Monele's page

The rest of the session, we refereed to his character as "Rubblebane." Bless his heart.

Suddenly, giving out XP for "just" climbing rubble doesn't seem so silly anymore :)

Thank you all!

Blood of Angels is definitely what I was hoping for, as confirmed by the PFSRD. The agathion-blooded looks really good and with variant abilities and features, it gets even better!

Will also take a look at the half-celestial template.

I just discovered Agathions recently and thought they were a fun concept. I immediately started looking for ways to bring the Agathion features to a PC level. Seems like there is an Agathion sub-domain (though it doesn't feel very "Agathion" to me). I haven't found any Agathion bloodline for Sorcerers and I don't see any templates or races that would turn a humanoid PC race into a half-Agathion, with features that one could imagine from such an ancestry such as animal ears or tail, scent ability and so on.

I know Aasimars exist, but they feel so much more like half-angels both in flavor and abilities.

Have I just missed it or is it simply not an official thing?

Aah, custom scenarios start making an appearance, neat! And not a bad concept to start with. I don't have the game yet so I can't playtest this, but in regard to the "no weapon/spell/etc" complaint, why not take something from the RPG system and add 4 to the difficulty if using such cards for the roll? Similar to not being proficient or using the wrong damage type.

Oracle, Witch, Gunslinger, Alchemist... in no specific order of preference.

To partially answer my own question, I have seen an interview of Mike Selinker confirming that the first AP is entirely "done", so we shouldn't expect any fixes or design changes until the next AP, and barring official FAQ/Errata.

This may be a really basic thing, but I just discovered 3+ ranks in Acrobatics boosts your (dodge) AC when Fighting Defensively and using Total Defense.

If true, that's a bit sad, if understandable on a design standpoint. Even so, I guess it may still be worth mentioning things. It may get some errata where possible, it could help design the next AP and then there's also fan-made modifications :)

The deity articles in the AP are where I got my sources.

Ah, thanks! I'll go see the ones I have to extract this.

Submitted by Sara Marie eh?

Ha! I should have caught that :) Awesome.

Hello,

I've finally ordered the game and hope to get a lot of fun out of it. That said, I've also read and seen enough of the game to be bothered by a few bits.

What can we expect of the feedback loop on this game? It sounds like the whole AP is already planned... possibly even already made. Is it locked down already or is there wiggle room for errata and suggestions?

As a quick example, I thought naming characters' abilities would help get a sense of what they are in-story. I'm guessing this isn't something "fixable" now since all the characters have already been released (well, except through errata maybe). But what about bits more related to scenarios and future adventures? Is it worth dropping feedback about it or are changes only to be expected for the elusive next AP?

As someone who already has Gods & Magic, Faiths of Purity, the Inner Sea World Guide and a good number of divinity articles from 6 different APs, and who doesn't care too much about the "gathering all the information in one place" part, what would I be getting out of this product?

Just trying to get a sense of whether this is for me or somewhat superfluous. If I mostly get stuff I already have, I probably won't be interested.

May I ask where everyone is getting these prayer times? Have I missed it in the mentioned books or has it appeared in other publications?

Joana: I agree, recent casting limit is a bit stunting the fluff in that regard. The only legal possibility I can see for such characters is to prepare their spells in the morning, like everyone else, *but* keep their slots opened. As such, they would spend 15 minutes on this since it's the minimum. Later that day, when fluff prayer time comes up, they can spend their actual 1 hour of real preparation to select their spells.

EDIT: Also, looking for Serenrae sunrise yields curious finds...

I was wondering if there was an official take on the usual (caster) prayer time(s?) of the various gods. And if not, whether someone has already tried to make an unofficial list or not.

I have Gods and Magic, the Inner Sea setting book and Faiths of Purity and I *thought* I had seen mentions of it, but maybe I've just dreamed it because I can't find them anymore.

