Sycophant's page

I've called and left a message and I have emailed the support email box and I have yet to find out when I am going to be sent the book I ordered. It's been pending since Sat, Jul 18, 2020

I'd love to join if able. It would be my first time with Starfinder but I've played and run Pf games

Ok thank you. I just sent you a PM

Sorry if this is posted to the wrong area.

I had my first PFS session at Phoenix Comic Fest here in Phoenix Arizona several months ago and I haven't seen anything update to my profile here.

I don't have a character as of yet but I've had my PFS ID for quite awhile now. I have been curious about doing more but I wanted to give plenty of time for my profile here to update with my first game session (if that is something that would happen).

What am I missing? Since I used a pregen does it only update if I have an existing character? Because the guys I spoke to made it sound like that wasn't the case.

I know there are some non-canonical write ups but I was curious if it was ever expanded on outside of what shows up in Hell's Vengeance

Why not reuse Rankin and Bass' "Where there's a Whip" song from their animated Return of the King?

Not sure why you're singling out clerics and paladins, ...

Thank you for your reply and good question. It was specific on purpose. In the game I'm about to run many of the religious types are new to Pathfinder and they will likely be asking questions. I know what I think but I wanted some other opinions too. Just like in the real world I figure few people are all going to agree 100% so I wanted to present them with alternative opinions to help broaden the RP experience. And the Hellknight they will eventually run into (non combat) is going to help explore that.

For some paladins, I would say they look at hellknights with dismay and a bit of pity. They got the message about the need for order, but misheard to think the need for order was above the call of Good.

Antipaladins are a direct mockery, and should be dealt with immediately. Direct physical confrontation is a last resort, but thrusting their plans and whittling away their network is okay.

awesome I like it. So you think that Paladins may have some precursory information on Hellknights then and see them in kind of the same light but wrong trajectory?

But how would you differentiate between the two? If you are a Paladin or Cleric of good and you're fresh out of training/church school/etc. We as players might know various differences but the new characters wouldn't have access to that information.

That's why I mentioned "aside from the alignment difference".

Personally I'm leaning towards newbie clerics and paladins thinking there isn't much of a difference given the names and appearances. Once they meet one then perhaps there is an opportunity for a differing opinion.

Apologies if I didn't word this correctly

If you were a new Paladin or Cleric of good in Golarion how would you differentiate between the two, if at all? Aside from the obvious alignment differences.

I'd imagine there would be some bias like "who cares, kill em" from the 'it's evil let's kill it' types in an adventuring party. But I'd like to hear what you guys n gals think.

It can work splendidly, but does require the GM and players to be aware of it.

The important thing is to make sure everyone still has their moments in the spotlight and character stories/arcs woven into the fabric of the story.
Note that just because a character may be the rightful ruler of a country doesn't give them immediate advantages over the others. Restoring the kingdom is the long term goal at the end of the campaign, after all, so just because one of the players is the "lost heir" doesn't innately give them special advantages.

My own experience in a year-long campaign as the player of the "lost heir" restoring her kingdom, whose birthright had been usurped, was to play as a full support character. Started as a Bard (Sandman), but ended up reclassing into a Cleric (Evangelist) after the party's close brush with the divine. While she certainly had good social skills, there was a lot of disguising and relying on the others to do investigating whenever the party was in towns controlled by the usurpers. The other party members were a former general of the court, now in exile after the coup (elf magus), a martial artist from the southern tribes who while continuing his mastery decided to help in exchange for the party having saved him from slavers (half-orc monk), the captain of the royal yacht on which the general had fled with the young heir during the coup (half-elf gunslinger) , and a prodigious young spy who had trained in tutelage under the spymaster of the court (human ninja).
My character focused on team-support in buffing/inspire courage (oratory, which made for great royalty themed speeches later). It is important, I think, to establish that the lost heir can't do everything alone, she needs to trust and rely on her friends/companions. While there is no need to go completely into a "damsel in distress" mode, it may be less "in your face" to have the party support role be filled by the lost heir character, as opposed to the front liner or master of arcane arts. It lets you act as more of...

Lots and lots of this!

In the end you are going to know your players better than anyone here. So if you do wind up with a primary character that is more powerful stat wise just make sure you incorporate the players around him/her. Also don't forget that politics doesn't care how many points you have on your sheet. So it's highly likely that said heir would get pulled into political situations that they couldn't touch and would need the others to help him/her through. It sounds like you already had some future thoughts about the game you're going to run by your comments about but maybe some of these will help too:

Sokka: In Avatar the Last Airbender he was the lowest on the totem pole as far as overall power but he still played a vital role to 'Team Avatar' due to his quick wits (comedy, planning, and later his cunning). Sure it wasn't his destiny to save the world line Aang, but his secondary contributions played a big part in the story. Especially in helping to find ways to thwart the Fire Nations technology.

