Has anyone checked these out? Interested in what the include, how interesting and useful they might be, etc. Thanks!
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Thanks for the responses, folks - greatly appreciate it. I was honestly more concerned it was a typo, as it seemed... kinda arbitrary. As I'm using Hero Lab, without customizing it in the data (which I can do, but...), I'll just stick with the wording as-is. In play, I'll probably double the damage to the more fragile targets in the area, but that doesn't have to be in the write-up.
I've been running a group through one of the adventure paths, and the PCs are about to encounter a villain weilding a rod of lightning and thunder. (Leaving it vague to avoid spoiling anyone - it doesn't really matter for the question, anyway. :-) I hadn't looked closely at that rod in the past, and noticed something when I did. Thunderclap: Once per day as a standard action, the wielder can cause the rod to give out a deafening noise, just as a shout spell (Fortitude DC 16 partial, 2d6 points of sonic damage, target deafened for 2d6 rounds). On one hand, it's "as a shout spell", but the shout spell explicitly does 5d6 damage (not 2d6 as listed for the rod of lightning and thunder). So is that a change specific for this item or a typo? If it's a change, how much damage do crystal objects/creatures take? For the spell, it is based on caster's level. The rod's CL is 9th so I'd assume 9d6, but if the base damage is reduced, is this, also? (And I'm assuming the answer applies to the Thunder and Lightning ability, as well?) Any assistance is greatly appreciated! Rabit
Neat idea! I'm with Thanis - can you share the file? For our group's first few sessions using Hero Points, I'd printed and provided a summary of everything they could do with them. I then started each session reminding them they had them, which would make them want to re-read the info, getting them used to the options. After a few sessions, they started reminding each other in different situations, as an emergency arose. In our last session - for the first time - as they were getting ready for something really important, one of them pointed out that they could use a Hero Point to prepare to do better. It was a great moment! :D Rabit
I don't mind alignment tied to mechanics, so long as things are not completely rigid. (That gets into the arguments around alignment that have been going on for... more than 40 years. ;) However, I don't like rigidly constructing alignment into the game flavor. For example, I don't use exactly one outer plane for each alignment. I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority on this one, but you did ask. :) Rabit
That's... That's annoying. Given how much of a loss that is, does that really make sense? Has anyone home-ruled that it doesn't waste the channel? (I'm seriously considering it, and am interested in other's thoughts/experiences.) Rabit
Another spin: Imagine a faithful servant of the government (think spy, but without deception), someone who supports the government by joining and manipulating groups/organizations, helping to manage their activities and preventing them from undermining the government. Not killing them, as that isn't right, and not lying to them, as that's unnecessary. Just being really good at manipulation, swaying others, knowing the right information at the right time, things like that. Take a look at some of the Rogue archetypes, too - that might spawn some additional ideas. Rabit
"Huh. Maybe this isn't where I parked the apparatus..."
Greatly appreciate the responses! Your response, James, gives me some ideas of ways to keep things the same while letting them get the information on how things are different. Many thanks!
Getting ready to move our campaign into this one. In my preparation, I had a revelation: The mayors were supposed to be able to easily get to F31 (Vaccha and the crystal ball) & F32 (Zovarue & the research library). How did they get past F28 (the achaierais), F29 (the behir), and F30 (the burning guardian)? Getting past the gargoyles at F25 is easy enough, as the mayor would just not sit down to eat (since they only attack if the DC15 Will save is missed upon eating). F27 is avoided by just not looking at the mirrors and gold. I'm considering moving F31 and F32 to before F28 to have it make logical sense. (My group tends to notice holes like this and start down rabbit holes of research and discussion to figure things out, and I'd rather avoid them wasting their time.) Anyone else think about this? Have any thoughts/concerns? Any assistance is greatly appreciated!
I'll throw in another vote for both items that can grow with the owner (players like to get attached to their favorite items) and pants. :-) I would love to see more subtle items, items that are less about power and more about flavor and imagination, that allow players to come up with more interesting options. Some things that have turned out to be fun in past campaigns include a vial that magically preserves its contents, a cooking grid (as in the metal grid on top of a barbeque grill) that magically heats up to cooking temperatures, a ring that lets the wearer turn into a mouse, two magically-connected scrolls that can be used to communicate (writing on one appears on both)... Those are less imaginative examples, but (hopefully) you get the idea. Greatly looking forward to this!
I was looking at this and noticed something going on with the spells per day and spells known. Apparently, a warden learns first and second level spells at first level, but can't cast the second level spells until fourth level. The three level difference is ocurring for the second to sixth level spells. Is this intentional or a mistake? It looks like 0-level spells were left off Table 2: Time Warden Spells Known, and the spells levels shifted to the left, causing the 6th-level column to be lost. (The 3rd-level spells start at the 4th class level, which is when the Time Warden gets access to 2nd-level spells, etc.) Most likely if we change the headings to reflect this and add a column for 6th level of "2-3-4-4-4", that'll fix it. (At least that's my assumption, since they haven't responded on here or to the e-mail I sent them directly. :-\) But other than that, so far I'm looking forward to trying it out. :-D
Our group with 5 PCs is just starting up against the Bastards, so I'd love to get the extra lines if anyone has them available. E-mail is russ -at- luzetski -dot- net. Many thanks in advance! Russ
Many thanks, folks - greatly appreciate the thoughts. For now, I'll go forward with our interpretation that it stacks, and I'll keep my eyes out for a FAQ/official answer. Have a better one!
Need a rules interpretation, and searching hasn't shown anything, so I'm probably missing something obvious. :-\ Corrupting Touch says "Multiple touches do not stack, but they do add to the duration", but it doesn't say what happens if a subject of the ability was already shaken by another effect. Grave Touch is specific on this, saying, "If you touch a shaken creature with this ability, it becomes frightened (see page 567)", but it is also slightly different in effect so that might be something it has in place of radiating evil. Anyone know the official ruling on this: Does Corrupting Touch escalate an existing shaken condition to frightened? Thanks! Russ
There are so many things about Sharina that impress me. Mostly, it's the versatility. If the PCs call her out, that doesn't mean she's gone. Odds are good at that point that the party will just kick her out. She can easily continue her work outside the group, using others to do what's needed. I especially like that she's a long-term villain. As the group advances, she will also, giving her access to more ways to manipulate situations, individuals, and groups. In fact, if the PCs do call her out and get rid of her, as she's advancing they won't know what new skills she gains, making it harder to pin down that Sharina's the source of their troubles. The versatility of Sharina is impressive. Eventually, a group is going to call her out. The question is when? The later they do it, the more she's going to have built up against them. But if they do it earlier, they'll have a harder time determining the events that she caused. This really is a villain that will be evolved dynamically over the campaign. This is easily worthy of my vote. |