Basically the chance of a group being unable to finish a scenario due to the villains/henchman being to low in the location decks is probably about 1 in a 1000 for 6 heroes and much less for even 5 heroes.

If you take into account the number of games played with a box set and the number of box sets that will be used, it may not be that rare.

Could this be alleviated by shuffling said cards into only part of the location decks?

I don't really understand the Grick picture?!? What is going on there?

It took me a while to recognize the Grick's features on this one, but if you look long enough, you'll start seeing his four mouth-tentacles. This may have worked better if the head had not been in front of his body.

Reach weapon: you use a reach weapon to strike opponents 10 feet away. You can also shorten your grip on such a weapon and use it against adjacent targets with a –4 penalty on attack rolls.

Isn't this already in the game as Improvised Weapon?

Any encounter where the PC's run in fear for their lives is not "boring", hehe.

I'm not an adversarial GM, and even if I can appreciate some "muahaha" moments, when fear paralyzes the player to the point where they mind-blank as to what to do, it's *definitely* not fun anymore :/

If one of them makes their Knowledge: Arcana roll to identify the aberration, then they may surmise what they're looking-at. You've already had your fun with the running and the screaming etc.

Aberrations are recognized through Knowledge Dungeoneering actually. That said, I realize Knowledge Religion could have been used in a reversed way: "you know undead, and that's no ghost". Sadly, the group doesn't have that skill, so it's a moot point in my case.

Anyway, we're long past this encounter this, but I thought I might as well mention how I solved the issue so other GMs can maybe get and idea or two out of it. And if not, well, too bad.

I had a long discussion with the player about the situation to pinpoint what the problem really was. It was mostly a trauma from the previous actual incorporeal undead that almost wiped them out (no magic weapons yet)... This turned into paranoia and mind-paralysis when it comes to thinking up ways of beating such a (supposed) creature.

I talked to other people about the issue and, slowly, an idea grew...

When we came back to the session, we resumed outside, in the courtyard. Soon enough, after more hesitation, I had the cube come out. While the creature had been revealed, I was pre-emptively guessing the player, not familiar with D&D lore, was not going to know how to deal with it anyway. As such, I had prepared a flash-back for one of his characters, the fighter.

Back many years ago, when the fighter was still a child. Dad asks him to fetch something from the basement. Turns out there's a recent crack in the wall and, 'lo, a juvenile cube comes through it. What to do, what to do?

To make this scene as fruitful as possible, I layed various situational tools around the basement: a trapdoor for refuse, a large metal container (wasn't quite clear on what it was but it was metal! :p) and various potential weapons made of various materials (wood, metal and bone). It was also made clear that he was in no danger of dying since this was a flashback. As much as possible, I wanted to give the player a safe environment in which to experiment and discover how the creature worked, while having some character development.
Also, just in case he didn't feel adventurous enough, I had prepared two sentimental items in the basement: an old wooden horse I assumed he loved to play with, and if that didn't work, fabric dolls belonging to his sister. Don't let the cube near those!

Since I didn't want to be burdened by the Pathfinder system (quite crunchy), I also temporarily switched to the FU RPG (free) which made everything very light and easy to run... just more cinematic, really.

Ultimately, this was a great success: the character managed to trap the cube in the pit and it ended up serving as a refuse disposal system for many years, yey! But more importantly, the player had learned what a cube could do and a potential way to get rid of it with what was at hand... That well in the courtyard served him well :)

The only remaining issue is that he was happy to be rid of it that he did not bother getting the magical loot out of it :[... Oh well, can't win everytime.

The FLGS where we play most often will, apparently, be getting an introductory or demo version of the product. Can anyone tell me what this consists of?

This thread at BoardGameGeek may have an answer for you:

I'll have to agree with Alice Margatroid for the visual quality. The source art is of course magnificent, but the post-work was sometimes making the whole thing look silly.

