22. Street Satchels - more of a vehicle for other ingredients than a meal in itself, these tasty dough pockets can be found on almost every major street in Absalom. Originally invented by a enterprising Pathfinder agent, who used to sell these simple snacks filled with rice, dates, and pork for some pocket change in between missions.
Nowadays the fillings and the exact way of preparation varies from seller to seller and from district to district. One stall might sell steamed crab pockets while the one next to it is peddling dwarven-style fried satchels with mushrooms and mince. However, the general pocket-like shape is a tradition that no self-respecting street cook would seek to break.
Despite the history of the street satchel, it's always been most popular with the permanent residents of Absalom. Amusingly enough, this has lead to some sellers specializing in using ingredients that preserve well, allowing for departing Pathfinder agents to grab some tastier rations as they leave.
Magus would also make a cool archetype that could be stacked onto most casters - could give spellstrike and some defensive options as well
To be honest, this seems like the most enjoyable way of resolving the debate around magi. Instead of having a specific niche, you could have a bunch of wholly different magi, some of which might occasionally even spellstrike something else than a Shocking Grasp!
Joke aside, I'd be pumped to play a magus with a non-arcane spell list! But to be honest - even if we get a separate magus class anyway, this might still be possible considering the new multiclass system.
One more note on PF1 classes that might become achetypes: the inquisitor. Now, hear me out, the inquisitor's always been the class that does the clergy's dirty laundry, having a wide range of skills and abilities depending on build. Making inquisitors an archetype would allow for a plethora of new kinds of religion-driven characters. Different base classes augmented by former core inquisitor abilities such as Judgment as archetype feats.
Definitely a Green Faith follower archetype, for example granting herbalist stuff, woodland stride etc.
Red Mantis Assassin is something we're almost guaranteed to get, I'd wager. The organisation is known to employ individuals with varying talents and backgrounds, still having an iconic fighting style and a common faith.
And too be honest, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Vigilante class becoming an archetype. Not sure what to think of that, but seems like the dual identity thing would be suited for this.
Definitely something that plays with the new action economy! Maybe a straightforward sword-and-board fighter? I do have to say I'm also tempted by an accordion playing dwarven bard, just for the heck of it.
Some kind of wonky Monk/Occult Sorcerer multiclass might be ïnteresting as well!
Beyond weapon stats and messing with action economy, I think a series of crossbow-only feats focusing on singular accurate and powerful attacks might give the crossbow a niche as the slow but hard-hitting weapon it should be.
Though I realize this might be hard to actually do in a meaningful manner, I've always wanted a ranged combat style that isn't based on increasing rate of fire. Being able to actually do that beyond building around Vital Strike would be neat!
Getting up from your bath in a freezing lake too early, due to the monsters below the surface. During the full moon. While under the effect of a powerful fey geas requiring you to spend that day of the month in water.
What can I say; don’t stumble upon bathing nymphs in the Gronzi Forest, they’ll stick a curse on you.
Thank you for so many good ideas, this is great pool to pick from!
The dragon idea (especially the surprise red) is something that I honestly didn't even think of - unfortunately, due to a string of events during the preceding Kingmaker campaign (the new tsarina in the region is a devout worshiper of Apsu), the presence of a chromatic dragon in the region is highly unlikely. But then again, a surprise appearance of one could make for some excellent drama on a larger level too.
Other critters mentioned seem very plausible too - I'm somewhat infatuated with the Ijiraq idea.
A couple more things I came up with:
An akhlut could be a pretty cool - ambushing the party through the ice. Perhaps a young one, not a huge threat to the PCs but one that could still gobble up their sled dogs and leave them stranded.
And then, a wendigo. Now here me out, I'm thinking of sticking the young template on it and then afflicting it with a severe curse (one laid upon it during the last stand of a spellcaster traveling with the trailblazers). Still, going with this option might necessitate higher party level even with these adjustments... But I can't help loving the flavour of the wendigo in this scenario...
