There's no coding involved at all - at least not on my part. All I did is install programs and move things around.
Also, I don't use the PDFs on the iPad. I copy the maps out of the PDF, and paste them into PhotoShop for resizing and cleaning. PhotoShop is the only thing dragged over to the display. And since it isn't the iPad rendering it - it's my laptop - it's a relatively smooth experience.
And the 9.7" map really isn't an issue when you can move it freely.
My players are just about finished with Burnt Offerings, and have enjoyed the usage of my iPad as the battlemap. I've seen a few different applications of the iPad in this manner, but none of them really met my desires as a GM.
This is what I do:
I have Splashtop XDisplay on my iPad - this program allows you to use your iPad as a second display via your wireless network.
I have Adobe PhotoShop on my laptop, and with it have adjusted the maps included in the AP (PDFs), and enhanced their grids. Each map is a PSD, and within it I have layers for "Fog of War" across unseen rooms, and "token" layers for the PCs and NPCs.
I leave PhotoShop's tools and menus on my laptop screen, and drag the file over to my iPad display. A minor zoom-adjust allows it to fill the iPad's screen.
I am now able to dynamically adjust PC visibility - such as in dark areas, including the ability to add extra vision to characters with darkvision (via sight range rings around each PC). My players don't have to lean over/move around the table to adjust their character, all of that is done from my end. They just say where they want to move, and I move them. Having multiple cats, this has saved us a few times where we would have had tokens flying everywhere from a well-aimed kitty jump.
I can have all of my PDFs (I don't have all the books in physical copies) open and available to me, as well as various other web resources, while still controlling the display on the iPad remotely with my mouse and keyboard.
If you have PhotoShop - or probably anything that can view/manipulate PSD files - and an iPad you can do this. It's been really great for us.
I have the maps from the Glassworks to Thistletop Level 2 all made, and would be more than happy to upload them somewhere if people are interested in trying this method. I'll be continuing to produce maps as we continue the campaign.
EDIT: I posted this here because I'm doing this for the RotRL campaign... but, thinking about it now, it might do better in a different part of the forum :\
Callum: Definitely possible, but the improbability of it makes me rank it just below a block of all 18s.
And if it were just one of them, that's one thing. But both of them giving me unusually high stats? I must admit the fact that they live together creeps into my assessment as well.
This is the highest-point character we have not counting them:
Str 15
Dex 16+2
Con 15
Int 12
Wis 14
Cha 16
I know I'm making accusations at this point, and by now I totally agree that I'll want to see my players roll stats - not necessarily because I don't trust them, but because I'm apparently very paranoid about probability.
Rathendar: That's pretty much what I did, I think. I'd like the party to be balanced. I think he may have taken it negatively, I'm not sure.
Part of me believes that they both rolled their stats, and they both got really lucky.
But part of me knows the probability of those dice rolls.
I think the part that knows statistics may have gotten across a bit more than I wanted to.
I'm a new GM, running my first campaign. Two of the players that are going to be joining our 3-party team just showed me their characters.
The rolling system is (4d6, drop 1s) x 7, allocate 6 highest results.
The average point-buy score for this is around 38. Your average roll is 14.
These are their stats:
Str 16
Dex 15
Con 17
Int 14+2
Wis 18
Cha 15
Str 17
Dex 16
Con 14+2
Int 17
Wis 15
Cha 18
I immediately saw these as highly improbable and became somewhat suspicious. I know these two, played with one while the other was the DM. I trust them... but those stats are just ridiculous, right?
I've asked them to reroll/adjust their states to be more in line with the rest of the group (which has point scores from 37 to 41 - compared to their 59 and 65)
I did my best to avoid using the world "improbable" but I don't know how subtle I necessarily was that I found their stats dubious. This was all handled via text.
Thoughts? Am I being stupid, or is this a legit response?
