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1. a cliff (up or down)
2. a hillside (up or down)
3. a stream/river
4. a natural bridge
5. a boulder-strewn field
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Hey! In an effort to level up my GMing, I want to spend some time focusing on using terrain features to make encounters more unique, interesting, and challenging. If you know a great source for ideas, let me know! Otherwise, let's start a list of terrain features that make encounters more fun! I'll give a few obvious ones to start...
**Wounded** status: If you have less than half of your total HP, you are 'wounded' and suffer a -2 penalty on all die rolls. Same for enemies. I do something similar, but here's my beef with doing "half of your total hp"... A 10th level paladin with 25 hp is "wounded" and pays penalties while a 1st level wizard with 7 hp is perfectly healthy with no penalties. It punishes bigger, tougher characters. I've settled on "below 10 hp (but not full)." That means a 1st level wizard who takes even 1 pt of damage is "battered", but it's a small penalty and it makes sense a weak person or adventuring rookie would be more affected by pain, even small pain. Barbarians are immune to this, fighters and dwarves aren't battered until 5 hp. A feat lets you reduce it by 5 hp, too. I do dying more cinematically, too. Dying doesn't depend on HP. Once a creature hits 0, the GM rolls 2d4+Con and it has that many rounds to be brought up above it's negative Constitution. -100 hp isn't dead yet, but it's going to take TONS of healing to get to -9 before time runs out. Stabilize spells and successful Constitution checks just extend time by 1d4. The secret timer creates a lot of tension and yet PC's will die less often with this and I like that. I don't love PCs dying unless they want to. It can and should happen now and then, but never in a silly situation or by accident. I use Evil Lincoln's "strain and injury" system, too.
Hey, all. I've recently moved to Gilbert and I'd really like to join a game. My first choice would be PF1, followed by PF2, and then DnD 5e. DM me if you might have an open seat at your table. I'm happy to "audition" to see if I fit in with your group. I have some experience running games, but I'd probably rather play to begin with for a new group.
I've been trying to figure this out, too. What's the "special feat" for?
I got my books a few days ago and my feelings are mixed. The layout is terrific, the feat system being the same across many features (i.e. Class feats, skill feats, heritage feats, etc.) is cool, many things I'd houseruled from PF1 came through in PF2, and it looks more solid overall than I'd dared hope. I didn't notice any egregious errors that bothered me, and I'm a stickler for grammar. That said, I REALLY don't like the art. My first read through of the Bestiary was very disappointing, I just wasn't inspired by any of the representations. It seems they went away from WR's more whimsical art style to a more realistic style that smacks of 5e. I miss the unique feel of PF1. I also don't love the character sheet. 4 pages?! Sure, you don't necessarily need the 4th page for every character, but that's intimidating. I'm a veteran of RPG's and I really struggled with my first character, especially with the feats section on page 2(?)- I just didn't feel confident I was doing it right. Anyway, these are just initial impressions, as the title prompts, but at this point I'm gonna take the ideas I like from PF2 and stick with PF1. Maybe after a few chances to play I'll be more converted.
People HAVE their books already?! Lucky! (And I would have expected the PF2 character sheets by now, too, but I can't find them. How are people gonna be ready to play and, more importantly, RUN for GenCon?)
Bumping to BEG for a reprint...
I'm six episodes in and loving it! Thanks for the recommendation.
Hey, all! I am an eternal student of the art of gamemastering. I love blogs like Johnn Four's Roleplaying Tips and Ryan Costello's Private Sanctuary. I'm looking for a good podcast that is almost a kind of lecture series on gamemastering. I've done some searching but haven't found too much that I've gotten into. Does anyone know of a good one? I'm not interested in actual play, as much, or product review. I'd prefer Pathfinder-focused but I'm open to other systems if the information is transferable. Thanks in advance.
I'll likely be getting one of these for review on my YouTube channel. It is frustrating that they aren't including the pdf with physical purchases though. I don't think they EVER have, unless you're a subscriber. If it's that big of a deal, subscribe.
I think instead I'll have a few frantic, mauled petitioners hiding in the tomb from a pack of cacodaemons.That's a really cool idea, but wouldn't that kinda ruin the big reveal when they step out and see Groetus hanging in the sky and realize that they're in The Boneyard? Good point! I guess I'd say that it doesn't have to be clear that the petitioners aren't just people at that point and the cacodaemons aren't just bizarre monsters. Knowledge (planes) won't be real high that early. But I'll have to think about that.
