Makamu's page

Have you DMed before?

Yes, but only twice, and we did not finish either campaign. The first time was a version of Curse of the Crimson Throne that went off to do its own thing somewhere in book two, but still fun.

The second was a campaign for newbie PF players with one of my current fellow player as a helpmeet to help us all out with the rules. It was great fun because it allowed me to grow along with my players.

If not I highly recommend starting with a published adventure. It doesn't have to be a full adventure path or heck even pathfinder. But it should be pathfinder compatible. Prep the adventure (reading it, understanding the tactics the monsters will use, etc.) and run it as is and don't worry about the PCs breezing through it. The point of the adventure isn't so much to challenge them but rather to get a feel for what characters are capable of.

You should also be comfortable adjusting things on the fly if an encounter is too hard or too easy. If any players are using optimized characters you should probably go ahead and set all the enemies HP to max. Sometimes I'll even give my monster's one final gasp if it feels like they went down too easily.

For example, my monster has 5 hitpoints left and the PC just nailed them for 30 damage. It's only round two and he's the BBEG and it would kind of suck for everyone if he went down already. So instead, the attack leaves him at 1 hitpoint. If any other PC lands a blow and does any kind of damage he's dead, but the players don't know that. It creates tension because they just threw everything they had at him and he's somehow still up. Now my monster gets to potentially do one more thing before he drops. Even if he doesn't, he's probably getting dropped by a less optimized character. Everyone feels like they contributed and the fight is more satisfying for everyone.

I do try to keep these kind of shenanigans to a minimum though so the players don't catch on that it's what I'm doing.

Even if you've DMed lots of games, published adventures can still be useful. They take less effort to prepare, which gives you more time on the custom stuff. If players are blowing though things too fast then plan adventures based on a higher level. You might find that maybe your group is only really properly challenged when they are up against things that are for 3 levels higher then their actual level. Though in this case you may need to reduce the xp...

Also thanks for those suggestions - I have a few APs I could run if the players feel like it, and I'll definitely read through the ones I have for ideas on how to build enjoyable encounters in what I hope is already an enjoyable story.

Thanks for the advice and examples.

Makamu

Encourage the other players to make very different characters. Then design encounters where different characters can be strong. And in some encounters, it’s fine/good for the experienced fighter/gunslinger feel optimized and strong. And then other times, bring on the swarms of ghost rats.

Okay, that sounds like great advice - thank you.

Since some of us will be sticking with 1st ed...what are some of the final Campaign Setting books do we want/need? (Let's say 3 choices...though I suppose people could give more)

Oh, this is hard, but also a very neat question:

Personally, I would love to see a proper gazeteer for

1) Casmaron and Vudra

2) Thuvia/Rahadoum

3) Nex

And as the first 2nd edition, I would be all for something 1st edition players can also use easily, so I second the idea of a hardcover on Absalom.

Makamu

I am about to get started writing my first homebrew-Golarion campaign (mostly to be set in Vudra), and I am looking for some advice: my group and I have been playing together for fourteen years now. Two of our players (and most frequent GMs) usually play very optimised characters and have very high system mastery (as well as being good roleplayers). The rest of us are good at playing the game, but not as good as those two.

Personally, I am more of an RP person than a rules person (yes, I know, and I still play PF), but one of the reasons I volunteered to GM is that I want to improve my rules knowledge as well.

So, yesterday I told them that I'd start work on my campaign now (I mean I have to invent a region from whole cloth), and they immediately asked for character information (amount of build points, alignment and class restrictions etc). They also volunteered that the good players had already written up potential characters for the campaign.

One of them wants to play a dhampir optimised for fighting in melee, and the other is currently playing a very efficient gunslinger in Skulls and Shackles and so wants to do it again...

Long story short, does anyone have suggestions for how I can make sure these characters don't breeze through encounters and the players still have fun? I was thinking of starting the campaign at level 4 and letting it go to 20/ mythic tier 5. It is set to be a travel adventure with urban intrigue and later planar politics.

Also keep in mind that I am about to start my first job, so I don't know how much time I'll have to prepare sessions, even though I have lots of time to prepare the initial campaign now.

Thanks in advance!

Makamu

Excellent post and I agree wholeheartedly! At present, the playtest documents feel very constraining and streamlined - in the sense of railroading character choices, not efficiently presenting information - and my group has currently decided to stick with 1E except for sourcebooks on Golarion.

But having information on the design goals might help me understand what Paizo is trying to do and maybe we can then help test that even if we ultimately don't buy the final product.

