I'm running Rise of the Runelords Anniversary Edition. And one of my characters is rolling a Dwarven Cleric, focused on making items to replace his now dead Ninja.
He has informed me that via his racials, traits, and class features from Forge master? or something, i think its a alternate class for cleric, that he is able to get the cost for crafting item up to a discount of 45% for items that are specific to race, a skill, alignment and made of metal or stone. I've asked him to post his character on the forums and let the horde of dnd readers inform him if he is smart or incorrect.
Not a trust issue, as i know he is working within the rules and has checked the forums thus far for his new guy. But I'm curious mainly what is the total discount you can get when making items?
I'm going to link him this in the hopes he will post it here. Again not a issue of the Dm lording over my player, lol. He is smart to want to make items that cost less. Especially seeing as the AP doesn't provide that much loot overall, and I'm going to have to add in extra as in anyway.
Oh and it doesn't help that in every possible treasure area or loot area they have missed one item, or one cache of treasure hidden, obviously so to not be found. Now that i wont give them, its their own fault for not looking hard enough!
First and for most, this is a DM Section, if you are one of my players. DO NOT READ MY POST. As it obviously is going to contain spoilers. Bad player!
So yeah. 1st some general information about my players.
My players are a tough buncha guys. Even the squishy ones have incredibly high Ac's and ad least 2 of their saves each are average or better.
My players are pretty good at making effective characters. The Ranger has a level of rogue and is the trap finder and with his plus 15 to perception he finds most of them and notices most ambushes not being set up by goblins or something else with racial bonuses to stealth.
The fighter has a NA item, a Deflection ring, is wearing platemail and a ring of force shield. Now I've recently read up on that ring and clarified how it works precisely. So he will no longer be having quite a high Ac while wielding his two handed axe. However even without that shield he still has a very decent FF and Normal Ac. Only his touch is weak. Oh and also he does a very very large amount of dmg i think on a minimum he does something like 13 or 14. On average he does ad least 20 to 30 or more.
The caster is a cleric/wizard going for Mystic T. Hes not really overpowered at all. hes quite versatile and in general is a asset to the group more so for his very high knowledge skills and healing. He mainly pokes from the rear of the group with magic missile's and a few buffs. Sometimes he will attack if he sees a opportunity.
There was also a Ninja but he died fighting Aldern. The ninja was a hard to hit but squishy guy and started the encounter with Aldern alone when he was scouting. Aldern paralyzed him just as the fighter got into the melee. The fighter bravely stood over his body as he lay there on the floor. Which now thinking about it, i should have said he couldn't because you fall as you were standing, like a statue as i understand being paralyzed. But anyway the fighter tried to protect him. But Aldern was able to trip him and disarm him with pure luck of the roll but not before the fighter dealt him 34 more points of dmg putting him at 6 from death.
Then it was Alderns Turn, seeing that he was about to be slain, he went for the only truly available target and attacked the paralyzed Ninja under the fighter. helpless as he was, he was a easy target and Aldern full attacked him with 2d6 sneak attack and 3 attacks. So yeah he died..
but in the end so did Aldern. None of my guys are doing anything wrong by being the best their characters can be, and I don't hate them or anything for having strong characters its just frustrating to get the feeling you are providing little to no challenge because of the partys Dmg output during combat.
Now folks here are my questions.
1st I'm concerned I'm providing near to no challenge to my players. As they are truly afraid of NO scenario; except where I make it clear to them that they should avoid something. Such as a optional and quite deadly encounter with the Sand Point Devil. And even then, i had to warn them by using its hell fire breath on one of them. It almost killed him but the Devil left with some over the top words like " your destiny is not to die by my wrath, mortal " or some such.
The Fighter Smashes and destroys anything, even if it has Damage Reduction. He does so much dmg it simply provides no real true challenge to him, especially when he hit's like a truck and has a High Ac and has a high to hit. I'm going to ask him if hes factored in all his negatives, but I'm fairly certain he has.
The only time i can make him even slow down is when i put physical obstacles in his path or a monster with buffed Ac or other things to just fight him for a round or two before he gets a hit in and kills it.
What is really funny is that I originally made the game harder by adjusting the tactics and positions of certain enemys. That resulted in a party TPK twice, lol. So seeing as i was obviously in error. We did a reset and from then on everything has been fine. They dont complain that things are 'To' Hard, but now I'm complaining because things seem to easy for them!
And my 2nd question is what to do next with Vorel and Fox Glove manor. They free'd Iesha from her attic prison. But because of how dangerous my party is, i had her lead them to Aldern rather than attack him and weaken him before they got there. Because i knew they would dispatch him rather quickly. And they did, in about 4 rounds he was dead. The only reason he even got a kill was because the ninja unfortunately choose to initiate the combat via his scouting when he tried to stealth into Alderns Lair and Aldern spotted him.
Anyway, the party defeated Aldern and I had Iesha crying, I know shes a Revenant but I was going to have it be that shortly after Aldern was slain she would come back to her senses and wipe her tears just long enough to finally destroy Vorel. But just as I was about to say this, the Fighter said
F: So, what is Iesha doing.
