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Furniture and other trappings and decroations for players who own castles, taverns, inns, houses, etc. Things like chairs, beds, tapestries and paintings and all sorts of stuff like that. Remember, thieves like to steal stuff like that! Traps, both mundane and magical. All sorts of traps that can be purchased and installed for castle/business/home defense.
Just got my APG and PFS Field Guide in the mail! Yay! XD One question: "Day Jobs." Is there any reason not to have one and how do you get one? I couldn't find day jobs in the Core or the APG. I see they are discussed on p. 3 of the PFS Field Guide and p. 17 of the Guide to PFS Organized Play, but no mention that I saw about the actual acquiring of said job or what its DC is. I mean, my guy's got to make money somehow. I was thinking caravan guard, maybe. Thanks!
I'm brand spanking new to D20 and Pathfinder/PFS. I'm a complete outsider. Before I played two scenarios of PFS the other day, I had never even seen a game of D20. However, I've been game mastering GURPS and several other systems since I was in the seventh grade some 18 years ago. I began playing AD&D right before 2nd Edition. From an outsider's perspective, I can't see how in the world the PC's gear is magically restored at the end of the session. I'd never heard this. The second session we played was The Frostfur Captives. In it, I used my rope to tie up the goblins. Well, they chewed through it. You mean to tell me I get that rope back now, whole and sturdy again? No way. That's not right. I wouldn't take it if I were allowed. If I were burned by a PFS GM, I'd not play under him again and I'd let everyone know he was worthless, just like I've already mentioned that my GM, deusvult, was a good one. Is there some sort of rating system where players and GMs can rate performance? That's one way to handle this situation, in my opinion.
Looks like I may be playing PFS in a new city in a new state exactly two weeks from today! Yay! I have little time and don't have my books with me, but is there any difference between the Archer and the Fighter on first level? I don't think there is. If not, just change "Archer" to "Fighter" on my above character sheet and that's that. Axebeard, thanks a lot for the Paladin/Fighter build, but at this point, having already played Ren, I don't want to abandon him to the Void of Nevermore. He's my first character. I feel like I owe it to him to play him out at least until level 6 or so. Then, I can consider other concepts. Thanks, though.
^I'll keep that in mind! Looks like I finally got the rough draft of my level 1 human Archer done. I'll write his story when I get time. I didn't buy all the equipment suggested, but I still have money for the start of the next adventure in case it looks like I might need something. Please review him with a scrutinizing eye. Thanks in advance! If anyone wants to undertake the tedious job of auditing my equipment and accounting, I'd appreciate it. My math skills leave some to be desired. Only a pound more and I'd be in the medium load capacity. Don't want that! Changes from the original sheet in the original post: * Swapped Constitution and Wisdom, dropping Ren's PFS-allotted HP from 13 to 12. * Moved a skill rank from Climb to Intimidate. * Switched from a vanilla Fighter to the Archer archetype (Advanced Player's Guide, p. 104). Strange that Archers get a +1 to Perception at 2nd level, but Perception isn't a class skill... Really? * Changed Indomitable Faith Trait to Tomb Raider from the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play, p. 12. This makes Perception a class skill. Lost my +1 to Will saves in the swap. * Added a rank (I didn't know I had) to Perception, which is now a class skill and gets another +1 due to Tomb Raider Trait. * Recorded a +1 on my hard copy for the class skill Dungeoneering, though no ranks. Removed character story for now; I'll write it after this is all finalized. Ren
STR 16/+3
HP 12
Fort +3 (Base +2, +1 Con)
BAB +1
Weapon 1: Masterwork Mighty 3 Composite Longbow; Damage, 1d8+3 (+1 within 30')
Skills
Feats
Special Abilities
Equipment
Earnings:
Expenses:
Money: 828 gp, 4 sp, 8 cp (sp and cp in belt pouch #1, gp in belt pouch #2 in backpack)
^Cool! I'm working on equipment right now. I love doing mundane survival gear and equipment. I'm so wonderfully OCD about it. I believe the gloves are around 15,000 gp, so it's going to be quite a while before I can afford them. The Celestial armor sounds even more expensive, but I'll keep it in mind and jot it down in my future layout. I bought the Pathfinder's kit, but I don't like how all the weights aren't itemized, so I'm putting it together piece-by-piece now. Thanks again!
