Goblin Squad Member. Organized Play Member. 257 posts (1,976 including aliases). No reviews. No lists. No wishlists. 1 Organized Play character. 14 aliases.
I just launched a new RPG zine called Dungeon Plumbers. It focuses on adding dieselpunk elements to your games, as well as providing content that is compatible with most d20-based systems.
Inspired by Super Mario Bros, The Rocketeer, Fullmetal Alchemist, Tank Girl, Hellboy, City of Lost Children, Final Fantasy VII (FF7), and many others, Dungeon Plumbers will be an ongoing zine that delved into zome weird corners of sci-fantasy.
Pathfinder already provides the Alchemist and Gunslinger, which fit perfectly in the dieselpunk fantasy genre, and many of their adventure paths feature early 20th century analogues! I can totally see my zine providing value to people using Pathfinder, as well as other games!
EvilMinion, the text of the item says "A token that forms a swan-like boat capable of moving on water at a speed of 60 feet. It can carry eight horses and gear, 32 Medium characters, or any equivalent combination. The boat lasts for 1 day."
Forms, not summons.
If you are arguing from the stance that the spell major creation is used in the item's creation, and that spell is a conjuration spell, then I can at least follow your reasoning. Note, though, that major creation is a conjuration (creation) spell, not a conjuration (summoning) spell. Also, the spell only creates 1 cubic foot per caster level, and the duration is much less than the swan boat, and the casting time is much longer. Ergo, the magic item does inot act like the spell used to create it.
Under the conjuration school section, it says, "A creature or object brought into being or transported to your location by a conjuration spell cannot appear inside another creature or object, nor can it appear floating in an empty space. It must arrive in an open location on a surface capable of supporting it."
Okay, this applies to spells. Agreed. I do not agree that it applies to magic items, though.
Further, if this is the case, summoning a ship onto land where enemies are present should still damage them for massive crushing damage, and would still create a ship that persists for 24 hours, yes?
Halfway through Thistletop and my group of players has not died yet, but the ranger lost a leg from just below the knee in the
Spoiler:
Catacombs of Wrath.
What happened:
Making a one man stand against the sinspawn, after the gunslinger fled (they were both scouting), the ranger spent 2 Hero Points to be "left for dead." He survived, but when the party finally got to him, he was beaten, mauled, and unconscious. Clearly tortured to near-death, the sinspawn had eaten one of his legs. Keeping him alive, apparently, for their next meal.
The runewell may sustain the sinspawn, but they still eat when they have the chance.
The ranger got healed, minus the leg, and is using a peg-leg until he can get to Magnimar to either have it healed or get some sort of fancy prosthetic. (I'm including a little more wealth in the adventure to cover this, but the temporary hindrance is amusing.)
To be fair, this is a group that often splits the party, has little team cohesion, and I took the chance to drive the point home.
$1,200 - [Unlocked] Abandoned Arts Reward - Once this goal is unlocked, Daron Woodson, lead author for Abandoned Arts, will contribute archetypes for each of the aforementioned classes for inclusion in Liber Influxus Communis: the Book of Collective Influence
They just unlocked a stretch goal! $1500 and the book gets color! :)
Huntmaster
You are an expert trainer of horses, hounds, falcons, or hunting cats.
Prerequisites: Handle Animal 1 rank; either the animal companion, divine bond (mount), or mount class feature; human.
Benefit: If you have the animal companion class feature, pick one of the following types of animal companions that this feat affects: bird, dog, small cat, or horse. If you have the divine bond (mount) or mount class feature, this feat always affects horses.
You gain a +2 bonus on Handle Animal and Knowledge (nature) checks with creatures of that type of animal. Furthermore, you are treated as one level higher when determining the abilities of your animal companion or mount, as long as it is of the chosen type.
