Lady Scatha, barbarian's page

After two cross-country moves, I lost my gaming groups and my gaming groove there for a while. I'm finally settled in enough to start up a new group and I'm in the middle of designing my first campaign in almost three years.

The concept I'm going with (and am very excited about) is: Warehouse 13, set in Eberron, with Pathfinder rules. The Regents would be the Committee of Twelve, their stated purpose to collect dangerous artifacts left over from the War before they can be used by one country or another to shatter the Treaty of Thronehold, or worse. This is the stuff too dangerous to even tinker with. The Warehouse will be housed within Thronehold (which is why House Deneith still has guards at the abandoned castle). The PCs will be dragonmarked agents.

I am so out of the loop though, I can't remember what resources I used before to adapt Pathfinder rules for Eberron. If anyone can point me in the right direction, particularly for matching up the pantheons for clerics, that would be swell.

Just moved to the area and wondering if there are any regular Pathfinder Society groups already going? I've been playing with a great group of people on Fantasy Grounds, but it would be fun to play "in person" now and again! Any recommendations for a FLGS are welcome too!

I just started running a play-by-post of Entombed with the Pharaohs (set in Eberron, so a few changes). The antiquities auction is going well so far, but I'm having a bit of trouble thanks to the comprehend languages spell. In short, I'm concerned about it instantly destroying the mystery of a "dead language" I decided to use in place of Ancient Osirion, as well as destroying any motivation the PCs might have for hiring Neferet Anu.

Any suggestions?

Okay, so one of my players is running a tortle PC (from, like, Dungeon #6!). Clearly, one of his primary goals in life is to figure out where the heck he came from and what he is.

I've been planning on incorporating tortles into the history and ecology of the Isle of Dread, but I haven't had time to develop this yet. So far the vague idea that I have is that the remnant of tortles remaining on the Isle of Dread are enslaved, perhaps by Emraag? I think it would be fun for the PC to have the opportunity to free his people.

We just finished up Tides of Dread (which my players LOVED, though they're itching to get away from Farshore for a while), so I need to get cracking on this. Any ideas/suggestions/whatevers would be most appreciated!

Thanks!

Come and post your tales of the Grand Convocation!!

(A first-hand account coming soon from a Taldan representative, Scatha the half-Ulfen barbarian!)

Come and post your tales of the Grand Convocation!!

(A first-hand account coming soon from a Taldan representative, Scatha the half-Ulfen barbarian!)

Here's the place to post about your experience with the PFS Interactive: The Grand Convocation!

I have some fun stories, and I'm sure you do too, so let's see them!!

(Report coming soon from the (half) Ulfen barbarian, Scatha).

While we're waiting for the lottery results... what events did you decide were worthy of a "4"?

Satisfy curious minds and procrastinate at the same time! :-)

Mine were:
Friday: PFS Interactive
Saturday: Cursed Lot: New Beginnings
Sunday: PFS Open Call Workshop

I just finished reading the round 3 rules. At first I thought - "holy cow! They have to come up with a whole new villain in three days??" Then I finished reading the rules, and discovered that creating an all-new villain was just an option.

I love the rules for round 3 and can't wait to see what the contestants come up with. Surprising, because I expected to be bored by this round. Nice job, Paizo!

Announcing the creation of an "unofficial Pathfinder Society Open Call Critique Group" on GoogleGroups! Go here to request membership and get started.

I decided to start this group as a way for us to help each other improve our adventure design and writing skills. It occurred to me after receiving several useful critiques of my (rejected) first proposal for the PFS Open Calls that it would have been even more useful if I'd had someone in the "Pathfinder-know" look over my submission before I confused Josh Frost. I'm involved in a few online critique groups for novels, and figured the format might work for this writing niche as well.

Here's what I have in mind for the critique group, at least to get things started: each member will exchange submissions with another member a minimum of five days before the submission deadline for the active Open Call, and return a review of the scenario outline within two days. I don't foresee this being a complicated or time-consuming process, since each submission has a cap of 750 words.

