I'm currently playing in a Starfinder Campaign and it is very fun except when it comes to space combat. Every time we enter space combat the game grinds to a halt while we go through the same motions and actions almost every turn trying to slowly grind the opponents hull points down. It's ridiculous how much punishment a spaceship can handle before being destroyed. In fact we haven't been able to destroy a ship yet, only disable them enough that they become inoperable. When I think of starship combat I think of X-wings carefully outmaneuvering tie fighters lining up for the perfect shot only to make a killing blow. Not a couple of space tanks shooting BB guns at each other.
To make the problem worse my GM absolutely loves the system and tries to use a space combat at least every other session, each such combat taking between three and five hours to complete. So far none of the combats has been very challenging and our ship has only suffered minor damage.
Given we're low level, only level 4 and the GM says space combat becomes more interesting at higher levels but after reading the rules I don't see how. I'm not sure where the other players stand, they seem to enjoy it for the most part but did understand my arguments.
Now with the Starship operations manual coming out my GM is more excited about Starship combat than ever and I hope something in that book will make it more interesting but I'm seriously considering skipping any sessions with space combat.
Are there anyone else that has similar concerns about Starship combat and has anyone found any ways to make it more exciting (and faster)?
A lot has happened in my Campaign, to much to go into detail, but to make a long stroy short, after handling many mysteries in Ravengro and building trust with the locals, they were finally allowed access to harrowstone.
Knowing my players they refused to back down and decided to push on into the prison despite the challenges they were facing. They swiftly moved through the ground floor dispatching most threats with little effort and eventually encountered Vesorianna and learned the truth about the prison and the haunting that palgued Ravengro. On learning about the relics that may help defeat the undead the party headed towards the vault where Vesorianna pointed to. Despite the exceptional skill of Alexei he still failed to pick the lock so they decided to try to find the key which Vesorianna had told them could be found in the lower levels of the prison.
The party quickly found the entrance down but were assaulted by flying, burning human skulls emerging from the prisons dephts. This proved to be to much for calcasio the gnome who turned himself invisible and ran outside.
He tried to hide near the edge of the water, but was ambushed by burning skeletons emerging from the murky dephts. The gnome desperatly threw a grappling hook up on the ledge of a nearby balcony and climbed up, only to be ambushed yet again by flesh eating plants. The gnome was able to burn one of the plants with a burning hands spell before succumbing to the sleeping spores of the plants.
Luckily, Karl, the inquisitor of Pharasma had heard the desperate screams of the gnome and rushed out of the ruins to help. Karl managed to dispatch another plant, but fell victim to the spores of the thrid and last plant.
The rest of the party managed to scramble to help the gnome and inquisitor fighting a despearte battle against the burning skeletons. Pudge the stitched bloodrager charged in with his scythe despite his vulnerability to fire. Finding his scythe to be ineffective agaisnt the skeletons he switched weapons and started to punch the skeletons with his brass knuckles. Pudge wa severely injured but managed to destroy the skeletons with aid of the new party member Hurgo a fetchling shadowcaller summoner that called upon a shadowy eagle to harass the skeletons.
After the ordeal the party was in bad shape but still decided to move on and climb down into the dephts of the prison.
At the bottom they were greated by ectoplasmic undead and more skeletons, but still, with almost no resources left, the party pressed on. Then they encountered the spirit of the prisoner known as the Lopper.....
A lot of new stuff I've created for my Campaign. Some of the stuff uses community created material so all credit to their original creators, I hope you don't mind me expanding upon your work.There's also stuff referencing the Legendary games Gothic adventure plug ins the fiddler's lament and the murmuring fountain.
After a several years long hiatus from Pathfinder I returned to these forums to gain some inspiration after trying to give Carrion Crown another chance. When it came out it was my most anticipated AP to date but unfortunately my players at the time had little interest in a horror campaign so even though I spent months preparing for the Campaign I ended up having to scrap it.
This time however, I managed to convince my group even though they consist of mainly the same players so a few days ago we had our first session of the Haunting of Harrowstone.
My party consists of Pudge; an Id rager Bloodrager aspiring to become a paladin playing a homemade Frankenstein monster race know as a stitched, Dr. Alexei Zeki; An old human monster hunter/scavenger investigator that swaps out his extracts for temporary inventions and has a possessed mechanical arm, The Great Calcasio A gnome curator occultist with an obsession for numbers, Magdrak Freiherr Von Mushausen; A dwarven noble graveslinger and Karl Breckenridge; a human Inquisitor of Pharasma inspired by Castlevania. Another player that couldn't make it is going to play "E" a Dhampir White Necromancer that helps undead find a purpose for good before they can peacefully enter the afterlife.
I started the session as the pc's were headed to Ravengro in a carriage along a muddy treacherous path while a storm was raging. Up in the distance they could see the silhouette of the town and the prison as they were illuminated by the occasional strike of lightning. As they approached all pc's got a feeling of discomfort and the horses pulling their carriage became upset and unruly. As they neared Kendras home, Karl thought he saw a robed figure watching them from the side of the road, but as no one else noticed the figure, he kept it to himself assuming it was just one of the locals. They pulled up in front of Kendras home and was greeted not only by Kendra but by a couple of other visitors that had come to pay their respect. Among the other guests were a corpulent, nervous antiquarian named Lorne Maltrov and his bodyguard, a grim mercenary called Talbot, A trenchcoat wearing half-elf traveler named Icharo Legrosse and a crippled nobleman named Adivion Adrissant, all former friends, students, colleagues or associates of the professor. All of the pc's had arrived apart from Calcaso who had been traveling alone in a separate carriage and was running late and "E" who will be introduced into the Campaign at a later date.
The pc's got to know the npc's a bit before they turned in for the night and especially got a fondness for Adivion despite his arrogant aristocratic demeanor. They also learned that another guest had arrived, an unpleasant elitist halfling author named Jaques Ellias, who had refused Kendras offer of accommodations and instead chosen to lodge at the Outward Inn.
That night the pc's were plagued by nightmares where they were feverishly writing their names in blood with their skinless fingertips. Karl woke up noticing he had pulled out his dagger and started to carve his name into the floor were he slept. Pudge, needing no sleep was alerted by Karls sudden awakening and came to investigate from the hall outside were he had been sitting watch. Then the two of them noticed a tapping on one of the windows, but they assumed it was just a branch from the tree growing near the house and went back to their normal positions. Alexei however, having gotten up to relieve himself later that night, also heard the tapping and went to investigate noticing a ghostly raven tapping at the window. As Alexei went to investigate the raven fled of into the stormy night, but moments later Alexei noticed the silhouette of a robed man staring at him from between some trees close to the house. The silhouette quickly disappeared into the shadows and Alexei assumed it was just his mind playing tricks on him before he went back to bed.
