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Because assassin is a name, a place holder, anyone can be an Assassin and kill people in the broad sense of the term. The "assassin" could just as easily have the name "hitman" "Cold Blooded Killer" ect... the "assassin" as a class is evil because what they do is ruthless, self serving and down right unsavory. You have to kill someone in cold blood to qualify for the prc its not exactly nice.
I tend to imagine that D&D being a fantasy world full of magic and wonder does have an ecosystem underground that can support life and according to how many races live below a large amount of it. Just a casual look at a typical bestiary gives us a large selection of creatures who prefer to dwell underground. Creatures hunt kill ect.. and leave lots of matter for mushrooms to thrive on. You can make the underground food chain as magic or mundane as you like. Going mundane just means you may have to toss in "alien" (to us earthlings) naturally occurring lifeforms that make the ecosystem possible. Mushrooms of all shape, size and kind. Herbivores (Fungivores ?) that can go for very long times without eating. Maybe some lifeforms that have symbiosis or parasites that are part of an alien ecosystem that works unlike anything surface races understand. Like some kind of large slow moving silicon based worm thing that eats everything in its path but only digests rock and poops out mineral rich, fertilized loamy soil witch in turn becomes home to the spores of a mushroom that lives in its stomach who got there because a "rock worm" ate them in its slow mindless devouring of things and pooping out of grade a soil that had been laced with their spores by another "rock worm". Underground realms are an awesome opportunity to get alien and weird when designing especially the ecosystem. Just take a look at a bestiary and then fill in the blanks with what ever fantasy fun you can think up I say.
I like to think of Alignments not as straight jackets that restrict but more flexible and varying. There is lots of very good descriptions of how I see lawful alignment here. No two people are alike and no two people of the same alignment axis may be alike. One lawful may be a complaint worker drone who does what ever they are told and treats all authority figures as beings of respect. However Lawful person number two may have a mind and opinion of his own about what is right and orderly and how one should go about it. Point in fact I can see lawfuls as being rather rigid about the proper orderly ways things should be done. That said there are many different ways you can follow an alignment while still retaining that alignment. Alignment is a role playing tool, one I prefer to apply after Ive decided how I want to rp a not before. So long as you stick to your code and don't go off doing anything too random, arbitrary, chaotic or undisciplined I can't see why a lawful can't disagree with authority.
I think much of the problems with Alignment come from DM side and people being uptight about it or using it as an excuse to abuse players for what ever childish reason someone may have for making someones time at the game table miserable. You want a good example of how strict Aligmnet should be? read some novels or comics based on pathfinder or older D&D settings that clearly have an alignment (even better if you can find them stated on paper) and you can see just how much leeway you get in an Alignment. Alignment doesn't make your rp, your rp makes your Alignment what it is and if a DM is being a jerk about then they have a problem or like picking on people.
Could do something a bit backwards, rather then creatures from the past maybe some mad (insert class or profession that can create and warp life here) is trying to create new species built to survive in harshest of conditions. Saurian beasts that can compete with all but the largest of magical beasts and the world below is the perfect place to breed them and prepare for their release upon an unsuspecting surface! Toss in the template idea or mix and match a few traits or the appearances of dinosaurs and you play them off as a new species in your world and turn the prehistoric left over thing on its head.
So this may seem... a bit like cheating but lets be honest what happens behind the DM screen is between us and keeping a story awesome. You want to play up inhumanly intelligent and super wise. If your a good freestyle DM and good at quick thinking. Just sort of toss in things to counter PCs plans as if the villain had anticipated their tiny mortal minds plans far ahead of time. Don't do it too much just enough to give them the impression they are facing an enemy who can think three steps ahead of them so that when you let them outwit the dragon they get to feel like big damn heroes. On a more fair side, just take your time and set up the dragon and his plans with a dangerous mindset. What would I do if I was playing the dragon. What kind of traps and defenses would a player invest in if they had the dragons resources, what kind of awesome minions would they employ. Think like a player if you want to create a foe who is extremely dangerous to players.
5- Antipaladin, 84- Summoner, 58-Paladin. 66-Rogue. Antipaladin and Paladin this could be a challenge. Overactive is imagination go! On the surface the Brotherhood of the Weeping Rose is an organization that offers camaraderie, comfort and understanding to weary paladins who need someone to turn to when the burden of their calling weighs heavily upon them. The truth is that the Brotherhood is a cover for a vile organization who uses networks of skilled operatives to erode the virtue of holy champions. The organization will stop at nothing to ensure a paladins fall or failing this death. Many of the fallen being directed pledge them self in service to abyssal masters and in service of the Cult of the Wilted Rose. Though much of the Wilted Roses work is done by rogues acting as spies, false confidants and information gathers its leader and her apprentices play a key role in the fall of warriors of virtue. An Aasimir summoner with a black heart started the Wilted Rose and its Weeping Rose Facade. Her intent to prove the frailty and weakness of mortal hearts (The same hearts some say she felt failed her in a time of need). Her most ambitious and vile method (one she has taught many loyal summoners) is that with the right spells an Eidalon that resembles an angel can be used to confuse and drive holy warriors into acts of madness and murder under the falsehood of divine guidance from on high.