Justice League: In the episode 'The Greatest Story Never Told' Booster Gold was constantly complaining about being left behind. He was desperate to make a difference but for seemingly all the wrong reasons. But as the main heroes of the story congregate to battle it out with a major foe, Booster Gold continues to dwell on his bruised ego. It doesn't help that people continue to confuse him with Green Lantern. But when an attractive scientist catches his eye pleading for help (which inadvertently placates his desire to be noticed) he's hooked. He realizes he's woefully inept to handle the problem alone but he's able to partner up with the scientist to stop the black hole disaster forming. And in that moment it clicks. No he's not in front of a camera and people aren't treating him like the second coming of Superman. But in that moment he matters and he has to step up and be the hero. And in the end he does. And his actions matter to those people he saved, finding satisfaction in that.

Asami: Going back to the Avatar series, in The Legend of Korra, once again we see a super powerful 'heir'/destiny type figure but Asami fits in well for a number of reasons. Asami's backstory, while initially a love interest of Mako, her story becomes intertwined with Korra's when it is found out that her father supported the major villain for the first story arc. Smart, savvy, with contacts and much needed resources, Asami isn't the main focus of the story but she becomes a pivotal one. And it doesn't hurt that her backstory ties well to Korra's and becomes kind of a long running redemption story (even if not explicitly stated at times). In the final series she winds up becoming the love interest of the main character and a crutch for Korra to lean on as she battles her own inner demons.

So you see there are plenty of ways to work with what you have and give the non 'heir to the throne' characters enough meat and potatoes to make them feel they matter.

I think you have a lot of actionable advice in here. But before you go to the Badplayer/GM do this:

Side bar the players and get their thoughts. Try not to ask them specifically what you are probing for but ask them some round about questions prior to game privately. Did you have any ideas about the guild location? I noticed there was some back and forth over (insert issue that BadPlayer scolded over), was there something I could to do help clarify and are you ok?

It's just my opinion but if you can try to feel out the other players before you address the BadPlayer. They may be taking some OOC verbal lumps but if they are solid friends of the BadPlayer you could be walking into a minefield of problems.

Having run live action games for many years (as well as various table top games) one of the worst things I think you might run into are fickle players who wind up siding with the abuser masquerading as a friend. You start to rightly press the issue of the abuse at the gaming table and even though they are the ones suffering, they side with the abuser for whatever reason and you are on the outs simply for doing your job and looking out for them.

Depending on what I'm doing I often think of a scene or scenes that might involve the players and then plot up to that point and after it, depending on what seems logical.

Lately I have a word pad with some notes and/or maps on it with locations, important NPCs, and sometimes player hand outs to help.

I'm not worried about the latter. I have at least two players who have experience playing PF so between them and myself I'm sure that part will be fine. I've owned my books for a couple of years now but I'm going back through them since I'm finally getting the chance to use them.

I don't see the point in banning entire books (e.g., sticking to Core,) personally. Sure there are an unknowable number of options, but the only ones you need to learn are the ones your PCs take. You don't need to learn 2,000 feats, you only need to learn 10 feats. That's more than doable. Just make sure they send you an FYI when they are taking a new ability or hoping to buy some item so you can look it over.

That's why I limited the scope of the books I'm using (Core, APG, Ult. combat and magic, no 3rd party books). I'd like them to have some variety but not so much that I'm having to constantly ask for book and page for whatever supplement they pulled out of the cracks :) I'm looking forward to the learning experience.

Could it be though that PF is that balanced at beginning levels that there isn't any more inadvisable/banned traits/feats/racial abilities? Like in Vampire (V:tM) is was common to see things like the Unbondable merit or the Child flaw banned or severely limited in various games among others.

But in either event the info will be helpful. Watch for leadership issues, some potentially high powered racial trait combos, paragon surge, blood money, etc.

I understand it has already been pointed out, and you have dismissed it,

I haven't dismissed anything here. I asked for advice and people are chiming in with some. It's all good advice. It doesn't mean all of it I agree with and/or is usable. But that doesn't make it any less good or appreciated by me.

I don't mind if people disagree with my methods. But when you say I dismissed it sounds like you think I'm not listening, when I am.

Whether someone starts off 1st level or 3rd or whatever that won't change potential game mechanic breaks and/or potentially abusive or troubling character types or combos as others above have indicated. If people chime in with stuff I didn't ask about I'm not going to blow it off. I'll definitely listen because I think they are honestly trying to help. There is a bunch of stuff being listed here I'll likely use and there is some I won't. But it isn't any less appreciated.

Thank you all for chiming in. To address a couple of points raised:

1) PFS isn't feasible out here currently due to distance, time, and travel. The closest PFS game right now is about a half hour away and when things are tight and you don't know any of them, running games out of your own home is probably for the best for now. I tend to do a lot of my own research anyways for games that I've run so I'm not opposed to doing it here either.

2) I understand the concern over rewarding XP but it's something I tend to do in all of my games. But I do appreciate the concern and suggestions

3) Thank you for the suggestions on what to watch for mechanics-wise (like the classes rkotitan suggested and the skills Mark mentioned). I am limiting what books they can draw from just like I do in any game I have that has a fairly massive library of content. I'm also going to keep it simple storyline wise. I have some content I have created and planned to have in the background but the first series is going to start off with Master of the Fallen Fortress and then on to Rise of the Rune Lords both scaled up some depending on what levels we have and how many players.