EDIT: Now that I think of it, a buffed Ijiraq with some minions might very well make for a more interesting main encounter than a gimped wendigo. It's thematically very appropriate too, considering the prominence of fey int the preceeding kingmaker campaign as well. Plus the whole scenario here is perfect for the Ijiraq, flavourwise!
142) Will we finally get the option to play an erf or a dwalf - I'm tired with all crossbreeds being half human. (Possible o'oblins are fine by me, though.)
If your gaming group is dangerously preoccupied with centaur player characters, please do not read this:
So, I am to run a little adventure, for level ~10 characters, set along a frozen lake shore during deepest winter. The PCs are tasked with finding/rescuing a group of trailblazers, who disappeared while establishing a trade route from Port Ice to Chesed. More details here.
The players might be traveling on dog sleds, instead of magical travel, due to the region being rather uncharted and the mission including checking the the whole length of the route in addition to finding the lost pioneers.
I am looking to build an array of possible encounters - combat or otherwise. The environment is a frozen lake shore with large stretches of dense but low arctic shrub land. The region is largely inaccessible wilderness in winter, though in summer there might be some hunting camps etc.
Feel free to suggest anything, but I do have a preference for encounters playing with the theme of freezing temperatures, darkness, and utterly hostile weather conditions.
That... actually looks rather reasonable! Plus the elves probably dig the leaf aesthetics as well! And the usage as described by the Wiki article definitely matches the stats! Thanks!
Kingmaker spoilers ahead, plus if you played in a campaign with two characters nicknamed Vaska, please do not read this.
The actual post:
So, our group finished a 2 year Kingmaker AP campaign a while back and changed Northeastern Avistan quite a bit. A Surtova-funded nascent River Kingdom called Vertlant quickly grew to encompass the Stolen Lands, eventually assimilating Pitax in a defensive war. After successfully dealing with a threat from the First World, the player characters ignited a civil war in Brevoy. The Surtovas were deposed from power, and the realm was split into two semi-autonomous states: Rostland & Issia. Both of these, as well as Pitax, swore loyalty to the ruler of Vertlant - together these states now form the Czardom of Rogarvion.
Rogarvion is Lawful Neutral with a sizable experienced military, a promintn clergy of Abadar and a Lawful Good ruler with an interest towards helping the crusade in Mendev.
I am planning a short follow up game, that would be centered around establishing a land trade route between Port Ice and Chesed. The thing is, that I've found very little info on this stretch of land, but have made a couple assumptions - if I've overlooked something, please let me know:
1) The Surtovas favored water-bound trade on the lake and thus didn't maintain land based trade routes along the shores. When the lake froze over they just accepted that the trade would halt for a few months. After a huge war and changes in rulership, there might be an interest in trailblazing a trade route along the lake shore. Business in Chesed would stand to benefit from the post-war influx of war veterans and mercenaries turned pilgrims. At the same time, creating positive trade relations with Numeria would solidify both Rogarvion's credibility and security. Rogarvion also has ongoing trade agreements with the Mendevian crusade as well, and the new route would definitely see traffic for this reason as well.
2) The southern shore of the lake is not forested, but a mix of tundra and hard-to-traverse arctic shrubland. There can be several feet of snow during the winter, but this might actually make light travel easier - a dog sled could get from Port Ice to Chesed in 3-4 days, in clear weather. Harsh weather however, might be a deadly hazard.
3) The stretch of land is rather deserted, after the first 20 miles from the end point cities. Maybe an abandoned fishing settlement with a ruin of a lighthouse, or a remote hunting camp occasionally used by a barbarian tribe in summer.
Based on the above, I've started writing a quick adventure, built around finding about what happened to party of trailblazers that disappeared out there during a sudden late autumn blizzard. The adventure would be two or three sessions long, with characters of level ~12. The matter is of notable importance to Rogarvion, but not the most acute problem of the young czardom, thus meaning that the rulers would send an experienced force of adventurers to investigate instead of taking the matter to their own hands. Also, I'm thinking about a final face-off with a wendigo, and that alone isn't possible with low level characters. But considering the recent events in Brevoy and the adjacency of the River Kingdoms and Mendev, finding a couple level 12 hirelings isn't much of stretch.