I think that would be neat maybe some house rules to update some archetypes that felt a bit weak like the Holy Gun. Maybe some thoughts and rules on developing archetypes for home-brew settings for world building enthusiasts. Maybe focus on some archetypes for the new classes or archetypes that can be applied to more then one class. I dunno seems like a great deal of interesting stuff could be done and I for one would certainly pay for a book that focuses on archetypes. As for archetype I want to see the Fianna, want me my elite warrior poets of Irish folklore. We have vikings, swashbucklers and dozen other cultural and historical references kicking around can't hurt to add some more.
Mechanicly speaking Int does not strictly govern (ignoring certain spells, class features and feats) Attack bonus, damage, saves, AC and is the primary casting stat of Wizard, Witch, Magus and Kinda the Arcanist. Game wise it and to a lesser extent Cha doesn't have much of a massive impact on the kinds of things that can be game changers. I think Int governing the number of skills is fine myself. Experience and level determines how skilled one is with ones skills more then int a skill that mostly governs knowledge based skills. Int governs ones mental capacity and yes may very well govern the width and breadth they can expand that knowledge to. However understanding the basics of acrobatics well hardly means you have the agility or time spent to be truly skilled in it. That said Ive never found that I need to max every skill especially ones like climb or swim to get the most out of them. Not all skills are governed by exceedingly high DCs and its not as detrimental to ones skill sets or checks to not always maximize every skill rank at each level especially if one has an above average or high ability governing it.
Ive played D&D since the later days of first edition. I recall a little dungeon ruled by an evil wizard named Zanzar that started my love of the game. I also recall many changes to the system and its rules and how in the end new systems weren't bad they often made play easier. That said I partly regret how many second edition books I have on my shelf that now function as fluff and fodder for ideas when I world build. Still I would likely buy a new pathfinder edition so long as a new edition didn't mean I'd have to turn all my old books into bookshelf filler. That aside I think pathfinder sales are enduring to myself and many gamers I know is that it has that feel that its part of the continuing legacy of the D&D universe. When I play pathfinder I see shades of first and second edition lurking in its settings, I see races and classes that look and feel iconic to D&D. That's why I abandoned D&D proper when they went to fourth and while I will play 5th I refuse to spend money on it. For me the continuity drained when they crazy glued and hammered things like the Dragonborn into all their worlds and settings, or split elves into Elves and Eladrain and tried to justify it in worlds where it felt wrong to do so just so that a setting would have the new race as an option. Not to mention my rage against tieflings going from a race of unique misfits and bastards to becoming ALL infernal blooded and boringly consistent in appearance (and a list as long as my arm that i wont get into why 4ed killed D&D for me) Regardless of Edition (and I certainly don't think we need a new one) So long as pathfinder keeps up its continuity and feel of being the real legacy of years of creative design it will keep many of it's loyal fans.
They can still do new rules, but Id rather they make them optional or additions to the existing system that don't mean all your old books become paper weights. As for being forced to make a new system for revenue, Pathfinder still has loads of their world to explore in books and make awesome adventure paths for, heck an entire solar system really. I'm not worried about content drying up anytime soon.
Odds are you can try to raise a monster baby to be a good person. However I'm not sure anyone wants to spend five years of downtime raising little goblin Annie and her two dozen or more siblings and cousins up to understand morality and kindness. More over when trying to save a handful of goblins (who in theory are thinking beings who can make their own life choices at some point) doesn't do much to save people from the countless other predatory blood thirsty evil monsters that typically call a high fantasy world home.
I for one as a long time gamer am sick and tired of system updates that invalidate a ton of books Ive spent money on. I for one don't want a new system. If they want to fix or change anything it would be better suited to small changes and notes that don't require (a costly to gamers) overhaul of the entire system. Of course its a moot point to me because I'm absolutely fine with the game system as is.
After playing Farcry 4 I had an urge to learn more about India (a region that I will admit as a lore geek I lack knowledge about), Tibet and Napal as all three were kind mashed together to create Kyrat. I have to say that finding existing rules for Indian culture in high fantasy was challenging. After reading this I have to tip my hat to the time and effort required to create a fantasy setting inspired by such a large and diverse culture. After my own research and to be honest in some cases just because, I used the following as the primary races for my own work. Human, Vanara, Catfolk, Ratfolk, Nagaji, Samsaren and Vishkanya. I figured some were already inspired by regional lore and others would be interesting to add in and apply some elements of the culture to. Finding inspiration for villainous elements without using Rakshasa or Asura excessively as monsters has proved the largest challenge, In fact Ive hit a creative block in this regards. So basically was wondering if there was any clearly malign forces or organizations serving Malign forces more lore friendly to the culture to take inspiration from?
