The Numerator's page

Pardon if this has been answered already, but a search of the threads didn't turn up a straight answer on this.

My wife is looking to start prepping Tyrant's Grasp for a solo play-through for the two of us, and as a way to test the waters with GMing a game.

However, we are currently playing through Carrion Crown with a separate group, where I'm GMing and she's one of the players. They're about 2/3rd through book 1, and have already figured out a few of the basic points, namely:

So is there information in the GM materials in the Tyrant's Grasp AP that would cause any major spoilers for her play of Carrion Crown? I'm thinking things like who the major NPCs are that behind the events in CC, some of whom I've already started weaving into the the earlier chapters (as allies). Or possibly some of the other major questions that they need to investigate, or something that would take the magic out of the mysteries they need to solve in CC?

For the past few years, our group has been tracking initiative using a small (11"x14") magnetic dry-erase board I picked up at staples (around $25, I think?). I had picked up a flexible magnetic sheet, and cut rectangles on which to write our PC's names. However, the name tags were really hard to move/remove from the board, and there wasn't enough space on the board to have permanent initiative counts: we would just put the PCs in relative order, and three rounds later would forget what the actual initiative counts were. Every so often the board would get knocked off the nail it was on, and we'd spend 15 minutes digging through the couch trying to find the stupid name tags. Lastly, after playing the pirate campaign (and swimming a TON), I decided I wanted to build a depth/height board to easily visualize a third axis for flying/swimming, which is not easily seen on the battle mat.

I priced out a larger magnetic board, but to get one large enough to handle both initiative and the depth chart, it was going to be almost $100! That seemed a bit much, so I figured I'd make one myself. I've been mulling over new solutions, and finally came up with this!

Magnetic Initiative Board and Depth Tracker

Initially I was going to buy a piece of sheet metal and paint it with dry erase paint. However, I recently inherited a set of white 31"x23" magnet boards from Ikea (though I'm not going to leave any wet erase marker on it for long, just to be safe).

I picked up 2 rolls of 1/8" black pin striping (for cars, should find some at any auto store) to make the grid. I carefully measured out 1 & 1/16" from each prior line, and used that as the center for the new stripe; the resulting squares are each exactly 1" inside. When we have someone flying or swimming, we'll just draw a line in wet erase marker to indicate the surface of the water or ground, and put a marker for each person to indicate their vertical position relative to the others. This way, spell/range increments are easy to visualize and calculate.

Then for the initiative board, I made a quick template in Excel (found here, feel free to use) which created 3/4" tall initiative labels. I printed this onto a removable full-sheet label (Avery 6470 for reference), cut the three strips, and carefully layered them on the left side. Another option would be to stick these to the magnetic sheet, listed above, but this seemed easier.

Lastly, for character markers, I wanted something that would be strong enough to resist get knocked off the board, but be movable quickly mid-battle. The solution was a 50 pack of circular flexible magnets (.75"), and a set of 60 square wooden alphabet tiles (also .75"), both found at Michael's for cheap. Some super glue and a day later, and these things work well! I shook the board pretty hard, and they didn't budge, but the corners of the squares allow you to easily pop them off the board with your hand to position them. The only down side was that for some reason, the tile set didn't come with any Ks! 3 Q's, sure, but no Ks... too bad for Kynatheria (one of our PCs).

All in, the project only cost me $19, due to the inherited metal board and glue/labels, which were already here with our home art supplies. If you don't have any materials it would cost around $55, and to make a surface that is definitely wet/dry erase safe would be closer to $65-$70. If you wanted to skip the label sheet and instead print on paper and tape it down, that would bring it closer to $35 (or $50 with paint).

Ikea board ($13),
- or sheet metal ($9) and dry erase paint ($15-$20)
Removable label ($18)
Pinstripe ($3 each, probably could get away w/ 1 but I used 2)
Magnets ($8)
Tiles ($5)
Super Glue ($3)

After reading many of the Tales novels, I've finally put aside the one-off books and have been going through all the David Gross stories (chronologically with the short stories and and AP fiction, thanks to Itchy and others' posts).

First off, I've loved them as much as I'd imagined, based on people's feedback. Great job Dave Gross!!!