I know this is an old thread, but feel this is a valuable guide. Mentioning Skill Focus (Handle Animal) and the training harness (new human equipment in the ARG) would be helpful. A masterwork skill tool is 50 gp and grants a +2 equipment bonus (training manual?). The Savannah Child trait gives a +1 to Handle Animal, and grants it as a class skill. A human with a 16 Charisma a +17 skill bonus at 1st level. If you're short on starting gold and the trait is allowed, Rich Parents can mitigate things.
Evandrik feels like an eternity passes in the space of a moment. Adrenaline courses as the uncertainty solidifies into a course of action. Will the orcs lose spirit? Get lucky and end our quest before it starts? Die needlessly over Kowus' words? Such thoughts flood Evandrik's mind in a flash, and are instantly gone, replaced by the calm of battle and the resolve of protecting Thalrik.
In goblin:"You two, tell us your names, then you speak only in Common. you remain unarmed, and you defer to Snovli and Tudmunch, then to my allies, and then to me."
In Common:"If you show any sign of betrayal, or do anything we don't like, we will kill you without remorse. If you survive, and you aid us, you will be allowed to go free."
Gob looks to Vaclav. "But, that's genocide. And would probably upset the local food chain until another predator moved in. Thing is, it could be worse than the wolves... or goblins."
Gob looks to Gornak, "Friend, that's a good idea. Goblins are sentient, for what it's worth, and can be reasoned with at times. If nothing else, they understand consequences... their culture is built on negative reinforcement. I should know." Gob smiles grimly. "For obvious reasons I do not believe goblins are inherently evil, however I do believe it is highly unlikely that 'redeeming' a large number of them is possible. Making a pact with them that they'll honor because f threat of retaliation, sure, but someone would have to keep checking in on them."
Sorry if we're talking about this too much. I just can't help exploring the ethical ramifications of all this in-character. Gob is a goblin after all. I will gladly back off if anyone feels it's bogging down the gameplay.
"Can you redeem a wolf that sets upon a deer? Goblins are depraved, and could survive less cruelly only if shown a more compassionate way that is also an easier way. Otherwise, they'd revert to instinct and conditioning."
Gob pauses, looking at Tudmunch and Snovli, hoping his words hit some chord in them as he speaks to Thanadros, "If a wolf pack attacks you or your flock or your kin, but you kill their alpha and kill or injure the rest, and they flee, or cower, do you give in to vengeance and slaughter them?"
"No." Gob states this flatly while looking at Snovli and Tudmunch.
"I am Chief Slickarm, of the Sandpoint Tribe. You may approach me. Your tribe is gone. My associates and I dispatched them. You, and whatever pathetic underlings you may have left may join my tribe and your lives will be spared. If you refuse, we will kill you and carve your names into every large stone within ten miles."
Gob holds his crossbow steady, his posture solid.
Gob is not bluffing, merely stating his intentions.
Diplomacy, if needed (any circumstance bonuses from destroying his tribe?).
[ooc]Diplomacy:1d20 - 1 + 1 ⇒ (18) - 1 + 1 = 18
If Ripnugget shows any sign of hostility or noncompliance, Gob blasts him with an electricity energy ray and then move to anything that provieds cover; barring that he steps aside from the door to let his companions through.
I think the problem is that these two don't really care about their fellow players.
If they are smart enough to find these tricks they are smart enough to realize how they are marginalizing the other players.
The fact that they apparently don't care is the real problem.
Bluntly: No, the problem is you relish in drama, and refuse to take the sound advice of all the people on the boards. You surround yourself with drama-causing people, and you complain on the internet for attention to further spread your drama, and you refuse and ignore proactive, valid, reasonable solutions and suggestions.
Everyone has been giving the OP sound advice, from altering combats, talking to your players, to switching systems...
Yet all the OP does is lament his complaint-heavy players (and using censored sexist language, repeatedly) and bash the Pathfinder system and laud the D&D 4E system.
