@Pennywit I hope to still use similar skills for other activities like you describe. I ran something similar in Kingmaker as well and it was quite effective, but I find some of the skills are only used by singular characters. I think Diplomacy will be taken by everyone here.
@Dreaming Warforged I agree, a lot of skills can really jump sometimes, Diplomacy one of them. But some people won't have it as a class skill or a particularly high charisma so the bonus is okay. Against Bards, sorcerers and the like, they will always dominate the roll, so there isn't much you can do to mitigate it. Hence why I think at least dropping the starting reaction 1 level may at least help a little.
Away from pure mechanical bonuses, I hope the specialisations actually help facilitate role-play and make them think that yes, maybe it makes more sense for the rogue to talk to the dodgy guy in the alley or fighter from a noble house should speak with her fellow noble peers.
With the new AP being skewed towards political and role-play themes (I understand there will be things to stab still) I am already thinking of all the skill double ups.
In other games, someone will always have the concept and skill points in place and someone else will suddenly boost a skill and then there is a passive aggressive fight for who gets to use it and who is the "helper". And diplomacy seems to be the #1 skill I see happen as everyone (rightfully) wants to participate in the talking, even if they are also the main killy person.
So, with this one, I have a feeling most if not all players will want social skills (we will use Background skills from PF Unchained) and so to give everyone a fair chance, I was thinking of aligning the main three social skills (Dip, SM & Bluff) to a specialty. Each player chooses one and gets a small bonus when interacting within that specialty and a small penalty when not. That way, the person with the huge Chr who might be a noble like character isn't just swanning into the docks and getting the same results as the thief who has friends and street cred and vice versa. So here is my first mock-up, any insight or advice would be appreciated.
Etiquette: nobles, knights, government and anything do do with upper society
Street Cred: gangs, thieves, beggars, wharfies
Community: shop-keepers, locals, children, good aligned churches / followers
Dilettante: artists, singers, play-wrights, bards and philosophers
I would keep the factions separate as I guess the AP will have more involved rules for those.
* An additional idea to make it a little more distinct is maybe you start at 1 step worse with a non-specialised faction. That way, the guy with smaller diplomacy still seems like the best choice even with penalty.
I am really confused about what happened to my order.
I had purchased some items a few days ago and received my immediate receipt of sale and there was no issues. The items would be shipped in 2 packages, everything in stock and due to ship within a few days.
Now I get my subscription order, it has been bundled with one package, and the second now has no delivery time as 1 book is apparently sold out between my sale and shipping.
The original bill was $129.92 (which I believe was charged immediately) but now the new one arriving today is $151.46. Am I going to be double charged and is there now anyway of knowing when my original second package is going to be fulfilled?
Thank you for your assistance Katina, but I have noticed that the original subscription of the
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Monster Codex (OGL) Hardcover
Pathfinder Adventure Path #87: The Choking Tower (Iron Gods 3 of 6) (PFRPG)
has changed the shipping amount.
The original email I received of my pending subscription for the two books had shipping at $21.32. Now that the order has been spit and returned to the original configuration, shipping is listed at $33.09. Why has this changed?
I have player building an Arcanist with the School Savant archetype and he has chosen Void as his school which is fine.
Now, Void says that 1 opposition must be chosen from the other elemental sub-schools but School Savant explicitly says that 2 schools must be chosen as opposition, it does not allow variations.
Herolab is asking for 2 school oppositions and that is what I have quoted to the player but he then inquires if that there is an exception to the Void school rule, he should be able to choose any opposition schools, not just elemental.
So, which rule between Void and School Savant takes priority?
How have people gone with changing all the other ships in the AP to these rules? I was keen to use FaSB but looking through the book and ideas above, it looks quite daunting to have to change every ship in the game.
Even making The Man's Promise has me scratching my head a little. The steps at the start of the book for calculating AC is different to the actual ship character sheet at the back.
Are the rules presented in the AP Player's Guide that unusable that this is the best option or is this to add further depth to the ship combat?
Jim touches on the main issue when dealing with such methods and attacks - to do so sparingly and within reason and player trust. Both of which I did / have in that situation.