With that your Bastard Sword will miss 25% more than a finesse weapon. If you take my suggestion and use two feats for the Elven Curved Blade, the bastard sword will miss 1 for every 4 the Curve Blade hits. So in those 4 rounds the Bastard Sword will do 52.5, damage the Curve Blade will do 70.0 points of damage. It's an interesting comparison between the curved elven blade and greatsword (I only bought a bastard sword because I didn't have the money for a greatsword). Two feats, though... That's quite an investment for something I'm going to so rarely use. The elven sword doesn't fit my concept well, but if Ren were a half-elf, it would. Would it still take two feats to use if he were a half-elf? I just can't see playing an Int 7 half-elf. In fact, I have trouble reckoning Ren's Wis 14 with his Int 7! I'm going to say he's illiterate, for one, and make sure to role play that, occasionally reminding the GM if an NPC tries to pass me a secret note or something. I'll also say, seriously, he has trouble counting and with basic addition and subtraction. In my first job, at age 16, there was a mentally handicapped guy that worked there. I told him to put six chicken sticks in the fryer. He put five. Until that happened a few more times, I didn't figure out that the guy couldn't count. Then, I watched him... Yeah, he couldn't count. Really wasn't all that abnormal, though. He drove a car and played cards and bingo at the seniors center. He was friendly and talkative. Guess he was like Karl Childers from "Sling Blade," except without a weird voice. That's how I'm trying to reckon Int7, Wis 14. No reading, very poor at math.
Sounds cool, Grizzly! Elves of Goldston is not on the Pathfinder Society Resources page, though, so I can't use it. Posting a level 9 build, especially one that isn't PFS legal, won't help me at all. Posting a level 2 or 3 or so PFS-legal build might be of some help. However, I'm so new that anything past level 2 will probably just overwhelm or confuse me. Thanks anyway, though!
Annnd... I ordered both the APG and the Field Guide. Just what I needed! So, I'll be changing this build to the Archer archetype using the SRD for now. Here's the mini I'm using: http://www.miniature-giant.com/talathlan-elf-ranger-Reaper-Dark-Heaven-Lege nds-DHL-sku-3198-pr-10161.html Yeah, he's an elf but he's wearing a hood. By the way, if you add me (username: sharpe or my e-mail: camaro_driver@ HAWT MALE DOT COM ;)) as your referral for that site, we both get equal cash back on every purchase we both make from now till the end of time. Say I buy something for $5; you might get $1 back from my purchase. I always have $5-$10 in my account from people who have added me. And, since I make a lot of purchases, they do too!
Gah... You guys are making me want the APG so bad... I hate you all! I looked at the PFSRD Archer and he does look cool... I have a laser printer and if it really is legal to use the PDF's from Paizo with my name on it, I may order the APG. Maybe tomorrow. Actually, I'd rather have the hardback and from the big online retail outlet, the APG is only $26.39. That's not bad. The Pathfinder Society Field Guide is only $13.59. Free shipping...
I see where you're going, Jodokai, and thanks for the fresh perspective and food for thought. However, having read a couple optimization guides and several threads now, not to mention getting lots of great advice here, I think I'll stick with my bastardsword until the future when it's time to get a new one, in which case I'll upgrade to a magic greatsword of some sort. . As for his story and faction, I'm going to have my story take Ren to Osirion where he joins with the first Pathfinder he'd ever met, a member of the Osirion faction. Other than that, Ren's not really into Osirion. In fact, he probably dislikes it for the most part, much like many US soldiers in the "Sandbox" I know personally. He will remain a part of the faction out of loyalty to the memory of his lost friend. "This faction is interested in rediscovering the powerful
He follows this creed because of his distaste of Cheliax more than his love for Osirion, which he sees more as a battlefield than a homeland. Again, his loyalty to the memory of his lost Osirion-native comrade (I'll think of his name and reason for death later) is strong.
What about: "Ren's not just out for himself -- quite the opposite; he'll happily defend the weak and oppressed and loyally take up arms for a cause he believes in championing." = Good "He'll murder an enemy in their sleep and won't hesitate to use lethal force on anyone in his path (other than PCs since this is PFS)." = Chaotic
Specifically, Human Fighters get 2 base skill points then subtract for Intelligence (to a minimum of one) then recieve their +1 from being Human, so you've got another skill coming. Other than that, looks good. Sweet!!! Thanks a lot! I'll put it in... Well, I'm not sure yet. Still trying to figure out what Trait I want, because there's two Traits that make Perception a class skill. Unfortunately, one is the afore-mentioned Tomb Raider, and that's from the Osirion faction and the other is Observant from the The Grand Lodge faction. Neither faction suit my character concept. Well, Osirion is fine, but I'm playing the average "white as the driven snow" character. Playing a character with a fantasy Arabian background isn't too bad. Since I don't know the world of Golarion very well, I'm having trouble thinking of how my Conan-like character got mixed up with desert dwellers. Any suggestions? . I want to play a rather shady character, but not evil. You know they type -- the quiet anti-hero like the Punisher. Ren's not just out for himself -- quite the opposite; he'll happily defend the weak and oppressed and loyally take up arms for a cause he believes in championing. He can be altruistic and sacrificing. But, his methods to his ends are less than savory. He feels no compassion for his enemies no matter who they are. They are little more than straw targets for his arrows or meat for his two-handed butcher's cleaver. He'll murder an enemy in their sleep and won't hesitate to use lethal force on anyone in his path (other than PCs since this is PFS). Lawful Neutral sounds too bland. Neutral sounds too wishy-washy about things. I carry a lot of contempt from AD&D 2nd Ed. days for Chaotic Neutral. Chaotic Good? Neutral Good? "Good" sounds about right as long as "justified" murder is fair play. Probably Chaotic Good, reading the descriptions.