We can hash out a list of "Reviewer Expectations" and "Submission Expectations", which I will post as a Group Page.

All suggestions and input are welcome. Thanks for giving this a try with me!

My players' party set sail for the Isle of Dread during our gaming session last weekend, and I was rather surprised by how many of the PCs talked someone into going along with them. I had planned out an appropriate contingent of NPC colonists and sailors for the Sea Wyvern (now re-named "Ursus Major"), but ended up replacing most of them with choices made by my players - the shifter captain wanted to recruit one of his brothers (he came from a pirate family), the wizard recruited his childhood friend/love interest from Witchwarden Tower, the druid talked his love interest into going along, the restored and rehabilitated Brissa Santos joined to make a new start in Farshore, etc...

So now I have the unexpected problem of having too many "important" NPCs on board, and not enough "freebies" to kill off en route to keep things hopping. I don't want to treat these NPCs with kid gloves, but neither do I feel comfortable killing them off randomly. I'm particularly nervous about dealing with the shipwreck at the end of Sea Wyvern's Wake.

How did you decide who lived and who died (besides DM fiat)? Did you allow checks to increase a percentage of NPCs saved?

*SPOILERS*

So the PCs in my campaign not only managed to convince Captain Javell of her mistake, obtain her earring, and then talk Drevoraz into leaving Vanderboren manor...they also convinced the bullywugs to ally with them by promising them Kellani blood instead.

That was where the last gaming session ended, and now that I'm prepping for the next session, I'm contemplating the different ways to handle this development. My first thought is that Lavinia will not be keen on turning loose a band of frog-men in the city, and will try to convince the party to turn on the bullywugs. Knowing my players, I'll still have to prep up some Kellani Manor encounters -- but being in the midst of the great Festival, there may not be anyone home. I also have to consider that due to the amount of "trouble" the PCs have been involved in, the Merchant District watch captain would be less than happy to find them at the scene of yet another disturbance, especially one in which they would be more than a little culpable. They may, in fact, be forced to flee the city if they choose this path...

Anyway, I was just wondering if any of you brilliant people had some ideas /input/comments...any of which would be appreciated!

Alright, so I can't tell you how happy I was that just when I was considering kicking off a campaign in Eberron with a 5th level adventure, Riding the Rail arrived in my mailbox. I think it's great for getting a party together, and will give my players an idea of the flavor of the setting (most of the players in this campaign are new to DnD and all are new to Eberron). I'm running into a snag, however....

(SPOILERS BELOW)

There are going to be at least two warforged in the party, and it seems to me like that will really nix most of the difficulty of the first encounter. Reafrin and the thugs aren't going to make it very far into the cart when there are PCs who never sleep...and it doesn't seem like the sickening sleeps are going to be very effective against warforged. Any ideas on how to deal with this?

I've thought about possibly having a member of the Pilfered Wand (disguised as an attendant for the passenger cart) require the passengers to deposit their weapons into a lockbox as they board to help even the playing field (especially since there will be 6 PCs in the party). It's also occurred to me that the Pilfered Wand would be sure to scope out the passengers to determine who is the most likely to cause trouble...so they could prepare something ahead of time to help deal with the 'forged. As a first-time DM, however, the answer isn't obvious to me...

I plan on having my bard take the Disguise Spell feat (from Song and Silence I think) the next time she levels up. I've been thinking about interesting ways to use this feat, and it occurred to me that it would be pretty cool to use it to enhance her performances with images and sounds -- basically, use illusions to illustrate the songs. So, in telling the story of the party's recent adventures, she could have a big monster appear right in front of the audience, etc.

I have a few questions...

One, have any of you done something similar to this, and if so, how did it work out?

Any great ideas on how to use this feat, or suggestions as to what spells to use with it?

And finally, for the DMs out there, how would you incorporate this mechanically into rewards for the performance? (Or, how much more money could she make? :-)

Thanks for the help!

