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Has anything been done to address the fragility of the Pathfinder miniatures? I am a little out-of-the-loop. I haven't bought in many years. I know that WizKids improved the packaging, but that doesn't help those of us who prefer to buy non-random (ie: already removed from their packaging). I am loving the Rusty Dragon set! But I will not buy if I am going to have to go through the return and return-again process. What's the current status? Are the minis still fragile?
Comparing a CR 14 Adult Red Dragon (from 1st Bestiary), to a CR 15 Ancient Crystal Dragon (from Bestiary 2)... Why are the stats on the Huge Crystal Dragon so much tougher than the -1 CR Red? Is this incorrect? Or, did Paizo up the power level between the first Bestiary and Bestiary 2? Examples: Red frightful presence (180 ft., DC 21)
Huge Red AC 27
Red DR 5/magic
Red melee bite +25
Red spell-Like abilities, CL 17th
Red spells known CL 7th
All this and more for a +1 CR? I want to use the Ancient Crystal Dragon as a boss-monster, and so it should be above the party's level (13th in this case). But, I am concerned it is tougher than it's CR. I want this to be a tough and memorable fight, not a guaranteed TPK. Appreciate your thoughts.
I'm hoping for some wisdom to adjudicate an unusual situation. How would you suppose Levitate would work in an area of zero gravity? If you were on a plane that had no gravity, I would expect the lack of up/down would allow you to determine your own up/down, and so Levitate would work (mostly) like Fly. However, what if one were levitating in an area of zero gravity on a plane that had normal gravity. How would the spell work then? Technically, there is a cardinal up and down, even though you may not be aware of it.
I'm running a 3.5 homebrew, with a fair number of house rules. In my game, dragons come in two categories: standard 3.5 and bestial. One of the PCs is a halfling Beast Master (from Complete Adventurer). I encouraged him to take a bestial white wyrmling as an animal companion, and allowed the dragon to grow as it gained HD to a maximum of Medium size. The time is drawing near when he will be able to ride it as a mount. Aside from the obvious, that I really should not be doing this!, I'd like some feedback on how to make this work. Bear in mind, this is all my doing. I'm not being pressured by the player. In fact, its more like the other way around. I think the notion of a dragon-riding PC is too cool not to give it a try! He is one of a party of 4, all 10th level. Each character is multi-classes and not all optimized. I've been targeting their CRs at -1 (so 9th now) to compensate. The others have similar boons. My goal is make them each worth a +1 to effective level. Overall, a young white dragon is only a CR 4, so I don't see this as being game threatening. However, it will grant the character certain advantages. These are the problems I already anticipate, and how I plan to handle them. At will breath weapon When he first gets this companion, an extra 3d6 cold damage every 1d4 rounds is going to be over powered. This is easily compensated for by adding hit points to the enemies, and throwing in a few cold resistant/immune challenges. Natural attacks A BAB of +9 and the low damage potential of a young dragon's attacks means I should not have to worry much against CR 10+ encounters. What little damage he's going to do could easily be offset by a few more hp on the enemies. Spell-like abilities Bestial dragons don't have them. Blindsense This has already been a problem with the dragon as an animal companion. Its very difficult for enemies to hide or sneak around the Beast Master character. I'm not sure what to do about it, except to go with it. The party is a lot less vulnerable to sniping. I just mix up my encounters well, and let them have an easier time when foes try to get the jump on them. Mobility Here's the one I'm worried about. I capped the dragon's movement rate at 150 feet, ruled that it will be encumbered while carrying a riding, reducing its rate to 100 and maneuverability to poor. I'd still let it hover, if the dragon takes a feat (I think there is one, but I can house-rule if not). That still leaves a PC that can move 100 feet and make a full attack! Then again, I worry that reducing maneuverability to poor will be too much of a pain for him in a tight dungeon setting. Well folks, that's my conundrum. I would appreciate some feedback and constructive criticism.
Is anyone else disappointed in the APG? I bought the APG a while back from my FLGS, and I just finished reading it. I have to stress that I don't think this is a bad book. It is worth the $40 price tag. The thing is, I expected a supplement that, with only minor house-rules, I could hand to my players and say "everything is in!" I really thought Paizo could pull that off. I'm a huge fan, and love everything else that I've bought. I especially like the new PF RPG rules. I think the book went over-the-top and into the realm of goofiness in quite a few places. At issue for me are the following:
The worst part is that these annoyances are scattered throughout an otherwise wonderful book. If it were limited to a section or two, I could trim them easily with a house rule. Yes, I know I can (and will) Rule-0 the stuff in on a case by case basis. I had hoped that, for once, I wouldn't need to. I am avoiding examples because I have a feeling we'll end up arguing over a specific example, and I would prefer a general discussion. What I really want to know is... Does anyone else feel this way? |
