I've had this game in the works for quite a while now, and it feels like it just might be too much story for me to handle.
The jist is as follows: each character receives an item/message/clue from a mysterious stranger that leads them to a location where they will be able to travel back in time to a specific date.
Around that time, terrible thing X happens.
If they stop X from occurring, Y happens instead.
The meat of the game will be discovering/dealing with various butterfly effect-type stuff, going back to the same point in time, etc.
There will hopefully be a significant moral quandary where they realize that terrible thing X really prevents more terrible thing Z.
And I will try and throw in a powerful organization that's aware of X, Y, Z and so on--is probably responsible for a lot of the stuff in motion--and the PC's ability to travel through time.
So...how would you begin to plan out this sort of thing? I want to make a flow chart, but I'm struggling to even know where to begin.
I think I need to start with various events and alternate timeline versions of those events and connect them with the different avenues the players will most likely take.
I recently made a brief foray into some other gaming forums. I referred to my desire to "be a better GM, to be a better storyteller" and...things kind of exploded.
Apparently, there is a deep and painful rift between certain groups of the ttrpg community. Once upon a time, one group said "all ttrp's are collaborative storytelling, which means that you have to do what's best for the story and use mechanics that engage the narrative directly."
Another group said "we don't want to do that. We want games that focus on verisimilitude, where our characters take actions based on the world around them and themselves and that's it."
I felt like the issue was that the first group seemingly accused the second of "playing it wrong", and that they were using their definition of storytelling to force their preferences on others.
But staunch defenders of the second group have told me that no, all ttrpg's are not in any way a form of storytelling at all, and that my insistence of any other view was oppressive.
I...feel like they ended up doing to me exactly what they were afraid of me doing to them.
But at any rate, I'd never heard of this debate before, much less the fervor that some seem to take a stance within it. Have any of you ran into this thing? I guess aot of it started with the forums at The Forge, but that was quite a while ago if I'm not mistaken.
I'd never considered the difference between roleplaying and storytelling games before, or how not understanding the subtle difference could be so inadvertently hurtful. What's the take over here?
I'll admit it: I'm a bit of an elitist. I have very strong opinions about ttrpg's and what makes a game/session better or worse than others.
But I've tried to lighten up. I've tried to open my perspective a bit and give people outside my old crew a chance.
And...I mean...there were fun little moments. But I spent the majority of the time grinding my teeth or wishing I was elsewhere.
I can understand wanting to offer players as much agency as possible. That's cool. But the less restrictions there are, the more issues there could potentially be with things like pacing.
I don't like being told "there's fun stuff n this game. Go find it." Like. I have such precious little free time nowadays. Can we just skip to the point where we find something fun?
Don't get me wrong. Haggling over told at the inn, drinking contests--they can all be part of the fantasy and discovery and expression. But if we've been playing for 2 hours, I would hope that there's more to it than that.
If I may offer a brief example:
We come into town. The scene is set, but there's nothing inherently interesting as of yet. The GM asks what I do. I figure, I'll find the nearest tavern, get some food and a room and listen for any interesting rumors. I basically put up a big sign that says "PLOT HOOK WELCOME". I learn about some stuff that happened recently, but it's all resolved. Nothing needs to be done. No problems or mysteries present.
Then the GM asks the other five players. None of them seem to have my experience, so they flounder a bit and spend quite a bit of time on a bunch of nothing, and the GM gladly indulges them.
It takes over an hour and a half to get through their what do you do's.
At the end of the day, we pack up and head out again. The GM asks us "which direction do you go?" Um. I don't know. I don't have a map. Or a reason to want to go anywhere in particular. So we just pick a direction at random.
Some trolls ambush us. We fight them and defeat them. It's been three hours, now.
--is this normal? Is this enjoyable to anyone? I'm just so confused, frustrated and disheartened from the experience.
I made a pretty neat character. I asked about the setting and the game, to make sure he fit into them both as well as possible. But I got nothing, so I made a character just full of story seeds and specific motivations and all sorts of stuff. And the GM just...shot it all down or ignored it, and gave us...I don't know. Errands and a bog-standard random encounter. I didn't sign up to play Road Trips & Errands.
Has anyone else run into this? I'm struggling to find a way to tell these guys I'm bored out of my skull without being offensive. It doesn't help that they think the GM is absolutely amazing. None more so than the GM.
And I get it. I get prickly, too. It puts you in a very vulnerable position, running a game. But...I want to get better at it, not stagnat. I just wish more people were at least slightly open to even gentle critique.
Hello again, everyone. I've been dabbling in various systems, and came to realize that I want a point-buy calculator that goes from 3 to 18.
I have yet to find a population better at crunching numbers than this one, so I ask you: how would you go about making such a thing? And what are the potential issues with it?
A friend and I have been working on a fantasy ttrpg setting inspired by the work of Pendleton Ward ("Adventure Time", "Over the Garden Wall", "Midnight Gospel".
We'll have the following races available for player characters:
Races:
Beastlings (cat-girls, minotaurs, fishmen and werewolves)
Elementals (cloudfolk, rock-men, water nymphs, forest dryads)
Instead of each race having it's own set of stats, I was thinking we open it up a bit and just let the players build what makes sense for the character. Subterranean, cave-dwelling humans with darkvision, goblins with scent, heavy metal dwarves with +2 Intimidate and Perform, etc.
Below is what I think will be the complete list of options available.
Does it seem like I've missed anything vital? And, most importantly, how many points do you think each thing should cost?
Right now, I'm thinking +2 to a skill should be the baseline: 1pt. Where would you go from there? These are my values, just going off my instincts.
-10ft to base speed -1pt
+10ft to base speed +1pt
Climb (20ft) 4pts
Swim (40ft) 3pts
Burrow (5ft) 8pts
Fly (60ft) 12pts
Single primary natural attack 4pts
Paired primary natural attack 4pts
Single secondary natural attack 2pts
Paired secondary natural attack 2pts
Bonus Feat 4pts
The race builder is a little too unwieldy for my taste, and then there's the matter of the wonky prices on some of the choices. So I'm not so sure. But maybe it would be a better place to start.
What do you think? If everyone's going off the same list, it shouldn't be too bad. But which options seem like must-haves and which seem like never-takes? And how many points would be a good place to start?
So I have been recently educated on why the term "golem" being used to describe a humanoid monster construct made out of X, Y or Z is...rather offensive to some people. And I have to say, after getting the whole picture, I get it.
Golem stories are complex things about the path to a spiritual enlightenment, and of discovering that path in the first place (just using super broad strokes, here. Apologies if my summary is inaccurate. Please feel free to correct me if I have made any errors). To have that reduced to "a dude made out of clay/flesh/iron/stone that punches you" is...ouphe.
Has anyone run into this problem at the table? What term could we use instead?
I've just been calling similar monsters in my games things like "stone warriors" or "temple guardians".
Want to run another game in my Great Wood setting, inspired by Redwall. But I would like to keep it as rules-lite as possible, so I'm trying to pare down the races.
Below is a first draft. What would you do to balance them?
Mouse- small, spd 20, scent, +1 saves, bonus feat, +2 Acrobatics or Diplomacy or Sleight of Hand
Hare- medium, spd 40, scent, +2 Athletics, Acrobatics and Perception, spring-step (change direction on charge/run)
Squirrel- medium, spd 30, climb 30ft, scent, +2 Reflex, +2 Athletics and Acrobatics
A while ago, Warped Savant shared a frankly brilliant idea: to remove the attack of opportunity that attempting combat maneuvers provokes, in order to promote more varied and dynamic combat.
