Matthew AC's page

Order 7737525

Despite entering #145 over and over and over, it keeps shifting it to #143. Pls pls pls, start this order with #145.

On page 21 of the Bestiary:

"For each character in the party beyond the fourth,
include additional creatures worth an amount of XP
equal to the Character Adjustment value for your
encounter on Table 5. Don’t adjust the actual XP the
characters each gain for defeating the encounter"

So, if I have 5 PCs and I want to run a HIGH-Difficulty Encounter, I need to come up with around ~100 xp worth of obstacles/foes (80 for the normal 4 party, +20 per pc over).

BUT, do I award the group 100xp each...or do I award the 80? I've been doing the latter, but then, out of the blue, despite being 6 sessions into a PF2 campaign, it felt funky.

Thoughts?

(Thanks in advance!)

Me, the GM: Longtime TTRPG guy. Most recently lots of 5e. Have written, 3rd party, Ennie-nominated stuff for Pathfinder and 4e. Just loves games.

Setup:
So,we’ve got a year, right? Forget Doomsday Dawn (sort of...), I wanted to run a campaign. My group is at the end of a 5e campaign, a modified Tyranny of Dragons. It has been great fun, but I did want to push towards PF. I’m intrigued by some of the choices, it’s new, and for all the great things 5e does, it doesn’t allow full character customization...a Pathfinder tenet.

My group is very beer & pretzels. We make characters and roleplay, but we like rolling dice, snacking, drinking, and yucking it up. We are all in our later 30s. I’m the DM. 3-5 players per session.

Character Creation:
It wasn’t too bad. Definitely a lot more dials than 5e...but I wanted that, and they knew that going in.

I did extend it over two nights. Night 1 = board games seguing into character creation. Night 2 = fleshing out motivations, alignment, equipment, etc. and playing for about 2.5 hours.

The PCs:
Elf Ranger with a Bear animal Companion
Elf Wizard (Universalist Tradition)
Human Fighter (Power Attack, Sudden Charge)
Human Fighter (Power Attack, Furious Focus)
Halfling Bard (Bardic Lore)

GM Prep
I wanted to go a bit old-school...no adventure path, no assumption the PCs were innately heroes fighting some vast darkness. Instead, they came up with some personal motivations and a reason to be in Magnimar.

While not starting with an AP, I plan on seeding opportunities as they move throughout the world to become embroiled with any of them. I also stealing liberally from...well..everything.

I like creating scenarios and hooks, and letting the PCs go where they will.

For this session, I greatly reworked an old Dungeon Magazine ["Wild in the Streets," Dungeon #62] and seeded three possible threads. I had the PCs starting near the docks of Magnimar, when a crate fell revealing a trio of firepelt cougars (Level 0 Bobcats). These bewildered and feral beasts just so happened to attack the nearest PC, but also
- Lord Hobart and Kelleri Deverin (thus seeding Doomsday Dawn intro and Rise of the Runelords...she might ask for an armed escort to Sandpoint).

- Jeminda -- a bureaucrat...who is missing gold from Ravenmoor (Leads to "Feast of Ravenmoor").

- And the cats belong to Master Basaalee Mindavu...an evil ranger who run’s an animal fight club in Magnimar.

Hooks aplenty.

Prepping was easy. Grabbed some statblocks that made sense (bobcats). Picked out my 1st level treasure parcels if needed. Wrote down motivations for the NPCs...and we we’re off.

Actual Play
We started with combat...and it was the only one we did. Not because it lasted long, just a lot of roleplaying afterwards as they interacted with some hooks.

The combat pitted 3 Level 0 Bobcats vs. 3 PCs. This should be a High Difficulty Level 1 Encounter. But, to be fair, I had 2 of the 3 bobcats focus fire on pedestrians (Deverins & Jeminda) thus opening up my hooks into further story. Things went pretty well for the PCs. Fighter oneshot his cougar and the ranger grabbed the other two: via his bear companion (Teddy) and an arrow.

Skill rolls and the like were all intuitive to anyone who has played a version of D&D 3.0 on.

Lingering Thoughts
HOWEVER, I WILL SAY THE CORE RULEBOOK SHOULD REALLY FOREGROUND THAT PCS DESCRIBE THEIR ACTION AND THE DM ADJUDICATES WHICH BRACKET THAT FALLS INTO VIA THE GIVEN OPTIONS… (at least until players become very proficient in the game or very invested).

So for example: PC 1 says wait do these cougars look familiar? DM says, that is a Recall Lore skill (or whatever) and so on.

Again, if you have super-invested players, and as they become more familiar with the rules, let them help.

