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Hello, Paizo!

I'm the host of a tabletop gaming podcast called Inter-Party Conflict. We discuss listener-submitted question about D&D and other tabletop games, and try to have a fun time doing it. Since our format is almost entirely based on submissions, I'm here to get some questions from you!

Do you have any issues with a player at your gaming table? Maybe a rules dispute you'd like another opinion on? Want some suggestions for your next character or campaign concept?

Let us know! Either reply here, message me, or e-mail me at InterPartyConflict@gmail.com. We'd love to help you have the best tabletop gaming experience possible.

Hello! I'm one of the hosts of Inter-Party Conflict, a podcast where we discuss listener-submitted questions about tabletop games like D&D. We answer questions about gaming etiquette, how to get the most out of your game, ideas for character builds, and so on.

So, do any of you have any questions or topics you'd like us to discuss on the podcast? Have you had any rules disputes you want someone else to weigh in on? Is there a player that keeps butting heads with the DM and you want to know how to deal with them? Do you have a really cool idea for a character or campaign but just not quite sure how to work it in? We discuss questions for players and DMs alike, and try to help everyone have the best game they can.

Pass your problems on to us, and we'll have some fun sorting them out! Either reply here with any questions you want us to discuss, or e-mail us at InterPartyConflict@gmail.com.

Thanks, and happy gaming!

Hello! I host a podcast called Inter-Party Conflict where we discuss listener-submitted questions about D&D and other tabletop games. We answer questions about gaming etiquette, build ideas, rules judgments, and anything related to being a better player or DM. As you might expect, we're always in need of questions! Questions can be long, short, funny, serious, specific, or general. We love anything that generates some good discussion about what makes a game fun or how to get the most out of your tabletop games. We also have a fun segment called the Dragon's Hoard, where every episode we discuss a unique magic item (usually a homebrew item submitted by a listener- a couple of them have been RPG Superstar entries, actually!) and talk about interesting uses for it, how we might introduce it into a campaign, and so on. Of all of our reviews people really seem to like that segment.

So please, if you have any questions or homebrew items you'd like for us to discuss on-air, either reply here or e-mail us at InterPartyConflict@gmail.com!

Thanks, and happy gaming!

Hey, guys!

A few weeks ago I posted about Inter-Party Conflict, an advice podcast I was starting where my co-host and I answer listener-submitted questions about tabletop gaming. Well, we still need questions from you guys (we always need questions), but recently we started a new segment that we call: The Dragon's Hoard.

Each episode we talk about one interesting magic item- preferably a homebrew item submitted by a listener- and come up with fun, clever ways to use it and maybe poke some fun at the rules in the process. (I'm a total sucker for unique magic items.) So, of course, we need some interesting magic items from you guys!

If any of you have any you'd like to submit, please send them (or any questions you'd like discussed) to InterPartyConflict@gmail.com!

Thanks, and happy gaming!

Inter-Party Conflict is an advice podcast for the tabletop gamer. We discuss listener-submitted questions about topics like gamer etiquette, house rules, and character/campaign creation, and hopefully have a fun time doing it. If that sounds like something you'd be interested in, give it a listen! We're on iTunes, Stitcher, and probably some other places too.

And if you feel like submitting questions to be discussed on-air, please feel free! Any kind of questions are fair game- silly ones, serious ones, specific ones, general ones, whatever. If it's a question you want answered by two guys with a lot of varied tabletop experience, then it's a great question for the podcast. Send any questions to InterPartyConflict@gmail.com!

Hello Paizo! As the title suggests, I'm starting a podcast in January called Inter-Party Conflict, dedicated to answering questions and giving advice to tabletop roleplayers. The show will consist of my co-host and myself answering questions that gamers face every week at the gaming table, like:

* How to deal with a rules dispute at the table?

* Should I use a character voice and/or props during the game?

* How often should a DM use a DMPC? (Spoiler: Almost never)

The tone will be light-hearted and with a healthy dose of reminiscing over past games and editions, so I think it's something anybody interested in the hobby can enjoy.

So, my fellow gamers, I need some questions! Anything you've ever wanted answered about playing a roleplaying game- serious questions, goofy questions, questions about builds, campaign structure, house rules, questions from a player, questions from a DM- anything you can think of. Be as specific or as broad as you want- just be sure to include the name/edition of the ruleset you're using, and whether or not you'd us to use your name in the podcast.

Direct any questions for the show to InterPartyConflict@gmail.com, and if you feel like generating some discussion, come and join me on Reddit (though there isn't much to see there at the moment)!

So come on down, and let's all have a great game!

Hello, Paizo!

