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Nice! Looks like those knights caught up with the dragon from the Lost Omens World Guide picture lol.
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Page 15: OMG SHE'S BACK! :D Hey girl, I've missed you! Loving the new sword and fancy bow, great touch by the artist.
Wait, so we start as heroes in the first adventure, then we play as the villains in the second adventure, then back to heroes? Heck yeah, that sounds awesome!
If you're interested in the history of money IRL, I highly recommend "The History of Paper Money" series from Extra Credits on Youtube: https://youtu.be/-nZkP2b-4vo?si=3HMQXjwr-kX0Zj7Z
Holy cowabunga. Jaxter Gorb. Just named right there in the FIRST SENTENCE. Incredible. I legit never thought they'd reveal so much about Norgorber, keeping the mystery going forever. When I first started reading I was a little worried that the truth would be disappointing, but DAYUM that was a great backstory. I like how it shows that Norgorber's entire idea of the world is so heavily informed by the harm done to him in his youth and how he just keeps doubling down on being worse than his enemies to beat them. The Prince of Propaganda aspect I love, but its very close to how the Reaper of Reputation has been portrayed (or maybe I've been portraying the Reaper wrong?). Such a great idea though, especially how it ties to the original Jaxter. While I love getting all this delicious Norgorber lore, I do wonder how players will react to working so closely with him (them?). Trusting Norgorber in any of his aspects is a mistake, plus Norgorber and his cult have caused so many problems in this adventure. When the players see who they're working with, I expect many to understandably balk at the idea of working with the villainous deity. Using the existing material in the adventure should help give the players more context, but I can see this being a significant obstacle for many tables. What do you think? How did the truth of Norgober land for you? Anyone upset he isn't actually four halflings in a trenchcoat?
Oh man. My players just stopped Blune and the Graveraker. I need to actually rebuild Terimor and decide on what her fight will look like now! Btw I'm going to use the special Vilderraavn from another adventure (they're in thr Archives of Nethys) as her backup.
OH, one last note on the Blune fight: -The toadie's regeneration ability can be incredibly annoying to some players, I'd use caution with it.
My players just finished Graveraker and I have some notes: -As a dungeon concept, its incredible! A runaway terraforming massive bulldozer? Heck yeah! -An exterior map and some play outside would be great. Give the players the opportunity to climb/fly around the outside, deal with a protean or two on the outside, maybe dramatically throw them into the dangerous parts of Graveraker for a cool finisher. -The chaos-focused nature of the threats inside Graveraker is a bit too much, imo. My PCs are more "loose-cannon cops who don't play by the rules", so all the chaos damage didn't effect them. I threw in some Bythos to get some lawful space/time control into the mix, which I think works for Graveraker. -Kaeron and Whistles-Through-Aether are perfect and I love them. -Graveraker and Blune need more screen time. I strongly recommend adding a big showcase in book 1 of Graveraker and Blune proudly demonstrating to the crowds (and PCs) before Graveraker is stolen (also, how does this actually happen?). Blune should also be featured more throughout the adventure. When my players got to Blune in the control room they had no idea who the gnome was until I pulled up the handout in Roll20 for them. -The tight confines of the Graveraker map were tricky for my party and the large monsters, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Smaller rooms happen and parties need a way to handle that. -When Blune rolled to get their toady illusions, I rolled max for a total of 6 (1d4+2). This slowed the combat down significantly but didn't make it more dynamic as their attacks only do chaotic damage. At that point the illusions just used Magic Missile each round, turning them more into hazard than creatures. I recommend only summoning 3-4 of them. -The small map means Blune's AoE spells are going to hit easily, but it also means the gnome has nowhere to run. Once they got into melee with Blune the fight ended quickly, especially since Blune doesn't see the PCs coming. I'd change that to give Blune time to cast a 1-3 spells first, like with their Ring of Maniacal Devices. -Alternatively, Blune could be rebuilt as an inventor instead of an illusionist. I'd go with a Construct innovations and have the construct be the prototype Graveraker. I didn't have time to rebuild Blune like this, but I could see it being a fitting stat block with a fun combat. -Another way to spice up the Blune fight would be to mess with space/gravity. I ran out of time to build this, but I think it'd be fun to have gravity change up during the fight, so Player A is pulled to the ceiling while Player B is pulled to the West wall. Might be hard to run and it'd take a new map of 6 "rooms" but I think it'd be fun!