There are a lot of cities and a lot of expansion books for those cities.

I'm looking for the city that *you*, my fellow message-boarder, find the most interesting. It could be because you wrote it, or because the guidebook was the best, or because it has the best adventure path appearance - but all in all, what city of the many cities on the planet is most appealing to you?

Going just by canonical information, we have Absalom, Kaer Maga, Korvosa, Magnimar, Whithrone and Oppara vying for the top spot.

If I add my own stuff and what has developed in my Golarion campaigns, then you have to add Daggermark, Katapesh, Sothis and Almas to that list.

A book about Belkzen written by Our Lord of the Complex Orc? I am more than sold.

Congrats, Mikaze and may it be the first of many :)

announcement

Dotting, because I might just have something ready to submit by the end of the month, seeing as I am working on a remote corner of Cheliax anyway.

We haven't said much at all about the Darklands below the Isle of Kortos. Certainly, when Aroden rose the island, that did a LOT of damage and upheaval to the region of the Darklands below the isle, and thousands of years before THAT the impact of the Starstone did even greater damage. As a result, the Darklands below the Isle of Kortos is almost entirely cut off from the surrounding Darklands—there ARE ways to travel to out of it, but they're super hard to find.

In "Into the Darklands" you'll note that there are no tunnels indicated in Nar Voth, nor any connections between Avistan or Garund's Nar Voths. This is because those connections were either destroyed or rendered obscure by Starfall.

Going deeper, to Sekamina, you'll see a big "C" shape under the Isle of Kortos, which is surrounded by an undersea lake. This lake is what remains of Sekamina after Earthfall, and the raising of the Isle of Kortos is what more or less created the "C" shape there.

Going down to Orv, you'll see that there's still nothing below the Isle of Kortos, but that it comes pretty close to the Midnight Mountains.

I suspect that as a result, the Isle of Kortos's Darklands is a microcosom, with its own Nar Voth and its own Sekamina layers that drift down and finally connect to the Midnight Mountains in Orv.

Eventually we WILL have more to say about the Darklands below the isle... but for now, that's about all there is.

Thanks, James, this is very helpful. Especially since my players will potentially visit the Darklands under the Isle of Kortos next session

the combined awesomeness of Mikaze and Rysky

I'll need some time to digest this, but the general idea sounds awesome.

Makamu

The bit about prizing half-orc 'strength' seems like a mechanical / thematic mixup, since half-orcs aren't any stronger than humans, in Pathfinder, unless one is considering their ferocity trait as a kind of 'strength.'

.

I really found your further comments regarding potential modifications for full orcs very interesting, but I fear I have to slightly disagree with the above statement.

Going back to the quote Mikaze posted, if we take into account that the statement is prefixed with the phrase 'certain cultures', I personally interpreted it to mean that, although most cultures have a negative bias against orcs, some (such as Averaka and the people of Flintyreach) have a positive bias. For me, this bias need not be based on "biological fact" (i.e. mechanical ability arrays) and can just be a perception based on their ancient mythology. Maybe the cultural structures on Flintyreach are descended from a subset of Ulfen culture that values strength very highly and does not value mental abilities? Maybe they consider orcs as blessed in the same way the Varisians consider aasimar good luck (a practice that alienated

Regarding your other points: I agree with you that a less strength-centred range of modifiers might be interesting and I think I'll houserule orcs as having +2 to strength and wisdom and -2 to charisma.

Makamu

Makamu wrote:

As regards Sarenraen (is this the correct adjective to use?)

I've seen Sarenite and Sarenrite, but I prefer Sarenraen. I have no idea what's 'official.' That could be yet another thing that followers of gods disagree upon, particularly gods like Sarenrae, who are worshipped in countries that speak very different languages, and would have very different conventions on the matter...

Now that's an idea. Thanks Set, this will definitely play into my current campaign in some fashion. *starts to ponder*

Makamu

Does anyone else feel the strange compulsion to play a gay dwarf who's running from his arranged marriage?

Not strange at all. I'd actually be very fascinated by a gay dwarf who is running from an arranged marriage, but who also a) feels that he is damaging his clan in some fashion and b) actually likes his bethrothed as a person and so feels that she should have the right to marry (same as he does) someone whom she loves. If the GM were agreeable, I would then start working out from which Dwarven stronghold all involved parties hail, what their positions within their clans and the clan's traditions are and maybe strive towards having the character work out a complex agreement with a cleric of Bolka that leaves all parties satisfied in some fashion.

