I am beginning to run the AP. My PCs have cleared out Licktoad Village, and are going to observe shipwrecks and the cave with Tsutamu and the Whispering Shrike.
My idea is to put the module Feast of Ravenmoor on the way to Brinewall, likely with Koya mentioning that there an "interesting celebration of Desna" on the way.
My party is a group of 5, generally new to Pathfinder, Unchained Summonner, Shaman (primarily an archer), Fighter (18 str, Earthbreaker), Cleric, Brawler (only player whose played much PF). They are currently level 2.
My real questions are "should I have my party level to 3 before the module" and "would leveling them to 4 afterward make Brinewall too easy"?
So, I feel like I ought to pay it back/pay it forward- -I'm in a bunch of PbP games as a player- -and it's given me a chance to play before I run for the local face-to-face PFSers.
The problem: I've GMed a PbP table once- -and I struggled with pacing and posting consistency. There were days when getting a ability to post even once was improbable at best, and other days when I could get three or four posts in with little effort. (And unlike in face-to-face gaming, I can't see how engaged or bored the other side of the screen is. I know consistency is the end-all be-all of a good PbP GM, and I just cannot promise that.
So, I suppose, the question is this: Would an inconsistent posting rate from your GM be detrimental to your enjoyment as a player?
Secondarily, if you'd be interested in playing, post some scenarios you'd wish to play. I'll glance over the list and make a more proper recruitment thread (or keep it here if that seems easier).
Please be honest! 'No gaming' is better than 'bad gaming.'
For a city founded upon bloody combat traditions, Tymon is surprisingly docile. Weapons are invariably peace-bonded, there is a lack of muscle-flexing machismo in the streets—even public disputes are scarcer than in comparably large settlements. Rule of law here is strong, perhaps, or else violent urges are simply sated vicariously through the famed Arena of Aroden.
Whatever the cause, little impedes the swift journey to Smine’s Weaponworks, locally famous as a place of business but secretly also a Pathfinder lodge. The sound of ringing steel and the withering heat of the forge through an open sliding door identify the stone structure as readily as its wellpainted but soot-stained sign. Several apprentices work blades in various stages of completion, and at the largest work area toils a smiling dwarf: famed weaponsmith and venture-captain Holgarin Smine. He glances up under singed eyebrows, never missing a beat as he says, “Ah. It’s you. A moment.”
After putting some final touches on a spearhead, quenching it in water, and nodding approvingly after a brief appraisal, he unties his apron and opens the door into the adjoining building. Within a few minutes, Smine has set out refreshments such as bread and cheese in a much cooler kitchen. “Forgive me for not asking about your journey. Love the details, but those can wait. There's a friend of mine who has a druidic sickle you're going to retrieve. Head to her camp and we can have time to catch up when you get back."
The trek out of Tymon was uneventful, and three days into the River Kingdoms have led you to an abandoned camp. The only proof suggesting you are even in the right place is a journal, which upon inspection clearly belongs to Ulisha. Several excerpts stand out:
Excerpt 1:
...the only thing worse than working for a Galtan nobleman is working for two Galtan noblemen—in my case, Lords Tullivor and Sarvio, both of whom are happy only when the other is not. I made a tidy sum recovering their heirlooms, but when Laban Tullivor tasked me to steal a platinum chalice belonging to the Sarvios, I took my leave (and the cup), and they’ve been hounding me since. Now Laban’s deceased, and it’s rumored his mausoleum in Gralton’s cemetery harbors a treasure. I hope you’ll not balk at tomb-robbing. Remember, these are aristocrats. I say, a plague on both their houses...
Excerpt 2:
...When seeking to conceal something, one’s first instinct is to choose a spot no one would think to look. Better yet, choose a locale no one would dare to go. Such was my logic after liberating a magic lantern from an anemic necromancer in Ustalav. Lest the wizard track me through its magic, I hid the lantern underneath some rocks in a stream near Cannibal’s Grove, whose own magic would disguise the lantern’s own. Now that time has passed, I’d gladly cut you in for a nice percentage of its value. All you need do is travel to the Forest of Veils in southern Varno. From there, any superstitious peasant should know the route to Cannibal’s Grove. How bad can it be?
Excerpt 3:
...different cultures’ treatment of the gods is a point of endless fascination for me.