The point being...and this was a pitfall of 4e’s power system ... clearly defined labels can limit the imagination of some players. They don't react to the world...they seek to implement a predefined power or trait on it.

However, as PF2’s list of actions/activities is fairly broad, I don’t foresee that happening. I.E. They seemed to have reversed engineered this...people do whatever, these prescribed actions just help map how they affect the world.

Anyways, that is session 1. A lot of preamble, but I’ll make sure to get more crunchy with my thoughts as we move forward.

(We played session2 last night...very combat heavy. I'll post soon. If readers have questions, feel free to ask. I'll answer the best I can. So far, I like the system.)

Very cool. More of this stuff is great.

I'm sure I am missing something, so any help would be appreciated.

Expert Armor reduces the check penalty by 1.

It does not raise the AC by 1...right?

Thus, Expert Leather Armor, for example, isn't useful at all...as regular Leather Armor already lacks a check penalty.

This sound right...or does it get a bonus to AC?

I'm doing some miniature shopping. Unlike some other, admittedly more miniature-focused sites, Paizo's store doesn't reveal the amount in-stock.

I don't want to order a bunch then get alerted that some % of the order cannot be filled thus leaving me to deal with a portion of what I wanted.

Is there a workaround? Is it simply going through the ordering process that alerts you to the fact, pre-checkout, that certain #s cannot be filled?

Apologies in advance if this question has been answered before. I gave a quick glance but missed it if it was.

Best.

because they're fun.

Also, 5e rules, Pathfinder fluff.

The Cast:

Bastion Sorrow
Tiefling Warlock (Infernal Pact)
STR 8 DEX 15 CON 14
INT 13 WIS 10 CHA 16

Azmades of Erastil
Half-Orc Paladin
STR 16 DEX 10 CON 14
INT 8 WIS 12 CHA 15

Nyrin
Halfling Monk
STR 8 DEX 17 CON 14
INT 10 WIS 14 CHA 12

Daergar Agatebeard
Dwarven Cleric of Abadar
STR 14 DEX 8 CON 15
INT 10 WIS 16 CHA 12

William Robert Alvertin
Human Fighter
STR 16 DEX 9 CON 15
INT 13 WIS 11 CHA 14

SESSION 1
Rova 1, 4707

If you are familiar in the least with this campaign, you know how things go down. Speeches. Games. Swallowtail Release. Good Eats…

I made sure to sneak in some background here and there…the speeches directly mention Nualia (amongst other deceased), the Late Unpleasantness, etc.

As for the PCs, during the festivities things were pretty copacetic…the ½ Orc Paladin and Human Fighter, the two local boys, are played by 13-year old boys (they’re dads are the Warlock and Cleric). It was the first time for them, and the first time for our group to have such young players. It was a blast…made us remember how enthused and un-jaded we used to be.

Highlights of the festivities:
* Daergar taking a break from making nice with Zantus and Naffer Vosk, to fleece some local merchants out of items he knows he can sell for a profit back in Janderhoff. He also takes a loan from BillyBob with a letter of credit (but pays him back during the goblin fight via healing…)
*Azmades interrogates Bastion for looking suspicious…the irony of which is lost on the half-orc.

Highlights of the fight:
* Team worked pretty well together. Warlock’s lay down a lot of ranged punishment and the Paladin and Fighter worked up very little sweat swatting goblins around.
* Everyone got a kick out of the one goblin who kept trying to light a wagon of fireworks on fire. Right after they put it out, the Dwarven cleric burned the goblin to death with Sacred Flame…accidentally catching the wagon back on fire. Fortunately, Azmades picked up the goblin and used him to beat the flames out before too much damage was done.
* The fight with the goblin dog and commando was a little hairier because the PCs didn’t really focus fire. While the dog went down quickly, the commando held his own against BillyBob before being cut down.
*The poor halfling monk spent the night sprinting from one enemy to the next but having them downed right after he got there by an ally. (He had to double move due to unfortunate positioning and a big town map).
* As the fight wound down, Azmades made it very clear they needed to keep a survivor standing…which they kind of did after cutting off the foot of a fleeing goblin.

Aftermath:
* From the survivor they learn that a ‘longshank’ organized this raid.
* From the dead goblins around town, they learn this is more than a single tribe.
* Despite a few injuries and a solitary death during the raid, the townsfolk look back on the raid with a bit of black humor. And while toasts are made to the injured and fallen, many more stories are told about the goblin who got killed by horse, the one who drowned in a barrel of beer, etc.
* For having killed nearly half of the raiders, the town hails the heroes as the “Wolves of Sandpoint” and celebrates them long into the evening.