I'm in the process of creating a homebrew campaign setting, based in the world of a novel I'm writing. When working out the world details, I came to the topic of deities. At first, I had five or six, but I decided to try and fill it out a little more (using alignments as a guide).

Right now, I've got nine major deities (one for each of the Lawful-Chaotic-Good-Evil alignments) and two minor deities (both true neutral). I feel like I should add a couple more, to fill in some niches that I didn't quite fill with the main nine, but what do you all think?

What do you think is a good number of deities?

(Also, I'd be happy to provide short write-ups for the deities I've come up with so far if anyone would be interested in reading them.)

Hello, all!

I'm going to be starting a new game once I move in a couple months, and I'm looking at DnD Next to see if it's the system I should use. (The other choices would be 4e, Pathfinder, or possibly 3.5, which I'm much more familiar with.)

To those of you who have been keeping up with the playtest, what do you think of it? I got the first playtest packet, and tried it out, but it just didn't strike a chord with me (although the description of the developers' end goal seemed interesting). I haven't kept up since then, and I'm sure it's changed quite a bit. So here are some specific questions:

1. How much of the playtest have you played? (Some of it, all of it, only the beginning, only the end, etc.)

2. What edition/s did you play before this?

3. Would you say Next seems more fun, as fun, or less fun than the other edition/s you played?

4. How well would you say they've accomplished their goal of trying to blend the early-edition experience and the later-edition experience?
Would you say that DnD Next seems to encourage roleplaying more than combat (on par with, say, 3rd edition) or combat more than roleplaying (like 4th edition)?

I guess that last question is the most important of them. 4e is my favorite edition, since I very very much enjoy the combat system, but in my opinion, it made it difficult to encourage roleplay (since so much of the game was based around combat, and out-of-combat abilities were either costly, useless, or non-existent). And in this campaign I'm going to be running, I very much want to encourage roleplaying.

So let me know what you think! I am getting kind of excited about learning a new edition (despite my misgivings at first), but I really want some opinions before going through the trouble.

Thanks!

Hello, Paizo!

Several years ago (five or more) I found a post somewhere here where a poster wrote a D&D-themed folk tale called "The Bloodless Battle of the 1000 Demon Brothers". I don't know if this was an original work or not, but I saved it in a text file at the time, and having come across it on my computer recently, I wanted to find the person who originally posted it here.

The problem is, I can't find any record of it anywhere. The search function turns up nothing, and even google searches turn up nothing of that name.

Does anyone remember this? It was a great little story (only a few paragraphs) that one of my friends described as "part eastern parable, part D&D". I can repost it if anyone is interested, but I'd really like to find the guy who wrote it.

Thanks in advance!

Another Eidolon question here. Eidolons gain HD as the Summoner advances in level, and those HD are d10s. My question is: do you roll those d10s to determine Hit Points, or is there some sort of other way to determine HP (max, average, etc.)? If you roll them, do you roll its Hit Die at first level, or does it receive max? (I would certainly hate to be the guy whose Eidolon had 1 HP max...)

Quick question. If I have a bipedal Eidolon with two claws, if I take the Reach evolution, do both claws have reach, or just one?

Hey, guys!

Black Friday is coming up, and I'm thinking about getting a tablet computer. I've never owned one before, so I'm looking to get some info and some opinions from people who have one.

First, what sort of things can you do with a tablet that you can't (or won't) do with a laptop? I'm assuming they're more portable and more user-friendly, and they all have touch screens, but what are some things that you can do with them that make you go, "Holy crap, I need a tablet!"?

Also, does size matter? I'd like to have one the size of, say, an iPad (9-10 inches), but ones that size tend to be WAY more expensive than the ones that are smaller (7 inches seems to be a popular size). Is that extra two inches worth paying an extra $300-400?

How important is a camera/multiple cameras on a tablet? I think ideally I'd like to have one with dual cameras (so I could skype, take pictures, etc.) but that also comes with a sizable price increase. The one that I'm looking at, for example, is 7 inches with dual cameras, and it's $179- but then I've seen other ones that are 7 inches without cameras, and they're only $40. Are there a lot of different uses for cameras on tablets? Are there lots of different apps that use them?

Speaking of apps, how important are they for owning a tablet? I'd prefer to not spend any money beyond my initial purchase. Are there many worthwhile apps that are free (or at most a negligible amount of money)?

Sorry for the wall of questions, and any help you can give me would be most appreciated!

I've got a weird question. Which element seems more evil: Black fire, or black electricity?

I went garage sailing with my wife today, and found a Dreamcast in a bin with some other stuff. I asked the owners how much for the Sega Dreamcast, and they responded with, "The what?"

