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Eastern Iobaria, specifically the Dvezda Marches, is well characterized in Maiden Mother Crone (AP #69). It sounds like a wasteland, but still it might be possible for the occasional foreigner to try to eke out some minimal trade, directly or indirectly, with those centaurs.

I'm wondering what humanoid nationalities might strike up a trade? For instance, going by the maps, it looks like it should be possible for Tian Xia to possibly have some irregular trade with Eastern Iobaria via the Shining Sea.

Trade with the Tian Xia matters for an in-campaign plot point, but I don't want to stretch the setting TOO far; I would settle for any kind of trade. But my knowledge of Golarion isn't that solid, and I know that the Jade Regent AP talked about the path over the Crown of the World. Would appreciate any idle comments from the Golarionites in this forum about who my PCs might run into out there.

Just placed this order as part of the Great Golem Sale. Can you delay shipping my order? I will be at the location being shipped to from December 15th, so if you hold off until the 2nd week of December it should work out well.

If that's not possible, feel free to ship it at the end of your Great Golem Sale shipping frenzy. I doubt you get this request often :) so thanks in advance.

What do the PCs want to accomplish in Reign of Winter? A truly horrific action for any good character: to free one of the evils of the multiverse, one that has inflicted countless horrors on innocent and non-innocent alike over centuries. The Black Rider's mantle is a evil geas inflicted on the PCs with a spoonful of sugar, driving them onwards with no choice except to comply, regardless of the moral quandary.

But, you counter: it's for a good reason! You are driven to free Baba Yaga it to prevent an ever greater evil - that of eternal winter spreading across Golarion. With that in mind, let's take the best outcome in the authored AP: the PCs free Baba Yaga, stop the ritual, and afterwards ask Baba Yaga politely to leave Irrisen alone. Yay! Golarian is saved!

But... Baba Yaga is free. She is loose.

Does saving one planet from an icy fate really excuse the number of lives that she will destroy on other planets? The countless off-planet Irrisens she will almost certainly go on to create?

If you question the amount of lives lost, the AP establishes that Irrisen is, by design, a frozen hell bent on torturing countless innocent souls via The Shackled Hut (aka, "The Child Endangerment AP"). The Witch Queen's Revenge explains what happens to the granddaughters of each of the deposed queens. We could go on; Baba Yaga is no Demon Lord, but most of her experiments seem to involve a gleeful amount of collateral damage. Let's not think that she is innocent or does not deserve to be brought to justice.

So, if freeing her is an evil act, should a paladin fall after releasing Baba Yaga? Of course the answer is no! No GM should force a fall from a choice that is not really a choice.

And that's my issue with the railroad: why isn't it a choice? Why did the author(s) choose only ONE single way to save the world? Should freeing Baba Yaga have been the only way to conclude this Adventure Path?

If you ask me, tabletop gaming is at its best when it promotes creativity. The AP metaplot had plenty of options to support creative solutions beyond just freeing Baba Yaga:

• stealing her power by following Rasputin's path to ascension, becoming mythic, and stopping the ritual.
  
• finishing Rasputin's path and claiming the Thrice-tenth kingdom for the fact that it may weaken Baba Yaga, allowing her to be ultimately killed or reimprisoned
  
• destroying the Dancing Hut. Doesn't it house the demi-plane where Elvanna is hiding?
  
• after killing Elvanna, there is really NO WAY! to stop the ritual short of Baba Yaga? Really?! No allies, no deific intervention, not the decemvirate, no avatars of creation that can sort out how to stop a ritual that has been put in place by (only) a 20th level, non-mythic, non-deific power?
  
• Best option! Make it a choice. Free Baba Yaga to stop the ritual, thus acquiring great wealth, power, and immortality as boons upon her freedom; or sacrifice your lives to shut down the ritual and keep Baba Yaga imprisoned for another age.
  

Sure, any GM can add this, but I am wondering why the conclusion to this AP are so narrowly structured, with one path to success or failure, given how much of a moral quandry the plot presents to thinking good PCs.

How would YOU have changed the ending?

PS. And don't get me started on Elvanna. She manages to survive her mother just to guarantee her death by threatening all of Golarion before her power is cemented. Brilliant plan. /slowclap

Peacemaker is a feat from the Champions of Purity player companion.

The DC to resist spells you cast to ensure peace or force aggressive creatures to become peaceful increases by +2. This affects spells that dissuade creatures from aggressive actions without exerting long-term or absolute control over them, and without leaving them defenseless. These spells include, but are not limited to, calm animals, calm emotions, command, compassionate ally, enthrall, euphoric tranquility, sanctuary, and serenity.

So, what additional spells qualify? How about hideous laughter:

This spell afflicts the subject with uncontrollable laughter. It collapses into gales of manic laughter, falling prone. The subject can take no actions while laughing, but is not considered helpless. After the spell ends, it can act normally. On the creature's next turn, it may attempt a new saving throw to end the effect. This is a full round action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity. If this save is successful, the effect ends. If not, the creature continues laughing for the entire duration.

