Rethgaal's page

Wow, I think giving bosses/big monsters multiple pools of HP is probably one of the most inspired ideas I've heard in a long time. My players got to the final fight of The Lost Star a couple weeks ago, and basically just rolled over on the final boss once they got in close with a good crit (the random giant rat in the fight managed to tank them in a hallway for like four rounds, it was hilarious), despite there being only one real damage dealer in the party (rogue).

I might also suggest coupling this idea with a "revenge" mechanic on certain fights - once one pool of HP is expended, the monster jumps initiative to lash out at the party with a special attack/spell/something - since depending on how initiative works out, the party might still roflstomp the boss despite the HP separation. I would definitely not suggest this be used for every monster/fight with a pooled HP system, since it could get pretty dickish very quickly.

I also really like the training level system proposed. Advantage/disadvantage in 5e is one mechanic I think more designers should steal and incorporate into their systems. I think your suggestion gets a little wonky with weapon attacks though - high level fighters suddenly roll 4d20 for one attack, which seems a little unnecessary. Maybe combine with the "eliminate the +1, -1..." suggestion:

- Untrained: roll 2d20, take the lower
- Trained: roll 1d20
- Expert: roll 2d20, take the better
- Master: roll 2d20, take the better, +1d4
- Legendary: roll 2d20, take the better, +1d8

Something like that perhaps.

I would say that no, it doesn't let you take an archetype feat, because Natural Ambition specifically says you can select a first-level class feat. An archetype feat is decidedly not a first-level class feat, so therefore, the specific rule of Natural Ambition supersedes the general rule of taking archetype feats in place of class feats.

Especially when the class feats as presented in the class entries is Level-Alphabetical, it's kind of jarring I agree.

The table that breaks out all the categories, then lists them in L-A order within each section is nice, and maybe the argument in favour of keeping the full feat entries in straight alphabetical order - skim the chart for something(s) you like, flip forward to read the full details.

*stares, brain starts melting*

I likes what I sees. Can has more? :)

Herrrz the duck-duck!

Or Top Chef? Which judge is Gordon Ramsay?

Top Chef. I assume. It's not Chopped, so process of elimination...

I've got the Jeopardy theme song stuck in my head right now...

do do do do...

I feel like I'm on Chopped.

Since I can say this now without getting DQ'd:

The only thing I would want to clear up, is that each edge of the hex grid is 1 mile. Meaning that, when bisected, each hex is 2 miles wide. Obviously that didn't really track, leading to the "why is 7 hexes 10 miles?" confusion.

This was a tough challenge for me. I've always tinkered with making maps, but never to this level before. Had to get a lot of pep talks from one of my more artistic friends on this one.

Thanks all :)

So, I guess by now we've all done our research and I'm curious: What are your favorite pathfinder monsters?

I've always liked the otyugh - it doesn't have any cool special abilities, but in its own way, it's kinda cute (similar to how other people feel about owlbears and flumphs).

As a GM, I really enjoyed the forgefiend (so many options to mess with the PCs!) and the astradaemon (one of the few high-level-monsters that lives up to its CR).

Constructs of all kinds. If you want me to get a little more specific, I've always had a thing for golems, and more recently clockwork.

I planned a whole campaign around the question "How many ways can I use constructs in encounters?" once. The party then immediately went off the rails, and I had to improvise, but then I should have known better. :P

Is anybody else quivering in antici............*Janet looks on wide-eyed*.........pation? Or some other appropriate emotion?

Thread Catch-up Hyperspeed Post!

Holy crap, I'm suddenly very glad I haven't been on the messageboards since Monday night. Even more glad I haven't actually read any of the feedback on my map.

I am aware of sportsball, but have yet to crack its mysteries. Curling, however, rocks. ;) (Scotties coming up soon! Much excite!)

I've only actually watched Gotham of the three shows mentioned, and I think it's pretty sweet. Could do with less Bruce Wayne and Selena Kyle, though.

And of course, congrats to Allana! :)

Just one hour to go...

Wow. Very stress. Much sweat.

R Pickard wrote:

Ben Parkin wrote:

Taylor Hubler wrote:

I just checked the rules. What they said above.

I also discovered that everyone who made it to round two won a free PDF of a book I already have in PDF form. I am sure that is to make sure everyone has access to the campaign setting book and can use it each round for inspiration and to ensure we tie our entries into the world. Pretty cool Paizo did that for us.

Hmm, I don't see it in mine. But then, I also bought a PDF of the Advanced Class Guide which isn't in there either...

That was last year, when the monster round was round 2 (because the round was design a monster appropriate to a certain region).

Presumably, if the monster round is similar this year in that specific region info is necessary to help produce a good entry, they will provide the .pdf to the Top 16.

As for your AClG, you should contact customer service. :)

I misspoke, the pdfs went to all those who had a crack at the top 4, so they could write preliminary pitches in the preselected adventure sites. That means likely the top 8 this year.

Ahhhhhh. Not a big deal to me anyway. Already have the ISWG in hardcover :P

I just checked the rules. What they said above.

I also discovered that everyone who made it to round two won a free PDF of a book I already have in PDF form. I am sure that is to make sure everyone has access to the campaign setting book and can use it each round for inspiration and to ensure we tie our entries into the world. Pretty cool Paizo did that for us.

Hmm, I don't see it in mine. But then, I also bought a PDF of the Advanced Class Guide which isn't in there either...