They told me to make an offer, so I figured I'd completely low-ball them (since I was just curious- I had very little intention of actually buying it, as I have practically no time or money to spend on video games these days) so I said $2. They countered with $3.

Sold!

It came with a power cord (no video cord, unfortunately), three controllers, and a memory card. No games. I've never owned a Dreamcast, so I really don't know much of anything about it (though I know that everyone that I've talked to that owned one says it was the greatest system they ever owned).

I guess my question is- should I keep it and buy some games (and a video cord)? Or should I just sell it for far more than I paid for it? I have very little time for video games these days so I'm usually very hesitant to spend money on them (hence why I low-balled the seller- I wasn't planning on spending more than like $10 today so I wasn't expecting to wind up with a Dreamcast!).

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated!

I just realized that I still have my original printings of Burnt Offerings, The Skinsaw Murders, and The Hook Mountain Massacre. I recall about a year or so ago I heard these were selling for a significant amount of money- lots more than I expected, anyway- but seeing as how there's a hardcover coming (or already out?) I wasn't sure if that was still the case.

Anyone happen to know?

Just curious. If you were reading a work of fantasy fiction, and there was a town out in the middle of nowhere that, without any sort of magic, could literally sustain itself for generations without any outside influence (no outside traders, no visitors from out of town bringing needed revenue/goods, etc.) how big must such a settlement be in order for it to be believable?

And, if you can answer that question, what would you say the general makeup of the population must be? (As in, for example, 30% must be farmers, 5% must be blacksmiths, 10% must be teachers, etc.)

Very curious as to your input.

Hello, all! I'm currently writing a fantasy novel, and an upcoming chapter is going to introduce a character who, as a grizzled old man, loves to tell dirty jokes. The problem is, I can't think of any!

I'm looking for jokes that are not graphic or explicit- you know, like the type of dirty jokes you imagine being told back in the 20's or 30's or something. Preferably with a fantasy edge to them (like, involving elves or gnomes or things like that). Like I said, nothing graphic- this is meant to be a family-friendly book. Innuendo and subtlety are the main goal here.

If anyone can offer up any jokes of theirs, I'd gladly give credit where credit is due when it's all said and done. :-)

Thanks in advance!

I don't know if any of you heard about this, but I was told just a couple days ago that there was a sale on Atari.com for the Dungeons & Dragons Anthology: Master Collection (which includes Plansecape: Torment, Temple of Elemental Evil, Baldur's Gate 1/2 + Expansions, and Icewind Dale 1/2 + Expansions), normally $20, for a measly $5, as well as Neverwinter Nights Complete (Neverwinter Nights 1/2 + Expansions), normally $30, for $7.50.

It sounds like one heck of a deal, except I can't seem to figure out HOW to buy them for the life of me. Neither of these items even shows up on the website, at all, no matter what I do. (Neither one shows up when I do a search for either title, and any of the direct links I find- such as through Google or the links that were directly sent to me by my friend- take me to anything but an error message.) I've tried to ask about it on their official forums, but every single time I try to log into their forums it tells me my Username & Password are incorrect (they are most certainly not- I've tried every combination of case sensitivity, and even reset my password about six times- and it doesn't help that every time you attempt to log in unsuccessfully five times, it locks your IP out for fifteen minutes, which means I couldn't even make a new account on a separate computer!). I've tried different browsers, different computers, deleting cookies, everything. I'd call a customer support line if I could find one.

Does anyone out there have any experience with this sale or with Atari? I'd love to give them my money if they would only allow me to!

So, a friend of mine brought up an interesting question that has caused quite a few empassioned responses in his gaming group.

What would you say if someone wanted his druid to build an airplane (complete with internal combustion engine or something of the sort)?

Would you allow it? Why or why not?

Hello, Paizo!

I'm working on a fantasy novel I've been trying to figure out how to write for the last three years. I've finally started it, and I've started a blog for it where I will likely be posting it chapter by chapter as it's written. I'm looking for as much feedback (positive or negative) as I can get, so please, anyone who's interested, give it a read!

It can be found here:

Last of the King's Men

Like I said, I'm looking for as much feedback as possible, whether it be positive or negative. All I ask if that if you're going to give feedback or criticism, please be as specific as possible. I would much rather hear "You did a terrible job of developing Bob's character and you use the same adjectives way too often" than "It was good".

Thank you very much, and I hope you enjoy!

So, my players recently finished Life's Bazaar, and they did it fairly quickly. They only went through about a third of Jzadirune, and then when they got to the Malachite Fortress, they managed to bluff & roleplay their way into a meeting with Kazmojen- so after the final confrontation, they escaped the hold without exploring more than a couple rooms. I expected them to go back down and go treasure hunting once they'd rested & levelled up, but, after group concensus, they didn't! They went on and haven't made any motion towards returning.