I'm about 2/3rds of the way through Queen of Thorns, and I just got the the point where they explain Radovan's devil form, and you see him come back as/with Viridio. However, I was having a hard time imagining him (he sounded very scorpion-like, but that didn't match any of the devils I could remember), so I thought I'd check the bestiaries to ID him. Is Viridio a Bone Devil? That was the one that seemed closest... or is he just a unique devil created for the story?

That got me to thinking: what sort of devil was Norge? Bearded? Barbed? He didn't have a tail, but that could just be flavor, since neither of those types have a tail attack. I do remember him grappling, so Barbed seemed to make sense.

Also, as far as game mechanics terms, is Radovan at this point a Devilbound Creature (from Bestiary 4)?

Sorry if all of this is answered later in this book or the next few... If that's the case, just tell me to keep reading! But I like to peek behind the curtain of the books, so to speak, and see if I can find the strings that make it move ;) I figured it would be fun to hear what others thought when they were reading it too.

This came up in my (non-PFS) game recently: a PC purchased an amulet of mighty fists, but instead of +1 it just has the Spell Storing special ability. During the last combat, the PC had shocking grasp stored in it, and then cast shocking grasp as a touch spell on the BBEG... hit the baddie with the free touch attack as part of the casting, and then used that touch attack to discharge the stored shocking grasp. In essence, casting 2 spells in the same round.

So can a touch attack be used to deliver the Spell Storing? Or maybe looking at it another way, does the Amulet of Mighty Fists apply to touch attacks?

Here's what I could find from the rules (emphasis mine):

Spell Storing: A spell storing weapon allows a spellcaster to store a single targeted spell of up to 3rd level in the weapon. (The spell must have a casting time of 1 standard action.) Anytime the weapon strikes a creature and the creature takes damage from it, the weapon can immediately cast the spell on that creature as a free action if the wielder desires.

AMULET OF MIGHTY FISTS:

This amulet grants an enhancement bonus of +1 to +5 on attack and damage rolls with unarmed attacks and natural weapons.

Alternatively, this amulet can grant melee weapon special abilities, so long as they can be applied to unarmed attacks. See Table: Melee Weapon Special Abilities for a list of abilities.

Unarmed Attacks: Striking for damage with punches, kicks, and head butts is...

Natural Attacks: Attacks made with natural weapons, such as claws and bites, are melee attacks that can be made against any creature within your reach

Touch Attacks: Touching an opponent with a touch spell is considered to be an armed attack and therefore does not provoke attacks of opportunity

So trying to connect the dots, it sounds like the requirement for spell storing is that the attack with which it is delivered damage the creature on its own. Additionally, the spell storing amulet only modifies unarmed strikes and natural attacks (which becomes the "weapon" for the special ability), both of which are defined in Combat as their own attacks that do damage. Combat then defines a touch attack in its own right, and since the amulet description does not list touch attacks with the Unarmed Strike/Natural Attack, it would then not modify the touch attack (unless there is a held charge that is discharged in subsequent rounds as part of a unarmed strike or natural attack). In addition, the fact that a touch attack is considered armed would also lend weight to the fact that it is not considered an unarmed strike.

However, am I being too literal in how these are defined? Is it supposed to be just common sense that an Amulet of Mighty Fists modifies touch attacks, since they are using hands and not weapons?

Currently, I'm leaning toward ruling that in order for the amulet to discharge the spell, the PC must use an actual unarmed strike or natural attack (against full AC, not touch) but I'd really like to hear from other players on my interpretation of the rules above.

Hey all!

I just created this Town Stat Tool on the fly tonight, and figured I'd share for any GMs that are interested. It's an excel tool in which you input a few key items, and it re-formats the info into a town stat block. I also included a small FAQ about what checks the town stats modify... I figure this can work as a decent handout to my players, for when they get to a new town.

Just a side note, google drive is doing odd things in the preview window with the print layout. The actual file prints onto a single page, once you download it.

This version requires you to put most values in manually, but eventually I'm going to try to work in some functions that adjust the Crime, Corruption, etc stats automatically once you choose the town features.

