Gestalt is a great option for a smaller than normal group, more competent individuals who can cover more role territory with fewer big weaknesses, but no increased action economy and their power is broader, not spikier like it would be with higher stats, free LA races, or wealth.
For your paladin be aware of the differences from pathfinder, particularly in the one attempt smiting and standard action lay on hands.
Paladin cleric can mean a great cleric who can use swords with a few extra hp/bab/and divine powers who is expected to be the big tank, or a paladin with a ton of strong spell options.
I ran my game online on Fantasy Grounds so it was not an issue for us.
You can abstract it a bit and just use desert maps for the part the party's miniatures are on and use descriptions for where enemies off the map are. perhaps using a smaller scale map side by side without minis but just tiny markers for mobile things. This could allow you to make the dome area bigger if you wanted.
Alternately just run with the biggest map you have.
The Gory Details: In my 5e Iron Gods game, Maruk was a White Wolf Werewolf the Apocalypse concept werebear using the shifter race and barbarian class as the mechanical chassis.
The party had successfully taken care of the thylacines and maneuvered to the robotics lab where they successfully shut down all the robots and proceeded to pound the maintenance bots until they were so much scrap.
Unfortunately Meyanda noticed her attendant robot go into sleep mode for its 24 hour Windows 10 update so she gathered the living followers in the Navigation Control Room, and a ratfolk heard the smashing of the robots in the robot lab. Meyanda sent off a group to swing around and patrol and take the party from behind, and did preps to take on the invaders.
When the party entered the Navigation Control Room it was a fight with Meyanda, Gruenthor, and a bunch of fanatics and scrappers.
Soon Maruk in shifted raging bear form was meleeing with Gruethor solo and just rolling terribly while the gargoyle pounded on him relentlessly. It eventually dropped him unconscious, just as Meyanda dropped the party druid and it looked grim for the party.
The kobold bard looked over his inventory from up on the balcony and pulled out the box of tech eggs, pushed all the buttons, and threw the whole box down among Meyanda, Gruethor, and the dropped Maruk and party druid.
All the grenades went off dropping Meyanda, Gruethor, and very much finishing off both the Maruk and the party druid.
Name: Sebac
Race: Human (Werewolf)
Classes/levels: Druid 3
Adventure: Fires of Creation
Location: Engineering Deck
Catalyst: Meyanda
The Gory Details: In my 5e Iron Gods game, Sebak was a White Wolf Werewolf the Apocalypse concept werewolf using a druid class as the mechanical chassis.
The party had successfully taken care of the thylacines and maneuvered to the robotics lab where they successfully shut down all the robots and proceeded to pound the maintenance bots until they were so much scrap.
Unfortunately Meyanda noticed her attendant robot go into sleep mode for its 24 hour Windows 10 update so she gathered the living followers in the Navigation Control Room, and a ratfolk heard the smashing of the robots in the robot lab. Meyanda sent off a group to swing around and patrol and take the party from behind, and did preps to take on the invaders.
When the party entered the Navigation Control Room it was a fight with Meyanda, Gruenthor, and a bunch of fanatics and scrappers.
Soon Sebak in wolf form was meleeing with Meyanda solo and missing with all his big shots and not making much progress with his normal attacks while she pounded on him with her divinely enhanced power glove. She eventually dropped him unconscious, just as Gruethor dropped the party barbarian and it looked grim for the party.
The kobold bard looked over his inventory from up on the balcony and pulled out the box of tech eggs, pushed all the buttons, and threw the whole box down among Meyanda, Gruethor, and the dropped Sebak and party barbarian.
All the grenades went off dropping Meyanda, Gruethor, and very much finishing off both the party barbarian and Sebak.
My PCs just beat the repair drone and I had it self destruct because it had been an easy first fight. The kobold bard now wants to gather the scrap and take it to the techno fence Sanvill Trett to sell.
How much would the very destroyed remains of a droid be worth?
How would you take advantage of the party interacting with Trett for the first time?
I too thought of 40K when the reference was to a city-sized space ship, particularly for the warpish way it got to Golarion.
The links for collections through the Choking Tower are not functioning, the individual blog entries seem to be there though, just tough to navigate to.
2) Skill check modifiers. I need to figure out a way to adjust skill check modifiers for monsters. At a glance, I would just take 4 skills that the monster has and give them proficiency, but should the bonus depend on the HD of the creature?
That's what I have for now. Any comments or suggestions are welcome.
Monster Manual page 8, it is based on CR, not HD. It seems to correspond to the PC level proficiency chart going from +2 to +6 for CRs 0 to 20 and extending up to +9 for CR 30.