In reply to the three posts above this one, thanks for your help! :) I really need to get that Pathfinder Society Field Guide. It gets referenced often and has a lot of good stuff in it including my Pathfinder kit. Not so sure about the Advanced Player's Guide at $40. It's nice to know that I can get the PDF from Paizo and it be cool, though. I did a Google search for Gloves of Dueling and see they are in the APG, which I don't have (hard copy or PDF), so for PFS, I can't buy them. From the PFSRD, they look fantastic, though. . EDIT: I read the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play and it answered some of the questions I posed in above posts. Gaining levels: "In both advancement rates, your Pathfinder levels up each time he acquires 3 XP." Since I have 2 XP, I need to compleete another game before leveling up. However, it's good to get these questions out of the way in case I play two games in one day like I did before. I'll be ready for the level up! Traits: "Pathfinder Society characters begin play with two traits— minor in-game advantages tied to their background in the campaign world. Complete trait rules can be found in the Advanced Player’s Guide or online in the free Character Traits Web Supplement at paizo.com/traits." The link is to a PDF with, I guess, all the traits I have access to for PFS, which is really cool! I'll look through them and edit this sheet if needed. . Below is Ren's sheet at first level, though I'm thinking about changing his background story to say he was burned as well as kicked during a barn fire to give me an in for a Masterwork Tool: Mask (+2 to Intimidate). Swapped Constitution and Wisdom, dropping my PFS-allotted HP from 13 to 12. Moved my single skill rank from Climb, which no one used in the two sessions I played, to Intimidate, which was used by all more than once. I still have 2 unspent PA. Please check over him again and see if I made any mistakes or forgot to take advice into consideration. I'm also open for more opinions about taking my second level in Rogue, but now that I see how to use Traits, I'm much less so inclined. Thanks! . Ren
At the age of 17, Ren returned home to his family's mountain-side cabin only to find it burned to smoldering ashes, his parents and siblings along with it. Eventually, the strapping boy wandered into town where he was taken in by a bowyer. Ren was already hearty enough to sting the strongest longbows. Kicked by a horse in the side of his face at an early age, Ren is beyond ugly and a bit bit hard of hearing. But, his appearance doesn't hurt his deadly accuracy and didn't stop him from becoming a lethal archer. His arrows defended his small settlement from monster invasions more than once. Quiet and distant in social situations, Ren knows he's a strong, stupid brute but is smart enough to keep him mouth shut. However, the strapping mountain man does form close bonds with those he feels he can trust and rely upon. STR 16/+3
HP 12 Fort +3 (Base +2, +1 Con)
BAB +1
Weapon 1: Mighty 3 Masterwork Composite Longbow; Damage: 1d8+3 (+1 within 30')
Equipment
Skills
Feats
Special Abilities
Let me not get the cart too far before the horse... In PFS, how many games do you have to play before you hit the second level? I've played two. Do I need to play one more? Since I want to have Point-Blank Shot, Precise Shot and Rapid Shot all on the first level, and being human allows me to take an additional feat, I'll probably stick with human for now. However, I noticed on my sheet I have two "traits" -- Reactionary and Indomitable Will. Where are these found in the Core? How many do I get in PFS? I found them in the PFSRD, which says: "Gaining Traits When you create your character for a campaign, ask your GM how many traits you can select. In most cases, a new PC should gain two traits, effectively gaining what amounts to a bonus feat at character creation. Some GMs may wish to adjust this number somewhat, depending upon their style of play; you may only be able to pick one trait, or your GM might allow three or more. Even if your GM normally doesn’t allow bonus traits, you might still be able to pick up some with the Additional Traits feat." I guess in PFS you get two to start (?). I looked up Traits in the index and couldn't find them and I also looked through the table of contents... Where are these and what ones should I take?
On this low of a level for PFS, is it really that bad to miss one level of Fighter? I mean, even though I'll count as second level for the tier system, I'll be no worse of a Fighter than I already am. I've heard nothing but bad about multiclassing, but I just can't see how terrible it would be. It would shore up all my weaknesses at this point. I played with level 3 characters on the the hard tier and my combat ability (other than AC and HP) didn't seem underpowered. But, my total lack of Intimidation made dealing with the goblins more difficult, and not having crap in Perception didn't help either. Not arguing, just saying. EDIT: I'm now more strongly considering changing to Half-Elf and revising my character story, which I didn't have when I played the character. Axebeard mentioned choosing the Arcane Training feature instead of , but I don't see that optin in the Core...