Quick question about how "bonus spells" work (based on the appropiate ability modifier for a spellcaster)...As a bard with 18 charisma, do I KNOW the bonus spells (for example, instead of knowing 3 2nd level spells, I would know 4 at level 5), or do I just get an extra use/day of the normal amount of spells? I'm under the impression that bonus spells add to the list of known spells, but I could use some clarification. Thanks!

I’ve received an interesting note from my old friend, Garnin. Cryptic, as usual for the aged wizard. He’s asked me to come back to Onarc to “meet some friends”. I have a hunch he has more in mind than a nice meal. After thinking about his request for the last day, I believe I’ll head out for Onarc tomorrow morning. I do owe my life to Garnin, and my profession since he introduced me to Tegid. I will leave a message behind in case my mentor returns from the council of bards while I am gone. Hopefully the elder bards will not give him too much grief this year for continuing to train a female in the bardic arts.

********1st meeting:

A few hours outside of town, on the road from Tragon, I ran into a young sorceress close to my age, Opra, and decided to travel on in her company. She’s a little strange, but what do you want from a sorceress? At least I didn’t have to try to make small-talk…she enjoys hearing her own voice. A short while later we joined up with another group of adventurers heading towards Onarc. They were a rather rag-tag group: Punch, a gnome cleric; Bontas, a typical out-of-control young half-elf fighter who can talk of nothing but his previous, and indubitably glorious, battles and conquests of many sorts; and Ieva, gruff, but rather companionable for a dwarf ranger. Oh yeah, and Punch the gnome happens to worship Kord – I think he might be a little obsessed, constantly trying to show off his tattoo of someone he calls “Rambo”.

It turns out we were all invited by Garnin, on various pretenses. I suspect a bit of manipulation on the part of the old wizard. I wonder what he has in store.

It turns out my suspicions were well-founded. Apparently there’s been some trouble, mysterious trouble at that, in his fair town recently. He doesn’t dare to ask too many questions, or he may jeopardize his ability to care for his orphans and refugees. So, he has asked us to try and solve the problem – of course, the real problem is finding out what that is! Regardless, our newly formed group of adventurers has agreed to help – I’m sure we all have our own reasons.

Tonight we will rest and take advantage of Garnin’s hospitality. Tomorrow we will get to the bottom of the violence and the mayor’s unexplained illness.

***********
Punch decided to go pay homage at Kord’s temple, while the rest of us split up to talk to the locals. Opra and Bontas went to check out the Mayor’s estate. Apparently our Fighter is a bit overzealous, and not so “let’s think this through”…what a surprise. Anyway, by trying to climb the wall of the estate in broad daylight next to two guards, he got both of them kicked off the grounds. Good thing Opra was able to convince the guards that Bontas’ story about trying to impress some “ladies” at a nearby building wasn’t cock-and-bull. Ieva and I browsed quietly around the market…she got a few surly comments about being a dwarf, but she shrugged them off and soon nobody paid any attention to her. We found out quite a bit, and when we met everyone else back at the town courtyard, I told them about the raids starting about 3 months ago, just 1 month after the new “assistant mayor” – a suspicious tall, lanky wizard (aren’t they all?) – showed up and about the same time as a shady casino called Zulab’s opened for business. Apparently the mayor’s illnesses always coincide with the attacks…

After checking out the northeast corner of the town, where most of the buildings had been burned and raided, we decided to dine at the Golden Dragon. Bontas ordered the most expensive food and wine on the menu, but apparently forgot to check his coin purse. I offered to sing for our meals – my efforts won some extra coin as well as our meals and drinks. I was a little nervous about performing so close to my home village, but I doubt anyone would recognize me after the past few years I’ve spent wandering in the wilderness from city to city, learning the bardic arts from Tegid. Besides, I was hardly out of childhood when I left.