The bear of an Ulfen man can often be found at the Hagfish telling stories about freeing orc slaves when he was a pirate preying on the fleets of the southern devil worshipers, being knighted by the Queen of Mendev for his demon hunting, and other improbable tales. Few take his claims to being a wizard seriously, especially considering the axe he carries and the scars he bears, but he is quick witted and friendly and made friends easily in the small fishing town. Mostly he asks about local ruins and local lore, but he turns grimmer when talk turns to the murders.
Voadam hails from the island of Battlewall in the Ironbound Archipelago. Winters of his youth were spent brawling and in retelling tales of heroic vikings, conflicts with giants, and magical wonders. He joined a raiding crew of Half-Orcs from Averaka as a young man and engaged in piracy against Chelaxian ships in the southern seas liberating treasure and slaves. Wishing to see more of the world he journeyed inland across Varisia through the Hold of Belkzen into the Worldwound and back again. He eclectically learned magic as he struck bargains, made allies, and overcame foes in his journeys. Along the way he encountered intriguing bits and pieces of ruins across Varisia with hints of ancient magics and connections to the giants of his homeland.
Concept: Ulfen Brawler/Unchained Summoner. A Wrath of the Righteous backstory of being a NG magical demon-punching hero who Mythically sacrificed some of his goodness and took on some Chaos to enter a familiar pact with, and partially redeem away from Evil, an aspect of a Qlippoth Lord (who had been bound into an unchanging quasit form by conquering Demon Lords and cursed to eternally serve masters until their deaths). Eventually things blew up magically and he and his "familiar" ended up where this game begins. Time travel and fighting his own mirror universe evil twin might have been involved.
Voadam, are you still running with this backstory? If so, I think it's a bit too complicated. Especially since in Golarion, time travel is incredibly restricted. It's also a part of Return of the Runelords, and isn't something PCs can just handwave away as a background element.
With the switch to non-familiar build I was considering his whole background as an experienced but untrustworthy narrator type of situation for a character with a bunch of bluff/perform oratory, and typical viking over the top boasting when drinking. But a lot of it fits his mechanics even if it is implausible or not quite accurate.
I was not familiar with official time travel in Golarion or this AP. I am a fan of Doctor Who and some other time travel stuff (Umbrella Academy, Seven Monkeys, etc.) and it came in as a plot element when I had played a version of the character in an also gestalt Wrath of the Righteous campaign and also as an element I added in when I ran a Reign of Winter game. I have no idea if any of the time travel stuff was consistent with official Golarion ways of handling time stuff and it is easy to naratively excise and focus on being a cunning magical viking who has ranged widely and punches supernatural evil in the face because at heart he is a good guy who can't resist getting involved.
Brom is from a prominent family in the Tiger Lords tribe of Numeria and has ranged from the realm of the Mammoth Lords to the River Kingdoms. He was present at the mercenary negotiations at Pitax and drunk and danced himself senseless at their successful conclusion. He enjoys a good scrap but what really captures his imagination are the stories of the Rain of Stars, the wonders of skymetal men and artifacts, and the creepiness of creatures from the beyond. As a good Numerian Kellid he publicly shuns strange technology, but privately he considers the problem the corrupt Technic League and not the underlying Skymount technology. He finds himself devouring every scrap of lore he can dig up on the ancient technology and related star beings.
Brom is quick, lean, and fit from his years as a mercenary scout and skirmisher in the River Kingdoms. His black hair is kept cut short and there is a twinkle in his eyes as he endeavors to explore the wonders of the world, particularly those in his ancestral lands.
Build considerations
Spoiler:
Build is a rogue leveraging the most Kellid and Numeria appropriate things I could find to create a character who wants to explore tech and fit in with the Golarion rules and culture elements.
The bear of an Ulfen man can often be found at the Hagfish telling stories about freeing orc slaves when he was a pirate preying on the fleets of the southern devil worshipers, being knighted by the Queen of Mendev for his demon hunting, and other improbable tales. Few take his claims to being a wizard seriously, especially considering the axe he carries and the scars he bears, but he is quick witted and friendly and made friends easily in the small fishing town. Mostly he asks about local ruins and local lore, but he turns grimmer when talk turns to the murders.
Two builds for whichever would go better with the party composition.