GM Plans:
* I want to introduce the Sihedron and Nualia earlier.
* For the former, I am going to reveal most of the goblin bodies have been branded with the mark as well as many of the posts on the town’s wall.
* For the latter, I am thinking about reworking Master of the Broken Tower to cover up the Old Light instead. Inside Lyrie and some goblin ‘bodyguards’ attempt to uncover some Thassilonian relics. If she escapes, then she becomes reoccurring villain at Thistletop. If not, she can point them in that direction and directly reference Nualia. (Which Tsuto will confirm as well eventually).

Anyways, a lot of fun…I’ll keep this going. For my own sake if nothing else.

I am sure this is answered somewhere, but I am up against a time gun and, after looking at the FAQ, I figured this would be quickest.

I'm setting up Brigadoom! as part of the Lost Perils Adventure.

Do I only use monsters, items, etc that have a B (Base) or C (Character Add-On)? RIght? I should leave the 1 for the RotRL stuff, right?

RIGHT!?

;)

Any help is, as always, super appreciated.

Thanks.

Matt

Probably been answered elsewhere,but my Perception is low.

I'm DMing a game with a bit of a newer player who is running a Magus. A few issues have arisen regarding Concentration Checks, Spell Combat, and Spellstrike.

I will lay out my scenarios below, and if someone could confirm or correct me, I'd much appreciate it:

A. Magus attacks with a +6 on a single normal attack with his sword.

B. If Magus uses Spell Combat, his sword attack now becomes a +4, and he may cast a spell. However, he needs to make a Concentration Check to cast defensively or else he takes an AoO. He can subtract from his attack bonus to further bolster his Concentration check (up to Int bonus).

C. Magus wants to use Spell Combat & Spellstrike. He makes a normal attack at +4. Makes a concentration check to cast shocking grasp, and then delivers the attack with his sword, again at a +4. If he hits, he deals the spell damage in addition to his sword damage.

D. Magus wants to make a single Spellstrike attack. After making a Concentration Check, he makes a single attack at his full attack bonus.

Sound about right? Am I mussing something up?

Thanks in advance.

I play a lot of games. As work and family life demands more of my free time, I've realized I've had to cut back on some games. Setting 4e aside for now, Fantasy Craft is too mechanical for me to get lost in currently . . .

Long story short, I've settled on Pathfinder for my "complex" fantasy gaming needs and Dragon Age for my "simple" gaming needs.

One thing I've noticed however, is that, despite PF's clear popularity, it lacks as solid a presence on the internet as one would think.

4e gamers/amateur designers have countless blogs, podcasts, and twitterfeeds dedicated to discussing that version of D&D. Heck, even Dragon Age has a burgeoning online community through twitter and a few blogs.

I know Paizo has this messageboard, weekly chats, and some fan podcasts (2), but am I missing worthwhile discussion elsewhere? Does this forum replace 4e's use of twitter as a haven for discussing the game? Are there few blogs because of the prevalence of 3rd party publishers?

Or am I missing something?

Thanks

MAC

Hey! My latest contribution to the fine folks at Alluria is up. A lot of people wrote a lot a quality stuff here.

Undersea rules, totally new base classes, races, and monsters, new feats, spells . . . it is a full-blown campaign setting. If you like the art from the Fey Folio or Creepy Bestiary, you will love the art, and abundance of it, in here as well.

Matthew AC

Scenario:

PCs fight off a bunch of bandits who are on horseback.

When figuring the XP budget would you count the horses total as well?

My inclination is to leave the horses out of it; they are essentially non-combatant except as directed by the bandits.

However, I'd like to hear other opinions before deciding.

Thanks in advance.

Hey guys,

Hope this is the right place to put this . . .

My profile will not allow me to edit it. Is there something I am missing? Or something that can be fixed with it?

Thanks in advance.

I wrote an article up at KQ (part 1) that will inject some more variety and roleplay into your rage powers.

Part 2 will be up tomorrow.

How 'bout a list of baddies included . . .

Off the top of my head:

Erlking

Spriggans

Jack-in-Irons (unique)

Dullahan

Sidhe

and many more!

I am seriously considering running a Monday or Wedensday Night Pathfinder Game.

The game would use current Pathfinder rules. 3rd party support would be allowed, after discussing it with me.

The game would run during the evenings (EASTERN STD TIME) - and would be run via a combination of Skype (free) and Gametable (also free).

Before I give full commitment to the game, I want to gauge interest. Is anyone here interested in this? You'd need to have one of those nights free.

So?