I guess my question is, if they never go back, what should happen? They never encountered Yuathyb, most of the Skulks, or even a single Dark Creeper, and most of the Hobgoblins in the Malachite Fortress are still alive. Should I have the skulks come up and start kidnapping people again? They still have the keys Keygan made them*. Or should I just assume it sorts itself out (either by them disbanding due to Kazmojen being out of the picture, or by someone like the Stormblades finishing them off) and let the players move on to bigger and better things?

*-Does the Hardcover even say where the keys are? I distinctly remember the Dungeon Articles mentioning a specific skulk that had the keys, but I don't recall seeing any mention of them in the hardcover. Did I just miss it, or was it left out?

I'm looking to do some audio recording, and at the moment the only program I can use to do so is the standard Sound Recorder program that came with my copy of Windows. It would be fine (so long as I don't want to do any sort of editing or, you know, anything beyond just recording it) except that it can seemingly only record 2 minutes at a time. Does anyone out there happen to know of any good sound recording programs (preferably free) that I can use? Any sort of editing function would be a plus, but not necessary.

Hello, everyone at Paizo.com!

Being long-time fans of cinema, my wife and I are starting a weekly Double Feature Movie Night. We'll be showing two movies every Sunday, rain or shine, for any of our friends who feel like showing up (even if it ends up being just us some nights). The two of us have seen lots of movies over the years, many of which we'd love to watch again (especially if sharing them with new viewers), and there are still plenty of movies (classics and obscure titles alike) that we have yet to see. So recommend me some of your best!

I'd love to hear what movies you all recommend seeing. I think we'll be focusing mostly on horror movies (the good and the bad), but not entirely. I'm looking for classics, cult classics, good movies, bad movies, scary movies, funny movies, so-bad-it's-good movies, American movies, foreign movies, pretty much anything you think is worth watching. But, most importantly, if you recommend a movie, please tell me WHY you're recommending it! Does this particular movie have a great ending? (No spoilers, please!) Does it have an ending that's so bad you'll remember it for the rest of your life? Is the production value great? Is the production value terrible? Is there a line or a bunch of lines that are eternally quotable?

I want to hear everything you all recommend! I'm looking forward to watching all of your favorites!

A discussion on a Pathfinder board gave me an idea for an analogy involving 4e. So, I figured I'd ask about this here.

Let's imagine there's a magic item with a unique ability. (It's been a long time since I've played 4e, maybe such an item actually exists, but I assume it doesn't.) This magic item is an amulet, and it's called "the Amulet of Guarded Blood". This amulet, when worn, makes the wearer immune to the bloodied condition. That is all.

It would provide obvious benefits and drawbacks (you cannot use/recharge abilities that only work when bloodied, but enemies cannot use abilities against you that only function against bloodied opponents). But, if the above wording ("this amulet, when worn, makes the wearer immune to the bloodied condition") were exactly as I wrote it, would it also make that character immortal?

After all, the bloodied condition happens (typically) when a character reaches 50% of their HP. If they're immune to that condition, does that mean they're immune to death (or anything else that happens when your HP gets to a certain point below 50%)?

It's a serious question. Please only give serious responses. I'll explain why once I've gotten some opinions.

If I'm not mistaken, the town crest of Cauldron is described a few times as being an eye wreathed in flame. Does anyone know what significance it has? I mean, obviously it seems to have something to do with the whole Smoking Eye thing (flaming eye, smoking eye, same difference), but as far as I can tell Cauldron has nothing to do with the Smoking Eye, Occipitus, or Adimarchus aside from the fact that a powerful cabal related to them began work on Cauldron fifty years ago. Is the flaming eye symbol supposed to be a reference to the Cagewrights in any way? Or is it just an odd coincidence?

I mentioned the crest during an early session and my players seemed interested in it, so I'm sure they'll probably try to draw a connection later on when they learn about the smoking eye. Is it just a coincidence, or is there supposed to be a connection?

Let's say you're playing in a D&D campaign. In the campaign, you have either a high-level benefactor who helps you/guides you/whatever, and/or a high-level nemesis who is constantly dogging your steps at every turn and you can never seem to get the upper hand. Then, at some point, you find out that this high-level benefactor/nemesis is a character that the DM played in a past campaign.

How do you feel about that?

