Stumondo's page

After a bit of a hiatus, I'm looking to start a new campaign. I'm reading the 2e rules, though they aren't grabbing me, so I'm planning to stick with 1e. In general, I like to stick to Core only.

I've GM'd and played in long running campaigns before, and some issue arose that I'd like to try and avoid. The main issue I noticed was trying to create rewarding combat. I was told by a player how terrifying a Linnorm was, after he looked it up after the game. They killed it before it got to act, and that's without a surprise round. I find players are often able to annihilate their way through most enemies and bosses without blinking an eye, and attempts to up the CR they face can easily flip this, putting them in no win situations. The problem seems most noticeable when fighting a BBEG, the action economy just isn't there. I've occasionally experienced boss combats that have gone on for 10 to 12 rounds (and not just as a slog), and they are the ones talked about fondly for years.

I feel there's probably a few rule tweaks that would help, though I've never implemented any, so I'm unsure of the unforeseen consequences. A non exhaustive list of the ones that popped into my head:

Getting rid of "Ready vs Spell Casting." It kills a casters spell 95% of the time, and make counterspelling redundant.

Potentially making bigger creature 5-foot step larger.

Reduce durations. Eg, stinking cloud nauseated lasted 2 to 5 rounds after leaving the cloud, far longer than most fights last.

I've considered increasing HPs of monsters in general.

I'm not a fan of 5e, but I thought what they did with bosses was great, Lair Abilities / Legendary actions added a real threat to those big, single enemies. Some equivalency may work.

Like I said before, I like playing Core, I find the power creeps obviously and irritating. Are there classes that don't have that creep. For example, my little experience with playing an Oracle just felt like a Sorcerer version of a Cleric.

What are peoples opinions of the Unchained classes, when compared to other Core classes. Do they have too much of a power bump or balanced nicely?

I'd appreciate any advice on what worked for other people and groups.

Thanks

My Wizard is one game away from level 12. I've always assumed I'd play Eyes of the 10 with him.

Years ago, I played Rise of the Runelords. We used non PFS characters, and we issued chronicles as per the rules. I applied some of the earlier ones to my character. The next one I have is for Level 12-14. Since normally you apply the credit when you reach the level you earned it at, there's no chance for confusion. But in this case, there's a level range given, and since we were not using PFS characters, there wasn't a specific Level where we earned the chronicle.

My question is can I opt to apply this when I reach any of the 3 levels (12, 13, 14), or does it have to be at 12.

The only reference in the Guide is that you apply chronicles in the order you get them, but I think that would only apply if I had another chronicle at one of these levels, which I don't.

Dragging up an old thread here, but I also had a question about Armag.

I'm struggling to get the numbers to add up for Armags attack and damage. Could you spell it out for me?

Just on the comment above, I assume his movement should be 30 as he's human and had armor training

Thanks