The next morning they all gathered at the road leading up to the Restlands where the professor was to be buried. The pc's also noticed several locals, including a couple of the towns more prominent members, Councilman Muricar and Hearthmount as well as the towns Alchemist Jomanda Fallenbridge and the proprietor of the local tavern, Zokar Elkarid and his son Pevrin, there was also a mysterious robed foreigner that Kendra explained was a former assosciate of the Professor named Nazul Ebon. Nazul had no interest in speaking to anyone meeting all greetings with silence. Right as they were about to start carrying the coffin, Jaques and Calcasio came running up the muddy road, their clothes soaked by rain and mud. Jaques swore and muttered to himself ignoring any greetings from the pc's but instead commanding the procession to "get on with it". The halflings rudness was met by scorn by most of the attendees and Kendra almost exploded at the halflings lack of respect but was calmed by Adivion.
Soon the procession started, but as soon as they got up the hill they saw a gathering of locals wielding farm implements and improvised weapons. The mob was led by an old grizzled man with sideburns and rotted teeth that the pc's soon got to know as Gibs Hephenus. The mob demanded the procession to leave the graveyard and bury the professor somewhere else, insinuating they dump him in the river outside of town. Kendra exploded, Adivion unable to restrain her as she started to yell at Gibs. The pc's soon intervened, carefully lowering the coffin before adressing the mob. The pc's tried to convince Gibs to get his teeth checked as his rotted teeth may be a symptom of a more serious disease but Gibs couldn't be distracted by personal remarks and came with further threats. The pc's tried to use reason, but eventually Pudge stepped up to reveal his hideous face and told them to back up or face his wrath. Unfortunately the reveal only strengthened the mobs resolve and a skirmish ensued as the locals ganged up on the pc's. The other attendees stepped back, terrified of the violence except Adivion and Talbot. Adivion stepped in front of Kendra to protect her barely able to stand on his one good leg as he put his cane in front on him in defense. Talbot brought Lorne to safety and stood back to protect him leaving all the fighting to the pc's.
The combat wasn't deadly as the locals only tried to chase the pc's away, but that all changed when Karl pulled out a knife in an effort to intimidate the locals. This led one of the locals to pull out an axe and take a swing at Karl, luckily missing. Seeing the deadly threat, Alexei punched the man in the chest with his mechanical arm breaking several of the thugs ribs. The escalation of the combat was enough to scare away some of the thugs, but a few still remained, now changing their tactics to lethal attacks. Calcasio quickly de-escalated the battle however, as he used his magical abilities to create an illusion that the voices of the dead suddenly started to talk from the surrounding graves. This was enough to scare away the rest of the mob as well as most of the guests.
Finally, after getting rid of the mob, the procession could proceed to bury the professor. As they reached the burial site they were greeted by an ancient looking man wearing the robes of a priest of Pharasma. He was standing close to an open grave with a drunken, babbling man resting on a shovel near a pile of dirt on the side of the grave. The priest instantly started to curse Gibs and his cronies assuring the pc's that they would be punished. The priest then asked the attendees to share a few words before they buried the professor. Adivion gave a heartwarming speech about his time studying under the professor impressing the players with his eloquence. Lorne and Talbot had fled when Calcasio used his illusion, but Nazul stepped forward chanting something in ancient Osirian before he placed a box on top of the coffin, Kendra was barely able to hold back her tears and Adivion had to hold her to assure that she didn't collapse from her emotional stress, Icharo gave a short but heartwarming speech about his time traveling with the professor and Jaques gave a short, but almost mocking speech where he insinuated the inferiority of the professors work compared to his. To remain respectful nobody confronted the halfling about his rudeness. All the pc's told how they had met the professor and the relationship they had with him throughout their lives. Pudge remembers how he saved the professor from highwaymen and how he had taken him in, offering a job as a bodyguard and driver and learned him how to control his inhuman anger; Alexei told how he went from the professors student to his colleague and how the professor had aided him in his work to gain his doctorate in Arcane sciences; Magdrak told the story of how the professor had thought him the secret techniques of how to defeat the ghosts that killed his family and Calcasio how he respected the professors understanding of the occult and how he brought several rare artifacts for the gnome to study, becoming one of his closest associates. Karl had been studying under the professor to better learn how to hunt undead and monsters, a profession his family had been undertaking for hundreds of years and he saw the professor as his closest mentor and a father figure. After the speeches, Father Grimburrow performed the last rites before the drunken gravedigger filled up the grave.
After the funeral the pc's as well as Adivion, Kendra and Icharo returned to Kendras house where Councilman Hearthmount was to read Lorrimors will. Due to the ruckus at the graveyard, Hearthmount had been scared witless by Calcasio's spell and did not arrive as intended. The pc's contemplated to visit the councilman, but agreed to stay with Kendra and Icharo went to fetch him instead. Also present in the house were Lorne and Talbot. Lorne was fervently packing his gear, planning to leave as soon as possible. The pc's didn't try to stop him but convinced him to at least stay for the reading of the will by telling him the truth about how they scared off the mob.
Finally Icharo returned with the Councilman in tow. Icharo had told the Councilman about Calcasio's illusion, but he was still noticeably nervous as he shakily pulled out a letter opener to remove the seal of the scroll case that held the will. Reading the names on the will the councilman respectfully asked those not mentioned to leave the room, leaving only the pc's and Kendra present. Upon the reading of the will, Hearthmount gasped and paused as the will mentioned magic and occult secrets, but still managed to complete the reading. As soon as the will had been read, the councilman quickly signed the papers before leaving, almost stumbling on his way out.
It seemed the professor had left a cache of rare books to the pc's to be delivered to certain individuals in Lepidstat. Calcasio thought he recognized the symbol on one of the books but couln't quite place where he had seen it. Alexei, being an initiate of the order of the Palatine Eye immediately recognized the sigil but kept its significance to himself. After studying the books, Alexei decided to read the professors journal.
Cheers and thanks Mortagon! These were very useful!
In your game, was Old man Harken an Adept or a Barbarian?
I actually never got to play the Campaign due to lack of interest from the group I had back then. I've had a couple of years hiatus from Pathfinder playing other RPG's but recently I got inspired to give Carrion Crown another go. I'd probably run him as a barbarian, but I have to read through the adventure path again before I make any decisions. :P
Wow, I haven't been active on the site for over a year now so it is awesome to see that there's still interest in my work. Here's a new Link , (I hope it works).
how many points are you guys giving your players for point buy? I was thinking 15 and fave 4 players. didnt want them to be to powerful running through a horror campaign. at the same time i dont want them to die all the time, cause thats lame and no one will have any fun.
I think the adventure paths assume a 15 point buy, but using a 20 point buy doesn't make much difference in my experience.
Personally I'll be using my own system based on harrow cards. Draw an array of nine cards (if you want you can lay them out and do a reading as well), each card represent a different ability score as described in the harrow rules. After drawing the cards assign an array of 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8 in any order then add the points from the harrow reading on a one to one basis. No ability score can go above 18 before racial modifiers. For a more heroic Campaign I use an array of 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8 instead. This keeps some control in the hands of the player but also adds some randomness and as a bonus you can use the cards to inspire a backstory for the character.
Thanks, Amber Die Dude. I had not realized upward flight was at half speed, so that definitely helps out. I think the idea with trees is also a good one to at least allow a reasonable opportunity to come out of it alive if all else fails. At least until the thing comes back for another victim. I will definitely us a d12. I was just thinking earlier about how rarely they are used...
