Lincoln Hills's page

You're right to suspect that the 'most reasonable' course of action would cause a lot of friction with your players. Even if your players didn't rebel, a TPK (and the presumed addition of all the PCs' gear to the enemies' resources) is generally to be avoided when possible.

I think you're on the right track by using allies the PCs have made - just make them a little more proactive. A messenger might arrive warning them of evidence an ally has acquired (or discovered through divination) of their enemy massing an unbeatable force and planning a surprise attack.

Alternately, demons' "alliances" being what they are, the warning might come from one of the villain's allies. Obviously you'd have to figure out the reasons for this subtle betrayal (and whether it will remain undiscovered or lead to disruption within the enemies' ranks).

Whoever delivers the warning, you should have them advise lying low (depending on the game's power level and style, this could mean anything from 'a few weeks over the border in a neighboring kingdom' to 'a year on a plane demons cannot risk travelling to'.) If you've established any dungeons or regions where magical divination won't work, remind the PCs of their existence: if not, maybe an NPC can suggest either a warded location or a teleportation circle/planar portal that can give the PCs breathing room. If possible, give the PCs two options so they feel like they have some choice even when they're on the run.

My usual strategy is to let the first two instances slide, and slip a cursed item into one of the caches 'stolen from the party'. The one occasion when (most of) your players will cheer to find such an item.

81. Perhaps from a household accident, which account for 70% of all unexpected deaths!

Man Paizo should just release a splat containing all the deity stats.

Said stat blocks consist of the deity's name, a brief fluff description, and a single rule: "You lose."

Hey, those are the combat statistics of Caine from Vampire: the Masquerade! Which I still think they stole from the combat statistics for the Lady of Pain in Planescape.

well bulette are made with demon ichor but are neutral in nature. could a magic user possibly create a bulette with an angels blood with the same results?

(Not everybody has the source you're quoting about how bulettes were created - I believe Classic Monsters Revisited?)

The answer is entirely up to the GM, but I personally would consider this a golden opportunity to introduce a unique monster. You're better off sticking to the recipe, if you want bulettes.

...using the avalanche rules to do it... it says "players in the area always take damage"...

Well, I doubt it says that, unless your GM is actually dropping large rocks on the people sitting at his table. Call the police!

OK, here we go, CRB p. 429: "Characters in the bury zone always take damage from the avalanche; characters in the slide zone might be able to get out of the way..." The word always is contrasting the bury zone (full/half) with the slide zone, where anyone who makes the save negates all damage.

Evasion: "if a [character] makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, he instead takes no damage." The use of 'attack' does leave your GM's interpretation as a valid one.

I say 'valid,' not 'ideal:' the more generous interpretation is easier to keep in mind.

Right: 'trained' indicates ranks (any number of ranks) in the skill.

...if the pilot wanted to plummet out of the sky, that wouldn't be difficult to do. (Difficult to survive, but not difficult to do.)...

In fact, that's the only maneuver I ever mastered in Microsoft Flight Simulator!

Yes: the number of ranks you have is a bonus to your skill roll.

So - a class skill in which you have ranks has a bonus of [NUMBER OF RANKS] + [ATTRIBUTE MODIFIER] + 3.

A skill in which you have ranks (that is not on the class skill list) has a bonus of [NUMBER OF RANKS] + [ATTRIBUTE MODIFIER].

Some skills can't be used untrained at all. But if the skill doesn't say 'Trained only', you can attempt it by rolling a d20 plus the attribute modifier it uses (as if it were an attribute check).

Certain races get racial bonuses to certain skills - these bonuses apply to all three situations (class skill, non-class skill, and untrained.)

The timer's a great house-rule, and would probably reflect the intent of the spell ("a brief message") better than a limitation that gives "I am" the same weight as "antiestablishment parliamentarian".

(We should make 'em write out a haiku.)

Having to overcome social challenges to gain access to a dungeon? The two things that spring to mind are royal crypts (so that they have to gain royal approval fires) or a sanctified site (something that only the inner circle of a priesthood is supposed to behold.)

As for the exploration theme, I'd probably put an old journal or tome in the campaign which describes the dungeon, but gives only vague directions directing the PCs to a remote wilderness or an unknown island.

Here are the spells that I know qualify (according to the magic item requirements) - from the core book plus Advanced Players' Guide, Advanced Class Guide, and Occult Adventures. It includes some oddballs, such as potions brewed by bards, rangers and paladins (when that would give earlier access): they'll have a higher caster level and therefore price than normal potions of that level.