Thank you Jim for putting my thoughts into a more eloquent, concise form.
There is a lot of assumptions in your post and I would normally agree, I am more about player fun. In two and a half APs, that is only my second player death.
This was not punishing a player, this was using tactics available to players being used by a creature. The encounter states that it chooses a target and goes after it, chasing it down if it escapes. The dwarf was the first one to damage it and then fell asleep next it.
It was not about me "winning", being a GM is not about winning, but it is about challenging the players. Despite 1s or even low rolls always a possibility, I didn't expect the dwarf to fail. He did, and there were consequences. The player was fine with it, he liked his character, had done background but accepted it was a clean, fair tactic.
The player's are aware of the deadliness of this AP and to date, by the end of Book 1, they have used coup de grace on no less than 14 enemies with a Slumber Witch and Dwarf Barbarian combo.
So, I did not do it lightly and I felt really bad afterwards, but it was within the context of the situation and game and the players agreed it was their favourite session yet.
So whine if you want, but I know my players and my game and everyone had a great session that was dynamic and risky but ultimately, successful for the group despite sucking fumes at the end. The only one walking away upset was probably me.
Name: Torin Bloodstone
Race: Dwarf (Linnorm Kingdoms)
Classes / Levels: Barbarian 4 (55 HP!!)
Adventure: Snows of Summer
Location: The Pale Tower
Catalyst: Mandragora, Confusion and Slumber Hex
The Gory Details
:
The mandragora did it's scream taking out the ranger for a couple of rounds. The dwarf and monk moved in on it and did a little damage. It lashed out and hit both of them, both falling to the poison.
Both damaged themselves on their turn and fearing that the dwarf barbarian will either kill himself or the party if he attacked them (20 Str, Halberd) the witch cast slumber hex on him. He rolled a one and with the ranger and monk out of the fight, the creature fell upon the slumbered dwarf and coup-de-graced him. DC 19, the dwarf rolled a 2. Ripped out his throat and blood fed.
Eventually fell to the ranger and witch using melee.
Hi Steve, congratulations for the profile and flying the flag (and map apparently) for little old Adelaide.
We are finally getting Society play here in Adelaide with the arrival of the Perth Venture Captain, any chance that we might be blessed by your presence at a table every now and again?
$200 still sounds tempting to produce a map of that quality. Can I ask which supplies shop ran it up for you, Officeworks perhaps?
One last question, I have come across many quality campaign pages on Obsidian Portal from Adelaide, might any of them be yours?
My group finished recently and it was both exhilarating a sad. The did not lose a person but multiple were in the single digits.
I couldn't bring myself to totally remove a Player from the final fight through Maze so Meida hit Shalelu as she could have mowed them down from a distance.
Did you do much epilogue? I had about 3 pages that covered the general future (based on their RP score) along with individual NPC futures. I then had the player's give a personal epilogue for their character. There was even some player tears at the end of this great Adventure Path.
The 1st chapter mentions The Witchwar Legacy set in motion the events within Reign of Winter.
I am about to start the Adventure Path and I am wondering whether it is worth doing the module as a one-shot with pre-mades to give the players some context for what is happening as the adventure advances.
Is this a reasonable idea or will it give too many clues away for what would be coming in the campaign?
@Vic - Sorry, I haven't bought a flip-map before (and unfortunately no physical versions of this one left, are you restocking this one?) but with the printing, is it over 2 A3 (Ledger) pages or lots of A4 (Letter) print outs?
The standard postal rate has an upper weight limit, anything above that weight has to go Priority. The Bestiary Box weighs about a half pound more than the upper limit.
Thanks,
cos
Ah, okay. Can I please have it removed from the order then, I will get it at a later date?
I have added the Bestiary Box of cut-out miniatures to my subscription for August but it seems to have added USPS Priority Mail to my order instead of the usual Standard Post. Can this please be changed back because the cost difference is significant.
I would have waited for the pending email but I may be away at that point.
In my Kingmaker campaign my players as rulers created their own independent factions. They have enjoyed naming, detailing and writing up each faction but I am wanting to add more.
Are they any good guides, books or blogs on how to have effectively a faction character sheet? As it levels up, the players can add perks to it and I can incorporate it into the campaign. I have looked at the caravan rules for Jade Regent and something similar but more streamlined would be good.
