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Now that the younger members of our party are away for college and we’re empty nesters (at least during the academic year), I’m preparing to run WFTC for my wife as a single PC+GMPC campaign, with an emphasis on the lore of Taldor and Golarion. I’m planning to incorporate details from the 2E Travel Guide and to put more effort into keeping track of the calendar than I usually do, to take advantage of the RP opportunities of the holidays. Which leads to my question: when exactly is the Day of Exaltation? I can’t find any reference to a specific date in any of the AP books, the two Taldor books, the Inner Sea World Guide, the Travel Guide, or Pathfinder Wiki. Is this just one of those things that the developers left open so GMs could fit it into their own campaign timetables? If so, when did you all set it? It feels a little like the Taldan aristocracy’s prom, so it seems to me as though it should be spring, but not too late in the season to avoid the heat. Maybe mid-May/Desnus?
Thanks, and for you as well, Bluend!
I’m about to start running it for my wife - one PC, one GMPC, possibly free Leadership down the road. But I’m also starting both characters at level 3, and they will start earn Mythic tiers starting at the end of book 1 (probably roughly tied to earning Triumphs starting in book 2). I’m trying to avoid having to rewrite too many of the encounters and we’re hoping to move through it at a pretty quick pace to see how it flows.
I never subscribed to the Pawns line, but I bought all of the 1E box sets I could get and a number of the AP sets, and always thought they were terrific. I’m probably not the only person with a big enough 1E collection not to feel the need for the 2E Bestiary sets, but I’d still have wanted to buy the AP pawn sets. I assume the PDFs of all previously published pawn sets will remain available? Also, note for @Aaron Shanks: check the date at the top of the original post - today is July 8, not June.
After 7.5 years, I'll be running our party's final battle with Karzoug the day after tomorrow - I'm taking the day off of work so that we can start around noon and go late if needed. They're going in with 4 PCs (all 18th level) and a GM PC Big Dumb Fighter, Viorian Dekanti (separated from Chellian, cured of her insanity, and desperate for revenge), Sarenrae's chief servitor Sunlord Thalachos, and the sole survivor of the original eight Sisters of Wrath who pledged their loyalty to the party rogue who killed the Highlady of Wrath in Runeforge (now a cohort, level 15). My 4 players are running the GMPC and the NPC allies along with their own characters for the final fight. I am making several changes to K's prepared spells and tactics based on his knowledge of the party's usual tactics, including several castings of teleport trap to protect his throne area and the runewell/soul lens platform, sending anyone who tries to teleport out of or into that area back to the arrival platform. Any other last minute advice?
Terrific story! I’m very much looking forward to their Iconic Encounter. FWIW, I’m playing a playtest Thaumaturge in Strength of Thousands campaign now, pending the release of the final class. It’s early yet (still level 1), but so far, I’m really enjoying the class.
I am very happy with the hardcover Wizard Chronicle I received from the Kickstarter, and I'm looking forward to buying PDF versions of all the classes once they're available. Just to put another vote in for adding a chronicle for bards, by doing so you would have one core class chronicle for each of the four spell lists.
From the thread ”What other Uplifted Animals do you wanna see?”, a couple of years ago:
This goes to the reason why I'm searching "tashtari" on the forums this evening, as I prepare to run an encounter with them: how intelligent are they? According to the tashtari stat block in AA2, the standard tashtari has an Intelligence modifier of +0, making them as intelligent as the average human (in which case they wouldn’t need to be uplifted). The narrative description, however, suggests that they are closer to animal intelligence, with references like "Sentient species of Castrovel refer to these beasts as tashtaris..." and "Attempts to domesticate tashtaris .... but trainers must closely monitor..." (emphasis mine). How do you run these creatures? As human-level intelligent adversaries, or hungry pack hunters? And can we get a FAQ or errata to tell us what the official answer is?
