Thundershot's page

When I did the Rakasta for my campaign, I almost was tempted to give them the -2 to Wisdom, but for the reasons stated above (skills) I went with Charisma instead, because I gave them a sprawling empire nearly a thousand years ago, and the race went from rulers to nomads that lived on the fringes of civilization and were generally anti-social.

Yeah, you're right. The map looks like there is a cliff, but I cannot imagine the centaur lady or the undead that lurks at area X to get down/up a 100 feet tall cliff.

Ruyan.

That's part of the dilemma we had as well. Also I wonder if the water is supposed to be shallower between the path and the entrance.

Thanks
Chris

Greetings, fellow travellers.

Erm, there is no getting down from the southern shore (W1) of the Little Sellen to river level.

The AP states:

Quote:

The trail from area X leads up to this point on the Little

Sellen River’s bank. [...]

For me bank is already river level. There is no mentioning of a cliff on the south side, but there is a cliff on the northern shore where the wyverns have made their home.

So the PCs just take a boat, cast fly etc. get over to W5 and that's it.

Ruyan.

It looks like the cliff goes all the way around, so I assumed that was how it was. That makes things easier for them, at least, because they were trying to figure out how to get the animal companions down the 100 ft. cliff... I'll just say it's beach and be done with it.

Thanks
Chris

Thundershot wrote:

Turin the Mad wrote:

Thundershot wrote:

Okay, I feel like I'm doing something wrong.

The characters are at the island where the tomb is at. How in the heck are they supposed to get there? The cliff is 100 ft. and there doesn't appear to be any beach or anything at the bottom. How are they supposed to get to the bottom into the tomb? They have the folding boat from Varnhold, but what can they see from above? I guess I'm just missing something...

The entrance into the bottom level is there at the bottom of the map with a tiny pseudo-beachy-looking spot before the doorway. I'd suppose that the entrance as mapped is at a higher water level than it would be later in the year when the water level is much lower. It is also pretty easy to see from shore.

The "upper entrance" is not normally all that visible, although it is certainly findable with clever reconnaissance.

So... how are they supposed to get there from the south part of the map? If they scale down the 100 ft. cliff, then they're in the drink and have to risk swimming a decently long distance to the shore. That's also assuming that there's beach at the bottom of the cliff.

Thanks
Chris

The main entrance? They walk across to it. The critters that came out of there did, the numbskull that started the whole mess did and the "missing person" did too.

The hidden entrance ? If they locate it, they have LOTS of means to find it if they're "on level" for that part of the adventure. Make them get creative. The most mundane means are a boat - which they have probably already found - some take 10 climb checks and a few coils of rope tied together for the rest of them to climb up.

Getting down there isn't the problem. How do they walk across to the main entrance when the water is 40 - 120 ft. deep? I'm sorry for sounding stupid, but I just feel like I'm totally missing something.

I would say all of the alternate Racial abilities from the Advanced Player's Guide can be added with point costs equal to the abilities they were designed to replace.

Yes. Absolutely. Please. That would be awesome and make things so much easier.

Also, the only other thing that bugs me a little is having certain racial abilities only available for certain subtypes. If someone wants to build a marsupial humanoid race that combines an elf's resistance, a halfling's luck, and a dwarf's stonecunning... the rules block them. Sure, you can ignore them, but why the need for restrictions based on subtype? Just because that's who's using them right now?

Thundershot wrote:

Okay, I feel like I'm doing something wrong.

The characters are at the island where the tomb is at. How in the heck are they supposed to get there? The cliff is 100 ft. and there doesn't appear to be any beach or anything at the bottom. How are they supposed to get to the bottom into the tomb? They have the folding boat from Varnhold, but what can they see from above? I guess I'm just missing something...

The entrance into the bottom level is there at the bottom of the map with a tiny pseudo-beachy-looking spot before the doorway. I'd suppose that the entrance as mapped is at a higher water level than it would be later in the year when the water level is much lower. It is also pretty easy to see from shore.

The "upper entrance" is not normally all that visible, although it is certainly findable with clever reconnaissance.

So... how are they supposed to get there from the south part of the map? If they scale down the 100 ft. cliff, then they're in the drink and have to risk swimming a decently long distance to the shore. That's also assuming that there's beach at the bottom of the cliff.

Thanks
Chris

RAKASTA

Rakasta are a reclusive antisocial cat-like race that once had a sprawling empire. After a terrible disaster, the kingdom was in ruins and the surviving Rakasta went into seclusion. Now they form nomadic bands and avoid most civilized areas.