For all I know, the scenario I presented above is something par for the course for many DMs, and nobody thinks twice about it. (In fact, early in my gaming career, I'm certain that the DMs I played with did this in most campaigns.) But nowadays, after learning more and more about DMing, I find myself hating the idea of it- not necessarily because I feel there's anything wrong with it, but I'm afraid everyone else hates the idea.

I guess it stems from my thought that DMPCs are the bane of gaming existence. I hate DMPCs (unless they're used well- which, while I know it's possible, I have yet to see it happen in person) and I am loathe to use them at any point. However, a couple years back I played in a campaign where, after the campaign was over, another player and I talked at length about what our characters did after the campaign was over. We loved the idea so much that we started our own gaming group, and set it in a homebrew campaign (which was loosely based in the same campaign world as our previous campaign) where our two previous characters had a lot of influence over the events of the campaign. I loved the idea of it, but that campaign never panned out and although I hope to use it some day, the more I think about the whole scenario, I keep getting the nagging feeling that if I do it, the players are just going to think, "Oh, here goes ol' Gabe trying to replay his glory days by making his old character the most powerful character in the world and blah blah blah". I mean, I'm not at all trying to use my character to show off my e-peen or whatever- but me, with the cynical mind I have, am afraid that's how everyone will see it.

I feel like I shouldn't worry about this. I mean, after all, all of the most powerful NPCs in Greyhawk (especially anyone whose name is part of the spells in the 3.5 PHB, like Mordenkainen, Evard, and Tenser) were originally characters played by the writers back when they were developing the game, and nobody seems to have a problem with Tenser being one of the most powerful NPCs in the world. Not that I consider myself on the same level as the 1e D&D writers, but I feel like it's the same principle.

So how do you react when you find out a powerful NPC used to be the DM's character? Are you cool with it? Do you roll your eyes and go, "Oh, here we go..."? Or do you not even care?

So, I've decided to go ahead and stat out an NPC in my homebrew campaign using the Pathfinder ruleset. I've never had a reason to do so yet (because, seriously, woe be to the first person to pick a fight with this guy) but I figured it'd be better to get it out of the way. As far as power level, I'm looking for something that seems roughly in line with demon lord status- not something that a group of 20th-level PCs would be able to beat without lots of help.

The NPC in question is the world's original vampire. In my campaign world, virtually every vampire (save a couple stragglers created via necromantic anomalies) were either created directly by him over the last thousands of years, or were created by one of his spawn (or his spawn's spawn, etc.). In life, he was a human fighter, specializing in sword-and-board, and in undeath, he's only gotten stronger, more cunning, and more manipulative. And when I say he should seem around demon-lord power level, I mean it. Back when he was alive, he was friends with more than one person that went on to become the gods of the Greyhawk pantheon.

My first question is: Since he was a fighter in life, should I use a 20th-level Human Fighter as a base? Or would that result in something far too weak (considering anything with 20 HD is sure to fall quickly against a group of 20th-level PCs)? Would it be better to simply give him however many HD I think is appropriate, and then give him unique abilities to emulate typical fighter features?

I honestly don't see anyone ever fighting this guy, but it seems like a fun exercise. Any help would be most appreciated!

I plan on running SC soon, and I was wondering how much downtime there was over the course of the campaign. What sort of a timeline does the campaign have? Are there any adventures that have to happen soon after another, or are they all fairly freeform?

Anyone play this game? I picked it up last week, and I swear, I cannot get enough of this game. It's a Tower Defense/Action RPG hybrid with beautifully smooth graphics and up to four player local AND online co-op. In other words, you can play it on your own, play it with up to three buddies split-screen, play it with up to three people online, or any combination (so you could play it with two buddies locally and one person online). And although it's not implemented yet, in the near future a patch will allow for cross-platform play- meaning PS3 users can play with PC and Iphone users all at the same time! (Unfortunately, Xbox 360 users are stuck playing with other Xbox 360 users.)

It's a tower defense game, so you fight wave after wave of enemies trying to destroy your Crystals, and you can set up towers (which vary widely depending on which of the four classes you're playing as) to stop them- but while the enemies are advancing, you can run around the battlefield, attacking masses of enemies or adding/upgrading/repairing your towers as you wish. And as you kill more enemies, you gain experience and can level up (increasing your hero's stats or your towers' stats) and you can gather newer and better equipment (including class-specific weapons, different armor pieces, and pet familiars) which you can upgrade as well. And between stages, you can practice your skills and buy/sell/upgrade equipment in your very own tavern, which starts off relatively empty but is over time decorated with trophies you've acquired from completing different feats.

The game's developers have been paying it tons of attention, with DLC already out (for the PC, anyway- everyone else's is coming soon) and more classes and missions promised in the future. This game is a blast, and I've been playing it every moment I can (which hasn't been as much as I'd have liked!). If you haven't played it, check it out!

