We've completely transitioned to a digital experience, so I'd like to declutter some and am looking to move my collection of both painted and unpainted minis. If anybody is interested, I have them up on ebay:
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This is a duplicate of an email I sent in over 2 months ago. I would like a refund for The Slithering PDF, bought in order #22320564. Nowhere in the description of the adventure does it mention that it's for non-humans only, which makes it all but useless for my group. This is certainly something that should be included in the product description.
I'm toying around with a Windows application that digitizes PF2E monsters/NPCs for an all-in-one place I can view their statblocks when I GM. If I ever release it as something beyond my own personal tool, I'd like to be able to include the action icons used in PF2E. Looking over the CUP and (newly added) PF2E logos and icons, I can't find any reference to them. Is there a way to use them in accordance with the CUP? It'd be a real bummer to not be able to duplicate the look of the PF2E statblocks because the icons are unavailable. 
It is a bright, sunny morning, the crisp smell of the ocean a pleasant accompaniment to the sound of sea gulls that rove over the bay. Valghaz:
You hear a knock on your door. Upon answering it, you see a wizened old halfling woman. She bows briefly and hands you a letter with a smile, then waits for you to read it. It reads:
Greetings, I trust this missive finds you in good health. My name is Lavinia Van Rebvorn, and I humbly request your attendance at dinner at my estate on Festival Street and Blue Skink Lane tomorrow evening. I think that I can present you with an opportunity uniquely suited to your skills. Please inform the carrier of this letter of your response to this invitation, and I hope to be speaking to you soon! -Lavinia Van Rebvorn Mimi:
You hear a knock on your door. Upon answering it, you see a wizened old halfling woman. She bows briefly and hands you a letter with a smile, then waits for you to read it. It reads:
Greetings, I trust this missive finds you in good health. My name is Lavinia Van Rebvorn, and I humbly request your attendance at dinner at my estate on Festival Street and Blue Skink Lane tomorrow evening. I think that I can present you with an opportunity uniquely suited to your skills. Please inform the carrier of this letter of your response to this invitation, and I hope to be speaking to you soon! -Lavinia Van Rebvorn Arya:
You hear a knock on your door. Upon answering it, you see a wizened old halfling woman. She bows briefly and hands you a letter with a smile, then waits for you to read it. It reads:
Greetings, I trust this missive finds you in good health. My name is Lavinia Van Rebvorn, and I humbly request your attendance at dinner at my estate on Festival Street and Blue Skink Lane tomorrow evening. I think that I can present you with an opportunity uniquely suited to your skills. Please inform the carrier of this letter of your response to this invitation, and I hope to be speaking to you soon! -Lavinia Van Rebvorn Chan:
You hear a knock on your door. Upon answering it, you see a wizened old halfling woman. She bows briefly and hands you a letter with a smile, then waits for you to read it. It reads:
Greetings, I trust this missive finds you in good health. My name is Lavinia Van Rebvorn, and I humbly request your attendance at dinner at my estate on Festival Street and Blue Skink Lane tomorrow evening. I think that I can present you with an opportunity uniquely suited to your skills. Please inform the carrier of this letter of your response to this invitation, and I hope to be speaking to you soon! -Lavinia Van Rebvorn Arenel:
You hear a knock on your door. Upon answering it, you see a wizened old halfling woman. She bows briefly and hands you a letter with a smile, then waits for you to read it. It reads:
Greetings, I trust this missive finds you in good health. My name is Lavinia Van Rebvorn, and I humbly request your attendance at dinner at my estate on Festival Street and Blue Skink Lane tomorrow evening. I think that I can present you with an opportunity uniquely suited to your skills. Please inform the carrier of this letter of your response to this invitation, and I hope to be speaking to you soon! -Lavinia Van Rebvorn Elaina:
You hear a knock on your door. Upon answering it, you see a wizened old halfling woman. She bows briefly and hands you a letter with a smile, then waits for you to read it. It reads:
Greetings, I trust this missive finds you in good health. My name is Lavinia Van Rebvorn, and I humbly request your attendance at dinner at my estate on Festival Street and Blue Skink Lane tomorrow evening. I think that I can present you with an opportunity uniquely suited to your skills. Please inform the carrier of this letter of your response to this invitation, and I hope to be speaking to you soon! -Lavinia Van Rebvorn Knowledge (local) DC 10:
The Van Rebvorn family is a merchant family that has been in Siren's Bay for at least a hundred years. Knowledge (local) DC 15:
Lavinia is the eldest daughter of the Van Rebvorn family. Knowledge (local) DC 15 - roll for this one by itself: A tragic fire recently claimed the lives of Verik and Larissa Van Rebvorn. The Van Rebvorns were survived by their two children, Vanthus and Lavinia.
Picks not finalized yet, just getting the discussion thread started up. For those picked, I'll go over your character story/sheet closely and will wrangle out any minor things with you before we get started. Some thoughts on the mechanics of the game: 1) Initiative will be handled by averaging the modifiers of all combatants on a side, then rolling one d20 for the side. When it's the party's turn, people will act in order of posting. People inactive for 24 hours will be botted by me. 2) If you're going to be inactive for a time, please post in the discussion thread so I'll know and can be ready to bot you. 3) When in combat, I'll be posting the saves and AC for enemies. When you attack/use an ability that calls for a save, you'll be able to determine if you hit, and you will roll for the creature's save. This helps you describe your actions and their results, so please do so. 4) If you see a spoiler in a post that's not addressed to you, or that you didn't make the DC for, please don't look, even if you feel like you can separate your knowledge from your character's knowledge. 5) When you roll a check and pass a DC to view a spoiler, you can view every spoiler for that check equal to or below your check. For instance: Knowledge (local) DC 10:
You can look at this spoiler. Knowledge (local) DC 15:
You can look at this spoiler. Knowledge (local) DC 20:
You should not be looking at this spoiler. If you roll a Knowledge (local) check and get 17, you would be able to look at the spoilers for DC 10 and DC 15.
I will be starting a Savage Tide campaign set in my homebrew world. I have updated Savage Tide to Pathfinder, and am really looking forward to seeing how it plays out. My homebrew world of Arisythila is still in the very early stages of development. There are several key things to know about it: Gods:
Nearly four hundred years ago, the gods vanished from Arisythila. The exact date the gods went missing has been lost to time. Because of this absence, divine magic failed to work, as did arcane magic that duplicates the effects of the divine (such as a witch's or bard's cure light wounds). Even those who drew divine power from creatures that were not true gods, such as the Court of Stars and the Demon Paragons, were unable to call forth the miracles they once performed. The lack of divine magic made the world a more dangerous place, and mortals took to huddling in their homes, not daring to explore the world or make progress.
The year now is 123 GR (God's Return). 123 years ago, the gods returned to the world, bringing divine magic back into reality. Yet their long absence has caused many to forgo worshipping any god, viewing them as unreliable and uninterested. Still, the return of divine magic has seemingly sparked interest in exploration again, and the seas are alive with expeditions to places long-forgotten…and with pirates seeking to plunder the explorers. The gods are inscrutable. They take little to no notice of what's going on in the world. They do not have alignments - they cannot be measured by such mortal methods. The gods are:
Domains:
Some of the domains mentioned in the Gods section are new, others are changed. Below you will find any new or changed domains.
