So, once upon a time I had (and still have) a ton of projects on my plate but suffered from severe writer's block. Did I do something sane like step away for awhile and find my head? No, that'd be sane. Instead I ended up writing an entire base class to break through the writer's block.
Malefexes are street-smart, skilled characters who support their party through the application of debuffs and battlefield control. They thrive in cases where they can provide flanks, cripple stronger enemies, and apply their practical experience to problems. This is the second major revision of the class thus far.
Working with me on the project is the esteemed Ehn Jolly, who thus far has provided the theft-themed malefactions, a pair of knocks, and the Veiled Stranger archetype. This is my first time working with him, and it's been a blast thus far.
Afternoon, folks. Jade Ripley, Dreamscarred Press! As you may or may not be aware, I write more than RPG supplements; more to the point, I'm an avid fiction writer.
And a little while back, I kinda accidentally wrote a novel.
The Kickstarter for Mourners: Scum of Shatterdown went very well and now the book's both available and in print, right here on this site. It's the first novel that Dreamscarred Press has ever published, and both I and the bosses are proud and pleased to have it on offer.
I'm on deck to field questions, if folks have any. For those who choose to buy it, reviews and feedback are both welcome and appreciated; I'm always striving to improve.
She ran and ran
As if some goblin man
Dogged her with gibe or curse
Or something worse
- Christina Rosetti, The Goblin Market
Fairies have always been a particular interest of mine, and for awhile now I've been teasing writing a fey-themed supplement for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Well, now it's here - I'm proud to present the playtest for Lords of the Mists - the Midway Faire.
Those of you familiar with our playtests for Path of War and Akashic Mysteries may recall that those supplements released in pieces over the course of the playtest before a final PDF was compiled. Lords of the Mists is planned similarly, but rather than releasing it in chunks that are themed around a particular set of mechanics, such as base classes or prestige classes, we're experimenting. The fluff of Lords of the Mists revolves around the return of an ancient fey society and its home, the Fairest of Lands, from a great Retreat that left behind the material fey and secluded the Great Courts from the vicissitudes of time. Now that Retreat is over, and the released pieces of Lords of the Mists will follow the gradual re-introduction of these otherworldly influences to the prime material plane.
I look forward to your feedback and criticisms. Have at it, folks!
That feel when I was supposed to make this thread last night but passed out in my chair instead.
Got somethin' a little different for you today, folks. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Jade Ripley - I'm a game developer (among other things) for Dreamscarred Press. You might remember me from projects like Path of War, Lords of the Night, or Psionic Bestiary. If you don't...well, hi. Nice to meet you, thanks for clicking the thread. This isn't awkward at all.
A little while back, I started writing some short fiction stories inspired by, and rooted in, DSP's products. One of them - Mourners - sorta grew on its own into a web serial. When the bossman asked if I was interested in attempting to publish it as a Real Actual Book, I jumped at the shot. The two of us figured, hey, it's probably around novella length, maybe we can throw in some of the other short stories and call that good.
Turns out, Mourners had reached 45,000 words when no one was looking. Oops.
For those of you who haven't read Mourners yet, we've got the first three chapters up as a free sample download; you'll find them here.
Like what you see? Already read Mourners and like the idea of a physical copy? Maybe even interested in getting a primer created for the city it takes place in? Consider funding our Kickstarter. It's been up for about fourteen hours and honestly the response already has been amazing.
Thanks for the time and the read, folks. I, and the other staff at DSP, am on deck to field your questions.
It's been a bit of a ride, but at long last not only has Lords of the Night been published, put out into print, and reviewed by Endzeitgeist at 4.5 stars - and the Seal of Approval, the first case of such a thing happening.
's been awhile since we ran the playtest for LotN here, wanted to share the great news and be on deck to answer any questions folks might have on the subject.
Vampires have been a classic part of fantasy since before war games turned into RPGs. Pathfinder continued that proud heritage, but resources for running a campaign that features vampiric player characters have been somewhat scarce, as has advice on addressing the unique challenges of running a game where the players, not the antagonists, are the monstrous predators preying on an unsuspecting populace.
Which is why I'm pleased to announce Lords of the Night, an upcoming supplement from Dreamscarred Press that provides material and options for running a vampiric campaign, as well as resources that are useable in any campaign. We're still early in development, but we've got enough done right now that you can find the master playtest document here. Included is a chapter expanding on the nature and behavior of vampires, an alternate vampire template to make it more player-friendly, variants and suggestions for running a vampiric campaign, new archetypes appropriate for any campaign, feats to aid undead characters, and sample NPCs to help game masters flesh out the opposition to undead player characters.