Here's what I recommend:
Stop complaining now that you've been given advice from all angles. If you do not want to up combat, and you feel talking to your players is pointless, and you're not happy with quitting the campaign/switching systems then try this:
Remove all social skills from the game. All players have to roleplay without skills. Run combats normally, and do not make them the only focus of your game. Instead, as recommended above, focus on your storyline and engage your players. Do not create an arms race. If they're amazing at combat at this level, that's fine. If your other players stink, let them stink and complain, and eventually they will adapt to keep up, die and make a new character, or quit the game. All positive outcomes.
Pathfinder is not steriley balanced like 4E tries to be. Real life isn's balanced. There are people that outshine others. Deal with it. Pathfinder is not a system that supports nearly free-form storytelling. There is a lot of crunch, and optimized choices are rewarded.
Thanks for the feedack. In regard to the hologram-map, the spell says you can make crude objects. Essentially, we used it to make a crude, fragile, transparent map of a place. You flick it and it shatters. Not really a hologram, as it's physical, but fun nonetheless for a 0 level spell in a non-combat situation.
Grease spell for aiding in pushing heavy stones, maybe?
Fog cloud and invisibility for mimicking a vampire's gaseous form?
Just wondering what uncommon/unusual applications of spells you've all found.
For example, while decompose corpse and restore corse seem to be tailored for creating skeletons and zombies, they can also be used to create edible game in the wild and to restore a victim to the time of death for forensic inquiry.
Prestidigitation has lots of fun applications, like creating a 3D hologram-like map for strategic planning.
Gob speaks as if to a human toddler, "You know how humans are not afraid of horses? How they ride them and tame them? Just like goblins ride and tame goblin dos [ooc](or whatever is not offensive to goblins to call them)! We have human companions that can keep the horse calm and control it. Maybe even ride it!" Gob smiles.
"And," he adds slyly, "if it gets out of hand, I'll just blast it to pieces with my mind and you can eat it for dinner later, deal?"
"Bwa-hehhe hehehehe" Gob almost bursts out laughing and turns it into a giggle, then whispers, "Tudmunch, Snovli... if I promise the *snicker* horse won't hurt you, would you mind if we bring it along to scare all the other goblins?"
"I could stand to have these burns healed, to be sure, but I can manage for now if others are more grievously injured."
Gob looks for Tudmunch and Snovli, and says, "I trust that this was sufficient to prove to you who you should side with? I do not blame you for your cowardice- it is goblinkind's best survival mechanism- but if you dare to cross me or my companions, Grogmurt's fate will look like a holiday pickle feast compared to what I will do to you."
"That being said, if you really want to be my new tribe, grab a weapon from your fallen enemies and use it only to defend yourselves or attack the rest of these weak goblins. Upon your first kill, I will grant you your new name of power, and I will accept you as my kin."
Attempting to imply solidarity with them, and infer that we are powerfule/strong goblins. I want them on our side through this goblin-hunt as long as they're useful; Gob figures if he is capable of 'evolving' beyond his roots, perhaps others are too. More of a social experiment, and no plans to "keep" them beyond this part of the adventure.
Still smoking from the fire, Gob quaffs a potion and asks the rest of the party, "Are you all right? Seems Grogmurt's only defense is cowardice, running through the brambles. Should we let him herd us south, or think perpendicularly?"
1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2 Gob throws the vial at the ground in frustration, "Well, that potion was expired."
Gob has suffered some serious burns...
In Goblin:"Snovli, Tudmunch... do you want me to end your miserable lives now, twisted in Grogmurt's vines, or do you want to calm down and focus. If you grow a spine, I'll spare your lives."
Gob dodges the fire, the plants behind him singed, and states, "Books give me knowledge otherwise unobtainable, but they do not give me my power, Grogmurt. I will things to be, and they are. You cannot understand that, nature-twister. There are no other goblin tribes in this area that value life. The longshanks, at the least, make an effort to respect each other." (said in Goblin)
Before Gob uses swarm of crystals, he says with true sympathy,"I pity you, shaman." (said in Common)
On Gob's next action he unleashes swarm of crystals at the druid, hoping to slash him to pieces, along with the plants he hides behind. Just use damage from previous post, or roll again?