I've tried it. It worked a treat, exactly as expected.
With that in mind, I've a few other ideas knocking about:
1. Bullrush, drag, overrun and reposition feel like the weakest maneuvers by far. I mean, they're really all just moving your opponent around you, or moving yourself around your opponent. I've just combined them all into one "family" of maneuvers. I haven't seen any horrific consequences for doing so yet, but I was wondering if anyone could come up with some that might make me rethink this call?
2. I've found that adding a free maneuver attempt onto a successful attack (like the wolf's free trip) helps make combats more interesting without sacrificing action economy for my custom monsters.
It got me thinking, at what point would a feat that grants a PC this ability be reasonable?
If you have, say, Improved and Greater Sunder and a base attack of +9, would a feat that lets you get a free sunder attempt on a successful attack be something worth taking? What would make such an option both fair and viable?
My friend and I have been populating his setting with a cast of colorful characters. One was an especially intelligent and seemingly civil manticore who sold his services to the highest bidder. I thought five levels of fighter would fit the bill.
How would you build such a character?
And if anyone has any other interesting monster+class level NPC's--or just any non-standard NPC's in general--I'm always looking for stuff to spark my next idea.
Working on a custom dragon for one of the high-power NPC's in the area of a setting. Similar to the lindworm/linnorm in appearance, with a gaze attack that it takes steps to shut down most of the time, so people could seek it out for council or whatever.
Feedback and suggestions would be awesome, especially regarding CR and anything that seems to fall short or too far ahead.
Once again, apologies for any maths that don't seem to add up and anomalies due to extensive houserules.
SQ: change shape (animal or humanoid, polymorph), water breathing
Lashing coils (Ex): the Blind Serpent may make a free bullrush, drag, trip or reposition maneuver with a successful tail attack.
**The Blind Serpent may only use Cleave and Great Cleave with it's tail attack.
Making a Tiny monster based on some folklore for a friend's setting. Going for something that's more a nuisance than a real threat, which results in some lopsided abilities (low damage, high defense, etc). Looking for general input and curious to see what CR you'd assign this little guy.
Again, apologies for any confusion due to houserules.
Aura of Misfortune (Su): whenever anyone within 30ft would roll a d20, they instead roll 2d20 and take the worse result.
Cursed wound (Su): injuries caused by this creature do not heal naturally. Magical healing must succeed at a caster level check (DC16) to effect the target normally.
So some birds use tools and have a sense of humor. Cephalopods can do basic math, maybe? Some primates can learn sign language. Whales have actual, distinct cultures.
--I feel like you could easily argue that some animals have a basic form of sentience. In some cases (dolphins and the like), the evidence is so overwhelming that it's less of an argument and more just stating a fact.
What would change if some animals had an intelligence score of 3? What problems would crop up? What animals would you include on the list?
A friend of mine is looking to include some less-typical fauna in their setting and has decided upon the prehistoric terror bird.
The only problem is, the existing stats are pretty lackluster.
We're looking for something that's in the CR2-3 range that feels unique without being needlessly complicated. Looking for comments and suggestions (apologies if the super abbreviated stat block is confusing. A lot of house rules going on, so let me know if something doesn't seem to add up or looks problematic):
N Large animal
Init +2; low-light vision, scent; Perception +10
AC 15, t11, ff13
26hp
Fort +7, Ref +5, Will +3
Speed 50 ft.
Bite +7 (1d8+7) or 2 kicks +6 (1d4+2 and push)
Space 10ft.; Reach 10ft.
Powerful charge (bite 2d6+7)
Str 20, Dex 15, Con 19, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 5
CMB+8 (+10 push); CMD20
Endurance, Run, Weapon Focus (bite)
Athletics +9*, Acrobatics +8*, Perception +10
*+4 jumping
So a player wants to run a character with an absurdly long and unwieldy lance. My thought was to give him a reach of 20ft, but he does not threaten squares 5 or 10ft away.
With that in mind, I think it would be fun and reasonable to offer him a feat that gives him the option of attacking foes at close range, but less effectively.
Since this weapon will be a hindrance at least as often as it is useful, and since he'll be incurring not-insubstantial penalties for trying to wield it in a variety of situations, I was thinking this feat should be at least fairly solid. Like...it let's you attack anyone within 5-10ft (no attacks of opportunity) as if the lance was a two-handed bludgeoning weapon at a -2 penalty that dealt 1d6 ×2, and you get to make a free bullrush or trip attempt any time the attack is successful? Something like that.
I am aware that there are multiple options out there for this sort of thing, but since I don't use much in the way of supplemental material, I don't know exactly what it all is.
This game would be very light-hearted and silly, if that makes a difference to anyone. This character doesn't actually want to be a knight and doesn't enjoy fighting. So everything they do is sort of reluctant/clumsy/by accident, rather than by dedicated training and supreme might.
Wanted a unique monster for a fairly simple encounter in a classic dungeon setting. Looking for suggestions and opinions on just how tough this guy is.
Ol' Shuck
This coughing, chuckling creature resembles some sort of coal-black, two-headed wolf hound. Thick smoke issues from the maw of one of it's cyclopean heads, while ropes of burning drool hang from the jowls of the other. Both seem to be smiling.
NE Medium outsider (evil, extraplanar, fire)
Init +5
Senses: darkvision 60ft., scent
AC16, t12, ff14
37hp
Fort+7, Ref +5, Will +6
Cloying smoke, damage reduction 5/good, immune to fire, vulnerable to cold
Spd 50 ft
Melee 2 bites +5 (1d6+6 plus 1 fire and worry)
Vomit Fire, Worry
Str15, Dex15, Con16, Int6, Wis13, Cha14
Base Attack +4; CMB +6, CMD18
Feats: Iron Will, Weapon Focus (bite), Blind Fight
Skills: Acrobatics +8, Athletics +8, Bluff +7, Intimidate +5, Perception +8, Sense Motive +10, Stealth +8, Survival +11
Cloying Smoke (Su): one of Ol' Shuck's heads is constantly coughing and hacking up tendrils of thick smoke. This grants Ol' Shuck a 20% miss chance.
Instead of biting, this head may cough up greater quantities of smoke, creating a cloud of smoke 10ft around him. Each round he chooses to use this ability increases the radius by 5ft. This additional smoke lasts for as long as Ol' Shuck continues coughing and for 1d4 rounds after.
Vomit Fire (Su): one of Ol' Shuck's heads occasionally vomits something akin to burning tar. Instead of biting, this head may cover up to four squares with flaming spittle. This counts as difficult terrain, inflicts 1d6 fire damage and hampers movement like caltrops to anyone passing through an effected square (Reflex DC15 halves damage and negates movement penalties). These squares must be adjacent to Ol' Shuck at some point during his turn.
Worry (Ex): Ol' Shuck may perform a free Drag, Reposition or Trip maneuver with a successful bite attack.
One of my players really likes the feel of a dwarven bombadier who lobs bundles of dynamite, smokes huge cigars and carries a blunderbuss.
