Randall Newnham's page

Hey there! I was playing around with Monk archetypes, and I came up with a fun earth-themed dwarf monk. I did a write-up on my blog here:

Baela the Immovable!

Enjoy!

One important thing about the Target of Opportunity: it takes an Immediate Action, and that will prevent you from using a Swift Action until after your next turn. A Zen Archer/Inquisitor has a lot of things that cost swift actions (pretty much all Ki abilities, Judgments, Bane). That doesn't make it a bad choice, but it's important to look at whatever else you'll be wanting to do.

Randall Newnham wrote:

@james maissen: It worked in 3.5 and it does in PFRPG. It only specifies slashing or piercing, and does not differentiate melee vs. ranged vs. ranged projectile. The spell that it is based on, Keen Edge, also specifically works on projectiles:

The spell(s) used in creation do not dictate the item.

And in 3rd edition, you will note that keen is only on the melee table and not the ranged one.

Many make this error and thus it propagates. Paizo spelled it out it seems in their core rules, but even some of their writers can get it wrong.

-James

@james maissen

@CKorfmann
My domain was Healing. It's definitely not a very good one, but the flavor fit for my character. If I had to do it over again, I think I'd do the Spellkiller Inquisition. My archetype is Preacher, but that isn't quite relevant yet (until 3rd level)

Anyway, the keen property for archers is trumped by the Bracers of Falcon's Aim. It doubles the threat of bows. It's WAY undercosted. I plan on picking up a pair for my character when I can at the cost of 8,000gp (double). That's still a bargain, BTW. It's adding a +1 property (Keen), as well as a +1 competence bonus to hit and a slight bonus to Perception.

Interesting. It does say "melee" on the weapon property. I'm at work, so I currently don't have Ultimate Equipment in front of me. I'm figuring that would be the latest official wording. But as written, yeah... melee only.

@ckorfmann: The wording on that seems pretty solid in that if you are an Inquisitor, you are treated as 5 levels higher. I read that as lvl 2 Inquisitor with the baldric uses Bane as a lvl 7 Inquisitor.

BTW, the domain I chose was Healing. I can tell you it's a sub-par choice, but fits with my character storywise. Conversion is good, as is Spellkiller. I would have taken the Spellkiller Inquisition if it were a choice at the time.

@Grizzly the Archer: The bad part about the non-inquisitor use is that it attunes to a light or one-handed melee weapon; your bow will not count.

@james maissen: It worked in 3.5 and it does in PFRPG. It only specifies slashing or piercing, and does not differentiate melee vs. ranged vs. ranged projectile. The spell that it is based on, Keen Edge, also specifically works on projectiles:

http://paizo.com/prd/spells/keenEdge.html

Also, see this Paizo-published stat block for an Animal Lord with a Keen Bow:
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/bestiary3/animalLord.html

Zen archer is all amazing stuff, but I'm already the MVP at dishing out damage. I want to focus less on that and do some more support stuff. More Inquisitor means better judgments, more spellcasting, and, eventually, Bane. The Teamwork feats are far less useful for the ranged types, so I'm going to do the Preacher archetype. The action economy for both Monks and Inquisitors is tight in regards to Swift and Immediate actions (which the Defense option for Determination requires), but the Warning option seems good for supporting party members.

Thanks for the advice! The issue with those is that they require Rapid Shot as a prereq, which is a total dead feat. I can't use it with Flurry, and Flurry is just better. I would have taken the elf racial feat Stabbing Shot, as well, if it did not require that. I just decided to change course and go for more Inquisitor levels, though; but I'm thinking that I'll do the Preacher archetype and forego Solo Tactics altogether. Determination is neat. Rerolls for me are middle of the road, but the ability to force an opponent to reroll a successful attack against a party member seems top notch.

This looks pretty awesome!

Okay, hit level 7 with this guy. He added Weapon Specialization (class feature granted this feat), Parting Show was his bonus feat and his 7th level feat was Monkey Style. I went with that over Spider Step, mainly because I hate being on the ground and had some issue with that in past adventures. That, and adding my Wisdom bonus to Acrobatics checks is amazing. This puts my Acrobatics check at +18, or +32 (boostable to +52 with a ki point!)when jumping. Finally tumbling through threatened squares is viable. Still haven't made progress on getting my bow upgraded or the Bracers of Falcon's Aim, but I'm already dishing out the most damage in the party anyway. I'm also considering retraining the Healing domain to the Spellkiller Inquisition.