Posted most of this in another thread, but it probably belongs here, too. For what it’s worth, my players hated Artrosa. It is an unrelenting series of nasty combat encounters, the entire misogynistic theme made my female players uncomfortable, and is just generally brutal with very little opportunity for humor to lighten the mood at all. Finally, about 2/3 of the way through, we decided to fast-forward to the end. I just narrated the rest of Artrosa for them - including the epic final battle, in which my 17yo son’s ranger died (at his request - he wasn’t enjoying playing the character, and said he’d like to play the rest of the campaign with a character he didn’t build when he was 11) - got them leveled up to 10, and now we’re starting book 4. One exception: my daughter's gnome sorcerer found the migrus locker at the beginning and loves the migrus ("Jonesy"). She carried Jonesy with her all through Artrosa, even though the other members of the party thought the construct cat with the gnome's face was creepy as heck. After I narrated the battle, when I asked for suggestions as to how the party might get the dragon scale key out of the Eon Pit, she had Jonesy do it, proving to everyone that the creepy cat-thing was a valuable member of the party. I’m sure other people enjoyed this book, but if I had it to do over again, I’d cut Artrosa down significantly and insert a short adventure from another source in the middle (possibly something from Tales of the Old Margreve, reskinned to set it in the Hoofwood).
For what it’s worth, my players hated Artrosa, the mega-dungeon that is 90% of book 3. It is an unrelenting series of nasty combat encounters, the entire misogynistic theme made my female players uncomfortable, and it is just generally brutal with very little opportunity for humor to lighten the mood at all. Finally, about 2/3 of the way through, we were close to abandoning the AP altogether but decided to fast-forward to the end and try the next chapter. I just narrated the rest of Artrosa for them - including the epic final battle, in which my 17yo son’s ranger died (at his request - he wasn’t enjoying playing the character, and said he’d like to play the rest of the campaign with a character he didn’t build when he was 11) - got them leveled up to 10, introduced my son’s new character, and now we’re starting book 4. I’m sure other people enjoyed it, but if I had it to do over again, I’d have cut Artrosa down significantly and inserted a short adventure from another source in the middle (possibly something from Tales of the Old Margreve, reskinned to set it in the Hoofwood).
I’m playing an occult-focused Enigma bard in a 2E conversion of Hell’s Rebels. Pretty soon we’ll hit level 4, when I’m planning to take the Ritualist dedication, which will let him learn two uncommon rituals of no more than half his level. As a neutral good character, my bard is not interested in learning how to create undead, and he is an expert only in Occultism. As far as I can see, there are no 1st level rituals he qualifies for, and the only 2nd level rituals are Inveigle and Create Undead. Without Create Undead, he’s going to be short one ritual until level 5 - assuming he puts his next skill proficiency increase into Arcana, Nature, or Religion - or level 6, when he can take Resourceful Ritualist. Am I missing anything? Has anyone heard if there will be new rituals available when Secrets of Magic comes out in late August? Obviously I can discuss other options with my GM, like researching something new, and it won’t be the end of the world if my bard needs to wait a level or two to get a second ritual. It just seems as though Ritualist is lacking in options at lower levels - it’s set up for each Ritualists expert in each of the four knowledge skills to have two available 2nd level rituals to take, but one of them only works for evil Ritualists, which makes it useless for many characters.
Well neither pathfinder 2e one-shots give reputation so I would assume same applies here? That wouldn’t surprise me. But at least as to Sundered Waves, the sanctioning document specifically states that it gives “0 Reputation that can be assigned to any faction.” The Band on the Run document doesn’t refer to Reputation at all.
I ran the Band on the Run one-shot for my wife and kids tonight (we had lots of fun - with the exception of one encounter), and I’ll try to post my thoughts on it soon. I reported the game tonight, and was confused by the way my GM credit showed up on the character I applied it to. The sanctioning document doesn’t say anything about earning Reputation for this scenario. The character the chronicle sheet is applied to earns 1 XP and the credits appropriate to the PC’s level, but there is no reference to Reputation anywhere in the sanctioning rules for the adventure (the chronicle has the usual spaces for Reputation awards). When I reported the adventure, applying my credit to my 701 character, he gained +2 Reputation in the faction I selected when reporting. Does that seem correct?
I'm very happy to see this - I've bought multiple copies of the pocket editions CRB to give away, and when my daughter went to college in fall, 2019, she went with pocket editions of the CRB, Bestiary 1, Gamemastery Guide, and Ultimate Equipment. When my son goes to college in just a little over a year, he'll want his own set. Good to know we'll still be able to get him his own copies and won't have to take them out of our home library.
