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I was thinking of going the unarmed monk route, but was considering maybe a quarterstaff monk or one of the monk-specific weapons.

This is for an NPC that will be helping the players out, so could be around for a couple of levels, hence the human monk would start at level 4 and end at level 5 (though, could end up being around another level...)

What would be a good build for melee damage, or for high AC? This would be a single-classed character.

I can max out one stat - so, an 18 in WIS or DEX? with a +2 human bonus to give them a 20. I can also give them a 16 in another stat.

What feat choices and archetypes are best, including the monk bonus feats? And, what fighting styles are best for either melee damage or high AC?

I searched on the advice forum here and most of the monk builds are monk multi-classing with another class.

Thanks

I've recently moved and am hoping to find a new gaming group, or else form one of my own.

I was thinking about giving Pathfinder a whirl this time out, but wanted to see what sort of electronic tools are available to help out a GM/DM?

when I ran a 3.5E game a few years back, I was able to use heroforge in MS Excel and that was a big help to me since my players ended up going up against a lot of clerics and wizards the last half of the campaign. However, Heroforge wasn't perfect.

What sorts of electronic tools are out there to aid a DM?

Thanks

(sorry if this is the wrong forum...)

After the players defeat the initial wave of bandits, a few days later, some NPCs arrive. First is Kesten Garess and 3 warriors. While my plan is to have them stick around the trading post as guards to allow the PCs to explore the region, my guess is that there will be times the players will ask Kesten & company for help - i.e., attacking the Stag Lord's fort, potential fights against the mites or kobolds, etc. And extra level 3 fighter attacking the Stag Lord could make a big difference.

How have other DMs handled this? The book says that they can come to the aid of the PCs to rescue them (i.e., DM ex machina), but should otherwise stick around the trading post. Knowing my players, they'll impress upon Kesten and company the need to have as many men as possible to attack the Stag Lord's fort, even if it means leaving Oleg alone for a bit.

A day after Garess arrives, you get Jhod Kavken, a level 4 cleric when the PCs are likely still level 1, maybe just getting to level 2. I can just see my players finding the lost temple of Erastil, coming back to Oleg's and impressing upon Kavken the need for him to come along (after all, it's the temple of his dreams...) A level 4 cleric really tilts the balance of that encounter. From a somewhat dangerous one to one that is probably fairly easy. I'm kind of having trouble coming up with a reason why he wouldn't come along.

Do you just let these NPCs come along, or think of some excuse to have them stick around Oleg's?

Thanks

I was running my players through some adventures and realized I wanted something a bit different. The players mostly like their PCs, so they'd be hesitant to start from scratch. I like the adventure paths overall, but wanted to know what fits best coming into the AP in adventure 3 out of 6 instead of 1 out of 6?

I was thinking of retooling Kingmaker as a higher level AP, with the players starting at level 7 and adjusting the first adventure appropriately and move up from there.

As a caveat, my current group is not oriented towards the social skills - definitely an outdoors/nature type with a shaman & ranger, plus a figher who grew up on a farm. (OK, they do have a bookish wizard, a fighter/wizard type and an elf rogue, but none are diplomats)

Thanks for any input.

Has anybody come up with something like an Excel spreadsheet (or anything similar) to help people track kingdom building? I saw the thread on kingdom building and it was at 676 posts, so I don't know if anybody posted that in there, but I don't have the time to scroll through that many posts.

Thanks!

OK, what exactly does it mean? Does it relate to Norgorber? I don't really think it fits with a god of secrets, greed, poison & murder?

Is it just a name that Xanesha uses?

Pagan, to me, implies a religion that is either old & outdated, or well outside the mainstream. Norgorber is one of the deities listed in the core rulebook on Page 43. So, it implies that worship of him is not obscure/outside the mainstream (though, it may be outside of polite society...)

When I picked up The Skinsaw Murders last year, I thought it was an excellent change of pace for me to throw at the players – instead of the big epic battlegrounds of the last campaign, this would confine them to Stately Foxglove Manor, aka Misgivings. They would have to combat the haunts and traps within, which would be different for me as a DM, as I've hardly ever use traps over the years.

However, since I have been running them through bigger battlefields over the years, they are inexperienced with the the typical dungeon crawl where you open the door, enter the room, fight the monster within the room and then get the treasure. Then, you repeat for the next door and the next and so on & so forth.

How do you get players to go through the mansion and experience the various haunts within?

My guess about what is going to happen is: they enter through the front door and experience the manticore haunting in the main room. They’ll hear the woman sobbing upstairs, investigate and find the revenant of Iesha Foxglove. She will then streak off towards her late husband and the players will follow as best they can.