I was already excited (been wanting to do a theatrical adventure ever since the Council of Thieves) but now I am HYPED! Norgyborgy is one of my favorite deities in Lost Omens, so this is gonna be fun. that muscular Astradaemon though "Okay, here me out..."
Gotcha, that makes sense. Thanks!
When a Bad Mage casts a Fireball spell, can Good Wizard use Counterspell after seeing the results of their allies' Saving Throws? Or does it have to be before the ST dice are rolled?
Regardless of what happens in the War of Immortals adventure, I hope Yivali shows up. They'd be a fun little helper-NPC!
Oh man, there goes my bracket! I was figuring Zon-Kuthon's death would be to merge with Shelyn. Comedy and Tragedy together, as divine pathos (like theater masks). Also, Yivali calling her "Miss Shelyn" is just adorable!
Personally, I despise it. If I were a player, losing everything we had spent 2 books working on with zero chance of preventing the loss would make me leave the game. Absolutely hate it and seriously wonder why this was approved. The BBEG attacking the party with a surprise attack and trying to steal the cards? That's good! Love a proactive enemy. But automatically stealing them comes off as GM undercutting the party. My recommendation is to have the robbery happen, but the party can try and hold onto cards if they take actions to do so during the fight. This makes the fight more dynamic as they have to decide whether to spend actions on holding onto cards or dealing with the monsters. As high level PC's they'll have plenty of options as well, but the BBEG can still get away with a good chunk of them. The rest of the book can still happen too, so it doesn't invalidate the rest of the adventure.
"Unfortunately, in some cases, a variety of reasons makes leaving behind strigiform-ursine hybrids or cuboid gels the best option for us." Life is pain, but I understand. :(
I'd actually recommend alchemical items for pre-buffing. Many alchemical items, like elixirs, mutagens, poisons, etc. have either a long duration for their level or last until used (bombs, poisons, etc.). Not to reinforce the idea that Alchemists are just fantasy vending machines, but they REALLY can buff the party in a variety of ways relatively cheaply.
My party was discussing how to get into Stormholt to assault the Black Whale prison-ships and one of them brought up airships. They also enjoyed the Dragonfly Pagoda dungeon and realized that it should be completed by now. That's when one (I think the monk?) had the brilliant idea "What if the Dragonfly Pagoda was actually an airship?!" As everyone was excitedly freaking out, I took a solid 3 minutes to think about it. Not having prepared anything close ot this (they can literally just take a rowboat to the Black Whale), this idea is too good to pass up. Right now they are already in the Black Whale, working their way through the prison, but I want to explore setting up the Dragonfly Pagoda as a vehicle they can use later on. I'm thinking using the standard Airship stats (https://2e.aonprd.com/Vehicles.aspx?ID=1) to represent the Pagoda and having Olansa Darvakka minions attacking Absalom from the skies to create an dogfight between the PC's and the Darvakkas. What do you think? This is going to be a BIG addition to the adventure, but it sounds so rad that I don't want to just ignore the idea.
Zon-Kuthon and Shelyn merging together could have some fun comedy/tragedy themes, like theater masks.
Brothers of the mine rejoice!
Born underground, suckled from a teat of stone
I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole
This! Beat me to it. RAW, the Elixir of Life just recovers HP without the Positive or Negative tags, so it'll heal HP for anyone!
Personally I'd rather not see the specializations get too heavy. Oh yeah, more Mutagenist feats would be cool! Maybe more stuff like Revivifying Mutagen (https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=97) that let you end a mutagen early in exchange for an effect. Drakeheart Mutagen already does this with its speed boost, but you could do this with a one time attack bonus, AC bonus, saving throw bonus, damage bonus, breath weapon, quickened, flash of dazzling light, skill bonus, etc. There was also the Master Chymimst prestige class in PF1 (https://aonprd.com/PrestigeClassesDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Master%20Chymist) that gains a mutated form from their repeated use of mutagens. This mutated form can gain various abilities, like darkvision, a larger size, and even an entirely different personality. PF1 also had alchemy feats based around altering one's own body. These would do stuff like help you avoid critical hits (your organs have shifted around) and gain new abilities. This might be more for the Chirugeon than the Mutagenist though.