I was repeatedly woken up last night by dreams about the map reveal and finding that I had come up way short of expectations. :/

Don't worry Chris. I'm pretty sure that's actually gonna be me. So it'll be fine :P

*sweats*

*hands Jacob a towel* I've got more in the wash, don't worry.

Well, the program I was using to make my map decided to shit the bed this morning. Thankfully, I had like four back up versions as .jpgs. So, I've submitted and now play the waiting game.

Good luck everybody, I'll be at the bar in Canada if anybody wants to join me.

People have a lot more to say about this one than mine apparently. :P

This was actually the first item I saw/voted for in the competition, and I'm not at all surprised to see you made it through. I'm totally going to steal this and use it in a campaign, just so you know. ;)

Good luck, Fellow Ben!

Any of my fellow amateur cartographers want to go for drinks as of Friday night? I could really use a beer after this one.

After a drink or three I may find I enjoyed this, but right now...ho-boy.

UGHH I just finished a zoomed-in detail bit of the map, only to realize that my initial sketch broke a rule -- it was landscape, not portrait. So now I gotta re-orient EVERYTHING and re-think about how I'm going to shape things...

Also realized that the grid scale I'm using for the zoomed-in detail bit won't match the rest of the map!

haha ugh I mean I have 8 hours tomorrow to work but fadslfjdljfjdf

AND NOW I'm also wondering if my map is even "risky!" I mean it's cool to ME, but

aaaaaaaaaaa

DOES MY MAP EVEN MAKE SENSE

THIS IS RIDICULOUS WHAT AM I DOING HERE
I'M IN THE WRONG STORY

I feel you man. I'm having pretty much the exact same reaction at the moment. The only thing that's keeping me from actually running around like a madman, is that I'm at work. @.@

That whole "you can do landscape, but maybe keep in mind everything we print is portrait..." threw a bit of a spanner in my works. :\ I know it's not going to DQ me, but seems like needlessly possibly handicapping myself.

Matt Goodall wrote:

Ben Parkin wrote:

Scott LaBarge wrote:

I love how many educators we have in the top 32. Teachers rule!

Where my IT professionals at?! :(

I'm an IT trainer, so both a teacher and an IT professional. :-)

FYI...I too am an IT professional. So, that's two RPG Superstars with that kind of background. You're in good company, Ben! ;)

Yay! *is too tired/stressed by map-making to put together more coherent response*

Ben Parkin wrote:

Scott LaBarge wrote:

I love how many educators we have in the top 32. Teachers rule!

Where my IT professionals at?! :(

I'm an IT trainer, so both a teacher and an IT professional. :-)

Oooo, half-breed. :P

Not gonna lie, wish I didn't have so much work to do this week so I could actually just try to do this. As it is I've been sketching between calls at my desk, but nothing's really popped for me. :\

Thanks all. I don't really disagree with any of the criticism I've seen about my entry; I've tinkered with it a bit since I submitted, and while it hasn't changed much, the wording is a little better/clearer.

Really surprised to read that this was the #2 item in terms of raw votes.

@TheHeadKase: I think you and I are going to disagree on the length of an item entry. (I think that's what you mean by "short item." If not, my apologies). I've found in a few years of these events that I don't like having to read a long item description. My sweet spot tends to be 150-200 words; almost anything over 250 I find too long.

I have to admit that when I saw your item in the voting, my heart sank! While I saw plenty of earth breakers (an annoying realization that I technically misspelled the weapon name as I didn't have a space in it), your entry was so similar to mine and in some ways cooler. I can picture in my head the imagery of ground being split with the thunderous slam of the Mountain Crusher and bad guys being tossed asunder. Almost makes me feel that with our powers combined, we could have made the ultimate ground-shaking earth breaker weapon!

Regardless, congrats on making it to round 2 and let's see if we're on the same wavelength again :)

I had a similar reaction, actually! I even saw our items come up at the same time once. I feel like yours gets the tripping thing down a little cleaner though. And it reads nicer, I think. Best of luck in round 2! :)

Once again, thank you all for taking the time to critique my entry. And double thanks if you also voted for it! :)

I love how many educators we have in the top 32. Teachers rule!

Where my IT professionals at?! :(

Much thanks. Puts my mind at ease as well.

Jensen Toperzer wrote:

Jeff Hazuka wrote:

I guess alternates sit at the kids' table?

I am okay with this. I like to think of myself as "Top 36 Material."

I figure we get fries, tater tots, and chicken nuggets, ergo we are winning.

A win, indeed!

And congrats to you (and everyone else)!

Wanna share? :(

So what the heck does "150 dpi" mean and how do I make it happen?

150 dots-per-inch. It's a measure of print quality (X dots of ink, per inch of paper; higher X = more detail).

Generally, if you scan a document, it's something you can set. I'm in the middle of trying to figure my scanner out right now, actually.

Hi, I'm Ben, and I'm apparently in this year's top 32. No idea how that happened, but yay!

Congrats to everybody else as well, I hope I'm not the only one who was shocked to see their name in the list. And also good luck!

I'll be poking around in this thread and some others, but if anybody wants to chat for whatever reason, feel free to shoot me a message.

Oh, and I may post this somewhere else as well, but: I want it known that I had no idea that Magrim was the name of a deity in PF; I got the name out of a generator for a dwarf I was rolling up around the same time as I made the item for this contest. One of the judges mentioned it in the discussion of my entry, figured I'd clarify :P