Consider the Rahadoumi and their Laws of Man, rejecting the gods despite the plagues and deserts that eat away at their lands. Others such as the Nidalese have sworn themselves entirely to one god who grants his followers power at a punishing price. The small nation of Razmiran is much like Nidal, in that the people pay homage to a most curious deity: a “Living God” who lives among his people. Don’t be fooled by his talk of prosperity for all. The Razmiri are an underhanded lot, and I recently heard that the village of Allenstead—once staunchly against the god Razmir—had all converted to Razmir’s worship. Apparently, a priest bearing a jeweled rod recently paid Allenstead a visit and won everyone over within a day. It’s obvious that some dastardly magic is at work here, and that the priest’s golden scepter is at the crux of it all. I wonder what it’s worth?
Excerpt 4:
...I may have just made a monumental discovery. While searching for an Osirian urn in an Absalom museum, I came upon a collection of charcoal rubbings in an old scroll tube. According to the notes that accompanied them, they were taken by a Pathfinder from a cave wall somewhere between the border of Numeria and the River Kingdoms. The rubbings depict what Numerians now refer to as the Rain of Stars. While this cave alone is an incredible find, I believe there’s something even more remarkable. In the rubbings, one of the smaller objects has a line that connects it to the horizon. While the Pathfinder dismissed this line as a stone fracture, I have another thought. I believe whomever witnessed this Rain of Stars must have seen where one of the smaller objects impacted and etched the line as a point of reference! Now all I need to do is calculate where the ridge lies in relation to this cave and I’ll have my name in the history books...
Excerpt 5:
...that the Riverfolk of Daggermark haven’t wiped themselves off the map with their wanton assassinations and poisonings is a fact that will never cease to amaze me. Still, where such dealings occur, coin is always involved, and one knowledgeable in the ways of commerce can always earn a good wage. Daggermark’s economy runs on poisoned blades, but those blades would be dry were in not for a constant influx of alchemical goods. Such goods wax and wane, though, and if one watches diligently, these market shifts can be predicted. The next ingredient the markets will want is an adhesive produced by spiders and left in their webs. Of course more potent chemicals would be found in the glands of the dreadful beasts, but I am a scholar, not some vagabond sellsword slaying vermin for ale money. I have mapped a route to a newer nest that should be sparsely defended. My buyer, one Johannes Vox (an Iobarian of curious temperament) has not been as forthright in our latest dealing as I’d like. Perhaps it is time I sold elsewhere...
Excerpt 6:
As you may have gathered from my absence, I’ve made a few enemies who would be all too pleased to see me leave the region—or worse. Like so many matters in the River Kingdoms, the range of thugs that might want an honest explorer dead are as diverse and numerous as the kingdoms themselves. The last several months of my time here have been exciting and perilous enough that exactly who my real enemies are is unclear. Until I can sort out the sides, I’m lying low in a nearby hideout. I should be safe there and can meet with you soon to complete our transaction.
Feel free to dot in, and discuss what to do/where to go. I'll borrow some of my GM's "rule of two." If two people agree on a course of action, we'll take it that way.
While this is a rules question, it's more about PFS policy.
Hypothetical situation:
I have 3 XP, and I'm looking to show up with a level 2 human rogue to my next session.
I know that you can legally retrain your level 1 feats to ones you didn't qualify fo at level 1, so I could sit down with both (say) Power Attack and Quick Draw.
My question is, how much does the free rebuild cover and how much would need to be paid retraining? Or, put differently, when does the free rebuild stop?
Other Hypothetical:
I have 9XP of GM credit. When I build a level 4 fighter, can I choose to retrain my 3rd level feat into Spring Attack, using my 4th level one for Weapon Specialization? Do I have to pay for it?
Disclaimer: I understand that this is against the spirit of the rules. If it's allowable, I'd at least like to know the specifics.
I have a cleric of Brigh that would like to get the feat Sacred Summons to quick-summon clockworks.
I have two questions regarding this:
1: While my cleric doesn't detect as any alignment, does it still have the "Aura Class Feature"?
2: Is the abscence of an alignment subtype considered an 'exact match' for the purposes of Sacred Summons?
Noteworthy text:
CRB: Cleric, Aura Class Feature:
Aura (Ex): A cleric of a chaotic, evil, good, or lawful deity has a particularly powerful aura corresponding to the deity's alignment (see the detect evil spell for details).
UM: Sacred Summons:
Prerequisites: Aura class feature, ability to cast summon monster.
Benefit: When using summon monster to summon creatures whose alignment subtype or subtypes exactly match your aura, you may cast the spell as a standard action instead of with a casting time of 1 round.