Development is by no means done. Quite aside from this still being open beta, this is a live document that will be updated with additional content as it gets finished, including:
- An undead-themed martial discipline (and a Martial Tradition to go with it)
- New prestige classes
- A chapter detailing a sample shadow society that you can integrate into an existing city in your campaign world.
- New magical items and spells
There's also some open-ended questions we'd love to get answered. What do you want out a vampiric campaign? Are the sample NPCs helpful and do you want or need more of them (including, potentially, psionic ones for campaigns set near or within psionic societies)?
I'm very excited to be part of this project, and I look forward to working with your feedback to make it the best we can.
And now, without further ado, I declare this thread OPEN!
Not too long ago, Dreamscarred Press released Hybrids and Halfbreeds, a race-themed supplement emphasizing individuals of mixed blood. For various reasons, that release was pulled and canceled.
But now it's back!
For the last few months, Matt Medeiros and I have been working on retooling Hybrids and Halfbreeds into its new form, Bloodforge. It's on the cusp of release and we're extraordinarily excited about it! What can you expect out of Bloodforge? Well, among other things:
- More than 25 (!) new races, each of which claims mixed blood from two or more parents.
- New feats that emphasize unusual heritage or properties in monsters and PCs alike.
- 4 new prestige classes that emphasize heritage and blood sympathy
- Brand-new spells, magical items, and even templates!
Want a hint of what's coming? I've assembled a teaser document that contains some - but by no means all - of what will be in the final release.
It's been a helluva ride, working on this project, and I'm glad to finally be able to share it with all of you! Look to see Bloodforge available soon!
Aaaand good afternoon, Paizo boards. Work continues on revamping & refitting Hybrids and Halfbreeds - freshly renamed to Bloodforge - and while open testing isn't going to be a thing, I'm looking for community input on one of my more insane ideas. We're rolling out favored class bonuses for the various new races, and this one came up for one of the more fey-themed ones:
Witch: Add 1 spell known from the druid spell list. This spell must be at least one level lower than the highest-level spells the witch can learn. If the spell appears on both the druid and witch spell lists, use the lower-level version.
Looking for thoughts on balance, thematic appropriateness (remembering that the race in question leans druidic in theme) and whether or not this kind of cross-class casting can even belong in a FCB.
Notable limitations include:
- Unlike a Druid, you don't know the whole Druid list
- Witches don't wild shape or have a very combat-ready companion
Man, is it that time already? It seems like Path of War just happened! For those of you not familiar with the project, the original Path of War introduced a new paradigm of martial combat to Pathfinder by remaking, revamping, and expanding on the maneuver system introduced late in 3.5's run. I'm really happy to say that it's gained a lot of interest and support, and I couldn't be prouder to be involved with the project.
And now it's time to announce (well, technically re-announce but hey, new thread) Path of War Expanded, the first supplementary content for the Path of War line! What's up with Expanded? Just about everything! Path of War built up a super solid foundation with three base classes, new feats, martial disciplines and the new Traditions system, among other things, but it was necessarily lacking in some other ideas. Path of War Expanded will flesh out those gaps with worldbuilding advice, new items and weapons, new feats (including style feats!), new disciplines and additional Traditions. Included as well are three new base classes that combine supernatural prowess with swordsmanship: the Harbinger, Mystic, and Zealot.
What's a new thread without some links and teasers? Not a new thread at all, that's what. So here's some of ours:
- The Harbinger, a melee control class that uses superior mobility and crippling status effects to command the battlefield. These warriors understand grief and anger on a personal level and translate that understanding into deadly curses and reality-warping swordplay. Harbinger also has two archetypes available in beta. The Crimson Countess emphasizes the Claim mechanic to take her rage out on her victims, while the Ravenlord creates a shadowy servant that aids him in battle. Harbinger introduces two new disciplines: Cursed Razor and Shattered Mirror
- The Zealot, a psionic swordsman who leads his party into battle with the power of his passions and their own collective bond. These psionic initiators augment their maneuvers with power points and aid their party members with telepathy. Zealot introduces the Eternal Guardian and Sleeping Goddess disciplines
- The as-yet-unreleased (and to be renamed) Mystic, a melee support class that uses unstable arcane energies to unleash beneficial magic on his allies and scourge his enemies with the power of the elements. Mystics are founts of energy that they vent through martial discipline and intuition rather than through spells. Mystic will introduce the Elemental Flux and Riven Hourglass disciplines.
But wait, there's more!
