Maulium's page

I thought so! Thanks a lot!

So there are a number of huge green dragon minis out there, which specific one are you looking for?

Im looking for the paizo pathfinder green dragon. I can only find it on large or huge sizes.

Hello! I've been looking for this mini everywhere, preferable painted. I'm almost done with my dragon collection for pathfinder, I just need this one article and I haven't found it on EBay, Amazok or Etsy, yet. Any place where I can for sure get it? Please let me know!

what about expelliarmus?

Great, great material! Thanks to you both a lot!

So, how would you roleplay a half-elven girl ranger monk who is dumb as wood (int:7) averagely charismatic (cha:10) and incredibly wise (wis:20)?

Yup, anyone out ther who can illustrate weapons? Or show me a tutorial (although I don't have much time)...

Or, what are other people's experiences with the Witch class? From the perspective of - the player; the teammate; and the GM?

Well they are not "unfun" more like hard to play.

From a GM perspective: I have a player that has witch guy... he's awesome XD lots of fun!

I don't see s&*@. That is what I get for not having lowlight vision and not carrying a torch.

Gods, so funny XD

I rolled a 10 on the satisfaction roll...

You are walking through the forest, what do you see?

Long time no see forum ;P

Ok now, to business! Ladies and Gentleman! I present to you:

JONNY’S SMALL GUIDE FOR CHARACTER CREATION FOR BEGINNERS

This guide is meant to help GM's (and players) on the tasking of building a character for the PC's. This guid is incomplete, so it's here where I ask for your aid in this matter, and I'm open to criticism.

P.D.: NO NEED TO READ THE WHOLE POST, MAYBE JUST READ WHAT YOU ARE INTERESTED IN AND COMMENT ON IT (ANY COMMENT IS GREAT HELP).

Disclaimer: I do not claim to own any of the original material quoted from the Pathfinder RPG system.

Ok, now, let's get started...

As often as it is seen when creating a new campaign for beginners, some of those beginners might not have a clue of what they are doing, and sometimes when creating the classes and characters the system of an RPG is so complex that we don’t really leave much agency for the player to decide what they really want to be.

So in the spirit of keeping it simple and more accessible to most players, here is a small guide that might help you aid your players to create a better character that suits them better. This guide also allows a tool that will help the Game Master understand what their players are expecting out of their play session. So strap in and let’s jump into the action!

STEP 1: EXPLAIN THE PREMISE!

Pathfinder RPG is a game about adventure, magic, monsters, and looting with friends! It may have many varied settings; it might be a high fantasy fairy tale full of all kinds of fey creatures, a noble quest bestowed on a group of worthy heroes, the tales of riches and plunder of pirates of the sea, or a grim tale of some foolish adventurers trying to stir the wheel of fate to something other than destruction, among others.

It is important for the player to know what they are going to be playing for them to create their character accordingly, so when explaining what the game you are about to play is about, just keep it simple (that means, not as long as the last paragraph).
My favorite example is: “You are a band of adventurers, some of you are off to see the world, some of you want to spread your faith, and some of you are out for gold.”

To be honest, I’ve never used this phrase (my actual favorite one is, “you wake up beaten and blindfolded in a world unknown”), but that is beside the point. The point is it works! You can extrapolate thousand if not millions of adventures with the “band of adventurers” opening line. You might elaborate a bit more after you’ve given your initial statement, but just remember; SIMPLE = UNDERSTANDABLE
Now it’s time to start asking questions to your players!

STEP 2: WHAT RACE DO YOU WANT TO BE?

Without frontloading all the information they need to know, present the player with the races they might be able to play with a short description of what makes them special. Additionally, in the description there can be a small space for some of the racial traits of the race. Alternative races are a reward, and players might not know why they want to play them yet.

Races Available

Dwarf: These short and stocky defenders of mountain fortresses are often seen as stern and humorless. Known for mining the earth’s treasures and crafting magnificent items from ore and gemstones, they have an unrivaled affinity for the bounties of the deep earth. Dwarves also have a tendency toward traditionalism and isolation that sometimes manifests as xenophobia.