Covered foot to neck in scorch-marked bronze clockwork armor, a perturbed looking gnome seems to wander around the Grand Lodge in deliberate spiral patterns, her nose buried in a journal full of scibbles, her orange hair tied back into a braid out of conveinience rather than fashion. Both her shield and armor sport a prominent motif of a bronze mask, and closer inspection shows that the vast majority of the clockwork pieces are currently not functioning. She stops suddenly, content that her spiral is large enough and asks politely to anyone within earshot:
"I need to talk to someone from the Dark Archive because I went to finalize my reports to that waif of an elf Kreighton Shaine last mission and he thought it was very interesting that Ashkerhall was full of murals that reminded him of Jormundun and that the golden guardian wasn't made of bronze like I expected and that Venture Captain Sharrowsmiths journals belonged to the Dark Archive now and that I couldn't just read them and study them like I want even though there's probably information that I could use to help piece together my latest discovery where gnomish techniques just don't measure up to Dwarven craftsmanship when melting adamantine like when you need something super durable to keep the explosions from buckling it like a bridge over the islands in the Shackles where heavy tides and drunken revelers with their staggered footsteps break down foundations and cause tensional failures that can completely and entirely wreck years of progress like when my lab assistant accidentally mixed the molten bronze with tepid water even though I told him that it should have been lukewarm and the town guards thought that maybe Alkenstar wasn't the best place to be trying to cast a quicksilver shield even though it was awesome and the calculations suggest it is completely possible so I told him that I'd find some other place with a better respect for learning and innovation and that when everyone in the Inner Sea is holding a shield made of purest quicksilver mixed with bronze like a sunset on stainless steel reflecting light onto the darkest of hillside thickets where wolves prowl and howl and bowl over unsuspecting travelers with their fancy backpacks and belt pouches full of shiny clinky gold that he'd be sorry and so was Kreighton Shaine who said that I needed to get into the Dark Archive because all of the books and the notes and the formula sheets and the experimentation notes and the transreliquats and experimental quicksilver apparatuses and Sharowsmith's journal was being stored in the basement where the general public's inquisitive little hands couldn't get to them even though my little hands are three times as good at disassembling things as any elf and approximately 1.6 times as good at putting them back together because sometimes the molten bronze and the igneous basalt and the tiny pieces of clockworks don't always line up with the screwdrivers closest at hand but the burns usually go away after a little magical healing which usually makes everyone else happy anyway so I have to ask someone associated with this Dark Archive for some sort of sponsorship just to get a look at a book or two even though Tahonikepsu would probably be mad and a mad dragon is more volatile than thrice-condensed molten erudite mixed with lava then shaken like a martini they serve in Opparra's dingiest uppercrust bar even though they call it a nightclub like they think its only open at night and you need a membership to join as if it was a Dark Archive and they did important things like disassembling clockworks instead of serving alcohol with funny little parasols like the ones the caravan from Minkai brought back with their latest shipment of fireworks that blast across the sky trailing stars like "FWOOOOOOOSH" and exploding so amazingly that you forget why you even started talking so can I join?"
So, I'm looking to build a halfling for PFS purposes who embraces the epithet and uses it as a term of endearment, much like many ethnic groups in the U.S. have co-opted once-offensive terms.
Jeff Hazuka Dedicated Voter Season 8, Marathon Voter Season 9 aka Jayson MF Kip
So, inspired by fellow alternate Jensen Toperzer, I present the map that I had submitted as an Top 32 alternate. (I already know a few hings that I should have done, but in the spirit of fair criticism, am submitting it as-is.)
So, thanks in advance, and thanks for making my first-ever competition like this a fun experience that, most importantly, I can learn from.
Jeff Hazuka Dedicated Voter Season 8, Marathon Voter Season 9 aka Jayson MF Kip
Fellbough Hookhammer Aura faint transmutation; CL 5th
Slot none; Price 16,620 gp; Weight 3 lbs.
Description
The first of these small-sized +1/+1 gnome hooked hammers was crafted after a lightning storm felled a monumental ash tree, its scorched haft a reminder that even the tallest can be made low. Whenever the wielder makes a trip attempt with the fellbough hookhammer, treat the wielder’s size bonus to CMB as if she were one size larger. A creature tripped by the fellbough hookhammer cannot make attacks of opportunity as long as it remains prone.
Construction Requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armor, enlarge person, litany of sloth; Cost 8,310 gp
When a Pathfinder agent working in the famed Blakros Museum in Absalom falls victim to a terrible, ancient evil, if falls to the PCs to hunt down the released terror before it can retrieve a relic of the mad astronomer Ralzeros the Overwatched.