However. This player struggles with even the most basic of mechanics. Not looking for spells, extracts, mutagens, grit or any of that stuff. Hit points and ammunition from their equipment list will be more than enough resources pools for them to track during the game.
So. I'm thinking a simplified fighter chasis with gunslinger and alchemist trappings.
How would you go about building this, as simply and easily run as possible?
So I guess fighting with a sword and dagger isn't actually about having twice the amount of metal stabbing things, it's about being more versatile and defensive, etc.
Now, I don't mind the idea of the human blender with two axes or whatever. It's a classic fantasy trope.
But what about the musketeer-style guy who wants to tumble around and swing on chandeliers, and fights with a rapier and main gauche? The system's interpretation of two weapon fighting with "stand your ground and do more damage" definitely doesn't support his style.
Has anyone seen or come up with anything that feels a little more like that second example?
It's like Defensive Combat Training, but for your CMB instead. And it only works on a specific maneuver.
So rogues or clerics or whoever can be better at grappling or disarming or what have you.
Is there anything like this out there? Does it seem like something you'd ever take?
Just knocking some ideas around, so it's nothing too detailed as of yet. Just curious what people think, and if they have any other ideas:
Dwarves--I feel like their warlike and industrious nature would warrant quite a few options.
- grandfather maul (two-handed, 2d8 ×3) --+2 damage over an earthbreaker
- dragon hammer (two-handed, 1d10 ×3 brace, reach, trip) --a bardiche type weapon with trip
- arbalest (two-handed, 2d8 19-20×2, 120ft) --giant crossbow
- throwing cleaver (light, thrown, 1d8 ×3, 20ft) --+1 damage, better crit and range throwing axe, also better version of handaxe for TWF builds?
- chain-hammer (two-handed, 1d8 ×2, disarm, 5-10ft reach, trip) --slightly worse 3rd spiked chain
Elves-- on one hand, they're not necessarily as dedicated to the art of war as the dwarves. On the other, they're still a very old race, so they should have some decent options.
- dueling sword (one-handed, 1d8 18-20×2, finesse, blocking)--+1 damage and blocking on a rapier
- war spear (two-handed, 1d10 ×3, finesse)--finesseable glaive? The branch spear feels kind of wonky to me.
- hunter's scythe (two-handed, 1d10 ×4, finesse, trip) -- -1/+.5/+2 damage scythe
- great bow (two-handed, 1d10 ×3, 150ft) --+1 damage and more range longbow
- forest bow (two-handed, 1d8 ×3, 100ft, counts as a light weapon for squeezing) -slightly shorter range longbow with less penalties in some situations that come up specifically in my games.
- moonblade (two-handed, 1d6 18-20 ×2, double, finesse) --two-bladed sword that uses scimitars instead of longswords as the base
Gnomes- not as warlike as the dwarves, but maybe more inventive. I'd like them to feel strange and complex without actually adding a lot of complexity to gameplay.
‐ gnommishmm halberd (two-handed, 1d12 ×2, blocking, brace, disarm, distracting, reach, trip) -- basic pole arm with all the stuff.
- bolas bow (two-handed, 1d6 ×2, 60ft, trip) --light or heavy crossbow that launches bolas
- tanglehook net (one-handed, --, 20ft, entangle) --a slightly better net.
- springlance (1d8 ×3, special) --can be a sportspear, spear, longspear or heavy lance, can have blocking, disarm, distracting or trip, concealable
Halflings-- they'd probably have the least, but I want their options to be actually good.
‐ dart (one-handed, thrown, 1d8 ×3, 30ft, concealable)-- just a better version of a dart
- cinquedea (one-handed, light, 1d8 19-20×2, blocking)--+1 damage shortsword with blocking
- dagger (one-handed, light, 1d4 18-20×2, 20ft, concealable, distracting) --a kukri that you can throw and conceal
- cudgelcrook (two-handed, 1d12 ×2, blocking, non-lethal, reach, trip) --a non-lethal Lucerne hammer with blocking and trip
- dueling cape (one-handed, light, --, blocking, disarm, distracting) -- not sure if this is a weapon or a shield, really.
Orcs --less about craftsmanship than the v dwarves or the elves, but far more devoted to warfare
- felling axe (two-handed, 2d8 ×3) +1/+2/+4 damage greataxe
‐ foecleaver (two-handed, 1d10 18-20×2) --a heavier, non-finesseable elven curve blade
‐ skull-splitter (two-handed, 1d10 ×4, +2 sunder) a slightly boosted scythe with sundering instead of tripping
‐ gut hook (two-handed, 1d8 ×4, reach, trip) --a pole arm with trip and a high crit multiplier?
‐ maulstone (two-handed, thrown, 2d6 19-20 ×3, 10ft square where it lands is difficult terrain/caltrops) --a big weight on a chain? Won't see regular use at higher levels, but offers some form of battlefield control?
I'd like to see what some of your greatest success stories are when it comes to telling a story at the gaming table. Those times when the GM moves their players to tears, when a player character says or does something that will be remembered at that table forever.
Doesn't have to be success in terms of melodrama; fear and tension and excitement and humor are all forms of success, depending on what you were going for. Doesn't even have to be something related to acting; what about a time when the GM's plot or the PC's plan just came together perfectly and everyone just sat back for a moment to bask in the awesome glow?
(not that I mind a wall of text, but it might be best to at least try and be concise. I know *I* could write a small novel on pretty much any of my games, but I doubt I'd have an audience)
My friend has this great character concept: a father who insists that his gentle, good-hearted (and not at all violent or confrontational) son is destined to bring his family great honor and glory. Buys him a knighthood. Dusts off the family's ancient armor, shield and lance--all much too heavy and ornate to be at all practical--and sends him off into the world to earn renown.
The son is a genuinely good, kind person and wants to help others. This is absolutely not how he'd go about it, but he doesn't want to hurt his dad's pride, either. So he's sort of hesitantly doing the whole Knight Errant thing.
Thinking this character will probably be a paladin, definitely focused on defense, and with the goal of being as simple to run as possible (so, for example, trading away spells for simpler abilities, etc).
Got a light-hearted, whimsical game I've been setting up for a while. One of the players had an idea to play a super uptight knight errant sort of character who's pomp and ceremony often proves to be a serious inconvenience.
We had this idea that he'd maybe carry an enormously long lance that was always getting caught on things and being cumbersome and silly...but I don't want to punish him too hard mechanically for his choices.
Any existing rules out there for weapons that grant extra reach? I was thinking of letting him hit people 15-20ft away, but count him as one size larger for purposes of Squeezing or something.
Got the go-ahead to redesign the terrible "bird" companion entry into something that would actually be at least a little useful. Was thinking I'd try to blend elements of the roc companion with the base eagle stats. Something like:
Eagle: small; +4 natural armor; Spd 10 ft., fly 80 ft. (average); 2 talons (1d4), bite (1d4); Str 10, Dex 17, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 15, Cha 7; Special Qualities low-light vision.
--what do you think? More defensive and maneuverable than the roc or a large cat or the other popular companions, but also significantly less potent on the offensive.
I feel like it's still not very good by comparison, but I'd rather that than swing too far the other way.
How often do you, as a GM, bend or alter the rules for the sake of narrative?
I've often heard the "rule of cool" used in a somewhat casual or flippant manner. Like, "we're here to have fun. What's the harm in allowing something awesome?" But I've been looking more closely at my storytelling of late, and I'm starting to see that what is often referred to as a more relaxed approach may well be the key to better storytelling and better games.
