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I just received Inner Sea World Guide and the Pathfinder shoulder bag as gifts from my mother. She ordered it herself, in her name, but had it shipped to my PO Box. Now, unfortunately I already have Inner Sea World guide, and my mother is EXTREMELY sensitive about people "not liking" the gifts she's given them, so I was wondering if there was some way that we could maybe do an exchange? I'll pay the shipping.
Alright, so I'm creating a campaign setting that is set in the age of legends period of the world. The PC's (and significant NPC's) will be the ones that create the mythology of the world. Mythic Adventures is gonna be key in this campaign setting. Now, for my question. The setting is actually set in a time BEFORE the different planes of existence have been separated. The outer planes, the elemental planes, and the material plane are all still one, and the transitive planes don't exist as a result yet. The very nature of the reality of this world is infused with powerful, and chaotic, magic. Wizardly magic is slowly being formed (actually taught to the humans by the devils, but that's something different), and eventually, after the planes rift, a steadier, more set kind of magic will take precedence. So while I don't want to change how Wizards work, at all, I want to change what Sorcerers do (there won't be bards, as the combination of music and magic hasn't been made into a discipline yet, though a multiclass fighter/rogue/sorcerer could be the creator of it in this world), and divine magic other than Druids doesn't exist, as there are no deities yet (some of the PC's and NPC's shall become the first gods). I'm thinking to emulate the nature of magic for the druids, I'm going to make them into spontaneous casters. Anyway, as I said, the real issue is the sorcerer. I want to do something that creates the flavor of chaotic magic that these sorcerers can tap, at great risk, to be able to create effects that they don't already have in their spell list, or to cast spells of higher level than they normally can, and things of that nature. I'm not much of a game designer, so I was wondering if anyone here might have any ideas for how this could be executed. Thanks for helping out.
I use quite a few computer programs and websites for my gaming these days, and the use of these utilities is growing. I want to talk for a minute about what I see changing in the realm of RPG's thanks to tools like these. So first I'll talk about the tools I use: d20Pro
Regardless of the differences, what all VTTs have in common is that they are a shared board or map with a chat function and the ability to roll dice in some way. That way you can connect with people over the internet from anywhere and play RPG's with them. Now the people you can game with is no longer limited to the meager selection in your local area of people that don't want to play the same game. Now, when you're sick, you don't have to miss the game for fear of getting everyone else sick. It's an amazing concept, and has uses outside of network play. It allows you in a face to face game the capablity of beautiful maps and custom miniatures, or automating rules to make things simpler, so you can concentrate on the story and roleplaying, rather than the rules. It can even make sharing secret notes with other players much less conspicuous, or showing players pictures of NPC's, monsters, or other beautiful handouts. All this without wasting paper. or spending tons of money on map (tiles), miniatures, or other physical props. Most even support on the fly tile mapping, allowing you to lay your dungeon out before your players as you go. All have some, at least rudimentary, fog of war, allowing you to hide or reveal the map as you like. As you can see, even the simplest of these is a powerful tool that can enhance games either over the internet or face to face. The VTT that I use is called d20Pro. It has heavy rules automation for any d20 based system, and since I'm a Pathfinder player for the most part, that's perfect for me. d20 is a pretty rules heavy system (though it doesn't touch systems such as GURPS or the Hero System), and being able to concentrate more on the game rather than the rules helps me out a lot with GMing, and allows me more thought to my character rather than his abilities when playing. A few other highlights of d20Pro, and some of the things that might be in the future point towards even more freedom in roleplaying thanks to technology. First off, you can import characters from DDI (for 4E) or Hero Lab (the character creator/manager I talk about later) (for 3.5/PF) directly into d20Pro. There has even been some talk on their forum (by users) of the idea of a direct link, allowing you to alter your character in one, and have it reflected in the other. The developers have seen this discussion and have said the possibility, though not any time soon, could be a possibility. Another future development (that is almost here, they're just finishing beta testing) is a marketplace, where you can buy adventures, or even whole campaigns, all set up for you in d20Pro. More on what this could mean later. Hero Lab