- Dreamscarred Press is happy to announce Class Templates, archetypes that can be applied to more than one class. Class Templates represent ideas too broad for a single-class archetype, letting you create very different versions of the same somewhat broad idea. The three introduced in Path of War Expanded are the Bushi, Privateer, and Hussar, for all of your samurai, pirate, and mounted warrior needs. At the end of the document you'll find the Mithral Current discipline as well.
And last, but certainly not least, I'm previewing something that's been asked for almost since day one of Path of War; Style Feats. I must stress that these previewed feats are still in testing, and any and all feedback is appreciated.
Spoiler:
Cursed Razor Style [Style]
You persecute those under the influence of your dark power.
Prerequisites: 1 or more Cursed Razor stances, Spellcraft 3 ranks.
Benefit: Whenever you damage a cursed creature with a melee attack, that creature suffers an additional 2 points of bleed damage, plus 2 points for every 4 character levels you possess. A DC 15 Heal check or the application of magical healing halts this damage.
Cursed Razor Plague [Style]
Your curses spread amongst your enemies.
Prerequisites: Cursed Razor Style, Spellcraft 7 ranks
Benefit: Whenever you cause an opponent to become cursed by an effect other than this feat, you may select an additional opponent within 30 ft.; the additional opponent becomes cursed for the same duration.
Cursed Razor Massacre [Style]
You tear into your victims like a plague-laced wind.
Prerequisites: Cursed Razor Plague, Spellcraft 11 ranks
Benefit: Whenever you strike a cursed creature with a melee attack you may make an additional attack against another cursed creature within your reach. This additional attack is made at your highest attack bonus and may be made up to once per round.
Iron Tortoise Style [Style]
You guard yourself and allies with your trusty shield at your side
Prerequisites: Proficiency with shields, 1 or more Iron Tortoise stances, Bluff 3 ranks
Benefit: You deal damage with shield bash attacks as though you were one size larger than you actually are. This stacks with other effects that increase size.
Iron Tortoise Shell [Style]
Your shield protects you from more than just physical assaults
Prerequisites: Iron Tortoise Style, Bluff 7 ranks
Benefit: Whenever you initiate a counter, you gain the evasion special ability until the end of your next turn.
Iron Tortoise Snap [Style]
Your sword-and-shield style is brutally efficient.
Prerequisites: Iron Tortoise Shell, Bluff 13 ranks
Benefit: You may make an additional attack at your highest attack bonus with a non-shield weapon whenever you hit a creature with a shield bash. This additional attack must be made against the creature struck by your shield bash.
Mithral Current Style [Style]
Even with your weapon still sheathed, your presence is enough to threaten enemies.
Prerequisites: 1 or more Mithral Current stances, Quick Draw, Perform (Dance) 3 ranks
Benefit: As long as you have a sheathed weapon on your person, you threaten adjacent squares and may make attacks of opportunity even if you are not currently wielding a weapon. You may draw a weapon as part of making an attack of opportunity; weapons drawn this way are sheathed after the attack is resolved.
Mithral Current Flow [Style]
The heightened senses of your bloodlust are at their greatest just before you draw your weapon.
Prerequisites: Mithral Current Style, Perform (Dance) 7 ranks
Benefit: When you begin your turn with your weapon sheathed, you gain a +4 dodge bonus to AC. You lose this bonus whenever you draw your weapon, until or unless you begin a new turn with your weapon sheathed.
Mithral Current Slice [Style]
Drawing your weapon from its sheath as you strike allows you to hit harder and faster.
Prerequisites: Mithral Current Style, Perform (Dance) 11 ranks
Benefit: When you use Quick Draw, your first attack this round treats your opponent as having vulnerability to silver, causing them to take an additional 50% damage from silver sources.
Shattered Mirror Style [Style]
You are skilled in the art of reflective combat.
Prerequisites: 1 or more Shattered Mirror stances, Craft 3 ranks
Benefit: When wielding one or more Shattered Mirror discipline weapons, increase your shield bonus to AC by +2 (even if you don’t have a shield bonus).
Shattered Mirror Waltz [Style]
Your supernatural swordplay lets you move like an illusion.
Prerequisites: Shattered Mirror Style, Craft 7 ranks
Benefit: You ignore movement penalties inflicted by difficult terrain (other forms of penalties, such as damage, still affect you).
Shattered Mirror Duality [Style]
Your reality-distorting power reflects your attacks, making it hard to defend against you.
Prerequisites: Shattered Mirror Waltz, Craft 13 ranks
Benefit: Once per round, you may expend one of your readied boosts as a swift action. If you do, roll each attack you make this round twice and use the better result.