Always loved the aboleth, loved night below one of the first AD&D games I DMed, Aboleth are creepy slimy primordial fish things that ooze slime and terror. Ive never been able to use an aboleth as a mundane encounter they always strike me as that alien horror out of the dawn of prehistory that's beyond the understanding of puny mortal minds. Damned be CR a monster is scary because of its habits, methods, appearance and a number of factors above and beyond raw numbers. Its easy to add numbers and beef a critter up, its pure monster gold when a monster is interesting, terrifying, disgusting and horrifying all in one package.
I can't say I have any predictions maybe you could combine the ranger and bard and base it on the legends of the Fianna. I do hope that the new classes don't just come off as being two classes that were clumsily mashed together. I will be content so long as they feel unique and they don't look like some misbegotten love child of the classes that inspired them. Pathfinder has never let me down as a player or DM all in all I'm positive that no matter what the product it should be pretty cool. Also thumbs up for the Artificer concept, love me some arcane steam punk.
Allot of settings have people who can settle problems, and many major cities can defend themselves I find its in shattering this perception, of a dragon who finds his or her way around the cities vaunted cannon fire that makes heroes feel heroic. Basically think along the lines of let them feel safe and secure as they deal with low level threats than when they least expect it absolutely shatter any sense of safety they have in the world as they know it.
Pretty sure metalic dragons see little qualm about eating ogres, goblins and the odd anti-paladin. Just my opinion here but Ive always been of the idea that the intent defines the act as evil. If you eating humanoid flesh just for the taste and murdering people just to eat them then your probably gonna wake up one day as a ghoul. If your culture honors its dead by eating some of their flesh, or its a eat or die situation I doubt its going to taint you. Of course its ultimately between you and your DM. Also note its only Cannibalism of you eat your own species.
158. You have noticed that nearly every major landmark has the word Doom, Woe, Death or Dread. This has made you decide that travel is not wise. 159. There was this incident involving zombies... 160. You're rich enough to finally retire from risking your life in the wilderness fighting monsters and poking around in trap filled ruins.
Id have the government consider this group of law-breakers a threat but give them an excuse for not being able to allocate all resources to the situation just yet. Start off with spies sent to gather intelligence, cause trouble and trying to sway away citizens from this unholy place of witchcraft. Just amp up their efforts over time as they learn more or loose more agents. Spoiler: To encourage them to build up the town, well with so much arcane oppression perhaps magical items and objects are rare and or held by the government or church. The Headmaster could suggest to them if they helped restore the tower and there was a stable economy that he might be able to reward them. In other words dangle the carrot, so to speak.
The Kingmaker AP's are great for this sort of thing, nice rules for kingdom building and streamline rules for mass combat. As for Agents, you can use a fair number of types of agents of the government, clearly inquisitors, paladins and clerics could all be employed as holy agents of the church provided arcane magic is demonized enough. Disruptive, Spell Breaker, Arcane Vendetta and anything that improves saves would be good for elite anti-mages to have. Also consider troops trained and specialized in getting close as fast as possible and engaging in grappling with arcane spell casters. Trying to cast spells while a slab of muscle is crushing you isn't easy. In general nearly anything works that one would normally use eliminate arcane casters. Use nets, Bola's, man catchers, garrotes, lassos, and any weapons that trip liberally.
I'm a fan of the Dynamic here, with my characters changing as gear, moods and rp dictate. The last time I was on player side for any length was a as a Red Dragon Bloodline Sorcerer who had he well dressed trait, he had expensive cloths for everyday of the week and absolutely useless jewelry just to accessorize.
Lots of ways to ask them not to or keep it off screen, in addition though I'm a fan of in game consequences. Ghosts, revenets, necromancers stitching bodies back, using bits to make flesh golems, outraging others with their foul acts, or in the case of some settings dark forces using this a a window of corruption are all fun and fair game in my book.
Its your world and setting you can deny anything you don't like, or you could work with players and their ideas making them part of the larger picture and backdrop that is your setting. There are a few things Ive never cared for as a DM but was willing to let slide because players enjoy it, however that doesn't mean one can't put ones own spin on them when introduced into a games.
121. You'd be happy to leave if that evil cult hadn't cut off your limbs and renamed you stumpy. 122. You have a lucrative new job paying well meaning young adventurers to do pointless busy work about town. 123. The soul gem that you were trapped in was cast into the wet cement used in the foundation for city hall. 224. The mind numbing drugs the local evil cult uses to make you easy to control are kinda nice.
Some people just want to god-mode, mix/max and power-game. I have my share of players who do this and Ive wanted to ring their necks on several occasions. Try as you may there is sometimes just no cure for this and power-Dming only encourages them because your challenging them. Explaining to them that they don't need to be so powerful is a good step, but be warned it may not work. Some people hear "you won't need to optimize for my game" and think "That means if I do I will be able to kill everything like an untouchable epic slaughter-machine". So be prepared that it may not stick unless you take an active role in limiting people.
"One Fang" Rakish and roguish tiefling pirate with aspirations of being a legendary captain just like his father.
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