Any feedback is appreciated. Enjoy!

Chris

This moment had me giddy when I read it...

“...Who do we know who could help us out, Genthia, in terms of leading another team?"

The pirate captain cocked her head, musing. "Well, there's always Gad..."
Skiver shook his head. "Nah, he'd want to take over and run the whole thing his own way. Not to say he couldn't, I've never known a better man when it comes to conjuring up a plan, but I've already got ideas about how to do this thing, and adding Gad would be too many cooks in the kitchen. What about Rodrick and Hrym? Didn't I hear they were blundering around in the north recently?"
The name Rodrick rang a faint bell for Alaeron, though he wasn't sure why. Genthia shook her head anyway. "No, I heard they took passage down south to some island in the Obari Ocean, working on yet another scheme to get rich or die trying, I'm sure. They're too far away to do us any good...”

Excerpt From: Pratt, Tim. “Reign of Stars.” Paizo Inc., 2014-08. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.

Firstly, it's fun when an author references characters from another of their books, and I loved Liar's Blade. Even more, he references the web fiction that introduced the main characters from both books (and was very true to Alaeron's arrogance, not even remembering the guy he left for dead to escape an awakened Linnorm!). But then he gives us (I think) a FABULOUS teaser for the upcoming Rodrick and Hrym book!

Best of all, he references Gad, beloved rogue and schemer from Robin Laws' books, AP, and web fiction! This was a fabulous touch, and made this world seem that much more realistic.

Turning the "here's the plan" exposition into a who's who of Golarion's criminal masterminds... brilliant!

So a PC in my Runelords game is becoming a Hellknight.

I've got a really fun scenario I'm adapting from here on the boards (courtesy of James B. Cline), though in that he has the PC fighting a Dretch Demon, not a devil. I wanted to swap it out w/ a Devil, but I've never run a solo scenario, and I don't want to kill my PC (or make it a cakewalk).

So, do you think it more appropriate to use a CR3 Zebub Devil against a lvl 4 Two Handed specialist armored fighter (played by an experienced gamer)? Or should I push and go with a Bearded Devil (CR5)?

I had heard that a solo encounter should be APL-3, so that really puts him as a lvl 1 party. Given that, a CR3 would be a difficult but winnable battle.

My hesitancy is that one crit from him could almost drop the Zebub (30 HP). He's got Overhand Chop, power attack, and weapon focus, so his normal bonus dmg is +12 when he hits. Plus, the Zebub's AC is 17, so I'm thinking he'll only last 2-3 rounds. The environment won't allow the demon's flight to help it that much, so the best tactic I could think of would be use grease to limit his movement while invisible, then get it position, attack, and fly away (giving one AoO). However, after the first time, he's going to just ready to attack when he appears, so again, 1-2 rounds and he should be dropped.

But when I look at the Bearded Devil, the AC/HP seemed more like a challenge, but I didn't know if the damage it deals could too easily drop the PC. From the CR guidance above, I'm not sure I'd want to give a CR5 to a group of lvl 1 PCs... so I'm torn.

Thoughts?

Getting close to the end of BO with my group, and I had a fun idea with Malfeshnekor, but I'd love to get some advice from the RotR vets out there!

The Party - 5 experienced players in a well-balanced party (already at lvl 4). They had been steamrolling encounters prior to meeting Nualia w/ limited resources... a crit from Bruthazmus' bow dropped one PC, and they fled.

Assuming that the party handles Nualia ok after coming back w/ full resources, I was brainstorming how to handle Malfeshnekor. They know that Nualia was looking to find a secret weapon down here, but that's about all.

I was thinking when the party finds the door, that Mal could have shape shifted into a Direwolf, and try to bluff his way out of his prison... realizing that his hope for release left with Nualia, he could use guile to get them to release him. He could try to convince them that he was an Awakened Direwolf, who fought as a General for the kind and gentle Lady Alaznist in the great wars. He was captured by her foul enemies, and imprisoned here all this time. The magic of the statue has sustained him (they already ID'd that there is some sort of magic air cleaning system), and he longs for release.