Well, it talks about this under one of the way stations how when she messed with the gate (saghide or something like that) opened up a way for fey to travel here and plague various places. The tooth fairies and mites I assume would be those. Also, Cacodaemons are Daemons from Abbadon. How did they get there and not get destroyed by the Psychopomps? Same way rats get into restaurants and thieves get into museums - by being sneaky. There are gates to Abaddon for the NE souls and "recruiters" from Abaddon coming and going in the Boneyard. Some "vermin" will undoubtedly slip through. And it's way more thematically tied to the Boneyard experience than some random fey. I just think it's a cooler story for a place like the Boneyard and for a "survival horror" campaign. But that's just my opinion.
I was kind of put off by the mites in the tomb. Mites? It just seems to not fit in the Boneyard or the campaign. It was a weird choice to me and I immediately began thinking what I'd do instead. I think instead I'll have a few frantic, mauled petitioners hiding in the tomb from a pack of cacodaemons. I also thought it would be thematic and cool to work in a devil recruiting petitioners to Hell. Have the devil come along and tempt them with an impossible moral choice, bet, contract, or something. Maybe even have a gnarlier daemon be chasing them and the devil saves them, squashing the daemon? Then they'd "owe" him. I might even work this in instead of the tooth fairies. That whole thing didn't grab me at all either. The devil could own the palace instead and he'd put them through his twisted gauntlet of terrible choices or make them recruit a number of petitioners in his stead in order to earn his stamp. This might be a little too similar to Kishokish's games though.
I haven't been able to find any mention of the shield piece that detonates being in Roslar's Coffer to begin with. Was it in some museum or on display in the town hall? The way I understand it, there has to be a piece of the shield that Tar-Baphon "overloads" in order to detonate, right? To blow up Roslar's Coffer, there had to be a piece there. Am I misunderstanding? But I also think I remember reading that he sent emissaries to collect them all, so maybe it was planted in Roslar's Coffer for the test? I thought I'd have the party hired by the people of Roslar's Coffer to recover their shard that was stolen from its display case in the town hall by orcs or thieves. It would have to be a fake piece (since they were all collected) stolen then replaced by a real one for the party to return - the theft was a set-up. They could then return to Roslar's Coffer too late at night to deliver it so they take it to the inn with them to rest. It detonates that night before they can return it, explaining why they were close enough to have the obols stuck in their hearts.
I suppose anyone in this thread knows spoilers are coming, but... My idea: I haven't been able to find any mention of the shield piece that detonates being in Roslar's Coffer to begin with. I thought I'd have the party hired by the people of Roslar's Coffer to recover their shard that was stolen from its display case in the town hall by orcs or thieves. They could then return to Roslar's Coffer too late at night to deliver it so they take it to the inn with them to rest. It detonates that night before they can return it, explaining why they were close enough to have the obols stuck in their hearts.
Then rejoice! I had just read that from upthread. How's it look so far? According to the blurb, it's FAR from finished. Is there even much to see at this point?
I'm kinda hoping someone "Paizos" Paizo. I don't mean that as a slight - I love Paizo. Paizo is in the business of selling books. But, just as 3.5 wasn't broken, just messy, out of tune, and fragmented, PF1 isn't broken either. It just needs a good cleaning up. I would much rather continue with this framework if someone else picked up the torch and forged ahead while Paizo takes a sharp turn with PF2.
I've imagined a mature priest whose whole family and/or flock was wiped out in Rosslar's Coffer, only he survived. He has completely renounced his faith in bitterness and was lost to depression. Eventually he found his spine and decided to back as a defender against this happening again to others. Now he's a fighter, ranger, or cavalier with a deep grudge against the gods.
Where is the Shifter from?
I've been looking for a druid archetype that puts all of its eggs into the Wild Shape basket. I don't care if the animal companion and/or domain go away. I'd sacrifice some spellcasting, but probably not all of it. I just want to play a character whose whole shtick is Wild Shape. Early and frequently. Have I missed it in the rules? Any suggestions?