As for the music, while I liked it on its own, my very first thought when hearing it was "huh, that's so not the music I have in mind when I think 'Pathfinder'".

Sounds like you've got everything covered. All I can say is: have fun :D

Where are you all getting the rules are they posted somewhere here and I am missing them?

Check the maing page for the game: http://paizo.com/pathfinder/adventureCardGame. You will find this link: http://paizo.com/download/pathfinder/PZO6000-Rulebook.zip

There's typically one scenario in each Adventure Deck that plays a bit loose with the usual format.

(snip examples)

Wow, that's pretty much what I was hoping for. This is great news to me and another sell for you guys :)

I feel like the quest cards will make the game more like an MMO.

They're optional and do not change the nature of the sidequests they represent. It's nothing worse than noting down on paper "we need to do this for so-and-so". But if the card format really screams MMO to you, again, they're optional :)

Is it out of the question for 1 player to run 4 characters? We do this every now and then.

I'm running a one-on-one PF module where the lone player controls 4 PCs too. I created two of them to share the burden of creation and we tend to share roleplaying "duty" on these two also. The player is fully in control during tactical combat. I have also recently started using them for subtle (and less subtle :p) hints when the player gets stuck. It's a good thing one character is "let's kick their butts!" while the other is more about making plans... gives two different views on each problem ;)

As for the question proper, I was thinking Serpent's Skull also offers a bunch of ready-made NPCs that could fill out the team. I haven't read enough of it to know if it would work out for a single PC for its whole length though.

I watched the play example video and am getting really excited about this! There is one thing I fear a bit though: how differently will each scenario play? It was mentioned one of the scenario may have the heroes save town folks from a flood. I'd enjoy such variety compared to a constant "kill the villain" goal... so how would this flood scenario play out? Does it still use the "search for the villain, block his escape, kill it" structure or will there be variants?

I figure it would be fun if sometimes we had to look for a specific item, sometimes look for X NPCs to save, etc... There would still be enemies to fight, but they would be obstacles, not end goals.

Thanks for the answers. There are a few simple solutions after all. I guess I made it out to be something much more dangerous than it is, though it does depend on the environment/situation.

It can't climb and is cube-shaped. Find steps, walk up them and... yeah that's about it. Cube defeated.

It can't climb? It's got Strength 10, so a Climb bonus of +0. Admittedly I don't see it climbing a rope or even a rough wall, but regular stairs?

steps through a circular hole

Wouldn't it squeeze through, though? If we're talking about a hole in the ground, I'd accept that it serves as a trap.

If you want to make the cube harder (...)

Oh dear no :) I'm actually trying to help the players come up with a solution!

Trip them and stab them in the back.

The players you mean? Sure, that'd solve my issue :p

Hello!

My (low level) party is about to face a Gelatinous Cube and, as the GM, I would like to know good tactics against such a foe. Reading its stats, I don't find it many weaknesses apart from being slow and easy to hit (but do you even *want* to get close to that thing?)

Why a Cube for such a party, you ask? Well, it's in a certain oldie-but-goodie module from Paizo ;)

Context: I'm GMing the module for a friend who's playing a 4 PCs team (a fighter, a rogue, a druid and an oracle), they're 2nd level. They have gone through Hollow's Last Hope previously.

First question is a bit general: the characters have already gone through quite a bit of the dungeon (1st level) and have taken a beating (especially with the lizards, strangely enough). It was becoming obvious to me that the group wouldn't survive without resting with all that's left to do and the player also felt that way so I allowed an 8 hours rest and reassured him that I wouldn't be mean about it when it comes to the story.
I wanted to ask for advice before but now it's happened. I'm still curious to know if others would have done that differently: not allow rest without story consequences (time is of the essence after all)? Add healing items on the fly as treasure to help the characters?
Or is there something else that my player and myself are missing that could have helped the survivability of the group?

