Shivok's page

Wow.

I return from work and in less than 50 posts, I got folks insinuating I’m a bigot or supporter of such, a dog-whistler, a purveyor of argumentative fallacies, having a false centrist position, having ulterior motives, suggesting I just leave the forums, etc.

By doing that, you automatically ascribed NEGATIVE aspects about ME without actually knowing who I am, where I come from, what’s my background or anything about me. You simply painted me as an OTHER when all I did was present my opinion as many other posters do.

I gave that personal anecdote in my original post and several of you folks here outright confirm it with veiled (or outright) inaccurate assumptions. I say it again the Community is fractured, combative and defensive all at the same time, we need time to heal.

Just take what I said in my OP as my position. You don’t have to like it or agree with it, but there is no need to attack the person. There is no hidden agenda.

Attack the position, Not the person.

Like Hillary says in her post “We can disagree without being disagreeable”.

And to the folks here who either disagreed and moved on or disagreed and gave their views why they disagreed with my position. I thank you for providing points and counter-points as these add a different perspective to things.

@Hillary - I think Jhaeman's recommendation could help alleviate this concern.

@ Jhaeman - While I didnt go into detail into what a proposed temporary shutdown would look like, I agree with you that leaving the PbP like Hillary mentioned and the product discussion open would work.

@Wei-ji - Look at it as a pause, not as a surrender, to allow the company to regroup and put things in a clearer path, perhaps implement some changes based off of the recommendations folks have made.

@ Drunk Dragon - When I say pause for a reset I mean restructuring the forums themselves, work out the kinks in the new systems, etc. You also mentioned the log/pers issues. This could address that very issue by giving them implementation time while temporarily not having to worry about these things.

@Lady Ladile - In similar fashion to how posts are closed, I believe Mods already have the ability to do so to entire forums if they so choose.

PbP, Product discussion and Blogs (topic dependent) would stay open.

It’s time for the Paizo Forums to go away and perhaps come back in a new restructured format. We need a reset, to heal, to take a forced beak from all these events - and not just in the past months. This is something that has been brewing for years, festering until it has reached this critical level.

As a personal anecdote, I rarely post any more, driven away by a lot of what I viewed as selective enforcement by previous mods, of vitriol between people I used to game with over differing viewpoints, of simple misunderstandings that became emotionally charged and lines were drawn. It’s pretty sad really, since I miss many a great gamer in these forums and in person, I felt as though I was no longer part of this community. Feeling like an ‘Other’. Aside from the social aspect, this has also affected what I buy from the company, and even though my financial situation never changed, I gradually went from a Superscriber to a nothing scriber.

It’s just from my view, the common decency and shared understanding that the vast majority of Paizonians had as a community is gone. We’ve become needlessly disagreeable, sometimes unknowingly.

There was a time where we could disagree respectfully, even if sometimes it needed clarity. It seems now we expect the worse when people respond to our words. Our defenses are always up, we assume the worse and many times this can cause communication problems between people due to a lack of nuance. It may be the wider influences of our western culture - be it political, social, economic or a myriad of other things changing our landscape today, whatever it is, its infected these forums, and not in a positive way.

We’ve lost much of the decorum in communicating with each other. Disagreeing or having differing opinions has made people the “others” and this is not healthy, it’s not healthy for us as a community or for the employees, nor for the company as an entity. It seems that no one really feels comfortable here any longer. And although some of this may not apply to everyone here, it is my current viewpoint of these forums, for which many others have also noted.

Don’t look at this request as a negative thing. Today, almost all major media sources with messageboards have at least paused messaging/posting on their sites, those that haven’t thrive on the conflict discourse to unfortunately generate ad revenue.

So I reiterate my recommendation to the Paizo Executive Staff and Director:

Shut the Forums down, at least temporarily (a PAUSEX in military parlance). Archive them so that they can be viewed (and used) without the ability to post.

Discuss a way forward internally and come back better when the company has had a chance to reset their Organizational Vision and allowed personnel and the company time to be comfortable with whatever new parameters or restructuring have been enacted and staffed with a level of forum moderation that it can reasonably provide.

To all my fellow Veterans thank you for your Service.

Although our experiences in service may vary, our shared sacrifices are similar. Some have done their duty and others continue to serve. All are appreciated.

Long are the days spent away from family and from home, doing things the vast majority of people never do. Lost holidays, birthdays and other cherished events. We persevere, become resilient and find the strength to serve our nation.