GM permitting, I would have that be the endpoint of my character's steep learning curve that religions need not always be the straight expression of their deity's will (yes, in spite of commune , but I'll leave that tangent for now :)), either by exposing him to Dwarven differences, or by letting him see the Sarenraen/Sarenite conflict or the Iomedaen (or 'Iomedaen') Burners in Mendev.

Sorry for hijacking your idea like this.

Makamu

The Land of the Linnorm Kings book has all the info on Averaka and Orcmoot that's been revealed so far if you need it. :)

I'm honestly really curious/hopeful about this now. It seems like a place where this could work.

Shows me that I need to re-read my backlog of setting books before ordering new ones, but damn the lords and ladies at Paizo know how to produce constantly tempting stuff. Thanks for the hint, Mikaze, and can I just say that I wish my worldbuilding skills were a tenth as good as yours?

Makamu

I didn't mean Salim, I meant the BBEG (without spoiling too much, it is an excellent novel).

Another example would be if there are any clerics of Saranae involved in the slave trade that get spells. (Since those bast- er Kelish people, are involved in slavery).

Sorry, had to get my innter Taldan to shut up :-)

Ah, yes, of course. I am sorry, I had forgotten about the BBEG (although I was very impressed with the narrative at the time). As regards Sarenraen (is this the correct adjective to use?) clergy, I think Set gave an excellent answer on where these things might add a lot of wanted and needed complexity to the issue.

Mikaze wrote:

Dammit, misread. That should be "I'd roll with her not granting spells in that case.

Funny thing is, I read, "I'd roll with that." as "The cleric of a community based deity would be turning the community against itself, that should answer your question."

So did I.

That said, how far a cleric can go is a recurrent question in Pathfinder. The burner sect, for example, do they still get spells? The cleric in Death's Heretic was working directly against his deity's will, but still got spells.

Funnily enough, I have always thought of Salim as an inquisitor rather than a cleric. Plus, I think that somehow he is a special case, but we cannot assess that yet, since we don't know how the Rahadoumi became a servant of Pharasma and why she wants him where he is... *looks at James Sutter encouragingly* Go on, James, you know you want to tell us.

As for the Burners, personally, in my head!canon they still receive spells, just not from Iomedae or any other good or lawful entities... :)

Makamu

Lots of hailmark half-orc-related Mikaze (Mikazen?) awesomeness

Dotting for later because this might just have given me an idea for the non-evil Orcish background I want to give one of my group's PCs.

Makamu

A thread for discussing and sharing fantasy fashion!

In the fantasy world your in a different setting and many times with different races and cultures. Some people, myself included, enjoy creating and tailoring outfits, including tattoos, shoes, headwear, and full costumes for their characters to remember them by and to shape who they are. So, have anything to share?

Dotting this so hard and preparing a post for the weekend in my head.

Hey guys, my party that im running the campaign for is headed into the darklands, Any advice on tactis/monsters that may help drive the point home that this isn't kansas anymore? Party is 5th level, will remain in the darklands until the adventure is complete.

I'm dotting this because I am about to send my PCs into the Darklands as well.

Makamu

Hello Scaleclaw,

He going to serve either Torag or Gorum so i'm thinking like everything dwarf rough and tumble and doesn't take sass from anyone.

The other party members are
A Assimar Pally
A human urban Ranger
An Alchmist with a plauge mask and a tentacle (right now he having coughing fits)
A Orcle with 2 curses and is basically healed by negative energy

Okay, a rough and tumble inquisitor of either Toraq or Gorum. Looking at the party line-up you posted, I'd say a switch hitter inquisitor with focus on melee and strength might be closest to the rough and tumble you want.

Based on that you need to think about the following issues

15 point-buy means you don't have a lot of points to spend, so you have to look carefully at what you need to raise how high. Are you familiar with this table here?

Based on the concept you posted (a dwarf that does not take sass from anyone and is rough and tumble), I think it safe to say that Charisma is the lowest on your list of ability priorities.

Now I have another question: are you wiling/permitted to have negative ability modifiers? If so, then you can safely put none of your fifteen building points into charisma, which would give you a score of 8 and a modifier of -1.

Next up, you need to think about dexterity and inteliigence. Since intelligence guides your skill points and skills are never bad, even if you focus on combat, I'd recommend you put 2 points in here to give you a 12 and a +1

Dexterity, for its part, influences your armour class (AC) and your reflex safe. So it is not bad to have a positive modifier for that as well (besides, a good brawler can be strong of fist and quick of limb ;)). Another 2 points gives you another 12 and another +1 to start with. A word of caution: if you want to do ranged attacks, you need to raise that a bit (via the level-bound ability score increase perhaps?).