0: guidance, message, resistance, stabilize, virtue

1st: ant haul (APG), blessed fist (ACG), cloak of shade (APG), crafter's fortune (APG), cure light wounds, delay poison (as a Ranger spell), endure elements, enlarge person, feather fall, gentle breeze (ACG), hide from animals, hide from undead, invigorate (APG), jump, keen senses (APG), lesser restoration (as a Paladin spell), mage armor, magic fang, negate aroma (APG), pass without trace, protection from evil (and variants), quintessence (Occult), reduce person, remove fear, resist energy (as a Ranger spell), restful sleep (APG), sanctuary, shield of faith, shield of fortification (ACG), touch of the sea (APG), undetectable alignment (as a Bard spell), vanish (APG).

2nd: barkskin, bestow grace (APG, as Paladin spell, CL 7th), blessing of courage and life (APG), blur, bear's endurance, bull's strength, buoyancy (ACG), cat's grace, contagious zeal (Occult, CL 4th), contingent action (ACG), corruption resistance (APG), cure moderate wounds, darkvision, delay poison, eagle's splendor, feather step (APG), fox's cunning, heighten reflexes (ACG), heroism (as Bard spell, CL 4th), invisibility, lesser restoration, levitate, misdirection, muffle sound (ACG), owl's wisdom, protection from arrows, rage (as Bard spell, CL 4th), remove paralysis, resist energy, righteous vigor (APG, as paladin spell, CL 7th), see invisibility, shield of fortification (APG), slipstream (APG), spider climb, tongues (as Bard spell, CL 4th), undetectable alignment

3rd: aura alteration (Occult, CL 7th), clairvoyance/clairaudience, cloak of winds (APG), contagious zeal (Occult), cure serious wounds, dispel magic, displacement, draconic reservoir (APG), fly, gaseous form, good hope (as Bard, CL 7th), greater magic fang, haste, heroism, invisibility sphere, jester's jaunt (APG), nauseating trail (ACG), neutralize poison, nondetection, placebo effect (Occult), protection from energy, rage, remove blindness/deafness, remove curse, remove disease, righteous vigor (APG, CL 7th), tongues, water breathing, water walk, wrathful mantle (APG)

Any form of the skill has the same magical workarounds. Pointing out that the system I offered can be circumvented is entirely true, but not relevant. That objection applies just as well to the system in the core rulebook, or to any other house-ruled system.

You consider the system I suggested "overly complicated" and "overly punitive?" Those are fair criticisms. Perhaps that's why I stated right out of the gate that it involves more paperwork and closer tracking of in-game time.

You feel that I have failed to make communication hard? Thank you.

Agreed, PB. For some - most! - campaigns, the rules in the CRB work well enough.

Lincoln Hills wrote:

...Your attempted comparison to Acrobatics fails... mainly because I never suggested applying this process to any other skill...

It's the fact that you didn't suggest applying the process to other skills that makes it even worse to be quite honest. 7500 gold + some gets you permanent tongues and bypasses your complex linguistics system.

The thread is about Linguistics, not about general skill system changes or magical ways to circumvent the skill.

Lincoln Hills wrote:

I'll suggest a homebrew alternative for you, DungeonmasterCal... It involves more paperwork and more tracking of in-game time, but has the advantage of not being level-related...

Could you imagine if you had to go through this ridiculous process every time you took a rank in Acrobatics or something? It makes the skill functionally unusable... Are there no tinkers, traveling merchants, or old storytellers in your universe? No travel guidebooks?... It makes no sense from ANY type of game point of view. That narrow focus is what the Lore Background Skill was invented for.

I understand your objections, Sudakan. You prefer the rules as written: so do I, for most campaigns. But a campaign in which language barriers are supposed to play a role needs a different approach.

Your attempted comparison to Acrobatics fails, partly because Acrobatics isn't subject to hundreds of regional variations, but mainly because I never suggested applying this process to any other skill.

Learning the language secondhand - or from books - are both valid methods, of course! They count as 'daily exposure to the language'.

I'll suggest a homebrew alternative for you, DungeonmasterCal: it's how Linguistics work in my post-apocalyptic Earth campaign. It involves more paperwork and more tracking of in-game time, but has the advantage of not being level-related. (Learning Osirian is not just a matter of punching 10,000 goblins anywhere on Golarion.) Alter it based on your own needs.

Levels of Fluency
Level 1: You can only use and understand one-word sentences.
Level 2: You can use and understand three-word sentences in the present tense.
Level 3: You still have a three-word limit, but articles ('the', 'an', 'my') don't count toward the three-word limit, and you can use past-tense verbs.
Level 4: You can use and understand five-word sentences: articles and conjunctions ('and' and 'but') don't count toward the limit. You can use any verb tense, but you can't use or understand simile or metaphor.
Level 5: Your speech is accented and sometimes halting. You are unrestricted in daily speech, but can't use or understand metaphors or advanced technical terms.
Level 6: Unrestricted fluency.