I'm interested in any suggestions you fine folks might have for intro music for book 2. I usually have a short (3-5) song playlist that I play to get my players to the table and while they look over their character sheets and notes from the previous session. For book 1, I used the following: - The original Scooby Doo Where Are You theme song
These are my current ideas for book 2, but I'm not in love with this list: - Who Can It Be Now?, Men At Work
Any suggestions?
We're starting book 2 this week (maybe tonight). At the end of book 1, I had the escape pods put the PCs to sleep "as is standard, to conserve life support resources" just as the metal bands wrap around the pods to pull them into the bays where they start book 2. We'll start the book 8+ hours later, with everyone having gotten a full night's rest.
We finished book 1 tonight in our 9th session and the looks on my players’ faces - priceless! I’ll get it all written up soon, but I have to say that using the Pathfinder Plot Twist Cards in place of a hero point system has worked out well and provided some funny moments. I tweaked the ending so that after they see everything they need to see through the escape pod windows, the pods automatically inject them each with drugs to put them to sleep “to reduce the strain on life support.” They’ll wake up 8+ hours later at the start of book 2 in the crashed pods - with everything as written, but having gotten a full night’s sleep.
December 5, 2020: Session 3. Birgar (the dwarf vanguard) leads off the fight by charging at the out-of-control incapacitator robot and somehow manages to miss, but does immediately invalidate its tactics as written, which were to start by launching a stickybomb grenade and then use its anchor pistol to bog down two of the investigators before moving into melee. Instead, it is able to grapple Birgar right away. Sophie (strix technomancer) hits it with a minor ray of electricity, Twitch (ratfolk operative) moves into position to try a trick attack next round, and Beorn (uplifted bear envoy) manages to rake it with his claws. After Birgar fails to escape the grapple and takes enough slam damage from the robot to bring him to the brink of unconsciousness, the other PCs manage to do some minor damage to the robot. In a desperate, last-ditch effort, Birgar spends a point from his entropy pool to increase the damage from his entropic strike and scores a critical hit on the robot; Sophie hits it with one more energy ray and the robot falls to pieces.
Twitch looks over the robot and realizes that someone has tampered with it to make it more aggressive. Birgar drinks a serum of healing; after a spirited discussion of Starfinder’s healing rules, the party decides to split up while Trostinek is still unconscious. Twitch checks the vesk’s pockets and finds his keycard, so he and Birgar go back to the passenger section to search Trostinek’s room. Sophie and Beorn stay in the cargo hold to keep an eye on Trostinek in case he wakes up. Twitch searches the vesk’s cabin while Birgar keeps watch, pacing anxiously in the corridor. The operative finds the note and gift from Trostinek’s wife and the ion tape in the suitcase. He and Birgar read the note, but return it, the gift (unopened), and the ion tape to the suitcase where they found it. Twitch succeeds on a slight of hand check to put it back the way they found it, and when they get back to the cargo hold makes another to slip the keycard back into the Trostinek’s pocket before he regains consciousness. While Twitch and Birgar are gone, Sophie looks around the cargo hold and notices a bulkhead panel emblazoned with the wrong ship name: Stardream II instead of Chimera. Neither she nor Beorn recognize the name; neither do Twitch or Birgar when they get back, so the party decides to ask Professor Benjam the next time they see him. When Trostinek finally wakes up, he is wary but willing to talk with the investigators, at least for a bit. He explains that he unpacked his incapacitator robot to restrain any suspect in Algiada’s disappearance, but it went berserk when he turned it on. He says he thinks someone must have tampered with it. When they ask him about the argument they saw him having with the security chief the night before, he claims it was nothing, “Just a disagreement among friends! She insisted that I needed to install some upgrades on the robot, but I don’t. I don’t even use the robot that much; I only use it when the client doesn’t want the target too badly damaged.” After a moment of thought, the vesk frowns. “I wonder if maybe Algiada did something to