So, this leaves us with 11 points to spend on three scores, two of which are already at 12 and +1 (constitution and wisdom) because of your positive racial modifiers. Personally, I would put three points into constitution, which ends you with a 15 and a +2.

Then you have got 8 points left, three of which I'd put into wisdom (because you need it for casting), for a fifteen and +2

And the last five points should go into strength for another 14 and +2

So, if you dumb charisma, you initially have the following stats after racial modifiers:

14/12/15/12/15/8

Since you are level 9, you get two ability score increases at levels four and eight: Personally, I would bump both wisdom and strength for a +1 each, but that may not be the best option for the concept you want (more experienced players/GMs/theorycrafters, this is your cue!):

At the end of the day, you would have the following array (to be enhanced further by magic items of course):

15/12/15/12/16/8

Sorry for the long post :) If you need a quick and dirty build, somebody else will have to help out, I'm afraid.

Makamu (next up: your arrsy when not dumping charisma)

Hello Scaleclaw,

although I am also relatively new to GMing/playing Pathfinder, I think I might be able to at least give you some pointers.

First of all, I have marked this thread, so that a mod can move it to the advice forum, where you'll likely receive more expert help.

Secondly, I think it is useful to think about your character concept - that is, what sort of Inquisitor do you want to play? A defender of your faith against the heretics? A powerful magician in the service of your god? A sneaky infiltrator (though given that concept's reliance on social skills that may be hard to pull off with a dwarf, who gets a charisma penalty)? This optimisation guide by Bodhi gives some interesting ideas regarding concepts and might give you some help in building it as well.

Thirdly, you need to think about the combat and party role you see yourself in. Melee, switch hitter or ranged combattant? Or are you more of a spell-slinger? What classes do your fellow players play? Where is there a niche that you might fill that nobody else fills?

Fourthly, what books do you use/which are allowed by the GM. Just the core rulebook and the advanced player's guide? Are you only allowed to use books from the rules line, or can you draw on Golarion-specific material to bolster your concept?

Sorry for the many questions, but they might help get you better answers.

Happy gaming,

Makamu

What a marvellous idea, RD! I'll dot and get back to it tomorrow with some contributions for both sides.

Makamu

[stuff I am not responding to]

Kajehase wrote:

And Shelyn might have museums and/or concert halls in her temples.

...And Pharasmara, morgues? Temples for Gorum don't exist, however, everyone went out to fight.

Per Death's Heretic, Pharasmin temples often function as morgues in their local area. Perhaps some fighting schools also have a small shrine to Gorum/Irori/Iomedae (depending on technique and outlook, obviously) somewhere?

Makamu

nifty stuff

Dotting this because I am also GMing a group new to Pathfinder in the next few weeks and was thinking of planning a preparation fight in an urban campaign. Plus,since I have not GMed that often myself and (as a player) am weak on combat rules, it also tells me what I need to read up on :)

Makamu

Where oh where is the Pathfinder Wiki - I need my fix?

Sorry to necro a thread like this (especially in light of my avatar), but is the Wiki down for anyone else and does anyone know when it might be back up?

Makamu

I dont think barbarian fits here. Himura never raged. In the anime when he goes in the Manslayer state of mind he does not rage it is just that his killing intent returns back.

I see your point, but that might also just be a question of flavour. Not all barbarian archetypes in PF are necessarily frothing at the mouth (urban barbarians do not give off that vibe to me, for example). In any case, the monk/ninja levels that some others have suggested do a better job of giving both the mechanics and the flavour for Kenshin.

Makamu

I have dotted this thread because I am also interested in people's ideas regarding a Kenshin-like character. Personally, I think one or two levels of a reflavoured barbarian might also be useful for the speed. What do you think?

i truly hope that paizo´s crew can get some of the ravenloft developers or something near it, and let him/her make some good stuffs for Ustalav!

Oh, I don't know whether we actually need the Ravenloft people. Wes Schneider does a very good job with Ustalav already. And too many cooks might ruin the pie in this case.

Oh, yes! Though April's shaping up to be an expensive month *starts saving*

Nothing in core rules to say you can just wondering n other people take on this.

My Dwarf char just picked up off a set of Armour off a dead PC who was an half orc and want to wear it.
Also Large Weapon to medium weapon.

