Tony Wilkinson's page

Good Luck Dryder. Ask the Forum if you need anything.

So where are you in the story arc and must they be dungeon crawls?

With my campagin we have,

Added "Crown of the Kobold King" to "Stolen Lands" (The children had run froma caravan of settlers heading to Varnhold)

Added "Feast of Ravensmoor" (as the settlement where the abandoned ferry is at the bottom of the map), "Revenge of the Kobold King", "Carnival of Tears" (with a risen Staglord as the BBEG), "Horns of the Hunted" (third party product again instead of a random encounter) and finally "Realm of the Fellnight Queen" all to "Rivers Run Red". Fills out the world and there are some fun modules here.

Added "Cold Moutain" (third party producted added into the forests instead of a random encounter) to the mountains on the way to Varnhold in "Varnhold Vanishing"

Added "The Harrowing" in the space between "Varnhold Vanishing" and "Blood for Blood"

Up to this point they have been running on SLOW XP progression and I haven't had to do anything with the treasure.

Also look here https://paizo.com/threads/rzs42xze?Adding-other-published-adventures-to-Kin gmaker#1

Glad people are liking these ideas. My daughter is quite chuffed with herself that people might use her slightly crazy thoughts.

G’day All,
With the Anadi race of spider people being available in Pathfinder 2 now, my family got this crazy idea that we should try and match each player class to an Australian spider species. This started out as a kind of painting guide but then we got to thinking further. So we ended up matching each class to a spider species and giving some ideas on how the character build might look to suit the chosen spider. So you can all see where we are coing from after each idea is a link to info on that particular spider.

Here is what we came up with:

Core Rules Classes
Alchemist:
Spitting Spider – spits a mix of web and venom to catch its prey.
Playstyle – uses tanglefoot bags and poisons.
link

Barbarian:
Crab spider – runs down, tackles and wrestles prey larger than itself.
Playstyle – Giant totem and a grappling specialist.
link

Huntsman – runs really fast to catch its prey. Often seen in homes.
Playstyle – all of the mobility and speed boosts.
link

Bard:
Whistling Tarantula – makes a hissing noise when threatened.
Playstyle – wood wind instrument for performance, sonic attacks.
link

Peacock spider – a very colourful little jumper that dances to attract a mate.
Playstyle – Dance as your performance and then spells that use colour or light (colour spray etc)
link
And you must watch this: video

Champions:
Woolly tent spider – builds a tent like web to protect itself.
Playstyle – any champion type but focus on boosting AC and using tower shield.
link

Funnel web – likes coming into homes, is the most dangerous spider in the world and so iconic.
Playstyle – DPS focus. Just look at those fangs, mate.
link

Cleric:
Saint Andrews Cross – just likes hanging out in a web with a huge cross painted on it. Very chill. Think Friar Tuck.
Playstyle – Follower of Sheylan, support character, enchantment spells (Calm Emotions etc)
link

Druid:
Wolf spider – grey or brown striped things that move like lighting hunting down their prey. Don’t build webs.
Playstyle – shapechanger, Wild order, turns into a wolf (derr), or could take Animal order and have a wolf companion. Focus on mobility spells and abilities.
link

Fighter:
Ogre Faced or Net Casting Spiders – spin a web between their forelegs and the use it to grab prey.
Playstyle – Net weapons and/or grappling. Whip also works.
link

Monk:
Shaggy Jumping Spider – very athletic and one of the larger jumping spiders. A bit shaggy looking, so those old enough might think Grasshopper out of the “Kung Fu” western TV series.
Playstyle – All of the jumping. Grapple should be pretty good as well.
link

Ranger:
Huntsman – runs really fast to catch its prey. Often seen in homes.
Playstyle – all of the mobility and speed boosts.
link

Stern Jumping Spider – some of the best eyesight in any spider and incredibly accurate with their jumps.
Playstyle – Focus on Perception and ranged fighting. Strong Survival and any boosts to tracking.
link

Rogue:
Alanna’s Thief Spider – apart from the name, steals food from the webs of other, bigger spiders.
Playstyle – Thief archetype. Very high thievery.
link