Brawler Arcanist build
Spoiler:
Voadam
Brawler (snakebite striker archetype)/Arcanist
AC 13 (+1 Armor, +2 Dex)
HP 11
F +3
R +4
W +1
Str 14
Dex 14
Con 12
Int 16
Wis 8
Cha 10
BAB +1
CMB +3
CMD 15
Dagger +3 R 10' d4+2 (d6 sneak) 19-20 P or S
Ray of Frost +3 30' d3 (d6 sneak) cold
Long Spear +3 d8+3 (d6 sneak) X3 P brace, reach
Hand Wraps +3 d6 (d6 sneak) B cold iron or silver
Unarmed Strike +3 d6 (d6 sneak) B
Traits
Campaign Scholar of the Ancients
Social Clever Wordplay (Diplomacy)
Combat Broken Not Beaten
Exploit – School Understanding – Divination – Forewarned (can act when surprised, +1 bonus to initiative)
Snakebite Striker Sneak Attack +1d6
Spells in Spellbook
1st Level – Charm Person, Chill Touch, Feather Fall, Kreighton's Perusal, Mage Armor, Snowball
Cantrips – All
Equipment:
Haramaki/Armored Sash (AC +1, 0 ASF) 30 gp
Dagger +3 R 10' d4+2 19-20 P or S 2 gp
Hand Wrap Alchemical Silvered +3 d6+2 B silver 20gp 2 sp
Hand Wrap Cold Iron +3 d6+2 B cold iron 4 sp
Long Spear +3 d8+3 X3 P brace, reach 5 GP
Potion of Cure Light Wounds 50 gp
Spellbook
Explorer’s Outfit
72 gp 4 sp.
Brawler Skald build
Spoiler:
Voadam
Brawler (snakebite striker archetype)/Skald
AC 16
HP 11
F +3
R +4
W +1
Str 14
Dex 14
Con 12
Int 10
Wis 8
Cha 16
BAB +1
CMB +3
CMD 15
Dagger +3 R 10' d4+2 P or S 2 gp
Horsechopper +3 d10+3 x3 P or S reach, trip
Hand Wraps +3 d6 (d6 sneak) B cold iron
Unarmed Strike +3 d6 (d6 sneak) B
Traits
Campaign Scholar of the Ancients
Social Tireless Logic (Int 1/day with advantage)
Combat Broken Not Beaten
Equipment
Chain Shirt 100 gp
Horsechopper +3 d10+3 x3 P or S reach, trip 10 gp
Dagger +3 R 10' d4+2 P or S 2 gp
Hand Wrap Cold Iron +3 d6+2 B cold iron 4 sp
Explorer’s Outfit
Scroll of Cure Light Wounds x4
17 gp 6 sp
When you get the same feature from two classes in gestalt they overlap and do not stack, so you can't get sneak attack twice at the same level. A bonus metamagic and a bonus combat feat would stack, but bonus combat feats from two classes at the same level are the same feature so they do not stack.
Hmm. I know that’s the case for something like sneak attack progression, I’m not sure that the fighter and Warpriest bonus feats are the same feature though. Could be wrong. But honestly, I can’t imagine what you’d need *that many* bonus feats for.
I had not looked at the warpriest before, they do have a different feature of using their warpriest level as BAB for the bonus feats while a fighter does not.
It is similar/different enough to be arguable.
I could see using the bonus feats, there are about three or four combat feats that are really attractive at first level that I will have to wait until later levels to get in my build. Each extra action option or defense means more at lower levels.
When you get the same feature from two classes in gestalt they overlap and do not stack, so you can't get sneak attack twice at the same level. A bonus metamagic and a bonus combat feat would stack, but bonus combat feats from two classes at the same level are the same feature so they do not stack.
I am rethinking the unchained summoner part of the Ulfen Brawler/Summoner concept. Eidolons and summoned monsters add a lot for a DM to track, particularly when there are more than the default four characters. Their power is also pretty independent of the 15 pb power limitation so they shine more in a low point buy game, even where characters are competent from gestalt, feats, and skills. I can do the same viking magical puncher concept with a lower powered familiar or no familiar, so I am considering arcanist, sorcerer, wizard, or even skald as the arcane magic part.
Concept: Ulfen Brawler/Unchained Summoner. A Wrath of the Righteous backstory of being a NG magical demon-punching hero who Mythically sacrificed some of his goodness and took on some Chaos to enter a familiar pact with, and partially redeem away from Evil, an aspect of a Qlippoth Lord (who had been bound into an unchanging quasit form by conquering Demon Lords and cursed to eternally serve masters until their deaths). Eventually things blew up magically and he and his "familiar" ended up where this game begins. Time travel and fighting his own mirror universe evil twin might have been involved.
I ran a Pathfinder Reign of Winter Game and at one point in the first module expanded a fey portal into a full trip into the primal timey wimey First World where reality is similar but works differently. I had everybody convert their Pathfinder characters into 1e versions of themselves and used AD&D1e rules throughout their time there, even pulling out the early Dragon/The Strategic Review version of a bard class to use at low level.
People felt it was fun as an experience, but a number said they would not have liked it if it was the standard and not knowing it was a limited thing.
