OK, I've updated this to include all the feedback so far.
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Parka - your feedback is very helpful. For one thing, it helps me pinpoint the assumptions that I was making but not spelling out. For example, when I said that using a device followed the rules of spell casting, I was thinking specifically of things like casting time, range, that sort of thing and not verbal, somatic, and material components. Clearly, another thing that needs to be clarified. I think the most sensible option is that wielding the device is basically the same as a somatic component, but no others are needed (but the idea of adding magical fuel is interesting). So, that gives them a little bonus - effectively all their devices have the Eschew Materials and Silent Spell feats. I don't think this is a terribly unbalancing advantage. You've almost got me convinced about the preparation time. I still don't want to make it too easy to reset the devices, but perhaps a good middle road would be to have the Rapid Dweomer class ability come in earlier and improve every few levels - that way it would kind of scale with the artificer as he can make more and better devices. Perhaps a flat 4 hours/device at 1st level, 3 at 6th, 2 and 11th, and 1 at 17th. Neat ideas about the flavor behind activating a device!
Cheapy: Yeah, I realize that it's a problematic ability and not to everyone's taste, but I wanted to see if I could make it workable. Your mileage may vary. Thanks for the link - lots of interesting stuff there! Parka: Good points about the spell levels. My group is really only using core stuff, so I hadn't even considered the other base classes. It might be prudent limit it to the wizard, cleric, druid, and bard spell lists. In any case, however I resolve it, I would go by what's listed on the spell's description, which at least clears up the issue of domains and mysteries. As far as creation time, I'm still not convinced it's a problem. I think it would be reasonable to allow them to come into play with all slots full - presumably they set them before the adventure. Losing items - well, you'd better be careful and take precautions. I don't think any character should be 100% safe from mishap. If a GM really doesn't allow any downtime (and how, exactly do other spellcasters regain their spells in such games?) then I agree that this class would be a poor choice for such a game. Please note (and maybe I didn't make this clear enough), that creating dweomercraft items is more akin to preparing spells than true magic item creation. Another thing to make explicit - I was operating under the assumption that they require no special equipment or labs; they are created from mundane materials the artificer is assumed to be carrying and the magical power comes from within. That said, I have given a fair amount of thought to the physical attributes of the devices. I vacillate between handwaving it all as flavor, as above, or spelling something out. Getting specific opens a lot of questions: what's a fair weight, hardness, break DC, and size? Should it scale with spell level? Can devices be made from items of clothing? Is so, do they take up magic items slots (I would be against this, as I want to maximize device usability)? Here's some baseline, off-the-cuff physical stats: Weight: 2 lbs/spell level, hardness: 4+spell level, HP: 8+(spell levelx2). One handed if weight< 8lbs, two-handed otherwise. Seem reasonable?
Yes, the manufacture times can build up, but I think it's a necessary balancing factor. Because the artificer is so versatile (they use all spell lists; level of spell is lowest level it appears on ANY spell list - I'd better make that explicit), they would quickly supplant all spellcasters if it were too easy to reset devices. However, they do get to cut manufacture time in half at 17th level - if it seems to be a serious problem I suppose that ability could be gained earlier. My gut says that Salvage isn't overpowered as is, but I suppose if playtesting shows it to be abusive, it could be reduced to recovering 75% of the gp value. Thanks for the feedback!
Adamant Entertainment's Tome of Secrets included an artificer class that was based on an interesting idea, but the implementation was a bit wonky and left a lot of unanswered questions. I've attempted to fix it here. I've tried to make the weird science (I renamed it "dweomercraft" because I found "weird science" a bit too steampunky for my taste) more balanced and workable and have thrown in some elements of the original Eberron class as well. I would love to know what people think of this version.
I really did not care for the skill slots option. It struck me as too unrealistic. I am very happy with the compromise in Alpha2.
It's all true! Except the thing about me eating puppies. Kittens are much easier on the digestive system...
I concede that the Pathfinder setting goblins (which I love!) would not work very well as a PC race. That said, my own interest in the Pathfinder RPG is not in the setting, but as a generic resource and a flavor of d20 that I can stand to play. I've long since burned out on D&D/d20 in favor of GURPS, but both my game groups are HIGHLY resistant to changing game systems. From what I've seen so far, Pathfinder RPG is somewhat more palatable to me, but my primary interest is in a game engine that I can use with Eberron and homebrew settings.
I would love to see at least Goblins and Hobgoblins as PC races without the messy LA/monster class level business. Bugbears too, for that matter.
Just wanted to register another vote in favor of the smaller font size. It was one of the very first things I noticed when I got my copy of Pathfinder #1 this weekend. It gave me the feeling that I was getting greater value and more content for my money.
This has been asked on the Eberron boards over at WotC. The answer from Keith Baker was pretty much the same as what James Jacobs said above, esp. about the mark reemerging elsewhere.
I've gone so far as to completely remove the 100gp requirement from the identify spell. I really don't see how it adds to the FUN of the game to make it so difficult to use one of the primary resources that characters collect over the course of the game. Neither do I see how alleviating this difficulty adversely affects the balance of the game.
Nowadays our group pretty much sticks to D&D, but we used to be a lot more diverse: I haven't looked into Paranoia XP, but olde skoole Paranoia (1st edition) has been a long-time favorite. Favorite part: our groups always had to write (and then read aloud) mission reports at the end. Bushido - had a lot of fun with this one as well. The Fantasy Trip - barely counts as an RPG, but we played some pretty extensive campaigns using those rules. Bunnies & Burrows - Don't laugh, I've actually run a game of it. Rabbits had to rescue their brethren from the animal testing lab, ended up actually killing a janitor! Another vote for Fasa Star Trek, especially the Klingon expansion. Many, many hours of gaming goodness. A few games that I own and have read, but never played:
Duck Troopers - A very goofy game with a stripped-down version of the above. Attack of the Humans - Yet another monster-hunting game. Mildly amusing. It Came from the Late Late Late Show - I absolutely loved the premise of this and the scene breaking mechanics of this. Bought the game and all the supps, never got a chance to try it out. NightLife - I had the same idea for a game, those dirty so-and-so's did it firest.
Top 3 Things I would like to see in Dragon Compedium II 1) Update of the Timelord character class!!! 2) Lots more of the "miscellaneous" articles (like the stuff in the Classics and Appendices section of volume 1). 3) Minimal updates of 3.0 material. This is pretty easy to convert myself. The heavy concentration on recent material kept me from purchasing volume I. Anything above 10-15% or so would prevent me from purchasing future volumes.
Ah, Wormy! I remember it well. I collected Dragon from issue 42-120 or so. My first thought when I bought the collection on CD was "Cool! Now I can find out how Wormy ended!" D'oh. Oh well, it was a beautiful strip while it lasted, even if we never did get any closure on it. I remember when I saw the ad for the compilation - I was so excited I thought I would burst. Then, just a few issues later someone asked in the letters section when it was coming out. The reply was something along the lines of "We have no idea what you're talking about - such a thing was never planned." Even at the time I thought that was odd, given that anyone who collected the magazine could simply look a few issues back and see the ad right there. Now, knowing that there was some kind of bad blood, it makes a little more sense. I've got to go home and find the issues/pages this all occurred on. Anyway, here's to you, DAT. May your passengers always be heavy tippers!