Humanoid (0 RP)
Medium (0 RP)
Normal Speed (0 RP)
Standard Modifiers (+2 dex, +2 wis, -2 cha) (0 RP)
Standard Array (Common, Rakasta) (1 RP)
Cat's Luck (1 RP)
Fortunate(4 RP)
Weapon Familiarity (war claws) (1 RP)
Stalker (1 RP)
Low-light vision (1 RP)
Climb (1 RP)

TOTAL 10 RP

NOTES: Rakasta is a major race is my Pathfinder campaign with lots of history. I swapped the usual Wis and Cha stats to reflect the skill bonuses that Wisdom usually brings, and the negative Cha represents their xenophobic nature. Strangely enough, this is ALMOST exactly how we're using them right now.

Okay, I feel like I'm doing something wrong.

The characters are at the island where the tomb is at. How in the heck are they supposed to get there? The cliff is 100 ft. and there doesn't appear to be any beach or anything at the bottom. How are they supposed to get to the bottom into the tomb? They have the folding boat from Varnhold, but what can they see from above? I guess I'm just missing something...

Maybe a group of fans familiar with HeroLab could collaborate and each person take a letter or two and have it made. Then let FGG give it the "okay" and send it off to HeroLab....

I REALLY want to see this done for HL...

The problem with having errata in the second printing is that it suddenly DOES make the first printing the "inferior" version, especially if people aren't concerned about "collector's value".

The only thing I would really really like is to make it stop opening a new tab or window every time I click on a link in the search results. I end up with 5-6 tabs open at once without much effort, all with search results in them.

Unless there's some way in Firefox to "open link in current window"...

I got the same e-mail, but the download was already in my ezine section. Maybe it's because of the second one I ordered later on...

In any case, the 230 meg file took only about 2 minutes to download.

Wow.

Just... wow. It's wonderful. I'm REALLY looking forward to my hardcovers now...

Which monsters DIDN'T make the cut that were in the original books?

Also, I was hoping the "characters" part of the monster entries would get balanced. With ECL or LA out the door, what guideline should a PC version of the race use?

Thanks
Chris

Anguish wrote:

But seriously, yes, my understanding is that hardcover preorderers will get the PDF before the book ships.

That's how it worked for the Swords & Wizardry book put out by the same company.

What I meant was... will people who pay $25 for just the pdf get them before the people who paid $89 + shipping for the hardcover? Or will we all get them at the same time?

So.... the PDF is going to be available relatively soon. Does that mean the people who ordered the HC will get theirs or do we have to wait until the book ships?

I don't own them. But I'd buy a hardcover collecting both...

Thanks. That's what I ended up doing.

If "two city blocks" are destroyed, and they're part of a larger area (say, the Arena or Noble Villa), do you only pay a percentage of the cost that was destroyed, or the whole thing?

I slipped my second book in there before the preorder went away. If for some reason I don't get the second book, no big deal (so long as I'm refunded). My first book was ordered the day the preorders went up (back in March, I think?).

Either way, I CAN NOT WAIT for this. My only regret is that HeroLab will never get these monsters added unless someone spearheads a community project...

Ok, I'm on my iPhone and don't have time to slog through 7 pages... But there's one BIG thing I'd like to see in this if it's possible: Prestige Races

Bastion Press did these in a few of their books, but given the way Pathfinder works, I have been hoping someone would update the concept without paying xp for the abilities. Each feat slowly transforms the character and gives new physical appearance and new abilities. Perhaps if it was a feat tree coupled with some other kind of sacrifice so they wouldn't be too powerful for their level... I don't know. I'm not a game designer lol...

Other than Prestige Races, the Hengyokai would be the only other pc race I'd like to see or even have the proper tools to build.

Chris

I would SO buy an updated "Pathfinderized" version of this book...

I ordered a second copy. I put a note in the paypal transaction to add it to my existing order. Hopefully everything will be OK... I should have two PF TOH books coming...

That looks familiar...

Ah, the d20pfsrd.com has had it on their left sidebar ad for quite a while. I wasn't sure if it was the actual cover or not or just an ad.

Thundershot wrote:

I'm SOOOOOOO tempted to order a second one for the group. If I do, is there a way to waive the shipping for the second one since two books can be shipped for the same price (I'm in the US).

If I recall correctly, they come right out and tell you how to save on shipping when you're ordering. Then again, it's been three months and my memory gets spotty in my old age...

I ordered one on the first day preorders went up. Now I'm just thinking of adding a second one to the order.

Chris

I'm SOOOOOOO tempted to order a second one for the group. If I do, is there a way to waive the shipping for the second one since two books can be shipped for the same price (I'm in the US).

Chris

Shortstraw wrote:

Anyone else here have the pleasure of dealing with resurrected unicorn councilors, reformed wangering giant wardens, and kobold cities?

