MolotovH's page

Hey, I apologize, I was doing this on my phone and yeah, looks like I fat-fingered into the wrong forum. My apologies!

Wrong forum, flagged for a move.

Cordell Kintner wrote:

Uh, what game system are you talking about?

PF1e Psionics. Third party stuff. It's pretty neat though.

But to answer OP's question as best I can, "ability" isn't a formally defined game term as far as I can tell. Pretty much everything you have that lets you do something is an ability of some kind, so this combo should be fine.

To be honest, we've been using PFSRD as our primary resource for so long, I didn't even notice it was third party.

My personal definition landed on "any ability that requires a character to have a power point pool or to have or expend psionic focus". The new GM is tentatively in agreement, but I would definitely appreciate seeing how others rule.

Hello all! Long time since I last posted (11 years next week!) I am about to turn over my campaign to another GM and join my PCs as a character, and I have a question regarding my build.

I am building a Soulknife and I was going to take Speed of Thought and Persistent Focus (Speed of Thought). But then I realized that if I can apply Persistent Focus to a Blade Skill - in this case, Telekinetic Athleticism - then I can not only save myself a feat, but actually get the benefit of two additional feats as well.

The problem is, how is "psionic ability" defined? If it is simply any ability that requires a psionic focus, then it would seem that this is a legal build. But I would like to confirm for certain how "psionic ability" is defined in this case.

Has somebody posted the pregens yet? I'd hate to tear up a copy to hand out pregens.

I've got my hands on an advanced copy of this in order to run it next weekend. (Naturally, I have been sworn to secrecy regarding the contents of the adventure itself). I am very pleased with the quality of the product. Sixteen full-color glossy pages, most of which feature artwork, not to mention the map & additional artwork on the inside cover ... As freebies go, this is likely to blow whatever that other RPG company is bringing right out of the water.

One word of warning, though: if you are planning to run this for Free RPG Day, try to get your copy a day or two before so that you can make character sheets for the pre-gens. While they are presented in a very stylish way, it's not a very copier-friendly way. Also, two of the pre-gens are printed back-to-back, so you couldn't just pull out the pages even if you were willing to ruin this beautifully-crafted little book.

Thanks. I just really liked the idea of sticking the PCs with an infant and seeing where it goes from there. :-)

Except ... no. "Drunken Boxing" is not low-brow drug humor. It's a style that emulates the swaying movements of a drunken man in order to throw opponents off-guard. It doesn't actually involve getting drunk.

Wikipedia article on Drunken Boxing

The Drunken Master prestige just takes some liberties with the name, as any good "themed" PrC is wont to do.

Still, this does look like a pretty good conversion for a humor campaign, so ... good job, if that was the intent. :-)

I don't remember all of details of the celestial politics involved, but I was playing an Exalted Cleric of Nesirie (Birthright deity) in a non-Birthright setting.

Two factions of angels were about to go to war due to a disagreement over differences that arose when an evil god was released from his imprisonment. If I recall correctly, they not only blamed each other for its escape, but they also had differing opinions on how to fix the situation. One faction wanted to bind him with a dark ritual that would require the sacrifice of a "pure heart," while the other refused to participate in the slaying of an innocent and wanted to fight the deity to the death.

It was clear that not only could the angels not win a war against this evil god, but that their internecine squabble was only going to weaken them further, giving the evil god even more time to accrue power. Therefore, my cleric recruited another party member to help him infiltrate the evil god's shrine and perform the binding ceremony, using himself as the blood sacrifice. Yes, it damned his soul to the campaign world's version of Hell for all eternity and ensured he would never again be able to commune with his deity, but it also stopped the evil god and prevented a war between the forces of Good. EPIC GOODNESS!

Weird, I thought I posted this last night ... OK, let's try it again. This is an idea I had for a hook encounter. Feel free to use it, or not.

A Chance Meeting in the Marketplace (EL 2)

While passing through a marketplace, one of the PCs is nearly bowled over by Henna, a panicked woman dressed in torn, dirty clothes. She clutches a bundle to her chest. The PCs may attempt to stop her with a grapple combat maneuver (her CMB is a paltry +1); otherwise, she darts into the crowd.

Whether or not the PCs stop Henna, they may immediately make a Perception check (DC 13) to hear shouts of "Stop! Thief!" above the din of the crowd. Two taskmasters - described below - are pushing their way through the crowd in search of Henna.