Check out this thread for some of my thoughts on the subject.
Oh yeah, forgot about the "Wormcrawl Fissure." Definitely agree on placing it in the Demon Wastes. I've already (in 3FoE) dropped a bit of a hint that should at least have the PCs thinking about the region.
I will agree with the OP only to the extent that I think there are a few too many dungeon crawls in this AP. The catacombs in "The Champion's Belt," for example, felt tacked on. Or rather, it felt like a bunch of rooms with monsters in them were easier to make than a totally event-based adventure. I also was not particularly impressed by, or interested in, "A Gathering of Winds." On the other hand, "The Whispering Cairn" had some very interesting side plots that helped it transcend the dungeon crawl genre. "Spire of Long Shadows" really struck a chord with me, for some reason. And "The Prince of Redhand" was the most original adventure I've seen in a long time. As for the over-arching theme - PCs save the world from ancient evil menace - well, that's kind of what heroic fantasy in general and D&D in particular are about. Trite? Maybe. But fun.
I'm also using the "real" Mistmarsh. It fits in better with my campaign, since I moved the 3FoE to Darguun. Some more random adaptation notes:
I had originally thought I would set "Spire of Long Shadows" in Xen'drik - certainly it has that lost temple in the jungle feel. But I also can't see placing "Kings of the Rift" anywhere else, for obvious reasons. So now I'm thinking "Spire of Long Shadows" is actually in Aerenal. Sure, it's not a huge place, but I'm sure there are depths to the rainforests that the elves choose to avoid, especially if they are associated with a period of history they would prefer to forget. I've already started planting the hooks that will get the players to Sharn for "Hall of Harsh Reflections" and "The Champion's Belt." HoHR I will use pretty much as is, but I'm thinking of changing tCB to center around the Race of the Eight Winds. This is mainly because I've already run some of these players (in a previous homebrew campaign) through "Pandemonium in the Veins," so another gladiator adventure would seem redundant. This will take some adaptation, obviously, but I envision the big climactic fight taking place during some award ceremony at the end of the race. Not sure yet what I'm going to do about "A Gathering of Winds." I really feel like the whole Wind Duke - Rod of Seven Parts side plot is out of place in AoW, not to mention an Eberron adaptation thereof. Another problem is that in my campaign, the characters started off with 3FoE. Actually, they did run through "The Whispering Cairn," but that party were all killed by the Wind Warriors, so when we started the campaign over we started far away from Diamond Lake. Any suggestions for a good adventure to substitute in? Whatever it is, I think I will make set it in Red Hand/Alhaster, to give the PCs more of a history with that place. "Library of Last Resort." In another Eberron campaign, I had a secret druid enclave on an uncharted island in the middle of Lake Galifar. No reason why I couldn't recycle this idea. "Prince of Redhand" and "Dawn of a New Age" will be set in the Lhazaar Principalities, as suggested by Keith Baker. This actually fits with adding in Erandis d'Vol as well, since she hides out in that region as well. Don't know how it will all play out, but one of the signs of the return of Kyuss will be the reappearance of the 13th moon as the Mark of Death ascends once again. When Kyuss and Erandis are defeated, the Mark will somehow be transformed to the Mark of Life. Lots and lots of details to work out still. Sorry for the randomness of this post - I'm mostly thinking out loud here. Feel free to chime in with comments and suggestions.
Hmmm - I can see how it would be interpreted that way. Your reasoning about level loss makes perfect sense to me - I would view it that way to. Not sure that I would carry it over to gaining levels, though. Guess I'll need to look through the FAQ or query the WotC sages to be convinced which interpretation is correct. However it works, I think this is a great idea. I hope it occurs to my players.
You don't need to re-clone if you level. The clone comes to life at whatever character level the PC was at death, minus one, as soon as the character dies (or as soon as the clone is mature, if the character dies first). Are you sure about this? From my reading of the SRD description of the spell (see below), it seems clear that the clone's level is one less than the current level of the character at the time the clone is created, or one less than the character's current level, whichever is lower. Was there some sort of ruling that changed this? When the clone is completed, the original’s soul enters it immediately, if that creature is already dead. The clone is physically identical with the original and possesses the same personality and memories as the original. In other respects, treat the clone as if it were the original character raised from the dead, including the loss of one level or 2 points of Constitution (if the original was a 1st-level character). If this Constitution adjustment would give the clone a Constitution score of 0, the spell fails. If the original creature has lost levels since the flesh sample was taken and died at a lower level than the clone would otherwise be, the clone is one level below the level at which the original died.
There's a nice pic in the latest Dungeon (#134). I'm sure an electronic copy will eventually be available when the get caught up that far on the web enhancements.
A couple comments: Sathar/Vrusk mix - LOL! Now you're talkin' OLDE school, brother! Actually, I have no particular problem with the avolakia - always room for another bizarre grotesquerie. But I'm also running AoW in Eberron and I am flabbergasted to say that it never occured to me to sub in some Rakshasa - despite the fact that they are one of my favorite things about the setting and I've been looking for a way to work some in. Thanks, Obscure, I will be appropriating that idea for my campaign (of course, it's going to be forever until they get to that point - they're just now starting in on the third temple in 3FoE). Psurlons - now if there is any creature that strikes me as implausible and just plain goofy it's the psionic giant earthworm people. I'll take the avolakia over them any day.
Yay! Thanks, Dungeon dudes!