Been reading the Skills chapter and I see that Perception is based on Wis. For some reason, I thought it was based on Int and that that was the reason mine was lower than others. But, I see I was wrong; it's because it's not a class skill and (I don't have ranks in it), so I can't get the extra +3. What if -- and I don't think this would be a good "optimization," a.k.a, min-maxing, tactic, but maybe it would be fun and cool for my first character who's already pretty stout for his level due to my munchkin-isim -- what if I took a level in another class? Can I do that on the second level? Could I, say, take a level of Rogue instead of my second level in Fighter? It may be a bit extreme just to get a +3 in Perception and Intimidation. Just throwing it out there. The only bummer to my min-maxing is the lack of Intimidation. The other negatives don't really bother me. I thought if I took a level of Rogue, put a rank in Intimidation (for a total +4, right?) and bought a Masterwork tool to give another +2, that would give a +5 to my Intimidation rolls for a total of +3 after considering my -2 for Cha 7... Am I right? Thanks in advance! EDIT: I just noticed Fighters get a Feat every level! Missed that. I didn't think I got another Feat until level 3... EDIT x2: I also noticed Rouges get 8 skill ranks (-2 for my Int) per level! So, with just 1 level of Rouge, I could really help offset my low Int and Cha, right?
I'm still needing to actually update this character now that I've been given so much wonderful advice. I'm reading Rogue Eidolon's Guide to Fighters (Optimisation) right now, and it's giving the exact same advice as I've been so generously given here: https://docs.google.com/document/edit?id=15x4he4WAFYNsoeYgNG8KaEjPH2OvzF2dU jiy8BL1h14&hl=en&pli=1 I'l try to get my carbon-copy, rubber-stamp build up here in a bit...
Okay. Found it. It's on page 158 in the bottom of Table 6-9: Goods and Services and its description is on page 161. From the PFSRD: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment---final/goods-and-services#TOC-Tool-Maste rwork "Tool, Masterwork This well-made item is the perfect tool for the job. It grants a +2 circumstance bonus on a related skill check (if any). Bonuses provided by multiple masterwork items do not stack." Also found this thread about it: http://paizo.com/forums/dmtz4vo4?Masterwork-Tools-for-all-skills Are some GM's not very pleased with these things? I have plenty of gold. I should surly pick up a few if they're good for PFS. My Per checks are terrible, and I would like to have a better Intimidation, too. Diplomacy would be nice as well. Should I put skill ranks in these things to offset my low ability scores, or should I just focus on going with what I'm good at? Thanks!
Amulet of Mighty Fists Swords drawn, three men stood in the middle of the dusty road circling a single, unarmed lizardman. It was Versel the pitfighter and they wern't about to take their chances with him. Calm and collected, the cold-blooded fighter clinched his empty fists until his knuckles cracked loudly as a tumbling bolder. He wasn't always so calm. In the scarce, fleeting seconds that past as the men circled with their swords, Versel remembered back to a day years ago... . It wasn't often Versel became nervous, but if lizardmen could sweat, he'd have had droplets streaking down his scaly face. It was the day for which young Versel had been waiting for so long: his chance to prove himself as the meanest, toughest, and most skilled pit fighter in the land. Only one thing stood between himself and the enchanted amulet offered as a prize for winning the tournament: a strapping, powerfully-built seven-feet tall half-orc named Gorefist. Versel wasn't nervous because he feared loosing or because he was scared of the pain. No, he was nervous because he worried he would be unable to stop himself before beating the half-orc into a bloody corpse of snapped bones and torn flesh. Disqualification had been the way of his only losses, and they numbered more than one. The announcer stood before a motley audience of hundreds, magic amulet dangling from his fingers, glittering in the noon-time sun for all to see. Thinking back, Versel couldn't remember the announcer's introductions; he could only remember standing and rushing forward with adrenaline-pumped legs before pouncing on the half-orc like a tiger leaping onto its prey. Fangs barred, hatred gleaming in his serpentine eyes, Versel was a furious cyclone of tooth and claw... ...Until the half-orc sent his sledgehammer of a fist crashing into the lizardman's jaw, nearly unhinging it from his face. Through the pain and the fatigue, Versel fought. Twenty minutes past, no rounds, no breaks, just two bestial warriors trying their best to kill one another. The crowd was crazed with bloodlust, whipped into a fervor with every spray of crimson gore. Though the half-orc was a mighty opponent, he could no longer stand against the lizardman's fierce onslaught. He dropped to the blood-soaked dirt and rolled away, trying to put distance between him so he could stand for a desperate, last-ditch effort. That was when the glass bottle smashed into Versel's left eye, scratching though its nictating membrane to cut his slit-like pupil. Versel roared in pain and anger, staggering back. Gorefist stood, bewildered at his fortune. A man in the audience who had bet against the lizardman had thrown the bottle, and it had inflicted the desired effect. Gorefist looked at the two referees who both yelled for him to continue fighting. With hesitation, the half-orc waded back into the fray with a haymaker. Yes, Versel eventually lost the fight ten minutes later, but it was obvious what had turned the tide. So close -- but the shimmering magical amulet was now just a figment of his memory. The lizard man sat in one dark corner of the tavern covered in blood, nursing his disappointment as well as his swollen, sightless left eye. He knew eventually his wounds would heal, even his eye, but the loss that day would leave a scar deeper than any sword could rend. Suddenly, the