Inspired by reading of a certain game that has the initials "DW" and it's "you succeed but there are consequences", I sat down to drink bourbon and consider the ramifications for PF. I passed out and hit my head on the keyboard, and when I'd woken, my forehead had typed this:
- Raise a Level - Attribute Check - You were right all along! You knew it! That thing your mentor told you about now clicks in your head! You have an insight! Eureka! - Go up one level. Relevant XP necessary. 3 days training. Required for gaining level 10 or higher.
- Training montage - Attribute Check - spend your time studying your magic, defenses and attacks. +2 "going forward" (meaning +2 to spend on your next Skill Check or Attack Roll). 3 days training minimum.
- Build Reputation - Diplomacy Skill Check - Do small local quests and jobs to build a reputation with the locals. Gain a +2 on all Social Checks on your next visit to the city. 3 days minimum.
- Gather Intelligence - Stealth or Diplomacy Skill Check - Watch or interact with local officials and important persons to gain a +4 on your next Knowledge Skill Check relating to local events. Gain a +2 on a Social Skill Check while interacting with locals. 3 days minimum.
- Earn A Living - Craft, Knowledge or Perform Skill Check - You can earn half your profession checks roll in gold per week of work.
- Drinking and Whoring - Diplomacy or Intimidation Skill Check - You uphold your reputation as an adventurer by spending money in the way everyone else wishes they could. Gain +2 on all Social Skill Checks on your next visit to the city.
- Gambling - Diplomacy or Bluff Skill Check - Gain a +3 on all Social Skill Checks on your next visit to that particular establishment, and +1 on all Social Skill Checks in that part of town. Cost = 300gp. To earn money through gambling, see "Earn a Living" as Profession: Gambler.
- Vigilantism - Stealth or Performance or Intimidation Skill Check - Build a reputation and an identity as a masked crusader for justice! (It's the latest thing). +5 to Fame for each week spent crusading.
How Skill Checks work in Downtime:
A Downtime Skill Check is a single roll of a d20 + relevant skill modifier.
- Meet or exceed target number - Success! There may be additional benefits or opportunities that arise from a skillful and competent use of your time.
- Miss by less than five - Success, although there may be some repercussions. It shouldn't be anything you can't handle.
- Miss by five or more - Failure, although there may be opportunities arise in lessons learned.
- Roll lower than your character level - Failure! Although you may earn XP from your brave endeavor.
A Downtime Attribute Check is a single roll of a d20 + relevant attribute bonus.
- Natural 20 - Success! Gain a +2 bonus going forward
- Meet or exceed target number - Success! There may be additional benefits or opportunities that arise from your training.
- Miss by five or less - Success, although there may be consequences that arise from your training.
- Miss by five or more - Failure, although opportunities may arise in lessons learned.
- Natural 1 - Failure! Although you may earn XP from your hard work and study.
Can one use Spellcraft or Detect Magic to understand the workings of a magical device, like a trap or a teleporter?
Case-in-point: There is a certain AP which has a room with levers and "floating spheres of mist" which act as teleporters. One of the levers affects the destination of the teleporters, and each sphere teleports to a different location. This is not the first time we've seen teleporters in Paizo adventures. I was curious if an astute PC could use his skills to decipher and understand such magical devices and save the PCs a lot of trouble...?
How do other GM's reveal the interesting backstories of those NPC's well-written into the AP's?
Case-in-point: "Cinnabar" from Curse of the Crimson Throne: great backstory, but like so many other NPC's we conjure up, where and how do we tell their stories during the adventure?
I have some tools of my own, but I'd like to open things up and hear from others.
Twisting the Knife- Upon scoring a critical hit in melee combat, the attacker may attempt a Combat Maneuver. If successful, they may on their next turn, roll an automatic hit, doing the weapon's damage plus any applicable bonuses. This action provokes an Attack of Opportunity from the opponent, both on the turns it is invoked, and the subsequent round in which it takes place.