To clarify, I'm also running with the idea that the Cult of One are deluded pawns as well. Here's the main folk in Temple One:
LIEUTENANT (SERVANT OF THE FURY)
**Fiendish Small Monstrous Spider CR 1/2
ARENA CHAMPION:
I’m currently running TFoE in Eberron. Some may remember this thread detailing the disastrous end of that campaign. Well, our group decided to give it another go with new characters, so I started them out at 3rd level and went straight to adventure #2. I have made quite a lot of changes, as I agree that Keith Baker’s conversion suggestions don't go nearly far enough (not that I blame him – I think his suggestions are fine for the amount of space and time he is able to devote to them). My plan is to fairly heavily modify the entire arc to increase the Eberron feel and tie it in one or more of the campaign’s Big Secrets. The hook for the adventure was that a company in Zilargo, the Dymus cartel, have lost a shipment of Khybershards. Rather than loose face with the rest of their countrymen and risk censure from the Trust, the gnomes have decided to try and take care of the problem quietly on their own by bringing in outside help; i.e., the PCs. The shards disappeared from a warehouse at the lightning rail depot near Sterngate. A little investigation points towards Darguun and a tribe called the Black Sun. Instead of the Ebon Triad I’m calling the inhabitants of the underground temples “the Cult of One.” Their goal is to merge all of the Dark Six into one horrible beast – the Ebon Aspect. Their temples are located in an old daelkyr stronghold inside a hollowed-out mountain about 200 miles southwest of the Seven Caves and 160 miles east of Sterngate. The outer reaches of the site are a warren of tunnels and chambers that the Black Sun, a marginalized tribe of goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears, call home. At the center of the mountain lies a huge empty cavern, the center of which is an enormous hexagonal stone pillar. The lower section of the pillar is a guard house – this is where I put the tiefling guards. But instead of being humanoids with fiendish ancestry, these tieflings are goblinoids who have been warped by exposure to a Husk of Infinite Worlds (see Magic of Eberron). Rather than having horns or red skin or tails, these poor creatures look like wax figures who have been left near a flame too long. Mechanically the same as tieflings, though. I also had a couple of the grimlock archers in the level above the guard house, firing through arrow slits. Once the PCs have made their way past the guards, they find a ladder all the way to the top of the pillar, about 200’ above the cave floor. Just below the top is a group of cells, full of non-goblin humanoid prisoners. The prisoners report that many of their number have been taken away, especially the able-bodied fighters. None have returned. The top of the pillar is where the pool (hexagonal) that the Ebon Aspect will emerge from is located. Surrounding the pool are the Khybershards the PCs seek. Unfortunately, there is also a damaging field around them which drains Wis, Dex, and Con. No character can remain within the field long enough to pry the shards out. From the top of the pillar to the sides of the cavern run three bridges. Their sides are stone walkways, but their centers are more like channels, bearing from the temples the strange liquid that fills the pool. In essence, as each temple performs its rites to the gods it worships, that power is made material and channeled into the pool by the shards. The temple inhabitants believe that if they perform their rites long enough, the Ebon Aspect will arise spontaneously. What they don’t realize it that the deaths of the priests are the necessary catalysts to complete the summoning. Once they are slain, the field will drop and the avatar will be released. Temple One: Instead of Hextor, this temple is dedicated to the Devourer and the Fury. Teldruuk (bugbear barbarian 2/favored soul 1) is the leader of the Black Sun tribe and a servant of the Devourer. He lead his people here and joined forces with the Faceless One and Grallak Kur when they convinced him that with the power of the merged Dark Six behind them they could wipe all non-goblins from the face of Khorvaire. Teldruuk’s lieutenant is a dirgesinger named Kashta (hobgoblin bard 4) who serves as the voice of the Fury. Arena combat serves as worship for both as they pit themselves and their beast (a horrid dire wolverine) against whatever prisoners they think will make an interesting fight. They will be overjoyed by the arrival of the PCs, as they have run out of worthy combatants. I’m replacing the skeletons and fanatics with miscellaneous goblin and hobgoblin rabble. Kashta takes the place of the two acolytes. Temple Two: Instead of Vecna, the Faceless One (wizard 7 – I’ve toughened him up a bit because I’ve got 6 PCs in my group) is a servant of both the Shadow and the Mockery, although because of his interest in arcane power, primarily the former. Instead of the pair of dippy mages, his lieutenant is a dust-stuffed (see Explorer’s Handbook) hobgoblin monk 4 who is devoted to the Mockery. The kenkus have been replaced with dolgrims – also created by the Husk of Infinite worlds out of members of the Black Sun tribe. I’ve done away with the dire weasels and just increased the number of dolgrims. The dolgrim leaders are fighter 1/rogue 1. This temple’s worship rites consist mostly of gruesome arcane and surgical experimentation on hapless prisoners. The labyrinth serves both as a layer of security and a venue for tormenting prisoners. Temple Three: Grallak Kur is a Psion (Telepath) 5 who is the true head of the “Cult of One.” Grallak Kur is a servant of both the Traveler and the daelkyr and likely sees no distinction. It is he who operates the Husk of Infinite Worlds. He is assisted by a renegade Karrnathi necromancer and war criminal (Dread Necromancer 5) who serves the Keeper. In addition to the grimlock archers, Grallak Kur will be guarded by some some very altered myconids (and possibly a few other fungus-based creatures as well). This temples rites center around transmutation – of the living into monsters and of the dead into undead minions. As time permits, I’ll post the stats of my alternate Temple principals.
This is related, albeit somewhat tangential. In my reborn AoW campaign, the psionic character has threatened, when he gets high enough level, to mind seed the entire party, thus making everyone in the party HIM. I think (hope) he was joking...
Hey, Monkey King - don't pull any punches, just tell me what you really think! ; ) It's all good - any feedback is useful and welcome. Actually, the upside of all this is that it has provoked a lot of discussion in our group about what we really expect out of games (what we like/dislike, what works/doesn't). Quite a useful discussion. TPK Jay - the idea bringing back the first party as Spawn of Kyuss is absolutely evil and highly uncalled for. I love it! I will definitely be appropriating it, assuming we do end up continuing this campaign!
Yeah, the saddest thing about losing all these characters is that they all did great work on their backgrounds, which I was going to use as plot hooks or threads in future adventures. Barbarian’s grandfather was a minor Brelish noble – I was going to make him be the commander at Blackwall Keep. Ranger came to Diamond Lake searching for a rogue Tharashk agent, whom he would have encountered as a member of the Ebon Triad cult (possibly as a replacement for Theldrick). Rogue/sorcerer had an evil merchant in his past who would have made a great substitute for Loris Raknian in Hall of Harsh Reflections/Champion’s Belt. And clues about the amnesiac warforged’s past could have been worked in anywhere – especially if I made Red Hand Stormreach. Oh well. Hopefully the new group (already getting a few feelers from some of the players) will have just as rich backgrounds to plunder.
Thanks for all the feedback, in the form of Kindly and Stern words - both kinds are greatly appreciated and useful. A few additional clarifications/details: The group never found the wand of shatter - they didn't even venture into the Lair of the Architect at all. The ranger used his Tharashk dragonmark to locate the red lantern, so they focused entirely on that level and getting into the Chamber of Sighs. Even if they had, I don't see anything in the wind warriors' or the spell description that indicates that they would be particularly vulnerable to it. I suppose I could have ruled that it affected them as if they were crystalline creatures (3d6 damage, assuming CL3) I agree the leveling issue was the biggest thing. The house rule I was operating under was that you needed to train a week for every other level and that you were assumed to have trained at 1st. The exception would be adding a new class - you always have to train then. So level 2 of the same class was essentially free. I can't explain why the ranger refused to take it. Still, if everyone had been able to level up to 3rd it would have made a tremendous difference. TPK Jay, I like your training bank idea - a good way to pay lip service to realism without inconveniencing the players too much. I also rule that you have to sleep 8 hours before gaining a level, even if you don't train. Good points everyone else who chimed in on this subject. The potions - true, they could have been poisoned, but they already knew that they were certainly magic. I do have same potions look/smell/taste alike, but they had yet to use any of them, so they wouldn't have known which was which. As far as the players dropping out, I hope that it was just the emotion of the moment. I was pretty distraught, too - still was when I posted this morning. But we're all old hands (some of us have been playing over 20 years), so I think they'll be back in the saddle eventually. We probably will take a couple weeks off to playtest an SF RPG system the barbarian's player is working on. GGG - you're absolutely right about not kicking players when they're down. I should have just had them recover, whatever the rules say. Actually, it was almost worse. I considered having the barbarian (human, not dwarf, by the way) run into Kullen and his gang (with whom the party has already had a colorful - and painful - history) on his trip to town, but dismissed the idea as rubbing salt in the wounds. Anyway, thanks again for all the advice and support.