Eugene, OR
...formerly Lexington, KY. :)

More thoughts on the Bracers of Falcon's Aim: Yeah, I'm thinking that the fact that these are still a no-brainer to buy for me at twice the price tells me that they're significantly undercosted. A +2 Keen Holy Bow (a +5 weapon) would cost 50,000gp.

On the other hand, a +1 Holy Bow would cost 18,000, and the Bracers of Falcon's Aim 8,000gp (at the price we recosted them at in my campaign) totals 26,000gp. Yes, the +1 competence bonus to hit doesn't add to the damage (or get tripled on a crit), but I get a half-strength Eyes of the Eagle to compensate. Yes, that is a no-brainer buy for any archer as soon as they can afford it.

More thoughts on Guided: since it didn't show up in Ultimate Equipment, I'm going to forego that one, probably. Bracer's of Falcon's Aim definitely on my list, though I discussed it with my DM. I told him I thought they were significantly undercosted. He thought increasing the price to 8,000gp was reasonable, and I agreed. A +1 to hit, plus Keen, plus a Perception bonus that works with any bow you use is definitely worth 8k.

Nice conversion! I've been impressed with what I've seen of Torn Armor, as well. I really hope the Kickstarter goes well!

I think my GM is on board, but I'll clarify. I think that they're just wanting to keep melee as the only combat style where the same attribute contributes to both attack rolls and damage rolls, at least without a feat or class feature. And I see the logic there.

Jacob, thank you for the feedback. I still think it's well below the bar set by the Whip Feather Token, since that really is like another combatant, lasts longer and can be directed. The conditions you can apply via Dirty Trick are hindering, but with every one you can attack anyway with penalties. The damage + grapple + hour duration + directing of the whip I really feel is a lot more than this does. I guess I would ask if people think the whip is undercosted... and the answer to that very well may be yes.

My original items was the Orb of Aggravation. Here is what it has become:

Harpy Egg
Aura strong transmutation; CL 10th
Slot none; Price 750 gp; Weight 1 lb.
Description
A Harpy Egg appears to be an iron ingot the size and shape of a goose egg, criss-crossed with grooves in no apparent pattern. When thrown at an enemy within fifty feet, requiring a successful ranged touch attack, the egg separates at the seams to reshape itself into a rough-cast harpy figurine the size of a human fist. It then flies around the target, striking sensitive areas, pulling down sword belts, or spitting iron filings in eyes. For five rounds, beginning the round it was thrown, it executes the Dirty Trick combat maneuver against the creature it was targeted against with a CMB of +10, bestowing one of these conditions (roll 1d6):
1-blinded
2-dazzled
3-deafened
4-entangled
5-shaken
6-sickened
The condition persists for one round plus one round for each 5 points the CMB roll exceeded the enemy's CMD, and may be removed with a move action. The harpy does not provoke attacks of opportunity, but may be attacked. It has an AC of 16, a hardness of 10 and 5 hit points. After the fifth round, the Harpy Egg crumbles into dust.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, telekinesis; Cost 375 gp

I wrote a blog post about this here:

A Tale of Two Items, or Why I'm Not A Superstar

The random effect is still there, but the price increased a bit, the CMB lowered and it requires a ranged touch attack to deliver. I suppose "spamming" is still a possibility, but by the time an adventuring party is able to dump that amount of resources into multiple of these for a single enemy, the CMDs of the enemies should make the issue somewhat moot. Thoughts?

I'm looking at the d20pfsrd entry, and it doesn't say melee only. The text does strongly seem to imply it is intended for melee weapons. Tough call; I'll run that by the primary DM. It would be nice to swap Wisdom for the damage modifier (already used for attack rolls for being a level 3+ Zen Archer). If not, probably will just hold off until I can afford Holy.

Guided looks super awesome! I think the next weapon upgrade for this guy will be that.

What!?! That mean 'ol archer! :)

I'm pretty excited for my next level (CL 7, so Monk 6/Inq 1) for this guy. It's a three feat windfall! Weapon Specialization, Spider Step (run up walls!) and Parting Shot.