make this thing go crazy, though. To prove me wrong.” All of the investigators are suspicious, but none of them are able to spot a hole in Trostinek’s story; even Beorn, with envoy’s expertise, and Twitch, with operative’s edge fail every Sense Motive check. After they finish talking with Trostinek, the investigators decide that they can’t put off looking at the scene of the crime (if there was a crime) any longer, and sneak onto the upper deck to break into Algiada’s quarters. Twitch and Sophie trade off Engineering and Computers checks until they get the door open, but Twitch notices the motion sensors just inside the doorway and stops anyone from entering the security chief’s room until he can disable the ice carbine trap. Twitch is a ridiculously effective searching machine: he has the Diligent Searcher feat, which cuts the time to search an area by taking 20 on Perception down by three-quarters (so only five times the usual time required instead of 20). He finds a notebook that appears to be some kind of accounting ledger, a photograph of a young ryphorian man at an archeological dig with a young Brodynt Benjam, and a loose ventilation grate under the bed, surrounded by some kind of slimy residue that Sophie identifies as something like a snail’s mucus. They take the ledger, datapad, and photograph back to Beorn’s cabin (which has large furniture, so the bear will be comfortable) for examination. Pouring over the ledger first, the investigators realize that the missing security chief had been making regular deposits into accounts in several banks scattered throughout the Pact Worlds and Near Space, and had more money saved up than one might expect from a relatively young officer on an independent transport ship. Yet in just one recent transaction, Algiada apparently withdrew 10,000 credits to a credstick, with the only explanation being a note reading “For LP, ship repairs.” The party quickly realizes that LP must refer to the first mate, Luzo Pahel. Next, Sophie hacks into the datapad and finds a hidden folder, containing messages between Algiada and an unnamed contact in the city of Maro on Akiton, about the ryphorian’s “Uncle R.” These messages, about “Uncle R”’s “memories,” seem suspicious; Algiada’s unnamed correspondent would like to see these “memories,” and Algiada tells them that she can provide the “memories” if her contact can ensure Uncle R a new home, permanently. After some discussion, the investigators decide that “Uncle R” must refer to Captain Rameem and that Algiada must be plotting something, but they can’t understand what that might be. They take another look at the bloody statue of the Idari for hidden compartments, but don’t find any. Feeling more than a little lost, the party heads off to dinner, where they find Luzo Pahir and Professor Benjam in the dining hall, Song in the galley.
I received my subscription delivery recently, including the sidecart delivery of a hardcover Starfinder Core Rulebook. I bought this copy of the SF CRB because we wanted a hardcover with all of the errata corrections - we already have the first printing hardcover we bought when the game was introduced, as well as the paperback pocket edition, but the print in the paperback is too small for my wife and me to read for long. I started another thread in November, asking if people who had ordered the hardcover CRB were receiving the 2020 third printing, and Eric Mona responded to say that he was confident that any current Paizo orders would be fulfilled with the latest hardcover printing incorporating the errata. Unfortunately, I did not receive the 2020 third printing hardcover; I received the September 2017 second printing, which does not include the errata. I expect it was just an older copy inadvertently left in the warehouse, but it defeats my purpose in ordering the book. I’d like to exchange it for the current printing of the hardcover, please.
The latest hardcover should match the text of the Pocket Edition. There are likely still first printings out "in the wild" at stores and distributors, but I am confident that CRBs ordered from paizo.com as of now will have the errata incorporated.That’s great to hear - thanks! I received my new hardcover Core Rulebook yesterday, but unfortunately it is the second printing, from September 2017, not the third printing in 2020 that incorporates the errata and matches the Pocket Edition. I'm disappointed, but will reach out to customer service and try to get it resolved.
Makes sense to me. And now you've reminded me of the bomb counting down in the old Starship Titanic game.