Me: She is crying softly over Alderns now unmoving undead corpse.
F: Alright.. I attempt to end her life while she is doing so.
Me: Ah.. uh.. ok yeah go ahead and swing.
Normally i don't simply interrupt box text type situations, but he reacted so quickly to me saying she is crying that I let him do it. I view this as a consequence we all face, our own choices.
So Vorel isn't gone, they set him on fire. Which wont kill him. And now are planning on leaving foxglove for sandpoint to heal up and simply come back and burn the entire house down. I already know that isn't going to do much. As Vorel will just repair slowly anything that is done to the house. Ad least as far as i can tell he does. So I'm rather unsure of what to do here as far as story is concerned. I mean they slew their one way to truly lift the Haunt. So... advice?
RotRL, Anniversary Edition. This post contains spoilers for RotRL Chapter one.
How it happened:
Ok. Well my Pc's failed to get a crossed the bridge on their first attempt to enter thistle top. The druid had already warned ripnugget via his animal messenger. I change the tactics slightly, The bugbear and a few goblins blocked the other side of the bridge. As the pc's attempted to move over it, they sent everyone except the tank first.
So Big B filled them with arrows until the kitsune wizard was dead, the ratfolk played dead beneath two corpses, the human fighter charge B and after dancing for a few rounds B crit him with his flail and outright killed him. I said a goblin dog knocked the wizard off the bridge and he 'survived' the fall but i rolled randomly twice on the pirate scare chart, he got a beneficial scar and lost a finger.
Nualia sent B out to kill people in the farmlands near sandpoint. He burned down a few farms, mainly a attempt to delay the pc's from returning with reinforcements. This did not to much really as they correctly picked the right farm to investigate and routed him. He ran away atop a boar mount I gave him, seemed appropriate for a bugbear. He didn't use it except to escape them at the farm. And I gave them several perception checks to hear him leaving the barn he was sniping from, but the only party member nearby ( he was 10 feet away, outside the barn and kept rolling 2's and 5's vs the bugbears stealthed movement ) he failed every one of them.
So... Anyway back to Thistletop. The group gets over the bridge with B harassing them while a Yeth hound attacks them from the air.
They killed the Yeth hound after stunning him with color spray and a few attacks. They also caused the bridge to fall, thus making travel a crossed the bridge on just the rope ( that's how i did it anyway ) it was slow going and they used up a lot of their healing resources just getting there. B ran inside and has continued to h arras the pc's as they attempted to enter the Trophy Room. Firing a few shots before retreating again to ripnuggets location.
The next session my players entered the Trophy hall, then headed towards the courtyard where the horse is. All the remaining goblins have been gathered around their King; 4 goblin commandos, 1 goblin dog, 1 goblin warchanter and B. B was supposed to harass them during the fight, until he saw it going poorly and then running to the 3rd level to inform tsuto and Lyrie and orik of the current going on's. since the compound is on alert, the enemies are ready and in their alerted positions. They completely bypassed the encounter with Ripnugget. Going down to the war room.
Tsuto and Lyrie are waiting in the secret door room, adjacent to the war room. They already have the crate pressed against the door and will only open it for the signal, spoken in goblin. The pc's dont know it and it was only recently even created considering the Pc's tactics.
They make perception checks and realize someone is in the room behind the closed door. They then sent the fighter into the door to get it open. He jarred it with a Str check of 18 or so? i said he half succeeded and slightly moved the crate, enough to let Lyrie or tusuto see him if they were on the northern side of the small room.
Which Lyrie is, considering they pushed the crate to have that view point when the door opens. Lyrie damaged the fighter with a scorching ray. 22 points of dmg! I changed her spells since they are expecting a attack within the next few days though they were not expecting it to be so soon. After the pc's made it evident that they were getting into the room, via chopping the door down slowly Tsuto and Lyrie left through the secret door.
The party spotted the Secret door easily enough and headed strait down into level 3. They took their time going down the stairs as Lyrie cast darkness on the stair well as they fled, attempting to slow the pc's down with darkness they cant see through... and it worked! I kept them in initiative until Lyrie and Tsuto had 2 turns each, and then we re rolled once they opened the door to the trapped hallway with the two statues.
Also as they entered the courtyard and began trying to calm down Shadowmere, I had The goblins roll perception to notice the horses noise. They failed but I also rolled a d20 and got 17, so i gave them 17 rounds of 'combat' or rather 17 rounds of anything involving dice rolling until Big B goes looking for them with the 4 commando's and the warchanter. Leaving Ripnugget to guard his throne. ( mounted combat feat is kinda wasted in the cramped areas of level 3. )
Anyway.. Long story short, lol. The party was reduced to negative hit points with 3 of them being stable. I had them all be stabilized and imprisoned.. I also had Nualia try to force the Nethys Cleric wizard to open the portal of greed. He refused, and after a little torture she sacrificed him to Lahmatsu.