This would be a BIG change to the entire game, but I think creatures need more Weaknesses and fewer Immunities. I love the idea of the Alchemist having cheap access to a wide variety of damage types (fire, cold, electric, etc.) that they can use to exploit enemy Weaknesses and avoid their Resistances/Immunities. However, a minority of creatures have Weaknesses that can be exploited and far too many have Resistances/Immunities, so the creatures themselves undercut what should be the Alchemist's strengths. This also applies to other classes/builds that can use a variety of damage types (notably blasters). A solution to this would be to reduce the number of Immunities, reduce the number of Resistances, and increase the number of Weaknesses. I would drop most Immunities to a high Resistance (save the ones that REALLY need to be there, like a fire elemental being immune to fire). Most Resistances I would either reduce (Resist 10 > Resist 5) or do away with entirely. Adding Weaknesses to creatures that didn't have them before might be a little tricky with some, but by and large should be easy to pull off. An easier change would be to make Alchemists more debuff-centric via poisons. This would largely involve changing poisons by making more of the include conditions (enfeebled, clumsy, stupefied, etc.) and making fewer creatures immune to poison. I would also make poisons follow the Persistent Damage rules as opposed to their own subsystem, but that's me. More debuffing poisons, less poison immunity, and improved weapon proficiency, would be very helpful for making Alchemists pack more of a punch in combat. One last thought, but in PF1 I greatly enjoyed the +2/-1 tradeoff that mutagens and cognatagens provided. Maybe bring that back for the mutagens in PF2?
Introducing Terimor Before Book 6: the Gray Queen is one of those villains who doesn't really show up on camera until very late in the adventure. Part of this is certainly due to keeping her off the player's radar as a potential threat as well as Terimor's skill at deception. If I remember correctly she does appear in book 1 briefly, but doesn't have any scripted lines and is just another government official who's upset about the Graveraker's disappearance. It's not until book 6 that she's suddenly revealed to be the BBEG, seemingly out of nowhere. So how do we fix this? What I did in my game is introduce Terimor in book 3 as a political ally of Captain Asilia. Terimor is a low-ranking member of the Council of Absalom who presents as a shy, mousy, bureaucrat who is a bit over her head in politics. I also had her play a role in running the Radiant Festival. At my table, she's another NPC who is there to be a potential ally to the party and the "gateway" to the political side of the game. If my players wanted to, they could talk to her to learn about the political situation in Absalom with the Council, Radiant Festival, and any other high-level issues they'd like to explore. I had a few other NPCs in similar roles that my party could talk to, though they never really talked to Terimor much. I did make sure to get these NPCs on camera at least 3 times each, so they were established as Important People, but we'll see if my players suspect Terimor by the end.
Gatewalkers involves a prolonged escort mission as the PC's guide Sakuachi so she can progress the plot. The story here kinda stops being about the PC's and instead focuses on this NPC (who I do honestly like). However, many players find escort missions un-fun and making an adventure about an NPC is often disappointing and frustrating for players. There is a sidebar that tries to address this, but I don't think that'll work for every table. So let's brainstorm alternatives. What can be changed in Gatewalkers in books 2-3 to refocus the adventure on the PC's as opposed to Sakuachi?
Posted this on Reddit, reposting here to cover my bases. So since PF2 started I had written off Inhaled poisons as a situational hazard for DMs to use as traps, but never really considered using them as an NPC or PC. However, the Inhaled trait states: "An inhaled poison is activated by unleashing it from its container. Once unleashed, the poison creates a cloud filling a 10-foot cube lasting for 1 minute or until a strong wind dissipates the cloud. Every creature entering this cloud is exposed to the poison and must attempt a saving throw against it; a creature aware of the poison before entering the cloud can use a single action to hold its breath and gain a +2 circumstance bonus to the saving throw for 1 round." My understanding of this is that the container of inhaled poison can be opened and the 10 ft cube can be centered on the user OR pointed in a direction, so the cube only has to be adjacent to the user. Is this correct? Also, can inhaled poison containers be thrown like a bomb, breaking on impact and releasing the toxins into the air? If the directed-release or thrown uses work, Inhaled poisons are a LOT more useful than I had assumed based on previous experience. It would allow Alchemists and others to use inhaled poisons as battlefield control items, which hasn't been part of the Alchemists/Alchemical Items discourse that I've seen.