I think you accidently posted this in the wrong forum - advice or general rules discussion might get you better answers more quickly. I have flagged the post for you,so one of the mods can move it. Good luck with your query.

I thought as much, but thanks for your advice anyway. And our poor GM may still be in for a surprise, since the magus' player is very good at using the action economy effectively :)

So the sequel is 50 Shades of Nidal?

<ducks for cover>

That is a cheap shot :)

Lem, while we know why you admire Shensen, why is Ameiko on that list? Have you ever had the pleasure of meeting her?

On a related note, have you ever been to Tian Xia?

I too wish to read Nightglass, but haven't been able to find a copy. That and I have about fifty half-finished books from various series sitting on a shelf, their siren call being wholly ignored.

Without spoiling it for me, could you give a quick rundown of the main character? I have a hard time reading stories where I despise the protagonist.

You can purchase it on Paizo.com as a PDF/Epub for seven dollars and as far as I can see they also still have print copies for ten dollars. In any case, I can really recommend the book - particularly the Nidal sections.

Dear all,

one of my fellow players is currently preparing a magus to play in our upcoming run through the pyramid moduls. He is a tiefling bladebound magus of level 6. Now he is looking for a way to channel more than one spell (1st level spell to which he applies metamagic and magical lineage) through the weapon simultaneously.

Since I could not think of anything and the forum search did not turn anything up (at least not within the first six pages), I am humbly petitioning the lords and ladies of the advice forum.

General stuff about the campaign I can tell you: 15 point buy, 16.000 starter gold, permitted sources: generally Paizo books (particularly those of the core line that have been published in German so far (CRB - UC). Considering that 3rd party stuff is usually not translated, and I am the one with the best (i.e. passable) English in our group, the GM might look askance at using non-Paizo sources.

If you need any more information (stats, level and feat progression etc.), just holler and I will scramble to get it for you.

Thanks very much in advance,

Makamu (damn, that sounds more like a letter than a forum post :))

Lots of awesome explanations

I freely admit that I hadn't really thought in detail about Cayden before this threat, but Caleb's explanation has just become my head!canon for my Golarion. Well played, sir!

Also, possible folk belief/local fairy tale/maybe-an-actual-real-fey:

Sand dunes in deserts can actually frost over at night. This is exactly as strange and beautiful as you might imagine.

Who knows what local folks might assume causes such phenomenon? And in Golarion, who knows for certain that the truth is entirely scientific? Maybe some of those formations are caused by something that can only touch Osirion when the cool of night falls over it? Maybe that frost are the tracks of something playing over the sands on those rare occasions that they can touch the world? Or perhaps they're short-lived works of art upon the ever shifting canvas of Osirion's deserts?

Seeing magical beings of fire and warmth in Osirion might be unusual but hardly unexpected. Creatures of cold and ice though, catching a glimpse of one of those at work might be considered miraculous.

And that right there is why Mikaze is one of my favourite posters here :)

My best wishes to Josh and his family and I hope there will be a speedy and full recovery!

Thanks for the feedback, I'll pass this along to our warehouse. If you are able, please send a digital image of the damage to customer.service@paizo.com so we can show them what the issues are.

thanks
sara marie

Thanks for the swift response, Sarah Marie. I will send the pictures along soon

Dear Paizo customer service,

sadly, I had a bit of problem with the hardcovers that shipped in the above package. Namely, that the corners of the hardcovers (lower left on the front and lower right on the back cover) had almost broken off by the time I removed them from the package. Additionally, most of the inner pages are slightly dog-eared, a trait they share with quite a few of the softcovers I received in the same shipment.

Since nothing has actually ripped off, I don't need new copies, but I would be very grateful indeed if your quality products were packaged a bit more securely next time, especially since my yearly Paizo order comes with quite a hefty customs fee each time, as I am overseas.

Maybe wrapping the corners in polysstyrene might help?

Thanks very much for your attention and the great service all round

Makamu

I'm curious, though, to find out if the worry that we put too much evil in our adventures is shared by others? Again... the grittier adventures and elements we produce generally get good reviews and good sales, so I feel pretty justified in presenting these more mature, edgier products and adventures, but if folks...

I have (read) two APs in full (Legacy of Fire and Curse of the Crimson Throne) and possess about half of the other two Pathfinder ones. While I can see the OPs and other's concerns, I and my players actively enjoy the morally ambiguous nature of the stories. Since I usually use the adventures as written as starting points rather than anything else anyway, this might overall affect me less than other customers.