Elf: Tall, noble, and often haughty, elves are long-lived and subtle masters of the wilderness. Elves excel in the arcane arts. Often they use their intrinsic link to nature to forge new spells and create wondrous items that, like their creators, seem nearly impervious to the ravages of time. A private and often introverted race, elves can give the impression they are indifferent to the plights of others.

Gnome: Expatriates of the strange land of fey, these small folk have a reputation for flighty and eccentric behavior. Many gnomes are whimsical artisans and tinkers, creating strange devices powered by magic, alchemy, and their quirky imagination. Gnomes have an insatiable need for new experiences that often gets them in trouble.

Half Elf: Often caught between the worlds of their progenitor races, half-elves are a race of both grace and contradiction. Their dual heritage and natural gifts often create brilliant diplomats and peacemakers, but half-elves are often susceptible to an intense and even melancholic isolation, realizing that they are never truly part of elven or human society.

Half Orc: Often fierce and savage, sometimes noble and resolute, half-orcs can manifest the best and worst qualities of their parent races. Many half-orcs struggle to keep their more bestial natures in check in order to epitomize the most heroic values of humanity. Unfortunately, many outsiders see half-orcs as hopeless abominations devoid of civility, if not monsters unworthy of pity or parley.

Halfling: Members of this diminutive race find strength in family, community, and their own innate and seemingly inexhaustible luck. While their fierce curiosity is sometimes at odds with their intrinsic common sense, half lings are eternal optimists and cunning opportunists with an incredible knack for getting out the worst situations.

Human: Ambitious, sometimes heroic, and always confident, humans have an ability to work together toward common goals that makes them a force to be reckoned with. Though short-lived compared to other races, their boundless energy and drive allow them to accomplish much in their brief lifetimes.
…
You’ve picked up your race? Well that was quick; now let’s move on to Step 3. 

STEP 3: WHO ARE YOU?

Making a few simple questions you can help player make the right choices for the character he/she wants to play. Be sure to keep these questions in mind when building the story around your campaign.
Basic Character Questions:

Traits questions

(these questions are 1 to 10 questions, then you add 8 to the result and that’s their ability score, or they could be Yes or No questions if you want to roll dice (3d6), and place the higher scores on the abilities marked with a yes).

• Are you strong and muscular?
• Are you agile and fast?
• Are you physically resilient?
• Are you wise and experienced?
• Do you like learning and knowing?
• Are you spontaneous and charismatic?

Preferences and lifestyle questions:
(This questions will help you guide your players to understand what class they want to choose)

• Are you religious?
Yes / No / Undeceive
• Are you a thief or trickster?
Yes / No / Only this one time
• Do you like magic?
Yes / No / It’s ok
• Do you want to crash skulls?
Yes / No / One or two skulls might do
• Are you fond of animals or the wild?
Yes / No / I kinda like them
• Are you passionate about music and arts?
Yes / No / I just enjoy them
• Do you want perform miracles?
Yes / No / A little
• Do you want to be a knight in shining armor?
Yes / No / Maybe on weekends
• Do you like Martial Arts?
Yes / No / Some punching sounds nice
• Are you sneaky and stealthy?
Yes / No / I can hide if I need to
• Do you want to be a mad scientist?
Yes / No / I’m not sure
• Do you like bows and arrows, muskets, and crossbows?
Yes / No / Shooting can be fun
Description

Ask and listen

After having answered these questions, ask the player why he/she chose the answers that he/she chose. Don’t judge or try to correct them, just listen and you’ll know a lot more about your players and how you can help them enjoy themselves. Once you get to know the reasons behind their choices, ask them to write a short description about their characters in one or two lines. Tell them they may elaborate later on their character.

Name and appearance

This is also the time to give your player’s character a name, a nickname if it has one, and an appearance. These things are not just to write on a pretty paper and must be taken into account when playing (if possible). Additionally you might give them tools to build a costume portrait of their character, or skip the appearance features all together.