door swing open. A mountainous figure ducked under the threshold and stood scowling at all the tiny humans who dared meet his gaze for even a brief instant. Gorefist. One bloody, bandaged hand gripped the chain upon which the magic amulet dangled. His glare scanned the crowd slowly, sweeping across all until it came to rest upon Versel's one good eye. Versel stood from his chair defiantly, ready -- nay, eager -- for another go. Slowly, eyes never leaving Versel's, Gorefist strode across the crowded room. The way parted before him as people scampered away from the juggernaut's path. As he approached, Versel used one claw to fling the table away from between them before loosing a bloodcurdling battle hiss -- "Come, orc-blood," Versel roared, "Let me finish what I began in the ring!" The stone-faced half-orc never flinched as he stood like a statue, brow furrowed, mouth turned down into the deepest frown. Without warning, he tossed the amulet onto a nearby chair's seat and stared back at the seething lizardman. Leaning forward and pointing, the half-orc delivered a threat in low, gravelly voice: "One day, I'll be back for that. You won't win next time." With that, he turned and walked away... . Not a day passes in which that warning ceases to echo in Versel's memory. Not a day passes in which Versel doesn't ready himself for its arrival. Finally, the first of the three men worked up the courage to strike. Sword raised, he rushed forward, shouting, the other two not far behind. Versel parried, ducked, and whirled, smashing his fists, elbows and knees into their faces, bones breaking with each strike, blood spattering everywhere. Soon, the lizardman loomed above their lifeless bodies, staring down at them, the sun glinting off the golden Amulet of Mighty Fists' surface. Like the memory of Gorefist so long ago, Versel turns his back on the broken bodies and walks away, never to be seen there again.
PFS characters are allowed to have 9 masterwork tools. 50gp for a +2 bonus to some particular skill checks is pretty nice, and it gives a fun way to give a little color to your character while gaining an actual mechanical benefit while you're at it. I've seen dwarves with ceremonial beard rings for diplomacy, an inquisitor with a magic 8-ball for sense motive ("do I trust this guy?/outlook not good."), and an old wizard with an ear trumpet for perception. Where are these located? I looked in the equipment section under Tools and Skill Kits, p. 161, but didn't see anything much for me.
Oh, guest GM... Didn't notice that. Definitely search out a temporary group. Whatever you do, don't take the big chair and do the same to him. Seriously doubt you would; just saying. EDIT: He seems to be subtle enough that they pass it off as me being paranoid. Then you're up Ess Creek. You're doing the right thing, but I would still seek out a temporary group. As stated before, I intend to try to flourish under his thumb. Got any magic item backstory ideas for the above listed items? Post your character's race, class, age, description, etc. and his background story and then Copy and paste the items that need stories here. I'll think of some for you.
I kill him, every one else is cool, player becomes guest DM, Guest DM tries to get subtle vengeance by making me create a backstory for every magic item, and leaves treasure drops that are optimal for other players, but not me. That's about where I am at now. Oh, crap. That sucks, man. Total BS. Congrats on doing the right thing, though. I take it the "backstory" crap is because he's butt-hurt about some sort of min-maxing/power-gaming on your part. That's not too bad of a way to handle it if he's actually upset about it. Rather adolescent to be bothered in the first place, though. As for the item drops, there's two sides to every story, but if I were a gambling man, I'd bet yours is closer to the truth than his. What do your fellow players say about this situation? Anything?
This reply is sure to make me popular... XD If this was one of my groups, there wouldn't have been an eight-page thread about it. PC's kill one another every real-time year at least. None of my players wine about it ever. Not much meta gaming goes on with us and there's never any drama, thankfully. Not even when we were kids. Never could understand some of the drama that some groups have. Thread is very long. BBT, did you kill him or not? Give us a quick CliffsNotes. I'll start: PCs are a bunch of morally-ambiguous or outright evil pirates; a perfect recipe for kill or be killed right there if I ever saw one. One PC wants to kill the other one for who cares why because it's automatically justified as in-character and outright to be expected. Player doesn't want to hurt other players' feelings. Then what? (Lemme guess, you don't and it gets worse.)
Your attack bonus with ranged weapons is based on dexterity. Damage, for mighty (stiff/hard to pull) bows, is still based off of strength. Ohhh, yes. I forgot. I even noticed we had +6 at first, but I erased it and put +7. Thanks.
That's actually what I have, bought with the 2PA from the first session. I didn't know it was called "mighty 3," but I understand it allows me to apply all +3 from my Str 16. It does 1d8+3 damage, or 1d8+4 within 30' for Point-Blank. Thanks, though! Now, I once again have 2PA and, like, 1,400 gp and change. Potion of Fly. (for archers, also known as "potion of infinite ac") Ooo... I can see that... Awesome. On the charm/compulsion route: At some point, buy a Wayfinder and put a Clear Spindle Ioun Stone inside of it. It will give you permanent immunity to all charms, compulsions, and possession, as well as 'any attempt to exercise mental control' over your character. For fighters, it's your get-out-of-jail free card when it comes to spells like Dominate Person and Confusion. Together, they cost 4,250 gp, and give you complete immunity to the entire Enchantment school. It's the best deal money can buy. Ah, yes! Our GM said something about that. I think you need another, thin, book, though. Pathfinder's Guide or something like that?
