work out a dungeon that has seven levels to it. Probably even work "Seven" into the puzzles/riddles/challenges as much as possible. I'm trying to decide what should be the 'goal' of the party. I'm thinking of using a quest for a Tome of Leadership and Influence +3 that I'll be calling 'The Path of the Seven.' They've been charged with this task by the local Pathfinder Society.

Thanks for the advice so far. Keep it coming.

Does your party have someone to find traps?

If no, how will they deal with this situation?

If yes, what are the other PCs doing while the trapfinder is at work?

First, I need a party. At the moment my fellow gamers are scatted to the Four Corners. When I am ready, I shall hunt down those who have been saying "need like to get a game going" and I will stab them with my plastic sporks! Until they agree to be in this game.

When it comes to make the PCs, I'll suggest to them that someone should play a Rogue. I will probably mention that the first adventure may be monster-lite or advise them to choose their gear exceptionally well.

I've decided on trying to make my first game with the official Pathfinder RPG a dungeon crawl without using monsters. I plan on creating an adventure of just Traps. I'll be using both traps of my own design and traps crafted by others like those found in Grimtooth's Traps. I plan on using "interesting" traps, no matter how the dice (or PCs) fall. But careful selection of Traps will be key as I plan on starting PCs at 1st Level.

I'm hoping this'll make for some good RP. If the game goes well, I plan on progressing the game into more "traditional" things (i.e. monsters, villians, rescue the prince, etc.)

Well, I've altered/ adjusted the Big Bang. Now I'm going to have the Mysterious Blue (think an ocean of blue-tinted tar) become gigantic whirlpool. This swirling maelstrom will slowly begin to drag the Cloud Islands into it.

What do you think of the impending doom I've come up with?

Is this a steampunk setting?

No. Swashbucklers of the Seven Skies isn't designed as a steampunk setting. It's a Swashbuckling setting. Think Princess Bride + Count of Monte Cristo + Pirates of the Caribbean. Stir. Then Shake and Bake. Though maybe da Vinci level steampunk is already mixed into the setting.

My BIG BANG will add more of a Victorian level steampunk influence to the game. I'm uncertain how that will effect the feel of the setting or the game. I suspect that will depend upon the players and my abilities as GM.

This board ain’t big enough for the two of us (PDQ fans).

Fan? I'm uncertain if I'm a fan. I haven't played a game using PDQ yet. But PDQ has the same type of feel of 'fast play' as other systems I am a FAN! of. I may become one, but between work & sleep, I'm still reading through the setting of Swashbucklers of the Seven Skies. I haven't even built a Character yet. Although I do have an idea for a cool NPC I want to create.

I've recently purchased a game called Swashbucklers of the Seven Skies. I've been wanting to do an AIRSHIP campaign for a while and I decided to check out this setting & it's system, Prose Descriptive Qualities (PDQ). I'm really liking what I'm seeing so far. I've got a decent start up idea, but I'm still trying to decide on the BIG BANG plot event for the overall game.

START UP: The Maitriarch of your House has made a Call of House, summoning all of those who can make a legitimate Blood claim. When all of the Blood have gathered, she relates an ominous Dream she has had of a dark event fast approaching. She claims that only those of our House Blood stand a chance in keeping this event from coming to pass.

Then she tells all before her that as of this moment she is going to dedicate as much of the House resources as can be afforded towards this goal and she expects each of Blood to work towards keeping this premonition from coming true. She even goes so far as to pronounce all vendettas onhold. When she ends this Call of House, she dismisses most of the Bloods, but requests certain family members to remain for private discussions and possibly for assignments, including the PCs.

BIG BANG [uncertain]: So far... the idea is that a new Cloud-Island has risen from the Blue, think a more bog-like Dark Water (Pirates of Dark Water) that covers the entirety of what is below the Seven Skires. Upon it is a more advanced Kingdom. They have managed to escape upwards from beneath the Blue and are seeking to conquer/ exploit the cloud-islands of the Seven Skies. Their airships use engines, propellers, and rotors. They have platoons of jetpacked warriors. They use unmanned attack drones. I definately want to give this Force more of a steampunk feel. I'm on the verge of making them non-humans. Possibly Dwarves, but a new Race is entirely possible.

Comments are sought. I'd like a good discussion of what I've got planned so far. I'd like to keep the Swashbuckler feel of both the system and the setting and I'm concerned my BIG BANG will take away from that. I'm also worried I won't be able to keep the Intrigue going as I'm not really used to GMing that aspect of the game.

After only 5 minutes of this being aware of this "news" and reading only this thread, I came up with this acronym to explain it all:

S.Y.F.Y. = See? You *****d Yourselves.

Clark, I was wondering if you'd give my re-post of the Spell-Catch Gauntlet a look and tell me what you think. Thanks!

Congrats, Mark! Maybe I'll make the Top 16 next year.

So I decided to post the UPDATED Spell-Catch Gauntlet. This is the ITEM as it should've been submitted in the first place. I would love to hear comments on this, especially from the judges. :)

Spell-Catch Gauntlet
Aura strong abjuration; CL 13th
slot hands; weight 2 lbs; Price: 250,000 GP (one gauntlet)

DESCRIPTION
Usually made for a left hand, this gauntlet gives the wearer a chance to catch any ranged spell that targets him. Make a Will Save (DC 18 + Spell Level) to catch a spell (Standard Action) with an empty Gauntlet. Spell Catching is a Swift action. For each Spell Level caught one charge is spent. 0-Level spells waste 1 charge. A Gauntlet has 15 charges per day.

Succeeding means you've "caught" the spell. It becomes a ball of magic in your hand. Catching a spell enables you to re-cast it. You may throw this spell at any target within the spell's range. This is considered casting the spell. The spell keeps its original strength and may not be altered. Closing your hand into a fist (Free action) gets rid of the spell in your hand. After one minute, a "caught" spell is automatically Dismissed.

Failure means you forfeit any Reflex Saves, taking the full effects of the spell. Using a spell-catch gauntlet along with a weapon incurs the penalties of Two-Weapon Fighting.

CREATION
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, spell turning, COST: 125,000 GP