I thank and salute you all!

I use a mix of A and C, when found the item's spell default to A, but when used by a player they decide what it is by either casting the spell ino9 the weapon or negotiating and paying an NPC to do it.

In the Strange Aeons campaign that I am DMing I've deviated a bit from the storyline. However it gave me the opportunity to draw a detailed map of the interesting town of Rozenport which will be a source of many adventures for my PC's.

There is nothing official here all the locales (other than the name - Sincomakti School of the Sciences) are made up. However you're free to use them.

Here's the link: Rozenport Map

Cause I am !!!

I am planning on going as well, although I do think turnout will be lower - WHICH IS AWESOME!!!!

Unfortunately the hotel/local rentals have already shot their prices through the roof...price gouging as usual.

Side note, I think it's pretty telling that among all of us saying "could this be done?" "Wouldn't it be great if this was done?" and "Someone could do this" we have yet to have anyone say "I will head up this new campaign."

I would not mind heading up something like this.

BUT....The amount of effort needed would be pretty steep.

We would need a scenario 'How-to guide', a new campaign guide, new version of allowed resources (a Make or Break item).

The 'Campaign or Alternate Society would need a website for news, a tracking system, some admins, scenario writers, editors, artists and PDF formatters. (I'm sure I'm missing a few things.)

Finally a way to successfully market the Campaign both online, in-cons (post-covid) and game stores. We need some big signal boosts. As some of us who have printed high-quality 4x6 full color gloss post cards for PFS I can tell you it gets expensive fast.

Ultimately I don't think we'd be any bigger than say Living Arcanis organized play campaign in terms of player size. [ A subset, of a subset, of a subset of gamers]. So that a lot of effort for very little, to no reward.

Many OP gamers have moved on to 5E DnD AL, PFS2E and don't plan on coming back to 1E.

You can get a Pegasus mount in 1st Edition PFS.

Here is how you do it.

Have your 1st level character play all six quests in Pathfinder Society Quest: Honor's Echo (PFRPG).

On the chronicle sheet you will get :a figurine of wondrous power called: broken figurine of wondrous power (alabaster pegasus):

At a higher level and when you have enough gold you can upgrade it by paying 8750gp.

It then becomes a figurine of wondrous power (alabaster pegasus): Other than its appearance, this figurines functions identically to a figurine of wondrous power (ebony fly). <- This part is important.

You then get Companion Figurine and the Vermin Heart feats and boom you now have a Pegasus animal companion that can fly at 8th level. In the case of this figurine, the usable duration of the companion figurine doubles and you may use it up to six times per week for up to 12 hours per use.

I'm still running Strange Aeons, we are currently in book two, but I heavily modified the starting story and skipping books 3&4 and replacing them with other modules, quests, scenarios that fit right in. We play regularly about 2x month.

I am also a player in a Hell's Vengeance campaign. (currently on hiatus until after the holidays).

Here is my take on a fixed Synthesist Summoner.

Rather than summon an eidolon to serve by his side, the synthesist fuses his eidolon’s essence to his own. Instead of two creatures, the synthesist is a fusion of the summoner and eidolon into a single being.

Fused Eidolon
A synthesist summons the essence of a powerful outsider to meld with his own being. The synthesist wears the eidolon like living armor. The eidolon mimics all of the synthesist’s movements, and the synthesist perceives through the eidolon’s senses and speaks through its voice, as the two are now one creature. While fused the synthesist retains the glowing rune in his forehead.

While fused with his eidolon, the synthesist gains all the abilities of its eidolon’s base form except for saves and ability scores. The synthesist also receives the ability scores bonuses of the base form’s physical ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution) as an enhancement bonus, but otherwise retains his own ability scores.

The synthesist gains 2 temporary hit points for every HD the eidolon possesses. When these hit points reach 0, the eidolon is killed and sent back to its home plane.

The synthesist gains a +1 base attack and save bonuses for every 3 that an eidolon would normally possess, and also gains the natural armor bonuses and modifiers to ability scores as indicated in the eidolon base statistics table.

The synthesist also gains access to the eidolon’s special abilities, and the eidolon’s evolutions. The synthesist’s maximum number of natural attacks while fused is 3 plus an additional attack for every 6 levels after 3rd level. The eidolon has no skills or feats of its own. The eidolon must be at least the same size as the synthesist. The eidolon must have limbs for the synthesist to cast spells with somatic components. The eidolon’s temporary hit points can be restored with the rejuvenate eidolon spell.

