Sektor's page

My group and I are finally about to start playing Rise of the Runelords (hooray) and of course I plan to convert it to PFRPG rules first. But I've already stumbled upon my first question.

The PFRPG Conversion Guide states for Converting NPCs on p 12 that "[...] the CR of NPCs is reduced by 1 in the Pathfinder RPG [...]". Could somebody explain to me why that is?

Does this maybe only count for NPCs converted with the quick conversion method?

Does it perhaps only apply to NPCs that use exclusively NPC-classes (and no PC-classes)?

How can I make sure that converted NPCs will provide an equal challenge?

I can't find any explanation for this in the Core Rulebook, and I don't have the Advanced Player's Guide or GameMastery Guide. Yet.

So if anybody could enlighten me, I would be most appreciative!

After an extensive search on the boards, I was surprised I couldn't find any thread about this yet. So I'm starting my own (sorry if such a thread already exists -- could you please point me there?)

I wanted to give my opinion on the new icons that will be used in the monster stat blocks, and that I've seen appear first in the PFRPG Bestiary Preview I and Pathfinder Adventure Path #25: The Bastards of Erebus.

Even though I fully support the idea of adding icons to make the stat block easier to read, I don't think DMs are waiting for icons that describe ecologies. Icons, as I see them, are an abbreviated form of some information that allows a DM to quickly assess what the monster is about. The keyword here is 'quickly' -- typically in the heat of battle (and you can take that quite literally).

Information, such as environment and monster type, is useful only when an adventure is being designed, and during the design phase, a DM has plenty of time to look over the information. Icons won't really help here. What might help in case of these ecologies, is compiling some sort of index in the back of the bestiary (or on the pfrpg-srd) where you can quickly find the monster, for example, and scan down the appropriate list. That would eliminate the need to keep flipping pages for monster types you're not looking for.

I would save the icons for more combat-related information, although I'm not sure myself what information could be used. How about whether the monster in question is more a melee, ranger, or stealthy fighter, or a mix of some of these (sort of like the monster roles from 4E, but much better)? How about icons for its most used attacks, perhaps even "linking" icons so you can quickly see which attack follows which (I'm thinking here of all the monsters that use Improved Grab first to follow it up with a Swallow Whole, for example) -- sometimes a lot of combat features can get confusing when you need to make snap judgment during combat. Or how about easily overlooked information, like regeneration, auras, immunities, or damage/spell reductions?

I realize some of these suggestions are not easily conveyed with icons, but surely there must be some better way to make use of them during the game?

Hi all,

I finally got around to purchasing myself a Harrow Deck, and I'm very glad I did. It's an awesome product, and I've already used it a couple of times to try and divine my and my wife's future, just to get a feel of it.

However, with our last spread, we got the card called 'The Theater' (NG Cha), and reading the explanation in the booklet made me none the wiser.

It says:

"The Theater is the card of true prophecy. The puppets act out a scene, just as the prophet acts out a scene in which he has no part. The prophet is the audience and the prophecy is the show. She has no influence on what she sees, and its importance is often not recognized until too late. [...]"

I have no idea how to interpret this one. Is the prophet mentioned actually the Harrower reading this deck, and the prophecy the spread she has before her? In other words, is this more a meta-card? If not, who is the prophet, and what is the prophecy?

The description ends with:

"[...] If misaligned, the prophecy is just for show."

And this is the part that made me confused in the first place (since the card we had was indeed misaligned). At first I thought this card meant the whole spread was just bogus.

Or am I just looking to far? Perhaps this card is only useful within an actual game where divinations are made and prophecies are followed, and not really suited for "real life spreads"?

How would you interpret this card?

In two weeks, I will begin running chapter 2 of the Shackled City AP.

I'm currently preparing, by looking up the stat blocks (and entering them on my laptop), but I can't seem to find those for the goblin adepts, goblin sneaks and goblin skirmishers (i.e. the Eyes of Drakthar, mentioned on pg 81 of the hardcover). According to the location descriptions, they should be among the list of stat blocks in Appendix 4, but I can only find those for the Silent Wolf goblins.

Are they really missing (and, in that case, can someone help me come up with them), or am I just not looking hard enough?