I can remember a fight where the PCs just "Cake Walked" the fight. It involved a number of Kobolds in a ruined watch tower, and the PCs using sleep spells and grapples to beat them easily. Less then 10 HP taken in damage among the 5 PC. so they tie up the Kobolds, and gather up the loot and ... look it over.
Player #1: "What a bunch of C%$#P! Cheap, Small weapons, and wicker shields, 'food' I wouldn't feed my dog, rotten leathers, and COPPER PIECES! What the h&%%, I'm not loading any of this s&^%t on my horse to haul it outta here." off stomps PC #1
the rest of the party also shake their head in disgust and mount up. Rides away into the sunset.
Just then Player #1 starts to giggle "Talk about insulting. Think about it from the view of the kobolds. Not only are they not dangerous enough for us to kill 'em, but we didn't even want ANY of their treasure!"
Player #2 "yeah, (gollum voice), my presious, why didn't they take my presious" laugh.
The Gown of Graceful Pettiness is 3500 GP and can be worn to grant a permanent Reduce Person. It does not Grant the size bonus to AC, nor does it shrink items on the person. This is the best baseline item I can find to "compare". I'm in agreement with those above, I think 10K is in the right ballpark for a "Ring of reduce person"
!Thread Necro!
bolding mine
ok, this item (the Gown of Graceful Petiteness) came up during play and it raised several possible issues... though in the description of the item it does say it does not grant the size bone to Dexterity, it looks like it would grant the other size bonuses (+1 to AC, +1 to Hit, -1 to CMD and CMB, +4 to stealth... and possibly a -2 to strength)
additionally, other items like this that don't list a duration for an effect have been errata'd or "clarified" to have short duration - normally of the spell it is built off of.
The hat of disguise and ring of invisibility FAQ for example, as well as Mistmail that got nerfed back in 2016...
so, if it works like Mistmail or the hat of disguise, then giving it a duration of 1 minute would render it pretty useless... as it takes a minute to don/activate.
Does anyone know if there is an FAQ or anything on duration for the effect?
ok, this item (the Gown of Graceful Petiteness) came up during play and it raised a possible issue...
other items like this that don't list a duration for an effect have been errata'd or "clarified" to have short duration - normally of the spell it is built off of.
The hat of disguise and ring of invisibility FAQ was mentioned, as well as Mistmail that got nerfed back in 2016...
so, giving it a duration of 1 minute would render it pretty useless... as it takes a minute to don/activate.
Is there an FAQ or anything on duration for the effect?
Mage armor and shield are both stupidly good first level spells for a dragon. Not the most fun spells, perhaps, for players on the receiving end, but if you're looking for a challenge...
Also disguise self
Is that a Silver dragon, or a White? Hate to shot it if it's a Good dragon...
Player One: "What? The Green Dragon in the top hat just used Lightning as a breath weapon? …" puzzlement...
GM: "You wondering about my dragon? Make a Will Save...."
Player Two: "Didn't that treasure map say there was a Hat of Disguise in the Dragon's Lair? Oh, cra..., maybe we shouldn't have bought all those Resist Acid potions... "
Player Three: "Yeah - I kind of wondered about a Green Dragon's lair being out here in the Big Sandy Desert...
ok, I modified the encounter with the Devilfish slightly - changed up a feat or two and gave her the Summon Feat that let her summon Aquatic animals rather than Fiendish ones (no Good PCs in the party). So - summoned up a pair of Dark Sharks to draw the PCs attention, then, out of the darkness on the map rumbles a line of (I had to really search the internet for Icons for this) Aquatic aurochs... yes, a stampede...
this shock on the faces of the players was priceless.
One player pipes up in total disbelief... "Are we being trampled by Sea-Cows?"
next player - "Oh! the horror! - the huge manatee!"
and I'll be darned if the things weren't kind of effective. They even (while there were 3 of them) got to stomp some on the Diving Bell (as the Stampede attack can trample targets of Large size...).
The PCs were so much in shock they didn't attack them on the first pass by... compare that to the Sharks the turn before where they had surprise and one was dead before it even got an attack in.
"Yeah, we got trampled in a stampede at a depth of 200 feet underwater..."
sorry for the Thread Necro ... I have a related question and would like to tap into the vast pool of knowledge here (see what I did there?)... anyway. I ran across Pressure Pills as another way to adapt to the depth, but is there anything else long term to protect vs. the effects of deep water (prevents the Pressure Damage for depths greater than 100 feet)?
Wake of the Watcher:
In "Wake of the Watcher" it looks like they have commoner humans at > than 100' depth for extended periods of time, as in years long. How are they not dead? is there rules for adapting to the depth?
so a couple of rules questions...
* are there rules for adapting long term to the depth?
* is there any other spells or items like Pressure Pills that protect vs. the damage from the depths?
you know, ...it kind of looses the "Insanity Inducing Horror" of encountering Human Skum hybreds - when my players point out that that 4 of my 5 PCs are Half Humans Hybreds themselves... Why would this cause the PCs to make a Will Save or loose 2d6 Sanity Points?....