Ooh! House rules! One of my favorite topics. I'm a compulsive tinkerer. 9. Clerics spontaneously cast their domain spells, not cure spells. 10. Weapon feats (like Weapon Focus) apply to a class of weapons, not an individual weapon. (by "class of weapon" I mean the groups from the fighter entry) 11. Combat Maneuvers only provoke an attack of opportunity if they fail, or if the target has a higher feat in that combat maneuver. 12. Use Evil Lincoln's "strain-injury" hit point variant. It makes most damage "strain" which returns after combat. Injuries are caused by crits, failed saves, or the final hit that drops you below 0 hp. These have to be healed. 13. I love the Wild Magic table from Pathfinder Unchained. I use that for disrupted spells, like from failed Concentration checks. 14. This one's a bit more out there, but I allow my casters to continue casting after they're out of slots, but each spell cast after they're out causes an injury equal to 5 x spell level. So a sorcerer could cast bull's strenght (2nd) after he's spent, but he takes a 10 hp injury for doing so.
<casts Resurrect thread> Does anybody know of any place to buy the white cardboard that these are made of? I'm happy to make my own gargantuan and tiny pawns, but it would bug me to no end to have them be much different from the rest of my pawns. (I'm weird like that.) I've looked online and all I really find is corrugated cardboard in white. I'd even settle for brown sheets since I'll be printing and pasting the images on. Not the same...
Thank you!
Hey, all. I've been out of the loop for a while, but I'm going to run a scenario for my brothers this weekend. I want to provide some pregen options, but for the life of me I can't find them. I've spent the last 15 minutes looking through the PFS page and a few digital resources I have. I'm sure they're winking me in the face, but I can't find them. Help?
In literature, wands are mostly used as a focus for spellcasting. Maybe have wands grant a bonus to Concentration? That's far less powerful than spell slots though. That would be really handy if Concentration were harder and the consequences were more dire. Personally, I don't really see a thematic necessity for rods. Maybe dump rods and have wands do rod stuff. That makes them more of an enhancement to caster spells rather than extra spell slots like you're going for.
Re-resurrecting. This seems like nearly free money for Paizo and I would love to have some. Just a small booster pack, like the extra bases you can buy. Any thoughts from Paizo on this one?
I hope not a full second edition...but I'm still quite hoping for some kind of sweeping rules clean-up and maybe some "unchained" treatment here and there. I don't believe the system is broken or outdated...just cluttered and inconsistent.
Finally, giving feats away for free makes classes with bonus feats less interesting. If you can access the remaining desired feats fast anyway, why bother with fighter, ranger etc.? Yes, you could get even more feats that way - but the additional feats are less valuable for you, else you have taken them before. I disagree. Giving characters options that are common sense frees up the high-feat classes to actually make interesting feat choices. If every fighter didn't have to go in for Power Attack and Vital Strike just to continue being considered a deadly combatant instead of pests buzzing around the field then they could use their feats on styles and role playing options instead. You'd have unique fighters with cool shticks instead of just Power Attack bots.
I agree with Combat Expertise, Power Attack, Deadly Aim, and Weapon Finesse. I agree with buying weapon and armor proficiencies with skill points. Maybe make Vital Strike a class feature for fighters? I agree with combining Dodge and Mobility. I would add Point Blank Shot. It's just common sense that anyone is morel likely to hit up close. Or just drop it altogether and leave it up to range increment penalties.
James, I'm going to be running Wrath of the Righteous for my group when we finish our current campaign. I'm guessing in about a year. I love the AP and I have a ton of enthusiasm for the campaign right now...but I've got a year before we start it. What kids of things would you suggest I could do as preparation to run it when it's still such a long way off?
Blackmane, I'm curious why you think 1/2 CL would be much more powerful than spell level. I don't have the wizard chart in front of me right now, but 1/2 CL is only 1 for 1st/2nd level, which is 1 higher than normal for standard for cantrips and the same for 1st level spells. It doesn't hit 9 until 18th level, at which point I think they have 9th level spells, right? So at 20th they're at 10 instead of 9. At 20th,they're supposed to be epic. The benefit isn't more power; it's a consistent calculation across all levels which is simpler. It does make lower level spells tougher, but it's about 6's for highest-level spells available, right?
I had the same DC 10 + 1/2 CL + Ability Mod idea (both for the simplicity and flavor that others have mentioned), and I ran it past James Jacobs once. His answer was a good one and a point I hadn't considered. He said the low level spells are SUPPOSED to be less useful later to reduce option paralysis. High-level casters have tons of spell choices with just 3 or 4 levels of effective spells. Make it 10 levels of effective spells and their noodle is cooked. I still like the simplicity and flavor of the idea, but I see his point. The free Heighten Spell thing sounds like a decent compromise.