A (sort of) brief example:
I have a player in my regular group who is not very good with the mechanical aspect of the game. They struggle to make a character above 3rd level, keep track of more than a couple of magic items, remember the specifics of even basic rules like charging and often compute their modifiers/rolls/totals incorrectly.
With that said, they are a remarkably attentive player. They are very well-read and share an understand of mythology and folklore with me that makes telling stories with them easy as breathing, even while running a game with them is like pulling teeth. They are quick to pick up on subtle story elements or details in the narrative. Sometimes, to the point that the elements or details they're seeing patterns in or deriving meaning from are not ones that I actually planned for.
In our current game, there was an encounter with a faerie spirit of the ice and wind, a siren who's captivating song lulls wanderers into a peaceful sleep as they freeze to death.
Upon shaking off the effects of the spirit's song and taking some damage, most of the players began to take hostile actions themselves.
But this player tries to talk to the spirit. "I'm a hunter and a tracker, why would I want to fight this thing?" So they make an appeal to the spirit. They realize the spirit isn't specifically trying to murder them; it just doesn't realize that the cold will eventually kill them, or even that they are unique, autonomous beings who can feel pain and experience suffering.
The player then declares that they draw their sacred bone knife, an item I gave them at character creation and had a specific idea for down the line. They figured they could intimidate the spirit into leaving them alone and end the fight sooner, saving the party some resources and avoiding the needles killing of a wondrous-- if perilous--creature.
Now, the spirit had damage reduction, but I hadn't written down that it could be overcome by such a weapon. But I decided to allow it.
I think one of the most important aspects of any role-playing game is player agency. Player choices should have consequences; good for informed, thoughtful choices and bad for those that are not.
The player described above is not "good" at Pathfinder by any stretch of the imagination. Despite the fact they've been playing 3rd, 3.5 and Pathfinder 1st for nearly 20 years, they just don't have a head for the mechanics, the strategy or the actual system. But...they're a good player to have at the table. They explore and interact with the setting and have an intrinsic understanding of story structure.
I think that strictly adhering to the rules when your player is trying to use the information and the world you present to them to make informed decisions is worse gamemastering than not. The fact that their choices don't mesh exactly with the (extremely precise) mechanics in Pathfinder seems like a poor reason to discouraged such engaged and attentive game play.
This will be the final series of encounters for the campaign. The characters are lvl8. I know there's existing stats for the wendigo, but I can't quite unleash a CR17 monster on three non-optimized lvl8 PC's. Besides, it's not quite what I'm looking for.
Below is a quick outline of the sort of thing I'm working towards. Just looking for input; if anyone's done anything similar recently, or if there's a monster out there with a similar ability, etc.
The characters have just acquired three relics they can use to help banish the evil spirit and are heading back to the tribe first afflicted with the wendigo's influence. Cue first encounter: a number of tribes people who have been corrupted by the wendigo (but have not entirely lost themselves to the madness), as well as those simply mislead by the tribe's shaman, who the players will learn is responsible for calling thy wendigo in the first place.
A fight/chase through the tribe's village, trying to thwart the shaman, not unnecessarily murder hapless villagers and flush the wendigo out of the people it has possessed.
Second encounter: when the shaman realizes he can't win and decides to allow/command the wendigo to physically manifest. It is a medium-sized monster, crazy fast and focused more on running around and eating villagers. With each person it kills and consumes, the more it's power and physical stature grows.
Third encounter: facing down an emaciated, starving spirit-giant. There have been a few story-seeds planted to suggest a way they could trap the spirit inside a body, etc. etc.
I'm sure I can get them to run initially, and the shaman won't be showing himself too often. So I'm confident I can get 1-4 rounds out of the first encounter, at least. The second one...I think it'll have to have some crazy-good defenses (high AC, saves, DR and fast healing) to survive a beating long enough to gorge itself. I'm thinking...maybe 4 victims to get Large, 8 to Huge, etc., but that's pretty much random numbers.
Just curious how other people feel about this subject, deal with it, avoid it and so on.
On one hand, I think it's incredibly hard to create a fantasy culture or people that doesn't feel at least somewhat inspired by one that exists in the "real world". Patrick Rothfuss's Adem in "The Kingkiller Chronicles" are a good example, but I'm hard-pressed to find another.
And on another, I feel like...shouldn't we try to celebrate all the awesome stuff that people have done and are in the world? I'd hate to lose those opportunities, but I also don't want to be an ignorant jerk and offend people.
In brief, a character is on a secret, personal quest to change their gender. They have discovered what they would need to do in order to obtain their objective and are on their way to the adventure site.
It's an Arctic tribal game, with an emphasis on spirits, the next world and the difficulty of surviving in this one.
I need the transition to occur because of some kind of talisman or artefact, so the character can potentially lose it or cast it aside.
With that said...what should it be, and what else should it do? I'm kind of thinking it's a slotless charm; a small black stone or the like. Gives a few defensive bonuses and boosts caster level, etc.
Also, any discussion about the inherently muddy waters/thin ice/shaky ground this whole idea represents are welcome.
So, the rogue. A d8 HD, 3/4 base attack class that, in combat, contributes only with an attack roll.
I've heard talk of increasing their HD and base attack, and I like the thought behind it, but I've come up with a slightly different, unique-but-still-hopefully-simple option:
1. A flat, untyped bonus to AC like the monk.
2. A bonus on attack rolls against enemies that are eligible for sneak attacks equal to 1/2 rogue level (minimum +1).
I am fine with the rogue being less durable than a fighter, as well as less accurate in normal situations. I am also, to a point, okay with rogues being less efficient in combat in exchange for being significantly more efficient outside of it.
The AC bonus helps a little, and the attack bonus essentially makes them a 5/4 base attack class in the right scenarios, while still keeping their attack progression behind full base attack classes.
It feels like a simple fairly elegant solution that doesn't go too far. If I adjust some of the rogue talents (like making the decent ones good and the cool-but-meh ones free every few levels?) and how sneak attacks work, I think it'll go a long way. Thoughts?
Per barbarian rage: "A barbarian cannot enter a new rage while fatigued or exhausted..."
Characters that take damage from cold/heat/starvation and thirst are fatigued.
So...a barbarian who isn't perfectly comfortable in terms of the temperature or his food supply can't rage?
For my survivalist game (and probably for my games in general from here on out, I've ruled that barbarians do not count these specific sources of fatigue as prohibitive in terms of rage. Coming out of a rage or being targeted by a spell or something, sure. But the environments in which most barbarians are said to hail from canceling their greatest strength just feels...wrong. The barbarian endures. That's their thing.
Now, forced marches and such are another matter. Not sure how I stand on that one. Probably leaning towards letting that be ignored as well, but it's come up once or twice in my last dozen games, tops.
Just wondering what thoughts others have had on this.
Working on some maps, looking for some simple, easily understood (and easily drawn, ideally) icons for deep snow, ice, thin ice, etc.
Anyone know where I could find some examples?
The Takgarn have forgotten the Old Ways and brought war to the People. The other tribes have sent emissaries to speak with the Garn and to demand justice.
Haaver, a hunter and whaler of the Chun-Arriq. Osha, Haaver's sister, a consummate tracker and wind-reader. Mara, a woman of orc-blood, a spirit-talker and a skinshifter of the Kuulyakon.