A synthesist is not proficient in any armor and cannot fuse with his eidolon while wearing any type of armor. He counts as both his original type and as an outsider for any effect related to type, whichever is worse for the synthesist. Spells such as banishment or dismissal work normally on the eidolon, but the synthesist is unaffected. A synthesist and his eidolon are considered a single creature while fused for targeting purposes and cannot take separate actions. While fused with his eidolon, the synthesist can use all of his own abilities and gear. In all other cases, this ability functions as the summoner’s normal eidolon ability (for example, the synthesist cannot use his summon monster ability while the eidolon is present).

This ability replaces the class’s eidolon ability, bond senses, and life bond and alters a summoner’s armor proficiency.

Hint: nobody runs aps as written.

This right here. The BBEG and his minions are no doubt watching or hearing of the PC's tactics and abilities both individually and as a team if they're coordinated. Adjust the enemies to provide a challenge.

It does take work on the part of the GM. For my RotRL I wrote an entire adventure that wasn't in the book to fit characters, motives and mapped out the Black Tower in book 4.

In your case in the final book the barrier between Xin-Shalast on Golarion and Leng (Nightmarish area of the Dimension of Dreams) are thin presenting the possibility that teleportation magic is not as reliable causing every teleport to possible bring forth horrors from that realm or send PC's to that realm.

My group is still happy playing 1e, we have like 5 campaigns going, it's great.

Same here, they have no desire to switch over to another system even though they've tried 2E and 5E. There is so much material for 1E I have years before I use it all. Currently running Strange Aeons, and prepping for another version of War for the Crown.

Finally a positive post that's needed around these parts! Back at you bro! Hope all goes well in the job hunting department 2020 has been crazy for just about everyone.

First of all thank you for these they were a great inspiration for the background and direction I am going with my campaign. Considering we are many years from the original AP publication there were a plethora of directions and books to add stuff from.

Thanks again.

I think this is really the Gm's job to use the PC's personal backstory, and most importantly their interactions with people in the 1st book of the AP to set the stage for the rest of the AP. Recurring antagonist/allies adding tidbits of a PC's past and weaving it to the adventure storyline is the best way to integrate. Make sure you get a blurb on a PC backstory dont let them just materialize a bunch a numbers and add a name to make a PC.

I can agree with many posters after running 5 AP's to completion giving PC's a good challenge is a difficult process considering all of the player assets that have been published in the past.

In the past I have taken a few approaches:

1) Change the AP's to slow character advancement in the middle three books so that they gain 1.5 levels. Personally I think PC's at lvl 13 is a sweet spot for me to end the final AP's. I understand in your this is not possible now.

2) The other thing I do is I look over the PC sheets and find a chink in their armor and restat many (not all) of the character/monsters with class levels and archetypes that can create similar shenanigans.

3) The CR system in Pathfinder (1E) has been skewed by the sheer number of options available to PC's. So its no longer as accurate as it would be if it was a Core only group. I reccomend most time a +2 CR bump after level 8 or so when using monsters and NPC's. Use those to your NPC's advantage also, include terrain effects, or monsters that can penetrate their defenses to scare them a bit and make it exciting.

Thanks, not harsh at all. An honest critique is what's needed.

Well Hell, it's about time!

Starting up two more 1E campaigns. Strange Aeons and a Dark Sun homebrew called Mindmage Ascendancy. I have a War of the Crown re-imagined AP called Interregnum as well but I'm saving that for later.

Shivok wrote:

I'd definitely recommend getting this AP.

Finishing up a 3-d model of Castle Korvosa for the conclusion of our 2 year home campaign as my players have gotten up to the last chapter.

Making some changes to keep it an urban AP and the finale will occur within the Castle.(plenty of unused space where the last section can fit in).

That sounds cool, i plan to provide something similiar with Scarwall in part 5 (we just finished book 2 and it took us 2 months per book, 4 months total).

What will you use, Dwarven Forge or something custom-build?
I may try the Wizkids 4D tiles which are coming out in june, but we will probably begin book 5 in may so i might use them for Castle Korvosa top.

Anyway, any pictures or tips would be welcome.
I hope you have fun!