Wrap-around Spider – wraps itself around branches and becomes one with the tree.
Playstyle – Very high Stealth and Deception.
link

Sorcerer:
Red Back Spider – iconic. Related to the Black Widow, though more venomous. Black with a very bright abdominal stripe (as Sorcerers must have a bit of flair.)
Playstyle – Occult spells. All of the poison and disease spells. Good stealth is also advised.
link

Wizard:
Peacock spider – a very colourful little jumper that dances to attract a mate.
Playstyle – Spells that use colour or light (colour spray etc). Cannot take ‘Still’ Spell.
link
And you must watch this: video

Witch:
Golden Orb-Weaver Spider – makes huge, intricate webs that are the bane of bush walkers.
Playstyle – Spells and Hexes that reduce mobility e.g. Web etc.
link

APG Classes
Swashbuckler:
Pirate spider – Hunts other spiders by plucking on their webs to make them think they have a catch, and well, it’s in the name.
Playstyle – Pirate archetype, high deception or bluff.
link

Investigator:
Fringed Jumping spider – Highly intelligent spiders, hunts other spiders and varies its tactics depending on the species that it is hunting.
Playstyle – High deception. Always try to use Devise a Stratagem.
link

Oracle:
Alien Butt spider – Honestly the name and that it just looks really cool. Besides if you have the face of a “Grey” painted on your backside, then you have cosmic connections/patrons.
Playstyle – Cosmos mystery obviously.
link

Reclusive Flat spider – A bit of a hermit off contemplating its navel, if it had one.
Playstyle – Life Oracle.
link

Playtest Classes
Inventor:
Brown House spider – builds intricate webs incorporating the bodies of its past victims.
Playstyle – Experimental Weapons focus (the spider has a nasty bite).
link

Also –
Leaf Curling spider – Makes its home by folding and then sewing a leaf into a tube shape.
Playstyle – Experimental armour.
link

Summoner:
Green-Tree Ant Mimic spider – looks like an ant to eat ants.
Playstyle – Has an eidolon that is a giant ant (sticking with the Australian theme base the eidolon on Green Tree Ants, Jumping Jack ants (they jump and spit venom at you) or Bull Ants (massive jaws that just try and tear you apart)). Use spells that summon/create vermin.
link

Gunslinger:
Magnificent Bolas spider – creates mini web bolas which it throws at prey to catch them.
Playstyle – take bolas as secondary weapon (so you will need to play “Lions of Katapesh” in Society). Nets and whips are also possible choices but why would you not go the bolas?
link

Magus:
Red Faced Mouse spider – not timid these blokes. They don’t have the biggest fangs or the deadliest venom but are pretty good at both. Looks the part.
Playstyle – High damage output. Two weapon fighting using poisons.
link

Hope I didn't freak too many of the arachnaphobes out and that some of you might get inspired by this. Have fun.

Gday All,

Please forgive the NOOB type question but I am seeking clarification on how race boons are applied in SFS. Does a race boon from a scenario open up that race for regular character creation or just a single instance? Ie having GMed a scenario and earned a race boon do I get to make more than one character of that race?

My guess is NO but I really want a YES. Please!

Many thanks to all help.

Tony, who wants to play more Mormalaws.

So Ysoki operative with "Pull the Pin". Captured and hand cuffed. The spits out grenade.....

G'day all.

I am looking for ways to use Tentagard as a re-appearing bad guy.Twice now the party (of 6 players) has faced him and twice they have nearly killed him. But in return on both occasions he has nearly killed them. All of them.

So basically I am after some ideas that will help me keep Tentagard about and on par with the party as they level up. We are about to start "Vaults of Madness" which I am yet to do a read through of so any ideas that could link the hezrou to that adventure would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance.

Its because Greek history is epic and Roman history is a soap opera.

How dare you, you heathen :) (spoken by a true Romanophile)

However the History of the Roman Imperial Family, once they had one of course, is in parts so bizarre that no studio exec would ever consider such story lines even for the most dreadful TV soap.

I can also attest to the worth of the "History of Rome" podcast. You won't find huge amounts of detail or in depth discussion of the source material but it is a great overview.