Our story begins with these three setting off for the Takgarn's main camp. They could travel across the sea ice (the fastest route on the most difficult terrain), make for the tundra (a slightly longer trip, but where food and shelter are more readily found), or into the forest (the longest, least difficult path).
Depending on how careful they are, the trio will attract the attention of a pack of dire wolves within the first few nights they spend on the ice.
The wolves will wait until the wind is favorable and night has fallen. The rise and fall of the drifts will create high ground, cover and obscure line of sight. The low places will have new fallen snow deep enough to count as difficult terrain but also offer shelter from the strong wind.
The wolves will attempt to demoralize their foes from a distance and feint while fighting defensively to the front, only attacking from behind, charging into a flanking position and targeting a shaken and flat-footed opponent, tripping/dragging/bull rushing/repositioning if possible. They'll retreat when 30% of their number are unconsciousness or 50% of them are seriously injured.
If the trio continues on the ice, they will eventually run into one of the Inuki-Unu, a Lost One (a sort of ice faerie/siren/banshee). It wants to hold them captivated with it's song until they die of exposure. The restless corpses of it's previous victims want to squeeze the warmth out of the living.
The snow is deeper here, the wind stronger and the cold much sharper. Some of the ice is extremely thin; it may hold one's weight, or it may plunge them into the freezing waters below.
The Lost One has no interest in attacking the travelers; it merely wants an attentive audience. It will only attack if provoked, and will flee if reduced to 30% of it's hp. The restless dead are mindless, seeking warmth until destroyed. A successful Knowledge Nature check (DC20) will reveal that such creatures can often be appeased with the simple offer of a place by the campfire. Getting a fire going in this blizzard, however, takes three successful Survival checks (DC27).
If they make for the tundra, they are coming closer to the dire wolve's den. They attack in greater numbers and are more determined than before, but less coordinated.
In the forest is a Black Boar, a modified dire boar with dangerous charge and a version of Awesome Blow it can use as an attack of opportunity.
If they are crafty, the trio can set a trap for the beast. The area offers difficult terrain, very difficult terrain, trees, massive trees, cover and high ground.
The boar is not subtle. It wants to gore and stamp and throw and tear.
At some point during their travels, the party notices a strange light in the distance, like a bobbing lantern or fireflies. If they are willing to add time to their trip, they can look into the phenomenon. Next a large carin are the remains of one of the niapuatin, pale raiders from a distance land. A DC20 Heal or DC25 Survival determines he died of exposure, but there are plenty of warm furs and provisions in his pack. His jawbone is a talisman (re-roll one d20 or divination 1/day), if they want to risk his vengeful ghost (magical trap, DC28, Bestow Curse-food turns to ashes in your mouth, DC16).
Before they reach the Takgarn's camp, they will encounter two of their hunters on the plain. The hunters are obviously not well; they are sunken-faced, sallow things with empty eyes. They attack with little warning, ferocious and savage, fighting to the death.
The area will be similar to that of the wolf encounters. This is the closest thing to a "typical" encounter: an all-out bloodbath.
--there we have it. The combat encounters of session 1. They each occur on different days, so they can each be extremely taxing for our lvl5 characters.
Just looking for ideas to add layers and make each encounter more dynamic, engaging and memorable.
I consider myself empathetic and moderate, and an excellent communicator. But I've yet to deal with a situation like this one. Something tells me that I'm just too close to the problem.
I'm not looking for a "solution"; real-life social issues are way too complex for me to describe accurately to total strangers, let alone for said total strangers to understand the problem or "fix" it. I guess I'm mostly curious to see if other people have had to deal with things like this.
So, the player. Known them for twenty years. An intelligent, witty and charming personality.
They've been much more active in the gaming scene than I have for many years. Shadowrun, Fiasco, Kingdom Death, Torch Bearer, OD&D.
I'm trying to start up a game. We've had session Zero and discussed who wants to play what.
My friend had proven...resistant to any kind of input from me regarding their character. They seem to resent the idea that their character could be anything less than 100% their creation.
So they have taken skill focus twice, along with far shot. They've "decided" to spend about 65% of their starting wealth and discard the rest, and not to take all of their class features.
I've asked my players to get their character sheets completed and a copy sent to me, mostly so I have a backup if they lose theirs and to have an idea as to what the party is capable of, but also to double-check the math and make sure everyone's got everything they need.
Several months later, I have my friend's character sheet. And there are several problems.
Some of them are minor; a forgotten houserule or the like. Some are more fundamental; an extra point of base attack bonus, not adding size, strength or racial bonuses to attack modifiers. Some are significant; attempting to prepare bonus spells before the class has spell slots at those levels.
So I reach out and mention the potential errors that I noticed. I attempt to be as concise as possible (so as not to seem like I'm lecturing) and as casual as possible (so as to avoid coming off as condescending).
Their response was fairly passive aggressive and turse. They tried to argue that the errors I had found were in fact the accurate interpretation of the rules, for example. Then they sent me an updated character sheet.
...there are still errors.
My current plan is this: I will write up an accurate sheet of how their character should be and keep it for my own records. But I will not police their rolls and cross-reference everything they do. All in all, their mistakes hurt their character far more than they help (a lvl5 full BAB with a primary attack of +10, 1d6+2). If I notice something significant off hand (like trying to cast a spell that's two levels higher than they should be able to), I'll shut it down. But beyond that, their character is their responsibility. I have made an honest--and, frankly, Herculean--effort to be both helpful and respectful, and have been offered spite and obstinacy in return.
Here's my theory: I've seen enough to believe that the rapid-fire math and juggling of various modifiers that's so common to 3rd, 3.5 and Pathfinder does not come easily to this player. I think they sort of hide behind the "role-playing over roll-playing" attitude to cover this up. If they can't successful build a mechanically potent character, they can at least succeed at deliberately building a mechanically inferior one.
But that's not entirely fair; a big part of it is probably just that they aren't interested in the mechanical part of gaming. At least, in the mechanical elements that lead to strong, effective characters. They LOVE crunchy rules systems that are extremely unforgiving, random and punishing (like when a character sees their first monster, rolls poorly to resist fear, has a heart attack and dies. 15min into the game).
Which would all be fine; like what you like. But whenever I bring an idea to this player that would both fit their character AND be mechanically sound (how can your character concept be "the greatest X in all the land" when you deliberately choose to be less good at X?), they just sort of scoff at my ideas, giving me some kind of "don't you know there's more to gaming than numbers?" treatment.
I honestly don't know if I'll invite this friend back to my table after this game. We just seem to want vastly different things from the hobby.
I hate Enlarge Person. It just feels very...Saturday morning cartoon. Gimmicky and gaudy. Especially if the setting favor subtle spells over gross ones.
But it's also a common go-to for martial classes. Absurdly so, to the point that it's almost just assume that your fighter/barbarian/whatever can, in some fashion, turn into a 12ft giant as a standard aspect of their capabilities.
So I'm currently thinking of removing Enlarge Person from my games and maybe replacing it with some kind of basic augmentation spell. +1 attack, damage and AC, 10 minutes/level?
I'm looking for custom magic items for a primitive Arctic story that features spirits/daemons/the fae.