Solar Wind Style [Style]
Your arrows glow as bright as the sun
Prerequisites: 1 or more Solar Wind Stances, Perception 3 ranks
Benefit: Whenever you make a ranged attack against a foe, you deal an extra +1 fire damage per 5 character levels. In addition your arrows (or other ammunition) emit light as a torch; this light can be suppressed or resumed as a free action.
Solar Wind Flash [Style]
The light of your arrows is blinding
Prerequisites: Solar Wind Style, Perception 7 ranks
Benefit: Whenever you succeed on a ranged attack against a creature, you may expend one of your readied boosts as a swift action. If you do, the creature must succeed on a Fort save (DC 10 + 1/2 your character level + your initiation modifier) or be blinded for 1 minute.
Solar Wind Inferno [Style]
The burning power of your arrows sears the flesh of even those immune to fire
Prerequisites: Solar Wind Flash, Perception 13 ranks
Benefit: Your ranged attacks which deal fire damage ignore an amount of fire resistance equal to your character level. You treat Fire Immunity as Fire Resistance 30 for purposes of this effect.
It's been an amazing ride so far, and the support from the community for this project has been overwhelming and very touching. We couldn't have gotten this far without you guys, and I hope the Path of War line can continue to be an addition to your tables. With that said, I declare this thread to be officially open!
I've been told of Paizo's policy of a time limit on post editing. My lack of agreement with this policy is not the topic here, however, and I'd like to ask that others stay off of it.
Instead I'm wondering if there's a process to apply to be able to edit your post, or have it edited, in the specific case of some of my threads in Compatible Products. There's a few threads I have going for open betas that will have additional documents linked, and being able to compile them in the opening post would be a great convenience to my testers/customers. Is there such a process, or do I need to just keep re-linking when the content is requested?
Hello again, various players! I'm happy to announce the start of the public playtest for Psionics Augmented: Wilder (working title). This supplement expands on options for Wilder while also providing some options for non-Wilders to play with, and will include everything from new feats, new prestige classes, archetypes, variant rules, and even an item or two. I'm very pleased and honored to say that I'll be the author of this particular supplement.
This thread will contain the material that's available for public playtesting as it becomes available, and I'll do my best to answer feedback as fast as I can. That in mind, there are two bits of material currently ready for testing:
- Our new feats, geared toward Wilders and Wilder themes!
- The Surge Adept prestige class, for those Wilders (and maybe, in the future, other classes) who want to bring their Wild Surge to new heights.
Both are live documents and may change in response to feedback without warning. The Surge Adept document may also get another prestige class added to it.
As always, your feedback is utterly invaluable, and deeply appreciated!
As you may or may not know, Dreamscarred Press's Psionic Bestiary is almost complete! For those of you wondering what the heck I have to do with that, hi - I'm Jade Ripley (please call me Knives), and I got signed on to edit and write monsters in the later parts of the Bestiary. I'm really excited to be part of this project, but we want to be absolutely certain that our monsters are polished, ready, and not going to accidentally massacre any unsuspecting innocents before we let 'em loose to the printers.
To that end, I'm here to ask you, our customers and backers, what your experiences with the already-released monsters have been like. How hard was it to incorporate them into your campaign world? To use them in encounters? Any data helps! Combat encounters, non-combat encounters, their use as NPCs or non-lethal obstacles, anything that they've done to affect your game is valuable and wanted. Have you had to make any changes? Noticed any mistakes in their builds/rules?
Your feedback, time, and custom are all very appreciated. Here's to getting these guys ready to roll!
As their designer, I am excited and terrified to announce the official playtest release of Dreamscarred Press's psionic dragons! Any and all feedback is appreciated.
For those of you who have been following this particular project since before I became part of it, here's the breakdown:
The Lorican dragon possesses an affinity for the Astral plane and channels the powers of the Aegis class.
The Cypher dragon contemplates the deep mysteries of the border planes; its powers resemble the Cryptic class.
The fearsome Scourge dragon is an apex predator of terror; it preys only on those that are feared and dreaded. Its shadowy powers resemble the Dread.
Imagos dragons hail from the deep, alien reaches of the Ethereal plane, far removed from anything even remotely resembling morality. Their power from, and over, dreams gives them manifesting similar to the Wilder.
The bubbly, enthusiastic Keris dragons are born in the Positive Energy plane as living fonts of psionically-charged energy. They channel that energy like a Kineticist, crushing their enemies beneath their glory and majesty.
And finally, the base, animalistic Ksarite dragons are a scourge on civilization. Lacking in true thought, they cut swathes of devastation through civilized lands in their neverending quest for food and metal to hoard in their scrapheap lairs.