"BTW, big bad melee dude... I'm going to use the withdraw action to retreat straight up this wall without an AoO, and while I'm running up there, I'm going to shoot you."

Thank you very much!

Thank you very much to everyone who has taken the time to critique my item (Orb of Aggravation), as well. You are all superstars. :)

I'm looking forward to seeing those 36 archetypes!

Randall Newnham wrote:

Orb of Aggravation

Your item fell to the middle of the pack for me, mostly due to the opening description. The first two lines do not inspire much in the reader's imagination. The next couple of lines closely mimic the awful sentences in the APG that make Dirty Trick feel like a joke maneuver.

After that you get on track with an item I could see people using, at least once or twice. Also, change the spell requirement to something more appropriate to the cost, perhaps pilfering hand, then your item starts to sneak up the list!

Keep practicing and come back next year.

Yeah, I definitely should not have opened like that. I had read Sean's guidelines, but somehow rookied that anyway. Good call on the spell requirement; I'll reconsider that one.

Randall Newnham wrote:

Orb of Aggravation

A 500 gp item that complete shuts down mages up to about 12 level. From any range. For 5 rounds.

Okay - it doesn't completely shut them down - but blinded with no save is huge. Deafened - 20% spell failure - huge. Entangled - huge.

Who wouldn't have one? Or six? And whats to stop a player from throwing 6 at a time?

Compare to the 500gp Whip Feather Token. Very similar effect, but that hangs around an hour and grapples. One could argue the same for that. But I see the point that since it can bestow effects lasting longer than a round, it can possibly stack some different effects.

Thanks for the feedback, guys!

Randall Newnham wrote:

Orb of Aggravation

This item was favored to aggravate me (many refer to them as Orbs of Annoyance).

Impression: This seems to be a relatively low cost item. I didn't like that there is no range the item could be thrown and auto-hits. The conditions would quickly stack, which could make for an easy fight. At high level (item implies it will see play at lvl 10) the whole party could easily afford to spam a single enemy at the beginning of combat.

Thanks for the feedback! Range would have been a good addition. Though very similar in function to a Whip Feather Token, it probably should have been costed higher. Not sure, though, since a whip sticks around for an hour and can be directed, and this is a fire-and-forget. The spamming possibility is a good point, although I would almost expect that to be a Whip Feather Token issue. My original draft had a ranged touch attack to target it, but I thought that would have been clunky.

Orb of Aggravation
Aura strong transmutation; CL 10th
Slot none; Price 500 gp; Weight 1 lb.
Description
This Orb of Aggravation is a 3 inch sphere of dull iron, favored by rogues (many of whom refer to them as Orbs of Escape). It is activated by throwing it at an enemy, to whom it flies unerringly. It then bobs and weaves around the target, striking sensitive areas and occasionally sprouting a hook to pull down trousers or sword belts, or ejecting dust to inhibit eyesight. It performs the Dirty Trick combat maneuver that round and for each of the following four rounds. It attacks with a CMB of +15, randomly bestowing one of the following conditions (roll 1d6): 1-blinded, 2-dazzled, 3-deafened, 4-entangled, 5-shaken, or 6-sickened. Each effect lasts for one round plus one round for each 5 points the CMB roll exceeds the opponent's CMD, and each may be removed with a move action. The orb does not provoke attacks of opportunity, but may be attacked. It has an AC of 16, a hardness of 5 and 10 hit points. After the last attack roll, the Orb of Aggravation crumbles into dust.

Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, Improved Dirty Trick, telekinesis ; Cost 250 gp

Randall Newnham wrote:

You just made my day! My Orb of Aggravation is on your list! Thanks!

Mine too. That one really grew on me. I love the imagery you provided, very evocative. I've got a few roguish types that would love to own one.

I hope they get a chance to! :)

BTW, the Patchwork Cat was pretty awesome, too.

Here's my list of "I loved these items". Note, not all of them are superstar quality, but these were certainly the items I liked enough to save a copy of the item and say, "I'll be using this later."

** spoiler omitted **

I'm a little disappointed--though I can't say I'm surprised--that no one's mentioned my first light.

You just made my day! My Orb of Aggravation is on your list! Thanks!

BTW, I really liked first light. It reminded me somewhat of the phial Galadriel gave Frodo.

I saw the flask a couple times, too. Pretty sure I saw it post-cull, as well.