By the way, the first session was Pathfinder Society Scenario #5: Mists of Mwangi. http://paizo.com/products/btpy8530?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-5-Mists-of-M wangi I didn't care as much for it as I did the second session. We played the "easy" setting instead of the "hard" setting, and one third level cleric pretty well dominated. It was way too easy, even with two or three first-level guys. It was just a hack-and-slash, and not really a very good one at that. Kinda plain. The second session, however, was totally different. We played Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-01: The Frostfur Captives. http://paizo.com/products/btpy8kab?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-301-The-Fros tfur-Captives It was great. Tons of fun. Sure, there was loads and loads of combat scenarios one after the other, but caring for the goblins added a whole 'nother facet to the game. Plus -- and I don't know if this was just a good job on the GM's part or not -- there were plenty of real role-playing opportunities in town and whatnot that actually mattered. Even though it's the standard escort mission, it didn't feel cliche. I had fun role playing every opportunity I got. I mainly babysat the goblins, being the archer. I stood back with them and did my best to coral them while the melee guys fought up front. Through two of the four or five encounters, I never landed a shot on an enemy, just dealt with the troublemakers. Took way longer than two hours, though. More like four. I'd highly recommend The Frostfur Captives to every group. It's not just another hack-and-slash dungeon. It's a real, true role-playing adventure where your decisions actually matter.
I didn't know that. That's a good rule to have. Paizo has received a few hundred of my American greenbacks, and will no doubt get much more. I probably will ONLY play PFS, too. At least, for the foreseeable future. Like I say, I'm a big fan of GURPS and have been GMing it since I was in the 8th grade (I'm 31). We switched to GURPS during the 2nd Ed. of AD&D after coming from OD&D. We played several systems, but just never got into d20. Crazy, right? How can a roleplayer never have played d20? Well, we didn't. Rifts, Shadowrun, Hero, Marvel Super Heroes, etc., etc., etc., but never d20. PFS is great. I really love how I can take a character from Colorado to Indiana and then to Florida. Yes, I travel a lot. XD
^Thanks for the link, Joes Pizza! Don't mind the haters. Lolz. XD If it's not too late to switch stats, I'd switch constitution and wisdom for an archer. You're not going to be on the front lines as often as a melee fighter, but you'll still eat up the Hold Persons and Calm Emotions. You're very right. I always stood in the very back and almost never took much physical damage (I'm wearing a breastplate, AC 20) but used Wis often. I'll switch it! If you want to super minmax, I'd take half-elf instead of human and choose the Arcane Training feature instead of Multitalented so that you can use wizard wands. I see this is popular. However, I'm so new to the game that I better stick with just a plane 'ol human fighter for now. I'll make other characters, too, as I become familiar with the system. I mean, this is just one guy. I'm more the talk-y type of player than the hit-y type. But, fighters are good for learning the basics in every system. That's why I chose him. After looking around the forums, I see that archers (especially arcane ones) are indeed considered powerful archtypes. Now I know why the GM rather sounded like we were dabbling in the black arts as we min-maxed our way to this monster. Thanks so much for all your help!!!
I'm currently reading the races and classes chapters and see that I don't get additional feat on level 2.
AWESOME. Thanks a lot! Oh, and looking at your sheet, I'm pretty sure your Will Save should only be +2. Yes, that was a typo. It is +2. Thanks again!
I would take rapid shot, power attack, and quick draw and the next MUST HAVE feats. After that, you have some room to take what you like. Cool. I'll drop MF and take RS. I'll have to look and see how many feats a fighter gets to take on the 2nd level. You'll do well with Deadly Aim as well. I'll take a look at it.
Thanks so much! I'll look into all those. We did use a lot of Alchemists' Fire!
You should have taken Rapid Shot before Weapon Focus. And I didn't think traits were in the core book, didn't APG introduce those? I see Weapon Focus. I don't see Rapid Shot, though I do see Rapid Reload... Oh, I found Rapid Shot. It has Point-Blank Shot (and DEX 13) as a prerequisite (which I have). I agree. It looks like WF gives me +1 to attack and RS gives me a whole 'nother attack. Great advice! Should I take WF now or something else? What is PA? Some money system? Prestige Award, given out at the organized Society meetings for finishing games. I'm not sure where you can go to read about the Society, but I guess things get done a little differently in these official tournaments. You register your character here on Paizo.com and stuff. I don't know much about it other than it's organized, standardized play. Feats in core...you're probably going to run out of good options for archery, actually. Get Specialization at 4 I guess and the greater Focus and Specialization when you can later, and Penetrating Strike immediately when it becomes available, ditto the Greater version. Manyshot you'll want right at level 6, and Improved Precise Shot right at 11. Oh, you should also get Deadly Aim at some point. I've played Pathfinder one time and have never played D&D 3+ or any of its derivatives. I need to know what I should take for the 2nd level, not how to make the best archer. This is over my head. Won't help archery, but the feat to ignore 5 ft of difficult terrain means you can always 5 ft step back and full attack. You should be full attacking whenever possible, but when you can't, there's Vital Strike line to help out. Cool. How does your DM handle Enlarge Person spell? I don't have a GM and that spell never came up in the two sessions we played. Thanks!