Eyebite seems like a very potent necromancy spell. It reads
paizo wrote:
Each round, you can target a single living creature, striking it with waves of power.
and
paizo wrote:
You must spend a swift action each round after the first to target a foe.
Am I right in reading this as the caster is able to target ONE DIFFERENT foe (as a swift action every round after the first)? So a 10th level caster could sicken/panic/comatose ten opponents?
Does the target need to be able to see him or her to feel the effects of Eyebite?
Since it's just a swift action, can I assume the caster can be casting and doing other things besides laying Eyebite on someone?
Having never played in a game where Limited Wish was cast, I'm curious if and how the spell is interpreted. The spell states that it "lets you produce nearly any type of effect" and "Duplicate any sorcerer or wizard spell...(etc.)".
So my question: Does one cast Limited Wish specifically duplicating spells, or do they cast it to produce an effect that is similar to, but not more powerful than, a duplicated spell?
For example: Can I cast a Limited Wish to "teleport us all out of here", but none of the group members are touching or in contact with the caster. Does the wish require the requirements of the Teleport spell, or does the wish just produce the effect (everyone teleports without having to touch the caster)...?
It seems to me the spell "Dream" is mightily underused, considering its potential.
Playing Kingmaker, I've found Dream to be a useful spell for contacting and giving information and ideas to important NPCs. I thought it would make for a tempting realm in which to adventure and influence others, while being useless in a combat setting. This got me to thinking about many other spells which fall outside the "combat usefulness" list.
Given that its been noted in The Great Beyond,
[url=http://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Dimension_of_Dreams
has anyone had any interesting experiences with developing the Realm of Dreams for adventuring purposes? Should we develop a suite of new magic for traveling to, and influencing that realm?
How about a feat that allows a caster to hold not only one spell, but two? He would need to cast them each as a standard action as appropriate, and he would need to make a concentration check each round that he's holding two spells, but he can unleash them each as a swift action on his turn.
I came across a few interesting house rules recently in (a certain forum that ends with "...Chan") and I thought they were interesting. Tell me what you think of them for Pathfinder, please.
(Paraphrased and rewritten from memory):
Shields Will Be Splintered A player wielding a shield can choose to allow his shield to receive the destroyed condition rather than take the damage from a single attack.
[I would consider allowing Vital Strike to be an exception to this to boost that feat and given its nature]
Eye for an Eye When receiving damage that would put a character at 0 HP or less, the player may opt instead to lose a body part, such as an eye or an arm or leg (with commensurate loss of ability), and is reduced instead to 1 HP.
Training Montage During downtime of 3 days or more, a martial character may opt to train his abilities, receiving a Natural Combat Bonus of +1 until the next time she chooses to activate her Natural Training Bonus as follows:
- Constitution Training: Take a +2 on your next Fort save
- Strength Training: Take a +2 on your next Strength check or +3 damage on a single attack
- Dexterity Training: Take a +2 on your next Reflex save, or +2 to hit on your next ranged attack
When the Training Bonus is expended, the +1 Natural Combat Bonus is as well.
A player engaging in Training Montage may not retrain abilities during this time. It is assumed the character is engaging in a regimen of combat training and physical fitness and rest.
I am creating a new undead; a powerful, cursed creature that can steal someone's face, one feature at a time.
If I consider what spells would be on that level, to consider the power level of the creature's SLA, I would think that Bestow Curse would be about right. However, since combat seems to be a quick sort of running-of-the-numbers much of the time, the general effects of something like Bestow Curse gets overlooked. What IS the effect of -6 to one's charisma? What would it look like to be cursed to stand there every six seconds drooling like an idiot for the rest of one's life?
What are the ancillary effects of Bestow Curse, and does it break verisimilitude in the game to bestow these effects on others? Does anyone know of any examples from the bestiary or from any adventure paths?
For example: I considered that if I wanted my wizard to curse someone with -6 CHA, then I would bestow "eternal flatulence" to him, and let him enjoy how THAT affects his likeability until he can find a wizard who can remove it.