If Henna was stopped and the shouts are heard, she will immediately implore the PCs to help her. "They are slave catchers! Please, hide me!" If the PCs make a Sense Motive check (DC 15), they will find her plea to be sincere.

If Henna was not stopped, or the shouts are not heard, the burly men plow straight into the PCs, demanding to know where Henna went. "You there! Where did that little dirt-bag go?" If the PCs make a Sense Motive check (DC 15), they will feel that something is off about these two: they're definitely too rough-looking to be merchants, and they aren't wearing the livery of the city guard. A Perception check (DC 13) will reveal that one of them is carrying a coiled whip at his side.

If the PCs do not hide Henna quickly, the taskmasters will seize her and clamp manacles on her wrists, causing her to drop the bundle she carried as she is dragged away. If they hide her or refuse to divulge her whereabouts, the taskmasters attack them with shouts of, "You will not obstruct justice!" In this case, Henna cowers in a safe place, only revealing the contents of her bundle later.

In either case, the PCs should have very little time between their run-in with Henna and their run-in with the taskmasters. The taskmasters are impatient men and will not wait long for the PCs to answer them, so the party must make their decisions quickly.

Background: Henna is a slave who has escaped from the taskmasters' lord, and their mission is to bring her back. They do not know about Henna's bundle, which contains the newborn son of another slave in their master's possession. Henna stole the child in order to save it from a life of slavery, and hopes to turn him over to a monastery for safe-keeping.

Taskmasters: The taskmasters are burly men, dressed in heavy red and black leather kilts with double bandoliers across their chests. They have long hair and beards, braided with red twine and links of chain. One carries a net and short sword, while the other carries only a short sword, with a coiled whip at his side.

Glotch:
Ftr 1
Str 14 Dex 14 Con 12 Int 8 Wis 10 Cha 13
AC: 13 HP: 11
Saves: Fort +3 Refl +2 Will +0
Skills: Handle Animal +5, Intimidate +5
Feats: Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Net), Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot
Weapons: Short sword (Atk +3), Net (Atk +3, +4 within 30 ft.)
Armor: Leather (+1 AC)

Glotch is the less intelligent of the pair, but has a greater presence. He tries to Intimidate the PCs during negotiations by growling and swearing at them. His battle tactics consist of throwing his net at the most nimble-looking opponent, then stabbing that opponent with his sword until it stops moving. Glotch will fight to the death; he relishes battle.

Pohl:
Ftr 1
Str 14 Dex 14 Con 12 Int 13 Wis 10 Cha 8
AC: 13 HP: 11
Saves: Fort +3 Refl +2 Will +0
Skills: Knowledge (dungeoneering) +5, Knowledge (engineering) +5
Feats: Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Whip), Combat Expertise, Improved Disarm
Weapons: Short sword (Atk +3), Whip (Atk +3)
Armor: Leather (+1 AC)

Pohl is more likely to try to negotiate with the PCs for information about Henna's whereabouts. If Glotch fails to intimidate them, however, he will not hesitate to disarm the best-armed opponent and attack them with his sword. If Glotch falls first in battle, Pohl will attempt to flee. A successful Knowledge (dungeoneering) check (DC 15) will locate an entrance to the sewers into which he can flee.

I feel the need to throw in my two cents about something: I actually think skeletons and zombies would be a MORE acceptable enemy in a game like this than goblins and orcs and such.

See, goblins and orcs have families and societies and religions and so forth. There are far less moral implications about fighting soul-less abominations than there are to teaching kids that's it's OK to kill people who are different than they are and take their stuff.

As a lot of other people have said, though... it's really a matter of talking it over with the parents. Nobody else's ideas of morality really matter when you're dealing with a 10 year old.

Oh! Just had a thought (even though it kind of goes against my argument). If you can pick up a cheap copy of the 3rd edition box set, the included adventures are pretty kid-friendly. The first one, if I recall correctly, was to rescue a unicorn that had been kidnapped by goblins. They were all pretty cheesy and straight-foreward, but they'd be perfect for younger gamers.

I'll be interested in joining a group in the near future, although I can't commit at the moment. I'll send you contact info.

Edit: Or not, since there's either no PM system here, or I'm just missing how to operate it.

Anyway, e-mail address is on my profile now.

Xabulba wrote:

CourtFool wrote:

Bill Gates is not Hitler. He's the Devil.