Thank god I have seen no Wangering Giants, but if you are having fun with it, does it matter?

If it is a problem, it seems like a situation where you need to say no to your players. How many people want to take advice from a talking horse, Or want a giant they may not trust to lead them? A possible solution would be applying penalties to them so that their exceptional stats are more in line with normal characters.

And I have heard of some really amusing characters as leaders. An awakened owlbear general, lots of fae, Chief Sootscale and Mic Mek seem like the most common Royal Assassins (Kobold Cities are fairly common).

We have Tyg-Titter-Tut (or as my 3 year old calls her, "Girl Bug") as our Spymaster and Perlivash as our Diplomat. They travel together, usually.

Chief Sootscale is our Royal Assassin.

The Kobolds are part of our society (though occasionally cause friction). We also have Rakasta (part of my campaign), Dragonborn, and a large band of Warforged. They made peace with the Lizardmen, and are in talks to help them make their own city.

My players are having a blast, and so am I. I love stuff like this...

The Will O Wisp with the Lizardmen is advanced and has an AC of 30.

The other problem is their party composition. Only 3 players, and there's a Rakasta* Cleric, Eladrin* Wizard/Ranger, and Elf Ranger. No "meat shield" there... However, the Cleric has the Animal domain and has a Sabre-Tooth tiger companion, and the Ranger has a snow leopard. The Wizard/Ranger will eventually have a companion, too. Also there's at least one cohort coming in a few levels. So they'll eventually have more substance to the group, but they suck at hitting things right now.

They still have the Stag Lord's helmet, but it's so ugly, none of them want to use it. I think I might let them reshape it... lol

* This group was originally in a 4E game I did, but it fizzled away because no one liked playing anymore... I converted the Eladrin, Elf, Dragonborn, and Warforged from 4E into PF. The Rakasta were a huge part of my world background, so I brought them back for PF.

Tonight, the group put the last three buildings in the Capitol city and got a huge xp boost and are now 6th level. They borrowed from the kingdom to buy a ship and had a dedication ceremony.

First they made an ally out of the Swamp Witch. Then they made it to the candlemere tower and had to run from a will o wisp. Upon realizing that it wasn't the only one, they made a note to come back someday better prepared.

So they made it to the lizardfolk village and immediately tried to make peace. Unfortunately they heard a child screaming because he was upside-down covered in honey and fire ants. They pleaded with the king but he insisted his "god" wants to make the boy suffer. He eventuay took them to the empty hut where the "god" resided, and wouldn't you know it... ANOTHER will o wisp! There was no way to run from this one without completely losing face in front of the lizardfolk, but they weren't shaken or sickened this time. With the exception of a few spells, how is anyone at 6th level supposed to hit an AC 30?? They wouldn't give up and managed a few natural 20's and because it didn't have fast healing this time, they got it down to 12 hp before it fled.

So with new allies in the lizardfolk, we had to stop...

MY GOD are those wisps a pain in the butt!

That makes me feel better. I'd much rather let them go at their own pace... The nice thing is that they're getting more BP as time goes on. Right now they get 9-10 per month. I get antsy when I see people getting 10 times that per month at roughly the same point. City building will be much easier when they get a ton of BP per month. Right now they're constantly having "quick" months where they're saving up for a certain building for the capitol. I think they want to build another city on the island south of the Stag Lord's Fort (where the capitol is now).

My group is still doing Rivers Run Red, but I'm reading the next adventure right now, and like others in this thread, my group only has 12 hexes and it's going slow for kingdom building. They're focusing on the capital city (the first grid is almost complete) but are trying to keep the consumption down to zero. There is absolutely no way they're going to have 30-50 hexes by the time Varnhold comes up. How are people having these huge kingdoms and still making all the Stability and Economy checks? Other than farms, how do you reduce consumption? I feel like they're doing something wrong, and I told them they can pace themselves however they want, but now we apparently won't be able to progress much in the next adventure without a bigger kingdom. What are the consequences of building the kingdom slower?

Thundershot wrote:

Playing right now. They rolled a natural 20 during the diplomacy against Grigori. The next day they swayed him again with another good roll. Long story short, he's our Kingdom's new Councilor. haha

You should have him embezzle tons of money and then leave the kingdom in shambles from the resulting unrest.

I've been thinking about it, and I'm not sure what to do. It wasn't just rolls... It was an excellent RP session. I pulled out all the stops with Grigori and ran out of excuses for him. The PC's were in the crowd and catcalled him back, and eventually called him out and offered to talk in the tavern over a hot meal and lots of ale. They complimented him in the way he handled a crowd and the effect it had on the people. They offered him the job as the new Councilor. After a long RP session, I had them roll the diplomacy check and they got a natural 20. I ruled that he was going to seriously think about it. The next night they met up with him again, and once again put the offer back on the table. They complimented his oratory skills and said they could sure use someone like him. They rolled high again... I said screw it and had him accept.