Not only does Hero Lab support all these different systems, but it supports ALL the options, and calculates them correctly (though the 3.5 rules have problems). It's very complete in what it does. You don't just make a character with this, it's a full on rules integrated character sheet, with experience, loot, gear, magic items (with effects applied) etc. You can even apply the effects of conditions or spells to reflect your current abilities, bonuses, etc. accurately. You can deal with health and damage (even nonlethal), complex rules like two weapon fighting, even durations, and your spellbook and memorized spells. It even tracks in just as much detail your animal companions, mounts, cohorts, eidolons, etc. You can even put a whole party together in one portfolio, with all the mounts and cohorts, etc, and then import monsters on the fly for encounters, all with the ability to track all effects on them. All this, with every single item on display with an easy mouse hover or click away from the rules explaining EXACTLY what that ability/item/feat/skill does or means. It's not just for characters either. GM's can use it to make NPC's, or advance monsters. With the built in data editor you can even create monsters, add items, spells, abilities, classes, feats, house rules, etc. It even has an initiative tracker that is quite sophisticated, including flat-footed creatures, etc. It also includes an easy to use stat block tool that makes for simple posting of anything you've made in plain text, BBCode, Wiki text, HTML, etc. Meaning you can easily put the stats for your characters anywhere. It also, as stated before, can export anything you've made to d20Pro, as well as Fantasy Grounds II (another VTT). Infrno
Pathfinder Reference Document and d20pfsrd.com
Realm Works
PDF's
What's it all mean? Does it mean that, with all this rules automation and character managers that tell you if your character isn't valid, that people aren't gonna have to know the rules? No. People still won't be able to make characters that actually do what they want them to, or are maybe even viable, without knowing the rules, and neither will they know what all they can do. Besides, there will always be corner cases, and places where a GM is gonna have to make a call. Does it mean that RPGs and video games are going to become even more alike, and thus just making things more like WoW? One could argue that, but I don't think so. With the ability to dismiss any ruling that the software makes, it still remains a human game. Besides, a computer game still can't account for you doing things outside of the "rules." A GM can, whether he's in front of you, or in front of a computer screen halfway across the world. What will it do? I think that we will see more integration between VTTs, character managers, campaign managers, and social networks. I think at some point, you're gonna have Realm Works maps that link to d20Pro combat encounters. You're gonna have d20Pro character sheets that link directly with Hero Lab portfolios. You're gonna see Infrno character profiles that link to Hero Lab portfolios instead of character sheets. You're gonna see Hero Lab portfolios and d20Pro campaign and Realm Works files that you can access from anywhere. You'll be able to play, or even GM, regardless of where you are, and have all your characters, notes, and campaign work open to you everywhere, without having to lug around a notebook and numerous heavy books, and have it all be better organized than you could do physically. You're gonna see everything integrate to the point where you may still have to know the rules, but you're never gonna have to worry about whether they're being enforced, or if a calculation was incorrect, or if you wrote a specific thing down on your character sheet. You're gonna see a random encounter table from Realm Works make a roll, come up with white dragon, and automatically open in your d20Pro program an appropriate encounter map with the dragon already on it, and you're gonna see d20Pro award experience to the character's Hero Lab profile after an encounter is finished. You're gonna see that the 6'3" 215 lb. football player can play the little sneaky halfling, and his size won't destroy your sense of disbelief, because he's not physically there for you to see. You're gonna see games where player knowledge is no longer the kind of problem it has been in the past, because you'll be able to split the party, and actually not have them know what the other half is doing, because they can't see or hear them, and to do this, you don't have to pick everything up and move it to another room, then walk back and forth between the two to be able to GM for both sides. Basically, I see all these tools not only making games easier to play, but deepening the cooperative storytelling aspect of RPG's, as the barriers that RPG's had to it; nuanced rules that you have to pay close attention to to make sure they're being implemented correctly, metagaming knowledge, and the physical disconnect between a player and the type of character they're playing, are stripped away by this new technology. So not only will you be able to find a quick 3 hour pick up game while you're waiting at the greyhound bus station, but the stories that you tell with your games will only get better and better. Honestly, I'm so excited to see what these new technologies will actually be able to do. What do you guys think?
I'm trying to build a BBEG that is a drow cavalier, mounted on a cave lizard that can crawl along walls/ceilings. Similar to the lizard mounts described for drow nobles in the Dark Elf series. Anyway, there are no large lizards... Any suggestions?
I really wanna game again. It's been a few months. My old game group can't meet together due to wildly different schedules now, and it's far too much work to get a real life game started again. So I was wondering if anyone here would want to play/GM a game using d20pro? The catch is that I don't have the time to set up adventures and/or a campaign, I only really have the time to play, and probably can only play on Monday or Tuesday some time. I don't care if it's once a week, bi-weekly, or even monthly, but I'd love to get into a group. So, does anyone already have a d20pro game going with an open spot, or is anyone interested in helping me get a new one started?
