Methulock's page

When people make extreme combat machines able to rip through normal encounters, which do you think is more likely:

1) They are telling you they want to enter an arms race and see which of you can beat the other

2) They are telling you they want to do awesome in fights and win easily

Hint: it's #2. If someone makes their character capable of winning normal fights in 1 round, it's because they enjoy winning fights in 1 round. You don't need to escalate to match for them to have fun. They will have lots of fun stomping the fights to mud. That's the entire point of what they did, after all.

That's not true for all groups.

I play in a group that wants a challenge at the table, but not necessarily a killer GM. They VERY much do it for your #1 point, not for the later.

I wouldn't bother with Power Attack for a whip, since it can't do damage to unarmoured targets. How often is that likely to happen?

Whip Masterly (Ultimate Combat) allows you to do lethal damage and negates this penalty to whips. I don't play Society though, so I'm not sure if this applies.

The easiest way to tell if there is power creep is if existing adventures still work. I am just beginning a kingmaker game and had to up the power of most of the encounters.

False. I will explain in a moment...

Many of the old games need serious steroids to get the NPCs and monsters to even give the players a pause. So there is definitely creep in the level of damage that the players can pump out. a 1st level human fighter can get cleave and great sword and be pumping out 2D6+8 at two enemies a turn. In kingmaker the enemies didn't even register they where slaughtered so quick. I would say the synchro summoner is dangerous but a wizard with the right arcane heritage and metamagic feat can be just as bad.

If by "old" you mean you are using D&D 3.5 material, then yes... Pathfinder characters are far better than their 3.5 counterparts.

I would say characters are almost 50% more powerful. they hit twice the number of enemies, or more, with the right combo min maxed.

And here's the clincher... "with the right combo min-maxed..." That's called power gaming, and people have to realize that adventures are NOT written with power gaming in mind. They're written for the "average" so as to work for the broadest number of characters.

Not everyone power games, choosing the very best feat structure, spells and ability combos to maximize their statistical potential.

I see the OP's problem in my group as well, but I don't think their lack of popularity has anything to do with reminding other players of their shortcomings.

Pathfinder Clerics, when placed in comparison with nearly all other classes, are extremely dry in "crunch." They get domain powers, but they're sparse and lackluster compared to the other classes. Almost every part of the class says "you're the healer and that is ALL YOU ARE."

"Fluff-wise" it can be argued that Clerics are some of the most colorful and diverse of all the classes, but fluff is dependent on your GM to make relevant to the campaign.

I'm not saying Clerics are bad, they are clearly the most efficient healer/buffer class in the game, but it takes work by both the player and GM to make them fun outside those abilities alone.

If you're afraid you'll succeed and of the precedence you may set by assassinating your PCs, you may want to consider an alternative. Especially if the party is the type and level for whom "death" is merely a speed bump.

Sometimes the threat of force, or demonstrating just how vulnerable the characters accomplishes more than actually assassinating a PC. Killing them just ups the ante and you may create a game of escalation. Threatening to kill them denies knowledge on just how and where they may meet their fates, giving further intimidating power to the Consortium in your campaign.

To play it legit as a GM, I might create an NPC assassin who silently toys with your PCs, leaving calling cards in their rooms, or perhaps taking something very personal just to show how close they can get. Then, if your group is the type to have ancillary NPC allies, have one or two tell the PCs of some new face that is ever so "helpful" with something while they've been away. When the PCs return to check it out, they find their missing effects in the NPC's residence.

I can guarantee you'll accomplish the same effect, paranoia is as satisfying, if not more than simply putting a dagger in them while they sleep.

I've always been curious what the vibe behind Irovetti and Pitax was supposed to be. Typically I can peg an author's influence, but this one continues to elude me. At best, I figured the city was supposed to be representative of what might happen it a two bit ner'do well gambler won an entire kingdom and tried to turn it into his bachelor pad.

Personally, I completely altered this book. By the time the PC's reached Pitax, Nyrissa had turned the populace to harmless animals ala a massive baleful polymorph. However, Irovetti and his goons still remained at the center awaiting the group.