Nerfing / Buffing (you may skip this step)

So, this system gives out the possibility of having an overpowered player, or an underpowered one (the same as rolling dice to be honest) when you roll for the ability scores. To resolve this I have 2 suggestions, the boring one, and the creative.

The boring one is to try to accommodate your player to the 25 point buy system for Pathfinder ability scores. That means doing the math and adding or subtracting points on the abilities with the consent of the player. Let me clarify that while I find this a boring option, I think it is very useful, the problem with it is that you tease the player with the bad taste of what it could have been but isn’t (although sometimes it is necessary if he rolls 18 three times in a row).

The creative one adds more fun to the game! Usually a players is given 2 traits to choose from that will aid him on his quest to greatness. Say you have an underpowered player, add him 1 or 2 traits in addition of the 2 he might already choose. Say you have an overpowered player, and here is where it gets tricky. Add him a “weakness trait”. What’s that? Those don’t exist? Well make them exist, but be fair. I make the weakness bigger or smaller depending on how much I need to nerf the players character. I inspire myself in my own flaws to be honest, and just have a laugh when I see others roll playing it.

Example:

(Trait) Allergies: When coming into dusty rooms, or changing drastically of weather, or coming out of the water you have a 5% / 10% / 25% chance of being overcome by a sneezing frenzy that denies stealth checks immediately and gives you a -1 on attack rolls, saves, ability and skill checks.

This way to add a roleplaying aspect to the game and nerf the player in a creative way which can be fun for him and the other players.
…
Done here, moving on!

Step 4 CHOOSING A CLASS

... ok, it's incomplete, but I'm eager to hear your ideas and suggestions =D

Lots, LOTS of progress in this piece. Won't show it yet, want to finish the papercraft coliseum (yup, papercraft coliseum) and make a video about this campaign. Still here is an important question I would like to ask to you all (it has less to to with challenge, and more with history):

WHAT IS THE ECONOMIC ACTIVITY (or activities) OF THE ORC EMPIRE?

Besides having a cool setting, I want to answer this fundamental question for endquest reasons.

Any help would be much Appreciated!

I've been cooking up many things. Once I have this campaign a little bit more fleshed out I'll put a Video on Youtube. All your ideas are being considered, but I won't place in the campaign something I cannot manage. Personally I've considered a way to deal with an early uprising. If in the first few encounters the PC's revel and cause an uprising, they will take control of the dungeons, but not necesarilly be able to escape(the outer traps are still around CR 10, so I don't think they will be able to escape). If they do escape, the Campaign is named "World of Orc" not "World of the Arena", which means they can still experience the gruesome world through out the city... more on this later.

omg, all this awesome responses XD keep em coming!

This is more of a “how do you want to flavor your campaign?” sort of thing.

-TimD

So Tim. Let me begin by saying you are awesome! You nailed it, those are exactly the issues I'm worrying about.

To be a bit more specific about the campaign scenario.

1.- This is a "slave revolt & overthrow" scenario with an open war at the end that might cause a massive orc extintion. The guards are lvl 8 orc fighters, the traps are almost CR 10, so escaping will be posible at one point, just not in the begining.

2.- I want this campaign to FEEL like a "you're lucky if you survive long enough to hit 4th" scenario, without necesarilly being that way. PC's might die and reroll characters, but what I really want is the experience to feel like a "I walked through the valley of the dead, and survived" kinda thing.

3.- I love me some bookworm casters. I won't take away the thrill the casters have from investigating the world. I won't give them cookies for free, but I might leave one or two crums down the way of spells they might learn or ways they could hide that they are studying magic.

4.- PvP... it's awesome, and I would love to see 2 PC's fight to the death. But by the time they hit that mark I want them to know that they can choose not to fight and play their cards right so that they might survive. Martyrs might result from this, but that might be the start of the revellion.