The other tactic would be that since Wisdom is needed for him to communicate, he can only speak w/ the Cleric of the party (who is a CN Necromancer who specializes in Command Undead Channeling). I thought Mal could pretend to be a spirit of a wolf, killed in the cataclysm 1000 years ago and his soul has been trapped here. That would very much play into the cleric's MO (his undead are his only friends), and I can't imagine that he's pass up the chance to get a "ghost puppy". It would alsy be funny for the rest of the party, since only he can hear it (they already think he's crazy).

In any case, I'd try to throw in just enough clues to make them wary, but with his bluff he could convince them. After he's released, he'd try to eat them, and at half HP decide to run away. He could then be a nice red herring for the Skinsaw Murders...

However, in doing this I'd completely lose the element of surprise. I do like the idea of the PCs finding a locked room, open the door with the key, see it's empty (Mal being Invisible) and just walking in to loot it. That's a great setup for Dominate in surprise round, full attack round 2. But if I go w/ either bluff tactic and they don't choose to release him, then they will know something is in the room and be wary if it looks empty.

It seems like Mal would value freedom over a quick slaughter, but I didn't know if I'm giving away too much but trying to communicate with the party first. Thoughts?

Newish GM looking for advice regarding how often squeeze rules should be applied:

The squeeze rule states "In some cases, you may have to squeeze into or through an area that isn't as wide as the space you take up." How often should this be applied?

I understand the obvious small tunnels or hiding in closets, but in practice it seems impractical. Many (if not most) squares in the published AP maps are not a full 5'. Does this mean that anytime someone is in a square that is partially cut by a diagonal, or shortened by the depth of a wall, that they should be getting the -4 penalties due to squeezing? Or is that being too literal with the reading of "isn't as wide as the space you take up"?

I'd be curious to know how often other GMs are applying this...

The New Spells featured at the back of the AE (p.418)... what is the intent on these spells? Are these spells intended to be available and mentioned to the players at the start of the game? Should these be only available after a certain event? Should I space them out as the players are able to cast them?

My original thought was to include them as scrolls or in spell books so the players can learn of them as they level up. However, we have a spontaneous caster in our group, so I want to make sure he knows about them in enough time to be able to choose them at the appropriate level. In addition, many of the spells are divine as well, so I'm not sure if they should just be part of this world, or if I should make a moment where our cleric's Deity reveals the spells to him?

How did others handle these?

I'm trying to come up w/ a correct DC for Identifying and Saving vs. the Waters of Lamashtu found in the Catecombs B12. As I've always been terrible at the art of item creation, so I wanted to get some input to see if I've got this wrong...

The main questions that seemed to impact the calcs were:
1) Is the basin just Waters of Lamashtu (a divine spell) cast w/ Permanency (an arcane spell)?
2) Is the basin actually a magic item, like a Decanter of Endless Water?
3) If it's an item, is it considered Cursed?

First the save against the effects -
The spell is 3rd level, so in building the DC should I assume that the caster had at least a 13 Wis required to cast the spell? That would make the DC 14(10+3+1). But if the the basin is considered a magic item per above, would the creation be more difficult than a low level cleric could handle? If so, then should I assume the Wis bonus of the creator was higher, and thus the save higher would also be higher?

Now for Identifying it -
The spell as mentioned is 3rd level, so if the alter is actually #1 above (active spell), the DC to ID it would be 18 (15+3).

Should the check be vs. a magic item (per #2 above), then there is the question as to what the CL of the basin is. Assuming minimum to cast the spell (like a wand or scroll) would give DC 20 (15+5).

However, using a Decanter of Endless Water as a proxy (lvl 4 spell pre-req intead of lvl 3 spell here), the CL for the decanter is 9th, so that would increase the DC to 24 (15+9). Perhaps since the base spell is one level less for the Water of Lamashtu, that would reduce the DC by 2 (15+7).

Lastly, and this has the largest bearing on the check... is Waters of Lamashtu considered cursed? If so, then per the cursed item rules that would increase the DC by 10, and otherwise it would look to have a positive effect. If cursed, now we're looking at DC 32 to ID the water as not so tasty.