All I can say is: continue to be awesome, Paizo! ;)

I love the rules and enjoyed seeing them develop, but ultimately the setting is what has me hooked and buying. I love that Golarion is both deep and flexible and gives me lots of room to flex my narrator's muscles :)

Makamu

Mine arrived three and a half hours ago and my mum (bless her RPG-understanding soul) woke me up at once, so I could start to peruse :)

Thanks very much for the quick responses :)

Makamu

Hello everybody,

since I placed the above order in a hurry after the news came in that the core rules had sold out (which I think is an awesome achivement and speaks for Paizo quality, congratulations) and the order is stil pending, I wanted to enquire whether I still managed to garner a copy and if the order will ship before the 11th of September.

Because after that, I'll be in the UK and not able to access my precious new RPG books for a full three months :)

Thanks for your help,

Makamu

Thanks for the helpful hints, everybody!

I actually managed to persuade them to change their alignments to non-evil ones and I am now looking mostly at a neutral party. The necromancer was the only one who grumbled slightly for mechanical reasons.

I will keep you all updated on how its going once we have actually started playing and I run into new quanderies :)

Makamu

Hello everybody!

The title of the thread actually says it all. I am going to run CoCT with a group of very experienced players (my regular gaming group), using the beta rules and some house rules and wanted to ask for advice on some issues.

1) Since I did not place any restrictions on alignement, two of my players have come up with a LE necromancer and a NE bard. Looking at the AP, I wonder how much tweaking the AP will need to accommodate them? I have a few ideas in the back of my head to keep them interested, but I am wanting to know what you think.

2) The NE bard wanted to become an assassin later on in the campaign. I am developing a schism PrC within the Red Mantis (calling themselves the Grey Vipers) for this purpose and have also deleted the assassins need to be evil prerequisite in the process, because it never made sense to me.

3) Lastly, I am thinking about splitting the power of Merithinsiel (is that the name?)'s sword in order to give each PC an active role to play in the final battle. Comments? Criticisms?

Thank you very much, guys,

Makamu

I am both interested in seeing expansions for the PF core system and wary of the intense rules-bloat that happened to 3.5. Here are some things I would like to see.

A book introducing a working psionics system
Something similar to Unearthed Arana, because I am *very* interested in rules variants.
I also like the suggestion of a well-done meta-gaming book for various areas

I am also interested in new Golarion-flavoured core classes and feats (especially Mwangi/Tian Xia and Keleshite) as well as some tightly-themed and fluff-heavy PrCs, but I think these should be introduced very carefully and sparingly.

Although I cannot subscripe to anything due to customs and shipping costs to the EU vs. my student pocket money equalling what I call holiday orders, I would like to urge Paizo to stick to the formula that the story should mostly dictate the rules you produce. Please do NOT go down the "mechanics for mechanics' sake" route.

And I heartily support the call for introductory PF rules.

Makamu

seekerofshadowlight wrote:

myself I just want the 2 skill classes to go to 4 skills that simple. I am not asking to bump up skills just then 2 skills classes have always been skill staved and now with no x4 at 1st level they are even more so then before

Similarly, it would be nice to increase the Monk to 6+Int skill points per level, right up there with the full-BAB Ranger. And the Bard to 8+Int skill points, making it a viable choice for a skill-based character, instead of the Rogue standing alone.

Just as Pathfinder reduced all PCs to having three varieties of Hit Die (with one exception), having three varieties of skill point progressions would be a nice parallel.

-Matt

Agreed. For me CoCT campaign, I have house-ruled skills the following way, largely based on fluff reasoning.

Brb: 4+ INT
Brd: 8+ INT
CLR: 6+ INT
DRD: 6+ INT
FTR: 4+ INT
MOK: 6+ INT
PAL: 4+ INT
RAR: 6+ INT
ROG: 8+ INT
SOR: 4+ INT
WiZ: 6+ INT

I am also thinking about re-introducing the sp x4 on 1st Level rule. But I am wondering if this would over-power my players too early

Makamu

I have spent some time thinking about this problem as well and, while I am not really happy with the CHA penalty for Dwarfs, I think it is the only ability left if you want to still play the archetypal Dwarf.

Going by that, strength and constitution are right out. Dexterity might be a possibility, but to be a good craftsman you actually need to have good hand-eye coordination, even if the rules for craft do not reflect this.

The mental abilities are just as complicated. If you want to reduce INT, you weaken the ability to play the good craftsman stereotype. If you weaken WIS, then you would have to change the favoured class. So charisma is really the only ability left, if you use only Dwarf and no sub-species (which I would love to see in PF)