Here is the first draft of Fortunato Pineapple-Umbria Phantasmagorius Ravennablitz, aka "Chance," wellspring gnome (fell gnome) bard (enigma). Some of his recent biography comes out in his Reason for Protest and Campaign Trait, but I'm still working out what he's been up to in Kintargo for the previous 75-odd years (exact length depends on whether we're starting in 4716, based on when the AP was released, or 4720/21, based on when we're starting it). He is still very much a work in progress, but I appreciate any comments or suggestions. Physical description:As a fell gnome born during the ascendancy of House Thrune during the final years of the Chelish Civil war, the infernal influence that swept across the nation affected Chance's appearance. His shaggy hair (including his eyebrows) is a deep crimson; his skin is a lighter red, but of far too strong a hue to be merely pink. His eyes are so black that they look more like the eyes of an elf than those of a gnome. Chance realized young that he would never be inconspicuous so he dresses to emphasize his natural coloring, in dark reds and blacks. Behind his back, his landlady says her diminutive tenant "looks like a Chelish flag." Rough draft, level 1 statblock:
“Chance” Ravennablitz
Gnome bard 1 Core Rulebook 386, 386, Lost Omens Character Guide Background Fortune-teller; Ancestry (heritage) Wellspring gnome (fell gnome); Diety Nivi Rhombodazzle N, Small, Fey, Gnome, Humanoid Perception +5; low-light vision Languages Common, Gnomish, Sylvan, Varisian Skills Arcana +4, Bardic Lore +4, Crafting +4, Deception +7, Fortune-telling Lore +4, Intimidation +7, Occultism +4 (+6 to Identify Magic with the mental, possession, prediction, or scrying trait), Performance +7, Religion +3, Society +4 Str 8 (-1), Dex 16 (+3), Con 14 (+2), Int 12 (+1), Wis 10 (+0), Cha 18 (+4) Other Items studded leather, dagger, rapier, sling (20 sling bullets), backpack, bandolier, basic crafter's book, bedroll, belt pouch, belt pouch, chalks (10), flint and steel, handheld musical instrument, minor elixir of life, rations (1 week)s (2), repair kit, rope (foot)s (50), sheath, soap, torches (5), waterskin, purse (3 gp; 1 sp) -------------------- AC 18; Fort +5; Ref +6; Will +5 HP 18 Focus Points 1 Hero Points 1 -------------------- Speed 25 feet Melee [1] dagger +6 (versatile Slsh, thrown 10 ft., agile, finesse), Damage 1d4-1 Pier Melee [1] rapier +6 (disarm, deadly (1d8), finesse), Damage 1d6-1 Pier Ranged [1] dagger +6 (versatile Slsh, thrown 10 ft., agile, finesse), Damage 1d4-1 Pier Ranged [1] sling +6 (propulsive, range increment 50 feet, reload 1), Damage 1d6-1 Blud Occult Bard Spells DC 17, attack +7; 1st (2 slots) color spray, grim tendrils, true strike Cantrips (1st) daze, detect magic, ghost sound, read aura, telekinetic projectile Occult Wellspring Gnome DC 17, attack +7; Cantrips (1st) sigil Focus Spells 1 Focus Point, DC 17; 1st Counter Performance, Inspire Courage (At Will) Feats Bardic Lore, Oddity Identification, Unexpected Shift[LOCG] Other Abilities component substitution, composition spells, enigma, muses, occult spellcasting, ravounel, spell repertoire Rough projection to Level 6:
“Chance” Ravennablitz
At level 4, Chance will take the ritualist dedication (APG), and will probably have shifted in alignment towards Neutral Good. Male gnome bard 6 Advanced Player's Guide, Core Rulebook 386, 386, Lost Omens Character Guide Background Fortune-teller; Ancestry (heritage) Wellspring gnome (fell gnome); Diety Nivi Rhombodazzle NG, Small, Fey, Gnome, Humanoid Perception +12; low-light vision Languages Common, Draconic, Elven, Gnomish, Sylvan, Varisian Skills Arcana +11 (+13 to all primary checks to perform a ritual), Bardic Lore +11, Crafting +13, Deception +12, Fortune-telling Lore +11, Intimidation +12, Medicine +10, Nature +10 (+12 to all primary checks to perform a ritual), Occultism +13 (+15 to all primary checks to perform a ritual, +15 to Identify Magic with the mental, possession, prediction, or scrying trait), Performance +12, Religion +10 (+12 to all primary checks to perform a ritual), Society +11, Stealth +9 Str 8 (-1), Dex 14 (+2), Con 14 (+2), Int 16 (+3), Wis 14 (+2), Cha 19 (+4) Other Items studded leather, dagger, rapier, sling (20 sling bullets), backpack, bandolier, basic crafter's book, bedroll, belt pouch, belt pouch, chalks (10), flint and steel, formula book, handheld musical instrument, rations (1 week)s (2), rope (foot)s (50), sheath, soap, torchs (5), waterskin, purse (440 gp; 1 sp) -------------------- AC 22; Fort +10; Ref +12; Will +12 HP 68 Focus Points 2 Hero Points 1 -------------------- Speed 25 feet Melee [1] dagger +10 (versatile Slsh, thrown 10 ft., agile, finesse), Damage 1d4-1 Pier Melee [1] rapier +10 (disarm, deadly (1d8), finesse), Damage 1d6-1 Pier Ranged [1] dagger +10 (versatile Slsh, thrown 10 ft., agile, finesse), Damage 1d4-1 Pier Ranged [1] sling +10 (propulsive, range increment 50 feet, reload 1), Damage 1d6-1 Blud Occult Bard Spells DC 22, attack +12; 3rd (3 slots) blindness, hypnotic pattern, invisibility sphere 2nd (3 slots) calm emotions, illusory creature, invisibility 1st (3 slots) color spray, grim tendrils, soothe, true strike Cantrips (3rd) daze, detect magic, ghost sound, sigil, telekinetic projectile Occult Wellspring Gnome DC 22, attack +12; Cantrips (3rd) read aura Focus Spells 2 Focus Points, DC 22; 3rd Counter Performance, Inspire Courage (At Will), Loremaster’s Etude Rituals DC 14; reincarnate (at will), unseen custodians (at will) Feats Bardic Lore, Energized Font, Flexible Ritualist, Loremaster's Etude, Magical Crafting, Oddity Identification, Resourceful Ritualist, Ritualist Dedication, Schooled In Secrets, Skill Training, Unexpected Shift[LOCG] Other Abilities component substitution, composition spells, enigma, muses, occult spellcasting, ravounel, signature spells, signature spells, spell repertoire Reason to Protest (Meeting a Contact) & Campaign Trait (Pattern Seeker): Chance doesn't have a lot of friends. His unusual appearance and forceful but unsettling personality would put people off even in a less oppressive environment; in Cheliax under the devil-backed House Thrune, his acquaintances view him as both off-putting and potentially politically dangerous. One of the few people in Kintargo willing to socialize with Chance is a halfling swashbuckler named Zamir Montajay (unless there is an NPC in the AP who would fit the part). They would spend long hours in in Chance's rooms or the lounge of Zamir's boardinghouse, or any of a handful of nearby taverns, drinking and arguing about the belfry at the top of the Asmodean Temple. The swashbuckler was convinced there was a pattern to the ringing of the Devil's Bells, even if nobody knew what it was; the bard was not terribly interested in anything having to do with the devil-worshippers, but always argued that the ringing was random just to be contrary. On several occasions when the diminutive pair were in their cups, Zamir had dropped broad hints about being part of a secret organization opposed to House Thrune, often taking the opportunity to mispronounce Chance's surname as "Raven-ablitz" (the correct pronunciation is "Ravenna-blitz"). Zamir has been missing since the new Lord-Mayor put Kintargo under marital law. Chance checked all of the halfling's usual haunts but found no clues to the whereabouts of his friend. His investigation had reached a dead-end until an unsigned message was slipped under the door of his shabby rented rooms (over an apothecary's shop), inviting him to a meeting at the Aria Park protest with an unnamed man wearing one glove to learn more of the fate of the Silver Ravens. Now Chance is more worried than ever about his absent friend. If Zamir really was a member of the Silver Ravens, could the halfling also have been right about there being a pattern to ringing of the Devil's Bells? If so, then Zamir's disappearance could be the result of either his membership in the rebel group or pursuing his investigation into the Asmodean belfry further than was safe.
Merry Christmas! Peachbottom, I like your character concept and origin. {snip} As a side note, if Peachbottom did go with Vitalis, I will say that my life will be much easier if Tusk the Half-Orc went with the bard-going-into-ritualist build. Not saying that you have to, I'm just saying that it'll make my life immensely easier should Vitalis want to attempt the Hellknight Test. Happy to make your life easier, GM - if bard building to ritualist is a better fit in combination with an aspiring Hellknight than a bard/rogue combination, I'm fine going that route. I'll post concepts and backstory ideas later today or tomorrow.
No worries - this wouldn’t be the same character, just the flip-side of the concept. Instead of a sweaty, 8 Charisma tiefling sneak thief/wizard wannabe who starts off as a nasty backstabbing coward and makes deliberate choices to go down darker and darker paths, this would be a charming, Charisma-focused half-elf (or maybe an asimar, if that’s an option) aging con artist who finds himself doing good and liking it almost in spite of himself. I’ll have to remember about downtime activities. Robbing from the rich is always an option, of course, but it might be time to review the magic item crafting rules.