So I want my undead to be able to touch attack, and steal a person's eyes or mouth for their own use. Again, can anyone think of any similar weird abilities ("Hey! What spell was THAT?!!") from anything in the bestiary. I bring this up because we have gotten into the habit of equating every affect with some quantifiable spell. I would like to keep the horror fresh, if possible. Thoughts?
TELEKINESIS
School transmutation; Level sorcerer/wizard 5
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
Target or Targets see text
Duration concentration (up to 1 round/level) or instantaneous; see text
Saving Throw Will negates (object) or none; see text; Spell Resistance yes (object); see text
You move objects or creatures by concentrating on them. Depending on the version selected, the spell can provide a gentle, sustained force, perform a variety of combat maneuvers, or exert a single short, violent thrust.
Sustained Force: A sustained force moves an object weighing no more than 25 pounds per caster level (maximum 375 pounds at 15th level) up to 20 feet per round. A creature can negate the effect on an object it possesses with a successful Will save or with spell resistance.
This version of the spell can last 1 round per caster level, but it ends if you cease concentration. The weight can be moved vertically, horizontally, or in both directions. An object cannot be moved beyond your range. The spell ends if the object is forced beyond the range. If you cease concentration for any reason, the object falls or stops.
An object can be telekinetically manipulated as if with one hand. For example, a lever or rope can be pulled, a key can be turned, an object rotated, and so on, if the force required is within the weight limitation. You might even be able to untie simple knots, though delicate activities such as these require DC 15 Intelligence checks.
Combat Maneuver: Alternatively, once per round, you can use telekinesis to perform a bull rush, disarm, grapple (including pin), or trip. Resolve these attempts as normal, except that they don't provoke attacks of opportunity, you use your caster level in place of your Combat Maneuver Bonus, and you add your Intelligence modifier (if a wizard) or Charisma modifier (if a sorcerer) in place of your Strength or Dexterity modifier. No save is allowed against these attempts, but spell resistance applies normally. This version of the spell can last 1 round per caster level, but it ends if you cease concentration.
Violent Thrust: Alternatively, the spell energy can be spent in a single round. You can hurl one object or creature per caster level (maximum 15) that are within range and all within 10 feet of each other toward any target within 10 feet per level of all the objects. You can hurl up to a total weight of 25 pounds per caster level (maximum 375 pounds at 15th level).
You must succeed on attack rolls (one per creature or object thrown) to hit the target with the items, using your base attack bonus + your Intelligence modifier (if a wizard) or Charisma modifier (if a sorcerer). Weapons cause standard damage (with no Strength bonus; note that arrows or bolts deal damage as daggers of their size when used in this manner). Other objects cause damage ranging from 1 point per 25 pounds (for less dangerous objects) to 1d6 points of damage per 25 pounds (for hard, dense objects). Objects and creatures that miss their target land in a square adjacent to the target.
Creatures who fall within the weight capacity of the spell can be hurled, but they are allowed Will saves (and spell resistance) to negate the effect, as are those whose held possessions are targeted by the spell.
If a telekinesed creature is hurled against a solid surface, it takes damage as if it had fallen 10 feet (1d6 points).
He could opt to lift an opponent into the air using Sustained Force, then drop him. 225lbs, for 9 rounds at 20ft. per round. That's 180ft into the air, with the opponent presumably getting a save every round, correct? Dropped, that opponent would take 18d6 damage, by my reckoning.
Alternatively, the wizard could use Violent Thrust, to hurl up to 9 creatures with a total weight of 225lbs (let's assume one opponent). That opponent would get ONE Will save, and if failed would be hurled 90ft. "towards one target".
Now...the final sentence reads: "If a telekinesed creature is hurled against a solid surface, it takes damage as if it had fallen 10 feet (1d6 points)." What if the opponent is hurled straight up? 90ft straight up is still 90ft straight down (9d6 damage)...?
