The Lone GM's page

I received Ruins of Azlant #3 and Dead Suns #2 in the mail this week and they are not in good shape. Both books were noticeably bent in transit in such a way that the front and back covers have distinct creases. I have pictures that I do not know how to post, but even then, unfortunately, my camera is of low quality.

I also have pictures of the envelope they shipped in, which was damaged enough that I only had to open half of the envelope to get the books out, as the rest was already flopping freely around.

Please don't let the lack of physical copies cause you to miss the experience.

It isn't so much the lack of physical copies, it is more that I had to choose between a desktop computer and a laptop and the desktop is in a different room than the gaming room. PDFs work great when I need to buy something for a reference that doesn't need to be directly on hand, but it doesn't go so well when I try running an adventure directly from it. I'd be saving so much money if it did. I just wish I had known about Pathfinder earlier than I did.

I know the potential for reprinting a specific AP has been discussed before, but I am kinda wondering if the video game may cause a new version to be printed. I have issues running games via pdf (there are a number of various reasons I am not going into) but I also enjoy seeing hard copies on my shelf. The first two books are going for ridiculous prices, and I'd rather my money go to Paizo directly and I would HAPPILY wait to snap up a compilation or new edition set if that happens to be a plan in the future.

On the other hand, if this looks like it will still be a never-to-reprint kind of situation, then I'd rather get which ones I can while they are reasonably priced now, and simply see about getting the first two pdfs professionally printed.

...we had a weird situation come up in our game, figured I could ask here if anywhere. If a shapeshifter, such as a doppelganger or spellcaster with lots of polymorph spells, constantly uses these abilities to take on the appearance of different deities for the purposes of fantasy fulfillment as a prostitute, will any of the deities send their champion or otherwise(not their followers)make a personal objection? Note, the shapeshifter is not claiming to be the deity, but is... actively using this ability as advertising for their Profession: Prostitute skill checks.

And what type of a bonus, if any, would you say that may grant?

Hello James, I have a question. Is there a canon method for destroying the Witchgates in Virlych? Emptying Renchurch of all inhabitants during Carrion Crown has led the party towards making long range plans towards the destruction of as much of the Tyrant's influence as possible, and they see the Witchgates as one of the keys. I've been making up info as they began using spells and heavy research, and I have come up with the idea of impaling each gate point with a holy weapon and then activating all the gates simultaneously, yet if there is a specific method of destruction it would be nice to know (as opposed to a monkey paw incident that occurred a week before getting Ultimate Equipment, lol)

I think the reason divine casters avoid spellbooks is twofold, beyond flavor. First, comparing the spells an arcane caster gets with those a divine caster gets, it should be noted that the arcane caster is far more flexible and has spells that require major expenditures by divine casters to even compare to. Permanency and Fabricate are two of the most useful spells I have run across when trying to get through something that can't be evaporated through damage. And thejeff's post just popped up on my screen, so not much point in continuing my end of it.

My group actually really enjoyed the way I ran the town. I don't see why the town'd be scared of minor illusions, considering the fact that they do sell some magic items and not everyone agreed with the jerks trying to ruin the funeral. I don't know what kind of "they're scared of us" act leads you to think that burning down a place you don't live in and can simply leave is a good reaction, though it makes sense if you're evil or even leaning strongly towards chaos.

Yes, I do agree that the priest looks undead, but the party enjoyed how he gave the rogue a verbal lashing when he tried to claim he worshipped Pharasma, due to being afraid the priest wouldn't let him in the church if he admitted to following Cayden.

I agree that the costs are there for balance, and one interesting aspect my friends and I have used once is a generational character system. It definitely requires planning ahead of time to maintain balance, but access to your great grandfather's spellbook can make for some interesting RP aspects, especially as it still costs materials to copy.

On a side note, I do not remember the last time I have seen a book or game that uses spell books the way Pathfinder/D&D does that isn't based on Pathfinder or D&D, which makes the genre convention argument get weird.

Seriously though, a wizard with knowledge of a target and time to prepare will have a higher chance of taking them out than any other class if they have been keeping up with their spells. The vulnerability and limitations of the book also encourage cunning wizards to grab spell mastery or some of those wizard only replacement feats in Ultimate Magic. Finally it allows the capture of enemy spells to supplement your own. My players actually caught on to a major plot point when they realized that the fact the enemy they took out did not have some of the spells they were running into in his books indicated there was another strong caster arrayed against them.

