The ShadowShackleton's page

OK, so one of my player characters speaks Aklo, and it seems likely they'll be able to negotiate the Ether Spiders out of the vault non-violently. That means I'll be dealing with the Xill...but I can't figure out how that's supposed to work.

Xill have no way, as written, to travel between planes but their innate, limited Plane Shift spell, but there's no indication that it takes them less time than the 10 minutes it usually takes to cast, and it also doesn't indicate that it functions differently regarding arrival location than the spell as written. By my reading, the enraged Xill would cast Plane Shift and end up *somewhere* on Golarion 10 minutes later, which is unlikely to be anywhere near Absalom, and by which time my players will probably already have wandered off to the next candidate bank-job target so the Xill wouldn't find them where they left them anyway, even if I handwave the location thing. Should I handwave the location and casting time? By how much?

Anyone have any advice on this? Mr. Sayre, any clarifications on intent?

I wouldn't worry about it. PF2 is full of monster abilities that don't work exactly the way they do for the players. If he is hunting the spiders who is to say he isn't equipped with a consumable that he uses to chase them?

I changed his name to the Whisperer and my players still singled him out.

I went with the name "The Preacher" which so far seems to have misled them to think more along the lines of an evil cleric.

I have a glyph and also a campaign coin for an extra hero point.

Oh wow that is brutal. Real life comes first.

Woot! Success.

Woot!

Now that you have made me such a lovely token, is there a way for me to export or extract it to add to my character for future use? I can't seem to drag a copy out of google slides.

Making round tokens is easy, but not very obvious; Slides has an Image Mask option in the top menu.

1. Select the image
2. Select the Mask dropdown and select the circle shape option (or whatever other shape you want)
3. Add a border to the now-masked image
4. Select weight and color

Video Example on Gifycat (15s)

This is just for educational purposes; I don't mind making it round for you myself, but if you want to try it out, you can!

That is awesome! Thank you so much for explaining it for me!

Yikes, indeed it seems pretty hopeless. I think if they have a chance it is due to this:

The ShadowShackleton wrote:

they heavily barricaded the door to the basement from above so that no one would sneak up to surprise them.

How "heavily barricaded" are we talking about? Depending on the type of barricade, maybe you can prepare some scenarios, skill checks or other possibilities for them to somehow get past it. Alternatively, they might survive by holing up somewhere in the basement and stealthily resting.

The words they gave me was they were going to spend an hour to "barricade the s2#t out of that door".

The issue was that the whole place would be on fire AND they would still be fighting creatures on their way out, including the BBG who was now trapped along with them.

In the end they randomly picked the least two of the three deadly doors and all was well.

Unicore wrote:

Too late to edit, but yes, the vampiric touch spell as a third level spell against level 1 characters is an insta-death for most PCs.

Someone suggested an addition to Hero Point use, which I've added to my campaign:

"Spend all your Hero Points (minimum 1) to convert death into a critical hit. You can do this when faced with instant death such as from massive damage. This is resolved as if you lost all your hit points to a critical hit: normally you become unconscious, drop held items, lose all your hit points and gain Dying 2."

(This being a third way to use HPs on top of the regular two)

The 6d6 Vampiric Touch in AoE caused me to make a house rule that you can use all your remaining hero points to turn an instant death effect into Drained 1.

And that was against a 3rd level party…. They definitely should errata those spell choices at least.

Have an interesting session coming up tonight. My party had cleared out the entire second floor and explored the final room, which dumped them down a chute to the basement. The other members of the party climbed down.

Now they are badly hurt, tapped out of spells for the most part and have 3 doors to choose from, 2 of which almost certainly lead to their death.

The craziest part is they heavily barricaded the door to the basement from above so that no one would sneak up to surprise them.

How is this not going to be a TPK? If nothing else Pratchett will set fire to the place and then he and the entire party will find themselves trapped while the building burns down around them.

Should be an interesting session!

I had Mrs Honeywell from the Dreaming Palace be a hostage in the bank robbery. She is still angry at the Edgewatch for arresting that lovely man Hendrix Pratchett and has threatened to press charges for the injury she took while they were freeing her from the bank robbers.

She also immediately did an interview with Reginald Vancaskerin within hearing of the PCs.

Missed that word. Make it a morningstar.

1) redward @ "teen detective" Investigator or Spontaneous Caster

2) Tarondor @ "fast-talking" Rogue / Martial Artist
3) Blake's Tiger @ "pirate gambler" Oracle or "strength-based" Swashbuckler
4) Quentin Coldwater @ "refined" Swashbuckler or a Rogue
5) TOZ @ Options include human monk, elven ranger, aasimar paladin, and halfling rogue
6) rainzax @ Hammid, Desert Elf Ruin Delver Cleric / Archeologist
7) Junelee @ Half Elf Bibliophile Sorcerer or maybe a Druid
8) zer0darkfire @ Ruin Delver Monk / Bastion w/ Rain of Embers
9) Doug Hahn @ Bibliophile "melee character" w/ Marshal archetype
10) DM Dfsearles @ Alchemist either "strength based feral" Orc or "DEX based bomb thrower" Elf
11) Saint Bernard de Clairveaux @ not: Truc Kifeda Pham (Investigator/Ranger w/ Shory Aeromancy)
12) The ShadowShackleton @ Duskwalker Hobgoblin or Gnome Barbarian or Halfling Cleric of Abadar
13) GM Doug Henderson @ male Changeling Witch w/ Patron of Gauntlight / Abomination Vaults
14) Farol @ "old" Orc Veteran turned Druid w/ shield
15) Ms. Bloodrive @ Half-elf (or "exotic") Fighter / Witch w/ polearm
16) Hrothdane @ Still musing...