Well if you are only doing it because the company pays for it, that's a little different.

Proper grammar is always an issue and teachers like me who were never very good at English anyway don't help.

I'd complain not because of poor sources, but a poor use of sources and historical method.

As for Grant, he's a bit like Carl Sagan, popular, populariser, prolific and not that well regarded by his peers in the field. That's not saying that his writing is bad or inaccurate, just that there seems to be a certain snobishness from other historians.

Man you have been sooo dudded. Complain and complain like hell.

For the record I have my Honours in Ancient History focusing on the Late Roman Republic/Early Empire. I am also a teacher at High School in New South Wales Australia and I teach Ancient History for the Higher School Certificate (the final leaving exam at the end of school).

The stuff that Chubbs McGee has been talking about is the stuff we teach in High School. We use Suetonius, Tacitus, Plutarch, Cassius Dio et al (or Herodotus, Thucydides etc depending on topic) as well as more modern sources, always pointing out how important it is to know the source well. Who they were, why they wrote and who they were writing for. And not just the ancient authors but also coins, archaeology, architecture and modern historians.

If you are not doing this sort of close study at University level then you are being let down. If you are not doing this sort of close study at University level and you paid for it then you are being ripped off.

Complain and complain like hell.

I myself change everything out of greyhawk as I really dislike greyhawk. yOU Can place it in any area you like. I have a listed I used to convert gods I'll see if I can hunt it up

Sorry guys I have been a bit busy of late.

If you wouldn't mind doing that seekerofshadowlight that would be downright fantastic. I'm still getting my head around the setting whilst studying and working with exams around the corner so I don't have as much time to do the reading that I would like to do.

Tony.

Any thought on keeping it in Greyhawk but running it with the Pathfinder rules?

I suppose I could do that. The players all just assumed we would play in Golarion (as did I, I must admit).

Gday All,

I had a bit of a question, well a number of questions. One of my regular gaming groups is about to change over to Pathfinder but a number of the players have been keen to do the "Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk".

So my questions as the GM were;

1) Where in Golarion would you set it?
2) Would you make any changes to the major NPCs (apart from converting them to Pathfinder)?
3) What Gods would you substitute for the Greyhawk gods?
4) Other suggestions gleefully accepted.

Many thanks in advance.
Tony.

May I impose on your generosity Humble Minion and ask for the statblocks you are creating please good being?

twilko@ozemail.com.au

Darkwolf wrote:

** spoiler omitted **

Completely agree, I have no issue with the new game (4e). But I am sore about the pdf thing. Could have still been a little money spinner for them. Not like it costs them anything to sell a pdf. All they have achieved is increasing P2P traffic of 3e stuff and forcing those usually not willing to partake in illegal downloads to perhaps consider doing so.

S.

Which is the thing that leaves me scratching my head? Why would WoTC do away with the income from pdf sales of older product? It doesn't make financial sense to me and I was kinda expecting/hoping that someone on the boards might have something intelligent to say on that matter. Instead we got this "my favourite system is better than yours" pissing competition whose vitriol I find rather surprising if not shocking.

The "rebel" faction having company support is largely the result of the OGL allowing companies to continue producing material for an older edition of the game, coupled with these companies' hopes that a significant enough faction of gamers is sticking with their older edition of choice. None of these companies have a solid idea of what percentage of D&D players makes up this "rebel" faction; only that it exists, and is relatively active on the internet.

It is almost certainly not a majority of active, regular D&D players (though, again, there's no real way to tell).

Yes the OGL allows companies to produce that support which in the past (preOGL) would have been impossible. But the fact that companies do continue to support it shows that they believe/hope/know that there is enough demand for they produce, that there are enough customers out there to support them. What is "enough" will depend on company size, overhead etc but I think we can agree that this is a little more than a niche market.

Your last statement sums up the problem we all have getting to grips with what affect 4e is having on the gaming world. Nobody has been able to produce hard sales figures and even then you'll get people arguing that just because someone bought the book doesn't mean they play the system..yada yada yar.