Around midnight, we left for the raided section of the town again, having decided to watch through the night. We stopped at a fellow named Ottoman’s house, to see if he and his men would help scout for raiders. While he was clearly concerned about the raids, he decided to defend his own property instead of trying to take the offensive – a reasonable stance, although I would have preferred some back up. Once back at the northeastern corner, we found a hole in the wall, apparently the entrance used by the raiders. Ieva set a trap across it, and we all found hidden positions in which we could wait out the night. As the moon approached the horizon, Ieva signaled that she heard a noise. I set my spear for action, and soon we saw a half dozen kobolds pouring through the entrance. Apparently our dwarf ranger still has a few things to learn about trap-setting. Bontas, although I’m sure he was at least slightly drunk, showed his worth quickly. A flourish of his greatsword injured a kobold before it knew what hit it. Ieva followed smartly with a well-placed arrow from her perch atop a ruined building. I was soon drawn into a fight when one of the lizard-like creatures tried to skewer me with his rusty sword. My spear sent him from this world before he did any lasting damage. As I ran toward a second kobold attacking Opra, I heard Ieva curse as her bowstring snapped in half, and her deadly rain of arrows stopped. Bontas also managed to get his sword stuck trying to decapitate another foe. Punch was apparently practicing slicing air with his opponent. I doubt either of them ever actually landed a blow. In another moment, the air was quiet except for the sound of a kobold fleeing into the dark, and Bontas grunting to retrieve his sword. The rest of us quickly retrieved our weapons, and I mended Ieva’s bowstring. Then we started tracking the last kobold towards the woods. Several meters from the town wall, I motioned everyone to stop and listen. Brush crackled ahead, and a new kobold stepped out flanked by two large creatures with wolf-like features - Gnolls. I’m glad I had taken the time to pick up my spear.

The gnolls charged as soon as they saw us…I set my spear against the attack, but I missed as the first gnoll dodged past me and circled behind our group. Opra fired a well-aimed crossbow and slowed down the second gnoll. Bontas and Ieva went to work on the first one, while I ran to aid our young sorceress with the second. Punch and the kobold leader entered their own duel. We were all tired from our earlier battle, and the weariness showed when Opra, after we dispatched our foe, misfired a bolt into Bontas’ back. We quickly turned our attention on the kobold to free the cleric to heal Bontas. After he was dispatched, Punch used magic to put fear into the heart of the last gnoll, who fled into the wilderness. I aimed my last spear into the air after him, but Ieva and Opra held me back and he escaped.

After checking on Bontas, who was in our cleric’s capable (and tiny) hands, I searched the corpses and found a letter on the leader. “N” was waiting on the group to bring a prisoner, a “betrayer” to the Hollowman Oak the following night. Why were they looking for this betrayer here? And might he or she be a potential ally?

Ok, so I admit I'm new to DnD and roleplaying...but I don't understand why bards are so looked down upon. I really enjoy playing a bard -- my character is very flexible, and I've saved my group's collective arse on more than one occasion since we started playing 5 months ago. My bard can pick up a nice bag of gold pretty much every night we spend in a town by performing, she's great at finding out important pieces of information and persuading people to talk before killing, etc...and in the field she can hold her own fairly well and has been among the last standing on several occasions (and not because she was hiding in the back). Best of all, she's great at "filling in the blanks" in the group, eg-- the group isn't screwed when the cleric goes down and there's still 2 dire wolves left and your fighter keeps getting his feet knocked out from under him.

So, I've been thinking about why the class is dimissed so quickly by most people, and I think it's at least partly due to the conception of a bard as a "jester/funny guy". (I know the stats are a bit weaker than for other classes as well, but I think that the flexibility, mixed with some cleverness, more than makes up for that). I can see why one would tire quickly of being the "hero" that can juggle. But that's not how I see a bard -- my conception of a bard is more along the lines of Taliesin or Merlin from Stephen Lawhead's Pendragon Cycle. Specifically, I fashioned some of my bard's aspects after Llew Silverhand from Lawhead's Song of Albion trilogy -- like Llew, she favors a longsword and a spear. Or, for a series you all may be more familiar with, think of a bard as someone who has a "wishsong of Shannara" ability. Basically, my bard is not an entertainer...she is a storyteller, "moving" souls and shaping events using her innate understanding of the power of song and music.

If you would like to have a bard included as a PC in your campaign, or if you are thinking about playing one, I would encourage you to read some of the books mentioned above or suggest them to your players.