I am making the model out of XPS Insulation foam from the hardware store as well as modpodge and other items to smooth the walls from the cuts. Having some issues cutting through with a heavy duty knife so I ordered a electric hot knife I still have the last two floors to cut.

Here are some pictures. I will post it on the FB PFRPG page with the finished product.

We should accept that folks will have differing views on what this book represents. It is their opinion. Others will look at it differently, we cant all just mindlessly cheerlead everything the company puts out or call for Brigading a negative review. Going that route will end up giving us substandard products which helps no one - consumer or company. If the review is critical so be it. If your review is positive so be it.

I personally felt deceived when the world map did not come out. I know that was one of the major reasons I purchased the book and a lot of folks were pumped about that detailed world map. I don't even know when the correction was made in the product page, but Paizo new before hand and should have said something, which they only chimed in after folks noticed it in their pdf and posted on it.

I think getting back to the OP’s post was that yes, the edginess of the old 3.5 setting has been dulled a bit. But this is a natural evolution of the game system’s growth in popularity and the intent to maximize and broaden its appeal to everyone. Paizo has attempted to promote changes in gender views, ethnic representation, and cultural roles in many of its products and has toned down its presentation of edgier topics (especially in the context of many societal issues of today).

Personally, I preferred the older version of the setting in several features as I felt those aspects added additional conflict and greater realism (lol, in a fantasy game) to the setting. But I can definitely see Paizo’s attempt at inclusivity to represent a specific side to some of the current cultural and societal positions. However, these changes have been ongoing in the setting since it’s inception and are not as a result of Pathfinder 2E. I think the only reason folks see them more prominently now is that everyone has the new books and will compare it to the 10+ years of products which include changes in artistic/stylistic presentation.

This is not a bad thing as long as the presentation of an issue or topic comes off as sincere and not as an attempt to pander to specific groups. Will these positions create meaningful change to the demographics of gamers in general or is it something that is applicable only to fans of Paizo products? I personally have seen changes over the years in who plays RPG’s in general (the growing acceptance of gaming nerds is a welcome prospect) but I think its too early to see if these changes stick to the hobby or if they fizzle out after a generation or so like many other fads in greater society.

As a player or GM, you either have to accept these changes, ignore them or decide that the company has drifted too far for you. As a fan and consumer if you start disagreeing with the flavor of the setting/system that no longer makes it enjoyable then it’s time to move on. However, if you decide to stick with it, you play it as presented or you make changes in your home games. I think many GM’s make changes from published products all the time (I know I do, even to AP’s), sometimes this is a GM tailor-making his campaign to his or his players tastes and character background or being cognizant of any actual issues that may arise in his group. You can bring back the edginess to your home games, but playing in public there is an expected limit of grittiness that Paizo expects GM’s to adhere to in order to make the game enjoyable for all.

By far, this is the book I'm most looking forward to. So far the tidbits are juicy!

Of all the new books this is the one I am most excited about. I am curious to see what AP's have made it to canon (and the twists they took), what rulers have survived the times and what those results were...here's looking forward to the Kingmaker official resolution.

This set is awesome, definitely bringing me back to PF Battles mins. I'm probably going to purchase at least two cases just based off of the reveals so far.

I'm sure it was all a misunderstanding. Send him a friendly note letting him know that the rules were updated and provide links for his reference. Sometimes these things happen, we're all human and make mistakes, we correct them and move on to play some more PFS.

Although this would be a great system in theory, the only fair way to implement it would be like a general online survey with a limited number of selections. Limited to only PFS players who have a game reported on the Paizo site. Kind of like a ratemyprofessors.com tab which would allow you to rate the GM in the reported games you've played in. Any player that rates the GM is clearly visible when rating to remove the anonymity in fairness to the GM and the GM should be able to 'rate my player' as well to keep it fair.

This would be a nightmare to implement, but also I can see the avalanche of complaints - harassment, favoritism, embarrassment and just plain 'he said she said' issues that would erupt from this.

The entire thing would go negative really quickly and then most folks would either not play/gm because the system was in place or would just stop reporting scenarios.

All in all it would be a disincentive to folks wanting to GM and overall a really bad idea to have a 'rate me Gm/player' site.

James Jacobs wrote:

samuraixsithlord wrote:

Does anyone know if they plan on listing stats for Sorshen, Zutha, and Xanderghul at their full power? Maybe in the continuing the campaign section in the last adventure path.