Player One: "Oh PHARASMA! they have been having sex with creatures that are only HALF HUMAN! Degenerate sub-human SKUM! (that's even their name)! Oh the HORROR of it all!"
GM: "Wait - did you just roll a Nat-one on the save?"
Player One: "ye-up, sure did"
GM: "And you only have 1 Sanity Point left?"
Player One: "Ye-up."
Player Two: "Sucks to be you. But join the Crowd - I drifted into insanity back when we encountered the funny looking squid faced thing that wasn't a Mind Flayer..."
Make the Piper a folk hero, a vigilante who came in the night with his flocks of stirges and purged outsiders and unbelievers, only to finally be laid low by outsiders (the Sleepless Agency? I don't remember how long they've been around) and shipped off to parts unknown, to never be heard from again.
There might be a little shrine to him somewhere. It might even have a flute and a preserved, oversized, stirge - the piper's familiar? - displayed there.
Maybe they have rumors that he'll come back one day and continue his work, and children take up the flute (and play songs the PCs heard back when they fought the Piper!) in the hope that their playing will summon him back.
Being in a place that idolizes some guy whose evil spirit the party put down back at 2nd level should put them even more on edge.
Here's what I have prepped for my group to encounter soon - either from a marsh/forest creature (a fey perhaps?) or over hearing it being told to one of the children in Illmarsh.
After they find a little shrine in the marsh...
the Tale of the Piper:
Rich men came from far away bent on draining the waters from our lands, cutting down our trees and killing our way of life. We were few and weak and they were strong with Iron and many trees were lost to them. The land was wounded and cried out. Blood was lost and Hope was wounded and Fire walked the lands. In it's pain and anguish it cried and all looked to be destroyed.
But a Hero heard it's cries, and answered the land. Played music to sooth the wounded land and came among us and healed the sick. The Piper came to defend us when all was lost, when time looked to be darkest.
So when the Rich Men came again into the swamp to pillage and despoil our lands the Piper rallied the creatures of the land to defend it, and they killed many of the evil men in their sleep. And together we drove them back from the forests and pools and we rejoiced in our victory - but it was to early.
For the day came when the Rick Men returned with Hunters from far away, with powerful magics and they tracked the Piper to were he slept and they fought the Big Fight. Much magic was thrown, songs against fire spells, much blood was shed, Iron against Wood, and in the end... the piper sacrificed himself to save our lands. When the dawns came, the Rich Men and their hunters were driven from our lands again... but so to was lost the Piper, no where to be found. No body was ever found - he had returned from where he had come when the land cried out in pain, there to heal his wounds and bide his time and recover, as the lands did.
Now we know, in our time of need, when the land cries out it's anguish, then the Piper will come again. So we stay true to him, and keep this place, where the Great Fight took place. Here we prepare flutes to teach the Songs for when they will be needed again to fight Magic. Where we can remember the triumph of Songs over Magic, of Blood over Iron, of Little over Big.
What? no one has any more funny stories? Heck - it's a Monday, we could really use some smiles people!
this one is some months old, as it took place at a Convention, when we were still doing those in person...
At a Tier 1-2 table for a certain Special with a Really Big Dragon on the roof a building the PCs have to get into... the PCs are hiding around the corner of the building (being 1st and 2nd level guys) - peeking around and trying to get up the nerve to run across the courtyard to the buildings entrance and avoid notice by the Dragon on the Roof.
Judge: "The dragon roars again, shaking dust from the roof eves that you are hiding under."
Cleric: "Anyone speak Draconic? I wonder what she keeps yelling about? Anyway, we need a distraction - something to draw the dragons attention away from the door before the rest of us run for it."
Rogue reply's: "Well... I have a chicken."
other players look at Rogue player: "????"
Rogue: "yeah, I picked one up - it's on my equipment sheet - see?" Hold up ITS pointing at the chicken entry.
Cleric to Rogue: "...and ... you're going to use it how?"
Rogue: "I'll throw it at the dragon. She wont be expecting that...."
Fighter: "...yeah, I sure wouldn't be expecting someone to pitch a chicken at me..."
Rogue: "yeah, I'll do that." Turning to judge: "So I run out to here in the courtyard and throw the chicken..."
At this moment the Overseer Judge announces over the loudspeakers that "the Really Big Dragon on the Roof" flies away. (totally unrelated to events at the Tier 1-2 table, but great timing!)
Table judge rolls with it: "Seeing the chicken flying in her direction, the Dragon leaps from the roof and with a crash of her gigantic jaws, snatch's it from the air. Doing a Wing-Over maneuver and with a snap of her huge leathery wings, the giant beast speeds away over the cities rooftops..."
Rogue player sits back with big smile on her face.
Cleric player looks at the table judge, at the Rogue player, then at the other players and says... "Heck, it looks like the dragon just wanted chicken take-out, this would have gone so much faster if someone had been able to speak Draconic..."
Does that mean all Mites register as "...fragile (alive and wounded, with 3 or fewer hit points left)..." when at full health?
and a 1st level Mite Sorcerer would register as "...fighting off death (alive with 4 or more hit points)..." when at full health?