Aura of Time (Su): At 8th level, you can emit a 30-foot aura that provides allies with the benefits of aging. Affected creatures gain all the benefits and none of the penalties of advancing to their next age category for a number of rounds equal to your cleric level. Activating this ability is a standard action, and maintaining it is a free action. The rounds per day do not need to be consecutive. You may increase the number of effective age category increases by expending 1 extra round per age category. Domain Spells: 1st - disguise self, 2nd - alter self, 3rd - sands of time, 4th - threefold aspect, 5th - feeblemind, 6th - antilife shell, 7th - age resistance, greater, 8th - greater sands of time , 9th - shapechange Greater Sands of Time
Focused Creation (Su): Treat your caster level as 1 higher for all spells with the Creation subdomain. Rapid Assembly (Su): Beginning at 8th level, as a full-round action, you can conjure useful objects. You may create any non-magical item with a cost equal to or less than 25gp per cleric level. The created item lasts for 1 minute per cleric level, after which it vanishes. Created items may not be used as spell components. You may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier. Domain Spells: 1st – obscuring mist, 2nd – instant armor, 3rd – create food and water, 4th – minor creation, 5th – major creation, 6th – wall of iron, 7th – rampart, 8th – create demiplane, 9th – wooden phalanx
Aura of Decay (Su): Same as standard Decay subdomain. Domain Spells: 1st - ray of sickening, 2nd - defoliate, 3rd - contagion, 4th - explosion of rot, 5th - blight, 6th - wracking ray (no evil subtype), 7th - terraform (swamps or other decaying terrain only), 8th - horrid wilting, 9th - cursed earth
Debilitate (Sp): Beginning at 8th level, as a standard action, you may attempt to exhaust a foe. You can target any single foe within 30 feet. The target must make a Fortitude (DC = 10 + 1/2 your cleric level + your Wisdom modifier) save or become fatigued. A fatigued target that fails its saving throw becomes exhausted. Using this ability on an exhausted target has no effect. You may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier. Domain Spells: 1st – ray of enfeeblement , 2nd – ray of exhaustion , 3rd – vampiric touch, 4th – enervation, 5th – waves of fatigue, 6th – eyebite , 7th – waves of exhaustion, 8th – finger of death, 9th – energy drain
Inspire Fear (Sp): As a standard action, you inspire fear with a touch. Make a melee touch attack as a standard action. If you hit, the target is shaken for 1d4 rounds. A Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 your cleric level + your Wisdom modifier) negates the effect. This is a mind-affecting fear effect. You may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier. Fearful Presence (Su): Beginning at 8th level, you gain the frightful presence ability. The DC is 10 + 1/2 your cleric level + your Wisdom modifier. You may use this ability a number of rounds per day equal to your cleric level. Domain Spells: 1st – cause fear, 2nd – scare, 3rd – vision of hell, 4th – fear, 5th – phantasmal killer, 6th – symbol of fear, 7th – phantasmal revenge , 8th – prediction of failure, 9th - weird
Camouflage (Su): As a standard action, you may camouflage yourself, gaining a bonus equal to your Wisdom modifier on Stealth checks for 1 minute. You may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier. Ambush (Su): Whenever you cast a spell in the surprise round, it gains the effect of the empower metamagic feat. This does not increase the level of the spell or change the casting time. Domain Spells: 1st - detect animal or plants,2nd - residual tracking, 3rd - greensight, 4th - hold animal, 5th - commune with nature, 6th - find the path, 7th - find quarry, 8th - vinetrap, 9th - foresight
Capturing Aura (Su): At 8th level, you can emit a 30-foot aura that hinders targets within it for a number of rounds equal to your cleric level. Creatures you target in this aura must make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 your cleric level + your Wisdom modifier) or treat all terrain within your aura as difficult terrain. Activating this ability is a standard action, and maintaining it is a free action. The rounds per day do not need to be consecutive. Domain Spells: 1st – entangle, 2nd – hold person, 3rd – slow, 4th – black tentacles, 5th – hold monster, 6th – leashed shackles, 7th – forcecage, 8th – binding, 9th – imprisonment
Aura of Condemnation (Su): At 8th level, you can emit a 30-foot aura that radiates condemnation to your targets within it for a number of rounds equal to your cleric level. Creatures you target in this aura must make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 your cleric level + your Wisdom modifier) or take -2 on all ability checks, skill checks, attack and saving throws while in the aura. Activating this ability is a standard action, and maintaining it is a free action. The rounds per day do not need to be consecutive. This is a mind-affecting effect. Domain Spells: 1st – truthtelling, 2nd – castigate, 3rd – chain of perdition, 4th – discern lies, 5th – mark of justice, 6th – major curse, 7th – mass castigate, 8th – demand, 9th – overwhelming presence
Aura of Renewal (Su): Starting at 8th level, you can emit a 30-foot aura that radiates a sense of renewal and rejuvenation to all allies for a number of rounds equal to your cleric level. Affected allies gain fast healing 1 while within the aura. Activating this ability is a standard action, and maintaining it is a free action. The rounds per day do not need to be consecutive. Domain Spells: 1st - obscuring mist, 2nd - wood shape, 3rd - plant growth, 4th - thorn body, 5th - cleanse, 6th - heal, 7th - regenerate, 8th - control plants, 9th - shambler
Cold Resistance (Ex): At 6th level, you gain resist cold 10. This resistance increases to 20 at 12th level. At 20th level, you gain immunity to cold. Domain Spells: 1st – produce flame, 2nd – burning gaze, 3rd – daylight, 4th – fire shield, 5th – flame strike, 6th – sirocco, 7th – sunbeam, 8th – sunburst, 9th – fiery body
Death's Embrace (Su): At 8th level, you heal damage instead of taking damage from channeled negative energy. If the channeled negative energy targets undead, you heal hit points just like undead in the area. Domain Spells: 1st - restore corpse, 2nd - ghoul touch, 3rd - animate dead, 4th - death knell aura, 5th - khain's army, 6th - create undead, 7th - control undead, 8th- create greater undead, 9th - wail of the banshee
Fire Resistance (Ex): At 6th level, you gain resist fire 10. This resistance increases to 20 at 12th level. At 20th level, you gain immunity to fire. Domain Spells: 1st – snow shape, 2nd –unshakable chill, 3rd – sleet storm, 4th – ice storm, 5th – cone of cold, 6th – antilife shell, 7th – ice body, 8th – polar ray, 9th – polar midnight Siren's Bay:
You will be starting in the city-state of Siren's Bay. Siren's Bay is a prosperous city that sits on a valuable bay in a tropical area filled with jungle. The city has something of an odd relationship towards pirates - on the one hand, they hate actual piracy; on the other, they romanticize the concept of piracy - much like America does (Pirates of the Caribbean, for example), and like to consider their independence from any other country as "pirate spirit."
Siren's Bay was created several hundred years ago by the infamous pirate Black Thatch, who named the city Thatchhold. The city has had a storied history since then, going through several names as it was conquered several times. The most recent attempt was 45 years ago, when the Imperial Army of Glorious Cseza attempted to conquer the city. The battles waged for several years, but finally a peace treaty was signed, acknowledging Siren's Bay's independence. Lingering resentment from the war can cause some grief for Csezans in Siren's Bay. The city is composed of seven districts - Azure (the waterfront district), Champion's (home to the popular Siren's Bay Arena), Cudgel (residential), Merchant's (not actually a merchant district; rather, a high-end residential district where rich merchant families live), Trade (the actual district where most merchants set up shop), Sails (what most consider to be the slums of the city), Sunrise (residential). Some notable landmarks in Siren's Bay: 1) Black Thatch Statue - a towering statue of black stone depicting the founder of the city. It stands on the northeast tip of Champion's district.
Map of Siren's Bay - Please ignore the key numbers for locations and the giant cutout where the key was. Also, if you can read any of the street names, please ignore anything directly referencing Greyhawk. My map editing skills only go so far.
Notable NPCs:
These are some NPCs your character may know/have had interactions with in the past.
Character Background:
Your character should live in Siren's Bay, or have arrived there recently. Either way, some recent notable event has occurred that might mark you as an adventurer. Include this recent event in your background.
I am asking for a 10 minute background from all applicants: 1) Write five things about your character's concept and background - five things that you think are the most essential parts of your character. 2) List two goals for the character that you, as a player, think would be cool to see accomplished in-game. 3) List two secrets about your character. One is a secret the character knows, one is a secret that involves him but that he is not actually aware of yet. I will also be creating a third secret which you as a player will not be aware of. 4) Describe three people that are tied to the character through blood, romance, or honor. Two of them are friendly to the character, one is hostile. All can do something useful for you, if you can get the situations to line up. 5) Describe three memories that your character has. They don't have to be elaborate, but they should provide some context and flavor. Feel free to make up lore for your character that isn't included in this post - if it doesn't fit with my concepts for the setting, I can help sculpt it into something that does. If it does fit, it might just become canon for the setting. The people you describe can reference the ones in the Notable NPCs section, or they can be made up by you. They do not need to tie in to, or live in, Siren's Bay. Also, think about your character as a person. What do they…
Your character should have an interest in adventuring, and a desire to see more of the world (you won't be in Siren's Bay forever).
Character Creation Guidelines/Houserules:
1) 20 point buy, with no stat below 8 before racial modifiers. Having multiple dump stats is frowned upon. I expect characters to roleplay their dump stats. 2) Average wealth for your class. 3) Core races only - no exceptions. 4) Most Paizo Pathfinder material is auto-approved (I reserve the right of veto). Non-Unchained Summoners, blood money and the Antagonize feat are banned. Unchained classes may be used, but are not required. 5) I will consider 3rd party material. Please be sure to link to the rules (such as on d20pfsrd). 6) Background skills will be used. 7) Breath of life is renamed cure deadly wounds, allowing it to be spontaneously cast by clerics. 8) Alignments should be a flavor of good - NG, CG, or LG. A note about Savage Tide - this adventure has some situations that involve working with people/creatures of questionable morals in order to bring about the greater good. This should be somewhat difficult for a good-aligned character to digest, but not an insurmountable problem. 9) Hero points will be used. Hero point feats, spells, and magic items will not be used. You start with 1 hero point, gain 1 at each level up, and can have no more than 3 at a time. When using the Cheat Death option, if your character does not have enough hero points, other members of the party can contribute their own instead, so long as they can come up with a reasonably flavorful way of helping you cheat death. 10) Major villains will receive villain points that can be used exactly like hero points, except they cannot Cheat Death. 11) Classes that are not Intelligence-based that only get 2 skill points per level (Fighter, Cleric, probably some others not coming to mind instantly) instead get 4 skill points per level. 12) 2 traits. No drawbacks. 13) Max hp at first level. Half rounded up at subsequent levels. 14) Monks are proficient with all monk weapons. 15) Power Attack, Piranha Strike, and Combat Expertise no longer exist - all characters have access to the abilities they grant. A character may not use any of them combined (ie, a charcter cannot use Power Attack and Combat Expertise in the same round). 16) For Improved (combat maneuver) and Greater (combat maneuver) feats, there is no stat requirement, and the feat requirement is waived if the feat in question is mentioned in #15.