Name: Ssindal
Race: (Nagaji) Tengu
Classes/levels: Ninja 12
Adventure: Ashes at Dawn
Location: Party Camp
Catalyst: ...Himself
The Gory Details: Having been reincarnated, the ninja was horrified by his now weakened body. (Rolled a nat 00 on the table and I chose a different race from Dragon Empires for him)He handed the druid 1000 gold for the components and committed seppuku with instructions to try again.

I wish I was kidding, but technically he was within his rights and the party didn't mind, making him pay for his own casting of Greater Restoration when the Cleric leveled later on. Rolled a 01 (again, wish I was kidding) and he is happy with his new bugbear form, though he uses a hat of disguise at all times now.

I don't know if Barbarians can get a freedom of movement effect when raging, but you may wish to have something like that added to avoid Black Tentacles ruining the day. You could also have it instinctively try to sunder/disarm silver weapons where possible. The disarm works great when you have wolf pack helpers taking fallen weapons and running.

Well, it has definitely begun to be more interesting since my last post. Party using tactics, plans being made properly, good stuff.

They hit the first Witchgate via teleport spell. Due to some side mission issues, they knew witchgates existed and buffed for a fight, no problem there, and made short work of the hangman trees.

Then they asked me how to destroy it. I made a few secret knowledge rolls and told them they believe that the research would take more time then they have. They were fine with that and kept onwards. But seriously, as soon as they take down the big bad, I got issues. They know they are hitting Renchurch and that it is the bastion of power for the Whispering Way in Ustalav besides Gallowspire. Their ultimate goal is to ramp up and take out the tyrant. using the various suggestions in the Dungeons of Golarion book. Before this they aim to break his power in Ustalav as much as possible and that means not only the utter cleansing of all unlife in Renchurch, but the destruction of the witchgates.

Can anyone give me good advice for the devising a method for the destruction of Witchgates?

So far the best I can think of is to lay down a permanent teleportation circle on each gate, along with Hallow or consecrate and a stabbing with a holy silver weapon and then activate them simultaneously thus destroying the gates and weapons. That seems... iffy and I'd like advice as to tweaking it.

@Blackbot - I did talk to them about the rules thing, which is what led to the class, but I haven't mentioned my own lessened enjoyment. I have avoided helping them in combat lately for the most part, with the exception of telling them to sit down and really look at their character sheet. Actually at that point one of the other players looked at that person's sheet and spotted what she was missing.

@ThreeEyedSloth - I'm glad to hear you've got that motivation and I thank you for your advice. I am noticing that having the maps prepared is helping me too. I think I'm going to see if we can change gaming locations. There are a lot of issues with where we game that aren't helping the matter at all. I have tried making minis for certain characters and that helped a LOT in Harrowstone. I'm actually working on finding images of the major NPCs in CC and making minis like the Bestiary Box thing for them.

I guess one of the problems I am running into, which will be solved in Book 6, is that certain players are really keen on combat heavy sections, while others are into the investigative aspect and scouting. This leads to them constantly splitting up the party. Which wouldn't be too bad except the rogue's ability to share notes is made of hilarious fail. I think I am going to rule that as long as the rogue gets back fine she anything I told her is relayed to the party unless she holds stuff back. I write this here as your comments made me realize part of what I need to change to help fix certain issues and wish to thank you.

My real question concerns the maps of Carrion Crown. I tend to put the effort forth in making large grid maps (we don't have much computer support) for each dungeon and I was wondering if it is better to draw it as they explore it, or have all non-secret chambers and doors drawn and just describe as they move through them. I have the capabilities to make a map of even the interior areas found in the 6th book, but the first method slows the game down and can easily lead to errors while the second method may be spoilery.

Oh and does anyone else not mind if their players write on item cards associated with the adventure path?