Not sure if this should be in the Advice subforum, but I decided to post here, being interested in the correctness of lore in this scenario. Feel free to comment on any aspect of this!
Tl;dr: Is there only wilderness between Port Ice and Chesed, or are there settlements/an existing trade route? Also, what's the biogeography like?
New rules about save or lose spells seem very promising. Critical success, succes, failure, and critical failure may preserve full interest for these spells, for casters as for targets !
As someone who yesterday had an encounter with a basilisk, that turned half the party into stone, I agree.
In all honesty, varying degrees of success and failure make the game more dynamic and strategic, while perhaps being less punishing.
Lately, I've had surprisingly much fun playing a Lawful Neutral character. There are many different takes you can take on that, besides the age old Inspector Javert trope.
But still, more than specific alignments, I do have a tendency for playing characters that start out neutral and end up gradually moving towards good as they get more and more involved in the broader workings of the world. It makes for interesting role playing with a goal of an alignment shift in mind.
While I've played mainly these antihero-to-hero characters, I guess the most important thing I'm trying to say is that alignment isn't static nor does it exist in a vacuum.
I agree with everything mentioned above. On the topic of action economy changes, I’m intrigued on how the game seems more reactive. In 1e, immediate actions are a thing, but not that common, especially at low levels. Based on te 2e material I’ve seen so far, there’s more emphasis on this reactionary type of play.
Also, 2e seems way more accessible to beginners: less terminology relics, streamlined action system etc.
This thread really helped me understand the concept, hadn’t bothered reading about it yet.
It’s a big change, and it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out. Less of an incentive to dump charisma, at least. Also, I like how this changes wands - they’re not consumables anymore! Any idea if Use Magid Device is still around, and if so, how does it interact with these rules? Wouldn’t be surprised if the resonance is more permissive regarding wand and scroll activation, now that there is a built in limit.
Now, first of all, I have not played the Jade Regent AP, and do not know if there is something relevant in there.
But yes, as the situation is Minkai is described as flammable, perhaps even skirting civil war, how do you think the clergy of Shizuru is situated in this political environment.
Worshipers of Shizuru (and most minkaians, I guess) consider the Imperial family direct descendants of the goddess herself, and the concept of honorably serving your liege figures into the religion rather heavily. But with there being such internal strife inside the imperial family, do you think the clergy is divided on the topic of placing the rightful ruler in house arrest and replacing him with a regent?
It should also be considered that followers of Shizuru generally seek out peaceful approaches. Even if there would be political divisions inside the clergy, I think it's safe to say they'd still want to stand united against the warmongering by General Susumu's followers, which definitely has to be happening in times like these...
I only know a scrap of the Dragon Empires lore, but this stood out as an interesting corundum.
Good points above, but shellfish or no shellfish things must change somehow. I would even consider perhaps giving the player a chance to rebuild the character, partially - if you're group is okay with a meta level solution.
In-game, an option I might consider is giving that player some kind of cohort to fight alongside him. Generally though, most of the time adding player controlled characters is a risky idea.
Straight up buffing the PC with a template etc. could also work if it can be justified and doesn't rub the other players in a bad way.
But yeah, I think giving a partial rebuild might be worth a shot. But if the player wants a new character, you could always let the old one stick around in the world, being relevant and helpful if not an active PC. Retiring a character doesn't have to mean removing them from the world entirely.
Still, sounds like a tricky social situation considering the length of your current game.
To my best knowledge, Pathfinder does not currently have a stat block for tapirs. Is this some long kept surprise you there at Paizo HQ are still waiting to unveil for us fans of tapirs?
If so, what would be a better time for you guys to release stats for this awesome animal than on April 27th - The World Tapir Day!