A PC untrained in Linguistics who encounters a regional language can make a Linguistics check. On 10 or more, he has Level 1 fluency. One trained in Linguistics can make a similar check, gaining Level 1 fluency on a 10 or more - or Level 2 on a 20 or more. Continued daily exposure to that language allows another Linguistics check (DC 20) in 1 day, then 1 week, then 1 month, then every 3 months afterward. Each success grants a level of fluency.

You can apply the usual +2/-2 modifier for languages you feel are particularly similar/dissimilar to the PCs' native language.

The other people at the table are your partners, not your audience.

Oh, definitely divine magic. I've never heard the party say, "Who cares if we get blinded, driven insane and disintegrated - we have a wizard! He'll just fix the boo-boos. Chaaaaarge!"

Based on what I've read about the barbarian cultures up there, the southern Plateau is mostly arid scrubland (think of the climate in 'Mad Max'). You should be able to justify almost anything from the Temperate Grasslands or Temperate Desert encounter lists.

By that logic, you shouldn't be able to multiclass at all, because all classes require you to start at level one!

You may want to tell the players, "I'm getting burnt out. I wanted to run a campaign for heroic characters, and instead everybody's gone for criminal types. I don't look forward to running the game anymore. What do you think we should do?"

RedDingo, Scythia and DungeonmasterCal have all offered advice that handles the in-game aspects, but you should first make the players aware that there's a problem and that you want their help in improving the campaign.

...i want to override all of them so they can see what its like having no kills or any character that is better then the rest. I want to get them more focused on the roleplaying instead of the combat...

Two sentences: two entirely different goals. I'm in sympathy with your goals, but the folks you're gaming with will not even understand the point you're trying to make. Have you tried saying, "Can we focus more on the role-playing instead of the combat?" and seeing where that gets you?

As far as I know, the short-lived ones produced by the mirror of opposition are the only evil twins in official PF products. However, you might consider a 'parallel Prime', a newly discovered plane rather than a magic item - comics have been pumping from that well for eighty years or so.

I'd say the best way to build the concept into a campaign is for a villain who doesn't have the brute strength to overcome the PCs do the necessary plane-travel or conjuration, plucking 'alternate' PCs from that Goatee Dimension of Evil (or from several, if you've got really divergent concepts for each evil twin). When the evil twins demand that he return them home, he'll make up some story that requires them to kill the PCs first ('only they have that spell' or whatever). Depending on how you want that to play out, either the evil twins do the villain's bidding... or they see through his ruse, kill him, and then set out to murder the PCs anyway.

I don't know about that. Remember when Concentration was a skill?

The mechanic does seem a little bit roundabout. Didn't the CRB have rules for hiring non-combatant followers? And for trade goods (although I don't think lumber was on that list)? Those would be a good place to start. Buying land in a city is the tricky - and expensive - part and would probably involve haggling with current owners, dealing with city laws, and butting heads with the local carpenters' guild or equivalent. If the player doesn't want to deal with that level of detail, advise him to hire somebody trustworthy and simply have that individual come around regularly with status reports (and, most likely, requests for 'a few hundred more' when the project runs into difficulties.)

One thing Ultimate Campaign did try to do was ensure that adventure would pop up as a result of this kind of project, and that's definitely worth following up on. To name three possibilities: an unknown enemy might try to start a fire at the building site, workers laying the foundation might dig up a mysterious container, or a local temple might offer to cover half the costs in return for solving a problem they've been having.

Why is Perception a skill?

Take a look around and see all the people who are so focused on their social media/multimedia devices and oblivious to the rest of the world around them. Then ask yourself if perception is innate or learned. :D

That's not a fair analogy! Those people failed a Will save. It's a different mechanic.

How do you all handle illusions in your games, what are your opinions of the school and how do they effect your encounters?

As a GM, when an illusion is in effect, my description of the area or effect matches the illusion. However, when the illusion is cast in the PCs' presence, those trained in Spellcraft get their usual check to identify the specific spell (and they'll usually follow up a success by letting everybody know "it's an illusion.")

This doesn't mean it won't look (and in some cases sound, smell, and feel) real to them, so it really won't do much in terms of saving throws. But they can charge through an illusionary 'wall', avoid an illusion-covered pit, etc. without having to make a save (assuming we're not talking about the classic Grease-followed-by-Silent-Image gag).