The end goal is that they can direct their organisations towards set missions/quests one per set time period and then make a roll based on the organisation's stats to see if it succeeds. They then get a bonus for the Kingdom.
Some of the idea is also inspired by Assassin's Creed Brotherhood where you sent your crew on missions for rewards. I don't want to over complicate it, just something interesting for the players to invest in.
This has been a great thread and I have bought some great stuff because of it. My campaign now has a theme song (plus chapter / region songs).
Has anyone given any thought to Character Themes? I have chosen Cherry Blossoms in Winter by the Yoshida Brothers for Ameiko and have embedded on her character page on my campaign site.
I am struggling a little for the others and I am not really sure whether I should use Romani (Gypsy) music for Koya and Sandru or something else.
Shalelu I am really unsure of, I was thinking of an instrumental version of Desperado by The Eagles but it may seem "odd" in regards to the rest of the music.
My plan is when they are having major interaction to a NPC, I would have their theme running quietly in the background and then as major events happen to or around NPCs I could start playing it and they should know something is going on with that person.
Concerning Matsuro. Doesn't his presense kind of complicate things some what since he is also a possible future emperor of Minkai?
I am also using Matsuro but I have him as a slightly younger sibling who is was an illegitimate son from Ameiko's mother and therefore, not a true heir of the line.
The party have a had a couple of run-ins with him already and he is very entitled and believes he should have had more inheritance as he was stuck with his step-father when Ameiko ran away.
I will have it that has followed the party and goes into the castle behind the party and is close enough when the "special something" happens to make him a chosen heir. The party then have true competition.
I really need to offer you a big thanks Mr Peterson, your imagination and ideas have really assisted and inspired me in my own game.
I ran them through the We Are Goblins and kept Scribbleface as suggested followed up by the roadside encounter with him. However, when the PCs got to the goblins, Scribbleface stayed outside as the group investigated. When they got half-way in, Scibbleface let off a series of fireworks to freak out the goblins and make them attack. I figured Scribbleface was still a goblin, a demented little beastie and his plan was to lure the PCs there to slaughter those drove him out. If he was real lucky, they would all kill each other. It did not end well for the goblins or him as the PCs came straight out for him and beheaded him with a crit :(
As the group is small (3) and not powerful (elven ninja, elven ranger and a gnome bard) plus two are playing their first ever Pathfinder game, I had to change the Tsutamo fight slightly. The PCs role-played and as he stood, they did a diplomacy and the ninja showed a fan she had with the Kaijitsu seal on it convincing him that they would finally deliver the treasure to the rightful owners. His spirit left content but they still had to fight the lesser powerful animated skeleton.
Thank you again, I envy your players and hope they appreciate what you have added.
- The GM who favors his wife/GF and makes her basically god-like in every campaign. F#~% that's annoying.
Pfft, my wife whinges at me that I don't give her any special attention. In fact, I have killed her characters before which has the other players scared, for if I am willing to kill the character of a woman who can withhold certain "privileges" then I am willing to kill any of them. Keeps em on their toes.
I am a late comer to this thread and only discovered it this morning. But it is never to late to give a massive thanks to Tinalles for this fantastic tool.
Now, if I could work out how to save it as a flat image (.jpg) so i could upload to my campaign page, I would be done 100%
The timing of when the actual covers go live on the web store happens more or less without my input, and without my knowledge. It's hard to do fanfare when you don't know the schedule, and are distracted by other projects and all that!
Oops, didn't mean to imply that you were slacking mate, I understand that you guys have a lot of products on the go.
However, when you do have a chance, I reckon a lot of us would be interested in your opinion on this art piece compared to the previous one. Is it what you imagined when writing the character and closer to the guidelines you have of elves?
I see the new artwork is up for the 2nd book. Shalelu looks fantastic and was well worth the wait.
I thought there would have been a bit more of a fan-fare from James or the art team once it went up. Or am I the first to notice with my Aussie future seeing ways?
The only nitpick (and it's not, just thought I would jump in before someone else) is that in the picture, she seems to be wielding a Comp Shortbow and not a Longbow as per her stat block.