So I ran the final session of “The Whispering Cairn” last night and it may well have been the final session of the Age of Worms campaign path. After several session of getting battered to death’s door, my party finally was ready to reap the reward. They’d hit all the important points – made contact with Allustan, learned the background story of the Vaati, tracked down (and prematurely killed!) Filge, found the note that was the hook for adventure two, buried the Land family for Alastor. Onwards to the Chamber of Sighs and big treasure. Oh yes, there’s the trifling matter of the two 6HD opponents who can fly and have a ranged attack that they can use pretty much anytime they want. I decided that having the wind warriors just sit back and smack their swords together would be no fun for anyone concerned, so I had them mostly engage the party hand to hand, reasoning that they were created to be melee combatants and “programmed” to attack in that manner. The ranger (who despite having almost enough experience to be third level had never even bothered to level up to 2nd) and the rogue/sorceror were the ones who triggered the attack by mucking around with the airshaft while the fighter/barbarian, warforged tank, and goblin favored soul (NPC healer) hung back. Actually, the warforged was out of the room entirely, picking up some of those iron balls to use as a door jam because he was worried about the door closing on him (my fault – I forgot to mention that the trigger for the door was on that side). So the wind warriors appear and engage. Let’s see, +8 to hit vs. low level characters, average 7.5 damage per hit, high AC, lots of HP. Yeah, that didn’t last long. They split up, running for the rim. The ranger managed to hide himself behind the barbarian. The rogue yelled for the cleric then was cut down (-7 or so, stabilized with an action point at -9). The healer ran to respond and was knocked down to 1 HP. By this time the warforged was in the fray. He interposed himself between the wind warrior and the fragile goblin. No prob, the wind warrior just flew out of reach and used the sonic attack. One goblin healer, down for the count. The ranger decided to flee from relative safety and made for the airshaft. I had decided at this point that this was going to be a slaughter and that I would reward his daring by having him find something that would control, or at least call off, the wind warriors in the true tomb. But I wasn’t going to make it a cakewalk. While WW1 is dealing with the warforged and the barbarian, WW2 follows ranger into the true tomb. Ranger decides that it’s too risky to investigate the true tomb with WW2 on him like glue, so he flees back down the shaft. WW2 follows, fumbles an attack roll, so I rule it lost the weapons (mostly to give them a bit of breathing space and also see the looks on their faces when it summons a new pair next turn). At this point ranger decides to see if he can do something about the healer. WW2 follows and guts him. Ranger has no AP left and fails his stabilization checks. I play with Whimsy Cards and one of the other players used one to give him a second chance on his last roll. I even gave a bonus. No luck. Meanwhile warforged and barbarian have been battering the heck out of WW1 and finish it off just in time for WW2 to come after them. Warforged goes toe to toe while barbarian hangs back with his bow. It’s going pretty well for them until WW2 gets in two solid hits on the warforged (already a bit battered to begin with), one of them a confirmed critical. Light fortification takes care of that, but still the damage is enough to drop him to -13! That left the lone barbarian. Fortunately, the warforged had softened up WW2 quite a bit, and he’s able to finish the job in just two or three rounds. With one round to go, barbarian attempts to stabilize the healer. Success! Although two characters are dead (one arguably deservingly so), three will survive. Barbarian plunders all the bodies to find healing magic. There are a bunch of potions, some recovered from the beetle room and some recovered from Filge. They never got a chance to ID any of them, but had figured out that several were of the Conjuration school of magic. Barbarian decides not to take a chance, and runs into town to but some potions. OK, I estimate it’s about 5 miles. Feeling charitable, I tell him he can run all the way, do his business, and run all the way back. I estimate about an hour and a half altogether. Meanwhile, I look up the rule about recovering consciousness when you’re in the negatives. 10% chance per hour, and you lose a HP if you fail. Ooops – they’re both at -9. Barbarian comes back to find two more dead companions. At this point, playing in character, barbarian decides not to investigate any further, but simply to pull his companions out, bury them, and retire from adventuring. So now the Age of Worms campaign is over, as are my days as a DM. I don’t think the group will play under me again. I’ve broached the subject of continuing with new characters, but did not get anything even resembling enthusiasm. Analysis:
I could have had Alastor warn them that there were some guardians inside – I simply forgot to do so. Ditto with the door trigger – things may have been different if the warforged had gotten there a little sooner. I could have realized that two wind warriors would be too much and just used one – that would have been challenging but not devastating. Another problem was that before this session most of the party had enough EXP to become 3rd level, but I find it unrealistic to say that people just gain a level without some kind of downtime. The party didn't want to take that downtime because they were worried that the rival adventure party would find the WC and get the big reward before them. What the PCs did wrong – They could have stayed together more, backing each other up, instead of splitting up and making themselves easy individual targets. Barbarian could have taken a chance on one of the potions being a healing potion – good grief, he was a little injured himself, he could have tried it on himself first. They also could have retreated, although I’m not sure they could have escaped creatures with an 80’ flying movement, although I wouldn’t have had them pursue the party outside of the Chamber of Sighs (they had no way of knowing this, of course). Other Problems – I think my group and I are not well adapted to the play style that is assumed by published adventures. Very heavy on highly challenging combat encounters, packed tightly together. Don’t get me wrong, I think Whispering Cairn is a fun adventure with a lot of fine role-playing encounters, but it’s also very, very deadly. My group almost gave up at the very beginning when the wolves and (later, after rest) the beetle swarm/mad slasher combo nearly wiped them all out. Is this really how most people play – a combat that incapacitates most of the party, rest, repeat? If you made it this far, thanks for reading (and bearing with my abrupt changes in verb tense). Opinions and advice welcome. The big question nagging me is - am I an unreasonable killer DM? Should I have let the players live?
How about replacing the Lurking Strangler with the Eyeball? It's the cute lil' "baby beholder" in Monsters of Faerun. I don't think it's been updated to 3.5 yet, but it shouldn't be too hard to use as is. That's what I'm using in my AoW campaign. Or rather, I would have used it if my players had not bypassed that section of the WC entirely. (And after I made nifty stand up counters for the little guys and everything. Grumble, grumble...)
Very well done. Consider huge swaths of it stolen for my own campaign.
And don't forget the dreaded Head of Vecna!
I will not give an estimate on a date that it'll be ready. That way lies madness. Very wise. I'd just like to say I appreciate all the effort that goes into these supplements. They add value to my subscription and keep me coming back. Thanks for all the hard work!
While your ideas are fresh and exciting I think you are completely missing the idea of The Chamber. The Chamber would not "wait and see." That's what the rest of dragonkind would do. Yes, after I wrote that I realized that would be a problem. The quickest fix would be simply to state that the rest of the Chamber simply disagreed with him - they interpreted the signs differently and cast aspersions on Dragotha's scholarship. Dragotha's anger at their disrespect contributed to his downfall. From my first read-through, the most out of place thing that I can think of for the Eberron setting is the Drow Thralls. I just can't picture Eberron Drow being located anywhere but Xen'dric. I'm thinking possibly replacing them with Dolgrim or Dolgaunt's . . . any idea's? I think dolgrim and dolgaunt's are a great idea and quite fitting as servants of the illithid ("we's all jest the Daelkyr's chilluns"). I would use them myself, but I'm already replacing the kenkus in 3FoE with them (I don't think there's anything particularly un-Eberron about kenkus, I just don't like 'em for some reason). One possibility is to keep them drow, but give them a back story to explain their presence. I'm leaning towards making them Umbragen. Perhaps this particular group was facing a threat to their people - maybe even connected to the Age of Worms in some way - and they traveled to the outside world to find assistance (more likely magic stuff to steal than allies since the Umbragen don't seem the making friends type). Ironically, the party fell into thralldom to just the sort of horror they were trying to save their people from. If the PCs somehow free them, they might even be greatful and provide some sort of assistance before returning home. Expanding on that further, I've been considering having Stormreach stand in for Red Hand. If that's the case, during the big finale perhaps the Umbragen could come back as unlikely allies. Kyuss, the only elf with Siberys Mark of Death had been lost in Xen'drik and in time before the line of Vol was exterminated. My jaw dropped when I read this. Coolest idea ever - why didn't I think of that? It'll take some work, but I think drow, dragons, and the Mark of Death all make perfect sense intertwined with Kyuss and his worm buddies. Must mull this over.