The description of the water in RotR was not so appealing, but the description in Inner Sea World Guide was more tricksy (looks like clean, pure water). I think I'm leaning toward the latter here, so there is a good chance the PCs might try some. Worst case, I'm thinking that if Erylium retreats to heal, she'll probably come back w/ some vials of the stuff to pour on unsuspecting PCs. Either way, it's likely I'll need the DCs for this, so I figured I'd ask rather than fudge on the fly...

Hi All!

New(ish) GM running RotRL for the first time, using the anniversary edition. I've been doing a ton of work on Sandpoint, working w/ my Jade books (I'm also running that on the side), to make the town feel very real.

As I was pulling together a quick reference sheet for myself, I found a discrepancy I thought I'd ask about.

In the town stat block, it mentions that Spellcasting services are up to level 4 spells. However, I just went through all the NPCs listed in the Sandpoint Appendix, and I couldn't find anyone who could cast any spells over level 3. The best option was Madame Mvashti (who seems kind of cranky), and that's only assuming that her Theurge level was applied to her arcane side. Other than her, the best available would be 3 clerics, 1 wizard, 1 bard, and 1 alchemist (potions only) who can access level 2 spells.

So... where all the Cleric 7s at?

My assumption is that perhaps that spell casters come up from Magnimar and set up in the market to sell their services, but it seemed harsh to limit spell casting to once per week, especially if the PCs are dealing w/ massive ability damage or a cursed item. Am I missing something obvious? If not, how did other GMs handle it?

In our home game, we've always had a mechanic in place where, provided the weight of a character doesn't exceed the max carrying load of another PC, they can tie a rope around them and lower them down/pull them up a cliff or other climbing obstacle. Usually there is some sort of STR check, with an unspecified DC (I've mostly been using 10) to make sure they don't drop the rope. Mostly this is done outside of battle, and turns/distances haven't been an issue. However, in a recent game this happened in initiative, and suddenly our simple house rule really complicated matters.

As I've been thinking about it, I'm wondering if there is any basis in the rules for something along these lines. I searched the boards and didn't see anything, so I figured I'd throw it out to the community.

It makes logical sense, and RAI you could easily say it would be a legit use of a STR check. What I'm concerned about is that we are removing the need for a legitimate climb check (with DCs specified in the rules) for all but the last PC down or first one up, thus dampening the impact that the climb skill has on the game.

This came up in a game last night, and I wanted to get some outside thoughts on this.

We have an Oracle of Stone who has Magic Stone as a bonus spell, and Mighty Pebble as a chosen Revelation. The question came up as this... can he cast Magic Stone on three pebbles and then use Mighty Pebble with one of those pebbles, and in doing so would the damages stack.

Here is the text for the two spells/abilities:

Magic Stone: You transmute as many as three pebbles, which can be no larger than sling bullets, so that they strike with great force when thrown or slung. If hurled, they have a range increment of 20 feet. If slung, treat them as sling bullets (range increment 50 feet). The spell gives them a +1 enhancement bonus on attack and damage rolls. The user of the stones makes a normal ranged attack. Each stone that hits deals 1d6+1 points of damage (including the spell's enhancement bonus), or 2d6+2 points against undead.

Mighty Pebble (Su): As a standard action, you can charge and throw a pebble (or other stone of similar size) that detonates when it strikes a target as a ranged attack. The pebble has a range increment of 20 feet and has a +1 enhancement bonus to attack and damage for every four oracle levels you possess. Any creature struck by the pebble takes 1d6 points of bludgeoning damage per two oracle levels you possess (minimum 1d6). Creatures in squares adjacent to the target take half damage, or no damage if they make a Reflex saving throw. If the attack roll misses, treat the pebble as a thrown splash weapon to determine where it lands. You can use this ability once per day, plus one additional time per day at 5th level and every five levels thereafter.

On the one hand, the damage listed in one is bludgeoning, and the other is untyped, so you would think that the damages could stack. On the other hand, one is a spell and the other a Supernatural ability, so I wasn't sure if there were any rules regarding how those can overlap.