A note about me:
I have GM'd games in real life for approximately 6 years, running 2 campaigns to completion. I've had some PBP games I GM'd aborted in the past due to some real-life events interfering, and due to a lack of maturity on my part in figuring out how to handle those events without abandoning the PBP games. My life should be more stable now, and even if not, I'd like to believe I'm more mature now and able to juggle multiple responsibilities better. I'll be looking for 4-6 players. Recruitment will close on 3/1/2017. I am looking for players that can post 1/weekday, and once a weekend. An application is not considered complete until everything in the Character Background spoiler is completed. Build concepts are good, completed character sheets are great, background is most important. Feel free to ask as many questions as you'd like.
For my current Reign of Winter campaign, I'm going to be replacing large pieces of book 3, as I'm not a fan of much of the book. My plan is for the party to meet up with the Rashalka centaurs. The Rashalka are going to be bound to Baba Yaga's service through an ancient pact their ancestors made with her. Essentially, they were once human, and their tribe was decimated by raids from other tribes that rode horses. Desperate to survive, the Rashalka bargained with Baba Yaga to make them greater than horse riders. Baba Yaga struck the bargain, turning them into centaurs and binding them to her service until <something>. I don't know what the <something> is. I want this to reinforce the fairy tale themes RoW has going through it, so something abstract yet still tangible. The players are going to be entering the Thrice Tenth Kingdom, and while there, I'd like for them to be able to assist the Rashalka in freeing themselves from Baba Yaga's service by finding the trigger for <something>. The best I've come up with so far is they'll be bound to her service until they "find that which you gave up." Then in the Thrice Tenth Kingdom, the party finds an enormous pile of bones - all human legs. It's workable, but a little too literal for my taste. Anybody have any ideas that would work for this?
Inspired by the Fighter unchained thread, I've created what I think is a fairly interesting take on a redesigned, more flexible and powerful fighter.
Thoughts?
A spot in my Test of the Starstone campaign is open, and needs to be filled by an arcane character of some kind. Character creation information: 1) 1st level character. Your experience total will be the same as the other characters in the campaign when you enter the game. 2) 30 point buy. Yep, 30. You’re trying to be a god – you better be powerful. However, no stat can be higher than an 18 or lower than a 10 before racial modifiers (30 points means no need to dump!). 3) Core races only. Don’t ask to be an aasimar, a catfolk, a tiefling, etc. They will not be allowed. 4) Almost anything from the CRB, APG, UM, UC, and UE automatically approved other than variant rules (such as piecemeal armor and words of magic), but see below for exceptions. 5) Nearly any Paizo published Pathfinder material is fair game, but please be sure to call it out as such and link to it on d20pfsrd.com. I reserve the right to veto, but doubt I’ll need to. 6) 3rd party material will be considered with a link to the full rules. My preference is to go with Paizo only material, but I can be swayed. 7) 150 gold to start. 8) Max hp at 1st level. All following levels will be Max HP -2 (so d10 would be 8 + Con mod). 9) Two traits allowed, with the standard trait rules. 10) All alignments allowed. Please review the following: 1) The Campaign Info tab - it has the rules for the campaign.
I expected at least one post per day during the weekdays. I am sometimes available on the weekends to post, but recently, I've been pretty busy, so weekends are usually off. If you are interested, please have your character submitted with a full character sheet by June 30th.
After spending way too many hours converting Shackled City to Golarion and PF, I've finally been able to run it. So far, it's going great, although it's taken some unexpected turns. First off, I decided I wanted Vhalantru and Thifirane Rhiavadi to play bigger roles in the adventure. I made Lord Vhalantru in charge of Cauldron's adventuring licenses. No license means no adventuring, and to get a license requires the sponsorship of a noble house. Vhalantru was able to get Thifirane to agree to sponsor them (after the party took care of a nasty rat problem for her). The party didn't much like the arrogant Thifirane, but they seemed to like Vhalantru. Exactly the result for which I was hoping. The party wisely explored all of Jzadirune before heading down to the Malachite Fortress, but unfortunately for them, they quickly found Kazmojen while still level 2. They started running when Kazmojen knocked Fario and Fellian unconscious with one attack each. The last person out saw Orbius teleport in, claim Terrem, and teleport back out. After that mess, they decided to prepare more carefully, and perhaps explore the Malachite Fortress first. Seeing as how Kazmojen stomped them so thoroughly, I figured he wouldn't bother increasing the guard - the clearly incompetent adventurers were no threat to him. The party found Fario and Fellian in the prison cells and rescued them, as well as the other slaves, and with careful preparation, stomped Kazmojen as easily as he did them the first time. Unfortunately, however, the remaining three children - Deakon, Lucinda, and Evelyn - were no where to be found, since after driving off the party the first time, Kazmojen finished the sale to the durzagon. I left a receipt on Kazmojen, however, stating the children were sold to "Pyllrak Shyraat, denizen of the Darklands." My players weren't exactly keen on the idea of venturing into the Darklands until Jenya told them the reward was for rescuing the children. Still, they detoured off to Kingfisher Hollow to investigate Kingfisher Sendings. That didn't turn out to be very useful for them (although they did meet Lord Aslaxin there, and informed him about the slavery ring and the entrance to the Darklands). So with a rather timid attitude, they decided they needed to venture into the Darklands. At this point, I decided the rescue of the children was going to completely replace Drakthar's Way. Pyllrak would end up taking his new slaves to various Darklands residents and attempt to resell them. The party has had to cope with numerous Darklands hazards, and rescued Evelyn from a rather insane derro vivisectionist alchemist, managing to sneak into and back out of the small derro village without attracting notice. Next up was a duergar city, where Pyllrak sold the dwarf child Deakon to a wealthy merchant, who also happened to be a wizard hoping to sacrifice his new purchase to convince an imp to become his familiar. That fight was particularly brutal, but they just barely managed to save Deakon. Oh, and they hired away the wizard's slave kobold chef, Jean-Pierre (complete with outrageous French accent and attitude). They found Pyllrak's discarded journal in a guest room in the wizard's house, in which he states he was planning on selling the last child, Lucinda, to the drow, though he hates to deal with them. They used the wizard's library to research the drow city and found that to get there, they'll have to pass through a dangerous fungal forest. Our next session is tomorrow, in which they'll find the fungal forest and eventually discover that Pyllrak succumbed to the many spores floating in the air, and turned into a weird fungal version of himself (Fungal Creature template from Bestiary 4). Lucinda managed to sneak away and is hiding just past the forest. Once they find Lucinda, they'll have to trek back. They've already been in the Darklands for around 2 weeks, and it'll probably take about the same amount of time to get back. But, unfortunately for them, the duergar have discovered they killed the merchant, and when the party passes by the city, the guards alert their superiors, who will send out several squads to apprehend the murderers. Even worse, when the party returns to the entrance to the Malachite Fortress, they'll find it collapsed. Lord Aslaxin, upon hearing about such a potentially dangerous tunnel, had the Stormblades collapse it. Now the party will have to turn around (back towards the duergar squads they don't know about yet) and find another exit. The plan is for them to just barely escape the vengeful duergar by the skin of their teeth through a narrow tunnel that leads to the surface. Just before they're gone, a duergar wizard will cast a fireball at them, which ends up collapsing the tunnel behind them. I think when the party miraculously returns to Cauldron with the three missing children, I'll have Vhalantru reward them somehow; maybe a piece of treasure tailored to them, or perhaps a piece of property in the city. Just something to help them remember him as a good guy.
You're standing in a plush room with three other people. Comfortable chairs dot the room, and a roaring fire fills it with a pleasant heat. The walls are lined with bookshelves, all empty. The east wall – somehow, you know it is east – holds a large iron door. In a small niche in the western wall stands what is clearly an illusionary man dressed in robes. How did you get here? Why are you here? Your thoughts are fuzzy. The last thing you can clearly remember is...well, nothing. Vague flashes of memory pass through your head, but no matter how you try to hold and inspect them, they slip away. All you can truly remember is your training, but even that seems incomplete. Like you once knew so much more than you do now. The illusory man catches your eye. He nods and twirls a finger, and a few thoughts - one might almost call them rules - enter your mind. Rules 1) Your goal is to reclaim the power you once had. 2) Through the door lies the means to do so. 3) This room is called Haven. 4) Once you leave Haven, the door will close and you may not return for 12 hours. Attempting to do so will result in failure with extreme prejudice. 5) Each time you return to Haven, you may rest for 12 hours before you must leave. 6) Through the door lies peril in many forms. Though there may be areas that seem safe, none are guaranteed. Haven is the only secure area. 7) You must cooperate fully with the other people currently in Haven. 8) The illusionary man will trade for any items you might acquire, and can provide you access to just about any item or spellcasting service you can possibly imagine. For a price. 9) Death is a setback, not a failure. 10) Attempting to leave the test means failure. 11) You have one year to complete the test.