AoW on Xen'drik is an interesting notion, but I don't think required. Southwestern Breland is a pretty wild and not particularly heavily populated area, so I see no problem with a lone lizardfolk tribe. I'm placing Diamond Lake on the western bank of the Dagger River as indicated in the conversion notes in the 124 supplement and Overload. I'm placing Blackwall Keep and the Mistmarsh a little further off than written in the adventure - either somewhere between Ringbriar and Moonwatch or on the eastern edge of the forest north of Ringbriar. My thought is that at one time (possibly centuries ago) the marsh was much more extensive and the lizardfolk that live there now are a pathetic remnant of a once mighty tribe. In general, they are not a threat, but a few decades ago they caused some VIP noble a bit of trouble, so the Keep was built. Unitl the recent attack, egged on by Ilthane (pun definitely intended), there was little to do there being posted at Blackwall was viewed as a punishment, or at the very least a sign that you've been forgotten by the Powers That Be (which might explain the soldiers' incompetence at dealing with their Spawn-ed companion). Here's a couple thoughts on using Xen'drik:
I'm 90% certain that this is the approach I'm going to take.
Here's my take on dragons and the Age of Worms in Eberron. Bear in mind, this is a bare bones outline, providing the beginning of a rationale for the dragons' involvement. There's a lot more I want to do with the back stories of Kyuss and the Wind Dukes to tie it all together with Eberron. I'll post more when I have it. Dragotha, a young and idealistic member of the Chamber, foresaw the coming of the Age of Worms written in the sky millenia ago. He urged his fellows to work with him at preventing it, but to his great frustration the other Chamber members were content to adopt a “wait and see” attitude. As century after century passed, Dragotha's frustration turned to bitterness and anger. He eventually came to believe that nothing could prevent the onset of the disaster. Whether this conclusion was based on an honest assessment of the facts or tainted by his growing resentment is difficult to say, but nonetheless Dragotha decided that the only way to save Eberron was by bringing about its ruin. The sooner the cataclysm struck, the sooner it could be moved past and another, better Age could begin. Dragotha labored on in solitude, painstakingly searching the heavens and earth for clues, piecing together bit by bit the sequence of events needed to start the Age of Worms. The quest began to take a toll on the red dragon's mind and he grew obsessed with allowing nothing to prevent his completing it - not even death. The search for the power of Kyuss had brought Dragotha into contact with many branches of the necromantic arts. He learned the ritual of lichdom and eagerly embraced undeath as a means of continuing his work. Over time, he was finally able to recruit other, younger, dragons such as Ilthane and Lasshona, to his cause. Originally attracted by the idea of saving the world, Dragotha's servants have over the decades become as corrupt as their master.
I am very pleased with the new format for Dungeon. Very nice mix of adventures and lots of side goodies that can be sprinkled in. I'd like to say I missed the mini-games, but really only ever liked a couple of them, so no loss there. What I am especially happy about is that they finally dropped that silly core rule book page layout. I never understood that. About my only complaint is the lackluster title font. The old one was great, this one is...blah.
I agree with those who posted above about the title font - I vastly preferred the old one. The new one isn't terrible - just dull (the title font *before* 3e was terrible). In general, though, I think the artwork and general design and layout of Dragon magazine are exemplary.
Search Posts
I have been wanting to do this for a long time. Azlant has been a favorite of mine and exploring its ruins more so. But exploration is that cherry on top. It also involves Andorran so it won't be overburdened by outside forces at least not yet, granted it's the first book. This is a recruitment for at least 4-5 players, depending on submissions. I am looking for casual players and I will endeavor to post at least 1+ posts per day. I work a busy schedule and will do my best to give a heads up on delays if I encounter them. Your characters will be cut off from all the luxuries of Society, you won't be able to buy or sell items with as much luxuries as normal. Expect several weeks for an item to go to the mainland to be sold and items to be brought back for your use. Enchanting items will be more difficult as well since it is a frontier / isolated community.
Rolling your Attribute:
So rolling will be as followed: For each attribute, roll 4d6, dropping the lowest die. If you rolled less than a 7, re-roll, i.e., 7 is the minimum allowed attribute score. In addition, roll 7 attribute scores and drop the lowest. Assign attribute scores as you will. Alternately, you may employ "epic rules" and roll 1d3+15 for any attribute you choose, BUT for every attribute you roll this way, you must roll one other attribute as 1d10+6. So let's say you're rolling a sorcerer(ess). You would probably want to roll 1d3+15 for your charisma, and then take 1d10+6 for maybe strength or dex, leaving your other attributes as standard rolls.
Realistically just your Race, Class and background is needed. I won't deny you from doing all the crunch, hence why its offered above. But don't spend a ton of time on it, make profiles and what not. Aside from that. Let the fun commence!
Discussion Thread
Main Game Thread
Primary Game Thread
Here we will discuss characters and create builds in preparation for the campaign to begin!
Allowed Materials: Anything Paizo Allowed Races: Work in progress. Looking at possibly three different groups. Including but not limited too. Humanoids, Goblinoids and Centaur's. Possible Starting lvl: 3-5, Most likely 5 due to new mechanics being introduced. Party size? Four, five at most depending on how adventure builds play out. Allowed classes: Depending on group. Humanoids (Any) Mercs are a assest in Iobaria so that allows for a lot of wiggle room. Goblinoids. More martial classes, nothing like Samurai, Ninja, Inquisitor or Paladins. Centaur's.... Same as humanoids, it is not uncommon for Centaurs to be enslaved, whether as indentured servants or acting as brainwashed guardsmen or even mercs for the highest paying nobles. Granted Inquisitors and Paladins would be an extreme rarity. What will be in this adventure? Looking at using Kingmaker rules out of the Ultimate Campaign book. With the possibility of multiple groups the idea of a goblinoid war may be inevitable. Whether this leads to three different groups of PC's fighting is yet to be determined. Centaurs Available so far: Nomen, a more common breed of centaur and direct reflection of what players are familiar with. The other tribes are Azova, the Rashalka, and the Tsolniva. They are currently being built to suit their backgrounds. Skinwalkers. Due to the heavy presence of Were-creatures in the Fangard I have considered making a fourth group or at least the race available. Being a lycanthrope is not outside the realm of possibility. Especially since they don't get their DR until they change shape. >:3 Goblinoids would include: Goblins, Hobgoblins, Bugbears. Essentially a darker more evil campaign of conquest, domination and slaughter with this group. Humans know better than to tread for long in the Coreth wood... What are these groups doing? Humanoids:
There are a number of cities, this is but one of a dozen scenarios I can imagine right now~ Goblinoids:
Centaurs:
Nomen Centaur
Skinwalkers and Lycanthropes
But now the tenuous peace is broken, poison seeps into the water of the Fangard. It turns the tribes people blue and kills them like the silver weapons of their enemies. This malady doesn't kill swiftly, often leaving those who ingest the tainted water sick for weeks, lingering on the edge of death before finally surcumbing. The rage of the tribes was building and the one thing on their minds was who needed to die so peace could be restored? Still in the process of the building the cities and such using the rules but thought I would put what I was working on out there and get some advice/feedback. Constructive Criticism welcome! Thanks!