Trying to keep it summarized, if I mis-represented you, I'll fix it quick!

Sorry to create confusion. The characters for #12 were just examples of other characters I am playing but I have now posted my proposed character for this campaign.

In keeping with the mildly unhinged nature of this character, I am thinking any magical abilities he has will be explained away by him as pulling assistance from other dimensions or the darkness itself. So a mirror image might be a matter of temporarily pulling versions of himself partially through the veil separating us from other dimensions to serve as a distraction. Definitely someone who means well but has been touched by contact with some darker forces.

I am most definitely interested.

1. I am in a few PBP's now but am still relatively new to it. I have lots of experience with PF2 though (2 glyphs, former VC) and have been part of PFS since Season Zero.

2. I run a ghost tour company in Canada and love me some spooky stuff.

3. I am more than happy to fill gaps in the rest of the party. I usually like to build quirky characters with unusual combinations that are fun to play with. Currently playing a Duskwalker Hobgoblin, a hilarious Gnome Barbarian specialized in throwing large objects and a Halfling Cleric of Abadar who runs a "slightly used dungeon goods" business on the side.

Will give some thought to an interesting character that can fill any gaps in the rest of the party.

Ok the above were just examples of my characters but I have thought of who I would want to play.

Brocket the Dwarf, uncharitably nicknamed Bogbreath by the local children, is often seen engaging in an unhinged rant about monsters and voices in the swamp on the corners of Otari. He is treated with kindness by the locals as an expert on the Fogfen Swamp. Though initially distrusted and reviled by many in town, he earned a place of respect when he rescued a local child who wandered into the swamp many years ago. Since then, the local merchants treat him with kindness and feed him when he isn't off crawling through the swamps. He has been a local fixture for so long that most can't remember a time when he wasn't around.

Some say he can draw upon occult powers that he draws from the darkness itself, or even the ghosts of the swamp, though that may only be baseless rumours. All the same. he has survived in an unforgivable environment for longer than most could, so he must have some means to defend himself. He is often hired as a scout by those looking to explore the local haunts.

Brocket will be a Dwarf with the Fogfen Taleteller background. Leaning toward a Witch (Night), or maybe a Ranger but class etc. is flexible.

I am most definitely interested.

1. I am in a few PBP's now but am still relatively new to it. I have lots of experience with PF2 though (2 glyphs, former VC) and have been part of PFS since Season Zero.

2. I run a ghost tour company in Canada and love me some spooky stuff.

3. I am more than happy to fill gaps in the rest of the party. I usually like to build quirky characters with unusual combinations that are fun to play with. Currently playing a Duskwalker Hobgoblin, a hilarious Gnome Barbarian specialized in throwing large objects and a Halfling Cleric of Abadar who runs a "slightly used dungeon goods" business on the side.

Will give some thought to an interesting character that can fill any gaps in the rest of the party.

Kaako's default is Avoid Notice. I don't imagine they would object if you went with that.

woot a crit!

Turned out to be much ado about nothing. With rounding my +1 becomes +0 I believe once the rounding rule is applied. Disregard!

No, update your character sheet if you have the item.

It didn't matter for that attack, since had it not been non-lethal, I think you would have killed him with massive damage

Haha that made me laugh out loud during a zoom call.

Ok that would be helpful sometime.

For the Shortbow issue the mistake was my own. When I added some earned money from chronicles in roll20 to Kralgang I bought him a Composite Shortbow and failed the add it to my paizo character sheet. So the bonus was +1 to damage which would have become +2 with the crit.

Mistake was mine though so I will live with the shortbow for this adventure. Not cheating or failing to understand the rules. Just extremely forgetful haha.

For the life of me I can never figure out how to use the line drawing tool on a mac. Never works for me.

Haha it is a real challenge for me to play such a dark and humourless character.

Taking it from the idea that Duskwalkers just get reincarnated rather than dying and as a servant of Pharasma with very low wisdom and poor religious knowledge, he has certain ideas about how the world works that may or may not be accurate.

Lol! Charmed life indeed.

I realize I might have two more attempts but I thought I would see first if my engineering roll accomplished anything.

Maggie laughs maniacally along with the gnome as she maintains her spell. "I love to laugh. Ahahahaha!"

She then casts Soothe on Curdle (I don't believe she can see Farzin from her vantage point- if she can she will cast it on him instead).