Welcome, players! You are soon to embark on what could be an epic journey. I've gone over everybody's posted character sheets, and have some comments on them. Nareth: You are missing 1 language. Your Knowledge(Religion) and Spellcraft should be +5 (+1 rank, +3 class skill, +1 Intelligence). Your attack bonus with the spiked chain should be +5 (+3 Str, +1 weapon focus, +1 BaB with sacred weapon). Lorenzo: I'm going to have to disallow the Master Performer (Kitharodian Academy) feat, as it doesn't make sense for your character to maintain the knowledge and abilities that kind of feat implies. Alec: Your sheet looks good. Robert De Sanduin: You'll need to fill out your gear. Don't forget to prepare 3 cantrips. If you plan on keeping your rat familiar within arms reach, don't forget the bonuses from Alertness.
Whew, this took quite a bit of time. I have created Hero Lab portfolios for every single encounter in the Shackled City hardcover. Installation Instructions: Extract the files. Copy the Shackled City.user and 3.5 monsters converted.user files to the Hero Lab Pathfinder data folder. You can find this folder by opening Hero Lab, selecting Pathfinder, then clicking on Tools -> Explore Folders -> Game System Data Folder. Notes: - I don't currently have a full list of all the sources required for all the portfolios. Suffice to say, there's quite a few, and I'm pretty sure you'll need at least all the Bestiaries (except maybe 4) and most, if not all, of the core line. You will also need Shadow Chemosh's adjustments, which are available at http://www.d20pfsrd.com/extras/community-creations/hero-lab. - The Shackled City hardcover was written for DnD 3.5, which has a different way of calculating CR (A human fighter 1 in 3.5 was a CR 1, whereas in Pathfinder it is CR 1/2). Due to this, I added a class level to a large number of the NPCs. - I did not convert the Pathwarden prestige class, as it was, frankly, too much work for my talents with the Hero Lab editor. Instead, I generally used the Pathfinder Delver prestige class from Seeker of Secrets. - I converted the gods in the book to Golarion gods, as follows: St. Cuthbert -> Iomedae
You're standing in a plush room with three other people. Comfortable chairs dot the room, and a roaring fire fills it with a pleasant heat. The walls are lined with bookshelves, all empty. The east wall – somehow, you know it is east – holds a large iron door. In a small niche in the western wall stands what is clearly an illusionary man dressed in robes. How did you get here? Why are you here? Your thoughts are fuzzy. The last thing you can clearly remember is...well, nothing. Vague flashes of memory pass through your head, but no matter how you try to hold and inspect them, they slip away. All you can truly remember is your training, but even that seems incomplete. Like you once knew so much more than you do now. The illusionary man catches your eye. He nods and twirls a finger, and a few thoughts - one might almost call them rules - enter your mind.
So, this should be an interesting experience. The characters in this game were once level 20 and are attempting to become gods by passing the Test of the Starstone. The test in this case is to be reverted to level 1, dumped in an inescapable dungeon, and live to level 20 again. This is meant to be a pure dungeon delve, with some…interesting twists. *cue evil GM laughter*
(not necessarily a complete list):
I will be taking applications until January 7th, 2014. That should give people enough time to create characters over the holidays. Posting expectations are minimum of once a day during the week. Applications will only be considered if a full statblock is submitted. Again, detailed backgrounds are not required, but be sure there's some hooks I can use.
We play Pathfinder in Moreno Valley every Sunday at 1:00pm to about 6:00-7:00. Currently we've got three people, and are looking to add another 1-2. You can reply to this post, private message me, or email me at alientude at gmail dot com if you're interested.
Inspired Defense (Ex): Whenever you use bardic performance to inspire courage, the competence bonus against charm and fear effects instead applies to all saving throws. If you expend one use of mythic power when you start a bardic performance to inspire courage, you add your tier to this bonus. Does this seem way too good to anybody else? For the measly cost of 1 mythic power, you're giving a huge bonus to all saves. Bard 20/Marshal 10 would be giving a +14 competence bonus to all saves to all his allies! That seems absurd.
Snows of Summer, session 1 A curious pair of travelers arrived at Heldren. Aldan Kaliqu-Seeker, a male gnome, and Freya Winterbreeze, a female human. They declared themselves Pathfinders, on the hunt for stories of interest. Little did they know that this remote, sleepy village, this Podunk town they looked down upon, would be the start of the greatest adventure of their lives. It started simply enough. A kidnapped noble and a reward for her return. This was barely interesting; nobles went missing day in and day out all over the world. Yet with word of the kidnapping came stories of unnatural winter weather. Odd, considering it was midsummer. Curious, the pair agreed to help, not expecting the village elder to saddle them with the town drunk, Nikolai, and the out-of-place worshipper of Sarenrae, Aisling. The cleric, at least, would probably be useful. Nikolai, however, was fat, smelled bad, and complained endlessly when he didn’t have a bottle of vodka in his hands. There was a survivor from Lady Argentea’s kidnapping, an Ulfen bodyguard by the name of Yuln Orestag. He told a harrowing tale of a bandit attack that included strange fey creatures touched by winter itself. The frostbitten man related his experience with such creatures – he’d seen their type before, far to the north, where winter ruled year round and the dread Winter Witches reigned with frozen fists. What were such creatures doing in Taldor? Worried by Yuln’s story, Nikolai, Aldan, and Aisling purchased winter outfits from the general store. Curiously, Freya scorned the additional protection, stating she had no such need. The group of misfits headed south, following the directions Yuln had given them. After a few hours of travel, they arrived at the ambush site to find one of the wagons wrecked, the other turned on its side. When they inspected the latter, they heard sounds coming from inside, as if somebody were still alive! How wrong they were. When the door was opened, two corpses tumbled out of the wagon and stood up, animated into a horrible mockery of life. The zombies were clumsy, but they slammed their arms into their victims with the force of unlife. It was a harrowing battle, but the dark energy powering the zombies eventually collapsed. Also at the ambush site stood a statue made of ice. Only with closer inspection did they discover it was no statue, but a man completely encased in ice. A cold, gruesome death, no doubt. With heavy heart, they broke through the ice and removed the dead captain’s breastplate – emblazoned with Taldan heraldry, and his finely crafted longsword, intending to return them to Lady Argentea when they found her. A path to the south was obviously the direction the kidnappers took, and so they followed. All too soon they encountered a curious phenomenon. The height of summer turned to cold winter rather abruptly, as the temperature dropped precipitously, and snow lay deep on the ground, with more falling every minute. Glad now they purchased the furs and heavy clothes, the group continued on. It didn’t take too long for things to get odder. An arctic tatzlwyrm burst from the snow and tore into Freya, looking to pull her into its den and feast. The creature turned out to be no match for the fury of Aisling’s fire bursts and Nikolai’s flashing blades, however, and Freya was saved. They slogged through the snow, keeping their clothes tight about them. Except Freya. She walked easily on top of the snow in little more than a light dress, seemingly perfectly at ease in the environment. Who was this woman? Even Aldan, who had travelled with her to some degree and knew she had magic at her command, was surprised at how easily she adapted to the harsh cold. Their travels took several days, and they were dogged by several fey creatures, their skin white as the snow and their words cold as the air. Turn back, they said, or face the eternal cold of death. The diminutive creatures were little threat, however, and so resorted to tricks more than overt attacks – a talking stag, a snowman rigged with a trap. Nothing deterred the group, however, and soon the fey disappeared. Eventually, the intrepid group arrived at a man-made shelter, the High Sentinel Lodge. Once the local base for a group of rangers that protected the nearby area, it had since been overrun by the bandits that kidnapped Lady Argentea, as her would-be rescuers soon found out. They went in the front door and were attacked by several bandits. A vicious battle unfolded, one that drew the attention of the cook, who had little interest in joining, and the bandit’s leader, who reinforced the bandits with creatures of his own making – two human skeletons infused with cold deeper than anything they’d ever felt. These awful undead creatures attacked without mercy, freezing everything nearby. But the bandit leader wasn’t done. Invisible to their eyes, he read from a scroll and touched two of the recently-slain corpses of his allies, and they rose as zombies. After a hectic fight, Freya and Aldan retreated, exhausted and depleted. Nikolai attempted to follow, and almost got away, but on the porch he was unable to avoid an attack, and crashed through the porch and onto the ground beneath. Aisling, offended by the blasphemous skeletons, refused to retreat, expending every last ounce of magic she had. With fire blazing from her fingertips and a song to Sarenrae on her lips, she fought the skeletons, burning away their cold with holy fire. The last of the undead fell before her, and she followed her companions. She was shocked to see that Nikolai was still alive under the porch, albeit barely. Taking the wounded man with her, Aisling found Freya and Aldan, and the group set up a camp, resting for several days attempting to recover and drawing up plans. They had yet to even glimpse the person who had created the undead, and so had little to work from. When they felt themselves ready, they returned to the lodge. Instead of piling into the confines of the building, they climbed atop the building and filled the chimneys with snow. Before long, smoke filled the lodge, and the doors opened. Out came seven figures. Four bandits, clearly sick, two more zombies – easily recognized as fallen bandits – and another man, dressed in a heavy fur coat. It was he, the necromancer, that ordered the attack. Another furious battle erupted. The zombies and the leader seemed the true