Sure, a couple points: -Stacking buffs can only go so far, as you can only benefit from the highest bonus from each of the three types. If I remember that thread correctly, they had made a rules error and the magus had benefitted from too many bonuses. -That party had worked together to come up with a strong strategy, which should be rewarded! If your players come up with a good idea, its important to let them have that victory. Its only when that idea becomes overused that it becomes an issue (as is the case in that Reddit thread). -Dispel Magic is a heck of a drug. So is Anti-Magic Field and similar effects. -Your tactics won't help if you're ambushed! Give your players a Perception check or two, then BAM! Assassins. -Battlefield control spells, especially those that split the party (ex: Wall of Stone) and/or lockdown a single target (ex: Paralyze)
Gotcha, okay. Having it only apply to the original target of the Strike on a Success or Critical Success makes sense RAW and RAI. Thanks folks!
As the title, I had been telling an alchemist in my party that they can apply injury poison to a Junk Bomb and the poison would hit everyone that took damage from the Junk Bomb. However, after re-reading the rules on injury poisons I think I might be wrong. Specifically: "An injury poison is activated by applying it to a weapon or ammunition, and it affects the target of the first Strike made using the poisoned item. If that Strike is a success and deals piercing or slashing damage, the target must attempt a saving throw against the poison. On a failed Strike, the target is unaffected, but the poison remains on the weapon and you can try again. On a critical failure, or if the Strike fails to deal slashing or piercing damage for some other reason, the poison is spent but the target is unaffected." What's the correct answer here?
Westcrown, former capitol of Cheliax, is the best match-up. It's a coastal metropolis with extensive canals, heavy Italian inspiration, theater scene, and was supposed to be the site where Aroden would come down from the heavens to rule the Chelish empire himself. See: https://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Westcrown
Link says "Sorry, the file you have requested does not exist." Ope, it's the gadget one here: https://zenithgames.blogspot.com/2019/09/pathfinder-2nd-edition-guide-to-gu ides.html
Ope just found this guide: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TRekzATFniY4ZRiCSWOYDvLAOaqefsBetqT_Kxf a71Q/edit Still open to suggestions, though :)
I'm looking into making an inventor who uses a lot of gadgets and I love the ones that were printed in G&G. However, I wonder which ones are best to pick up. Any advice on ones to definitely pick up and/or avoid?
I'd suggest updating Carrion Hill in there somewhere. That one has a LOT of Yog-Sothothery in there. Oh, good idea! I like Carrion Hill, so translating it to PF2 would be a fun exercise if nothing else.
I'm thinking of running the new Candlemere material as its own adventure, separate from an ongoing Kingmaker campaign, and want to get any advice y'all have to share. Here's what I've got so far: This would start at level 4 in Chapter 2, part 7, "Candlemere Island". I'm not sure what the hook would be, but providing a few options would be pretty easy (Pharasmin PC seeks more information on a site of ancient clerical work they don't understand, occult investigators curious for secrets, dungeon crawler looking for treasure, etc.). This whole chapter could be run as-is. Cult of the Bloom could be reworked into some weird eldritch shenanigans, planting the narrative seed that Bad Stuff is happening and is tied to Candlemere. Stopping these occurrences and investigating them can give clues about what is going on elsewhere. This will cover levels 6-8. I'm considering adding the Varnhold Vanishing to cover levels 8-10. Considering the next Candlemere material is at level 16, I'm okay having a bridge between the two sections. Vordakai would make a good cultist as well, easy enough to change his backstory. I'd definitely want to add in a few elements that are more eldritch-horror and appropriate for showing that the Yog-Sothoth cultists are still a threat to the area. The "Among the Nomen" part would be a nice break from the spooky occult stuff, as well. Chapter 8, part 3, "The Ghost of Whiterose" could also be reworked to fit the adventure. Instead of looking for Briar, the PC's could be uncovering some fantastic treasure that will help them in the dungeons below Candlemere and end the Thresholders for good. The problem is this is a jump to level 14, so we'd either have to time/level skip or fill in the gap. After that we are at Chapter 9, "They Lurk Below" at level 16. This might require another time/level skip, unless we write more material (maybe borrowing from ideas in other AP's like Strange Aeons?). This whole chapter can be run as-is and will serve as the end of the adventure. As Yog-Sothoth is connected to time, maybe that could be tied to the time/level skips somehow? At least thematically, if not mechanically. What do you think? Any ideas? Suggestions? Critiques?