The daughters of Absalom's mysterious Blakros family have long been among the most pursued maidens in the Inner Sea. Now the family's matriarch approaches the Pathfinder Society to help her break a centuries-old pact with the denizens of the Plane of Shadow to save her twin daughters from a life of servitude at the hands of the Onyx Alliance. Heading into the fan-favorite adventuring location of Blakros Museum, the PCs have only a short amount of time to break the Penumbral Accords and solidify the Pathfinder Society's ties to the powerful Blakroses.
What better time to celebrate revelry than the morning after a celebration?
Something is afoot at Cayden's Hall, the carousing temple-pub in Absalom where Cayden Cailean's faithful pay homage to their Drunken Hero. Pathfinder agent Osprey and his demonologist companion send you to investigate the truth behind a long-rumored demonic lab said to exist beneath the temple-pub's sticky floors. A trail of murders led Osprey to Cayden's Hall and his demonologist sees clues that denizens of the Abyss are involved. It's up to you to find out what demons want with the Drunken Hero's largest temple. Bar fights, revelry, song, and drink await within the Hall of Drunken Heroes.
In the ruins of Xin-Bakrakhan—seat of power of the Runelord of Wrath—the Pathfinder Society stands on the verge of a great discovery, but first the brave agents exploring the ruins must survive ages-old dangers and contemporary threats to return with the knowledge and wealth they’ve unearthed.
Written by Mike Shel
--Two spots remain, and an alernate or two would be nice.--
On the edge of life and death, between winter and spring, there is a holiday of hallowed halls held here. To some it is known as the Day of Bones, the time when those looked upon by Pharasma celebrate their profession and the transitory nature of life. Join us Saturday, March 1st, 2014 for Online VTT Gameday 3 – Day of Bones, and see if you can keep one foot out of the grave and delay your travels upon the Infinite Staircase. http://pathfindersocietyonline.com/events
Scenario: PFS 02-25: You Only Die Twice [5-9]
Date/Time: Saturday, March 1st, 2014 @ 12:00 PM (Noon) EST US [-5 GMT]
GM: Jeff H.
Game Client: Google Plus Hangout and the Roll20.net VTT
Description:
A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for 5th to 9th level characters (Tiers: 5-6 and 8-9).
The Pathfinder Society sends you into the undead-ruled nation of Geb for an undercover mission, not disguised as undead, but temporarily transformed into a shambling, zombie version of yourself. Can you survive the ordeal to return to the land of the living, or will your final grave be among Geb’s bones?
A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for 1st to 5th level characters (Tiers: 1–2 and 4-5).
The Pathfinder Society sends you to the fabled Kingdom of the Impossible, the island of Jalmeray, to stop an Aspis Consortium black market relics dealer who is organizing the local bandits and violently robbing Jalmeray and Pathfinder Society caravans laden with relics, artifacts, and magical mysteries. When a venture-captain is murdered by the Aspis Consortium agent, it's up to the PCs to find him and do whatever it takes to stop him.
Written by Craig Shackleton
A few notes:
This is my first attempt at running online. I would like to respectfully request that the players interested exhibit a modicum of patience. I'll probably have some necessary "on-the-fly" learning to do. Thanks in advance.
Warhorn link pending. Contact via PM or email: dothacked @ gmail .com.
Firstly, this is for PFS, so a career that sees its last combat at level 11.
If your main plan is to focus on transmutations to be more of a "bard" at earlier levels and to be an "arcane druid" at higher levels via polymorph spells, is a sky-high INT particularly necessary?
Myself and 3 others (Monk (trip specialist), Rogue (Knife Master), and Wizard (Evoker), all humans) are playing through Jade Regent, and I'm playing Gant Thicketsnicker, an Undead-Blooded Gnome Bloodrager and hopeful Daughter of Urgathoa.
The party has just begun Act 2 of Jade Regent 1.
25 point buy.
Str 16
Dex 13
Con 14
Int 10
Wis 11
Cha 14
Combat Reflexes @ level 1.
One thing jumps out at this level. I'm really not much different from a Barbarian at this point. I wanted to make a melee-based sorcerer at the time the playtest was announced, and a combination Sorcerer/Barbarian would be great...BAB and Arcane ability! Right now, I'm a Barbarian with a slightly smaller HP total and a 1-round debuff on charge attacks. Which I've missed both chances I've had to make. I've felt far more effective playing similar to a reach fighter- -making AoOs as often as possible. I used a Lucerne Hammer at level 1, then recently obtained a Masterwork Glaive.
Noteworthy things:
During the giant fight with 20-some odd goblins in Brinestump Marsh, reach + combat reflexes did far more than a debuff on charge attacks (which are not easy to pull off in most cases). The final fight led off with me getting hit directly with a skyrocket and knocked out (11 damage on 2d6 (had a bit of lingering damage prior)).