I personally like the general concept of "opportunities", but dislike the implementation of "attacks of opportunity". While everyone could/should be able to do reactive actions out of round, it shouldn't be the same for everyone. Some classes could be some "actions of opportunity", while other have different ones; some feat add new possible actions of opportunity, etc. I like that idea a lot! Fighters might get a free attack. Rogues might get a free combat debuff, like trip or dirty trick. Wizards might get a free counterspell. I'm gonna chew on this one.
For my part at least, I intend to remove AoO's provoked by movement only. Casting spells, drinking potions, etc. still provoke. Just not movement. But, Rycaut, numbers 1 and 2 on your list sound like great improvements to me. I would LOVE to see more Combat Maneuvers in my games. They make combat more variable and dynamic. I've house ruled AoO's from Combat Maneuvers away anyway. Remember, this isn't my thing. Pathfinder already did it with the Beginner's Box and it made combat so much smoother and quicker. I am a fan.
Monks are generally OP compared to other Martials Love it. I have been thinking of removing all AoO's and making them possible only through a feat ever since I ran the Beginner Box rules. I LOVED not having AoO's. Rolling it into the Combat Reflexes feat is rather brilliant. I'll likely steal that. I'd say the fighters and monks need it from level 1. Fighter is supposed to be the ultimate war machine and monks are supposed to be all over, like Bruce Lee. At the very least, fighters should have the option to take it as their bonus combat feat. Make it a rogue talent choice for rogues at 2nd level, as they're the ultimate opportunists. Make it a rage power for barbarians. Maybe throw it onto the thematically appropriate ranger combat styles as an option. For everyone else, there's the feat if you want it.
Any other foreseen problems that I'm missing? My next step would be play testing, of course, but I know most of you are better theory crafters than I am. I would like to be able to anticipate problems. Any feedback is appreciated.
By the way, in re-reading my original post, I realize I based the DC on rogue level. That would not be correct. I was trying to mimic spell save DC's in order to use a mechanic that's already balanced and in use. I suppose it would be the level of the spell-like effect instead. So, DC 10 + spell-like effect level + Dex mod.
Thanks, Gears. I'm glad someone else thinks the idea isn't awful. Haha! These boards can be quite unforgiving. I did actually intend that the spell effects would be new choices gained at each odd level. Sorry if that wasn't clear. So, if a 7th level rogue wanted to use the daze effect he gained at 1st level, he could. But if you mean giving choices at each odd level, you're right. I only came up with one.
I have been thinking about a rogue fix for a while now (like everyone else); something that makes the rogue more thematic and fun to play, something that gives it a specific niche. I liked some of the things done with the Unchained rogue, but my real problem is that Sneak Attack makes the rogue focus on hit point damage, when I think that he would mesh with the party in a more fun and unique way if he worked more like a combat debuffer than a damage dealer. I think the Debilitating Injury of the Unchained rogue was a step in the right direction, but they still have Sneak Attack damage. I looked at the conditions, but they don't really seem to scale up to high levels real well. So I went to the next source of debuffs, magic. There are great spells of every level that debuff. Why not make Sneak Attack a kind of a spell-like ability that grants a spell-like debuff rather than bonus hit point damage? I went through the CRB spell list and chose what I thought were the most appropriate debuff spells for each level and replaced Sneak Attack bonus damage with that spell effect. Here's my list. The target would get a Fort save with DC = 10 + rogue level + rogue's Dex mod, just like a spell but using Dex. The spell-like debuff can only affect the target of the Sneak Attack, even if the spell normally could affect others or be done at range or whatever. 1 - daze, 3 - ray of enfeeblement, 5 - blindness/deafness, 7 - ray of exhaustion, 9 - confusion, 11 - symbol of pain, 13 - eyebite, 15 - symbol of weakness, 17 - power word stun, 19 - power word kill Thoughts?
I really liked Paolini's depiction of caster duels in the Inheritance series. It was based on telepathy and mental defenses. A duel was basically just 2 wizards staring at each other, while internally they were sending "mental lances" at each other's mental defenses. Once one wizard broke through, he could read the opponent's thoughts and out maneuver any counterattacks. That level of telepathy seems outside the scope of the game, but I like the idea of a mental wrestling match. You could create a Mental Maneuver thing comparable to Combat Maneuvers. Make it a Charisma-based opposed check. Winner gets to cast his spell. It would still have to be a readied action, but if you win, you get to cast YOUR spell instead of him. Maybe a feat could let you use your NEXT standard action instead of your PREVIOUS one (i.e. readied action).