Okay that's not bad at all, really. I don't mind a couple bucks increase (and several decreases), especially for the quality of the books.
While Selty's new art is gorgeous, I can't help but miss his edgy black leather look (also don't mind how low-cut his top was).
The real catch with new class ideas is to come up with the theme or mechanics that aren't already represented in existing classes/archetypes/builds. I'd really like something with mechanics similar to the Solarian from Starfinder, which builds up attunement to photons or gravitons the longer they're in either stance. Could translate it very easily or make it elemental as well! I'm a big fan of the Mesmerist from PF1 so translating that would be great as well. I've been fiddling around with a homebrew Mesmerist that includes a supportive therapist subclass, which helps avoid some of the ethically dubious aspects of the class. Lastly, this would work better as an Archetype, but some kind of Mageslayer would be neat. The dedication feat could give you better saves against magical effects and bonus damage against spellcasters. Later feats can give you tricks to help against different schools of magic (anti-conjuration gives you bonuses against summoned minions, anti-enchantment can trick the enchanter into thinking you failed, etc.) Eventually you can cut through magic like a knife through butter!
Oh nice, definitely using this in my game. The Harmony/Discord conflict alone makes for a wonderful character arc for a diviner.
I'm actually running a homebrew adventure in Sarkoris where the PC's are all new members of the Reclaimers, the loose alliance of Mendevian crusaders, Kellid tribespeople "coming home", and Green Faith druids trying to resettle Sarkoris. Naturally, these three groups have different ideas of what "resettling Sarkoris" means that don't always overlap (beyond slaying any demons left behind). The Mendevian crusaders conflicted. On one hand, the Worldwound is closed and many want to just go home to pick up the lives they had assumed were over. On the other hand, leaving behind a broken land would be irresponsible and if the demons come back the crusaders will need to be ready. The war is over, but the work continues. The Kellid people driven from their homes by the demon hordes endured. They fought and have now won the war, so their homeland can now be restored! The Sarkorian tribes can return to their ancestral homes to live as they once did. Then again, a unified Kellid nation would also be a great way to help keep demons at bay as well defend against any neighbors with imperialist and racist motivations. The druids of the Green Faith also have goals in Sarkoris. The Abyss-blighted land was warped and corrupted in horrible ways. Healing the land and serving as stewards of the realm to ensure the ecosystem returns to its rightful state. The work of clearing this corruption will take many long seasons, so others had best recognize the druids' work as necessary and their decisions as wise (i.e. stay out of the way before you all make it worse). These three groups were allies during the crusades, but now that the Worldwound has closed, how long will that last? What will the PC's do? What horrors still remain in the wake of the demon hordes?