So trying to make a second entry for a Gestalt WotR and was working on making a Paladin / Inquisitor. But I am very new with Gestalt and so far every game I have started never launched. So I was wondering if you could look at the character below and give me some advice. I want to go the front line route. Took Rich Parents, as a sort of Church funded champion / hunter of evil. So his gear is nice but I don't mind switching things out to make it work better. Recruitment Details:
Level: 1 (Gestalt Rules) Abilities: 25 point buy on a 1-1 basis. No abilities higher than 18 (before racial modifiers) or lower than 10 (after racial modifiers) Alignment: Good is preferred, Neutral is accepted. No backstabbing the party. XP: Rather than giving our XP, I'll let you know when you should level up. This makes it easier to give proper rewards, because honestly, you're mythic gestalts and I will totally be increasing the difficulty of encounters to compensate. This ensures you level at the right pace. XD Races: Core, along with Aasimar/Catfolk/Kitsune/Tiefling/Elemental-blooded Classes: Any Paizo. HP: Max per hit-dice Skills: 1 bonus skill point at each level, spent on Craft, Profession, or Perform. This represents your character's talents outside of combat and adventuring. Traits: 2 (one must be a Campaign Trait), 3 if you take a Drawback Starting Gold: 150 GP Backstory: Yes, please. This is the main way I separate characters, and will be a major factor in my final decision. Note that this adventure focuses around the Crusade against the Worldwound - characters who can be inspiring leaders (as opposed to, say, self-loathing loners) are more suitable for this campaign, though they can certainly be the type to grow into such a role (or support someone else instead). Just keep the themes of the campaign in mind. Sourcebooks: All Paizo, 1001 Spells, and Deep Magic. No Psionics (not quite the flavor I'm looking for - and Mythic Psionics from Mythic Mania isn't out yet). Other 3PP available on request.
Crunch:
Archon-blooded aasimar (lawbringers) inquisitor of Iomedae 1/paladin 1 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player's Guide 38; Pathfinder RPG Advanced Race Guide 84) LG Medium outsider (native) Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +7 -------------------- Defense -------------------- AC 17, touch 11, flat-footed 16 (+6 armor, +1 dexterity) hp 15 (1d10+5) Fort +6, Ref +1, Will +7 Resist acid 5, cold 5, electricity 5 -------------------- Offense -------------------- Speed 30 ft. (20 ft. in armor) Melee mwk greatsword +6 (2d6+6/19-20) or . . mwk longsword +6 (1d8+4/19-20) Ranged longbow +2 (1d8/×3) Special Attacks judgment 1/day, smite evil 1/day (+4 attack and AC, +1 damage) Domain Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st; concentration +4) . . 6/day—touch of law Paladin Spell-Like Abilities (CL 0th; concentration +4) . . At will—detect evil Inquisitor Spells Known (CL 1st; concentration +4) . . 1st (2/day)—bless, divine favor . . 0 (at will)—create water, guidance, light, resistance . . Domain Archon (Good) Law (Archon (law) subdomain) -------------------- Statistics -------------------- Str 18, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 18 Base Atk +1; CMB +5; CMD 16 Feats Power Attack Traits chosen of iomedae, exposed to awfulness, rich parents Skills Climb +5, Diplomacy +8, Heal +7, Intimidate +7, Knowledge (planes) +4, Knowledge (religion) +4, Perception +7, Sense Motive +10, Stealth +2, Swim +5; Racial Modifiers +2 Intimidate, +2 Sense Motive Languages Celestial, Common SQ monster lore +3, stern gaze +1 Combat Gear thistle arrows (50); Other Gear mwk breastplate, longbow, mwk greatsword, mwk longsword, backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, wooden holy symbol (Iomedae), holy text, manacles, mess kit, pot, hemp rope (50 ft.), spell component pouch, torch (10), trail rations (5), waterskin, 101 gp, 1 sp, 1 cp -------------------- Special Abilities -------------------- -> Exchanged for the ability to cast Continual flame+1 to Hit & Damage vs. Evil Outsiders +1 racial bonus on attack and damage rolls against evil outsiders. Cleric Domain (Archon) Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white vision only). Detect Evil (At will) (Sp) You can use detect evil at will (as the spell). Energy Resistance, Acid (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Acid attacks. Energy Resistance, Cold (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Cold attacks. Energy Resistance, Electricity (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Electricity attacks. Exposed to Awfulness (1/day) Vs Death/Incapacitation by demon: Reroll saving throw as free action, keep 2nd result. Judgment (1/day) (Su) Variable bonuses increase as the combat continues. Monster Lore +3 (Ex) +3 to Knowledge checks when identifying the weaknessess of creatures. Power Attack -1/+2 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage. Smite Evil (1/day) (Su) +4 to hit, +1 to damage, +4 deflection bonus to AC when used. Touch of Law (6/day) (Sp) Treat all d20 rolls as 11 for 1 rd. If Inquisitor is sub par I am up for suggestion because I haven't found very many recent ones to try out. I have heard that: Pal/Sor (Dragon Disciple?)
are decent options. :/ I am still looking through archetypes to find ones that would work well together with the above character. Thanks very much for your help. :)
Discussions here and ooc. :)
This is only for those invited to apply. Apologies for the restriction. 
Trying to build a ratfolk Gunslinger / Alchemist and despite having some major advantages I just can't find a way to make it work. For some reason I keep thinking that Gunslinger will fall behind. Its for a Gestalt WotR game. We are allowed 28 point buy at a 1-1 basis so literally 28 stat points. Level 1. Any Paizo Material and some 3pp stuff with approval. I am taking the Gunslinger (Gulch Gunner) / Alchemist (Grenadier) Archetypes. Any advice would be great as I am considering going Magus (The usual Kensai / Bladbound) / Alchemist to focus on a Dex and Int build instead of spreading it across Dex, Int and Wis. Thanks again and any helpful links would be appreciated as I couldn't find anything really useful by trying to search the forums alone with search engine. Just some outdated 2010-2012 posts. :/
This is a repost as I may have placed my original in the wrong forum. So Legendary Item -> Intelligent Item -> Shape Change. Does this mean I can select another weapon type as its shape? Armor? Or just plain clothes? Shape Change is very vague. Shape Change: The item can change its shape into one other form(?) of the same size. This is the exact wording from the PFSRD website. Some questions that I need help clarifying: 1. If a Composite +4 Str Longbow +1 was selected as the legendary item w/ shape change could it then take on the form of a +1 Greatsword? ->Size Medium Weapons - Legal?
2. Could a suit of armor turn into a weapon then as well?
I tried searching and found nothing save for useless cheese. Your help is appreciated.