Full Name
Ederion Quel'Thalas
Race
Current AC: 22
About Ederion
Ederion
Male elf investigator (empiricist) 6/swashbuckler (inspired blade) 1 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Class Guide 30, 56, 100, 125)
CG Medium humanoid (elf)
Init +4; Senses low-light vision; Perception +17
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Defense
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AC 22, touch 16, flat-footed 18 (+5 armor, +2 deflection, +4 Dex, +1 shield)
hp 53 (7 HD; 6d8+1d10+7)
Fort +4, Ref +12, Will +7 (+2 save vs. illusion and disbelievable effects); +2 vs. enchantments
Defensive Abilities trap sense +2; Immune sleep; Resist unfailing logic
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 rapier +9 (1d6+9/18-20) or
. . dagger +4 (1d4+5/19-20) or
. . light mace +4 (1d6+5)
Special Attacks deeds (derring-do, dodging panache, opportune parry and riposte), panache (4), studied combat (+3, 3 rounds), studied strike +2d6
Investigator (Empiricist) Extracts Prepared (CL 6th; concentration +9)
. . 2nd—alchemical allocation[APG], blur, invisibility, see invisibility
. . 1st—cure light wounds, heightened awareness[ACG], long arm[ACG], monkey fish[ACG], shield
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Statistics
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Str 12, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 16, Wis 13, Cha 8
Base Atk +5; CMB +6 (+4 awesome blow, +4 bull rush, +4 bypass armor, +4 corps a corps, +4 create opening, +4 dirty trick, +4 disarm, +4 drag, +4 enemy cover, +4 feint, +4 garrote opponent, +4 grapple, +4 hinder natural attack, +4 hinder special ability, +4 joint strike, +4 overrun, +4 paralyze opponent, +4 parry attack, +4 pull, +4 push, +4 reposition, +4 rope-a-dope, +4 sacrificial critical, +4 sap, +4 scar opponent, +4 steal, +4 sunder, +4 trip); CMD 22
Feats - Custom Feat -, Alertness, Extra Investigator Talent[ACG], Fencing Grace, Piranha Strike, Weapon Focus (rapier)
Traits natural born leader, student of philosophy
Skills Acrobatics +14, Appraise +8, Bluff +8 (+12 to lie (as a result of using Int instead of Cha)), Climb +5, Craft (alchemy) +10 (+16 to create alchemical items), Diplomacy +8 (+12 to gather information (You can use your Intelligence Modifier instead of Charisma), +12 to persuade others but not to gather information (as a result of using Int instead of Cha)), Disable Device +10, Escape Artist +8, Intimidate +3, Knowledge (arcana) +7, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +7, Knowledge (engineering) +7, Knowledge (geography) +7, Knowledge (local) +9, Knowledge (nobility) +7, Knowledge (planes) +9, Knowledge (religion) +7, Linguistics +10, Perception +17, Sense Motive +13, Sleight of Hand +8, Spellcraft +10 (+12 to identify magic item properties), Stealth +12, Swim +5, Use Magic Device +13; Racial Modifiers +2 Perception, +2 Spellcraft to identify magic item properties
Languages Aboleth, Aquan, Celestial, Common, Draconic, Elven, Giant, Infernal, Sylvan
SQ alchemy (alchemy crafting +6), ceaseless observation, elven magic, inspiration (8/day), inspired panache, investigator talents (extend potion, mutagen[UM], quick study[ACG]), keen recollection, mutagen (+4/-2, +2 natural armor, 60 minutes), trapfinding +3
Combat Gear mutagen[APG], potion of air bubble, potion of mage armor, alchemist's fire, antiplague[APG], glowing ink[UE], marker dye[UE], tanglefoot bag; Other Gear +1 mithral shirt, mwk buckler, +1 rapier, dagger, light mace, cloak of resistance +1, ring of protection +2, alchemy crafting kit[APG], bandolier[UE], belt pouch, chalk, elven trail rations[UE], fine wine (per bottle), investigator starting formula book, masterwork backpack[APG], thieves' tools, waterskin, 3 gp
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Tracked Resources
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Alchemist's fire - 0/1
Antiplague - 0/1
Dagger - 0/1
Elven trail rations - 0/1
Extend Potion (3/day) - 0/3
Glowing ink - 0/0
Inspiration (+1d6, 8/day) (Ex) - 0/8
Marker dye - 0/0
Mutagen: +4 Dex, -2 Wis, +2 Nat AC - 0/1
Panache Pool (4/day) - 0/4
Potion of air bubble - 0/1
Potion of mage armor - 0/1
Tanglefoot bag - 0/1
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Special Abilities
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Alchemy +6 (Su) +6 to Craft (Alchemy) to create alchemical items, can Id potions by touch.
