Narl's page

Does this have numbers for initiative on one side like the old version?

Please cancel order 3583784. Thanks!

Mike

My group has already switched to Next using the play test rules. After going through Rise of the Runelords and Carrion Crown, Pathfinder became burdensome, particularly at high levels. I like the speed and simplicity of D&D Next.

Why are obvious monsters not described in boxed text? For example:

DM: "Gigantic skeletal arms clasp immense doors of dark metal, but whether they are holding the doors closed or stand poised to open them is unclear."

Player: "I check the door for traps."

The DM pauses, scanning the paragraphs below.

DM: Oh wait, there are also two huge knights in tattered armor. They attack you!

Yeah, I know, it does not go quite like that, but it would be helpful to have boxed text that included what is in most cases the most important thing in the scene. I mean, in some cases we get a full description of a cavern, and the boxed text fails to mention there is an undead cleric leading sixteen zombies in a ritual!

I think the great room descriptions should be expanded to include great monster descriptions, so that the DM does not have to navigate through another page of text to fully lay out the scene. After running two APs, I really have to wonder why there is an aversion to describing monsters.

The thing that I find jarring is how fast, in game world time, the characters progress through levels. We are just wrapping up Carrion Crown, and in 90 days or so, the characters have gone from 1st to 15th level.

Please cancel my AP subscription. Thanks!

Name: Ulfir Elfbow
Race: Dwarf
Classes/Levels: Spirit Ranger/8
Adventure: Broken Moon
Location: Feldgrau
Catalyst: Auren Vrood's Circle of Death
The Gory Details: Poor Ulfir needed to roll a 5 to survive and got a 4. Two of the five PCs died due to the Circle of Death. Vrood was finished off without much of a challenge. Lame.

I got my three kids each their own copy of the Core Rulebook this past Christmas. My youngest son's book has been lightly used, but is completely out of the binding on one side. It is a 5th printing. Would it be possible to get a replacement?

Please cancel my AP subscription.

Thanks!

She just emailed me. Thanks!

Neither my email or my voice mail to Jenny have been returned. Is there someone else who can help with this?

I run my games in a homebrew setting with no guns, so these are of no use to me.

Why is this half-orc NPC an uncommon? I can see making it uncommon if it would be of general use, but a half-orc with a gun isn't something most GMs will need many of, if they even need one.

Who do I contact to inquire about having someone from Paizo be a special guest at a convention?

In all of those situations, the DM should be willing and able to do his damnedest to find a place for that concept.

I agree, but to go back to the gunslinger example that started this, if your concept hangs on using a particular weapon, you probably have not really gotten to the core of your concept.

Narl wrote:

TriOmegaZero wrote:

And this is why I run blank slate settings.

I'm curious what that means. Not a term I've heard before.

You show up and the setting gets built around you.

Ah, okay. I've done that before. I just didn't tell the players I was doing it. :-)

Narl wrote:

If every D&D world had everything D&D in it, with no changes, limitations, or expansion, there would be no point in having custom worlds, and everyone could just play in a kitchen sink setting like Golarion. What fun would that be?

Ignoring the obvious issue of you being unable to see the point in a custom world if all character options are allowed (I have a hard time believing you're actually that uncreative), I think it's pretty clear that people have no trouble whatsoever having fun in Golarion.

And, frankly, if you were being honest with yourself, you would too.

I currently run or play a game set in Golarion every week, and I do have fun (or I wouldn't do it), but I also like the degree of discovery and mystery that only comes with home brew settings. So yes, it is all fun, I just like some diversity in my fun, and a lot of that diversity comes from custom worlds.

I'll add that our group does not allow gunslingers, even in our Golarion game. Fortunately all of us agree that we don't want gunpowder in our fantasy.

Sure, all character options can be allowed in any world, but it is going to change the feel and vision of that world, and I think the GM should have the right to preserve his vision of his world.

And this is why I run blank slate settings.

I'm curious what that means. Not a term I've heard before.

If every D&D world had everything D&D in it, with no changes, limitations, or expansion, there would be no point in having custom worlds, and everyone could just play in a kitchen sink setting like Golarion. What fun would that be? World creation and discovery is one of the most awesome things about this hobby, and it is an aspect that I believe is becoming less and less common.

It should not be a hard concept for a player to understand that some things just don't fit in certain settings.

I had six broken miniatures in my Shattered Star case. I found the WizKids site for replacements. I filled out the form, and it shows as "Finalized". Can someone who has used this system answer a few questions?

Am I supposed to do anything but wait at this point? I didn't get an email or anything from them. Am I supposed to send them the damaged minis?

Thanks!

I just finished opening my case from the friendly local game store. The miniatures, without exception, look great! The distribution was excellent as well, with multiples of all the monsters, and singles of the unique NPCs, just how it should be.