I have just recently started reading into the PFS and this character profile is my first attempt at one and honestly I want to do it right. Any advice is appreciated! I have downloaded the Additional Resources and PFS guide and am looking for anything else that would be helpful in character building. I was trying to do a Cleric of Gorum Build but it is also my first attempt. Hehe. Again thanks for any help that is provided! 
1st, Gozren Yesterday we rescued a young lady from her pursuers and put down a handful of bandits. It took awhile for her to open up to us and when she finally did we had lost nearly a day on tracking down her sister. A terrible storm pinned us within an elven burial mound and forced us to lose another day. Because of the storm we were unsure the tracker Jack could find any useful tracks. Luckily the Nine were with us and her captors suffered several setbacks which aided in us overtaking them a stone throw from their base. Despite being disorganized we overwhelmed them, taking the older girls young sister into our possession along with one bandit. He was given mercy and swore to change his ways, the others however fought to the death lest they faced the rope. We returned to the burial mound and decided our next course of action. A direct assault was suicide. Pretending that some of us were bandits, with our Teacher playing the part of the Noble girl and I the part of her bodyguard. I had offered the suggestion of drawing them out and fighting them alone in the wilderness. Out of concern for me Jack, our normally quiet half-elven tracker voiced disagreement quite heatedly. I was moved by his words but I still believed I could defeat them in the open. Lord Finnabar however decided that we disguise ourselves and lie to gain entry. The Staglord is finally within our grasp. Lord Finnabar and the others seem confident we can take them down from within, however I harbor doubts that my acting will be on par to what is needed of me. Perhaps my dirty bloodline will allow me to slip in easily among these bandits. I can barely stand bringing dishonor to my sword but after what these bandits have done. I cannot allow them to continue brazenly killing innocent people and terrorizing defenseless children. I will face judgment from the Order of the Sword if I must but these bandits have to be stopped...
Here we will discuss schtuff pertinent to WotR :)
Basic scenario, Acid Cloud is casted ahead of a moving vehicle that has no time to avoid or slow down. So the vehicles own movement carries it into the cloud and the occupants/vehicle take damage. Would this cancel out Invisibility? As the vehicle movement happened after the spell was casted? I ruled that this wouldn't cancel out Invisibility as the RAW states " For purposes of this spell, an attack includes any spell targeting a foe or whose area or effect includes a foe. Exactly who is a foe depends on the invisible character's perceptions. Actions directed at unattended objects do not break the spell. Causing harm indirectly is not an attack. Thus, an invisible being can open doors, talk, eat, climb stairs, summon monsters and have them attack, cut the ropes holding a rope bridge while enemies are on the bridge, remotely trigger traps, open a portcullis to release attack dogs, and so forth. If the subject attacks directly, however, it immediately becomes visible along with all its gear. Spells such as bless that specifically affect allies but not foes are not attacks for this purpose, even when they include foes in their area." Which I interpreted as since the cloud did the damage to the vehicle because it wasn't able to stop in time, that the Invisibility wouldn't be canceled out. Hopefully that is clear enough for how the situation is. Thanks for any input provided. :)
First post coming soon!
The beginning of the Skyfall OOC thread. Here we can discuss whatever you want of course, ask questions of myself or others and get a general feel for those we are playing alongside in this grand adventure.
Skyfall is a high fantasy, mainly homebrew setting with steam-punk epicness thrown in. It will included firearms and gunpowder, so if you don't have the stomach for it please don't argue as to why I built the world I did. Maps will be made through the use of CC3 from Profantasy and it takes me a little time to build them so please be patient. And It begins... All characters will start at level 4. Allowed materials are as followed: any Paizo Product currently printed and any SGG material is fine. I may allow additional books so long as I have them. Rolling will be as followed: For each attribute, roll 4d6, dropping the lowest die. If you rolled less than a 7, re-roll, i.e., 7 is the minimum allowed attribute score. In addition, roll 7 attribute scores and drop the lowest. Assign attribute scores as you will. Alternately, you may employ "epic rules" and roll 1d3+15 for any attribute you choose, BUT for every attribute you roll this way, you must roll one other attribute as 1d10+6. So let's say you're rolling a sorcerer(ess). You would probably want to roll 1d3+15 for your charisma, and then take 1d10+6 for maybe strength or dex, leaving your other attributes as standard rolls. Information about the Old World::
The Demi-human races are long gone, only remnants of Elven, Dwarven, Halfing or other demi-human kind remain. Or the crumbling ruins of cities that were once inhabited by them before they're mysterious departure. Many left the world through unknown means, tired of Humanities ceaseless violence and war. Once they were gone though, much of the worlds highest magics and knowledge faded away, forgotten over time. Despite the existence of dragonkind, they are not as majestic or as regal as legends once told. Besides they're shining scales and powerful frames they are merely steeds, nothing more and nothing less. There are many theories as to why the the legends are so far fetched compared to the current state dragonkind exists in but unless your scholar such theories and debates are beyond most peoples reach.
A multitude of kingdoms exist but few are so grand as those that rose after the fall of the Bright Empire. The Kingdoms are as followed. The Imperium of Man / The Imperium:
- Lawful Neutral/Evil
Born from the fires of anarchy and from the betrayal of demi-human allies, the rise of the Imperium was bloody, brutal and without mercy. When the Bright Empire was wracked by war with the hordes of greenskin, the royal family was among the first to be lost in the conflict and with them all stability was lost. Once loyal vassals abandoned the dying Empire, retreating to their holes and watching the empire die from disobedience, civil war and the horde. That was when the High Inquisitor came, bring the wrath of Abadar and humanity down on the enemies of man. Those who refused to obey were purged by blade and flame. Those who failed to aid humanity were deemed enemies of the Imperium and were subjugated or purged depending on their crimes. Every person who refused to obey, be they general, soldier or craftsman, was judged a traitor of humanity. Leading to immiediately being placed upon the rack and used as an example to those who thought disobedience would go unpunished. Demi-humans of any kind are tortured and questioned relentlessly before being wracked or executed, most die in prison from malnutrition or their injuries sustained during torture. The Holy Kingdom of Lyonesse:
- Lawful Good
An Oligarchy, dedicated to the worship of Lyonesse and upholding her tenants to the highest degree possible. The High Priestess of the religion, the Hand of Lyonesse, is the ruler of this fair and lawful nation and makes sure that the concern of its citzens recieve the utmost attention from the benevolent goddess.
Empire of Qin:
- Lawful Neutral
Consisting of many clan houses and ruled by an ancient dynasty. Qin is one of the most stable kingdoms of the five super powers, its people are hardy and ruled by strong traditions of honor. Following the code of the bushido, while being protected by some of the finest warriors the world has ever known. The Nation of Cygnus:
- Neutral Good
The most technological of the goodly kingdoms and the only one actively engaged in war with Cryx. Cygnus is well known for creating revolutionary advancements as they continue to stave off the machinations of Cryx and their unholy warmachines. Cygnus is the only democratic nation, with the most advance military the world has ever seen. Their airships are second to none and are on equal terms when engaged with Cryxian Blackships. The only other nation that comes close to matching the resolve, training and discipline of Cygnus's troops is the holy kingdom of Lyonesse. Cygnus was the first to develop long guns and utilize them with brutal efficiency when they invaded the Cryxian port of Blackwater and reduced it to burning rubble. Ever citizen of Cygnus is reputed to own at least a pistol if not a rifle and are required to serve for five years in the military starting at the age of fifteen. Some make a career of it, others becoming craftsmen and help advance their society with the dedication and discipline they received during their time in the military.