Congratulations, Top 32!

Whoo hoo! Practice food!

Backstory npc name in item name - eats a point,
Fixed template words not bold or missing entirely - has 4 point dinner.
2 points under custard for bad pricing - caster level & spell costs would indicate much higher price needed - it's trapping a devil, so should be quite high power wise!
Bad spell forming, misdirection doesn't have ranks!
Knowledge is in the feat part of construction.
Cost isn't half the price.

All points eaten in 20 seconds.

Thanks for the practice and early meal!

Bet you all missed me ;)

Fixed! Mostly... it's a very minor devil. It's a good thing I spent more than 3 minutes on my superstar entry. :)

Would that be this map:

Map of Imminent Danger
Aura moderate abjuration, enchantment; CL 11th

Slot none; Price 12,000 gp

This rolled-up piece of parchment is actually the prison of a devil. When the command word is spoken (typically, Map!), a cheerful face appears on it and it appears to be friendly and helpful. If you ask it how to get you to a destination, it will dutifully tell you a correct route to get there... but it will be a very circuitous route with at least three life-threatening encounters (CR/EL equal the level of the user), which it will identify. The user of the map finds himself incapable of taking a different route unless he succeeds at a Will save (DC 21).

Craft Wondrous Item, Knowledge (Geography) 5 ranks , lesser planar ally, misdirection; Cost 6,000 gp

;) Just kidding! Not an actual entry.

Ooh... missed that sorcerer archetype. That looks pretty spiffy, though I can't even justify a second level of Inquisitor with all the goodies the ZAM gives!. Also, I'm very sorry I didn't respond to this before; I hadn't seen your response until now. Good catch on the hit points; I'm going to correct that.

Love it! Thanks for the update!

Flamehawke, though it is still months away (expected release June '13), it should be available for preorder on the Game Salute site. To keep up on news, here is a link to our FB page:

Escapade Games on Facebook

Thanks! :)

Thanks! We are so relieved that it funded so well!

THREE DAYS LEFT! Please check out the Story Realms Kickstarter! Additionally, here's a big boardgame giveaway:

4 Fun Games a Family Can Play For Free...and a Giveaway!

Seven Days left! The Growing Up Gamers blog is doing a big giveaway! Come over and check it out and read about why you should back Story Realms!

7 Reasons To Back Story Realms on Kickstarter...and a Giveaway!

Thanks!

The Story Realms Kickstarter is 200% funded, and has already hit 4 stretch goas! It's definitely worth checking out!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/springboard/story-realms/posts/310089

A designer talks about how gender is portrayed in Story Realms, as well as art and page previews:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/springboard/story-realms/posts/310089

Have you checked out Story Realms lately? We've already hit the initial funding goal, the first stretch goal and are well on our way to hitting more! Right now, the box is pretty loaded: custom meeples & dice, rulebooks, a full campaign... and it's only getting better! Please consider popping by and taking a look!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/springboard/story-realms

Thank you!

We've almost hit our first goal! Check out Story Realms! Additionally, BoardGameGeek has a Story Realms contest. Winner gets $100 in Game Salute games!

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/851704/game-salute-story-realms-contest-end s-sept-11th

Hey there! I just wanted to share some exciting news with the community: my game studio's game just launched on Kickstarter! It's a cooperative storytelling game designed by my wife and our friend, and is a boardgame/rpg hybrid playable by kids as young as five. Here is a link:

Story Realms on Kickstarter!

Thank you!

Erik Mona: It was nice to meet you, if only briefly. Thanks for suggesting that I pop over and play a session; I enjoyed it quite a bit. Not that I don't play enough already, but it was great to meet some new people!

Everyone else: Still hope to get a chance to meet more of you!

Really looking forward to meeting some of you awesome people! :)

I'll try to get some posted when I have them! :)

Awesome! I hope to meet you there!

Ssallarn, I hope to run into you!

Erik, the D&D vs Story Games looks very interesting; I'll definitely try to make it. The design studio I am a part of, Escapade Games, will actually be there demoing our upcoming story game, Story Realms (linked to the BGG entry), which is hopefully starting its Game Salute-backed Kickstarter campaign this weekend, too. My wife and our friend are the designers. I hope you get a chance to check it out!

I'm glad to hear that!