threat, as the sick bandits struggled to hold their crossbows straight with shaky hands. Nikolai and Aisling focused their efforts on the zombies, while Freya and Aldan attempted to deal with the bandit leader. He was no easy mark, however, as he cast a spell that paralyzed Nikolai before turning to deal with the two confronting him. The zombies mindlessly attacked Nikolai and grievously wounded him just as he broke through the spell. It was a harrowing battle, with the heavyset man flirting with death every few seconds. Only the healing of Aisling kept him alive. Rokhar Cindren, the leader of the bandits, struggled with the prowess of Freya and Aldan. Freya revealed much of her power here, infusing her magic attacks with a cold similar to that of the destroyed skeletons. Rokhar, however, was not without defenses, and could create a duplicate of himself to confuse his enemies seemingly whenever he wanted. His spells were devastating, as well, and Aldan noticed something odd. While spells normally involve hand movement, Rokhar seemed to be hiding a furtive movement with each spell. It took another casting for him to realize what it was – a holy symbol of Norgorber. This was no necromancer, but a cleric! The sick bandits, their aim steadily getting worse away from the warmth of the building, and terrified of dying only to be raised as zombies, eventually threw down their crossbows and fled, cursing Rokhar as they went. It proved to be the turning point in the battle, as the zombies finally fell to Nikolai and Aisling, and the combined might of the group brought Rokhar to heel. The villain surrendered. It took little prompting to get Rokhar talking. There were more fey creatures, and even some kind of troll, deeper in the Border Woods. He made a deal with them rather than succumbing to their might. But he did not trust them, and had captured one of the fey, although he was unable to pry any information from the sprite. The cleric confided that Lady Argentea was in the basement of the lodge. Freya noticed that Rokhar’s fine fur cloak had magical properties to protect against the cold, and Nikolai claimed the valuable item. To his delight, he found that if he drew it closed, he took on the vague appearance of a yeti. Unknown to him, several of his companions preferred the look. Investigation of Rokhar’s room found a map that showed the location the fey were using as a base camp, as well as the best route to get there. In a side room, they found the sprite Rokhar had captured, a foul-tempered creature by the name of Vrixx. The fey did not respond to their attempts to gather information, preferring instead to hurl insults and promises of their death. Annoyed with the creature, they abandoned it, leaving it to starve in the cage. When they entered the basement, they were greeted by Lady Argentea. Perhaps greeted is the wrong word. “About time!” she stormed. “I’ve been waiting entirely too long for rescue. What do you mean by leaving me in the hands of these villains for so long?” The trip back to Heldren was unpleasant, to say the least. Lady Argentea kept up a steady stream of complaints about their ineptitude, and it was all the group could do to keep Nikolai from ending her misery for good. He satisfied himself another way. With his new cloak, he had no need for the heavy furs he’d worn on the way. Lady Argentea, on the other hand, needed protection from the cold. He took great pleasure in giving her the oversized, sweat and vodka-stained furs. Upon their return to Heldren, they freed themselves of Lady Argentea and turned Rokhar over to the local authorities. They received the promised reward and provided witness against Rokhar, who was hanged for his crimes. A few days passed, as they attempted to relax and recover from the harrowing adventure. But true relaxation was difficult to find. Freya, born of winter herself and with all together too much knowledge of the fey they encountered and their masters, worried why they were in Taldor. Aldan, tinkering with the gun he’d finally figured out how to get working, knew there was a story here to be found, one that would make him famous. Aisling saw the unnatural winter blotting out the glory of the sun, a blasphemy she could not let pass. As for Nikolai…well, the Silver Stoat was fast running out of vodka. Something had to be done.
I'm thinking of throwing one or two of these at my high level party. They most likely won't have much of a problem with it by itself (although the alchemist who loves his force bombs may be in for a surprise), but it could be an interesting creature to act as a called bodyguard for a powerful spellcaster. Elder Force Elemental CR 16
Forceful Strike (Ex) An elder force elemental deals an additional 2d6 force damage on its slam attacks.
There's a thread in the Pathfinder Adventure Path General Discussion forum called "Adventure Path question." When I click on the link, it takes me to a Reign of Winter PbP. If I search the posts of people who posted in that thread, I can see the posts in the results, but if I try to go directly to those posts by clicking on the link, it still takes me to the PBP.
I'm going to be running Shackled City sometime soon, and I'm in the process of converting the creatures. I went right to the BBEG first, so here's my take on a Pathfinderized Adimarchus. Adimarchus CR 23 Angelic Form CE Medium Outsider (chaotic, demon, evil, extraplanar)
AC 43, touch 26, flat-footed 36 (+7 armor, +6 Dex, +9 insight, +10 natural, +1 dodge)
Implosive Strike (Su) Three times per day and no more than once per round, Adimarchus can cause an opponent to implode with any normal melee attack. In addition to taking damage, the target must make a DC 38 Fortitude save or collapse in on itself and be killed instantly. Adimarchus must declare that he is using this ability before the attack roll is made. The save DC is Constitution-based. Lie in State (Su) If both of Adimarchus's forms die, Adimarchus (in his current form) disappears after 24 rounds. The body reappears dead but intact on Occipitus, his realm in the Abyss. Any equipment Adimarchus was wearing or carrying at the moment of his death is likewise transported to Occipitus - and is likewise reconstituted if it was destroyed. Dimensional anchor, dimensional lock, and similar spells delay the body's transportation in this manner, but once the spell's effect ends, the body transports to Occipitus immediately. After lying in state for 1d100 days on his home plane, both of Adimarchus's forms are restored to full life. If Adimarchus is slain on his home plane, he is dead forever. Madness (Ex) Adimarchus uses his Charisma modifier on Will saves instead of his Wisdom modifier, and is immune to confusion and insanity effects. Razorwings (Su) These gold-plated wings have razor-sharp feathers. Adimarchus can attack with them as an off-hand weapon, although not in the same round he attacks with two hand-held weapons. The wings deal damage as a +1 keen scythe. Shroud Alignment (Su) Spells and spell-like abilities with the good descriptor treat Adimarchus as if his alignment were good. Magic items are similarly fooled. Demonic Form
Lie in State (Su) If both of Adimarchus's forms die, Adimarchus (in his current form) disappears after 24 rounds. The body reappears dead but intact on Occipitus, his realm in the Abyss. Any equipment Adimarchus was wearing or carrying at the moment of his death is likewise transported to Occipitus - and is likewise reconstituted if it was destroyed. Dimensional anchor, dimensional lock, and similar spells delay the body's transportation in this manner, but once the spell's effect ends, the body transports to Occipitus immediately. After lying in state for 1d100 days on his home plane, both of Adimarchus's forms are restored to full life. If Adimarchus is slain on his home plane, he is dead forever. Madness (Ex) Adimarchus uses his Charisma modifier on Will saves instead of his Wisdom modifier, and is immune to confusion and insanity effects. Shroud Alignment (Su) Spells and spell-like abilities with the good descriptor treat Adimarchus as if his alignment were good. Magic items are similarly fooled. Ashen Blade
Just finished running a playtest game with 14th level/7th mythic tier characters. The characters were taken from a Slumbering Tsar game I'm running in which they're currently 14th level (with 20 point buy) and the players added 7 tiers. I had them increase their treasure/wealth up to 400,000.
Gobby Firebomb
Gnaww Breaker
Isis Avanne
Lily the Condemned
Creatures
The group took this encounter with ease, although that's to be expected with the CR difference. Isis used prismatic spray and sent the agile froghemoth to another plane before it got to use its dual initiative. The black scorpion's poison would have wrecked the creature it attacked, the dragon simulacrum, but it was also removed by a save-or-die spell (I can't remember which), and Lily was able to neutralize poison (just barely making the caster level check). Gnaww beatdown and destroyed the other froghemoth. Thoughts
Creature
The bandersnatch was able to sneak up on the party and charged/pounced in the surprise round. It randomly targeted the movanic deva. It shredded her in the first round (after the surprise round). The rest of the party had a very difficult time with it because of the magicbane ability, but Gnaww's extremely high hp and damage output eventually put it down. Thoughts
Creature
This was the first non-mythic creature, and it got steamrolled. It had one turn in which it breathed its spores (which the party was barely fazed by thanks to mythic saves). It's ability to grapple as an immediate action was nice, but again, Gnaww auto-confirmed a critical hit. Thoughts
Creature
This encounter was the final one of the adventuring day. The party came across a lake in a swamp with an island in the center, and a small building on the island. Situated throughout the lake were pillars that rose up to 15' out of the lake. Little did they know that the entire lake was hallucinatory terrain. Most of the party was flying, and the dragon simulacrum carried those who were not. It set Gnaww down on the island, and he fell into the 200' deep pit the illusion was covering. Down in the pit was swamp water 60' deep. The party followed Gnaww and healed them, while the dragon watched and cast spells in preparation. It burst out of the water and breathed acid on several of them. This encounter saw a lot of uses of mythic power on acting twice in the same round. It eventually ended with Isis dead, Gobby about to die, and Lily plane shifting herself and Gnaww away. Thoughts The dragon was overall too powerful for the party. Its AC was too high, its SR was too much, the Combat Expertise (mythic) feat was utterly brutal (+9 AC for 1 minute at the cost of 1 mythic power!). A dragon acting twice a round is pretty nasty also, although it didn't make a ton of difference, since the party was mostly doing the same.