The classic modules work well in their original editions and as conversions. I ran ToEE in AD&D and played through it in 3e and both worked great.
For conversions the general issues are monster substitutions, treasure awarded, leveling point expectations, and encounter designs.
I had the key locked up in the office safe so they got it early on. The big deal is probably the hidden storage aspect, the lock should probably be able to be broken with a crowbar. Something Lorrimor's (or many PCs') tools could into but not a rampaging escaped prisoner.
Storywise I said they kept the high emotional attachment murderer's tools so that if the prisoners escaped they could scry them down.
For my Reign of Winter campaign I set up a little extra encounter in the first module where the party ran into a young Baba Yaga in the First World while travelling though a fey gate instead of just arriving on the other side. The Ulfen paladin got on her bad side by protecting and not giving up a gnome she was chasing while the elf in the party ended up hooking up with her. This set off her invasion of the Land of the Linnorm Kings in the party's past and her first daughter Jadwiga was half-Elf. The first generation of Jadwiga descendants can all be half-elves. Going through the history of the adventure path and the Irrisen book I expanded out why the winter wolves work with her from her shapeshifting into a Dire wolf and seducing Fenris and bearing some strong pups so that there is a tie into the magic of Irrisen for the human changing winter wolves and in my game 2nd gen Jadwiga were natural werewolves and their descendants can be the shifters/lycans/whatever the pathfinder version was. Tashana being Iggwilv I made her a half-Demon so that gen of Jadwiga could be tieflings. I tied this into BY making a pact with Lamashtu which included shrines throughout the land and BY siring demonic blooded offspring.
This illustrated each generation being supernaturally powerful in different ways and allowed a variety of Jadwiga to be common throughout Irrisen. The paladin later played a half-elven Jadwiga from Irrisen in the AP.
This set up also left it open as well for changelings and other part human Jadwiga generations if desired, though it never came up.
Dorian, Also be sure to emphasize the recent transition of overthrowing the Count to become a Palatinate. If the PC picks up on this and is proud of it this plays into the Lodge guy being outwardly pro palatinate but secretly a former regime supporter.
Any advice on converting Carrion Crown and Carrion Hill to 5e? I might be running a 5e campaign next year and this would be my preferred plotline. Haunts in particular from Harrowstone do not really have direct 5e conversions that I know of.
Any conversions of Carrion Crown out there? I might be running a CC campaign in 5e next year or so and would probably include Carrion Hill as well.
Carrion Crown starts off with a bunch of haunts with no direct 5e conversions that I am aware of.
Any advice on converting in general? I've played 5e and run some 5e modules but not converted from Pathfinder to 5e before (though I've played and run plenty of d20 and Pathfinder).
A friend of mine was playing an elven mystic theurge and used animate dead in a necromancer run land to have a zombie carry him around in its arms because "Real spellcasters do not touch the ground." and "It will be a nice change from fly spells. I am so tired of fly spells."
Have you checked out Testament from Green Ronin? It is 3.0 but covers the area well.
One of the Avalanche Press 3.0 sourcebooks, the Atlantis one IIRC, had what I thought was a great suggestion for bronze age equipment, do not adjust attack or damage or AC for the earlier metals, just reduce the equipment hp and/or hardness to less than their iron/steel equivalents. So a sunder fight will show the advantage but you can still do normal stat combat in general.
I just ran this with a party of six 7th level pathfinder PCs as a one shot. It ended when the two amazon PCs got tentacle snatched to death and the rest of the party bugged out for good. Before the end one PC got swallowed whole, one was energy drained, two had their internal organs rearranged, and at one point four out of five remaining PCs were confused. A good time was had by all.
Just out of curiosity (not as a 3pp publisher, as a player)- I see a lot of folks talking about subsystems and classes, do people use 3pp races? (I know I've used them from other publishers :-D )
A couple years ago before the ARG came out when I ran a pathfinder Freeport game one of the players expressed interest in playing a grippli. I pulled out the Remarkable Races Compendium and he played a Mogogol bard with a banjo. Many Kermit jokes and riffs were made.
I've copied and pasted with no problems from ones I bought.
Here is an example from an early paizo dragon issue:
Quote:
Each race has its own way of
fighting. Most elves believe in subtle
tactics and maneuvers. Many
halflings prefer stealthy attacks.
Virtually all half-orcs charge into battle
swinging heavy weapons until nothing
is left moving. Humans, if they believe
Having just gotten The Genius Guide to Simple Class Templates for Monsters I really want to second the earlier suggestions to continue this line with the SGG classes for a sequel. Other third party ones like Dreamscarred's Psionics and Path of War sets of classes would be great too. And eventually Occult classes.