Victims of a Glitterdust get a Will save to negate it, AND a Will save at the end of each of their turns to end the blindness, which means it's two saves that first round it hits, correct?
How would you adjudicate a Death Gaze attack against a player's Animal Companion? (In this case, a large wolf vs. a bodak). I want the bodak to be deadly of course, but how do you adjudicate AC's averting their gaze? Do they wait for a cue from their master?
1. A blood-stained, hand-drawn almanac of an unknown continent, in an unkown ocean, ...signed by a well-known explorer who is known to be long dead, but is dated just a few years ago in a not-too-distant city.
2. Treatise on Aberrants in the Darke with Recipes by Marco Ramius(+2 on Aberration Knowledge rolls for the next adventure)
3. A buckled and locked book that radiates both evil and magic. It has a piece of parchment tucked into one of the straps explaining that said book should be buried and forgotten when found, the ground salted and blessed, and Memory Lapse cast on everyone present. Also, it instructs the reader to add his/her name to the list (at the bottom). ...there are a dozen names on that list.
4. Book of Axiomatic Experimentations by Rupul Darvallis, which contains various spells for dealing with Chaos and Law, and instructions for summoning a particularly Axiomatic servitor, "Master Manfrenjensen" who (if the spell is completed) takes the form of a very knowledgeable librarian concerned only with order and procedure...
5. An art folio of what appears to be an exotic race of fey creatures, and some curious land formations in the background, as well as some hurriedly-scribbled phrases and words in the margins. There is a hastily drawn map as well, showing where three rivers come together. There is a strange, dried flower blossom pressed between the pages.
I seem to have put my new low-level players in a pickle. They just encountered some vargouilles:
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/monsters/vargouille.html
We ended the session there, but I then realized the PC's are in a remote location. If any of them are infected by the vargouilles, it's very unlikely they would make it to somewhere with a remove disease spell available before they...lose their head.
So what do? I hate for the players to lose any sense of agency that the world is fraught with danger and uncertain death, but at the same time, a lingering, horrible and inevitable death is not that much fun. What would any of you suggest as a side-quest, "out", or would you?
"The next 24 hours is a horror you'll never forget, as the thief is transformed before your eyes..."
I seem to recall reading somewhere that there is a metallic dragon in human form who enjoys frequenting one of the taverns in Olfden, or Oregent. Does anyone know his name, or can link me to the source please?
Devils and Demons have Teleport at Will. It seems to me that this is an incredibly powerful ability to have in combat. How do some of you more experienced GM's utilize this if the party were to face a Devil or three or four?
What's stopping an Infernal from kiting the party with continual teleportations? A Demon with a longbow and a quiver of endless arrows = run for your lives.
Any specific rules for large monsters or NPCs picking-up and throwing PC's? The way I have it now, is the PC or NPC would need one size category difference between them and their opponent, and make a successful Grapple. They can release them (violently) the following turn. A second successful Grapple will allow them a controlled release as an attack. Fill me in if there are additional rules, please.
I'm putting together a series of adventures in the Five Kings Mountains. It seems to be a fine second chapter to the Andoran Falcon's Hollow series.
Adventurers are currently level 5-6. I have some events linking up Davarn, Taggoret and Highhelm. I'm open to new ideas.
Would a rail system between Taggoret and Highhelm be out of the question? I thought steam engines might be too advanced for Golarion at large, but a rail system would make sense for Dwarven efficiency. That would be an awful lot of steel, though.
I used PCGen to make up a challenging heroic "mirror" character to challenge the party fighter. He's a 6th level Fighter with a low-magic shield, some potions, and some complementary feats, and an AC of 27. What's he worth to the party in terms of XP? What's the general rule on this, I was unable to find anything in the core rules...?
I've participated in several sessions of PFS at my local friendly game store, and while I sincerely enjoy the gaming environment, and the hospitality of the game store owners, game organizers, and GM's that contribute their time, I would like to vent a little about my impression of PFS play.
It's not a role playing game. It's a competition. It SHOULD be a role playing game.