Glad that's of some use. As John mentioned too, most of the time it will be raining something out there, and the winds can get crazy too.
How about this one? The Nightgaunt's light load according to its strength is 100lbs or less. If the "frailest-looking character" is over 100lbs, then the Nightgaunt's speed is reduced to only 15ft. upward in any given round.
The Nightgaunt has the "Clutches" ability, which enables it to carry victims at full speed when flying, but seeing that it's a Nightgaunt it wouldn't necessarily just drop and kill its prey as it feeds on emotions. It would probably fly around and tickle the victim for a while then dropping him down into the fog to fend for himself.
If the Nightgaunt was able to kidnap one of my players I was maybe thinking of having that player come back as a doppleganger later on, allowing the player to play as the doppleganger for a while(just letting him use the stats of his normal character plus the doppleganger abilities) before his real character would be found somewhere in the asylum maybe babbling to himself about the horrors he saw out in the fog. The characters reappearance would be left unexplained.
Here's a list of TV shows, games and movies for inspiration:
Silent Hill series (video games)
Alone in the dark series (video game)
Alan Wake (video game)
Amnesia (video game)
Dark corners of the earth (video game)
The mist (movie)
The thing (movie)
In the mouth of madness (movie)
Silent hill (movie)
Nightmare on Elm street series (movies)
The resurrected (movie)
Necronomicon (movie)
Re-animator series (movies)
From beyond (movie)
Dagon (movie)
Cthulhu (movie)
The call of Cthulhu (movie)
The whisperer in darkness (movie)
Shutter island (movie)
Stonehearst asylum (movie)
Event horizon (movie)
Pan's labyrinth (movie)
The x-files (TV show)
American horror story (especially season 2)(TV show)
Masters of horror (TV show)
Nightmares and dreamscapes (TV show)
The twin suns sink behind the lake,
The shadows lengthen
In Carcosa
Strange is the night where black stars rise,
And strange moons circle through the skies,
But stranger still is
Lost Carcosa
Songs that the Hyades shall sing,
Where flap the tatters of the King,
Must die unheard in
Dim Carcosa.
Song of my soul, my voice is dead,
Die though, unsung, as tears unshed
Shall dry and die in
Lost Carcosa
31.Squid canary
These tiny albino squids live in secluded lakes and ponds in the Darklands. While they are blind they have an exceptional sixth sense that allows them to escape danger and avoid hazards. This makes them popular among travelers in the Darklands who keep them in special tanks filled with water. When a danger or hazard is nearby the squid release a cloud of ink alerting the travelers to the presence of danger. Treat the squid as a tiny octopus familiar that is blind but has blindsense 300 ft.
I haven't received my shipping notice yet so I still don't have the pdf so I was wondering how the new action economy system works since this is of particular interest to me and my players.
I've allowed a similar feat in my Campaigns (although I called it Improved weapon finesse) except that it also required weapon focus in the weapon used. I had no problem with this at all since it allowed dex based fighters the ability to deal decent damage. I don't think it's broken with TWF because that requires even more of a feat investment.
I have noticed that some of you have had troubles downloading the files from my 4shared folder so I have made the files available through my dropbox. If anyone has trouble downloading the files please let me know and I will mail you the files.
Something focusing only on the bad guys, feats, items, spells, archetypes etc. only for villains. Rules for making villains more than pushovers and bring back the fear in the players.
ULTIMATE WAR is finally in print! After SEVEN versions, we finally managed to exterminate the glitches that were dogging our heels, and the print order has been placed. They should arrive at LG central in 1-2 weeks and we'll be dropping them in the mail as soon as they arrive! Many thanks to all for your patience; this one has had far more than its share of troubles getting to see the light of day, but see the light of day it shall!
I just want to give my compliments for the personal message in my Ultimate war book, a "thank you" (Takk in Norwegian) and in my own language even. That was just awesome and totally unexpected.
I have no problem having fleshed out npc's in my game but sometimes it feels like Paizo goes kind of overboard with their npc's. I would prefer shorter backstories, maybe a quarter a page or so and that all npc's would be expendable and not crucial to the plot or story. I would prefer that their importance and story in the Campaign was up to the GM.
I also don't like it when pc's are forced to babysit (or adventure) with npc's unless it makes sense (like in the first part of WotR and SS)but most of the time I think it's an unnecessary burden for both the players and the GM. I sometimes see a bit of favoritism in Paizo's npc's (Ameiko and a certain character in Demon's heresy comes to mind)which I really dislike since I think the special ones should be the player characters.
I started the Campaign a couple of days before the opening of book one. Three of the pc's stumbled into Defender's heart Inn at approximately the same time looking for lodging. There was only one table who had empty seats and at that table sat the fourth pc, a local of Kenabres. The other pc's quickly decided to hire the fourth pc as a guide. They spent the days building up to the opening sightseeing the city, meeting npc's (many whom I was planning on killing in the opening events)and engaging in tournaments and other festival events. I also made sure the pc's got to interact with all the npc's that would be trapped with them beneath the city later on.
One of the pc's, a young sorcerer, had come looking for his parents whom had been involved with the Riftwardens. He arranged a meeting with Aravashnial, but the elf requested 200 GP in payment for his sage advice. The pc's didn't have that kind of money so they went to the prominent moneylender Horgus Gwerm. After a small quest were they had to sneak into Gwerm's house, they managed to get a meeting. Horgus lent the young sorcerer half the money on the condition he helped rid his cellar of some rats. They returned to Aravashnial and payed the money as a downpayment. Aravashnial quickly briefed the pc's about the Riftwardens and said he would look into the sorcerers parents later.
That same night the party's druid wanted to go to the park to get in touch with the natural spirits as he prayed for more spells. The rest of the pc's followed thinking a stroll under the moonlit sky in the park would be a nice ending to their day. There the pc's discovered a couple bathing naked in the pond and having an intimate moment. The couple was no other than Anevia and Irabeth, who was at first embarrassed and irritated at the pc's interruption, but they laughed it off after some good diplomacy rolls from the players.
The party's paladin wanted to join the Everbright crusaders and after some failed attempts at impressing them at some of the tournaments, met one of their senior knights by coincidence and as luck would have it the paladins parents had served with that particular knight during the crusades. He was informed that he would give the young paladin a recommendation to his Commander.
Then, the next morning I started the opening events of the AP. I ignored the read aloud text at the beginning and rather improvised a version of those events on my own. I went into great detail on the horrific slaughter and terror the demons caused and how the brave crusaders and eagle knights valiantly tried to fight them off. I described every event quickly and gave the pc's little time to think and act. They quickly decided to try to avoid most of the demons and focusing on helping innocent citizens escape. I had the pc's cut of by rubble with nowhere to go except closer to Kirramzadeh and the demon horde. They desperately tried to climb the rubble as the demon lord came closer and closer. As Kirramzadeh was almost in attacking range the Everbright crusaders came charging over the rubble giving the pc's a few more rounds to help citizens over the heap of rubble. Kirramzadeh and his demon army quickly decimated the crusaders and a new earthquake left the pc's trapped along with a few other npc's, including Horgus, Aravashnial and Anevia. As the ground began to crack under their feet Aravashnial tried to confront the demon lord only to get a flaming whip in his face, blinding him. Then the ground cracked open just as Terendelev came flying in to confront the demon.