I am drawing a blank right now, but I believe she will head straight towards the caves beneath Stately Foxglove Manor, where the hotly pursuing PCs will then be stopped by some ghouls, who will ignore the dead revenant. However, once down in the caves, I am guessing the players will know they are close to Foxglove and continue on down there.

So, they will fight Foxglove and be basically done with Misgivings having experienced all of one or two haunts. Do I put extra treasure in the rooms to get them to keep searching?

Any ideas on how to get the players to experience the full wrath of Misgivings

When the players go to investigate Foxglove manor in the Skinsaw Murders, the adventure instructs you to assign the various types of haunts to the appropriate PC. However, after we went through Burnt Offerings, I don't really see how any of them apply to any of my players, other than the object of Foxglove's obsession.

Should I just assign them randomly otherwise?

There are no female PCs in my group; none of them are in any way accepting of necromancy/the undead; none of them have a fire obsession; none of them seem real impulsive/spur of the moment types - perhaps the fighter who is Foxglove's obsession could be considered impulsive. None of them have had betrayel in their past. (I'm at work right now, so don't have the module with me, so not sure of each haunt's definition)

Any ideas?

Thanks

I think it should be LAMM-ee-uh

However, I am pretty sure I have also heard it said luh-MYE-uh

Of course, I could be wrong and I heard it wrong before, too.

Thanks

I have the first four modules of the series so far, and the group just finished up in Thistletop last session. The ending of BO and the start of TSM mentions giving the players some time for celebration/relaxation in game so they can enjoy the thrill of victory... plus, it makes a nice cliffhanger ending to a session to have the sheriff come to one of the players and tell him, "We have a murderer in Sandpoint - and he seems to know you." And, then hand him the note from Foxglove.

It took them a month in game to get through Burnt Offerings (I made Thistletop a bit farther out of town, as I did not think it realistic a goblin stronghold would only be a few miles away.)

So, it is one month into autumn in game.

Is there a seasonal timeline I would need to adhere to going forward? (i.e., does Hook Mountain Massacre have to start on the first day of winter, or Fortress of the Stone Giants must start in mid winter or Spring, etc?) I would prefer to be a bit looser with the amount of downtime between adventures, but also don't want to open Fortress of the Stone Giants and find out about midwinter snows when the party just finished up Hook Mtn in early spring.

The three main villains perished - Tsuto, Nualia & even Malfeshnakor. Ripnugget escaped, but the party also offed Bruthazmus & the goblin druid. None of the major NPCs died, either. (I try not to read too far ahead so it won't bias my DMing too much.)

My group should encounter Nualia in the next session - while I'm pretty organized as a DM and good at building interesting & challenging encounters, I'm somewhat less than adequate at coming up with pithy lines worthy of my villains.

You know, like:
James Bond: "You expect me to talk?"
Goldfinger: "No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die."

Or, Darth Vader, "I find your lack of faith disturbing."

That sort of thing.

So, the players fight through a bunch of bad guys & come upon Nualia... what is a good line for her upon meeting the players?

I was thinking something like, "Welcome to my parlor, little flies." Or something ominous like, "The town's fate is sealed - surrender now and pledge your souls to me and perhaps you will not share their doom."

Any other ideas?

My players arrived in the Thistletop location at the end of the last session. However, in re-reviewing things between sessions, I can't see how it can be anything but a slaughterhouse with lots of dead PCs if I play it halfway realistically. Goblins are not geniuses, but also not stupid, and are led by Nualia, who would likely have them taking extra precautions as well. She has a pretty good wisdom.

It would be difficult for the players to get to the island without alerting the guards. To me, if goblins are attacked, they would all gather together in a secure location, or else counter-attack as a group.

Plus, not only do you have goblins and goblin dogs on the island, you have Nualia, Bruzthamus the bugbear, Ripnugget the goblin leader & his mount Stickfoot, the two other humans (Orik and Lyrie), Yeth Hounds... not to mention Malfeshnakor, shadows and the giant hermit crab, as well as the bunyip. I'm sure I missed a few things in there, too.

While I want the players to be challenged by a very tough encounter, I also want to try & play it realistically as well. If they try a hit & run attack, the goblins will be more prepared for their return.

Any advice?

I see a PDF available on the Paizo site here, but is the softcover still available at all? I've looked online and seen it for $50+ on amazon.com and eBay, and some places it is over $100.

I'm asking because I was planning on starting a new campaign soon and wanted to give this one a thorough reading as it seems to fit my starting idea pretty well. However, I don't want to spend $50 for an adventure, no matter how good it is.

Thanks