For me, at least, that theme is a significant selling point for the AP.
Checking in - thanks for the invitation, GM XK! My current character concepts are all bards or bard-adjacent, but I could switch to another spellcasting class or archetype if that would be better. Idea #1: The first idea I have is for a Deception-focused character, a middle-aged con artist or rake who is finding that he isn't having quite as much success charming his way into the homes (and jewelry boxes and vaults) of the local nobility as he once did and is possibly - just possibly - starting to think that maybe he should do something more with his second act. Probably a half-elf, so middle aged would put him at 75-80. He would probably start as chaotic neutral and evolve to chaotic good, follower of Callistria. This character would be the mirror image of the character I'm playing in a 1E Hell’s Vengeance campaign (with our GM); in that game, I play a grimspawn tiefling eldritch scoundrel rogue (with an 8 Charisma). For this campaign, I have been noodling around since last night with different combinations of bard/rogue. Options include: eldritch trickster rogue (bard dedication at level 1); scoundrel rogue (bard dedication at level 2); maestro bard (rogue dedication at level 2). Idea #2 Another Deception-focused character, this would be another maestro bard, built to take the swashbuckler dedication at level 2 (or vice versa). This character would be less morally ambiguous - he would be younger, maybe only right out of bard/swashbuckling academy, more concerned about doing the right thing from the outset. Probably a chaotic good follower of Cayden Cailean or Noticula or (if a halfling) Chaldira. Idea #3 Full occultist-themed bard. I haven't spent much time on this concept yet but I think he would follow the Enigma muse for bardic knowledge and related features, and would focus on spellcasting over weapon combat or performance. He would level up with an eye towards taking the Ritualist dedication starting at level 4. Probably a little creepy, follows either the Black Butterfly (CG or CN) or Nivi Rhombodazzle (if a gnome; NG or CN). This character could be a wizard, sorcerer, or oracle if that would fill a better niche for us, but I've played a lot of wizards and oracles in 1E and I really like the upgrade bards got in the new edition.
Please don't interrupt my complaint that Paizo's staff doesn't understand the implications of their ruleset on their setting with practical solutions for actually playing the game.I'm a ways off from running this book, but unless SpiderOrc's first thought is correct and reptoid shapeshifting isn't something true seeing (and therefore Glimpse the Truth) can see through - and I think true seeing lets you see through transmutation effects - I’d swap it out for a different exploit. The PCs will never know.You only need one round to scan an entire briefing room, and her partner is prompting the hell out of her.How did GMs handle the existence of an NPC (the Scully android) who has Glimpse of Truth as an ability but is mysteriously unable to find or believe in the existence of shapeshifters her partner has told her about and that she could easily see if she just used this ability? My bad - carry on!
My Starfinder experience before this campaign was limited to GMing a few Starfinder Society scenarios and playing a few more. As a result, I have never used SF’s monster/NPC building rules before. At our last game session, the PCs wanted to ask Professor Benjam if he had ever heard of the Stardream II, as they had found the odd bulkhead panel (I placed it in the cargo bay for them to find after the incapacitator robot fight) but failed the Culture check to identify it. In the middle of the session, I wasn’t going to try to learn the rules and stat up the Professor on the fly, so I just made up a Culture skill modifier for him, rolled, and got a natural 2 - which meant I didn’t have to make up my mind as to whether the grays would have given him any useful memories about that incident at all. But it got me curious about how the system works and what the stats would look like for the members of the Chimera’s crew who don’t already have statblocks. I took the easy way out and built them on Hero Lab. I think they make sense, although with Grath’s Engineering skill, he should probably be helpful Kiiv get the engines running instead of spending his idle shift day drinking. Comments, criticisms, corrections are welcome. Grath Metek:
Grath Metek CR 1 XP 400 Male ysoki NE Medium humanoid (ysoki) Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +5 -------------------- Defense HP 17 -------------------- EAC 11; KAC 12 Fort +1; Ref +3; Will +4 -------------------- Offense -------------------- Speed 30 ft. Melee tactical baton +6 (1d4+1 Blud; analog, operative) or . . survival knife +6 (1d4+1 Slsh; analog, operative) or . . light sap +6 (1d4+1 Blud nonlethal; nonlethal, analog, operative) -------------------- Statistics -------------------- Str +0; Dex +4; Con +0; Int +2; Wis +0; Cha +1 Skills Bluff +10, Computers +10, Engineering +10, Life Science +5, Mysticism +5, Piloting +10 (+14 to navigate or astrogate), Stealth +10, Survival +5 (+9 for orienteering) Other Abilities cheek pouches, moxie Gear flight suit stationwear, light sap[AR], survival knife, tactical baton, astrogator’s kit[AR], burst fusion seal (level 3), datapad[AR], moonshine still (worth 100 cr, 2 bulk), navigator's tools Kiiv:
Kiiv CR 1 XP 400 Nonbinary maraquoi N Medium humanoid (maraquoi) Init +2; Senses blindsense (sound) 30 ft., low-light vision; Perception +5 -------------------- Defense HP 17 -------------------- EAC 11; KAC 12 Fort +1; Ref +3; Will +4 -------------------- Offense -------------------- Speed 30 ft., climb 20 ft. Melee survival knife +6 (1d4+2 Slsh; analog, operative) -------------------- Statistics -------------------- Str +1; Dex +2; Con +0; Int +4; Wis +0; Cha +0 Skills Computers +10, Engineering +10, Physical Science +10, Piloting +5, Sense Motive +5, Survival +10 Other Abilities prehensile tail Gear flight suit stationwear, survival knife, datapad[AR], engineering tool kit, starship repair kit[PW] Professor Brodynt Benjam: Prof. Brodynt Benjam CR 1 XP 400 Male human NG Medium humanoid (human) Init +1; Perception +5 -------------------- Defense HP 17 -------------------- EAC 11; KAC 12 Fort +2; Ref +1; Will +6 -------------------- Offense -------------------- Speed 30 ft. Melee survival knife +6 (1d4+1 Slsh; analog, operative) -------------------- Statistics -------------------- Str +0; Dex +1; Con +0; Int +4; Wis +2; Cha +0 Skills Bluff +5, Culture +13, Life Science +5, Physical Science +10, Profession (archaeologist) +14, Survival +5 Feats Skill Focus (culture) Gear casual stationwear, survival knife, datapad[AR], mk 1 ring of resistance, mk I serums of healing (4), professional's tools (archeologist)
You only need one round to scan an entire briefing room, and her partner is prompting the hell out of her.How did GMs handle the existence of an NPC (the Scully android) who has Glimpse of Truth as an ability but is mysteriously unable to find or believe in the existence of shapeshifters her partner has told her about and that she could easily see if she just used this ability? I'm a ways off from running this book, but unless SpiderOrc's first thought is correct and reptoid shapeshifting isn't something true seeing (and therefore Glimpse the Truth) can see through - and I think true seeing lets you see through transmutation effects - I’d swap it out for a different exploit. The PCs will never know.
This is a great write up - sounds like your group had a lot of fun with book 1. I really like the “gray intervention” idea, in case one of the PCs goes down. The grays would never allow permanent harm to come to a clone near the end of its training, not after putting so much effort and time into them.
I’ve been curious about the lack of dedicated GM reference threads for each book of this AP - which are at the top of the subforum for every other PF and SF adventure path - and finally decided to just go ahead and set them up: 1 - The Chimera Mystery
This is intended to be a spoiler-filled resource thread (as in other AP subforums) for GMs running book 6 of The Threefold Conspiracy Adventure Path, "Puppets Without Strings." All GM threads in this series: 1 - The Chimera Mystery
This is intended to be a spoiler-filled resource thread (as in other AP subforums) for GMs running book 5 of The Threefold Conspiracy Adventure Path, "The Cradle Infestation." All GM threads in this series: 1 - The Chimera Mystery
This is intended to be a spoiler-filled resource thread (as in other AP subforums) for GMs running book 4 of The Threefold Conspiracy Adventure Path, "The Hollow Cabal." All GM threads in this series: 1 - The Chimera Mystery
This is intended to be a spoiler-filled resource thread (as in other AP subforums) for GMs running book 3 of The Threefold Conspiracy Adventure Path, "Deceivers' Moon." All GM threads in this series: 1 - The Chimera Mystery
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Pathfinder Society GM. 625 posts (8,408 including aliases). No reviews. 19 lists. 1 wishlist. 16 Organized Play characters. 38 aliases. 