True. We talked about it and decided it wasn't too overboard. They hurt in game play, too since my Andoran side-quest relied on Per and CHA. Still completed it, though. The low scores are justified by my character story, anyway. Did you have any advice in reference to those two 7's or are you just pointing out that I was min-maxing? Because, I most certainly was min-maxing. I role-played it though, so no biggie.
Greetings! Finally, at long last, I got to play a game of Pathfinder. I had never played Pathfinder or D&D 3+ before, so it was quite an experience. I played in the Colorado Springs Pathfinder Society Meetup 4/14/12 and had a blast. I played two sessions. The first session, I played Valeros the pre-gen fighter. But, between the two sessions, the GM and players helped me make my own character, a human fighter named Ren. I decided I wanted to use a longbow and do as much damage as possible with it because during the previous session I recognized the value of ranged combat. It seems to better fit my play-style. Here's hoping people can help me edit my character, if needed, and chose what to do for the second level. I only have the Core Rulebook, so please withhold suggestions using other books. I've yet to register him. If I understood him correctly, The GM said I could edit my first character until after my third game. In the second session, I really liked using the masterwork composite longbow I used the 2 PA from the previous session to buy. It fit my play style and felled many enemies. Though I was first level and the others were third, I didn't in any way feel inferior or less "powerful" -- quite the opposite. I think I'd like to really specialize with this bow, really make Ren a master of it throughout his career as he rises through the levels. Other than that, for when he has to engage in melee, I think I'd like to make him a greatsword fighter on the side. I did like Valeros' two-weapon style since I learned misses are bound to happen, and shields are indeed great, but for my play style I think a big 'ol two-handed greatsword is the way to go. Also, I tend to get into a lot of fist fights and wrestling matches; just saying. So, without further ado, here are Ren's stats: Ren
At the age of 17, Ren returned home to his family's mountain-side cabin only to find it burned to smoldering ashes, his parents and siblings along with it. Eventually, the strapping boy wandered into town where he was taken in by a bowyer. Ren was already hearty enough to sting the strongest longbows. Kicked by a horse in the side of his face at an early age, Ren is beyond ugly and a bit bit hard of hearing. But, his appearance doesn't hurt his deadly accuracy and didn't stop him from becoming a lethal archer. His arrows defended his small settlement from monster invasions more than once. Quiet and distant in social situations, Ren knows he's a strong, stupid brute but is smart enough to keep him mouth shut. However, the strapping mountain man does form close bonds with those he feels he can trust and rely upon. STR 16
HP 13 Fort +4
BAB +1
Weapon 1: Masterwork Composite Longbow (Spent 2 PA on it)
Skills
Feats
Special Abilities
Crypt of Everflame is an "intro" module written with introducing new people in mind. I'll certainly pick up the Crypt of Everflame for introducing new players to the game. None of my GURPS players have played Pathfinder. Thanks for the suggestion! Try this. That looks like a very nice "Appendix A" module. Thanks! Specifically, is there anything like the solo adventure in the Beginner's Box?
Greetings! This is my third post here. My last discussed my very recent purchase of the Beginner's Box. TL;DNR it: I love everything about it, and it made learning the rules from scratch under a rock with no D20/D&D 3.0+ experience actually possible. My library currently consists of the Beginner's Box, Core Rulebook, Bestiary, and Council of Thieves: The Bastard of Erebus. I've not yet made much headway other than with the BB. The Core Rulebook is a bit too heavy for me, and that's saying something; I taught myself GURPS 3e in the eighth grade. Since I'm 31 now, that's was some time before the Internet and no one else around me played any pencil-and-paper RPGs. The PF core book just isn't set up very well to teach people how to play in a metaphorical vacuum, which is why the BB is so fantastic. But, I wonder if there's another tool out there in the form of a game. Could there perhaps be a GM-less solo dungeon, or a random dungeon generator à la AD&D DMG Appendix A: Random Dungeon Generation? Thanks for reading and for all your replies! -Stripe
Update! The night before last, I read through both books cover to cover, thuogh I skimmed much of the GMG. I'm not ready to write my own adventure. We'll fight Blackfang first. :) We played yesterday and I even video recorded the session. But, things didn't go at all how I would have liked. :( First, something came up and my friend couldn't play. So, that was a major bummer. But, we had already promised his son we'd play Pathfinder. Not wanting to break that promise, just he and I tried a solo session. Nothing went right for us. We only had an hour due to other scheduling issues, the "mood" was way off, and it ended up I wasn't as prepared as I thought. Also, I made a fatal mistake right from the beginning; I wanted the boy's first character to be his own, not a pre-gen. That meant taking precious little time we had to roll one up. For some reason I tried hard to determine, the boy is able to do simple addition mentally very well -- as long as the dice aren't involved. If I were to ask, "What's five plus five plus five?" -- and I did -- he would reply instantly with the correct answer. If three 5's landed on the dice a moment later, it would take him a