Ceaseless Observation (Ex) Use INT instead of CHA for gather information (+4)
Deeds Elven Immunities - Sleep You are immune to magic sleep effects.
Elven Magic +2 to spellcraft checks to determine the properties of a magic item.
Extend Potion (3/day) Cause any non-instantaneous potion to have 2x duration.
Fencing Grace Get Dex to dmg with rapiers and +2 CMD vs disarm if you have panache.
Inspiration (+1d6, 8/day) (Ex) Use 1 point, +1d6 to trained skill or ability check. Use 2 points, to add to attack or save.
Inspired Panache (Ex) Gain no panache from killing blow, only from rapier crits.
Keen Recollection At 3rd level, an investigator can attempt all Knowledge skill checks untrained.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in dim light, distinguishing color and detail.
Mutagen This discovery gives the alchemist the mutagen class ability, as described in the Advanced Player's Guide. (This discovery exists so alchemist archetypes who have variant mutagens, such as the mindchemist, can learn how to make standard mutage
Mutagen (DC 16) (Su) Mutagen adds +4/-2 to physical/mental attributes, and +2 nat. armor for 60 minutes.
Panache (Ex) Gain a pool of points that are spent to fuel deeds, regained on light/piercing crit/killing blow.
Piranha Strike +4/-2 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage with light weapons.
Quick Study (Ex) Use studied combat as a swift action.
Studied Combat (+3, 3 rounds) (Ex) As a swift action, study foe to gain bonus to att & dam for duration or until use studied strike.
Studied Strike +2d6 (Ex) As a free action on a melee hit, end studied combat vs. foe to add precision dam.
Trap Sense +2 (Ex) +2 bonus on reflex saves and AC against traps.
Trapfinding +3 Gain a bonus to find or disable traps, including magical ones.
Unfailing Logic +2 (Ex) +2 save vs. illusion and disbelievable effects
Odds and ends:
- Cold producing contraptions: There are three of these contraptions. They are little metal squares about 15cm (length, width, height), with three fold-able legs at the bottom. They have vents on three of their six sides, a handle to carry them on the top, and a place to wind them up at the back. Each one weighs 7kg. With your previous knowledge check, you know how to shut them down, start them up, etc. These things are rarer than magic weapons/armour, so there's no set price for them. They will have to be haggled for by someone with a lot of money. They are an absolute marvel of engineering;
- tiny hammer made of stone, expertly carved and polished. Offered by Torga, the dwarven mother.
- fellow gnome known only as 'The Newt', who sells all manner of adventuring supplies. To Bazzle's surprise, he even carries a light crossbow sized for a Gnome, and is an alchemist himself. Newt can sell you the light crossbow, as well as some bolts and basic alchemical stuff (nothing too fancy, no poison). For being a fellow Gnome, the price is reduced by 5%. One day I will actually write down what he has in stock, but today is not that day.
- Laria is fairly plump for a Halfling, but Ederion's keen eyes can see that she's got some muscle to her as well. When his eyes go over her bosom, Laria folds her arms underneath to raise them. She smiles slyly and winks. "Of course sweetheart. Whatever you want." Then she heads back upstairs to the kitchen.
- Ederion has found a fellow alchemist in Nisha. She's preparing her daily extracts.
- Rillia the Mermaid
- Tasks: Rexus replies "Sure. So we have the Poison Pen of Kintargo, sabotaging Vespam Artisans, making more room for our base, locating the Lictor of the Order of the Torrent, and liberating the Mermaids. Additionally, we could get working on writing and spreading Tasha's work. What interests you the most? My favourites are the mermaids and Tasha's writing."
To Ederion, a heavily tattooed mermaid approaches him. She casts a spell, and one of her tattoos slinks out of her skin. It is a sea snake made of ink, and it slithers over to Ederion and coils around his skin. She says that it will help keep him safe from venom, which is something that the merfolk have trouble coping with, just like elves. This is a spell tattoo of a Neutralize Poison spell.
Ederion also receives a bulbous bottle made of smoked glass, which twinkles like a starlit night. He immediately knows what it is, a vial of efficacious medicine. The mermaids explain that this was found in a treasure chest they once found from a sunken ship.