They were stunned and almost thought I was kidding when I described the demons pouring into the city. They were 1st level and they saw Vrocks, Babau's, Hezrous and even a Marilith. When I was finished with my description my players sat there for a few moments, mouths agape as they tried to take in everything that had happened. They then looked at each other and everyone agreed that this was the most epic start to a Campaign they had ever played (Three of those players have been playing for twenty years so they have been in a lot of Campaigns). So far this is shaping up to become an epic Campaign.
I know this one is controversial, but I absolutely abhor the Crane wing feat. The feat is poorly worded and just about nullifies the only way a lot of monsters can hurt someone. After seeing the feat in action throughout my Jade regent Campaign I decided to ban it from my games.
Different players have different expectations when it comes to death in the game. As per the RAW i personally think death is way to easy to overcome in Pathfinder.
That being said, I think it is important to come to an agreement on how to handle such issues before a Campaign starts. Some players like the danger and drama that permanent death brings to the table. Others just want to feel cool and kick butt without being worried about losing their character.
In my Jade regent Campaign I decided that the seal had a will of its own and could trigger its powers without anyone activating it. If that doesn't work you could always try to retcon the characters death and say that he was only grievously injured instead and give him a penalty as if he would have been raised from the dead or something similar.
-Barrels of ale and cases of liquor has gone missing from the inn. The culprits is a bunch of teenagers planning to have a party at an abandoned barn.
-Something has been breaking into the chicken coop of one of the local farmers. The culprit is an outcast kobold which can be tracked back to its lair in an abandoned cave. The kobold is terrified of the pc's and pretty harmless. He's not evil and was exiled from his tribe because he was a coward.
-A barn has caught fire with livestock or even people inside. Someone needs to go in and save them before it is to late.
-A local boy addicted to a rare drug created from herbs found in the woods have gone into recession and is desperately in need of another fix. Usually the local druid used to supply him with the herb, but he's gone missing. He asks the pc's to find the herb (or the druid) for him
-A flock of ravens has been ruining one of the farmers crops. The usual scarecrows doesn't work. the pc's are asked to help the farmer get rid of the birds.
-A couple of housewives are arguing over who makes the best pies. One is with the Shelyn faction the other with the Abadar faction. The pc's are asked to taste the pies and vote on which one they thought was the best.
-One of the locals asks the pc's if they would like to help him break in some horses and propose a friendly riding competition.
-Some kids challenge the pc's to a stone skipping contest.
Here's a quest I've come up with for my own campaign.
-drowning cow, a cow has fallen into the river. The pc's must roll swim checks dc 15 to avoid being swept down the river and possibly start to drown. Handle animal or wild empathy dc 13 to calm the animal and avoid being attacked (hoof -2, dmg 1d6+2), and strength check dc 17 to pull it ashore.
I'd give it the unnatural aura universal monster ability and a multiplier of x3 on criticals with its horn so that it could actually kill and petrify larger prey with a single blow, other then that I think its fine.
I think she is good because she cares about people and despises evil. No one says you can't be both rebellious and hot-headed and still be a good person. And being a good person isn't just doing charity and being generally nice to people, but rather which way your moral compass points to. It's the guide to how a character will approach most situations.
The SRD wrote: wrote:
Good characters and creatures protect innocent life.
Good implies altruism, respect for life, and a concern for the dignity of sentient beings. Good characters make personal sacrifices to help others.
I think the definition of a good character according to the SRD fits Ameiko perfectly well. At least that's the way I have been portraying her in my Campaign.
Before you are strating a new Campaign ask your players what types of characters they want to play, what themes they want to explore and what kind of plots they find interesting.
To many times I have seen DM's (and I have been guilty of this too)have these grand visions of how the Campaign should be, how the plot will develop and vizualising all the epic scenes that will play out, only to realize that the players want to play something completely diffent.
I have found that Pathfinder don't handle solo encounters particularly well, mostly because of the action economy. I have had great success with the template below when handling solo encounters. I made the template to give bbeg a fighting chance when facing a group of pc's alone. I only use the template for really important bad guys to make any battle with them more memorable.
Champion template (+3 CR)
A Champion creature is the top of its breed, it has a great destiny, better training or is plain tougher than a normal creature of its kind. They are natural leaders and often followed by a horde of servants.
Destined for greatness (Ex):
• A champion creature gains +6 to two ability scores and +4 to the rest of its ability scores.
• It gains a +4 dodge bonus to its armor class and +4 to its natural armor (if it has any).
• A champion creature gains a +4 competence bonus to all attack rolls, damage rolls, Cmb, cmd, saving throws, skills and ability checks, caster level checks, concentration checks, initiative checks and SR if it has any.
• Champion creatures always have twice the maximum hit points for its hit dice.
• A champion creature is immune to death and mind-effecting effects and any other effect which would otherwise cause instant death.
• It counts as twice its hit dice for the purpose of effects limited by hit dice such as color spray and sleep.
• Any damage reduction, fast healing or regeneration the creature possesses is doubled.
• The champion creature gains two bonus feats it meets the requirements for.
Heroic (villainous) action (Ex): A champion creature can take two additional standard, swift or move actions, the first at an initiative count five lower than what it rolled and the second at an initiative count of ten lower than its initial initiative. When affected by any adverse effect that would immediately incapacitate it the master creature immediately gets to roll a new save and can make a new save at the beginning of every action of rounds until he makes it or the effect ends. A champion’s actions never provoke attacks of opportunities.
Heroic (Villainous) destiny (Ex): When below 50% of its hit points the creature creature rolls twice for all D20 rolls and takes the highest result and is considered to be under the effect of a haste and divine favor (CL equal to HD +3) spell (although not magical in nature and can’t be dispelled). Once per day when reduced to 0 hit points or below or if he gets incapacitated by any spell or effect the master creature can take a standard action or the withdraw action as an immediate action and during this round gains a +10 luck bonus to AC, saves, attack rolls, damage rolls, skill checks, Cmb, cmd, ability checks and concentration checks at the end of this action he is restored to one hit point. Masters have wealth as a player character of their level or double their normal treasure.
Our group usually play heroic fantasy where the Pc's are good guys racing to stop the numerous evils the world has to offer. I have a strict "no evil alignments" policy in my games and most of the time my player's have good alignments. But there is certain things which bugs me and takes me out of the heroic feel of the game, mainly my player's tendency to use dirty tactics to gain an edge in combat.
What's a dirty tactic? Subterfuge? Bluffing? Sneak attacking?
Fair fights are for suckers. Rules of fair fights always favor the stronger combatant. That's how they keep their edge, by keeping those weaker from them from exploiting weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Duels of honor, set piece battles between armies in the open, none of them favor the underdog so the underdog, if he really wants to win, needs to fight on different terms.