I don't need specific mechanics or anything like that (though please feel free if you want to), just figured I'd ask around and get a wider spectrum of flavor if I can.
Here are some of my ideas so far:
-shadow scissors (cut off people's shadows to impose penalties, add them to your own to get bonuses)
-spirit whistle (summon spirit to answer questions or posess user)
-haunted dream-cloak (keeps you warm, turns into a tent for 3, bonuses to shaman-rituals inside)
-bone-ward (a little protective bone golem/scarecrow)
-aurora wisps (static misc. bonuses capture in "pieces" of the Northern Lights)
-staff of the elk-king (bolsters your magic and can summon a...wall of antlers?)
-howling shawl (meld with snow, sneakier in snow and resist the cold)
-spiteful ring (attacks someone that attacks you)
-ring of shooting stars (summons lights, shoots comets/sparks)
-grow bag (occasionally produces a random useful item)
The game: The Winterlands (Night of the Frozen Wind); theme- the veil between worlds is thin; tone- surreal; genre- inuit myth plus epic/dark fantasy; duration- ~10 sessions, lvl5 to 10
The PC's: a halfling hunter and fisher of the Chun-Arriq tribe, grim and stoic; a halfling hunter and tracker of the Chun-Arriq tribe, the wise fool; aN exiled shaman of orc-blood of the Kuulyakon tribe, haunted and sly
The question: there will most likely be zero chances for characters to buy/sell/trade goods aside from basic mundane equipment, so I will be creating a variety of custom-made magic items for them to find along the way. will will be extremely flexible with wealth by Level and equating market price value (cutting costs on exponential price increases by up to 50%, ignoring premiums for multiple abilities on one item, etc).
What I'm looking for are some additional ideas for more items; things that would fit a story about animism and vision-quests, some things that benefit these specific characters and some that would be useful to anyone.
I don't need mechanics or prices (unless you really want to take a crack at it), just the basic concepts.
Here are some things I've got already:
Shadowhawk Spear: wound around the haft of this +1 blood-drinking spear are fetishes of subtlety, vengeance and cunning. When thrown into the air, the shadowhawk spear turns into a spirit hawk that seeks out the last target it wounded. Treat this ability as arcane eye, except that the hawk casts a shadow. The hawk turns back into a spear when called to return to its wielder.
(3,808gp)
Swiftstride Charm: this white stone, carved into the likeness of a hare, is worn on a twisted cord about the ankle. 1/day, the wearer may move 5 times her speed when charging or 10 times her speed when running. She is exhausted for one round after she uses this ability. In addition, she gains a +2 luck bonus on Will saves.
(1,250gp)
Surestride Charm: this bit of ivory, carved into the likeness of a hare, is worn on a twisted cord about the ankle. 1/day, the wearer may ignore the effects of difficult terrain caused by heavy snowfall and wooded areas for 1 minute. In addition, she gains a +2 luck bonus to Acrobatics checks.
(1,250gp)
Cup of the Good Hunt: by filling this yellowed and battered scrimshaw cup with the blood of a fresh kill, the user may speak with the spirit of the animal slain. Treat this effect as the divination spell. (1,350gp)
The Driftward: tanned and enchanted fox hide makes for fine protection. The Driftward functions as a masterwork chain shirt that grants a +1 deflection bonus to AC and the effects of the endure elements spell.
(2,000gp)
Blackbriar Pipe: when this long, twisted pipe is lit and smoked for 2 rounds, it creates a thick cloud of smoke as the spell Obscuring Mist in a 10ft radius. Each round spent after the second increases the radius by 10ft.
Once per day, when the smoke covers a radius of at least 50ft., the user may cast Hallucinatory Terrain (DC17). After this effect resolves, the smoke dissipates in one round.
(2,600gp)
Pyre Sling- this simple leather strap can launch small animal skulls as if they were lead sling bullets. When it does so, it is treated as a +1 flaming sling. The skulls burst upon impact and create a thick, numbing fog in a 5ft. radius as the Solid Fog spell that lasts for 1 round.
(3,300gp)
Crown of the Mountain King- fashioned from a ram's skull, this crude helm grants a +1 deflection bonus to AC, Cold Resistance 5 and allows the wearer to treat gore attacks as +1 weapons.
(2,250gp)
The Hungry Hatchet: taken from one of the bloodthirsty niapu, this +1 returning, vicious throwing axe is made from glittering steel, it's blade etched with the likeness of a gaping maw. Runes of power are carved into the smooth driftwood handle, and the weapon seems to thrum and shudder in the hand, as if eager to be loosed.
(3,305gp)
Cloak of the Great Wolf: this long cloak is fashioned from the thick pelt of a grey wolf. Treat the cloak of the great wolf as a masterwork chain shirt that also grants +1 natural armor, the Endurance feat and increases the wearer's base speed by 10ft.
(3,250gp)
Predator Charms: one pair of these twisted cords is studded with the claws of an ice bear, while the other sports the teeth of a great seal. The predator charms occupy the wrist and boot slots and grant a +2 circumstance bonus to Acrobatics and Athletics checks.
(800gp)
Scrimshaw Talisman: carved from the horn of a bull narwhal, the wearer of the scrimshaw talisman benefits from a continual Endure Elements effect and gains the ability to hold their breath for one minute per point of Constitution.
(2,000gp)
-ivory wheels of windwalking
-shadow scissors (sleight of hand, penalties to target, stackable bonuses for wielder)
-spirit whistle (summon spirit to answer questions or posess user)
-haunted dream-cloak (endure elements, turns into a tent for 3, bonuses to craft, heal and knowledge inside)
-bone-ward (construct that assists with certain skills, alarm, protection)
-aurora wisps (ioun stones)
-staff of the elk-king (caster level boost, spiked growth and entangle, but anywhere)
-howling shawl (meld with snow, burrow speed in snow, +5 stealth and cold resistance 5)
-spiteful ring (1/day, damages foe who brought wearer to negatives with melee attack)
-better ring of shooting stars (dancing lights at will, glitterdust 3/day, 1-3 scorching rays at will but 1 backlash fire damage for second ray, +1/ray after that [1 for 2nd ray, 2 for 3rd, 3 for 4th], resets each night)
-grow bag (1/day, produces a random useful item)
Level 6 increases wealth by 5,500gp. Level 7 by 7,000gp, level 8, 10,000, level 9 by 13,000 and level 10, 16,000.
Working on a tribal/prehistory game where I want to focus on the idea of civilization vs. nature, with lots of weather hazards and animals and such.
So wolves. They bite and have trip. Except that doesnt seem to represent the "surround the prey, distract to the front, attack from behind" strategy that wolves actually utilize. At least, not completely.
I was thinking that I could just give them a +2 to feinting and call it a day. Maybe give them a bonus to tripping flat-footed opponents or a plus to AC while flanking.
I'm usually a "less is more" kind of guy, almost to an extreme. But I want to offer a more dynamic encounter than a series of attack rolls, a block of hit points and a drain on the PC's resources.
Any thoughts?
So there's apparently a lot of contention regarding these little guys. Some people seem to view them as unfun, party killing random encounters, while others say a PC should be prepared to deal with all sorts of threats, and woe to those that are not.
What do you think? How do you put swarms in your PC's road and not feel like a huge jerk? What are some ways to deal with them as a player? Is this an issue with swarms, with the rules system in general, or with setting up and running encounters?