I did have half a dozen broken miniatures, so my only complaint is the packaging. I have a full set, but a number of the minis I only have one of are broken.

I checked the WizKids site and found their replacement system, but Shattered Star is not an option. Any idea when they will have replacements available?

I'm a couple of sessions into HoH. I'm feeling like the 30-60 day spelling out the name timeframe for completing things is far too long. I just don't think like it will be a deadline at all for my group. I'm considering making it 1d2+1 days between letters for a 20-30 day timeframe (which still seems like a very long time). I may even go with 1d3 for 10-30 days.

Anyone have thoughts or experiences on this?

I'm directing this particularly at the seasoned veterans of our community who were around for 1e and 2e. First, I'd like to say that the game has come a long way, and I am envious of you guys who were there to witness the birth of the "game". I'd give my ioun stones just to sit at a table in nostalgialand and play a game of AD&D with GG himself. Digressing, I am, in a few hours, about to get a Pathfinder CRB and Bestiary in the mail and am about to put out here a bit of a fantasy of mine. Currently, I have no access to any AD&D material, but I would like some advice on how to give my game the old school feel. I'd like to have the same race/class limitations as well. I am a 22 year old hoping to run this game for some older gentlemen who played AD&D when it first came out. I know the experience will be a little different, given the different ruleset, but what can I do to make my game as retro as possible? I hope I have clarified my mission and question throughly. If I haven't, please help me to do so.

EDIT: Perhaps. I could take the bard back to its druidic roots and make it a PrC, and do the same for the Ranger and Paladin for starters.

Focus on your audience. How old are these older gentlemen? Have they played much since their AD&D days? Do they play Pathfinder or other RPGs currently?

In my experience, folks leaping from AD&D to Pathfinder/3.5 are in for quite a shock. If you want to make your game as retro as possible, Pathfinder is probably not the best starting point. Castles & Crusades is a nice compromise between old school and new school that you may want to take a look at.

Pretty much every RPG that isn't D&D based is classless. Rather than trying to reinvent the wheel, you may want to just check out some other RPGs that are built on a point-buy system.

Check out Savage Worlds. It has a much easier entry compared to GURPS or HERO, both in terms of rules complexity and price. The basic book is only $9.95.

If for some crazy reason you were to fight a ghost on the Ethereal Plane, with you and the ghost both being on the Ethereal Plane, would the ghost lose the advantages of being incorporeal?

I have a question about one of the combats:

I agree that a physical product only pledge level is needed. There are a lot of people who aren't interesting in playing the game (for various reasons), but would like to support it and get the print offerings and miniatures.

As a Mac user, I can't play the game, but would still like to see it succeed and bring in more Pathfinder players.

Please still ship 301. It can wait for my January subscription. Thanks!

It doesn't look like is but wanted to check. 2338250 contains some holiday presents so I was hoping it would ship with my December subscription order. I placed it in my sidecart on December 2nd.

Thanks, Mike

Just to be clear, my original post wasn't a criticism. Heck, I think that if PFS is really going to cover the whole spectrum of the fantasy role-playing experience, there should be a scenario or two that doesn't even have a single combat in it. It isn't unusual to have a session or two in a home campaign that doesn't involve combat, why not in a organized play campaign?

And I am very glad that Pathfinder Society offers both types of scenarios! And plenty that are in between.

Another one that I think really has a great old-school feel:

Pathfinder Society Scenario #4–02: In Wrath’s Shadow

In the ruins of Xin-Bakrakhan—seat of power of the Runelord of Wrath—the Pathfinder Society stands on the verge of a great discovery, but first the brave agents exploring the ruins must survive ages-old dangers and contemporary threats to return with the knowledge and wealth they’ve unearthed.

Each end of the spectrum, and I know I picked two that are on opposite ends, appeals to a different sort of player/GM. I wonder how many Pathfinder Society players lean one way or the other?

I was looking through the event list for Winter Fantasy, and next to the PFS events, I saw some D&D Next events that are old adventures they are revising. Rules aside (this has nothing to do with rules or editions), check out the severe contrast between old style adventures and the latest in Pathfinder Society scenarios:

The Blakros Matrimony: The eldest daughter of the prominent Blakros family is set to wed an influential Hellknight, and the Pathfinder Society is invited to the festivities. Dressed for a wedding befitting royalty, a team of Pathfinders attend the ceremony on behalf of the Decemvirate, but will their presence ultimately strengthen the Society's relationship with the influential Blakroses, or will events at the wedding bring the already tenuous alliance to a breaking point?

The Steading of the Hill Giant Chief: Giants have been raiding the lands of men in large groups with giants of different sorts banding together. Destruction and death have been laid heavily upon the land and your band of adventurers has been gathered from local villages to deal with this problem. Glory, gold, and fame await the successful while a short trip to the headman’s block awaits those who fail. Your adventure against the giants begins now!