So do I really want to punish them for doing such a great session? It wasn't the solution that I was expecting, but I couldn't think of a reason he'd refuse. They found out that he was hired by a third party that didn't want to be known, so he truly doesn't know who wants the kingdom to fall...

Thanks
Chris

Playing right now. They rolled a natural 20 during the diplomacy against Grigori. The next day they swayed him again with another good roll. Long story short, he's our Kingdom's new Councilor. haha

Kevin Mack wrote:

Will there be any creature in this that will be usable as playable characters? (Ie races that use classes instead of Hd?)

Yes. If it got player character treatment in the original three books, it will receive the same in the TOH Complete.

Won't that take a bit more work, since there's no level adjustments anymore? Will they be balanced out with the PFRPG races?

Wow... My game went way different. She kept missing and all three PC's ganged up on her and took her out fast. They never got to know her...

Any chance I can talk someone into creating Hero Lab files for these races? I'm terrible at it (especially things like Dragonborn breath weapon) but would be very appreciative to anyone willing to make a few files.

Thanks
Chris

That'd be cool. It would almost give us a countdown of sorts knowing what monster you're on...

Chris

Is it August yet? :D

Chris

To the folks like me who ordered before there were two links: I know it's been said before, but make sure you e-mail Bill to let him know which book you want. He replied to me to let me know everything's ok.

Chris

Did the page change? I looked at the page again and I don't remember two order links. I can't tell from my invoice which version I ordered... I only want the PF one, but I didn't see the SW link there before... I emailed Bill. My invoice just says ezineTOH. Noe the page says ezineTOHPF and ezineTOHSW...

Preordered!!!!

I agree. Unless the cost is negligible, I'd rather not have the leather cover... I'd actually prefer it to match the other PF books as much as possible.

Still plan on preordering on day one, though.

This is totally awesome and sounds like something my players would come up with. I might have to seed the idea to them when it comes up... Incidentally, I see no problem with using awaken on magical beasts.

I can't wait for this to go on preorder. I've got $100 set aside just for this book... I'm just worried about missing out on the preorder. Just think, 500 preorders at $100 a pop is a $50,000 advance.

After all this, I realized that he has the Animal domain (he's a Cleric) so at 4th level he'll qualify for an animal companion ANYWAY so... Do characters use their companions as mounts?

Thanks for the advice!

Having him start Medium and not mountable at first should be ok. It'll be a progression as he trains it during the non-adventuring part of the path. Is there something mechanically wrong with having a pet like that? Then again, what else is the rearing animal rules for? If all goes right he'll have a friend and companion for life and will eventuall ride it. Should the tiger get to fight at all early on? I like using the Druid as an starting point...

Actually, maybe I could get some other input.

We're about to start our campaign in a few weeks (first time with PF, haven't gamed in 2 years when we quit 4E). I'm trying to adapt my old world elements into the Kingmaker path (GREAT read so far), but Rakasta is a standard PC race for my world... and having converted them, I'm curious as to how to go about having their Sabre-Tooth Tiger mounts, and balance, especially at early levels.

There doesn't seem to be any hard and fast rules for what can and can't be a mount, such as how many HD and the like. But naturally we don't want this beast of a thing doing all the work.

Should I just take the standard tiger stats and "just say" it's a Smilodon? Maybe let it "level up" when the rest of the party is higher in level? I was even considering letting them find it early on and have it reared and trained since there's so much downtime in Kingmaker.

Any suggestions would be welcome!

The HIVEBROOD!

Bring em back. Yessssss...

I don't like these as "alternate classes". Make 3 new base classes and be done with it. It blends into the system instead of being forced into it. As for the gunfighter, I personally feel the "grit" overcomplicates things by tacking on another system that uses points. Why not just give them normal class abilities instead of something that relies in the player trying to get "points" other than xp?

These are awesome! We haven't played in 2 years (4E wasn't for us) so after getting the the PF core book, Bestiary 1 & 2, and the APG, I got the Kingmaker modules and we're finally going to play again! Any chance handouts for the other three adventures will be made?

Thanks!
Chris

I would LOVE to have another Dragon Compendium (or three!)!

The first one gets so much use that it's considered one of the "core books" now (along with Magic Item Compendium, Goods & Gear, Spell Compendium, & Eldritch Sorcery).

One article that I would LOVE to see reborn is the Rakasta article with different breeds by Bruce Heard along with the Lupin one of the similar nature. That was so fun back in the day...

Thanks
Chris