Did any one else do anything creative with Pitax?

Power creep is synonymous to power gaming.

If you're playing the game to its most min/maxing potential they you will certainly find loopholes and combinations that validate the notion of power creep.

That is not to say it doesn't happen, but I think it's FAR from prevalent in Pathfinder.

Okay so to give a bases of what was going on, I was setting up the world for them and just told them of their mission and that Lord Rios was the main bad guy working against them to see their task uncompleted. Little did they know that Lord Rios is actually a Lich. Poor GMing on my part I showed my players his Phylactery early on in order to give them a hint about the main bad guy. This led to a fight where one of my players died...This was not what I intended to happen. Now I am having a hard time coming up with a way for them to raise that player. Help please...

They have the players toon's body with a spell on it to keep it from decaying. sooo now i just need a way for them to get rezed...

they are in the middle of no where and are wanted dead in the only city that they could get a healer to raise them. there are no dragons in my world.so what can i do now?

On topic...

The very question of your post seems to indicate you and the player what to continue with his existing character. This is my simple advice that being the case.

Treat the dead PC as ethereal, a ghost of a sorts, and allow him to hang around the other characters in this form for a little while. Throw in some ethereal undead to give him something to fight along with the other characters, and if you/he is creative, allow him to work the perks of being able to fly through walls, etc. Just don't let the player abuse it if their the type, give them some caveat like a time limit before they're "permanently dead."

When you're ready to end it, either have the players find or guide them to some forgotten tomb where a MacGuffin to raise dead or resurrect exists.

There are people who hotly debate whether halflings should always pay homage to their inspiration or be allowed to wear Nike's. Giving the barbarian a technicolor laser sword for six months? Sounds like a big risk for a niche audience within a niche hobby to do a whole AP...

But I agree with nightflier above. If you're going to do it, DO IT RIGHT! A campaign book, AP and at least one module.

Diplomacy is always best, but you can rarely change another person's mind, they have to do it themselves. Be prepared to be talking to deaf ears and have alternative strategies prepared if being lawful good doesn't work... Especially if you want to continue in the group, but are new/don't have the authority to remove him from the table.

From my seat it sounds like your guy isn't suffering from anything more clinical than lack of attention. He's not interested in the game, but wants to be the focus of the table.

I think every veteran gamer probably has a story about "a friend of a friend" where friend X tried to get friend Y interested in the hobby, but failed. In most cases that simply means friend Y fell asleep or went to watch TV in another room.

I once started a party all in freshly dug graves with no gear (or clothing) and no idea who each other was.

Good times.

Dominated villagers does not excuse everyone BUT the paladin for their actions in your scenario.

The samurai chose a wholly dishonorable path; the cleric murdered innocents in her own church to cover a crime; the monk similarly murdered innocent people which is likely against the law of the land. Each of these characters deserve to be stripped of their abilities, not just the paladin.

That said, and as this is the advice forum...

Now, I don't know your group, but I fear you may be unintentionally bullying both the paladin character and the player.

The situation you placed the character in could easily be construed as hopeless and you should never assume what you think is obvious will also be readily apparent to the player. The situation was made invariably worse when their companions abandoned them and you continued the encounter even though it had already left your intended goal of "thinning their NPCs."

As for the player, you may have positioned them against their peers at the table. I'm not surprised the player shut down if this were the case. There are few, even among experienced gamers, who have the robust diplomatic and debating personal skills to talk a group out of a mob action such as the one that took place in your game.

Objectively speaking, the Tower Girls are all in how they are run and how each individual gaming group tends to tackle encounters. There is no right or wrong approach.

Personally speaking, I employed the Tower Girls after dealing with the stubborn elements. I mean meta speaking this is first level, what it the cost of loyalty? A few gold, roof over your head and meal in your stomach?

Does no one else think outside the box? Heh.

One more to the pile: The Witch is the preeminent debuffer of the game. Next to a pocket healer, melee's best friend.