But a great picture all the same and finally a better art piece to put on my campaign webpage for her. Great job (Wayne)?
I am looking for 2-3 players for a weeknight game at my house to play through the Jade Regent Pathfinder Adventure Path.
My wife will be a player and we are both in our 30s and are looking for similar aged people to join us (20s 40s+ ok).
I have not set a night yet as it will depend on when people are available to play. However, it cannot be a Thursday night as I run a Shadowrun campaign then. The hours would around 6:30-7:00 start to a 10pm finish.
Please send me a PM if you are interested.
PS: New players are more than welcome as are couples.
Thankfully, I have not yet a chance to go to the game store.
I had looked at the synopsis for Legacy of Fire and my wife said it wasn't something she interested in.
I am now looking hard at Curse of the Crimson Throne thanks to your input but are the Council of Thieves still worth picking up for general looting of ideas, npcs and locations?
Looking back, Kingmaker would have been great as the solo game so my wife could let her megalomania run free :) (She doesn't come on these boards).
Running 1 player isn't an issue, my early RP days were almost all 1 on 1 and I quite enjoy it due to the personal nature of it.
I also don't mind having NPCs and I used to have dozens created that were friends, cohorts or others that drop in out as needed for the player.
I will start checking out Council of Thieves as I have a feeling Carrion Crown may have to many creatures with draining, save or bleh or other nasty abilities that could take a 1 player party out in 1 round.
My wife is a bit like your partner gigglestick, not big on the dungeon crawl. She still likes killing things real good but prefers open areas and town games.
Thanks again guys, off to the game store for some books.
I am currently running a group game of Kingmaker and seriously considering a second group game of Jade Regent. But I would like to run a game just for my wife but not sure which of the APs would be the easiest or best for that.
She is a gamer (not trying to convert) and plays in my Kingmaker and she quite enjoys role-playing aspects as well as the combat which is why I want a very personalized game to run for her.
I was thinking of Carrion Crown and allowing her to be a Gestalt (someting I have never used before) with a NPC. Is this doable ot are there better suited APs?
As a side note, has anyone actually run a single player AP? How did it go?
Name: General Drakos
Race: 1/2 Orc
Class: Fighter 5th lvl
Adventure: RRR
Location: Crackjaw's Den
Catalyst: Going toe to toe with an angry snapping turtle.
Details: The two-handed sword wielding tank had several close calls over the campaign but after recently cake-walking the Barrow and Howl of the North Wind, the General of the Realm took a first round critical from the (Advanced Crackjaw - 6 player mod) for 70 damage.
The party are now trying to raise the funds to get their General back on his feet. The populace are being told it was a dragon, not an angry turtle.
I bought the PFR on my iPhone and found it be a fantastic resource. I only just found out a week ago it's not the official Paizo, that's a testament to how well it runs.
I have an iPad and just last week the PFR updated support to it. I ran my Sunday game from my iPad and found rules and spells quicker than those with the books. I really love this app, kudos to the designer for the hard work. It is crystal clear and full size on the iPad and the new PDF import it's use is growing everyday.
Play / run pathfinder and own an iPad then buy this.
However, I have found little else good rpg apps yet. Here is hoping they come.
I ordered the the book nearly two weeks ago. Is the shipping time from then or from the 11th of August? Nothing was said about a delayed release when I ordered it.
Did you play in the RPGA's Living City campaign? There was a sword called Pax that was one of the best-known magic items in the campaign. We statted it up for third edition in a Polyhedron article, probably around 144 or so.
--Erik Mona
Editor-in-Chief
Dragon & Dungeon
No, I was not fortunate enough to play in any of the "Living" games even though I was a member.
But you are a legend, it was the article I was looking for (it was in issue 146). Thank you very much for your time Mr Mona, glad to see the hands on approach to the magazine.
I have a couple of hundred Dragon Magazines and a long time ago I gave a player a sword called "Pax" which I think I took from a Dragon Magazine.
We are re-doing the character and we have no idea where to look or what it does. I have searched in vain and am unsure if it was even 2nd or 3rd edition stats. Please Help if you know where it is.