5.- I would rather keep dead people dead bellow level 9, but I would rather not kill players till level 4. I don't want the game to be punishing. I want the deaths to be ACTUALLY REWARDING, not in the sense that you go "I'm gonna kill my character so I can reroll a new one" but in the sense that the final moments of the character where meaningful, even if after death they find only darkness. I want their deaths to shake the world, and I want rerolled character to be acknoledge about the great heroism of X character.

6.- This one was asked by Democratus. There might be one or two times where the PC's enter the arena alone, among other solo events.

About spellcasting, I will give wizards the chance to hide their books. And witches the chance to keep their companions aslong as they can be hidden.

If you have access to it, check out the old intro adventure for the Dark Sun campaign; Freedom. This module starts with the characters in bondage and struggling to find a way to escape before they die.

Are you having the characters fight solo in the arena? Are they always together as a group?

Spontaneous and divine spellcasters will have an advantage in that they don't need books for memorization every day.

Campaign actually starts "In Media Res" a battle. Waking up on a rising platform, chained by the ancles and hands (PC's have to figure this out) with loud shatters in Orc (which nobody knows unless there is a half-orc) surrounded by 8 friendly NPC's which are to scare to fight and assualted by 12 kobolds. After winning (if they do win) they are recieved by an ovation by the NPC's in the dungeons, and then they are subdue by the guards and humiliated, then thrown back to their cells.

I don't understand what cheese means, but as a GM, as long as my players are kicking ass, I don't care what they are doing. Unfairness is not that much of an issue since the rules help me make challenges for everybody.

I think I need more description to aid you with your question. What do you mean by "more magic oriented". Are you making a campaign where everyone is a wizard or something? Let me make it clear that playing only spellcasters is not easier, infact, it's pretty hard. If everyone is a spellcaster, who takes the hits? With no barbarians, paladins, and fighters, who will face the Siege Owlbear and survive? Without rogues, who will disarm the traps, or do the stealthy bits?

Here is the thing... you don't need to fight an Owlbear or disarm a trap for your campaign to be exciting. You can do away with most forward challenges and place more intelligence or social based challenges in the way.

I playtested TWO mini campaigns where every one was a wizard, and another where everyone was a rogue. They where AWESOME! But I knew ahead of time that the challenges and appeal of this campaign should be different. Not everyone wants to be an infiltrator killing guards and disarming traps while moving like shadows in the night. Not everyone wants to feel like a powerful spellcaster who can shoot rays and summon powerful creatures to the field or conjure powerful magics at will. Some people just want to cleave through kobold heads and take a hit from an ettin to the chest and survive.

Also, if I would've make my rogue clan fight a pack of ogres, I bet they would've died. Or if I made my wizards try to face a hulking monster... well, their flimsy HP would've drained in a second. If a guy wants to swing an axe, don't force him to shoot a ray. Variety is one of the reasons Pathfinder is so great, cause in the heat of the moment, that barbarian cant deal with that charm spell from that evil nymph, and suddenly he is hitting the party with his axe. Who will be there to save us from his low will save?... that is where casters come in!

So I'm making this campaign where Orcs rule the world and the PC's are forced to fight in an arena for entertainment of the orcs. So to survive they have to fight, and afterwards they are thrown back into the dungeons into their cells where most of the social interactions occur.

Thing is, I want my players to feel like they are being challenged with every encounter, but I don't want to set an unbeatable campaign. I just want to make them feel like badasses even though they are trapped in this cruel world. I've never before killed my PC's, so if it happens I want to know how to approach it.

Any help would be much appreciated!

why make some custom race variant, just use high point buy, and have all NPCs built with elite array MINIMUM, PC point buy for elites?

To answer your quetion, I just think it adds more flavor

Would you guys help me make a powerful elven race with the lore of the Eladrin from the Wizards of the Coast D&D? Also making a kind of high humans (Kardian) and high dwarfs (Durien or Durian, I'm not sure yet).

It is for a campaing about the begging of time on a long forgotten kingdom that dates before the prehistoric Era. A high racial point build is permited, and might be desired. Coment pls!

mole-folk huh? sure I'll do that.