Illusion, in my opinion, is one of those useful-but-niche schools. Effects like displacement and invisibility are invaluable, but there are regular cases where the school is rendered useless (blind or mindless monsters ignore certain sub-types entirely).

The Shadow subschool is where the most judgement calls are necessary. Can a shadow conjuration flying monkey carry the caster to a place of safety even though he knows it's not real? (And don't try to tell me it carries him 20% of the way to safety. Or to 20% safety, if that's a thing.)

From what you've written, MrShine, you seem to be in danger of making things more complicated in your efforts to simplify them. That may sound like nonsense, but it's always a risk with house-ruling.

Things I'd trim (bearing in mind we are talking about a whole group of neophytes, not just one new player in a veteran group):

1. Things that provoke attacks of opportunity. I'd probably cut it clear down to 'moving through a threatened area, or casting a spell'. In particular, AOs for combat maneuvers just punish warriors for thinking outside their box.

2. Stabilization checks. Just have characters at -1 to -CON stabilize - at least until your players know the system well enough to do risk assessment.

3. Encumbrance. You probably planned to anyway.

4. Multiclassing. Let them know the option's in the rules but you don't recommend it for first characters.

Once they're comfortable with the basics, you can re-introduce this stuff. I think your notion of limiting classes is a solid one, as long as it doesn't go overboard.

Don't forget kitsune and their jewel or onion shaped ball that either holds their soul or simply magic...

And you can influence a tanuki by taking away his booze, but I'm pretty sure that's not a soul thing.

Does the Erlking have SLAs that allow it to neutralize the PCs without killing them? Even if the centaurs are out to kill the PCs, their ally may not feel the same. Of course, he probably has his reasons for sparing them, but at least it backs you (and the PCs) out of the corner for now.

If you really want the rest of the party to notice his weaknesses, throw skeletal undead at them. A one-handed piercing weapon is about the worst thing you can use against a skeleton, except perhaps attempting to disbelieve it.

A note for GMs considering this option: I once started an adventure with the whole group failing a save 'because Plot', as the saying would appear to be. However, I also passed each character a poker chip and said, "This represents the save you didn't get to make. At any point in this campaign, you can give me back the chip to automatically make a save." It seemed to go over well. (After all, they might have failed that save anyway.)

A combat-trained mount or an animal companion large enough to ride really, really helps. In addition to boosting speed, its attacks are formidable enough to discourage enemies from attempting melee. Improved Initiative is also a big help, because getting under cover or moving behind tougher allies will be central to survival.

Later on, of course, wall spells and invisiblity (or displacement) can be of great help.

Message.

Of course, the message is being sent to his senior apprentice, and it's the signal to cast more message spells, instructing lowlier minions to [break the dam / light the charges / ignite the granary / release the plague hippos.]

To present an alternate reason for their behavior, maybe the other players are tired of carrying a "Chaotic Neutral". Examine your character's actions. Has she hogged the focus, done foolish things that caused problems for the party, refused to exhibit teamwork or respect for the other party members, or been a greater obstacle than the enemies at any point?... I'm not saying this has happened, but the two little letters 'CN' warn me that it's a possibility. If so, your character should probably take this as a sign that she needs to change her behavior.

...I've also heard about a natural attack Ranger, but I can't recall if it was an archetype that gave natural attacks or just a build that focused on improving natural attacks from some other source...

The Advanced Player's Guide offered a natural weapons style for rangers, plus the Shifter archetype and the feat Aspect of the Beast.

How about the Flying Spaghetti Monster? What would happen when one is touched by his noodly appendage?

Well, that's how gravity works, Manny. The FSM loves each and every one of us, and His appendages hold us against our planet so we don't go flying off into space. That's how gravity works. For much, much more about this amazing and completely factual phenomenon, you only need to consult the Book of the Flying Spaghetti Monster*, available at your local library and/or pirate lair. We now return you to your regularly scheduled bickering.

* Which I am not making up

While I too prefer my gods to be unassailable, I can't help feeling that the responses thus far have not been useful for Etc.Etc.

So, to make the attempt: To begin with, I'd assume that DR/epic is the norm - unless your weapon's +6 or better, don't bother. I'd also suggest that you use the same SR rules as golems - if SR applies, the spell won't function. They'd also have immunity to death effects and to effects tied to their portfolios.

Most would be Outsiders - I recommend full BAB and three good saves regardless of their monster type. You should probably start with the SLAs of the most powerful outsider type corresponding to their alignment, plus at-will SLAs matching their domains. If you're using Mythic rules, of course, even demigods should have MR 3 - I believe that's the one at which granting spells to followers is an option - and you should probably assume MR 9-10 for all but minor gods.