That being said, this is my first time running for this particular group and it is like watching a concussed puppy try to go down an especially fast up escalator. It gets there eventually, but is in no shape to do much. The party's current composition are a Gunslinger, an Arcane Archer (replacing the dead summoner), a Rogue with no trap finding, a Ninja (replacing the pile of dust that was the fighter) and a brand new Cleric of Pharasma (who replaced the Sorceress that replaced the Magus) with the Oracle, being the only character who originally had magic healing or any Knowledges beyond Local, having left the game for good (as well as being the only person besides me who bothered to learn any rules) and I am seriously wondering how they are going to make it through the final adventure. So far the biggest single reason they have survived is the Rogue's ability to UMD a wand of Hold Monster and the Gunslinger never being afraid to wade in and Coup de Grace. I have actually had to hold a class in place of a gaming session to teach them how Base Attack bonuses, Saving Throws, Skill checks, and Spell Casting work which would be excusable if it didn't happen after more than a year of gaming, during Book 5 of Carrion Crown. The ONE good thing is that when the player made the Cleric of Pharasma she based it off domains and chose Healing and Knowledge because the party finally realized how useful those were and not off the campaign itself, as they had forgotten any associated benefits of Pharasma and were mystified when I explained them. They also tend to forget they have Harrow Cards until the moment of death and only after a not so subtle reminder to read Box X from their character sheet. I am rather afraid of implementing things like Hero points or the Pathfinder Society Fame/Prestige options. In fact they seem to forget anything but the weapon in hand at that moment, with the exception of the rogue, who has the tendency to be less effective as a player as more people appear in the party. This does not count the fact that his average roll is 3 and his most common die roll is the Nat 1.

Sorry, I needed to rant to people who may understand the desire to just shake one's head sadly, give a loud drawn out sigh, stand up and walk away with no further explanation. Is there any good way to avoid burnout? We've already had one break due to player issues and the players are still having fun. My enjoyment is back and forth due to the fact that I feel that they don't seem to pay attention beyond the moment at hand.

Hoping to get a bit of clarification here, but do the whips only float for 4 rounds or is it the whole hour they exist?

Regardless of the answer I must admit that feather tokens are one of the more useful yet underutilized things I have seen. Then again, my last game I was a player in shied away from limited use items.

As Gunslingers level they get more useful, especially considering things like targeted shot, which you may notice has nothing in it about saving throws. Another aspect is deadshot, which allows a gunsilnger to roll an attack for every attack his BAB (and effects like haste) allow him to have as a full round action for 1 grit. If even one hits, then the attack is successful. For every hit that occurs he adds the weapon's damage die. If even one threatens critical, the gunslinger gets a chance to confirm with a penalty that is reduced as more threats occur. This can be reduced to 0 grit at lvl 11 with a feat. Ditto targeting.

The biggest thing about a gunslinger is the fact that they use touch attacks to hit. It does take a bit to get the ball rolling, but with a proper array of feats and some enchantment (which every character will look into as they level) a gunslinger can be a very valuable addition. The party I am running for has a Musket Master gunslinger who constantly dead shots the enemies (his deeds and feats means he reloads once per round as a free action) and makes his own ammo.

I realize a number of people have house ruled the different feats and deeds to make it stronger or weaker as they see fit, and I guess your campaign can as well, though I honestly see no reason to. Targeting doesn't effect creatures immune to sneak attack, which includes anyone able to use uncanny dodge and confusing an undead doesn't work.

No, NO, NNNOOOOOOO!

Please, to me these things are the sparkly vampires of D&D lore. Please let them be buried very deeply in faults of creatures that never see the light of day again.

Of course, that's just my opinion.

I'll admit, I would like to see some kind of warforged or other constructed race. I have been a fan of a construct based race since 2nd edition. I just hope whatever take is made on it is a well incorporated storyline. (Then again, I did run a Ravenloft campaign where we had an awakened plant (small crab apple tree) druid, so we have some interesting options over here)

I agree with the dragon born comment though. Dragons feel like they should be special and end-gamey. It kind of feels like a rip off to see everyone running around with a cheap knock off, especially after they stopped having special restrictions after 3ed. Lizard folk fit that scale based niche just fine, with half-dragon working just as well if allowed.

Greylurker wrote:

I would like to see some expansion on the Changeling race introduced in Carrion Crown.

Beyond that I would like to see them touch on Half-Breed races that aren't human blood. A Half-Orc who is half dwarf for example or a Tiefling from Halfling ancestry.

More options for the Changeling seconded,

Most half-races are templates, only half-Elf and half-Orc are base races.
A Halfling with demon blood exists in the 3.x Fiend Folio, but I get where your coming at. I make my own touch-race templates to do what you are wanting

More options for changeling bumped. They very quickly became my favorite race for some reason. I would especially hope for favored class options, more traits (for all races) and possibly racial feats.