"If your mind is keen enough to resist such force, why do you bother lording it over our kin, Grogmurt? You have the potential for so much more than wallowing in filth and having savages fear you..." (said in Goblin)
How does the 50% miss chance interact with mind thrust and swarm of crystals?
[ooc]If they both suffer a miss chance, Gob will use a 2pp mindthrust: 2d10 ⇒ (1, 7) = 8, Will DC 15 negates. If swarm of crystals has no miss chance, Gob will use that: 3d4 ⇒ (2, 2, 4) = 8 slashing damage, and affects vegetation.
In Goblin, Gob snarls, "Come out and fight, plant-hugger. Your pets and minions have fallen, and your plants merely delay the inevitable..."
After making sure the party knows they are welcome to put the two goblins down at any sign of disloyalty, Gob presents a potion of cure light wounds to them, and tells them to share it to get them on their feet again.
"They can only be trusted so long as it is their only choice that ensures survival. Treat them with kindness and harsh decisiveness. They claim there is a shaman named Grogmurt that can walk through the bramble walls without effort. This Grogmurt has a large feline companion of some sort, and he lives out here in the tunnels. The shaman's been feeding their tribe to the 'howling hole.'"
"Snovli, Tudmunch... Where does Grogmurt reside, and where are we likely to encounter more of these goblins?"
Does Gob know anything of this howling hole?
Beware of Grogmurt, he is nasty shaman, he can walk through brambles like water through sand!" Snovli adds fearfully. "He feed many Birdcrunchers to howling hole. He has magics and big mean cat! he live out here in tunnels, he not like Ripnugget's new longshanks friends."
Whenever Gornak arrives, Gob states plainly in Common, "These goblins begged for their life. They're survivors of another tribe, and have been mercilessly brutalized by Ripnugget's tribe. If you all agree to spare them, they have agreed to help us--unarmed and unarmored--to navigate the rest of this labyrinth and fight the locals. If they survive, I'll let them go. If they show the faintest sign of betrayal, we kill them as we would a mosquito that offended us."
Gob glances to the two goblins and says, in Common, "Snovli, Tudmunch, how well do you speak the longshanks' language? I can't be trifled with translating everything for you."
I shot at one of the goblins before talking to them, btw. Wasn't sure if that was included in the 'second surviving goblin' bit above.
Gob retorts, "Being a goblin myself, and not a longshanks, I know the cruelty and deceit inherent in our culture. I overcame it by some twist of fate. I doubt that you did.
"I am Gob Slickarm, mind-mage and word-master. I know the mystic arts of reading, writing, and making my wishes come true. No mere goblin chieftain could hope for my power. I am not cruel, nor will I tolerate cruelty from others. I am harsh and fair.
"So, I will spare your lives on condition: you will both remain unarmed and unarmored, and you will help my allies and me navigate this maze. You will fight for me, not against me. You will not flee in terror at the attacks of the other goblins, or Ripnugget, or Bruthasmus. My companions and I are all more powerful than they can imagine.
"If you show any sign of disloyalty, even due to cowardice, I will cut you down with my mind-magic and personally carve your names on the highest mountain for all to see. Understood?"
Gob will not hesitate to kill them at any sign of infraction. He figures using the goblins' cowardice to cow them into being temporary allies could be useful. He does not plan to make permanent followers out of them.
Gob then flicks up his visor (swift action?) and says (in Goblin) grimly to any goblins that remain, staring them in their craven eyes. "And why, my kin, would I not kill you?" The hope is either to enrage them or make their goblin-brains realize the irony of their end being at the hands of the sort of goblin they all ostracize.