Knocking someone down and kicking him in the head until he's dead without the victim even getting to explain himself. He might have been an evil bastard, and you might even know he was but it's still not very heroic to kill a helpless person even though you know he is dangerous and evil.
In a more anti-heroic game (and I have played plenty of those) I have no qualms about these sorts of things, but this is about a game which is supposed to be of the "epic heroic fantasy" genre. It's all about genre emulation not morality or what's more efficient.
How about giving the caravan iterative attacks based on their attack score. When their attack score is +6, they get another attack at +1, when it reaches +11, it becomes +11/+6/+1 etc. I don't have the caravan rules in front of me right now so I don't know how viable this would be though.
Another idea I had was to give the pc's more of an impact in the caravan rules to include all the pc's in the caravan combat. Each round of caravan combat, instead of their usual hero bonus, they could choose to defend, attack or repair the caravan. If they attack they can make an attack roll or (caster level check adding the level of the spell used if using magic) vs. the AC of the encounter to deal 1d6 additional damage (plus the level of the spell used, viable spells are those that cause damage and those that hinders the foes such as entangle and hold person). If they defend they can choose to add +2 to the caravans AC and soak some of the caravans damage (up to their level taken from their own hit points). If they repair they heal a number of damage equal to 1d6+their ranks in the relevant profession or craft skill, or 1d6 plus the level of spell used to fix the caravan (viable spells are healing spells and spells like fabricate, make whole and mending. When using non-magical means of repairing this will use repair supplies as normal.
I thought up some quick rules to handle this issue
Bringing additional mounts:
Npc’s and characters bringing their own mounts do not occupy any passenger spots, but must be drivers (of their own mounts). For each mount brought without a dedicated driver reduce the number of miles travelled per day by 1. Additional mounts may also require consumption as long as the terrain doesn’t allow for grazing.
Additional rules for prisoners:
The pc’s may bring prisoners without having a dedicated prisoner transport or available passenger spots, but by doing so they receive 1 unrest for each prisoner brought in this way. Prisoners or passengers at foot reduce the speed of the caravan to a number of miles equal to the overland speed of the slowest footslogging prisoner or passenger (24 miles for a creature with 30 speed on a road or trail) unless the caravan is already slower. Prisoners can be stowed away into storage spaces, each medium sized prisoner takes up two such spaces, while small creatures take up one space, large 4 and huge and larger can’t be stowed away in this manner. Prisoners also consume consumption just like other passengers. Pc’s can forfeit this consumption cost but doing so is considered an evil act and may affect morale in a good aligned caravan. Maltreated prisoners may eventually die unless consumption is paid. Assume that the prisoners can go for a maximum of three days without food and the bare minimum of water. After this they are fatigued and their speed is halved (if they are going on foot). After a week they can no longer move on their own accord and have to be left behind or stowed away in wagons. Unless the prisoners get a dedicated healer (one healer can treat up to six prisoners, but that will occupy the healers’ entire workload), the prisoners will die within 1d6 days. The prisoners can be brought back by starting to pay consumption for them and having a dedicated healer. Each day they are treated in this way roll a resolve check (DC 10+number of prisoners+number of days they have gone untreated), if you succeed the prisoners are brought back to full vigor and may continue travel as normal. These rules may also be used for sick and malnourished passengers and mounts.
Here are some ideas I have. I also plan to change the magical starknife and light shield found earlier in the AP.
Amulet of purity
This amulet made of white jade bears the Kanji symbol of cleansing. The wearer of this amulet gains a +2 bonus on saving throws against disease and poison. He suffers one less point of ability damage from all effects that cause ability damage, ability penalties or ability drain. In addition he heals ability damage at twice the normal rate. Cost: 7.500, Prerequisites: Craft wondrous item, Lesser restoration, CL: 3rd, Slot : Neck
Kabuki mask of the Yamabushi
This mask resembles a long nosed grinning fiend. The wearer may change his appearance at will as if using the Disguise self spell. If the wearer is a bard, the mask allows the wearer to summon a swarm of ravens by dancing a special Kabuki dance once per day as a full-round action. You must succeed in a perform (Dance or Acting) check DC 12 or use a rounds worth of bardic music to maintain this ability. The swarm is only active for as long as the wearer keeps dancing up to a maximum of 5 rounds, he can extend this limit by using rounds from his bardic music ability. The swarm is treated as a bat swarm, but looses the bleeding and disease abilities and instead gains a blinding ability (Fortitude DC 13, blinded as long as you are within the swarm). Cost: 5.550, Prerequisites: Craft wondrous items, Disguise self, Summon swarm, Creator must be a bard, Perform (Dance or acting) 5 ranks, CL: 5th, Slot: Face
Slippers of the shadow crow
These simple silk slippers allow the wearer to turn into a shadowy crow trailing dark miasma by expending a point of ki. While in this form the wearer gains the effect of a gaseous form spell and a fly speed of 50 foot (good). When activating these slippers, the wearer must move at least 10 feet. At the beginning of the wearers next turn he turns back to normal form again. If the wearer of these slippers doesn’t have a ki pool they just act as normal non-magical slippers. Cost: 2.780, Prerequisites: Craft wondrous item, Gaseous form, Fly, Creator must have a Ki pool, Creator must be a member of the night crow clan, CL: 5, Slot: Feet
Scabbard of the Iaijutsu master
This beautiful scabbard is carved with Kanji’s of martial skill and honor. The scabbard is made for a Katana, but will reshape itself to fit any kind of sword like bladed weapon. The scabbard grants the wearer a +5 bonus on initiative checks as long as a weapon is sheathed within it. Once per day the wearer can draw any weapon inside as a free action. If the wearer attacks an opponent who has lost his dexterity bonus to AC, before that opponent has acted in the first round of combat, with the weapon sheathed in the scabbard during this round, he gains a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls on the first attack made against that opponent. Cost: 3.880, Prerequisites: Craft wondrous item, Haste, CL: 5, Slot: None
Ki-rin charm
This simple charm bears a resemblance of a Ki-rin, a mystical benign magical beast. The amulet only works for spell casters. Each time a wearer of this amulet casts a spell on an ally or friend, including himself, that spell also heals an amount of damage equal to the level of that spell. The amulet can heal a total of up to 77 hit points of damage before it crumbles to dust. Cost: 1.155, Prerequisites: Craft wondrous item, Cure light wounds, CL: 1st, Slot: neck
Jade tablets of Ming-Tsu (lesser artifact)
These five jade tablets each corresponds to one of the five elements, each holds a Kanji of the respective element. Each tablet can be used once per day. In addition, if the wielder owns all five tablets, the power of the tablets can be combined for greater effect once per week. For each additional tablet the ability of the tablets can be used one more time every day and the caster level and DC of the ability goes up by one to a maximum of caster level 7. When activated the tablet flies up into the air, hovering around the wielders head until the effect of the tablet is over.
Once per week the power of the tablets can be combined to create a more powerful effect. The user transforms into an elemental monolith with great power.