A little help here:

Are all the PFRPG prestige classes out to date of the 10 level progression?

If so, is this a deliberate choice on part of the design team?

For those interested in such things . . . Session 1 of our PF Curse of the Crimson Throne game can be found here.

I also plan on posting some general DM advice, a monster or so a week, and other gaming stuff.

Sounds really fun! Kind of classic, "Hey we're heroes . . . we can handle this!" -type of beginning.

Any plan on arcing this one out?

Ok -- here we go:

HERE we see that monsters have a die assigned to them based on size when it comes to the damage that they deal.

HERE we see a feat that allows for a monster to progress up to the next best die.

HERE & HERE we see two examples that do not match up. According to the rules, as I see them, the gargoyles claw attack as a medium creature should be a base 1d4 and the mummies slam should be as well. Note that neither creature takes the Improved Natural Attack feat.

What gives?

I know that monster's have a certain damage output to reach, and thus need to do a certain amount of damage. But if we are kowtowing to that maxim, why have the feat in the first place? It seems useless.

I am sure I am missing something and that someone will illuminate it for me -- my interest lies purely in the fact I wanted to homebrew some baddies, and am wondering how, if, this feat may play into their stats.

Thanks in advance.

Hey everyone, the last year or so I've been eyeball deep in 4e, but I am gearing up to run my first full blown PF game. However, I find myself a bit rusty with the rules. For the most part, the book itself has been very clear, but the following question came up.

Check the following stat blocks on the PF SRD:

Goblin Warchanter - Goblin Bard 1 (CR 1/2)
Goblin Commando - Goblin Ranger 1 (CR 1/2)
Orik Vancaskerkin - Human Fighter 3 (CR 2)

What am I missing here? I thought that a leveled creature, if it is the base, has a CR = to the level of their classes. Therefore in order the CRs should be 1, 1, 3?

What am I missing?

Dear Customer Service,

My old nickname on your forums was The Last Rogue. My email was mcicci@iupui.edu --> This e-mail is now defunct, and I can no longer access my old account here. What can I do to fix this? I have a variety of downloads I would like to access.

Thanks.

Is actually pretty good. I hope they do not cancel it.
Spectacular Spider-man

I know, Joela does a better job of this than anyone, but it may not hurt to have a thread to discuss these things.

For player options try Adamant's new line of Warlock Pacts [url]http://adamantenter.livejournal.com/[/url]

And for DMs looking to add to their creature collection, check out Blackdirge's Critter Cache, which is available here at Paizo. They are currently two collections out, along with some encounter add-ons.

Good stuff.

It is a funny word, huh?
I am looking for a system to hang a Modern (perhaps, turn of the century) gritty/grim type of game on.

The game will have elements of the supernatural (magic, monsters, etc), but I want it to be a rule set that really supports this type of play.

I love D&D . . . but 3.x nor 4e make pulling off this game to easy. While it is arguable, and I agree somewhat, that style of game (grim & gritty, in this case) is dependent more on DMing than rules, there gets to be a certain point in any edition of D&D that the PCs just bring too much to the table to be worried about more mundane threats.

I have been thinking Savage Worlds or True20, or even Mutants & Masterminds, but am open (see also: asking) for suggestions, experiences, and thoughts.

Right now I am running a 4e game that captures the Sword & Sorcery/pulp feel well, but I am getting nostalgia for some grit.

So the 4e SRD has stat block templates and the like. But what is the best way for me to make use of them. I'd like to put them in a word doc if at all possible.

Any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

Hey guys, I thought I would just post a general critique/praise thread for the races.

I open it to everyone who has some comments they want to make on the races; hopefully, this way it will be clean, neat, and, therefore, easy for the designers to take note of.

DWARVES:

Hits:
1> The standard fare is the same; personally, I like my dwarves wielding axes, having constitution bonuses, and possessing the 3 S's - Slow, Steady, Stable. Also, I like seeing the options carried through with Hatred and Defensive Training . . . as long as the story/history of Dwarves backs this up.

Misses:

1> Charisma as a penalty. I understand the gruffness aspect, but what this does via game mechanics I have always found odd (not just here, but any racial charisma penalty). Essentially, this penalty is saying that Dwarves actually find themselves to be less charismatic than other races on the whole . . .even Elves. I know I am reading a bit much into this, but it is just a pet peeve kind of thing.

2> Greed. I like the concept of the ability, as it, along with Keen Senses, Hatred, etc., add flavor to the dwarf. It is just that the name Greed is a bit connotative, eh?