Creature
This was an interesting fight. Treerazer's defoliation ability should have hurt the party a ton, but thanks to mythic saves, it wasn't that bad. Treerazer also suffered severely from action economy - most of the characters were acting twice per round, some of them twice before he even acted once. Antiplant shell was dispelled when he put it up, so one of his primary defenses was negated. Even so, he very nearly killed Gnaww, and would have if he hadn't rolled a natural 1 twice in a full-attack routine. Thoughts
1) Amazing Initiative - I think it's probably too strong. Why would characters not use it every round in just about every difficult fight, especially when they've got quite a few tiers and tons of mythic power? 2) Mythic Saves - I get that mythic characters are supposed to be on another level than non-mythic creatures, but this ability just about wrecks every non-mythic creature that relies on any ability that allows a save. 3) Metamastery - This ability is kind of weird right now. For a mere one mythic power, all your spells are, say, persistent, or heighten, or dazing, etc. Isis used it on quicken, which brought up two issues: first, you only get one swift action per round, so quicken with it doesn't really work, and second, is it really intended for all spells to be able to go past the 9th level limit? A maximized wail of the banshee, for instance. 4) With no scaling of caster level inherent to mythic tiers, spell resistance becomes a huge problem. Isis failed a lot of these checks, even though she had a very high +22 to the check (14th level, +2 Spell Penetration, +2 Greater Spell Penetration, +4 from otherwordly kimono). The mythic wyrm black dragon and Treerazer had 35 and 36 SR, respectively, which was very difficult for her to overcome, and would be nigh-impossible for somebody less optimized. 5) Isis has a strong focus on summoning in the Slumbering Tsar game. Summoning loses all appeal with mythic tiers added in - the creatures you can summon just aren't worth it. 6) The mythic spell list is really, really small right now. I know it's just a playtest, but it's hard to get an accurate read on how useful mythic spells will be currently.
Overall impressions: 1) It took a good 30-45 minutes to get the players to add 3 mythic tiers to their level 6 character. They really struggled to find feats they wanted to take. 2) A mythic character sheet would be a great idea, even if its just for the playtest. 3) Most of the combats were over almost immediately. The agile dire wolf got to show off his dual-initiative, but very ineffectually due to his low attack bonus. The other wolves and snakes do nothing. 4) The Treant hid the two mythic grizzly bears nicely, but once the bears go into range to attack, they weren't too effective - again, low attack rolls. The party focused down the treant first, then turned to the bears. They did some decent damage, especially some bleed on the summoner, but they died quickly. 5) The canyon flummoxed the party for awhile. Eventually, the eidolon flew back and forth, carrying one member. That stopped when a lighting bolt hit bot of them. Next, two of the party tried to climb down the crevice and fell, taking 6d6 damage. The last one not crossing cut the rope bridge and rode it down to the other side of the canyon. Lightning struck him during this, and he failed his acrobatics. The party then just used the now rope ladder to climb up the crevice and move on, but not before the two who had avoided lightning got blasted. 6) The hydra came out to "oohs" and "aahs." Summoner rolled knowledge on them, and got that they heal quickly, that cutting the heads off is a key to killing it, but be careful, as heads can grow back. Sorcerer pulled out his favorite trick (same thing to a burnt out shell of a treant trunk back a few miles) Fireball at the hydra. It failed its save, and caught on fire. The hydra didn't like what happened and charged the sorcerer. Full attack brought him to half hp with a fair amount of bleed. Fighter tore into the hydra, followed by the eidolon whiffing multiple times. Hydra got to act again and kept beating on the one that set him on fire. Full round attack again, and this time the sorcerer drops with 8 bleed still going. Fighter attacks like hell and tears the hydra open, killing it easily. ---------------------------- That was the end. I think most of the mythic creatures in this were a little low for the attack bonuses and their AC. Overall, though, it was quite a bit of fun. We all agree that Amazing Initiative is absurdly overpowered at this point.
I've got a group of 14th level characters, and we're going to be doing some different combats to playtest the mythic rules this Sunday. If you're in my Slumbering Tsar game, please don't read the rest of this post. The players are going to be 14th level with 7 mythic tiers. I want to throw a mythic black dragon at them (I'll get to use my huge black dragon piece finally), so I took a Black Dragon, Wyrm (CR 17) and added 7 mythic ranks to it. This is what I came up with: Mythic Black Dragon, Wyrm CR 24/MR 7
Acidic Bite (Su) At old age, a black dragon's bite deals an additional 2d6 points of acid damage. An ancient dragon's damage increases to 4d6, and a great wrym's to 6d6. Clinging Acid (Su) Acid from the dragon's breath weapon clings to everything it touches. This functions like the acid pool ability, in that the damage dice are halved each round. There is no save for following rounds, however. If a creature made its Reflex save and took half damage from the breath weapon, the damage in all subsequent rounds is halved also. Creatures that avoided the breath weapon's effects entirely are not coated in acid. Cloud Sight (Ex) - The black dragon can see perfectly through clouds and fogs that normally obscure vision. This includes, but is not limited to, effects such as fog cloud, acid fog, and cloudkill. Command Reptiles (Sp) Once per day as a standard action the black dragon may command reptiles within a 1 mile radius to come to his aid. The black dragon may affect a number of hd of reptiles equal to twice his own hd. Reptiles with the most hd are affected first. This has no effect on animal companions or humanoid reptiles. This effect lasts for a number of minutes equal to the hd of the black dragon. Creatures under the effect of this ability are immune to the terrifying presence ability of the dragon. There is no saving throw for this ability. Corrupt Water (Sp) Once per day an adult or older black dragon can stagnate 10 cubic feet of still water, making it foul and unable to support water-breathing life. The ability spoils liquids containing water. Liquid-based magic items (such as potions) and items in a creature's possession must succeed on a Will save (DC equal to the dragon's frightful presence) or become ruined. This ability is equivalent of a 1st-level spell. Its range is equal to that of the dragon's frightful presence. Corrosive Acid (Su) - Acid damage caused by the black dragon ignores acid resistance and immunity. Precision (Ex) - The black dragon is amazingly accurate with its attacks. Whenever it makes an attack roll that results in a natural 1 on the die, the attack is not automatically a miss. Quick Reflexes (Ex) The black dragon is preternaturally quick for its size, and acts twice each round, using two different initiative modifiers (although it rolls only once for initiative). Although it acts twice, it still only counts as one round for the purposes of spell effects, durations, and all other abilities that are based on rounds. The black dragon gains a +20 racial bonus to initiative checks, and its extra initiative count comes at its normal initiative count - 20. Speak with Reptiles (Sp) A young or older black dragon gains the constant spell-like ability to speak with reptiles. This functions as speak with animals, but only with reptilian animals. Swamp Stride (Ex) A very young or older black dragon can move through bogs and quicksand without penalty at its normal speed. Terrifying Presence (Ex) This functions just like frightful presence, but the black dragon may spend one mythic point as a swift action to force creatures in its radius to save again, even if they made their save before. Water Breathing (Ex) A black dragon can breathe underwater indefinitely and can freely use its Breath weapon, spells, and other abilities while submerged. Mythic stuff
Thoughts on this creature? Fully buffed, he's going to be an absolute nightmare to hit. 48 AC naturally, +4 Shield, +6 mage armor (and 50% crit negation), +2 cat's grace, and +9 combat expertise (with no penalty to attack with 1 mythic point spent)...that's a 69 AC!
An idea I had for a group of spells. Thoughts? Render Inert, Lesser
This spell creates an invisible layer of protection around the caster. If an alchemical splash weapon directly hits the caster, the spell interferes with the alchemical reaction, rendering the splash weapon inert. No damage is done to the caster, and the splash weapon becomes useless. This spell works against all alchemical splash weapons, including an alchemist's bombs. After one splash weapon has been rendered inert, the spell ends. Render Inert
This spell functions like render inert, lesser except where noted above and that it can stop one alchemical splash weapon per three caster levels. However, it can only stop one alchemical splash weapon per round. Render Inert, Greater
This spell functions like render inert except that it can stop one alchemical splash weapon per caster level and it can stop more than one more round.
Does a contingency spell know when you are targeted by a 5th level or higher spell or spell-like ability, and can it trigger before the spell takes effect? My reading is that the spell is not Divination, and cannot forsee that a spell/spell-like is targeting the person, nor does it know what level the effect is, and it can't tell who the target is until the spell takes effect. I think the spell is more reactive that proactive.