Curious what people think, how it reads, possible mechanical issues and if there's anything else like it out there.
You can ward off attempts to seize hold of you with powerful attacks.
Prerequisites: Str 13, base attack bonus +1, Power Attack
Benefit: opponents attempting to initiate a grapple with you provoke attacks of opportunity, even if they posses an ability that would normally prevent them from provoking an attack of opportunity.
If this attack is successful, you may choose to forgo the extra damage from Power Attack to gain a +1 to your CMD against the grapple (+2 if you are using a weapon two-handed). This bonus increases by 1 (2) at 4th level and every four levels beyond that.
At long last, our ragtag band has made it through the field of stars and across the lonesome moors. They have bested fell beasts with might, wit and luck and have walked through the gates of horn and bone to stand before the Queen of Fae herself.
They need to find a way to convince this timeless, otherworldly being of her advisor's manipulations, lest the Mortal lands be washed in faerie magic.
This is it. The last big scene where everything will be won or lost. I need it to be sweeping, strange, frightening and vital. So it definitely can't be boiled down to a single Diplomacy roll. Here's what I've got so far:
The character's progress will be a sliding scale of 1 to 10. A 1 means Oona has decided against them and they have lost. A 10 means she believes them and they have won. They will start somewhere between a 4 and a 6, depending on previous elements.
Players will be able to use Diplomacy to influence Oona, increasing their position on the scale by 1.
Puck will use Bluff to decrease their position on the scale by 1.
Puck may take penalties to Bluff to move the PC's down the scale by more than 1, but failure will result in their position increasing instead.
Players will use Sense Motive to reveal Puck's falsehoods, negating their last decrease, and Intimidate to levy a penalty to his next Bluff check or possibly make him forfeit his next attempt.
On top of that stuff, Oona's reactions to certain things will affect the party. Her displeasure freezes the blood (cold damage), her scorn burns (fire), flattery makes her preen (causing confusion or stunning, maybe?), her questions and counter-arguments corrode the self (Charisma drain), her laughter gives birth to piksies, imps and flowers with hungry mouths, etc.
What do you think? Is there a simpler way to achieve a similar feel? What would make such an encounter more memorable or engaging for you?
I've been running a game for three old co-workers of mine, one of which has played Dungeons & Dragons once, one who has never played before, and one who was not sure what an orc is.
The setting is my own, a dingy, medieval world where most people are sure that the last of the dragons died out long ago. If they ever existed in the first place. A world where the term "sorcerer" brings to mind sleight-of-hand and deception long before real magic.
At least, that's how things are where the characters start out. But the further they are from home, the more they start to see that superstition and legend stem from things all too real.
At session zero, I gave them a brief outline on what to expect:
Genre: Arthurian/fairytale
Tone: Wonder
Theme: "Here Be Monsters"
Length: ~10 sessions, from levels 1-6.
The cast:
Kol, a wandering adventurer and mystic pilgrim. Kol's mother was a nord skinshifter, a cunning and furious warrior. On a raid in Eirelin, she met the man who would be Kol's father, a gentle man with a silver tongue, and forsook her clan's bloody ways for a life of peace. She helped her new people repel the invaders and was soon with child.
Kol's grandfather, wroth at his kin and even more so at the people who took her from him, returned and laid waste to his daughter's new home. Kol's family bought him enough time to escape the nord raiding parties, and he has been traveling ever since, eager to honor his parents sacrifice and to grow in might himself, so that next time, he may stand and fight.
Kol is fair and wise, with sharp eyes, a clear laugh and a stormy heart.
Sarisa Fortiss, an obsessive, brilliant and disturbing young lady. Her father was the court alchemist of Lord Darius von Buchenhoft until a few months ago, where an expiriment went awry and Sarisa's father (and her cat) vanished. Unsatisfied with the cursory investigation performed by the castle guard, Sarisa has continued her father's research for a doorway into Faerie, where limitless power, immortality and the truth behind her father's disappearance await.
Sarisa has made surprising headway in the isolation and distilling of glamourie, using it to heighten her abilities and drive her research ever deeper. And ever at the cost of her emotional stability, her sanity and--she has begun to worry--her very soul.
Sarisa is wiry, distracted and unpleasant, with a mind capable of focus that often crosses into obsession.
Traygor, a quiet but imposing brute of a man with orc blood. For all his life, folk have thought Traygor capable of little more than skinning his knuckles at local tavern brawls. But while he is simple and coarse, he is far from dull and is not at all cruel.
After life as a pariah in the village where he was born and a brief stint as a slave in the goblin mines, he found work as a caravan guard and mercenary. At least until a smiling, ruthless man called Grahm talked him into a life as a highwayman.
Traygor is broad of chest and arm, with prominent tusks, a scarred back and an almost frightening practicality.
I've seen some blogs and the like around here, but can't seem to recall where such a thread would belong.
Before I start posting, I wanted to confirm: general discussion, yeah?
I've implemented house rules stating that most feats grow to include the benefits of their Improved and Greater versions once the prerequisites for those feats are met.
I am considering ruling that Cleave functions more like it did in the days of 3rd edition, where it triggered off of any qualifying attack, rather than requiring a special "cleave attack" as a standard action.
I'm just not sure if combining Cleave and Great Cleave into one feat AND this will be too much.
With this rule in place, you would be able to make a full attack and generate an extra attack off of any successful attacks, and you could trigger multiple chains of extra attacks. Say you have a base attack of +11, Cleave and are surrounded by 8 foes.
Your first attack is successful against the first opponent, you cleave into the second and third and miss through fourth. Then you make your second attack against the fifth opponent, cleave the six, seventh and eighth, and use your last attack to strike whoever you want.
I'm not too worried about giving martials too much power, and the way I see it, you're either scything through chaff or you're surrounded by legitimate threats, so your increased damage output either doesn't matter because the opponents are trivial or it doesn't matter because you may well be dead in a moment.
Where it gets tricky is keeping track of who you can attack and when (you can only cleave an opponent once per round, but you can attack a single target up to as many times s you have normal attacks...but I guess you also can't cleave the opponent that you struck with the regular attack that started the current cleave-chain) and with things like Vital Strike (I'd rule that you get the extra attacks from Cleave, but not with the bonus damage).
Just a first draft here. Wondering about mechanical balance and ease of reading.
Iron Fist Style (combat, style)
Fighting with heavy iron rings on your forearms, your blows strike with the power of a thunderstorm.
Prerequisites: Improved Unarmed Strike, Power Attack, monk level 1st.
Benefit: In place of one of your attacks or as a standard action, you may gain one charge of momentum. You may build momentum in this way a number of times consecutively equal to your monk level. You can hold charges as long as you are engaged in combat. Charges are spent when you make an attack roll.
Roll the damage for a successful unarmed strike once for each charge of momentum gained prior to the attack.
Add +2 to the DC of a stunning fist delivered with one or more charges.
Iron Fist Warding (combat, style)
Your sweeping technique protects you from blows even as you prepare to strike.
Prerequisites: Improved Unarmed Strike, Iron Fist Style, Power Attack, monk level 3rd.
Benefit: As long as you have one or more charges from the iron fist style, you gain a +2 shield bonus to AC. In addition, you only suffer a -2 on attack rolls to fight defensively.
Iron Fist Thunder (combat, style)
You can send opponents flying.