Fighting against the undead remains of Tsutamu, one critical hit ended that encounter before it began (max damage on 2d10 + 14). So not really too much that was bloodrager-specific on that fight- -could have been a barbarian (or a 20-strength fighter) and not felt too much different.
One thing that is nice (and different than most Barbarians) is that I've had decent ability to affect social encounters. Diplomacy (class skill via trait), Intimidate, and Handle Animal are nice to have with positive Charisma modifiers.
My overall impression:
This feels like a barbarian so far. I don't get the sense that what I'm doing is very arcane at all. I'm sure higher levels will sort that out, but in the meantime I'm not anything more than a differently flavored barbarian (which is admittedly still pretty damned fun).
I know I won't get to play again before the end of the playtest, but I will continue playing Ms. Thicketsnicker and can provide further feedback if need be.
Additionally, animal companions have access to magical item slots, in addition to barding and neck, as listed on the inside front cover of the Animal Archive so long as they select the Extra Item Slot feat. The Animal Magic Item Slots table found in Animal Archive is not a legal except under the following conditions. First, an animal companion, familiar, or bonded mount, may choose one slot listed under its body type when taking the Extra Item Slot feat (this feat may be taken multiple times, each time selecting a different available magic item slot based on the creature’s anatomy). Second, access to specific magic item slots may be granted at a later date by another legal source. If you do not own a copy of the Animal Archive, your animal companion may only use barding and neck-slot items.
I've scanned the boards enough to know you can't retro-fit mount items to non-horses, but am I reading this right in that it takes a feat (and the purchase of another book(!)) just to equip horses with, say, Horseshoes of Speed?
"Non-human aasimars have the same statistics as human
aasimars with the exception of size. Thus a halfling aasimar
is Small but otherwise possesses the same statistics and
abilities as a human aasimar—the difference is purely
cosmetic."
Emphasis mine.
Does this mean size bonuses (to Strength/AC/Attack Rolls/Stealth) do not get applied? Or does it mean that ONLY size bonuses apply (and all other stats and abilites are identical)?
Can someone point me to where the rules say your deity has to be one step away from your alignment? I know it's somewhere (or maybe I just assume it's somewhere), I just can't find it.
I also have one Ability score increase to apply from Way of the Kirin.
I'm going to use the Level 6 talent to get Kirin Style via ninja trick.
As such, I will need to spend 6 ranks on Knowledge (Arcana). I already have 5 ranks in Knowledge (Local). That leaves me with 5 available skill ranks for this level. As such, I'm wondering how best to allocate said ranks towards knowledge skills to get the most out of Kirin Style.
Also, is there any easy way (besides multiclassing) to get more knowledge skills as class skills? (I'm not beyond paying prestige).
So, tinkering and trying different options has left me with the following preliminary build. PFS-legal(CRB, APG, ARG, UM, UC, ISM, PFS Field Guide are my current available resources (will look for Legacy of Fire)), 20-point buy. Any critiques, suggestions, ideas, criticism, or World Series predictions will be most helpful. Thanks in advance.
Human Unarmed Fighter 5/MMoS Monk 2/Duelist x
(Dual +2 Attribute instead of bonus feat & skilled)
Stats:
STR 16 (+2)
DEX 13
CON 13
INT 13
WIS 18 (+2)
CHA 7
Consideration: Should I swap my DEX and STR? I want to eventually make 3+ AoOs per round. But, then again, having damage as an option early is nice, too.
I imagine it's probably not the most efficient expenditure of classes, but I wanted to have the full use of Snake Style as soon as possible. That much I want to keep. Also, I don't want to put off entering into the Duelist PC any later than 8. (I toyed with the idea of 6 levels of Inquisitor instead of UFighter 2-5, but by level 10 PFS characters are nearly retired).
Other options to consider: Swapping STR and DEX and re-ordering feats (Weapon Finesse becomes a priority instead of an afterthought. Also, a Guided AOmF becomes equipment priority #1).
I had originally considered 4 levels of Ranger instead of Levels 2-5 of Fighter. Is there any other Full-BAB class worth going exactly 4 levels into? I'm not particularly impressed with levels 2-5 of Fighter, but the full Crane Style is nice.
I am currently contemplating a Snake Style (UC) user that prestige classes into Duelist. The main draw is being able to use Sense Motive as AC/Touch AC. To max the Sense Motive I'll want an above-average-to-high WIS.
Aside from skills/saves, are there any (perhaps more esoteric) reasons to have high WIS?