Answers:

** spoiler omitted **

Wouldn't his full stat block not make for a nice blog post, if you already have it lying around? :)

I second this request maybe a blog that presents things that did not make it to the books and were left on the cutting room floor.

I remember hearing something about New Thassilon maybe becoming something like the city-state of Ravounel in "Hell's Rebels".

I seem to remember that James Jacobs said that Varisia would still exist largely within the same borders in Pathfinder 2.0.

Well the Runelords were awesome with stasis and time magic so it can be that the New Thassilon starts off with a bunch of Thassilonians released from stasis. Xanderghul's city has never been found for all we know it could be still operating in its own demiplane and get back in golarion. You also have Crystilan, The folks in Runeforge and rumors of ancient thassiloninans in Magnimar in the ancient bridge structure or in Hollow Mountain.

Probably not enough to make a viable empire at first but just enough to make a small city-state. Hey you never know.

It was a great event with over 300 tables of Pathfinder, Starfinder, Quests, and Pathfinder 2nd Ed. playtest demos. There was a little bit of eveything for fans of Paizo to enjoy.

This is definitely one of my favorite cons, things are easy to get to and food is cheap. The Columbus area doesn't feel like your getting priced out like other big cons. My favorite was parking $50 for five days of parking! You just cant get 13 Slots of Organized Play for the same price anywhere else.

I recommend keeping it at 3xp per level and I like to see tighter tiers similar to Starfinder as in the following:

Tier 1 (Level 1-2)
Tier 2 (level 1-4; subtiers 1-2, 3-4)
Tier 3 (Level 5-8; subtiers 5-6, 7-8)
Tier 4 (Level 9-12; subtiers 9-10, 11-12)
Specials (Level 1-12)
Evergreens (Tier locked)
Convention/Hard Mode Unlock (Special addendum no more than 2-4 pages denoting changes to original scenario, with special Chronicle)

I see another has been elevated to the greatest body of nobility across all of Golarion. Fear not young noble, as I shall give you a lesson in the ways of titles of our empire. You see there are several types of noble titles in use today.

But fear not, if you can acquire land, fame and fortune a truly noble title will be given unto you. Perhaps one day you may be a Duke, Count, or Baron, and your family name will be the stuff of legend.

I have this image of Linda and John with their heads together over a conference table, snickering evilly as they read this thread and deciding to start development on a scenario that can handle characters all the way to level 20. But not beyond.

Obviously not really. But in my mini-movie, the discussion goes something like this: "So, how many characters would be level 21 and too high to play?" "As far as we know, only Rob and Andy will have level 21 characters." "Totally worth it just to mess with those two!"

And here is the 21st+ Scenario blurb!

PFS EP-01 The Return of the Last Azlanti

The Decemvirate has gathered heroes of legend - the mightiest pathfinders whose epic abilities can change the world. Their task is nothing short of monumental as the society has agreed to assist a mysterious stranger in recovering the pieces of a mystical contract scattered all over Golarion and beyond. This epic journey will take you into the Eye of Abedengo, deep below the Worldwound and into Pharasma's Boneyard as the pathfinders search for the three pieces of the Godsoul Covenant to combine it and release the trapped godsoul of Aroden and usher in a new age of Prophecy.

LONG LIVE THE EMPIRE!

I'm looking forward to this AP. Level 20 is always really hard to reach as the spells/abilities become ...1 shot or a slog.

Looking forward to using the libraries of old Thassilon and the one in Kaer Maga and the other one...for the peacock spirit adherents. I was wondering if their was some vague connection to the goddess Roidira as well.

Sorshen would definitely play well as a pseudo-ally. Alaznist being an early boss in the AP.

Xanderghul being the final boss or perhaps a non-enemy of the PC's.

I would be stoked if the entire city of Crystilan came out of stasis and became the Capital of New Thassilon.

Oh yeah Authors - dont forget to include Eldarius in your AP somewhere.:)

What in the world is that creature next to the monkey goblin supposed to be?

LEMURS GONE MAD!

Golarion has way too many <<evil outsiders are behind why the place is gone bonkers>> countries to add another one, IMHO. Cheliax, Worldwound, Irrisen, Nidal, it would be refereshing to see Taldor's problem caused solely by humans being humans.

+1 one gagillion Just pure unadulterated human avarice!