As an argument, though while you are not defenceless with hideous laughter you still cannot take any actions. You can't run away, drop weapons, or parley. That strikes me as the caster exerting absolute control over what the character can do and violates the spirit of the feat.

However,enthrall also prevents characters from taking actions during this too, so I don't know if I have this right. Any views?

Do you need to make a DC 20 ride check to charge on an untrained mount, even when you are out of melee range? I have seen folks rule that this check only needs to be made in melee range, but not in the initial charge into combat.

This is a practical question, with a PFS scenario that has NPCs riding untrained mounts, and the leader's tactics saying to Ride-By Attack with a lance and a Ride Skill of +6.

Mounts that do not possess combat training (see the Handle Animal skill) are frightened by combat. If you don't dismount, you must make a DC 20 Ride check each round as a move action to control such a mount. If you succeed, you can perform a standard action after the move action. If you fail, the move action becomes a full-round action, and you can't do anything else until your next turn.

and repeated in...

Control Mount in Battle (DC 20): As a move action, you can attempt to control a light horse, pony, heavy horse, or other mount not trained for combat riding while in battle. If you fail the Ride check, you can do nothing else in that round. You do not need to roll for horses or ponies trained for combat.

In my home game, I'm working with one of my players to allow him to apply the Lycanthrope template to his PC for RP reasons. The party is still only 2nd level and we're looking to retcon this as deep background for the character.

Being conscious of power levels, and we have agreed on a few restrictions. One of them is the obvious one: to apply the template at the 1 CR equivalent, meaning he will always lag one level behind the party.

However, I'm still concerned about the DR for a natural lycanthrope: 10/silver.

1) How can monsters overcome the silver limitation? It's not clear if there's any means based on HD, or anything similar to how alignment subtypes serve to align natural weapons.

2) Has anyone else introduced a low level PC natural lycanthrope to their campaign? Did it overwhelm power levels of other PCs?

Thanks for all comments.

While using this style, you gain a +2 bonus on saving throws against sleep effects, paralysis effects, and stunning effects. You ignore difficult terrain when you charge, run, or withdraw. You can also charge through squares that contain allies. Further, you can add 1-1/2 times your Strength bonus on the damage roll for your first unarmed strike on a given round.

Take a character that is TWF and uses his off-hand for an unarmed strike, eg:

Full Attack Action consists of a longsword(MH)/unarmed strike(OH).

Does she get the full 1.5x strength bonus on her first unarmed strike, even though it is in her off hand?

TL;DR
I would love to hear from any PFS paladins who have taken the mount as their Divine Bond, and how effective it is as you level up.

Background
My PFS Paladin is a two handed Falchion wielding, Oath of Vengeance driven, front line fighter. I just hit 5th level and I've trying to sort out what the right decision is: an Axe Beak animal companion (via boon) or sword enhancement.

• On the sword, for one fight a day, you get a perfectly tuned weapon buff. Which is quite targeted and awesome; boosting my +1 keen falchion to be holy at need seems quite potent.
  
• For the Animal Companion, I get a ~40hp critter that (presumably) I can boost to good effect using Animal Archive. I am assuming that even if I can't ride it during underground fights, he can come with me and fight as a large animal companion. Surprising Charge lets him trip, he can flank... generally speaking I think I can play smart and improve my action economy ALL the time, not just for one fight a day.
  

It's a hard call given that I haven't played enough Pathfinder to know how it scales. What might work at 5th could become progressively useless (or even cannon fodder) at 11th in the middle of a boss battle. The ability to target a blade upgrade against the BBEG could make the difference between success and failure. But, I like the idea of having access to that action economy and a large-sized tripper. It's hard to see how it will work out!

For those PFS Pallies out there, what have your experiences be in practice? Have you seen the Mount work in practice? Did your holy axiomatic blade save the party from a TPK?

All enlightenment welcome :)

Newbie PFS player here.

Have a THF Human Paladin, 1st level, having completed two scenarios. My first purchase was to sell my Greatsword to for a Masterwork one, fill out my inventory with some cold iron/silver, ranged weapons, and spend my first two pp on the obligatory wand of CLW.

After my second scenario, I now have the princely sum of 535 gold and 2pp, and I think my next purchases should be armor related.

Now, I'm assuming I should be going for full plate, and systematically advancing that and upgrading that? But, unsurprisingly I feel a bit squishy in my AC +5 Scale Mail. Should I save up for two more scenarios and drop the 1500gp for full plate? Use my prestige points for half plate? Or is there some way I can combine the "buy any item 750gp or less" option from pp to make my purchase cheaper?

Cheers for any advice. Was also wondering if I should buy a Wand of Protection from Evil or Bless too with those pp.