The next question is specific: the group has finally encountered the "ghost". I tried to play it out as suggested: mysteriously eerie. Because of context (one recent fight was against the Wraith), the player is seriously scared of hard to hit / magical monsters. "Yet another ghost" is obviously not a good thing. So we've had quite a bit of running about, trying to lose the ghostie, to no avail (it's slow, but not *that* slow).

He finally decided to wait and attack the thing. But when the bolt got stuck in midair and dissolved... well... let's say there was even more running after that :). He also tried some Create Water on it which I described as splashing all around with water rolling around a wobbly cubic shape. I thought this would be enough to let the cat out of the bag, but nope! (I also mentioned the shimmering light and the hissing -- more or less read the description from the module)

So now, the group is back up outside, in the open court of the monastery, and they've spotted the armor in one of the hallways (I figured it would follow, and blindsight means it can't really lose them unless they really go far away).

All this is done and I can't quite retcon this. That said, I'm eager for advice on how I could have possibly dealt with this in a better way. Since this is a one-on-one game, should I be much more active in dropping hints as a GM?

Of note: I was ready to have two PCs find out about the creature's true nature (they made their pre-emptive Perception/Dungeoneering checks), but that's *just* when he decided to flee. Felt like I had missed my cue and could not find a new one :/

Frankly, the biggest problem is that instead of a memorable encounter, this turned out to be a very boring one so far. I can't blame the player since he's had reasons to be scared... but eh.

How I'm seeing this possibly develop: if the player actually decides to lure out the armor in the court, I'll fully describe what it truly is. It should be obvious in daylight and without walls surrounding most of its sides.

Since I'm not a terribly experimented player either (I mostly GM), I wouldn't mind tips on defeating a Cube. If needed, I could use that to drop hints to the player.

Thanks for any help!

Its REALLY not a good business model to rip off customers who kill dragons.

Very VERY good point there.

Quote:

Another example is scrolls: the user is supposed to decipher them before use, right? So that would mean even if they know it's a Scroll of False Life, they have to use Read Magic or the Spellcraft skill to actually use them?

They have to decipher the entire page, not just the title.

It's what I understood, yes. So it's very akin to buying a book in a foreign language... Just knowing what it is doesn't mean you can read through it if you don't know the language.

Quote:

Does that mean they could be sold a scroll that is not what they expect, unless they Read Magic while shopping?

If thats the case, the seller had best be selling off the back of a mule cart, because if he has a permanant base it will be burned down faster than you can say marshmellow.

Agreed, but I was thinking of the possible shady back alley deal in that case ;) I take it there could be some skullduggery going on in such a case then, whether it's a good idea or not for the seller.

Thanks for the reply, it's making things clearer!

I am currently generating magic items available for purchase in my campaign's starting town (well, village) and suddenly wonder if purchaseable items should be considered pre-identified or not. I don't see anything in the rules saying they should be... but it also seems strange for a merchant to sell something if he doesn't know what it is (especially when it comes to pricing).
The only case I can see working is a merchant knowing he's selling a Wand of Fireball, but not knowing how it works (Command Word). Well, is that even possible?
Another example is scrolls: the user is supposed to decipher them before use, right? So that would mean even if they know it's a Scroll of False Life, they have to use Read Magic or the Spellcraft skill to actually use them? Does that mean they could be sold a scroll that is not what they expect, unless they Read Magic while shopping?

Is it so different from not knowing people personally like, say, at a con? Seems like it's always easier when you know the people, online or not.
As for attention span, it ends up being worse because no one even sees you doing something else. Sneaky! Not sure there's any solution... Either people are self-disciplined or they're not.

Have you looked at Micro20? There was another streamlined d20 variant that I can not find now. Not to mention all the lovely free games found here.

Is True20 that other variant? I have been looking into it myself and it does a lot of what sir OP is trying to do (it has 3 generic classes with simplified class abilities and feat acquisition). It does not streamline combat as much as I hoped it would though.