And the Nightmare empire known simply as: Cryx:
AL - Lawful Evil Cryx scouts the nations for corpses, slaves and any knowledge that they can aquire so that they can undermine the lands beyond their broken islands. Cryx is a nation of murderers, cutthroats and pirates that wouldn't hesitate to sell their neighbors or even their own families to the Meat Market for coin. It is a nation that thrives off piracy, smuggling and slave trade as its major industries. But the living do not rule the Nightmare Empire, no, it is a land ruled by the dead. Torak, the greatest Dracolich ever to exist, rules over the broken isles of Cryx with an admantine claw and beneath him are his twelve Lichlords who carry out his will to the far edges of the known world. Each of his Lichlords were selected for their abilities and professions in their 'mortal' life. Some were great scholars of their time, easily seduced by the temptation of immortality and some were the most blood thirsty of pirates from days long past, who refused to let old age or death stand in their way. Beneath the Lichlords are the Ironliches and their armies of thralls, necrotechs and servitors who help ensure that the nightmare empire has fresh goods, and corpses, to keep its industries running while advancing the unread warmachine as they plot to conquer the world. Putting every soul under absolute dominance. Racial Choices:
Humans are of course the main race and others I would strongly like to see fewer of. Granted that doesn't mean you can't play an elf or dwarf, I just hope to not make a whole party of them. As an extra incentive for Human Folk, you gain an additional +2 to apply to your ability scores, it is however not stack-able with the +2 that humans already get. Another Race that is available is the Tabaxi~ The tabaxi (called cat-people or tigerfolk by some) are a reclusive race
A typical tabaxi stands 6 feet tall and weighs about 150 pounds. Tabaxi Society Tabaxis live in small groups called prides deep in jungles and warm
Tabaxi Characters - Tabaxi characters possess the following racial traits.
Darkvision: Tabaxis can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Racial Hit Dice: A tabaxi begins with two levels of humanoid, which
Racial Skills: A tabaxi’s humanoid levels give it skill points equal to 2 x (2 + Int modifier). Racial Feats: A tabaxi’s humanoid levels give it one feat. AC: +1 natural armor bonus. Natural Weapons: Tabaxis can fight with 2 claws that deal 1d4 base
Special Attacks: Grab, pounce, rake (See Above). Special Qualities: Weapon aptitude (see Below). Languages: Tabaxis begin play speaking Common and Tabaxi. Bonus
Weapon Aptitude (Ex) Tabaxis have an instinctive love
Credit
Copyright Notice
This campaign will be a sandbox setting and I am very free form, I don't mind using races other then humans and if you choose to do more Monster races I can change the beginning of the campaign to suit. As I stated before I love free form. Ask whatever questions are on your mind as I am sure I haven't covered every base and this will help me get the feel of those I am dealing with. This recruitment thread will be up for 2 weeks so that I can get a solid group of players before beginning. Thank you and fire away!
I understand this is the recruitment thread but i'm looking at starting a PBP that includes several facets of high fantasy. Airships, Firearms, Magic and varying amounts of steam power may or may not be present depending on where the PC’s start off. The PC's have a number of different places to start at and it will affect where exactly they may eventually end up. I will also accept most 3rd party products, such as Supergenius Games, so long as I own a copy of the material wanting to be used. I am also looking for the most votes on starting level as well. I am looking at starting between 1st or 6th level. I have seen successful campaign’s start at lvl 1 but the levels tend to drag out and so if people convince me to start the party off at lvl 1 then I will plan the adventure for that level and hopefully have something posted in due course. Lvl 6-7 also broadens players abilities to craft a character they can enjoy from the get go and not spend months waiting for that ‘next level’. I like the randomness of dice and I am borrowing the idea of high powered rolling from DM Downrightamazed. As I would like to see people actually play heroes and not get hosed up by poor dice rolls. So rolling will be as followed: For each attribute, roll 4d6, dropping the lowest die. If you rolled less than a 7, re-roll, i.e., 7 is the minimum allowed attribute score.
The Demi-human races are long gone, only remnants of Elven, Dwarven, Halfing or other demi-human kind remain. Many left the world through unknown means, tired of Humanities ceaseless violence and war. Once they were gone though much of the worlds highest magics and knowledge left with them and left it too weak to reverse the coming Armageddon. The characters will start off on their dying home world, the apocalypse has come and everyone is scrambling to survive or find some way to escape. Among the many natural and unnatural catastrophe's occurring in the world, the dead have risen and a vast army is sweeping across the land. Snuffing out what few kingdoms and empires that have remained cohesive despite the end times. Along with this undead army comes the forces of Cryx (Iron Kingdom Reference and awesome name), a nation comprised of some of the darkest necromancers and ruled by Lich kings and a foul godlike dracolich. As armies continue to wage endless war in the air, on the high seas and on foot it seems as if there is no hope in sight. No escape from what looks to be certain death. That was until the gates were erected. Harnessing the highest of magics, the high clerics and mages of the few remaining lands created portals to lands unknown. The gates harnessed the naturally occurring 'ripples' that appeared every few years and seemed to tear through the veil between worlds. If the ripples were large enough that you could glimpse another world, one far different from their own on the otherside. It was known that some had passed through to these other worlds but the ripples only stay open for a short time and sadly no one has ever returned... This isn't a recruitment, just testing the water and hopefully I will have the start to my campaign up and going in a couple of weeks. Thank you for feedback!
Bodyguard (Combat)
Prerequisite: Combat reflexes. Benefit: When an adjacent ally is attacked, you may use an attack of opportunity to attempt the aid another action to improve your ally’s AC. You may not use the aid another action to improve your ally’s attack roll with this attack. Normal: Aid another is a standard action. If my understanding is correct then bodyguard can possibly be used on more then one person per round correct? Or if you use it are you stuck with aiding a single ally? I was just wondering how many times it could be used. Appreciate any clarity and advice I receive. Thank you!
Leap: You can get your mount to leap obstacles as part of its movement. Use your Ride modifier or the mount's Jump modifier, whichever is lower, to see how far the creature can jump. If you fail your Ride check, you fall off the mount when it leaps and take the appropriate falling damage (at least 1d6 points). This usage does not take an action but is part of the mount's movement. [ooc]I pulled Now i'm trying to get my mount to jump over a 10 ft obstacle and by the rules written for leap I can only use my ride modifier +5 and thus can only clear a 5ft obstacle. Am I reading this right or do I make another check to see how far I clear it? I understand that long jumping is in the Acrobatics skill's description but Ride: Leap seems to have a different approach to the jumping rules. Any help is appreciated.
It doesn't really specify or maybe I missed it. But my question is: If your a Druid with an animal companion and then you take ranger to at least 4th level and take animal bond would you get a second animal companion? Or is that not possible? I was thinking of doing a Druid/Ranger/Nature Warden combo and didn't know how it would all work out dealing with the animal companion's. I understand that it will come to a point of choosing one or the other companion to advance but I just wanted to know if maybe there was a sourcebook or errata I was overlooking. Any help is appreciated ^^ |