But then I guess all 1st level Sorcerers ARE actually fighting off death (alive with 4 or more hit points). I mean, unless they have a CON modifier of -3 (CON of 5), then they are (alive and wounded, with 3 or fewer hit points left). Heck, everyone, even the 19th level raging Barbarian with over 300 HP fits the criteria of "fighting off death (alive with 4 or more hit points),"...
I involuntarily twitch my lower left eyelid when someone refers to a tabletop RPG character as a "toon". ; )
Agreed. I can see it for a mmorpg character as a computer character isn't that unlike a cartoon character, but for pen and paper it just.doesn't.work
I actually used to play with someone who was offended by the term “Toon” - but this same person would repeatedly do really .... toonish behavior with their PC.
Jumping into pits before looking into them. Opening doors before anyone checked them - set off Traps just to see the effect. When bored, attack random creatures. Regularly getting PCs killed - and just shrug it off. Generally playing like a goblin.
Every time I hear someone comment about the term toon I think of them.
I see and understand most of your points but 2 factors still bug me:
First, at the moment, I understand that PF2E assumes a (almost) full HP party before every encounter. Treat Wounds was created during playtest so that a healing font Cleric wasn't mandatory for all groups because of this assumption. A low level party does not have enough treasure to stock on potions so they can't reliably heal on a timely manner.
Second, how do you explain in-world spending 10 minutes for no results at all? Also followed by a 1-hour "cooldown". This bugs me the worst.
Medicine becomes a very powerful tool when you invest skill feats on it, but even the most skilled will (barring assurance), some percentage of the time, heal for absolutely nothing on a willing creature, outside of combat. It's very hard for me to swallow this but it seems I'm on the minority.
I'm right where you are Sfyn, so perhaps the minority isn't so small.
after being ambushed by mooks - one of whom was throwing Stingchucks ooc](a weapon that just makes you want to say "Eyuuu", made from humanoid heads...)[/ooc], the PCs got around to asking for information.
Three of the mooks are negative HP, but stable, and one is still able to talk, so they start with him and the standard routine...
Social PC, "So, Mook, how's it going? Looks like you guys could use a little healing - your health coverage going to handle this? you with the local Mooks-for-Hire? Anyway, who sent you to put the hurt on us?"
Mook #114, "You'se go'n ta 'ave ta talk ta da Headman."
Social PC, "and who would this boss guy be? how would we find him?"
Mook #114 - pointing at the unconscious Mook #111, "You'se go'n to 'ave to talk to da 'Head' man - da guy what had da Heads..." the guy who was throwing the stingchucks.
Social PC, "ah! yeah, now I get it... the 'Head' man!"
At a home table, it's easy: If you profited from an ability that only works on a full attack, you're locked in, period. If you didn't, fine. That means unless you somehow provoked an AoO and made use of the shield bonus, you can abort a full-attack when using Shield of Swings, but, since you (in retrospect) never actually triggered the feat, you don't get any benefits (so all you did was reduce your attack's damage).
If you try to abort a cMonk's Flurry to get the higher BAB on one attack, no you can't, because a single attack is not a "flurry", b@#$@!
Also, if you try to abuse the system this way (Flurry, Manyshot, whatever), the entire order of Pizza that evening is on you.
anyone else getting the impression that Gummy Bear wants to run a Kobold? I mean, I could be wrong on this - I often mis-interpret the more subtle non-verbal communication signals put out by gamers, and this could be one of those times... but I am guessing that Gummy Bear might be interested in a Kobold Boon. Maybe...
This scenario came up during "Lunch conversation" with a fellow gamer...
We were discussing using Generics and the suggestion was made for a group of all the same Generic... which naturally came around to playing a group of all Harsks.
Party of dwarfs, right? so clearly this would have to be a 7 person group. But what scenario?
Tell me more of this "shadow lodge"? You have captured my interest... is there clandestine meetings in hidden locations, passwords, secret handshakes, cloaked servers in the bowels of the dark web... that sort of thing? Or do we just get together once a week to complain that GM Torch was mistreated by the Ten?
(in the email the GM sent to all the players before the game):
I will remind you to be prepared for the basics.
Disease
Poisons
Ability damage (potentially drain)
Swarms
Invisible opponents
Incorporeal opponents
Extremes in temperature
Being grappled
Religious extremists who do not like you
Travel in an area where Pathfinders are not legal
Then AFTER you leave the venture captains office...
Bob - short term memory loss, that's why his name is so insignificant and easy.
Toe-Licker - has a necklace of... you know. Fidgets with the toenails when bored, and put one in his mouth and sucks on it as he fights.
Fly-Friend - has a semi-swarm of flies that buzz around him constantly.
Nah - Bob got his name cause he's dyslexic... he keeps writing his name back-to-front...
Yeah, I've got a bunch of Mites (you know the little blue ugly dudes that's even goblins think are homely), and I'm painting names on each of them. Something the other Mites would call them - sort of "nick" names. But they have to be suitable for use at a PFS table in public, so no profanity please...
Some names I am thinking of using....
Booger
Snot-rocket
Scabby
Carrion-bait
Ankle-biter (maybe not use this as I am sure we have it out there as a PC)
Maggot
Urinalysis
....