Oh nice, welcome to the party and best of luck to you! Here's what I'd make sure are in-stock for PF2: -Beginner Box (make sure you get the PF2 version, not the PF1 version https://paizo.com/pathfinder/beginnerbox) -Pathfinder 2e Core Rulebook (obviously https://paizo.com/products/btq01zp3?Pathfinder-Core-Rulebook) -Bestiary (at least the first, but second and third can't hurt https://paizo.com/products/btq01zp4?Pathfinder-Bestiary) -Advanced Player's Guide (really good book, introduces a lot more player options https://paizo.com/products/btq023ih?Pathfinder-Advanced-Players-Guide) -Pathfinder Lost Omens: World Guide (basic exploration of the Lost Omens setting, great inspiration with options for GMs and players https://paizo.com/products/btq01zoj?Pathfinder-Lost-Omens-World-Guide) Beyond those basics, I'd also recommend a few others (especially if you see demand go up): -Gamemaster Guide (much like the APG, but for GM's https://paizo.com/products/btq022c1?Pathfinder-Gamemastery-Guide) -Pathfinder Lost Omens: Character Guide (bunch of great player options https://paizo.com/products/btq01zt4?Pathfinder-Lost-Omens-Character-Guide) -Guns & Gears (for the technologically minded https://paizo.com/products/btq029xk?Pathfinder-Guns-Gears) -Secrets of Magic (for the mystically inclined https://paizo.com/products/btq027uy?Pathfinder-Secrets-of-Magic) -Standalone Adventures (short, sweet, and can be completed in 3-4 sessions, I'd keep a few in stock https://paizo.com/store/pathfinder/adventures/standalone/pathfinderAdventur es) -Adventure Paths (these are the long-form campaigns of PF2, I'd try to get the 1st and 2nd books for a few in stock and grow from there if there's demand https://paizo.com/store/pathfinder/adventures/adventurePath)
Ok so my players succeeded in my altered casino heist. Here's how it went down: -Instead of the heist automatically failing because Franca Laurentz beat them to it without any chance for success, I had Franca trying to rob the casino at the same time as the Agents. Franca also has connections to the Champion of Milani in the party, both having escaped slavery together, so its personal. -Franca's plan was to sneak in through underground tunnels that connect the Iorium to the elevator shaft in the basement of the Lucky Nimbus. She brought a Vaultbreaker Ooze with her (my party didn't end up fighting one in book 2) and had learned the basics she needed to pull this off while working in disguise as a guard at the Lucky Nimbus. While she's robbing the place, Sathka and the svartalfar would try to kill Gage Carlyle upstairs as vengeance and distraction. -The Agents did some wonderful prep-work for the heist, scoring 7 Edge Points by the time they began. They had learned secrets about NPCs, they had jobs working for the casino, the sorcerer had stored an item in the vault and used Prying Eyes to get the layout, it was *perfect*. They had also acquired a Insistent Door Knocker so they could just open a new door into the vault, completely bypassing the vault door itself (I had added a trap to the vault door that would go off if Gage's Key was used incorrectly or if the lock was picked and got a Critical Failure). -On top of that, they also were able to pick Gage's Key out of his pocked with a mixture of distraction and good spellwork, which they didn't end up needing! -Just after the Agents get the clockwork poison bomb (stored safely away with a Chest Feather token), Franca and the Vaultbreaker Ooze broke into the basement and knocked out the bouncer left in the basement (the others having run upstairs to fight the shadowy elves). The Agents had already gotten the bomb, so she chased them down and fought our rogue and monk. -Rogue, monk, and the oracle were able to stop Franca and take her into custody, while also protecting the casino guests and Gage himself! I'm not sure how the interrogation of Franca will go, nor am I sure what to do with Oggvurm and the other iruxi at the Irorium, but I'm excited to see what happens! Maybe Scathka will work with the lizardfolk to acquire the bomb and complete the gassing of the crowd? If Franca had acquired the bomb she was going to slip it down into the sewers as the Agents chased her through the Undercity to the Irorium.
My players are now (jokingly?) talking about using Wall of Stone to just seal up the Lucky Nimbus Casino entirely, like some Rollercoaster Tycoon level nonsense. Bad guys can't get The Item if *no one* can get the item, right? I love this so much.
While I do enjoy Curse of the Crimson Throne and Korvosa, I was hoping the next adventure would tread new ground as opposed to being based on the events of Curse (as we've already had the original 3.5 Curse, the PF1 Curse update, an entire book of Shattered Star, part of Return of the Runelords, and The House on Hook Street). Still, I'm sure it'll be fun and enjoyable by folks who are familiar with Curse.