What we are left with are our own opinions of what we see around us. I am currently playing in 4 regular, one semi regular games and one that looks like becoming defunct. Of the 20 odd players in those groups 2 are moving/moved exculsively to 4e, 2 are playing 4e in other games and will continue to do so whilst also playing 3.5 looking to switch to PFRPG late in the year. Another 2 I am uncertain about but the rest are planning to go PFRPG and are not looking at 4e at all. My local games store is sell 4e but has the Pathfinder Adventure Paths right alongside. They are currently selling the last of their 3/3.5e Goodman Games Modules but word is that they will NOT be getting the 4e ones in. From that perspective 4e looks to be doing really badly but I am not naive enough think that this has to be the whole story.

I didn't find the article terriably academic. Too short, no citations, no real analysis of what WoTC/Hasbro were out to achieve nor did I find the reasons for the fan revolt compelling (some examples would have been good).

The reasons for a fan revolt seem, to me, be intergral with the reasons for WoTC/Hasbro releasing 4e. The fact that there has been any kind of revolt shows that the decision by WoTC/Hasbro did not have the full support of their customer base (witness the "my system is better than yours" comments on this very thread). The fact that the "rebel" faction, those players that have not switched to 4e have the support of a number of companies (some of which are hedging their bets it seems) shows that the move to 4e has been rejected by a substantial faction if not a majority of the existing customer base.

To me a more interesting question is what happens to 3.5e now that is essentially an "orphan" game system. Before things like the OGL and "orphan" system basically disappeared unless adopted by another publisher as Paizo has done in this case. But whereas the back catalogue once went with the system this has not happened in this case. Paizo didn't purchase 3.5e and didn't have the rights to any of the old WoTC modules or source books. In the past you were able to track down old books in bookstores, WoTC has in effect recalled all old stock both in printed and electronic form the later quite suddenly.

What level of "piracy" are we going to see on p2p networks? Is it still piracy if the product cannot be obtained otherwise? Why would WoTC/Hasbro cut off a source of income tapped from customers that had rejected their move to 4e? What information is WoTC/Hasbro basing their decision making and business model on?

Just my 2 bobs worth.

Tony

Question for everyone who used/is using Tammeraut's Fate, it looks like a decent part of the plot dynamics is that the players are stuck on the island. Obviously this isn't going to happen with the Sea Wyvern. What changes if any did you make to account for this and keep the drama factor high? I already figured to change the first scene to a drowning at sea that they discover.

Thanks,

Unfavourable winds, or none at all. If they arrive early evening then the drowned ones might attack the ship. Ohh zombies making holes in the bottom of your boat, ooohhhh. ;)

Tony.

I meant to say I ran PHH between The Lightless Depths and *City of Broken Idols* (because the PC's needed more XP before taking on CoBI)

So how did you get them to Scuttlecove? My lot are a bit like gung-ho combat monkeys. They'll charge right into COBI regardless of how much I might suggest they're not up to it. I need a good hook.

Using Harliss as SoS does might work. She needs help to do something for Tyralandi (knock over the PH) to get Tyralandi's help in firstly sending the message and in gathering info on the Crimson Fleet. Might work.

Tony.

I ran it straight after the siege of Farshore. No problems really, except I had to provide a motivation for my players to first go there and then go back.

Actually, it turned into kind of a random event. My player's wanted to scout out Scuttlecove, and I ran the scenario hook more or less as written on the way there. In the end, they established an ally and decided the place was too tough a nut to crack.

You mean they whimped out? How did they go with the "Wreck"?

Back to PHH. It should be relatively easy to beef up the module to fit the level the characters are at by then. Any ideas/problems?

Tony.

Thanks Matthew,

Did your party run PHH and then SoS or did they play the Jade Ravens for PHH? Where there any issues with running PHH?

To my thinking PHH could slot into SoS with clearing it out being Tryalandi's price for her help. I like the idea of the drug being made from the savage pearls. I'll steal that.

Tony.

I have been thinking that I might run "The Porphyry House Horror" from Dungeon 95 as part of "Serpents of Scuttlecove". It would mean that Tyralandi would not yet be running the Porphyry House but I can't see much else that would need changing.

Has anyone done this? Are there any thoughts on how to fit this in?

Thanks in advance.
Tony.