Prerequisites: Improved Unarmed Strike, Iron Fist Style, Iron Fist Warding, Power Attack, monk level 8th.
Benefits: once per round, you may perform an awesome blow combat maneuver when you make a successful unarmed strike with one or more charges from the iron fist style. In addition, you receive a +2 bonus to your CMB to make awesome blow maneuvers.
Iron Fist Master (combat, style)
You can scatter your foes like wind scatters leaves.
Prerequisites: Improved Unarmed Strike, Iron Fist Style, Iron Fist Warding, Iron Fist Thunder, Power Attack, monk level 12th.
Benefits: you may perform an awesome blow combat maneuver whenever you make a successful unarmed strike with one or more charges from the iron fist style. In addition, you receive a +2 bonus to your CMB to make awesome blow maneuvers, and you only spend charges from the iron fist style when you make a successful unarmed strike.
Our wandering band of heroes find themselves along the path to Oona's chambers.
The wind blows warm and sweet. The land about them is filled with trees bearing mystic fruit, and the handmaidens of the orchard are kind, generous.
But then the wind changes, cold and sharp, and the orchard is no longer. It is a wild, hungry wood, grasping roots and strangling vines creep over the bones of heroes forgotten, and the deadly branchwraiths that dwell in the shadows are malicious, blood-drinking monsters.
So it's basically two encounters that the players find themselves randomly jumping between. Currently, I'm thinking that the orchard's features will include fruit that recover hp and levy a penalty to Will saves and dryad-like fae that have Sleep and Charm spell-like abilities. The forest's will involve skeletal tree monsters and vines that entangle anyone who remains still for too long. I'll definitely make sure that the wind changing is enough to wake up sleeping characters, so they aren't instantly killed as soon as the scenery flips. But I think the vines will still get them, and the charm effect will work just fine.
Just looking for any input that could take the encounter to the next level. I am not looking for templates for monsters, random charts, rules systems for different planes or anything else that can be relates by hyperlink. I am presenting an idea to a creative community for further creative ideas. Thoughts?
The band of rag-tag adventurers stand at the gates to the very heart of Faerie. But the gates are guarded by an ancient power. In fact, the gates and the guardian are one and the same.
I need something suitably huge and astounding for the final session. Currently, I'm thinking of a 100-foot stone golem of sorts. But I'm going to abandon the normal rules of combat. I don't care how much damage you do with your axe, swinging it at a granite ankle that is 15 ft thick is going to do absolutely nothing.
I would like to emulate the fights from that game Shadow of the Colossus, as well as turn the monster into a sort of living dungeon.
Just wondering who out there has tried something like this and how they went about it. I have a few ideas, but I'd like to get some input first.
I'm going to be running a primitive/nomadic game in one of my campaign settings, focusing on the tribes that live in the Arctic regions.
Below are some extra rules and equipment that'll be included in the game. I would just like to make sure that the mechanics are both comprehensible and sensible:
Environmental-
Cold and exposure deal nonlethal damage that cannot be healed until the subject gets out of the cold and warms up again. Once a character has taken an amount of nonlethal damage equal to their total hit points, any further damage from a cold environment is lethal damage.
A character who takes any nonlethal damage from cold or exposure is beset by frostbite or hypothermia (treat as fatigued). These penalties end when the character recovers the nonlethal damage they took from the cold and exposure.
Cold weather (below 40°F): an unprotected character in cold weather must make a Fortitude save each hour (DC 15, +1 per previous check) or take 1d6 points of nonlethal damage.
Severe cold or exposure (below 0° F): an unprotected character must make a Fortitude save once every 10 minutes (DC 15, +1 per previous check), or take 1d6 points of nonlethal damage.
Extreme cold (below –20° F): a character takes 1d6 points of lethal damage per minute (no save). In addition, a character must make a Fortitude save (DC 15, +1 per previous check) or take 1d4 points of nonlethal damage.
Ice: characters walking on ice must spend 2 squares of movement to enter a square covered by ice, and the DC for Acrobatics checks increases by +5. Characters in prolonged contact with ice might run the risk of taking damage from severe cold.
Snowfall: areas that have seen moderate snowfall (around 1ft) cost 2 squares of movement for every 1 moved through. Most Acrobatics and Athletics checks are at a -2 penalty.
Heavy snow: areas that have seen several feet of snowfall cost 3 squares of movement for every 1 moved through. You cannot charge or run through an area of heavy snowfall, and most Acrobatics and Athletics checks are at a -10 penalty. You can use heavy snowfall to provide 20% cover (this increases cover provided by undergrowth to 30%, or heavy undergrowrg to 40%).
Equipment-
Snowblindness: a character that spends an hour on the sea ice or tundra must make a Fortitude save (DC15, +1 per previous check) or become dazzled. Each failed check increases the penalty by 1. When the penalty exceeds the character's base Fortitude save, they are blinded.
A character is no longer dazzled when they spend at least an hour out of the glare or resting with their eyes closed. Removing the blindness takes 24 hours of similar rest.
Icy water: water between 60-41° is treated as cold weather, except Fortitude saves are made every 5 minutes. Water between 40-33° is treated as severe cold weather, except checks are made every minute. Water that is 32-0° is treated as extreme cold, except damage and saves occur every round.
A character jumping into icy water must make a Fortitude save (DC10 for cold, 15 for severe cold, 20 for extreme cold). Failure indicates they gasp and inhale water, and must make a Fortitude save (DC15) or begin drowning.
Cold-weather outfit: a character wearing these clothes treats severe cold and exposure as cold weather and gains a +5 circumstance bonus on Fortitude saves against cold weather and exposure.
Cost- 8gp Weight- 7lbs
Extreme cold-weather outfit: a character wearing these clothes may ignore the effects of cold weather and treats severe cold and exposure as cold weather (though they only need to save once every two hours) and only suffer the effects of extreme cold once every ten minutes, in addition to gaining a +5 circumstance bonus on Fortitude saves against severe and extreme cold. An extreme cold-weather outfit has an armor check penalty of -2 and is treated as medium armor for the purposes of movement.
Cost: 24gp Weight- 20lbs
Snowshoes: a character wearing snowshoes moves at half speed, but is not slowed in areas affected by heavy snow and receive a +4 equipment bonus to Acrobatics and Athletics checks to keep their balance due to snow and.m
A character wearing snowshoes cannot charge or run and suffers a -2 to attack rolls and to Acrobatics and Athletics checks other than to keep their balance due to snow and ice.
Cost- 5gp Weight- 4lbs
Snow goggles: a character wearing snow goggles only needs to save once every two hours for snowblindness, and receives a +5 circumstance bonus to Fortitude saves against it, though they suffer a -4 to Perception checks versus anything within 30ft.
Cost- 3gp Weight- 1lb
Has anyone found a way to simulate a maze that changes and shifts as the players progress through it that doesn't include a ton of re-drawing?
I'm knocking around a few ideas, but my goal is to present something easy to comprehend and that runs smoothly. The less time I habe to pause the game to explain how it works or to figure it out myself, the better.
Has anyone found a way to simulate a maze that changes and shifts as the players progress through it that doesn't include a ton of re-drawing?
I'm knocking around a few ideas, but my goal is to present something easy to comprehend and that runs smoothly. The less time I habe to pause the game to explain how it works or to figure it out myself, the better.