When activated the five tablets starts to swirl around the users head functioning much like Ioun stones. The users skin becomes metallic granting him DR 5/magic and +2 natural armor bonus, but a 10% arcane spell failure, he gains the ability to control plants as the entangle spell at will while this effect lasts, he gains a fly speed of 30 (average) and can breathe under water as if under the effect of a water breathing spell. In addition he may shoot rays of fire from his eyes as the scorching ray spell. When this effect ends the user is dazed for one round and fatigued. When used the tablets becomes inert for one week. You can maintain this state for up to 7 rounds, but may end this state as a standard action if you wish. If you are a spontaneous spellcaster you may extend the duration of the monolith form by one round, for every level of spells you sacrifice (as a free action at the end of each turn). You need all five tablets for this to work. There is a rumor of a sixth tablet (void) which will grant the other tablets artifact like properties.
Cost: Slot: None, CL: 7
I was planning on spreading the tablets throughout the adventure path, giving out the last one when the pc's are level 10 or so.
I'm working on an extensive list on the motivations and secrets of the different villagers complete with personal quests. It's not finished yet, but if you're interested you can mail me @ mortagon@hotmail.com
For my next installment i decided to go a little experimental adding a template and archetype of my own creation. Both are detailed below. Please tell me what you think.
Spoiler:
P. 14, B3 observation platform, replace Keeper Myre with the following:
Keeper Myre CR 10
XP
Male void-touched (see below) human Necromancer 11 (Arcanist of the Dark tapestry, see below)
NE medium humanoid (Human)
Init +6; Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., All-around vision, Life sight (11 rounds/day); Perception +10
DEFENSE
AC 21, touch 13, flat-footed 20 (+1 Dex, +2 deflection, +4 mage armor, +4 shield)
hp 101 (11d6+44); false life (16 points)
Fort +7, Ref +4, Will +4
Weaknesses: Madness (Paranoia, see Gamemastery guide for details)
Immunity: Mind-affecting spells and effects, Flanking, Protection from energy (Fire 142 points)
OFFENSE
Speed: 30 ft.
Melee: Dagger +5 (1d4, 19-20/x2) or by spell +5 touch
Ranged: Dagger +6 (1d4, 19-20/x2) or by spell +6 ranged touch
Special Attacks: Channel negative energy ( 8/day; DC 16), Grave touch (8/day)
*This spell is from Keeper Myres forbidden tome
**These stat blocks assume that Keeper Myre has already cast these spells. The effects of these spell is included in Keeper Myres statistics
Spell-like abilities:
1/day: True seeing
STATISTICS
Str 10, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 20, Wis 8, Cha 13
Base Atk +5; CMB +5; CMD 16
Feats: Combat casting, Command undead, Forge ring, Great fortitude, Iron will, Scribe scroll, Spell focus (necromancy), Toughness, Greater spell focus (Necromancy), Persistent spell (apg), Sickening spell (apg)
Skills: Bluff: +8, Craft (Alchemy): +18, Knowledge (Arcana): +19, Knowledge (Dungeoneering): +19, Knowledge (Planes): +19, Knowledge (religion): +19, Linguistics: +9, Perception: +10, Sense motive: +10, Spellcraft: +19
Languages: Aklo, Common, Varisian, Abyssal, Undercommon
SQ: Forbidden tome
Gear: Spellbook (All spells memorized plus any spells the DM sees fit), Ring of protection +2, Scrolls of Mage armor(2), Shield (2), Gentle repose (3), Dimension door, Mage's private sanctum, create undead and Animate dead, Headband of intellect +2 (Bluff), Dagger, Potion of cure moderate wounds, Ring of counterspells (Dispel magic), Keys to all doors in Rupman's vat, key to area D8, 100 gp worth of crafting supplies, 35 gp
Void-touched (template):
This template can be added to any living creature with an intelligence score of 3 or higher. The void-touched creature has somehow been touched by terrible forces from beyond and as a result its mind has shattered. The creature gains a permanent insanity (either rolled randomly or chosen by the DM). Any spell that normally cures insanity, will only supress the condition for one round per spell level. Only divine intervention or certain artifacts may cure this insanity. The addled mind of a void touched creature renders it immune to mind-affecting effects and once per day the creature may use True seeing as a spell-like ability at a caster level equal to his hit dice/level. (CR +0)
Arcanist of the Dark tapestry (wizard Archetype)
You have learnt some of the terrible truths about the void between the stars and what lurks within. This grants you increased magical insight, but this power does not come without a price.
At 1st level permanently reduce your wisdom score by 2
At 1st level you gain a forbidden tome, this tome contains one spell one level higher than the maximum level you can cast. You may cast this spell as if it were one level lower (although it still counts as it normal level for the purpose of DC and effects like globe of invulnerability). The spell must be chosen from the list below. Whenever you cast a spell from this tome you suffer 1d2 points of wisdom damage and are confused for one round unless you make a will save (DC 15+spell level).
Every time you gain a new level of spell you gain a new spell to add to your forbidden tome. In addition, once per day you may refer to the tome as a move action to gain a +5 bonus on any one Knowledge (Arcana), (The planes), (Dungeoneering) or (Religion) check.
You may only memorize one such spell for each spell level you know how to cast.
If anyone else but you should try to read your forbidden tome the reader will only see incomprehensible gibberish (even if he use magic like comprehend languages) and must make a will save (DC 10 plus 1/2 your level plus your Int modifier) or be confused for one round per caster level you have. Should your forbidden tome be stolen or destroyed it will turn into disgusting ichor and alien writhing worms at your command (a full round action)and mysteriously reappear in your possession after 24 hours. This counts as a supernatural ability. Other than this the tome has the physical properties of a normal spellbook. Any additional spell written into this tome can be read as a normal spell using read magic or similar means.
This ability replaces Arcane bond.
Forbidden tome spells:
2nd level spells: Touch of idiocy, Lesser confusion, Detect thoughts, See invisibility, Hideous laughter
3rd level spells: Rage, Magic circle (Chaos and evil only), Blood biography, Seek thought
4th level spells: Confusion, Dimensional anchor, Black tentacles, Phantasmal killer
5th level spells: Nightmare, Dismissal, Lesser planar binding, Contact other plane, Feeblemind, Mind fog, Dream
6th level spells: Planar binding, True seeing, Legend lore, Eyebite, Fluid form
7th level spells: Insanity, Banishment, Plane shift, Vision, Limited wish
8th level spells: Scintillating pattern, Dimensional lock, Moment of prescience, Binding, Symbol of insanity (the yellow sign)
9th level spells: Weird, Freedom, Imprisonment, Gate, Foresight, Interplanetary Teleport, Wish
P. 8, A8 terrified creepers, replace creepers with:
DARK SLAYER (bestiary 2) ROGUE 4 (THUG)(apg) (3) CR 6
XP 2400
CE Small humanoid (dark folk)
Init +7; Senses detect magic, see in darkness; Perception +10
DEFENSE
AC 21, touch 19, flat-footed 21 (+7 Dex, +1 size, +1 dodge, +2 armor)
hp 56 (8d8+20)
Fort +4, Ref +11, Will +1; evasion, uncanny dodge
Weaknesses: light blindness
OFFENSE
Speed: 30 ft.