Knight: I like the lack of crit confirmation. Waste of natural 20s otherwise :)

Also remember, that the Paizo author very often put a really important note at the start of the PF products: "this is just material for inspiration in YOUR GAME. Use it as you wish, modifying the bits you don't like, etc."

So, even if you're not playing in "canon Golarion", there won't be any problem at all.

I do keep this in mind and it might be the best way for me to enjoy the setting. It is a bit sad (and more work) to "fight" the setting that way, but a perfectly valid alternative. Doing this and using the bits I like should give something nice.

Still interested in knowing what other "nice places" exist in Golarion, so please keep 'em coming :)

I'll look up information on Taldor, Andoran and Varisia as they have been mentioned so far. I'm still hopeful!

And I can always use Kingmaker as a way to create that very cozy home town, if it comes to that, right?

Thanks for all the replies so far, they're very informative!

Sadly, I think I'm not yet seeing what I was hoping for. Taldor is a good example of an "almost there, but..." situation for me. From the descriptions, it seems I would have enjoyed Taldor-that-was and not the ruins left. I'm getting a clearer feel for what I'm looking for: I like the idea of a cozy home base where it feels good to live and, as a result, that you want to protect. You should feel threatened when you go adventuring, not when you're at home. While I also like the idea of bad towns meant for urban adventures, it seems to me there are *only* bad towns as far as I can see. Falcon's Hollow comes to mind: it feels like whatever you do, the monsters in the forests and ruins are not the worst threat and nothing you'll do will change things.

To be clear, yes, what I'm looking for is cheesy. Not looking for realism but, really, brighter fantasy. Not sure what I'm seeking could be called "fairy-tale like", but it seems it would be leaning that way. It should also be noted that I'm a very late comer to D&D and Pathfinder in general, so while everyone seems to be looking for "something different than the usual"... I have yet to discover what the usual is. This probably explains why I'm looking for something very classic.

That said, I was just reading Erastil's article from Kingmaker this morning and I loved it. I also loved Cayden Cailean's article. Maybe I should just do planar adventures *grins*.

I am the proud owner of quite a few Game Mastery / Pathfinder modules as well as the Kingmaker AP and a few volumes of other APs (LoF and SD). I have read through most of these (still going through KM) and I've come to really love the background setting based on these products (articles on gods, ready-to-run towns or locales, etc...)

Based on this, I read up a bit of the Pathfinder wiki, waited for the new Inner Sea book (but it's been delayed) and so I went to buy Guide to the River Kingdoms and the Pathfinder Society one.

Yet, reading about the River Kingdoms, I was not as thrilled as I found things to be a bit too dark and gritty for my tastes. A town like Daggermark is the counter-example of what I'm looking for. That is, I'm more of a "pulp" and swashbuckling person. I prefer light-hearted stories full of adventures, feats of derring-do and colorful characters.

And so, while I'm still going through the two setting book slowly, I feel less and less enthusiasm. Thus my question: have I misjudged the tone of Golarion? Have I been looking at the wrong *parts* of Golarion (seems each area catters to various genres -- pirates, arabian tales, etc.)? Is there still a way to get the tone I'm looking for while using the official products? or am I better off coming up with everything myself?
Also, is anyone else going through campaigns on Golarion which are anything but gritty?

Hopeful for answers,
Monele

I like how there's an "among monsters" theme going on through this AP. Almost seems like the heroes will have helped more evil creatures than anything else by the end of the path.

Check the "File history" section of the image page on PathfinderWiki. For the sake of transparency and for posterity, we try to maintain all versions of images that are included in the project. One result of this is that you can generally find placeholder images of older products, though some of the earliest ones have only final art.

Wow, this rocks to no end! Thank you very much! I'll be sure to refer to this wiki for similar (and other!) needs.

I've updated the image and product description to match the finished product.

Is it possible that the placeholder cover is still available somewhere? I uh... liked the purple :)