Soothe: 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

I have a campaign coin and 2 glyphs to give to whoever needs them.

Lol at two Charlatans in one party so far.

Glen Shackleton
Maggie Poppins
783-2003
Bard 3
Envoys Alliance

Anyone happen to know when this is supposed to be released on Fantasy Grounds? I see Roll20 has promised to release it on July 30th but curious about Fantasy Grounds (as I generally prefer it for home games).

And boy howdy do I ever want my APG!

Hiya Team. I got an email that this order was slated to ship in the next few days and changed my address to my Canadian address. It does not look like I will be able to cross the border to my PO box any time soon due to the pandemic related closure.

Could I please have it changed to my Canadian address for the current order? I couldn't change that one and it appears it will still ship to a POBox where if could sit for months before being shipped back to you!

TOZ wrote:

Suggest another use as incentivizing as unlocking an uncommon race, then.

A healing wand you can use twice a day.

Something that gives you a focus point once a adventure.

A hero point.

Gold/equipment/runes.

Now you come up with an explanation why uncommon ancestries are good idea.

Every suggestion you made leads to power creep, to the detriment of the game. In some cases they are weak versions of power creep but no, I would not prefer those boons be available.

Personally I like it a lot.

It makes sense that if you are carefully searching for traps you can not also be actively searching the treeline for archers at the same time without going very very slow.

The party needs to divide the tasks between them.

I for one salute the fact that now a trap or ambush can actually go off once in a while, instead of having 6 people roll every time, one of whom is guaranteed to succeed.

HammerJack wrote:

Those PFS rules allow for items up to 2 levels above characater level when they are on a chronicle sheet. The regular availability is items equal to character level. So there is not so much a conflict as 2 differing sets of access requirements.

That is not apparent to me, and actually in the PFS games I've played so far the "level +2" rule has been used as the general one.

It has been confirmed that the level plus 2 is for items on your chronicle only.

As a VC I can confirm this has been confirmed by leadership. Wish they would post it publicly.

Hmm it’s a good question. I really think if a player is doing nothing but defend or scout an argument could be made that they should get to use reactions before they act in combat. They lose the benefits of spotting traps or treasures so that seems like reasonable compensation.

At least that is how I would be inclined to rule it.

In my area we experienced a high water mark of around 5 tables per slot for our game days in PF1 but had been down to maybe 1 or 2 tables per slot in the past two years.

With the introduction of PF2 we have seen very few players move over from the PF1 campaign and it has fizzled out BUT we have seen an influx of new players and are now already back to 3 full tables per slot of largely new players. Some from 5e, some from Starfinder (surprised me) and some who haven’t picked up an rpg in 30 years.

I would say it is achieving the goal of reaching new audiences in my area at least. I suspect some of the PF1 holdouts will come over in a year or two once more options are available.

whew wrote:

When making a stern glance, what appendage is being used to Manipulate?

+1 to this.

For those staunchly opposed to needing hands for Battle Medicine this requirement gets "hand waved".

I absolutely love the idea of telling my players who complain about the verisimilitude of needing one hand free that it is needed for “hand waving purposes”. I will be using that for sure!

Still think it is the right call from a gameplay standpoint even if none of it is “realistic”.

The ghost on the other hand was nasty for the one party that sent two characters in alone to check it out.

They were smart enough to flee.

Huh weird. I had two parties play through this so far and neither had much trouble with the boar. They all took it seriously though.

With regard to Fall of Plaguestone, who was the author again... oh wait. What other adventures have they written... oh. I think we should not be surprised it is a bit deadly.

Jason Bulhman likes to write adventures that ratchet up the difficulty quite a bit. Also great adventures but yeah it is his reputation to write some deadly stuff.

I feel like a lot of people have not seen this. Would be extra useful to have it in the guide.

I didn’t realize it was written that way in so many places. I always felt that us the intent but damn, that one that says the opposite really has to be fixed on the double.

I did exactly that but I am the local VC and am no more aware of a solution or intention for this rule than anyone else.

Yes. And I ruled it could not be used. And also felt like the concept of org play as a consistent, fairly adjudicated system was undermined in everyone’s eyes. As the local VC one would think a basic rule like this would be within my knowledge to define, but I only have the guide to go off of just like everyone else.

This error came up at my tables today and caused huge problems with a lower level party dishing out huge damage with level 4 striking runes. Tipped the balance of power considerably. I pointed out the rule in one section and they countered with s rule that clearly said the opposite was true.

The limits as to what can be purchased conflict in the Player Basics section and the Organized Play Basics (level or lower in one section, level+2 or lower in the other)

This one is a HUGE problem and came up at my tables today when a third level character had a 4th level item and was able to point to the part of the guide that said (in what I think is a typo) that he could buy anything of his level +2. Even though it says something very different elsewhere as noted in the quote.

I have started this with two separate groups now and I found it very helpful to start around the morning fire before heading out for the day so the players could swap stories with Bort. Gives them a little more attachment to him in a more natural way.

I think both intimidate and deception are especially relevant for initiative during a social encounter.