I had mentioned it in the title, but SPOILERS FOR BOOK 4 OF AGENTS OF EDGEWATCH. Okay? Okay. In Assault on Hunting Lodge Seven, the Agents infiltrate the Noxious Retort, delve into the poison temple, fight through venomous fiends and monsters all to arrest Jonis Flakfatter, the Infector, for the (attempted?) poisoning at the Irorium. Jonis, a clever man and member of the Twilight Four, surrenders to the Agents custody knowing his hired protectors will come to rescue him from wherever the Agents hold the poisoner. Except this is all assuming that the Agents take him alive in the first place. I'm fairly certain my players won't care about Jonis being taken into custody, even if the poisonous priest doesn't fight them, and understandably so. Jonis is a devious, unrepentantly evil, murderer (and in my game a huge part of the drug trade) who orchestrated a terrorist attack all to appease Norgorber. Why on earth would the Agents care about taking him alive, beyond questioning him for information or an ironclad sense of justice and proper law enforcement? In my view, the assumption that the players take Jonis alive leads to some fun and interesting gameplay, but its also a huge assumption on what the players will do. So what does a GM do if the players kill Jonis? My idea would be to keep chapter 2 basically the same, but the attackers coming after the PC's are out for revenge and/or seeking Blackfingers' favor by taking the Agents down. To protect the Agents, they're brought to Gevrin Manor as a safehouse to hide out in until the legal/social ramifications of the Agents extra-judicial killing of a citizen/high priest (Norgorberite or not) is sorted out. All of the alchemists, poison priests, venom mages, clockworks, etc. can assault the hunting lodge as scripted with minimal tweaks. This also gives the GM time to show how the Rumormonger is turning the populace against the Agents and guard, each issue of the Eyes on Absalom "asking questions everyone is thinking" about the Agents activities. Sure, taking out a serial killer and murder cultists is all good, but Jonis was a semi-respected member of the community who ran an (ostensibly) gentle temple of Blackfingers. Its hard to hate the alchemy temple when they provide medicines and Elixirs of Life to the general populace.
I know it's an entirely different game system, but all of this is at the core of the White Wolf/Onyx Path game Mage: the Ascension. The different paradigms and how they help define how the varied ideas of magic/reality work is fascinating (and the source of endless discussion). Applying this to the PF2 magical traditions is not a perfect fit (necessarily, depending on your interpretation), but it can help with the Arcane/Occult divide.
Got a question from a player about flying and want to confirm the action economy. The question is does moving and hovering in place use 1 action or two actions?p/b] Link to the Maneuver in Flight rules, for reference. So my initial impression is that moving and hovering would be two separate actions, but I want to make sure because using up 2 actions is a lot in combat and if they aren't hovering in place...what exactly happens? Does their momentum keep them going forward as they use their 2nd-3rd action to fire a crossbow and reload? If so, how far do they go? Is there something I'm missing? How do you handle it at your table? [b]EDIT: oh hey, here's the part I missed! On the rules for Fly it states "You move through the air up to your fly Speed. Moving upward (straight up or diagonally) uses the rules for moving through difficult terrain. You can move straight down 10 feet for every 5 feet of movement you spend. If you Fly to the ground, you don’t take falling damage. You can use an action to Fly 0 feet to hover in place. If you’re airborne at the end of your turn and didn’t use a Fly action this round, you fall."
"Foragers and For Ragers" An all-barbarian playthrough of Quest for the Frozen Flame!
I haven't tried it yet, but I don't understand why they don't treat the eidolon like an animal companion when it comes to the action economy. Having the PC spend 1 action to give an order to their animal, who then got 2 actions, seemed perfectly fine to me. Why add an entirely new class-specific system (thought PF2 was trying to avoid that)? As I remember folks did NOT like that in the playtest, so why keep it around? Why limit the spellcasting (which I recall folks didn't like either)? That all being said, I am excited to try one out. I want to make one with the occult list who's trying to join a secret cabal (maybe Palatine Eye?).
Terimor's Backup: Alright so Monsters of Myth is out and one of the legendary beasts it features is the Taljjae. This many-masked fey monster uses its different faces to wreak havoc and gets different abilities depending on the mask it wears. Now doesn't that sound perfect for a high priestess of Norgorber to have as backup? Its creature level 18 so that makes it appropriate for the final battle, it can stalk the PC's throughout books 5 and 6 (though it shouldn't fight in book 5, as it is likely to overpower them), and you can easily reskin it to be some exemplar of the masked god. I'm thinking a divine servant of Norgyborgy who was once an actor bard and spy who went so far into their various roles and identities that they stopped being a proper person and are now just a collection of archetypal mask identities. Something akin to Sakashima or Lazav from Magic: the Gathering. I'd drop the Jelly stuff, but you do what's best for your table.
Seconding Thuvia. I don't dislike the material that's been written, I just don't think there's enough going on in the region yet. Hopefully the future Golden Road book creates more material, can't wait to see what the writers come up with!
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