Yeah, if you want to stick to the ground, spider climb would give you a decent chance.

In the box on your character sheet marked 'Description', write the words 'Deformed Monstrosity'.

Congratulations! You have succeeded.

I'd generally class non-spellcasters as simplest, spontaneous casters as next simplest, and prepared spellcasters as the ones requiring more rules knowledge. (And to be clear: this is about 'simpler', not 'stronger'.) However, that's far from the only issue. Alignment requirements add complexity. So do features that can change on the fly, such as Martial Flexibility.

At the lowest level, options that you have to select when leveling up make things a bit trickier, but almost all Pathfinder classes have that issue. A helpful veteran player can usually be of great assistance here, as long as he resists the urge to recommend 'the best' option. Presenting a few strong ones and saying, "which one fits the character best?" is the method I'd recommend for this kind of 'build tutor'.

So, by my own criteria, I'd say the simplest to run are barbarians, cavaliers, fighters, and rogues (in about that order). Care is needed in choosing options while leveling, but during play the options are usually straightforward and there's minimal looking up of rules.

The rules specify 'solid' objects as the only barrier, so it should work. The rules don't specify whether it displaces the necessary volume or transfers it to the origination point - that's a GM call.

As for the secondary question, someone using psychic rather than arcane magic doesn't have verbal components, so the usual obstacle to casting underwater does not apply.

I second Combat Reflexes, and unlike the regular Swashbuckler you may even want to invest in Cleave. As others have observed, recharging Panache means you need to prioritize attacks per round over damage (which, after all, you can spike using Challenge when it's important.)

Firstly, I think Ultimate Combat has vehicle rules, which hopefully clear up once and for all whether a ship is a 'location' or an 'object'. Secondly, if nondetection worked as you suggest, casting nondetection on a suit of armor would protect its occupant from divination. (It doesn't.)

Most black dragons have darkness as an SLA, and can prepare the ground as soon as they know the PCs are on their way. Combine darkness with sinkholes, bogs or other swamp hazards and they're suddenly impromptu traps. The dragon may also cultivate leech swarms in nearby pools and use various knock-back attacks (Awesome Blow, Improved Reposition, aqueous orb) to introduce PCs to his little friends.

In the case of the animate dream, it doesn't have any special powers indicating that it looks different to different people, nor any sort of shape-shifting descriptor. And since peoples' nightmares tend to be extremely subjective, the form it's locked in might not be frightening at all... at least, until it attacks.

For monsters that really don't have a fixed shape, it may be best to focus on describing the way it looks or sounds as it perpetually changes. Useful words: convulse, glisten, deformed, shuddering, fluid, nightmarish, pulsing, incoherent, chattering, and involuntary.

...I'm not going to keep repeating myself in other words to please your questions or answers...

Too late!

I would never claim that P.O.O.C (players of optimized characters) "never" receive criticism, but I think you're championing a non-issue for the most part. As a GM I get to generate role-playing adventures for a group of buddies, and that's sometimes a burden but always a privilege. Playing alongside a POOC, I usually avoid 'stepping into his limelight' but that's not because I know I can't optimize as well for the role as he can: it's the same courtesy I extend to anyone else. I even listen (with, I'll admit, some impatience) to his recommendations for my next feat or whatever. Unless he's actually shoving me out of my chair and commandeering my character "to play it right," it's not over the line.

Mind you, I tend to build my character fairly laxly ("What fits his background?") and save my rules-fu until we're in play - the details of cover, flanking, etc.

The subtle (but not guaranteed) method would be to ask one of your players to sum up what happened in the last couple of sessions before you start. The rest will subconsciously note what that player forgot to mention. If necessary, stretch out the time they have to discuss it by 'needing a couple minutes to prepare'.

Running a single-player campaign is enjoyable, although the pass/fail nature of certain saving throws makes many monster encounters extremely lethal for a solo adventurer. On the other hand, focusing on either a) exploration of the game world, or c) rising in social station, can both be fine ways for a solo character to get ahead. However, the game really starts to come into its own if you get two players, whose characters can interact and cooperate (or compete). The group gains more survivability, and you can start to build different stories or sub-plots around each character. Sadly, by the time you get past three players and into the 4-6 range, there's no longer enough time per game for every character to get generous spotlight time: happily, that's also the optimum size for more combat-oriented adventures. There's an upper limit even to that - at seven or eight players, everybody's waiting a long time for their turn and you may have trouble keeping their attention.