I've also given myself ample prep time as this game isn't starting until the beginning of December.

I'm mostly looking for cheesy, broken, beginning character types, or rules/mechanics that cause some concern and/or sometimes subject to abuse.

some are some aren't

To clarify: in your experience what talents, traits, feats, class combos caused you problems to start with (or still cause you problems). Depending on what incentives the players pick up the characters should be starting between levels 1-3.

By incentives I mean I reward XP to players for coming up with some backstory and creative character concepts.

Just looking for some tips to someone who will be running a new PF game as the DM. I'm not new to gaming (over 30 years worth) but PF is still pretty new as a system to me. I'm more familiar with the really old versions of D&D than Pathfinder.

So I was just hoping people could share some tips on what to avoid or what helped them when they first started.

Growing up I was a big original D&D, AD&D 1e and 2e fan. Played in Grayhawk a lot which had a lot to like as far as original modules go and played in Forgotten Realms when it first came out (and a little bit of Dragonlance).

FR became my mainstay when I played fantasy games and looking back I think FR started to get on a similar page as PF but never quite got there.

Having come back to fantasy games and PF in particular I love the attention to detail. Some of the classic monsters aren't just random monsters to be encountered. Goblins, Kobolds, Orcs, even Giants all have a level of character and backstory added to them. And Golarion exists on a number of layers. It isn't just "ok here is this city or this nation". They have a disaster story. Ancient kingdoms built on top of other lost kingdoms. They have a weird mix of deities and worshippers that alignment-wise can kind of overlap. And their adventure paths (at least the ones I've read) are meaty with potential.

The art is what really gets me though. I have honestly struggled to find pictures that made me go 'meh'. The maps are lovely, the interior design of the books looks nice, and it doesn't seem to detract or distract from reading.

I don't know about this whole one race dominance thing as I've never had or experienced this problem in any game I've run or heard it come from any player I've GM-ed for and I've been gaming for a long time. But to each their own I suppose.

I do worry about the bloat though, especially from having played Rifts quite a bit. I like what Pathfinder has now but I don't want to run into a situation where every time they publish a book 3-4 new classes pop up. This usually means some new rules and making classes harder to find and would eventually cause the core book to become obsolete/out of date and so on.

And thank you for adding the magic items to the main book. That always bugged me about the original AD&D books, even 3.5.

I've always seen Anti paladins as more than just CE but oh well. More like what Badger says in Firefly

Badger: Crime and politics, little girl. Situation is always fluid

Anyways thanks for the feed back!

yeah I'd like to know because that's kind of interesting if it is. Granted it's a home game so I could technically do what I want but I'd prefer to adhere to the published rules if possiblr

Ok so question: with Pathfinder many of the deities have worshippers that cross normal moral lines from the traditional D&D sense (example Abadar having worshippers that are good, neutral and evil potentially).

I'm finding I like it but I ran into a question I couldn't answer so I thought I'd ask it here: What exactly determines a paladin or anti paladin then? Is it possible to have a Lawful evil paladin of Abadar and/or a Chaotic Neutral anti paladin of Lamashtu?

I have the Guide to the River Kingdoms so then after I get the Inner Sea World Guide I think I'll snag the People of the River.

Awesome thank you everyone!

ok cool deal thank you everyone :) That sounds like my next buy.

Secondary question: Do you have any recommendations for the River Kingdoms supplement? Like a good complementary campaign guide? I'd assume one of the neighboring kingdoms would work but if there are any I'd like to get some feedback on one that people feel stands out.

During my subscription phase I ended up getting that book, Lost Kingdoms, and the Isles of the Shackles so since I have them I want to try and build around them eventually. But the River Kingdoms was my favorite of the ones I have currently

Is that the only one?

Question: I'm just getting into Pathfinder fully and I'm noticing there are a lot of campaign guides but I can't seem to find one main campaign book/set like old school D&D's Forgotten Realms or Greyhawk but plenty of Elminster Ecology styled guides.

Does Pathfinder have anything like this to help get one started? Because otherwise it's pretty cost prohibited to try and get into.

Any and all help is appreciated! :)

Having taken art commissions myself and having had some done for me I can see Deviantart is a good place to check. Problem you may run into is the time it takes to complete your request. I've had some that were pretty prompt and then I've had others that were months too late (example ordered at the beginning of Oct for a Christmas present and not finished until almost Feb after threatening to file a fraud case with my bank).

I tend to do 3d art work but if that's not your style many of the people I follow (listed as favorites on my dev art page) are also artists accepting commissions.

https://prophetx.deviantart.com/journal/New-Journal-new-features-219185493

thank you. I'll email him now

Given it's the 5th largest city in the United States I'm surprised I can't find one listed on the site via the search feature. Does anyone know of one in town some where? I went out as far as 50 miles from 85014 and I'm not seeing anything despite the fact that almost ALL I find in stores around here are Pathfinder products.