Two of my players in Slumbering Tsar have been removed from the world by a piece of non-magical stone artwork touched by Orcus. The book says they can only be rescued by wish or miracle, but I think a well-designed rescue mission is far more interesting than that. I've got some ideas on how I want this to go, but I'm stumped for specifics. Background: The party is 11th level. The two captured members are a human wizard and goblin alchemist. The party rescuing them will consist of a human bard, human cleric, and dwarf samurai (and possibly one other character, not sure yet). The basic idea I have is for the two captured members are going to be in a 20' spherical room made of some incredibly hard stone. There's a permanent anti-magic field within the stone, and the characters are essentially trapped in limbo - they do not need to eat, drink, or sleep. If they do sleep, they are plagued by nightmares that prevent any sort of healing. They have their gear, but nothing else. There is no light. Due to intense sensory-deprivation, they will have to make a Will save every day or take 1d6 Wisdom damage. Basically, until the rest of the party intervenes, they're stuck permanently. The rescuers will need to attack the piece of artwork, which will act in some ways as an animated object. Once they destroy it, they too are sucked into the room, with no save. At the same time, a 3' long, 1" wide crack appears in the perfect sphere walls. This is the key for the players to escape, but they must act quickly, because the power of Orcus's touch will cause the crack to mend itself after X amount of time (not sure how long - very much dependent on what kind of solutions there are to get out). So, the whole party is together again, but in the spherical room with a mending crack that cannot be squeezed through. I know one of the first things the samurai will try is to bash the walls in with his adamantine flail - this is a boring solution, so I don't think it should work. I want them to have to think about things. My problem is that I'm not coming up with much in the way of good solutions to the problem. I think one thing that might work is to pour holy water on the crack. Each flask could widen it by a foot or so - pushing back the power of Orcus. That's only one solution, though, and I want multiple possibilities to escape. The main requirement is that I don't want the solutions to be a puzzle - this room was designed to never be escaped, so an elaborate puzzle to find an escape doesn't make sense. Rather, it's a flaw in the design of the trap itself that is allowing the possibility for escape. Anybody have any ideas?
Our group has tried several different methods for how to handle knowledge checks, and the big problem that keeps cropping up is the dump of information given after a successful knowledge check. This usually ends up going something like this: GM: You see a towering, corpulent beast with the hideous head of a boar and arms ending in fatty, four-fingered hands. Player: I'd like to roll a knowledge check. Which should I roll? GM: Planes. Player: (rolls d20). I got a 18 plus my modifier of 22 for a 40. GM: This is a Nalfeshnee Demon. They can summon lights around them that, one round later, burst out and can daze anybody that views them. They also have true seeing constantly and an unholy aura that acts as the spell. Lastly, they're immune to poison. Player: Got that everybody? (All other characters now know the information just given) The dump of information breaks immersion and the flow of combat, as does the person who rolled the knowledge being able to pass the information on to all the other characters immediately. Now for the second problem, you can do something like allowing a character only disseminate X amount of information per round, but that completely relies on the other players not metagaming...which is really difficult to do when you've just heard everything. The solution, as far as I can see, to the metagaming problem is to secretly pass the information to the player that rolled, but that takes even more time, which is unacceptable. Our group is completely stumped on how to keep the knowledge checks from bogging combat down to a crawl. Any ideas?
This creature is inspired by Diablo 3. What CR would you put it at? Sand Wasp
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Poison: Sting - contact (DC 19) (Ex) Poison deals 1d3 CON damage, 1/round for 6 rds, cure 1 save. Wasps: A Sand Wasp carries hundreds of eggs ready to be hatched in its gullet. As a standard action, it can hatch and spit the baby wasps at anything that threatens it. This is a ranged touch attack with a maximum range of 30 feet. Enemies hit by this attack are subjected to the Sand Wasp's poison.
The party was fighting 3 Vrocks, which were flying 90 feet in the air and began dancing (Dance of Ruin ability). The wizard rolled a 22 on her Knowledge: Planes check to identify them, which gave her one piece of useful knowledge. The player (who knew out of character exactly what the creature was and what the dance did) wanted to be told what the dance was. I ruled that the character could get one offensive ability determined by chance and rolled a die - it came up that the character knew about the Stunning Screech ability, not the Dance of Ruin. This encounter killed multiple characters, including the wizard, and I've been b#*+!ed at for being unfair with the knowledge check and that since the character saw the Vrocks dancing, that's what she should have known. As I see it, a knowledge check determines exactly what the character already knows about the creature, and seeing it do something doesn't influence what the character already knows. Was this ruling unfair? Dance of Ruin (Su):
A vrock can dance and chant as a full-round action—at the end of 3 rounds, a crackling wave of energy explodes from the vrock, dealing 5d6 points of electricity damage to all creatures within 100 feet. A DC 17 Reflex save halves this damage. For each additional vrock that joins in the dance, the damage increases by 5d6 and the DC to avoid the effect increases by +1, to a maximum of 20d6 when four or more vrocks are dancing (the DC continues to increase with additional vrocks, but the damage does not). The dance immediately ends and must be started anew if any of the participating vrocks is slain, stunned, or otherwise prevented from dancing. The save DC is Charisma-based. Stunning Screech (SU): Once per hour, a vrock can emit a shrill screech. All creatures except demons within a 30-foot-radius spread must succeed on a DC 21 Fortitude save or be stunned for 1 round. The save DC is Constitution-based.
If some undead have information needed to prevent a widespread disaster, can a cleric of Pharasma work with them to get the information, kind of how a paladin can work with evil creatures for the greater good? More specifics in the spoiler below. Carrion Crown plot info: We're in book 5, Ashes at Dawn. We've found an abandoned base of the Whispering Way in Caliphas and met with a Dhampir, who has basically asked us to help a group of vampires find and stop the vampire hunter currently plaguing them. In return, presumably, we'll get good information about how to stop the Whispering Way from bringing Tar-Baphon back to unlife. My first reaction to this was, "I think it's a fantastic idea for you to take us to meet these vampires. I would love to see them." (Note to self: prepare Daylight, Undeath to Death, Searing Light, etc.). The rest of my party, however, thinks I should cooperate with the vampires in order to achieve the greater good of stopping Tar-Baphon. The idea would be for me to come back and destroy these vampires after we stop the Whispering Tyrant. To my way of thinking, not only is working with undead a blasphemy, but stopping somebody from destroying them? It's exactly what a cleric of Pharamsa would never do. I admit, however, that my knowledge of her religion is not as expansive as it could be. Thoughts?
It is a miserable autumn evening. A wretched drizzle falls from the ash-gray sky. The crowded, rain-slicked buildings seem especially bleak and frightful this evening, hunched together beneath the gloomy skies. A few lights burn in their windows, but mostly their shutters have been closed for the night. The scent of chimney smoke fills the air, and the din of water trundles from the rooftops, splashing into dark alleys and turning street gutters into rivulets. Adolphus:
Lord Premiach Vanderboren sent you to Town Hall to deliver an important sealed message to the Lord Mayor’s office. As usual, it took over an hour of dealing with bureaucracy to complete your task, and evening is well under way by the time you finally handed the message to one of the Lord Mayor’s assistants (which one, you can’t remember – he’s got so many).
The night is yours. Perhaps a drink at the Drunken Morkoth Inn wouldn’t be amiss. Darthal:
Another day searching through dusty, barely legible maps, and all for naught. Your eyes ache from the strain of reading faded scribbles, and you curse “progress” under your breath. Maps should be chiseled into stone. More durable, easier to read, and just a pleasure to work with. Not so with vellum. With a disgruntled sigh, you put the last of the maps away and leave Westkey’s Map Emporium. The rain drizzles down on you; a mug of coffee would help burn the chill away. Deacon’s is closed by now, but the Tipped Tavern brews a decent cup. Diurn:
You’re walking counterclockwise down Magma Ave. Other people are scurrying past, attempting to get out of the gloomy weather quickly, but it suits your mood perfectly. Your mother is on your mind, or rather, how you can get past her shadow. You’re a young, strong man, eminently capable. Yet, your strange birth and mother’s fame are all anybody sees. If only there were a way to prove your own worth, to show that you can be even greater. Not that you want something bad to happen…but, well, maybe just a little bad, so that you can rush in and be the hero? That would be perfect. Dorian:
As the rain drips down, you think over your most recent research. The Church of Iomedae had been most willing to allow you to access their library. They were very welcoming, and only briefly attempted to preach. Unfortunately, the library itself held little of interest to you; mostly religious texts and journals from high priests past. Still, one never knows when one will turn up an important book in an unlikely place. Regardless, you head back to the Drunken Morkoth, looking forward to a hot meal. Dreygard:
You stumble out of the Slippery Eel Tavern, just a touch tipsy. Nothing a sturdy dwarf like yourself can’t handle, of course. Perhaps it was a little early in the evening, but that thought is a little too close to something your mother would say. Still, it might be best to head home. Clan Arduun doesn’t take kindly to agents that can’t control themselves. Luc:
Skie smiles and says, “Come back anytime, Luc. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you, but I’ve had my fill of adventuring these days. I do so love the stories, though.”
As you leave Skie’s Treasury, you wonder if you’ll ever dig up any solid information about the Vanishing. Skie had seemed like the perfect person to ask – a gnome wizard who used to adventure. But although she was fascinated by your pistol, she knew nothing about what really happened in Jzadirune. The chill, wet night makes you shiver, and you pull your cloak tighter. Enough of this fruitless search for the night, you decide. Time for a little fun. You turn to the northwest and head for the Drunken Morkoth.