Which inspires you more?

Personally, I'm glad it is Core rules only. These NPCs will be much more easy to prepare to use if I don't have to go through four books for abilities, spells, feats, etc. I also think there is a lot of mileage you can get out of just the base classes.

The Pathfinder Beginner Box is a great starting point if you haven't looked at that yet.

Freakin' awesome!

I was looking ahead at my October subscription list and I saw it has a Bestiary Box on it. I picked this up at Gen Con. Can you check and make sure I don't get another copy?

I received the Rise of the Runelords Pawn Collection with my September subscription shipment, and Skull & Shackles Pawns are listed as part of my November shipment, so otherwise things look okay.

Yes, great game. I like it much more than I expected to.

"Proceed with the countdown. All groups assume attack coordinates.”
-Admiral Ackbar, Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi

Awesome! Love all three of them. Fire elementals manage to show up all the time in my games.

Love the hill giant! Even more happy to hear more giants are coming.

I'm still hoping for any color besides black. I understand you sell more black shirts than anything else, but how about doing a small run of white, grey, or some other color?

I'm hoping this has multiples of common humans, such as guards, bandits, thugs, etc. I know that lots of these NPCs will be able to stand in for that, but it is easier to differentiate leaders from regulars if the regulars are all uniform.

This question comes up 50% of the time I play my paladin in PFS. Half the GMs I play with tell me I can't use detect evil as the spell and can only focus on a single thing.

I received a full set with the case bundle. No breakage. My only complaint is a few too many characters and not enough monsters. The miniatures look great!

I love all the giants and ogres. Hope we see some hill giants and fire giants in the next set.

Of course a GM should adjudicate beyond the simple rules on the cards? Are GMs not doing this? PFS is supposed to be run by people not machines for this specific reason. For example:

Bluff the Guard. Maybe you're not good at bluff, so instead you try and push him over. Then it's a CMB check vs the same DC. Or intimidate him. Or throw a tanglefoot bag thus negating the obstacle. The GM needs to remember these are suggested skill checks not straight jackets.

I agree completely. Unfortunately, the GMs who have run chases for me in PFS have not. My opinion of chases has probably been colored by these experiences. I'll be running a scenario with a chase in a few weeks, and I'm going to do my best to make it great, so maybe my opinion will change.

I just opened a case bundle I had ordered from my local shop. I did get a complete set. It seems there is little difference in frequency between the commons and uncommons. For example, I have four of Ameiko but only one harpy. So, I have a lot of characters and very few of the common monsters, which is a little disappointing.

The figures look great, even better than H&M!

My usual character is actually pretty good at chases so that isn't the reason I piled on, and I GM as much as I play. My problem with chases is they are unnaturally restrictive. They take away the best thing about RPGs: "You can do anything you want!". And change it to "You can either squeeze through the crack or climb over the wall. Roll."

Confronted with an obstacle like a wall with a crack, I'd rather have my PCs come up with their own set of solutions rather than reduce it to just two — that isn't how RPGs should be played in my mind.

I know that some GMs are open to other creative options for each chase step, but just as many aren't. I actually had a GM still make me roll to have my druid pass through a "Thorny Thicket" during a chase, even though he had the Woodland Stride ability. Why should Fly only give me a +10 to get over a wall? I mean, I'm flying, right?

Chase rules are an unnecessary mini-game. The mechanics needed to resolve chases (skill checks, movement, etc.) are already in the Core Rules!

To me, the Pathfinder chase rules are a sort of "mini-game" within the game, and it is definitely one I do not enjoy.

Chase scenes are fun, but the Pathfinder chase rules are not. It reduces the game to a binary decision dice fest.

I played the first part of the Special and it was, by far, the worst game of Pathfinder I have ever experienced. This was the first Gen Con Special game my son and I played, so we had high expectations of having fun, but no real expectations of advancing. Our issues were entirely GM related:

1. He was nearly completely unprepared. We spent as much time waiting for him to read ahead as we did playing.

2. He could not track initiative competently. We resorted to just going around the table counter-clockwise.

3. He could not read loudly or clearly enough to be heard by anyone except the two players sitting next to him. And they had to lean in.

4. He did not understand the scoring system at all. I don't believe he had read it ahead of time and it was a scramble at the end to turn in the slips of paper.

5. He had not idea how to run a chase. He pulled out the Chase Cards, held them out, and asked if any of the players at the table knew how to run it.

6. He complained constantly about the organization of the event and the content of the scenario.

Again, worst game of Pathfinder I have ever played, by far. In fact, it was maybe the second worst RPG session I've ever experienced. Shockingly bad. Most of the players completely checked out. My son and I went back to the hotel wondering why we wasted an evening at Gen Con on that.

There ought to be some sort of qualification for GMs running the Special at Gen Con.