Simple question (with possibly a complicated answer). How much of the adventure path was changed for the hardcover? The reason I ask is that I've recently taken an interest in the Shackled City, and would like to run it. However, I already have all of the Dungeon issues, so it seems like it wouldn't be very prudent to spend money on the hardcover. But if I do run it from the issues, what changes were made? Is there anywhere online to access any of the extra content? Or, at the very least, find a list of what content was added?

Also, a related question- how much work would it be to convert Shackled City to Pathfinder?

(I apologize if this isn't the right forum for this. It's not related to gaming per se, at least not directly. But It didn't seem like it fit anywhere else.)

So, I'm in a bit of a writing funk. To jump-start my writing, I'm going to start a project, and I want YOU, the people here at Paizo.com, to give me some feedback! I figure if I'm just doing this for myself I'm more apt to give up than not. But if other people are waiting for me to finish, then I've got more incentive to finish it! Make sense?

Well, in short, I'm looking to write a short story modeled after a B movie style. Ever heard of Zman Card Games? It's a line of card games where you make a B movie of a particular genre and have monsters from your movie attack other people's movies. I love it and think it's hilarious, so I'm using that as the start for my medium. What I'm looking to do is to more or less play a round or two of the game, dealing the cards out to myself, and then write a scene or a short story involving everything that happens in the round that I played.

How does that sound? Would anyone be interested in reading something like that? I'd either post it here or on my personal wikidot site, with a link here to anyone who wishes to read it. I'm excited about this project, but I know that that excitement will give way to whatever catches my interest unless I know that I'll have an audience!

So let me know what you all think!

I'm looking to build an encounter where the PCs will encounter an enemy that they are not supposed to be strong enough to kill- the hope being that they fight, lose, and then come back at a later time when they're more powerful. But in my experience, parties will never back down or give up until all of them are dead, and nothing short of one-shotting a PC will get the idea into their heads that the enemy is too powerful for them to beat. Has anyone out there specifically ran an encounter like this? And if so, how did it go? Any advice?

I'd prefer to stay away from hand-waving (such as just giving the enemy DR 50/- or simply saying "your attacks do nothing"), as I'd like it to be a fair fight for a higher-level party, but at the moment early in a campaign I'd like for the enemy to be unbeatable.

Any advice would be most appreciated.

I have the 3.5 Dungeon issue with Maure Castle, but in all the years I've owned it I've never sat down and read it, or even gotten a clear idea of what this adventure is. I'm looking for a long, single-location-centric adventure that revolves around a large building (preferably a castle), and I want to know if I should dig out my copy and give it another look.

Can someone describe the overall adventure to me, in a paragraph or two? I would be most appreciative.

Anyone ever heard of 'em?

Hey, all. I work at a hotel, and a few months ago one of the housekeepers found an iPod touch with a cracked screen in the hallway. Thirty days passed and nobody claimed it, so it was up for grabs (since the housekeeper didn't want it) so I nabbed it. It took me a while to get my hands on a charger, but after charging it, I found out it works, and the cracked screen doesn't even hamper its use!

Can anyone direct me to a good, easy-to-read guide that shows how to use one of these things? I mainly want to find out how to delete all of these apps this guy had (he's got games like Angry Birds, but also something called "Bikini X-Ray", which is exactly what you'd think... >.>) as well as hopefully erase any personal information he might have left in here. Also, it seems to load really slowly. Is that normal for these things?

I know pretty much nothing about using one of these, if that wasn't clear. So help me out!

Best. Video. Ever.

Discuss.

Total N00b question, I know. But if a Dwarven Barbarian wears Heavy Armor, what is his movement speed?

I saw a player on another board claim that he's able to be a Mystic Theurge at level 3. Somehow it involved Heighten Spell and Magical Lineage. Does this even begin to be legal?

Hello, Paizo! Seeing as how this is the only message board I frequent that has an "off-topic" forum, I figured I'd make this strange request here. You see, I would love to learn to speak Japanese, or at least become more familiar with the Japanese language, but I have neither the time nor the drive at the moment to actually sit down and try to teach it to myself (and there are no classes for it in my area). So I had an idea, and in order to put this idea into action, I need a recording of someone speaking Japanese.