No, that's Steve Jobs.

I always thought it was Glenn Beck.

Actually, according to Stephen King, Glenn Beck is only Satan's mentally challenged younger brother.

I think it's hilarious that Glenn still makes money off that insult... As the old adage goes, there's no such thing as bad publicity. I just wish he'd go back to the old pre-Obama-bashing Glenn, when he was actually funny. Kind of like I wish Jon Stewart would go back to the old pre-Bush-bashing Jon, when he was actually funny.

Hmm, it's almost like there's something about deep-seated political bitterness that makes a funny person ... not funny ... Crazy, right?

I don't see how this problem exists... Shouldn't the Rage HP be lost first? By the time you are knocked down to -1, those HP should already be gone. There's no need to remove them when the rage ends due to unconsciousness... they've already been lost. The only place they are "lost" at that point is from the Maximum HP, not Current HP.

That's how we've always played it, anyway.

Regarding the "+4 dodge bonus to AC vs. creatures of size Large of larger" ... I think previous posters have been correct in that the given bonus is a bit large. Perhaps "+2 dodge bonus to AC vs. creatures of size Large of larger" would work better?

And, yes, I had forgotten the Dwarven/Elven ability to detect secret doors... also a pain to remember.

Yeah but at this point the elf has had that ability since 1st Ed. Or something very similar anyway. It's kind of canon for the race. maybe modify it to a bonus, but don't do away with it. It's classic.

This is what the D&D development team termed a "Proud Nail," problematic rules that exist solely because "that's how it's always been."

The reason it is problematic is this: the example of play in the 3.5 PHB clearly delineates that the difference between a Search and a Spot check is intent, so the concept of an "automatic" Search check doesn't really hold water. You only get to make a Search check in 3.x if you already know what you're looking to find.

It's a bit easier to justify under Pathfinder rules, since they've rolled Search, Spot and Listen into a single skill, but it still seems like a hassle for the DM. So perhaps just a straight "+2 to Perception checks to notice secret doors" would be a better way to write the rule.

(My apologies, but this is a bit wordy. Skip to the end for the gist of the suggestion.)

If I had to choose one feature of races in 3.5 that annoys me the most, it's the concept of racial enmity as a mechanical modifier. The Hatred and Defensive Training racial bonuses of the Dwarf and Gnome force a GM's hand in world-building and present illogical situations when incorporated into back-story.

As a GM, I don't want to have my hand forced in creating a consistent living world due to some minor rule dictating that "NO, the Dwarves CAN'T live on THAT side of the ocean, because the Orcs and Goblins all live on THIS side of the ocean, so how are you going to explain THAT?" Consider the most famous case: the Dwarves of Eberron, most of whom, despite never having seen a living giant more advanced than an ogre, nevertheless have defensive training that allows them to dodge Giants of every sort. That's inconsistent and thus, it is a cause for concern from those of us (GMs) who are struggling to create exciting, life-like worlds for our players.

So far, I've largely focused on the mechanics and "crunch" of Pathfinder, so I haven't read enough of the setting's background material to know for certain how well these rules worked into Pathfinder as a setting. But that said, I'm sure I'm not the only GM planning to use Pathfinder's mechanics to define my own settings with my own unique (non-Giant-fighting) Dwarf and Gnome societies. I'm not suggesting that Paizo should cater to people like me, of course, but it would be a nice if the core Pathfinder rules were adaptable enough to allow homebrew campaigns.

From the players' end, it's still problematic. It's great to have those little bonuses (if you can remember them at the appropriate time), but what if the DM decides not to make of use of Giants or Kobolds or whatever your bonuses work against? Your racial abilities have been balanced against other races by taking that Hatred ability into account, and if it becomes useless due to the DM's story focusing on, say, the undead, then suddenly your choice of race is diminished ever-so-slightly. The same is true of Defensive Training - if you can dodge a Giant, why not a Tyrannosaurus, a Nightwalker, or a Dragon?

That said, please consider this minor tweak:

- Drop "Hatred" from the Dwarf and Gnome entries.

- Replace the text of "Defensive Training" with the following: "You gain a +4 dodge bonus vs. enemies of size Large or larger."

I think this is a simple solution that both eliminates the "there must be Giants and Orcs here" problem, while balancing the loss with a more generally-useful version of Defensive Training (which I would personally rename "Underfoot," but your opinion may vary).