Also, how about a tapir-folk? I know it sounds a little weird, but still, what do you think?

Tapir folk sounds awesome =D

If you're not convinced bout mole folk I will eventually do them myself. I mean, think about it, improved claw attack, improved burrow, blind fight, and the lore of the people of the underground, eating gargantuan worms and insects as much as cultivating carrots an potatoes with which they make the best cidre of the land bellow. They may also be slow at movement, but not vulnerable to bright sunlight (moles have skin over there tiny eyes, they literally don't need em).

I'm eventually doing that, and bug folk. Four armed fighter? Yes please =D

Also, I don't care about class levels, dragons are dragons, smart, powerful, terrible, why would they need rogue, or wizard, or fighter levels? May adapt a few things here or there, but... I mean... THEY ARE DRAGONS!!! so... yeah!

Found both =D transforming might take a while though.

Would like actual links from everybody that suggested I use a specific tool, I'm having trouble finding them.

Also, I think "felinio" is a good name for the cat-folk race, and "rodentee" a good name for the rat-folk. Just sharing that with you =)

Maulium wrote:

I might use both races on my prehistoric campaign =D full credits to you my friend!

You like them both that much? Awesome! Is there anything you like about them? Also, do you need me to send you the full info on these races?

I like that dromaeon are unwise and rogue like =D

I enjoy the armaka cause I was going to make a similar race myself; Topon or Talpidean(mole-folk).

I suggest the following though. Make the mole-folk and make them share the same language of the armaka. Maybe, terran, I dunno. XD

Also, I would love a full info of the races, sounds like fun =D

You might be able to use Savage Species to make progressions for all dragons. (With a few adaptations)

Other than that, dragons gain power by age, not XP. You might have a campaign here that spans centuries.

Just were I was headed =D

One, what about a plurielemental warrior?

I might use both races on my prehistoric campaign =D full credits to you my friend!

I think the title is pretty self explicatory, but just to clarify; I mean to do a campaing where the PCs are dragons. From little whyrmlings to great wyrms and maybe beyond. The monster manual presents many statistics that allready help with this motive, but there is a problem. The CR rating between different dragons varies widely (for example, the red dragon is 3 CR above the black dragon). Needless to say, this presents a problem. I've been trying to solve this via hit die fixes and abillity nerfs, but the balnce is so delicate.

I would really love some light on this matter. Thanx on advance =D

So, any news on this

D&D 3.5 monster manual II page 60

I know there is a Hellcat, but a the red non translucent jarilith is a different species. Any of you might want to help me with the making of this creature?

I want to make customized character portraits for the NPC's (and maybe the PC'S) in my campaign. I'm not an artist myself, so I turn to you, oh my wise friends, to guide me.

Any clue where/how I can get this done?

To me what makes an NPC interesting and engaging is as Riuken said, to make them real people, that means they have real objectives, likes and dislikes. They have their own view of the world that is fully as valid as the one the PC has and generally they are flawed in some way, everyone is.

I generally find it the easiest to figure out how they must see the world based on previous experience and the expectation people around them have to them, perhaps a quirk and an opinion about what they think about how they are viewed.

Chief Splinterbone for example sounds like someone who is ruthless, so maybe his tribe expects him to act like that because that is the way chief's acts, its the lesson he grew up with and perhaps the last innocent got beaten out of him when he had to fight and kill a really good friend or a warrior girl from the tribe he had a crush on, making him even more ruthless then usual. The spliterbone name might be one given to him because he seem to revel in the sound of bone snapping, but in reality they are his own way of hurting himself for his deeds in the past, but he tries to hide it behind an emotionless mask.

Anyway that is how I would attack the idea of making interesting NPCs.

Thanks for your views on this =D

This actually sounds interesnting and complex. I see that good characters have usually 2 or 3 layers of deepness. The outside is the mask, like in this case, being ruthless, the other side is the interior, and I'm not sure which one is the third... but it is out there. Would you have any idea what that third layer may be?