So, basically, I'm looking for an audio file (preferably MP3, though I suppose a video could work as well- I'm hoping to put this on either my netbook or mp3 player) of someone speaking Japanese, preferably for several hours. Seeing as how I don't understand the language, the actual subject matter doesn't matter to me, I'm just looking to become familiar to listening to the tone, inflection, consonant sounds, etc. I'd prefer not to listen to music, but rather just someone talking- an audiobook spoken in Japanese, an instructional recording in Japanese, or, heck, a lecture given by a Japanese physics professor would fit the bill nicely. I'm hoping to find something I can download for free, so seeing as how I doubt we can give out pirated media on these forums, that's probably out of the question (unless someone can recommend something for me to download by my own means). But if there's anyone out there who speaks Japanese, and happens to know of a good online depository for easy-to-access sound files, I'd very much appreciate it.

Thank you in advance! I hope that wasn't too confusing.

Hello, Paizo!

I've never played in a Play By Post game, and would very much like to. I've had a rather busy work schedule for the last few months, and therefore haven't been able to get an actual game going, but my job is at a computer and I have lots of free time, so I can be on the internet pretty much any time of the day. I've tried to get in on a few of the PbPs starting up here, but I always seem to get there after lots of other people have joined.

Anybody out there need players or are looking to start a PbP? Like I said, I've never actually played in one, but I'm sure I could pick it up easily.

Anyone here on the Paizo boards play this PSP gem, or any of its sequels? I'm currently playing Patapon 3 and figured I'd see if any other RPGers like it.

Today, I was out bike riding with my wife in the park behind our apartment in Tennessee, and something caught my eye. At first, I was about to just ignore it, but I stopped and took a look at it. There was something attached- growing?- on a tree branch, about two feet off the ground, on what I believe was a cedar tree. Here's a picture of what I saw:

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff498/lisauniqueboutique2010/CIMG1171.j pg

Now... can anyone tell me WHAT THE HECK THIS THING IS? I've never seen one before (or anything like it) in my life. I don't know if it's a plant, or an insect egg sac, or a creature, or an art project, or what, but it CREEPS ME OUT. Seriously. I poked at it with a stick expecting it to move or explode with insect larvae or something, and luckily it didn't. If someone could give me some clue as to what this thing is, it would put my mind at ease. I'm starting to get goosebumps just thinking about it.

Anyone ever played it?

A while back, I played in/co-DMed a homebrew campaign that had lots and lots of roleplaying, backstory, and character development, and after much deliberation, I've decided I want to write a novel about it. The problem is, a lot of the backstory is intertwined with certain copyrighted elements of D&D (as well as the Greyhawk campaign setting). While I could theoretically change all of the names of the copyrighted things, I'd rather not have it just turn into yet another fantasy novel.

But if I don't want to change the names, what should I do? Is it feasible to try and get WotC to endorse a story taking place in one of their campaign settings? I'm not hoping to create the next Drizz't, but I'd like the best shot I can get.

Any advice would be most appreciated.

I'm not sure if this fits better in Advice or Gamer Talk, but I'm asking for advice so I guess advice.

So, I was invited to play in what's supposed to be a roleplaying-heavy, character- and plot-centric campaign with very little combat, where things like character backstory, mundane gear, rations and such will all be important. (I love the idea of it.) I didn't have much info about the campaign setting or anything like that, but I started brainstorming for character ideas, and I happened upon what I think would be an amazing concept for a character in a roleplaying-heavy campaign. I spent all day thinking about this concept and working it out in my head, making mental pictures of how the character will look, and so on.

...But the trouble is, I found out what sort of a campaign it's going to be, and I don't think it fits the character concept at all.

What should I do? Should I try to alter my character concept (somewhat drastically) to fit the campaign, or should I just come up with a new concept and use my old one in a campaign that fits it better?

Hello, all! I've been following pretty closely on a lot of the eidolon discussion (and I'm well aware there's 5,042 new "Summoner is b0rken lol wtfbbq plox" topics created every day), and I've decided I want to play one for an upcoming roleplaying-heavy campaign. (It is my belief that the Summoner class is NOT broken, as long as the player and DM are well-versed on the rules and nothing is fudged. And I have little interest in min/maxing my character as it is.) I just have a few questions to make sure of before I make my character.

1. As far as I can tell, eidolons do NOT gain max HP on their first Hit Die (as the max HP rule only applies to PC classes). Has there been any official word on whether this was intended?

2. Again, as far as I can tell, there's no way to change an eidolon's base form after it's chosen. Has there been any official word on that either? Does anyone know whether this would be a gamebreaker to allow? (Basically, for thematic reasons, I want my eidolon to start as a biped and later become a quadruped.)

3. The Mount evolution can only be applied to an eidolon with the quadruped or serpentine base form. What if you have a biped that is later given addition limbs (legs)? It seems the answer is no, but would that be a gamebreaker? Once again, it's for thematic reasons, and probably not necessary (as I don't plan on riding my eidolon in combat), but still.