My ruling at the table was that they did not, and here was my logic: in the Magic Stone spell, it says "The user of the stones makes a normal ranged attack", while in the description of Mighty Pebble it starts with "As a standard action". The fact that Mighty Pebble is its own standard action, and not a "normal ranged attack", would means that something which enhances a normal attack would not be applicable to the Mighty Pebble ability (much like trying to use shot on the run and rapid shot, where both are their own separate full round actions).

However, I wasn't sure if I was taking RAW too literally here, and thought I could use some input as to how others would rule this. Any help would be appreciated!

Quick rules question to throw out there, as I'd love to get other's impressions of this. We are playing with PF rules, so that could be where the disconnect is coming from.

Last Friday, The Uncalled Four took on Drakthar for the 3rd time. I (GM) decided to go with the wolf tactic, where in the book it states that Drakthar attempts to trip them, and then use pin to do his blood drain. He charged a member, had a successful bite attack, and then confirmed the trip with the CM.

I realized that next, since a trip doesn't give them the grappled condition, there was nothing stopping her from standing up during her turn (other than the AoO it would prompt). If she did, then he could attack/trip again, but that would need another 2 successful attacks. Then on his turn he could initiate a grapple, and on the turn following (assuming she didn't break the grapple) he could attempt to pin/drain her.

Am I missing something? This would seem like he would need 6 successful attack or CM rolls over the course of 3 rounds in order to do his Blood Drain! Best case, if she didn't attept to stand, it would be 4 rolls over 3 rounds.

Is there anything in RAW stating that tripping gives you the grappled condition, or that you can attept a pin without grappling first if a foe is prone? I was going to house rule that his trip initiated a grapple, thus making it just 3 checks over 2 rounds, but I'm always hesitant to make new rules just because it doesn't seem right...

It ended up becoming a moot point, as the group trashed him before he got back to his turn. However, I was curious what other people thought of this.

When we started SCAP, four of the five players in my group decided to take the traits in the back of the book, and we decided to use them as written. We are, however, playing with PF rules, and now that we're almost done with 2 chapters, I'm contemplating changing the Traits such that they do not get the downside, similar to how PF traits work.

My question for you all is this: do you think the Traits are balanced enough as is if I were to remove the penalties, or should I reduce the bonus to the trait as well?

Here are the traits they've taken:
Scarred Soul - +2 Init, house ruled 10% chance to reroll critical 1; -1 Will save
Dream Haunted - No penalty when Fatigued; -2 save vs. madness or insanity, sleep.
Long Shadowed - auto stabilize, Negative Energy resist 5; Magic Healing reduced -1 per level
Touched in the Head - +1 on saves vs. mind effecting, confusion, insanity; -1 on Wisdom Skills

My first thought was remove the house rule on Scarred soul (which that player was ok with), and leave the others as is but without the negative side. In particular, the Long Shadowed one has been bad for our Rogue, who has been close to death a few times.

Thoughts?

Is the AC listed for Kallev wrong?

I'm converting NPCs and BBEGs to Pathfinder using HeroLab, and I'm noticing that the AC isn't matching up for Kallev. The stat block in the back of the AP is listing her AC as 16 (12 T; 14 FF).

However, I'm thinking it should be 17: Dex +2, Dodge +1, Armor +4 (+1 Studded Leather). HeroLab also came out with 17, so I was going to just go with that.

Before I did, however, I wanted to try to validate the 16 in the book. I'm a first time GM, so building creature stats is new to me. I wasn't sure if there was something I wasn't taking into account, or if the designers just downgraded her AC to balance it with the DR/Resist she gets with her tiefling traits? I looked in the Bestiary, and didn't notice anything in the tiefling build to indicate a -1 to AC. Could this just be an oversight, not adding in the +1 from the enchantment or Dodge bonus?

First time GM here, looking for some ideas.

I'm running SCAP with a group of fairly experienced gamers, and one Noob. The party consists of a Bard, Oracle, Rogue, Paladin, and Alchemist. The Alchemist is the Noob, and after they took apart my Grell, she brilliantly decided to bottle some of the Grell blood in the empty flasks. I thought I would reward her with the ability to research a fun item, probably along the lines of the Grell's regenerative properties. However, I figured I'd first throw the idea out to the community here to see if there were any thoughts.