Thoughts:
? - In my homebrew Dwarves ancient connection to the earth and their mountainous homes has granted them stone-like skin. This results in a +1 Natural Armor bonus. Obviously, other things would have to be tuned down in order for this to be implemented, but I just felt like throwing it out there for discussion.

ELVES:

Disclaimer - I have always been of the mind that Elves should be sorcerers. Why? Because in most literature they are described as inherently magical (a la the sorcerer), they are described as having an unearthly appeal or charisma (a la the 3.5 sorcerer), and rarely are they portrayed as studious or bookish (a la the classic wizard). So that may color my view of the elf.

So before I continue, again this is my opinion . . .a lot of this stuff looks mechanically sound, just thought I'd argue for a flavor change while I was at it.

Hits:
1> Racial ability adjustments. Again I would bump Charisma, but if you are going to play the Elven people as highly intelligent wizards these changes work.
2> Elven Magic. Yeah, something that at least somewhat speaks to the fact that Elven magic is considered 'special' in some regard. I like that this addresses the magical nature of elves.

Misses:
1> Unearthly Beauty: It is weird seeing a racial ability that essentially tells the DM to ignore as he sees fit. Just seems out of place in a core rule book. Other than that, I suggest a +2 Charisma bump to capture the feel of this power and then see also my disclaimer above.

Crawling back to you . . .great song by _________________ (for a cookie).

Anyways, I just re-subscribed to Pathfinder because of all this.

I had always maintained a modules subscription because I want to support Paizo, but had canceled the AP because my group and I were leaning towards giving a real big try with 4e.

We still might.

But, even though you may have seen me argue for 4e or wonder aloud if Paizo can be viable with a 3.X game in the face of 4e, I only did so because I care about the products that Paizo puts out. Their ideas synch well with my own, and their customer service is absolutely unrivaled.

I will likely still look at 4e . . .I do have hopes of getting something published in the gaming world after all, but when it comes down to it, you got to make a decision . . .today I choose Paizo.

Now to go convice my group ;)

I am a Pathfinder subscriber. Am I right in believing that I get a discount on items in the store because of it, or am I misremembering?

The reason I ask is because nothing I put in my cart (Guide to Korvosa) will add the discount.

Thanks

Just starting a thread for people to offer their likes and concerns regarding Pathfinder.

LIKES:

- Not surprisingly, I loved the Rogue love you guys gave. Liked talents, would like to see more.

- Love domain and school powers . . .way to counter the thought that these guys have nothing to do when they run out of spells. One minor issue is the idea that every Evoker (for example) has fire ray to start with . . .perhaps offer element of your choice.

CONCERNS:

- Nothing yet. I am interested and optimistic to see how monsters come into play and a further refining of the XP/Encounter system . . .even if it means a whole new MM or some such business.

- When will the modules and Pathfinder switch over?

Congrats on your decision and best of luck guys! I am truly impressed with the work that went into that PDF.

Who uses them?

Are they excellent?

Arem they flexible, as in varied enough to create a great number of dungeons with them?

General likes and dislikes?

Thanks for any info . . .I am considering using them heavily in my next campaign, but wanted to here what the community has to say.

They are.

Anyone use Arcana Evolved? Just looking for some opinions on it. I have read a decent number of reviews, but any more info is useful. Thanks.

Sorry guys, but is it possible to make order #845976 and # 831520 ship at the same time. They maybe already, but better safe than sorry. If you can't, no big deal, thanks for looking into it.

When it says updated to 3.5, are the referencing the print edition as well?

I was missed on the PF#2 and the subsequent GameMastery module. No biggie, as it has been scheduled as a sidecart for my next delivery. My concern is it has me being charged? I will check my bank records, but haven't I already been charged?

Thanks for your time; I appreciate it as always.

Very cool idea guys . . .you continue to impress. And now I can take heart that if my outline doesn't cut it . . . I can try again!!!!

Warlocks

Yes, you need to sign in to ddi to read it.

Over on the digital dragon there is an 'article' that generalizes some alterations to the core mechanic.

Young aspiring author alert!

I have been building up a folder of short fiction suitable for the literary magazine market.

I currently have a story out at a publication; they respond in 6-8 weeks. It has been 10 weeks and no word.

I plan on writing an e-mail after one more week (if not sooner).

My concern is how should I approach this. I think we all know the life of an editor is a busy one, and I would hate for a poorly timed e-mail to have some effect on my work or future works.

Any suggestions or, better yet, experiences?

Thanks all. I appreciate it.

This article is up. What do you guys think?

It is up on Wiz's site. Interesting; deals with the fluff behind it. I, being an unabashed 4e lover, think it is a decent article if a bit open-ended.