Melee: Masterwork kukri +14 (1d3/18-20 plus black smear poison)
Special Attacks: death throes, poison use, sneak attack +4d6, soul harvest, brutal beating (apg), frightening (apg), befuddling strike (apg)
Spell-Like Abilities: (CL 4th; concentration +8)
Constant--detect magic
At will--bleed (DC 14), chill touch (DC 15), darkness, spectral hand
3/day--daze monster (DC 16), death knell (DC 16), inflict moderate wounds (DC 16)
STATISTICS
Str 10, Dex 24, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 18
Base Atk +5; CMB +4; CMD 22
Feats: Skill Focus (Use Magic Device), Weapon Finesse, Dodge, Skill focus (Intimidate)
Skills: Acrobatics +18, Climb +8, Intimidate +14, Perception +10, Spellcraft +10, Stealth +25, Use Magic Device +18; Racial
Modifiers +4 Climb, +4 Stealth, +4 Perception
Languages: Dark Folk
SQ: magical knack, fast stealth
Gear: Masterwork kukri, +1 small shadowed padded armor, Wand of darkness (10 charges)
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Death Throes (Su)
When a dark slayer is slain, its body implodes violently into nothingness, leaving its gear in a heap on the ground. All
creatures within a 10-foot burst take 1d8 points of sonic damage and must make a DC 14 Fortitude save or be deafened for
2d4 rounds. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Magical Knack (Ex)
Spellcraft and Use Magic Device are always class skills for dark slayers.
Soul Harvest (Su)
When a dark slayer damages a flat-footed foe or a foe it is flanking with a melee touch spell or spell-like ability that deals hit point damage, the spell does an additional 1d6 points of damage and the dark slayer gains an equal amount of temporary hit points. These temporary hit points last for a maximum of 1 hour.
p. 10, A11 the sunless grove, replace Yarresh’s statistics with the following:
YARRESH CR 10
XP 9600
Male ghoul rogue 9(thug)(apg)
CE Medium undead
Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +17
DEFENSE
AC 25, touch 19, flat-footed 25 (+6 Dex, +2 deflection, +1 dodge, +2 natural, +4 armor)
hp 102 (11d8+53)
Fort +6, Ref +12, Will +9; evasion, improved uncanny dodge
Immunities: undead qualities
OFFENSE
Speed: 30 ft.
Melee: bite +14 (1d6+3 plus paralysis and disease) and 2 claws +14 (1d4+3 plus paralysis)
Special Attacks: sneak attack +5d6, surprise attack, brutal beating (apg), frightening (apg), befuddling strike (apg), paralysis (DC 16, elves are immune), disease (Ghoul fever DC 14)
STATISTICS
Str 16, Dex 22, Con -, Int 10, Wis 17, Cha 16
Base Atk +7; CMB +10; CMD 30
Feats: Weapon finesse, dodge, weapon focus (bite), weapon focus (claw), ability focus (paralysis), dazzling display, shatter defenses, toughness
Skills: Acrobatics +20, Bluff +17, Climb +17, Intimidate +17, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) +3, Perception +17, Stealth +20, Swim +17
Languages: Aklo, Common
SQ: fast stealth, offensive defense (apg)
Gear: Ring of protection +2, Belt of incredible dexterity +2, +1 studded leather armor
P. 13, B2 vats replace normal zombies with:
ADVANCED ALCHEMICALLY PRESERVED RELENTLESS HUMAN ZOMBIES (8) CR 4
XP 1200
NE medium undead (augmented humanoid human)
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft., scent; Perception +2
DEFENSE
AC 17, touch 13, flat-footed 14 (+4 natural, +3 dex)
hp 30 (4d8+12)
Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +6; +2 channel resistance
Immunities: undead qualities
OFFENSE
Speed: 40 ft, Climb 20 ft.
Melee: Slam +8 (1d6+7)
Special Attacks: Quick strikes
STATISTICS
Str 21, Dex 16, Con -, Int -, Wis 14, Cha 14
Base Atk +3; CMB +8; CMD 21
Feats: Toughness
Skills: Climb +13, Survival +2 (tracking by scent +6)
All characters have a stability score of 15+Wis modifier+level (minimum 10)
A characters sanity score equals his wisdom score.
Each time a character is subject to anything that might result in stability loss he must make a will save or lose stability.
Disturbing events may cause stability loss as follows:
Disturbing:
Finding a dead body, seeing a wall flowing with blood, hearing ghostly whispers in the wind, a jump scare, being threatened with violence
DC 10, stability loss 0/1d4
Shocking:
Being in mortal peril (usually 50% hit point or less), Finding a mangled corpse, witnessing a scary supernatural event you can’t explain
DC 15, stability loss 1/1d6
Horrific:
Seeing a friend die, witnessing a scene of extraordinary violence, being haunted by supernatural violent forces
DC 20, stability loss 1d3/1d8
Terrifying:
Suffering severe torture, having a universal truth you believe in proven to be false, being buried alive
DC 25, stability loss 1d4/2d6
Mind-boggling:
Witnessing an event of cosmic evil, living through your worst fears
DC 30+, stability loss 1d6/2d8
The first number in the stability loss section represents how much stability is lost on a successful save, the second number is how much you loose on a failed save.
Martial characters have more resistance to physical perils and the DC to resist such effects are treated as one step lower meaning that they can ignore seeing a mundane dead body, blood etc. Likewise characters with magical experience treat supernatural threats as one step lower.
On the DM’s discretion certain characters may be resistant to certain maladies as fitting for their background, alignments and vocations. F.ex a good creature forced to harm an innocent would have a higher difficulty than an evil one, and a fighter would probably not falter if someone threatened him with physical violence. Likewise characters may treat certain specific turmoil’s as more potent if they have a personal fear or aversion to the triggering event.
The save to prevent stability loss is treated as a mind-affecting, fear ability for the purposes of bonuses and penalties to the save. Creatures immune to fear or mind-effecting effects gain a +5 bonus to saves against stability loss and reduces the amount lost by half (minimum 1). If your stability reaches 0 any further stability loss is taken as wisdom damage instead. If you reach 0 wisdom from this loss you must make a new will save at the same DC that lead to the stability loss. If you fail you don’t go unconscious but instead suffers an insanity as mentioned in the GM guide. If you succeed you immediately faint into a comatose state and won’t wake up until your wisdom score is increased to one or higher.
When you have less than 10 stability left you are treated as shaken, when you have less than 5 you are frightened with the source of your stability loss as the source of the effect. If you have 0 or less stability remaining you are panicked. If you are immune to fear or mind-effecting effects you are instead fatigued, then exhausted then staggered. These conditions last until you can regain enough stability to recover from the condition or until the condition is otherwise removed. Note that it is possible to have a lower than 10 stability score without suffering from fear if the condition is somehow removed or you have immunity to the specific condition.
The bravery ability also reduces any amount of lost stability due to mundane threats by the listed amount.