Chief Splinterbone maybe? I'm bad at names really. I usually just steal a name from a pre-existing NPC. I don't care if the NPC I got the name "Silvester Hurren" from was an elven sword dueling instructor, I'm going to name my super-butler Silvester Hurren because I think the name fits well.

Haha XD don't worry, that's a pretty good name =)

I find that quirks help alot. When you have a word or two that brings to mind the NPC along with an emotion. The drunken dwarf, the sultry princess, the burly elf, etc.

Additionally, you have to establish a give-and-take with the PCs. If all they do is give quests and give rewards, they aren't interesting. Sometimes they make requests that aren't quests. They have lives beyond their interraction with the PCs. They take time to chat and ask questions.

Basically, the more you can make them like a real person and not just a vending machine the better.

I like this ideas a lot =)

Would you have a funny interesting name for the leader of a prehistorical tribe of humans?

These looks awesome =D
How many Racial Points is this build?

So I'm making a campaign that is set on the prehistoric time of the magical land of Kanin. In that Era the troglodytes have a widely expanded set of nations that rule over the world and tame dinosaurs and such, while humans and the other races are isolated in caves and remote islands being tribes man and worshiping the elements. The only humans, elfs, dwarfs, neanderthals and hobbits on the main lands are either slaves, "herd animals" to feed ogres, dragons, and other beasts, or small groups of timid races that dwell in there hideouts.

Thing is, I want to make many interesting NPC's that can help the players feel connected and interested in this world. For example, I want to make a tribesman leader that sends the heroes on a journey to the main land, but I want him to be more that a quest giver.

So I open the discussion; what makes for a good NPC and what for a bad one?

Any help?

I have an idea, something I've done once in a game and it worked PERFECTLY!! Don't kill the party, ARREST THEM! Bring them to lower than 0 non lethal damage and take them to jail, hand cuff them, and have them try to solve things with cunning or diplomacy.

Well the situation was very different, but the players did steal things from a local business and they where arrested for it. The party waited for the guards to leave the prison a little unguarded, then the sorcerer used charm person on the only guard left, the rogue freed himself and the guard was convinced to let them go. Before leaving the rogue flanked the guard with his own short sword (nice having ranks in sleight of hand I guess), and the rest of the party gave him the finishing touch. After that, they escaped out of the prison. It was pretty funny and it taught the players not to mess with authorities.

I've been running into a problem with a few inexperienced players who keep acting as if the freedom to do anything in a game also frees them of the consequences of their actions. So far this has resulted in two TPKs, mostly because a single player acts pointlessly aggressive and initiates combat with an NPC and draw the ire of all their allies and also the town guard. The rest of the PCs, showing solidarity, fight along side their completely in the wrong partner and get killed along with him when they inevitably turn to deadly force to try and escape.

I've thought about this for a little while and I decided that the new characters they make will be themselves (at least for a little while). I'm mining the classic trope of heroes from another dimension quite shamelessly, but I think that playing as themselves will make them feel more inclined to protect their life and less likely to pick fights with people to whom they fairly lost bets.

Does anyone think this will work?

What a horrible situation, I feel for you!

Is pathfinder society focused on role playing or in combat?
Have to ask, maybe its 50/50, I don't know

I would guess, 24 or 25, but I want to make a 35 point build for my character. I'm new to pathfinder society, so I just wanted to know.

Chaotic good you say...
There is a very simple way to handle this situation. Would you do it?
If so, the chaotic good character would do it too. Don't you see it? Playing a chaotic character is all about FREEEDOM!!!! You can do whatever you want, as long as it doesn't involve something outside your moral code (that is what we call "jumping a slipery slope", something that happends often with chaotic good characters).

A lawful character procedes with the rules of the society or his faith and believes in mind. A chaotic character makes his own rules.

Can 2 characters or 4 characters fit on the same square since it is 5 feet?

Aw I was proud of that name:

Talzia
Wondria
Yestria.

oh, it is =D

hmmm...

De paso, si sabes español estaría feliz de que sugieras un nombre en este bello idioma =D

Alternative name for "Faraway"?