Valamont: You’ve spent the last few hours in the Drunken Morkoth, sipping on wine and discussing the day’s events with mother. A few people approached your table with friendly looks, but turned away for some odd reason before they sat down. It’s a crowded evening, but you feel a tinge of loneliness. Halpeen’s too busy to talk, and mother, while a good listener, doesn’t say much. A breath of fresh air might be nice, so after finishing your wine, you step outside.
Welcome! I'm looking forward to this campaign quite a bit. Let's take role call, and we'll get down to the nuts and bolts. We'll need to start off by each person ensuring their character build is fully fleshed out in their profile. This is also a good time to talk amongst yourselves. While none of you have to know each other, Cauldron isn't a metropolis, so there's a good chance some of you are acquaintances, if not friends. Feel free to expand on this. It can only help the campaign. If you have any questions at all, feel free to ask away.
I've never GM'd a PBP before, but I received the Shackled City hardcover a few weeks ago and am very enamored with it. Since I'm new to GMing a PBP, I don't have any idea how much time and preparation will be required of me to do it. As such, I'm committed to completing the first chapter of Shackled City - Life's Bazaar. After the game goes for a bit, I'm sure I'll have a better idea how much work this will be, and I'm optimistic that I'll be able to commit to completing the entire adventure path. So, that introduction out of the way, here's the details. Important
Sources allowed
Character Creation 20 point buy. More than one dump stat is frowned upon, and I expect any dump stat to be roleplayed properly. Max hp at first level, half rounded up after that. Max starting gold for your class. 2 "normal" traits. If you are a citizen of Cauldron, you must also pick 1 additional trait from those listed as Campaign Traits in the Player's Guide (you should download and read this). Note that these traits have both benefits and secret drawbacks. Being a citizen is not required, but all citizens must pick a Campaign Trait. Some flavor of good alignment is required - LG, CG, or NG only. What's expected of a player Download and read the Player's Guide. I want characters, not stat blocks, for the recruitment. Give me an idea of who the character is, how they'll act both in and out of combat, what they're interested in, what ties to Cauldron they have, etc. Backgrounds that interconnect with other characters are great. Characters that are well fleshed out stand a much better chance at getting into the game. That all being said, I understand the love of creating characters, so if you post a stat block along with your character information, great! I expect players to post at least once a day during the week. Weekend posting is optional, although there's a very good chance I'll be available weekends. I do not expect players to have experience with PBPs. If you've played or GM'd Shackled City before, please let me know. This won't automatically disqualify you. Miscellaneous The party will be between 4-6 players. I will be posting images of maps as we go, updating them each round in combat. This method of tracking combat may be up for discussion after the first chapter is completed if it is unsatisfactory. Shackled City is set in Greyhawk. However, that's a setting I know nothing about, so Greyhawk lore will not be used. While Golarion's gods will be used, the game will not be set in Golarion. Since the AP takes place in Cauldron and it's surrounding environs, there won't be much need for information about distant lands. If you want to incorporate being a foreigner, feel free to write up a little detail about the place you come from. Recruitment will close on February 19, at which point I'll decide on the players (assuming enough people apply!). Did I mention to download and read the Player's Guide? Yeah, you should do that. I check these messageboards multiple times a day, so if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.
Scenario: Creature has a natural bite attack and a longbow. On his turn, he takes a full attack with the longbow. After his turn, somebody provokes an AoO and the creature uses his bite to make the attack. Does the bite use the full attack bonus or does it take a -5 for using both a natural and a manufactured weapon?
I made this spreadsheet for one of my players having a hard time tracking her spells per day as a Wizard. It's not fancy, but I like its functionality. How to Use At the bottom of the page: 1) Choose Yes or No for Universalist.
The sheet will calculate your Concentration bonus, Spell DCs, and spell slots available. You can either type in the spells you have prepared or print out the sheet and write them in manually. When you use a spell, simply check the box next to the slot. The spell slots marked with an * are for specialists only. Note: This spreadsheet requires Excel 2007 or later. I have no idea if it's compatible with Open Office. If you notice an error in the calculations, please let me know. I might add more functionality to this sheet if there's enough interest. It also wouldn't take too much time for me to add sheets for other spellcasters. Post here if you'd like further development, along with the features you'd like to see.
The spell Debilitating Portent from Ultimate Combat: Debilitating Portent (UC, pg 227):
School Enchantment (compulsion); Level cleric 4, witch 4 Casting Time 1 standard action Components V, S, DF Range medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level) Target one creature Duration 1 round/level (D) see text Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance yes The target is surrounded by a glowing green aura of ill fate. Each time the spell’s subject makes an attack or casts a spell, it must succeed at a Will saving throw with a DC = 10 + 1/2 caster level + Charisma (in the case of oracles) or Wisdom (in the case of clerics). If it fails the saving throw, it deals half damage with the attack or spell. You can dismiss this spell as an immediate action when the target confirms a critical hit; doing so negates the critical hit. The attack that you negated still hits, but only deals half damage. The bolded section is where I have a question. There's no mention of Charisma or Wisdom modifier, unlike nearly every spell out there. Is this intentional? If a 7th level Cleric with a Wisdom score of 21 casts the spell, is the DC for each attack really a 34? I can't imagine this is what was intended, and that the DC is meant to be 10 + 1/2 caster level + Charisma/Wisdom modifier.
If a creature has a touch attack (say, a Lich with Paralyzing Touch) and a BAB of +6, does he get two touch attacks on a full attack action at +6/+1, or just the singular touch?
Attrition due to children and a disruptive player being removed has whittled our game group from 5 players to 2. We're looking for 2-3 more players to join our campaign (details on it below). The game is every Saturday starting at 9:00am and running anywhere to 1:00 to 4:00 (depending on what time our DM has to work). We play at the DM's house near UCR. Campaign details: - Pathfinder rules, with some 3.5 thrown in (Magic Item Compendium, Psionics Unleashed, and other bits and bobs).
Please post here if you're interested.
This Memorial Day, I'm a player in a one-shot campaign. All I know is that we'll be facing a dragon with some kobold sidekicks. We get 25 point buy and standard WBL. I'm thinking of doing the following (rather crazy) build: Dragon Disciple 9, Fighter 8, Sorcerer 1, Paladin 2 Half-Elf
Half-Elf Skill Focus: Knowledge Planes
Levels 1-5 skill: Knowledge: Arcana, Level 6 skill: Linguistics (for Draconic language) 1: So, Draconic Bloodline, Toughness
Sorcerer spells 0: Dancing Lights, Detect Magic, Mending, Message, Prestidigitation, Read Magic, Resistance
Gear: +5 Dragonkin Bane Adamantine Falchion, +5 Mithral Full Plate, Amulet of Natural Armor +5, Belt of Physical Perfection +6, Boots of Teleportation, Cloak of Resistance +5, Gloves of Dueling, Goz Mask, Handy Haversack, Headband of Mental Superiority (Use Magic Device, Fly, Spellcraft), Dusty Rose Prism Ioun Stone, Lesser Extend Metamagic Rod, Lesser Quicken Metamagic Rod, Ring of Freedom of Movement, Ring of Protection +5, Silver Smite Bracelet, Wand of Lead Blades, several scrolls of Divine Power (CL 18), several scrolls of Heal and Mass Heal, Manual of Bodily Health +4. This setup leaves me with the following stats: Str 38
HP: 309
Notable skills: Fly (25), Perception (19), Spellcraft (25), Use Magic Device (35) Since we'll be going after the dragon, I believe I'll have time to cast buffs before we engage. I plan on using Lead Blades, Divine Power, extended Enlarge Person, extended Haste, See Invsibility, Mirror Image, Shield, and Protection from Evil. Once we engage, I'll use smite evil on the dragon, and power attack always. As near as I can tell, my stats against the dragon itself would be: AC: 49
First attack: +55, 3d6 + 67 15-20/x2 + 2d6 (bane)
I would also have a bite at +33, 1d8 + 49 20/x2, and 2 claws at +33, 1d8 + 24 20/x2 + 1d6 fire. I think this will be very close damage wise to a straight Two-Handed Fighter, but his defense is considerably better, as is his versatility with the UMD of 35. I still have ~54k left to spend, and I'm not really sure what else to spend it on. Any comments or suggestions about the build?
I've introduced some friends to Pathfinder and run them through a couple of very short adventures to get them a feel for how the game works. I've run both Master of the Fallen Fortress and Silent Tide, along with a couple sessions of some basic dungeon diving for them. This is the extent of my experience as a GM. My players are okay with the basics, but still have quite a bit to learn. We're looking to start an AP, and I'm not sure which to do. The party will consist of a Paladin, Oracle, Druid, and Wizard. I, as a player, am currently playing through Carrion Crown and Serpent's Skull, and early on in them, so those two APs are out. Everything else is fair game, and they all sound pretty damn interesting. Anybody have any suggestions on an AP that would work well for new players? |