I watched players sitting behind their laptops shouting rules at one another across the table, all with an air of righteous excitement that "here is a venue where I get to show off". They were everywhere. Even the GM's were sometimes dumbfounded.
A character sheet wasn't a list of stats, but a list of "I've made all the right choices, and now I'm going to prove it by beating anything you throw at me, and furthermore, I'm entitled to whatever rewards the book says. You, the GM are just here to facilitate my progress." Was there a story? Yeah, I think so. Something about a druid's circle stone had to be kept from the daylight and some Fay wanted to destroy it, but all that was lost as everyone competed to show off their "builds". My poor cleric became overshadowed by flying witches casting "slumber" hexes everywhere. The poor GM even neglected to spot that "cackling" doesn't sustain that spell, and the players got away with it repeatedly, even while they themselves demonstrated how well they knew the rules, or could find said rules on their laptops.
I had a discussion with one of the GM's who told me he doesn't like players who play Inquisitors "because of all their swift actions", and it struck me that competing against the GM is how so many players see it, and it's really too bad. I like GM'ing games, but I'm not certain I could do PFS, with its pre-made adventures, pre-determined loot, and sense of entitlement and "build competition" everyone brings to the table. Not my kind of fun.
/rant
Intrigued by works of Neal Stephenson, and drawn by ideas such as "how does magic hold back the industrial revolution in our fantasy worlds?", and always pushing the idea that magic is deep, mysterious, unpredictable and potentially dangerous, I am inspired to create a new classification of magic-user in Golarion; the "Gemnomancer", or "Lapidarian".
It's still a budding school of study, even dismissed in many circles, but some learned scholars have begun to unearth what they believe to be new properties inherent in gemstones, and enhanced and focused by the works of accomplished gem cutters.
Based upon early discoveries by such renowned magicians and sages such as Xemne Arcturus, Ptolemex, and Eudorius Manfrenjensen, (as well as the Dwarf gemologist Urd Tsengusun of course), there is a modest and growing library of new properties being catalogued:
- Cut gemstones of certain varieties seem to "remember" emotional events that occur in their presence, and these events can be "recalled" and projected on the walls around the viewer with near-perfect clarity.
- Under the right conditions, certain events thus "remembered" can be relived, including the emotional and physiological reaction by the viewer
- Being able to recall the past, or record the present for future posterity could have far-reaching implications for the societies of Golarion
- Certain gemstones display distinctive magical properties of condition, with nothing short of destroying the stone capable of altering this state. Some sages have surmised the construction of some sort of logic engine using a construct devised of such gems
- It has been theorized that many of the mechanical wonders of Numeria may have some form of these "difference engines" within them
The two above ideas could have an incredible impact on the future, but I am open to other ideas too, such as how there could be more immediate and practical applications for adventurers, or what is possibly a better name than "Gemnomancer"...?
I have a player who is grooming his archer to become an Arcane Archer. The party is currently 4th level. He's fond of staying to the rear, and ...well...arching.
QUESTION: Simply put, how do my npc's spot an archer when he's firing at long range? Some of those ranges can get pretty impressive. Does the combat system assume they're "on the map" if they're not stealthed? Give the NPC's a spot bonus since there's a stick pointing back that way?
Assume a very large city, with a learned gentry, and probably a magical college. The ruler would occasionally have need of imprisoning those for whom you can't take away their spell book; sorcerers and the like. How do?
In a general sense, a monarch could rule "Well, she's too dangerous, just hang her." but prisoners can be useful in the long run, and adjudicating certain spells for individuals could become expensive. Give me ideas for an institution that can safely house those of magical blood for an indefinite period of time.
I'm currently running a good, fun game with mature, reasonable friends. During one session, another player couldn't make it, but as he was the "meat shield" he allowed his character to be played by others with my consent.
Now the storyline has finished, and I'm awarding XP. This player has asked if he deserves XP for that particular session as his character was involved, even though he himself wasn't. What do you all think?