really long time to get the answer, maybe 15-20 seconds. He did well at instantly recognizing the lowest number of the four and tossing it out, though. Keep in mind, I've taught this kid GURPS, which is way, way more complex than BB PF. So this stuff isn't over his head. Anyway, the dice gods were brutal. Shame on them! He once rolled a five or six! His first *three* roll outs didn't meet the criteria set in the BB, or even close. It took all of 10 tedious minutes just to roll his attributes. That's a lot of time to an eight-year-old kid, and the clock was ticking. We then got tied up with getting things written where they belonged on the sheet. Before we finished, I reluctantly abandoned making his first character from scratch. If he were an adult, we would have flown through it. But, it wasn't the right time to teach a child who writes huge and presses hard and wants to erase often and can't add dice how to make his first PF character and play a solo session. XD None of that really matters in the long run, though. He's a smart kid and a good role player. When we got into the session, which I tried to simply make out of the numbered sections in the Hero book, but with pawns on the Flip Mat, we encountered too many frustrating distractions in the room. It just was a flop, but all things were aligned against us. It wasn't meant to be. Like I say, I didn't want to play under such circumstances, but the kid wanted to play so bad and I had promised. Our next attempt, I'm sure, will go well and I'll have a fun and happy play session, maybe with a video, to report. Until then! -Stripe
Welcome to Pathfinder! I'm glad you're having fun.:) I am! Great job on this and other products, by the way. I love your company's work. Goblins are brutal little freaks, and have been known to knife each other over a particularly tasty chicken bone... two dead guys outside the cave just means less competition for food and dames. That just throws up a bit of a red flag in my imagination. Keep in mind, I've come from a 20-year history of not pigeonholing species and races into stereotypes cultural or otherwise, even when we played AD&D 2nd Ed. I'll try harder to get into the right mindset! :D I'm not entirely sure what you're getting at here, but the Creature entry for the room says"All PCs much make Perception skill checks [against the spider's Stealth skill check]... Those who fail are surprised." I was just thinking out loud that a single sentence with a page reference to the Hero's Guide would have helped me there. Literally, I was typing as I read everything for the first time. However, I did misread that section. Somehow, I wasn't clear about the target number for the Perception check. Must have been reading too fast. Sounds like a plan... offer him some chicken bones! :) Will do, boss! :D Thanks! -Stripe
GURPS adventures never sold particularly well; GURPS is a much smaller market than D&D/D20/Pathfinder and that market is then fragmented by genre to a much greater extent. Ah! Someone else who's well versed in SJG's dogma! *Secret GURPS handshake* Greetings, brother! We are behind enemy lines! :D Just kidding. ;) I agree wholeheartedly with you for the most part. Past adventures haven't sold well for very clear reasons. The first, and most often cited, is because everyone is doing their own thing. As you so eloquently stated, GURPS is fragmented by genre; GURPS' greatest strength is it's greatest weakness in that regard. However, the second reason, which is equally true, lays the blame on SJG for making adventures that won't sell well anyway, even to their target audience. Some of the adventures most often cited as selling poorly are, in fact, completely ridiculous ideas to market commercially. Big Lizzy is an adventure about cowboys riding dinosaurs for crying out loud. http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/biglizzie/ Others, they set themselves up to fail by picking genres that have little wide appeal to GURPS players. "GURPS Lair of the Fat Man is an oddball romp through super-spy clichés, in the style of 1960s espionage films that don't take themselves too seriously." http://e23.sjgames.com/item.html?id=SJG37-1101 In my opinion, most (all that I know) of their adventures are clearly sub par when compared to material from places like Paizo, even the ones of a genre that appeals to me. It is my contention that SJG has simply failed in this arena and then blamed it on the customers. So, I'm not really happy with SJG. But, who am I? I'm just a nobody with an opinion and a sphincter like everyone else. :D I'll say this: if the Dungeon Fantasy line's new dungeon doesn't sell well, then it is because SJG failed once again. It's *not* because GURPS Dungeon Fantasy players don't like dungeons. (That seems a lot like pointing out the sky is blue.) However, on a positive note, I'm very confident it will do quite well. I certainly hope it does since I love GURPS with a passion and want to see it be as successful as possible. No, it can't hang with the big dogs because of fundamental differences (that I love and wouldn't change), but I do hope that GURPS will become the best that it can be, and that means putting out quality adventures. Have fun! -Stripe
That sounds like a great idea, tburke0! I doubt I'll have a chance to pick one of those up before our adventure, which we will hopefully undertake today. I've read through the Hero's Handbook front to back, every word and it was all very well explained. I feel ready to run my first adventure! Right now, I'm reading through the rest of the Game Master's Guide. Once I'm done doing that, I'll edit the adventure slightly to fit my taste. Looking forward to playing my first game of Pathfinder! :)
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