4. An eidolon naturally gains a bonus to natural armor, which, according to the description, may be allocated to either an armor bonus or natural armor bonus as the player sees fit (though eidolons cannot wear actual armor). Is there any advantage to allocating it to an armor bonus? The only reason it would make a difference (that I can think of) is when an enemy has a brilliant energy weapon, in which case the armor bonus would be useless (and you'd be better off leaving it all as natural armor). Any thoughts?

5. The Reach evolution says it grants Reach to one attack. If the eidolon has two claws (such as from being a biped), do both claws gain reach, or is one claw longer than the other?

I'll probably have more, but that's all for now.

So, I started running Rise of the Runelords about a month ago, and we had a funny moment occur at the game last night. The PCs had just arrived at Thistletop, and had come up to the rope bridge. The party consists of two Half-Orcs (an Oracle and a Fighter), a Dwarf (wizard) and a Half-Elf (Inquisitor).

As they approach the rope bridge, the dwarf remarks that the bridge is probably trapped. One of the half-orcs sys it wouldn't be, because goblins may be stupid, but not stupid enough to risk losing the only way off the island. The dwarf raises his eyebrow, and says, "Wanna bet?" The other half-orc joins in too, and they get a bet going- the dwarf even gives them better odds. (If it's trapped, each of the half-orcs pay him 100 gold. If it's not, he pays each of them 150 gold.) So the two half-orcs high-five, and bolt across the bridge.

Immediately after they begin running, the dwarf says he's going to step onto the bridge as well, to judge how sturdy it is. (Anyone who knows this trap knows that it's set off by three medium-sized characters stepping on the bridge.) The fighter and Dwarf made their saves (dwarf jumped back onto the cliff, fighter grabbed onto the rope somewhere in the middle) while the oracle fell into the waters below.

Everyone was alright in the end, but it was hilarious. (Maybe you had to be there.)

I was perusing the artifacts in the Core Handbook today, and I happened upon the Codex of Infinite Planes. I'd heard the name before, but never really looked at what it does. After reading its description, I have one question: Who in the multiverse would ever use it?

First off, it's a massive book that kills you if you open it. (True, you're allowed a save, but a DC 30 Fortitude save is nothing to laugh at, especially for someone who's expecting to make a DC 58 Spellcraft check.) Then, each day you study it, you have to make a save or be driven permanently insane (which is a DC 30 Will save that increases each day you study it, so don't expect many fighters to be using this book). Assuming you aren't killed instantly or driven permanently insane, make a DC 50 spellcraft check! Did you make it? No? Oh, sorry. You are either at the center of an earthquake and a storm of vengeance, the target of 1d3+1 balors, the target of ten Destruction spells (while simultaneously killing everyone around you with ten Wails of the Banshee), or Soul Trapped (no save) while your body is Imprisoned, as the spell. And if you DID make that Spellcraft check, great job! You gain one of several high-level spells as at-will usable Spell-Like abilities. Oh, but it doesn't stop there! In order to use said Spell-Like abilities, you need to make another spellcraft check every single time (DC 40+ double the spell level, which could mean 58 for most of the spells). And if you fail? Ooh, hope you and your allies weren't too attached to, you know, living. (Failing that check brings about the catastrophies I mentioned before.)

Now, with all of the Destructions and Wails of the Banshees and permanent, instantaneous insanity going around, you'd expect some pretty freaking awesome rewards, right? Well, assuming you survive opening the book, you aren't driven insane by studying the book, and you don't fail any spellcraft checks to learn these abilities, you get one of the following (chosen randomly, as if the cost wasn't high enough already): Astral Projection, Banishment, Elemental Swarm, Gate, Greater Planar Ally, Greater Planar Binding, Plane Shift, and Soul Bind. You could theoretically learn all of these (assuming you never fail a spellcraft check or will save), but even still, in order to actually USE any of them, you need to make a spellcraft check EVERY TIME- or else suffer the earthquake & storm, destruction & wail of the banshee, balor onslaught, or non-saveable soul bind.

So... who would use this item? Even if you're amazing at your rolls, none of those spells are that good. I mean, they're good, but are they worth risking a save-less soul bind every time you use one? And the icing on the fact that there's instructions on how to destroy the Codex of Infinite Planes. (In order to do so, you need to tear out and leave a page on every plane of existence, which, every time, triggers a catastrophe, meaning that every single time you risk being soul bound with no save.) Why bother? Anyone idiotic enough to use this artifact would end up killing themselves or being driven permanently insane. So why bother risking (potentially dozens of) lives to destroy it?

Seriously. Is there any benefit to this?