I just ran my group of 6 players (barbarian, fighter, ranger, wu jen, rogue, warlock) through part of BWG. Decided to throw 5 savage monkeys at them. None of the party has magic weapons yet and they nearly lost 3 members to the monkeys. And that is with the warlock blasting them every round. A party without 2 heavy hitters (and this is meant to be a 3rd level) is really going to find it tough to do Kraken cove without magic weapons.

I know that there is a Glories thread and an Obituaries thread, but this fits in neither.

Players:
The party has 6 regular players and 1 that rarely turns up. Since this was supposed to be a nautical campaign one player went Hadozee from Stormwrack which seemed fair enough. Ok so they can glide but thats 40ft for every 5ft drop.
Another, with major nostalgia, went a Phanaton. He had a really good background as to how he came to be in Sasserine and how he met the Hadozee. So I allowed it. Another glider bu only 30ft for every 5ft drop.

The setup:
The party is at sea near Blood Bay when they spot a deserted ship (ran an side adventure to get them in the right direction) and began to approach it. The two mentioned PC's climb to the top of the rigging to glide over to the ship as it gets close.

The result:
The Hadozee launches herself when the other ship us within 400ft as this will allow her to land on the deck at maximum range. The Phanatom can't make it that far, so rather than have a splash down, the Phanatom has a fear of water, he launches himself at the Hadozee, grapples, and rides along, seperating at about 100ft just like the early Space Shuttles did from a Boeing 747.

I swear that my players never do what I expect them to.

Anyone else got any mad stories?

Tony.

Gday kenmckinney,

1. You could still have the Vanderboren estate part as written but have the bad guys hanging around to snatch Vanthus when he turns up. They have been there a couple of days and are getting real nervous and starting to get real mean to their hostages.

2. The party could still get the Sea Wyvern. Lavinia's parents commissioned two ships, the one they died in, and the newly completed Sea Wyvern.

3. If no ships are left then Harliss may well be stuck, just drop the Sea Wyvern. She can hole up in the caves, barricade herself and be too weak to make a break because she is feeling the effects of savage fever. If the party can cure her then she will be real grateful with information

Just a couple of quick thoughts.

Tony.

I haven't long started myself. My PC's are just now encountering savage pirates. Everyone in my group was so excited about Savage Tide that they all wrote backgrounds involving Sasserine and all of these crossed over with at least one of the other players (with very minor adjustments) so getting started was not issue for me. Launched into "There is no Honor" straight away.

Several of you seem to have developed Sasserine... I did not want to expand or tie-in other adventures as I did in Age of Worms but... This has to be examined. Also I have always wanted to DM the Shrine of Tamoachan... Argh

Sasserine is very easy to fill out if your lazy. "War of the Wielded" from Dungeon 149 is written with Sasserine as the back drop and fits in well with the adventure path. With the Lotus Dragons gone, thanks to the PC's, the older thieves guilds come back to the fore wielded magic weapons that they hoped would be useful against the Lotus Dragons...

If your party is a bit into blood sports I seem to remember looking at a Dungeon adventure involving a Gladiatorial arena. Cant think which one...

I'm running a large group and I have used "Salvage Operation" from Dungeon 123 to introduce the Sea Wyvern as part of a shakedown cruise. In my AP Lavinia's parents comissioned two ships. The one they died on and the Sea Wyvern, finished just in time for the PC's to try out (and get them into Blood Bay and "The Bullywug Gambit").

See the "C1 in Wyverns Wake" thread if you want to expand the Tamoachan encounter which I certainly will be doing.

Good luck and have fun.

Tony.

Thanks again carborundum. Now that I have had a good read through the original C1 module and your little (32 page) tie/conversion I can honestly say it is great stuff.

Should be lots of fun (says evil DM)

Tony.

Gday All,

If anyone is interested I did find this;

http://recipes.rollspelshornan.se/Scenarios/HiddenShrineOfTamoachan

I've not had a good look yet so I don't know how good/useful it is but still...

TONY.

I have it in English - who wanted it?

If it is possible carborundum I would also like a copy please.

twilko@ozemail.com.au

Many Thanks.

Tony.