This hasn't been playtested or anything. Just spitballing...
You might look at Evil Lincoln's "stress-strain" house rule here on the boards. It's very similar to that, but it's hugely popular and it's been through a lot of playtesting, according to him. I am a big fan, though I've yet to have the chance to try it myself.
- To make my characters less squishy early on, I like to give PCs hp = their full Con score at 1st level only in place of the hit die and Con mod. (ex. A 16 Con fighter starts with 16 hp.) At each subsequent level, I like what someone else said upthread that you can re-roll any number lower than your Con mod. I think I'll borrow that. - I've also seen one before that I've liked: PC's start with 1 rank in EVERY class skill at 1st level and they can then spend their bonus Intelligence ranks on cross-class skills. My rationale is that, if it's central enough to the role of a class to just be naturally better at it (+3 class bonus) then they're clearly going to have some experience doing it. I guess someone could choose to go against type and have a ranger who can't swim, but we can address that if it comes up. This helps the 2+Int classes out where it's needed while still rewarding the high-skill classes like rogues and bards. (Ranks come as normal after 1st.) - I also allow players to buy weapon and armor proficiencies with skill points. Taking a proficiency feat gives you proficiency for the whole category. (i.e. axes, bows, hammers, light armor, etc.) I just think a feat is too expensive and the cost could preclude some cool character ideas.
1/2 caster level is better than stat bonus, it keeps it standardized relative to the caster and fits right in with my other houserules that minimize the impact of stats in character power.Do you do the same thing with weapon damage (e.g., die + character level, rather than die + Str modifier)? What about weapon attacks? Does a fighter get 1d20 + BAB + 1/2 level (= BAB + 1.5x level)? Honestly, in terms of what I was going for with the caster thing, that's not a bad idea. Fighters DO need a boost to make them the most effective warriors and that could do the trick. Again, I recognize those as pretty colossal changes though, and we'd be moving into the realm of a new game system (or iteration thereof). (And did you mean "=1d20 + 1.5 x level"?)
Spells DC = 10 + 1/2 Caster level + Spell level I've actually been dying to try out a similar idea: spell DC's = 10 + 1/2 caster level (min 1) + caster ability mod The rationale is: 1) that it's just plain easier. Who cares what spell level it is, one DC for all your spells. 2) it reflects that a 20th level archmage has cast grease a million times and he's just plain better at it now. 3) As an added bonus, it eliminates the need for Heighten Spell. I don't really like the metamagic feats as feats much and this strikes one off the list for me. The obvious concern is that it makes high-level caster's low-level spells more powerful. Normally, a 10th level, 16 Intelligence wizard casts a grease spell with a Reflex save DC of 10 + 1 (spell level) + 3 (caster stat bonus) = 14. With this house rule, the same wizard casts the spell with a Reflex DC of 10 + 5 (½ CL) + 3 (caster stat bonus) = 18. This gives casters a very "unneeded" power boost and it could exacerbate "option paralysis" with more solid choices in combat. I just like the idea that a practiced caster's spells are just better than a novice's. And I love the simpler one-number-fits-all thing. Haven't tried it out yet, though.
I really don't think so, though my spell knowledge is far from encyclopedic. For my game, I'd make it a big ritual requiring quite a lot of work to pull off. It could motivate levels worth of adventuring to track down components and lore.
Hey, when you all say ya gotta be right on the computer to make your reservations, roughly what time of year are we talking about? Does that stuff go live like 6 months early? Or like a month early?
Advice This is perfect! Thank you.
Hello, friends. I am thinking that never having attended a GenCon is becoming a black mark on my street cred that I can no longer allow. I've found the GenCon website with next year's dates, but I'm afraid I won't know enough to plan a really good time there. I'd really appreciate the help of any Con veterans... What's the deal with hotels? How early do I need to reserve a room? How early do I need to get a badge? How do I get the most out of my time there? What unknowns might I not know to plan for? What common pitfalls and mistakes should I be wary of? Thanks in advance.
Wildebob was a svirfneblin wizard that I played years ago - one of my first and favorite characters. Everyone always thinks My name is Bob Wilde. Nope, it's like a wildebeest, but with a bob. Will-da-bob. The avatar is a pretty good likeness of how I envisioned him.
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