Optional rules:
Monsters and stability loss:
Seeing terrifying creatures can cause stability loss. This stability loss is treated differently than normal stability loss. You must feel threatened by the monster for this stability loss to occur. Plants, animals, most fey and humanoids usually don’t cause stability loss unless they have some disturbing traits.
The DC to resist stability loss is calculated by using the following formula: 10+1/2 creature HD+creatures cha modifier
In addition add the following modifiers:
• Creature is undead or an aberration +2
• Creature has the frightful presence ability +2
• Creature is larger than the pc’s +1 per size category
• Creature is smaller than pc’s -1 per size category
• Creature has significant resistance to the pc’s attacks +2
• Creature is exceptionally disturbing to look at +2
• Creature is stronger than the pc’s +1 per CR above APL
• Creature is weaker than the pc’s -1 per CR below APL
• Creatures outnumber the pc’s +1 per additional creature
• Pc’s outnumber the monsters -1 per additional pc above the number of encountered creatures
The creature causes stability loss depending on what bracket the DC ends up in cross referencing the DC with the stability loss on the table above. Always round down to the closest bracket, so a DC 19 would end up with a stability loss of 1/1d6 (DC 15 bracket), while a DC 21 would end up in the horrific (DC 20, 1d3/1d8 bracket)
While I love the idea of somehow involving the harrow deck into the Carrion crown AP, I was kind of disappointed with how it was handled in the PG.
I have been thinking about a system where each card grants both a gift and a curse and those should be thematically appropriate for the card. Furthermore I was thinking that each card could have a one time effect if you spent the card, in which case both the curse and the gift would be gone. In addition each cards gift would be more powerful if it was aligned and the curse would be worse if the card was misaligned. Drawing a card should be completely optional and should only be done at the beginning of each AP installment.
Here is an example of what a card might look like:
The paladin:
Gift: As long as you have this card in your possession you can take the adverse affect that one other creature within 5 feet suffers, be it a failed saving throw, a negative condition (including death) or raw damage. You can spend this card as an immediate action to have any creature (including yourself) ignore the effects of one attack or failed save.
Curse: As long as you have this card in your possession you take a -1 penalty to AC and saving throws and will also be the first chosen if an effect calls for a random target. If the card is misaligned you suffer double the penalties. If the card is aligned you suffer no penalties from this card.
If we work together we might make a system including all 54 cards.
I have been working on a system based on the stability and sanity rules used in the Trail of Cthulhu game for my Carrion Crown Campaign.
Here's the basics:
Stability and sanity
All characters have a stability score of 15+Wis modifier+level (minimum 10)
Each time a character is subject to anything that might result in stability loss he must make a will save or lose stability.
• A mundane shock like seeing a dead body or experiencing something frightening or bizarre but not necessarily dangerous has a DC of 10 and a stability loss of 1d3 (for example seeing someone animate the dead with magic)
• A more terrifying visage like finding a mutilated corpse or being in physical or mental peril has a DC of 15 and a stability loss of 1d4 (this is the usual check for normal combat)
• A horrific experience like being in mortal peril, witnessing something mind shattering or being subjected to torture has a DC of 20 and a stability loss of 1d6 (you must usually make this check if you are reduced below 50% hit points or see the most competent of your party fall)
• A truly horrific event like being subjected to one of your greatest fears, being forced to kill or torture a loved one, being brought back from the dead or witnessing a terrible supernatural evil has a DC of 25 and a stability loss of 1d8 (If you are the lone survivor and must face the horror alone this is the check you must make)
• The most terrifying experiences like being buried alive or possessed by a malign evil or witnessing cosmic horrors has a DC of 30 or higher and a stability loss of 1d10
Martial characters have more resistance to physical perils and the DC to resist and stability loss from such effects are treated as one step lower meaning that they can ignore seeing a mundane dead body, blood etc. Likewise characters with magical experience treat supernatural threats as one step lower.
On the DM’s discretion certain characters may be resistant to certain maladies as fitting for their background, alignments and vocations. F.ex a good creature forced to harm an innocent would have a higher difficulty than an evil one, and a fighter would probably not falter if someone threatened him with physical violence. Likewise characters may treat certain specific turmoil’s as more potent if they have a personal fear or aversion to the triggering event.
The save to prevent stability loss is treated as a mind-affecting, fear ability for the purposes of bonuses and penalties to the save. Creatures immune to fear or mind-effecting effects gain a +5 bonus to saves against stability loss and reduces the amount lost by half (minimum 1). If your stability reaches 0 any further stability loss is taken as wisdom damage instead. If you reach 0 wisdom from this loss you must make a new will save at the same DC that lead to the stability loss. If you fail you don’t go unconscious but instead suffers an insanity as mentioned in the GM guide. If you succeed you immediately faint into a comatose state and won’t wake up until your wisdom score is increased to one or higher.
When you have less than 10 stability left you are treated as shaken, when you have less than 5 you are frightened with the source of your stability loss as the source of the effect. If you have 0 or less stability remaining you are panicked. If you are immune to fear or mind-effecting effects you are instead fatigued, then exhausted then staggered. These conditions last until you can regain enough stability to recover. Mindless creatures like vermin are immune to stability loss as are creatures immune to ability damage.
The bravery ability also reduces any amount of lost stability due to mundane threats by the listed amount.
So I am looking at running Carrion Crown as soon as I finish my Serpent Skull Campaign. Carrion Crown is suppossed to have a gothic horror theme, but I have always found horror to be a difficult theme to invoke in such a gamist system as Pathfinder.
My players have little experience with horror, but seems to be keen on the premise. They do however have a pretty gamist and tactical mindset. Most of our other Campaigns have been pretty combat heavy and RP'ing and fluff has taken a backseat to the action for the most part. I think this is in part due to the way the rules work and my players familiarity with them.
Usually we run pretty powered up games, but for Carrion Crown I am planning on going for the standard 15 point buy and try to focus more on the characters than the mechanics. I have been looking into modifying some of the stability and sanity rules from Trail of Cthulhu, but frankly I am concerned that my players wouldn't like it that much as it would be yet another thing to keep track of during the game.
I do have some experience running horror games using other systems like Call of Cthulhu and Dark heresy, but that was with other groups and mostly one-shots. This will be the first time I try my hands at a full horror Campaign with players that have little to none experience with the genre.
Have anyone here successfully run a horror game using Pathfinder or similar rules heavy systems? Do you have any advice on techniques to use or recommend any optional mechanics to amp up the horror feel?
Since the Cthulhu mythos is present in the Golarion setting you could have a "Delta green" like conspiracy going on, with alien masterminds manipulating events to their own unfathomable ends. The real truth is always hidden and those exposed to it are considered madmen. Evil cults worship ancient gods from beyond the stars plotting for their eventual return and the end of everything. The ancient Aboleth race is still present and weaving alien plots from the shadows. Serpentfolk roam hidden amongst the people of Golarion waiting for a chance to seize control and reclaim their ancient Empire. These hidden threats are largely ignored by most, and the truth behind them leads only to madness or if you are lucky death.