Hey everyone, I'm Chris. I've lived in my hometown most of my life, and it's time for something new, so I'm saving up to move to Boston. I have to get my knee surgery and go through rehab first, and I need to save up some money, so it'll be at least 6-8 months, but I'd like to know some people out there, and maybe find a group to get involved with when I get there. Anyway, I've been gaming on and off for 13 years, mostly D&D and it's branches, but I also really enjoy Shadowrun, Rifts, Palladium Fantasy, Star Wars (prefer D6, or SAGA, but will play d20), and old World of Darkness (with a preference for Werewolf). I'm a 25 year old punk rocker, musician, and activist with very strong anarchist philosophy, and I am a carpenter by trade. So if you're from Boston, hit me up, I'd like to know more about the gaming scene there, and maybe make a few friends before I go. Thanks
So I play a magus in a Monday night game, been playing him for 8-9 weeks. Applied the podcast changes last week, and the revised magus this week. Caladrel Calderon, Elven Bladesinger
Str 16
Acrobatics +7 (-2 ACP)
Classically Schooled (+1 Spellcraft)
Combat Casting
Close-Range Arcana (Changed from Concentration from before the revision) Chain Shirt +2
Spells Known
The Rest of the Party
Variel
Sascrunch
So last week with the reduced Spell Combat penalties, and adding a version of the spell pool from the message boards, I felt a lot more useful. I was actually able to pull off most of my Spell Combats. The -2 to attacks feels about right, though honestly, I think the Concentration check is a bit too easy, at least at this level and with the combat casting feat. Maybe a -2 to concentration as well, so it's a -2/-2, like a proficient two-weapon fighter with a light off hand weapon. I was dissapointed to see that the attack penalty doesn't go down to zero at high levels anymore, but I guess I can understand, a two-weapon fighter can't ever get rid of his -2 either. Makes sense. Now that spellstrike has been re-worded, I can actually use it, to good effect a few times last night. The number of Arcana points seems perfect to me. Then again, our characters often go through only 1 or 2 encounters in a day, though I've always tried to budget for 4 or 5, and it seems to be working fine so far. At this level I only really find myself spending one or two arcana points in a single fight. I see this going up as I gain new Magus Arcana, and higher spell levels, but at 5th level it's perfect. With the Arcane Pool, the rewording of the Spellstrike ability, and the reduced penalty to Spell Combat, I no longer feel like I'm just spamming Color Spray at everything, I've actually got options now, and it's fun to play around with them. The low level arcana you can pick don't really seem to be that useful, just things to help you flavor your character (Does he like to use Spellstrike alot, then Close-Range or Elemental Touch are your tickets. You could get a Familiar, which, while a useful tool, can also be a liability, since they're so weak. I only decided to change to Close-Range cause I didn't really need the Concentration ability with the change in Spell Combat, and thought it'd be cool to scorching ray someone through my sword. Also, some people in the Discussion board were saying that the Magus doesn't have the damage potential. I don't see it. I mean, I guess I'm not in a group with any full melee character, but I've found that I've been getting about even damage with my party members, and often out damaging them. Stabitha and I deal with our melee concerns pretty damn well, and I've been fulfilling our need for an arcane caster in battle so far. The spell list is still pretty small and restrictive, but Spell Blending and Greater Spell Pool are a great step in the right direction. I would have taken Spell Blending as my Arcana actually, but for just one spell, it didn't really seem worth it. Maybe 2 spells, or 3 if they're lower then the highest level spell you can cast. I'd like to see Greater Spell Pool come in earlier. And I still don't really care for the Medium and Heavy Armor being automatic additions. I'd rather they were Arcana, and we got more arcana choices instead.
So I got an e-mail from you guys that the transaction had been denied, so I went and talked to my bank. They said everything checked out fine, my card is still active, and there's been no stop-payments or anything. But they didn't even recieve the charge from you guys, so all I can think of is for you guys to run the card again.
I plan on using d20pro to run a shackled city campaign. I was wondering if anyone knows of any versions of the dungeon maps that DON'T have traps and secret doors marked.
Hey everyone, I just got a refurbished laptop on Tuesday, with a DVD-RW drive. Problem is this is the first computer I've owned since the desktop I had years ago that just had 2 gigs of HD space. If I remember right CD-R's came out like a year after my mom had gotten that thing. My problem is I can't get DVD's to play on it. I got a DVD player program, and I downloaded the codec or whatever that it pointed me to when I first put a disc in, but it STILL says that I don't have some key or codec. Can anyone tell me how to get this thing working?
When oh when shall these be out again?
I recently discovered this forum due to the fact that I'm gonna be running a Shackled City campaign and I was looking for things to enhance it, leading me to the Paizo site. I discovered Pathfinder, and everything else. I love this community. There are some really talented people making fan material, and they ask for our feedback, and use it thankfully. There are great artists willing to draw your characters or whatnot. There are people introducing their own conversions for all of us to use. There's great conversations, and productive debates on the rules and everything else. Then there's Paizo itself. EXTREMELY talented game designers, writers, and artists. Not only that, but unlike just about any other company, they really ask for the customer's feedback of what they want out of a product, and not just to open playtest, but here on the forums, us "customers" can make suggestions and they'll actually be listened to. The forums also have people from all over the gaming industry coming and getting feedback on their products as well. This is a place filled with people who care about the gaming hobby and want to see it become the best it can possibly be. You all are awesome, thank you for existing.
So the wording of the Bleed condition seems to say that it only happens once, not continously, round to round. Didn't bleed used to be continuous until either the heal skill or magical healing was applied, and has this purposefully been changed? |