Nualia is planning on having Lyrie read over the Kitsunes book on thassalonian stuff to see if it will help her get to Big M. And this is were I am. I was originally going to go with, they stripp you of all gear, take it and after a few days the entire place is empty. They forget about the pcs after Big M is free'd and Nualia has the goblins repair the bridge and they leave to go to magnimar.
I'm really unsure here as to how to proceed. Nualia is said to return to Magnimar but i could make her go anywhere. I really want to make her and Bruthzumas into recurring villains. Tsuto, i figure will be killed by Big B eventually as he wants Nualia.
The pc's Also never killed gogmurt, he fled into the briars and didn't return to see if nualia could actually defeat them. I was thinking of having him go work for the giants.
So basically.. How should i handle the Pc's now captured and bound in their cells.
My players alerted the goblins of Thistletop very quickly without realizing it. And with the addition of my own flavor of behavior to certain npcs tactics this is how things went.
the story of it:
Pc scout is spotted in C2 tunnel by goblin refugee guard. Who is lazily playing a game of cards just around a slight bend, the only one in the tunnel and the only place to really hide. The scout rolled so low on his perception and stealth in this case that he didn't even notice the goblin just beyond the bend, DC 14. And the goblin got a roll with a -4 for being distracted and saw him. So the scout, who is a Ratfolk and very distinctive amongst the denizens of Virisian coastline and even more so in small sandpoint and its surrounding areas. The Goblins know that he is one of the adventurers that slayed so many goblins during the raid on sandpoint.
So the goblin runs and reports to his buddies, who promptly move to ambush the pcs in the tunnels. They keep the pc's busy while the goblin then warns Gogmurt, who sends his animal messenger, and two of the refugee goblins acrossed the bridge to deliver a message to Bruthazmus. Gogmurt knows that one of the pc's is a Half Elf and that the bugbear would not pass up a chance to slay a elven 'hero'.
Instead of running cowardly so, all the way to Nualia, a woman he wants desperately to become intimate with, he instead mans up to the challenge and a chance to claim another set of ears. He and the four goblin warriors with mounts await the pc's to cross the bridge. The goblins are hidden off to the sides on their mounts, the briars hide them from sight. But Bruthzamus easily begins pelting the hero's. They know that only three of them can go onto the bridge at one time, and unfortunately, all three that went were not the tank.
So Big B lays low one, the Kitsune Wizard. With two arrows. Then the Ratfolk scout. Then slowly the Cleric of Nethys. The pc's are able to move themselves off the bridge just far enough that Tolly can get acrossed. He gets over the bridge just in time to take the Ratfolk scouts place, who falls to a goblins dogs bite. Then Tolly goes down as well leaving only the cleric of Nethys. Who channels to heal several times, leaving the Ratfolk dead and literally buried beneath a goblin dog corpse and a unconscious and not waking up tank. Finally, just before the cleric goes down Tolly is up and he cuts his way through the goblins easily and charges Bruthzamus.
His blow misses and the bugbear dodges it with vigor. Tolly is worn out from all the fighting and Big B is fresh from his lady's comfort and ready to go. They spar, Tolly slightly wounding Big B, but then Bruthzmus side steps to Tollys right, getting away from his shield as the bug bears heavy flail comes sailing down and leaves a gore ridden trails acrossed what used to be the big mans face. He falls dead. Shining and blood stained and battle damaged House Arkona Plate mail in all, Tolly is gone.
Big B laughs and raises his flail in triumph. Looking at the bridge he sees that one goblin dog is alive and struggling with the cleric on the ground. He laughs, shouting encouragement to the hound. It rips into the cleric again, its teeth drawing more blood. But the bugbear takes things more seriously when the wizards gets up and begins to back away. Drawing a long spear from his back and trying to leave. Big b moves up and swings at him but misses! " I want those ears! I will have them! " just as the goblin dog lunges around the bugbear into the cleric and they both go sailing off the bridge into the waters below...
This was my cinematic way of sparing that party the last person to die since they already lost 2. The ratfolk escapes after the bugbear drags away tollys corpse and tells the last goblin in the back to gather their items and anything that looks valuable. The goblin was so terrified of the pc's during the fight based on tales from other goblins he did nothing and attacked only rarely.
The bugbear moves away and as the goblin begins to loot the pc's. The ratfolk scout, hidden under a gore strewn husk of a goblin dog whose insides had been partially destroyed by acid damage, chooses that moment to stop playing dead. But the sudden rush of moving up caused his aim to be off ( he rolled a 1 ) he missed the goblin. IT shrieked and ran away screaming about the dead and angry spirits. The scout gets away and finds the horses, and finds a fisherman who caught the cleric in his net and is trying to save his life.
End last session.
Summary, party attacked thistletop, raised alarm quickly allowing the druid to organize a delaying tactic hoping that his added force of goblin refugees and the remaining goblin dogs will be enough. He also sends 2 goblins to tell Bruthazmus that the heros of sandpoint are here, and that one of them is a Elf, or half elf. This is enough to get the bug bear to lay in wait at the guard tower at the end of the bridge. With 4 dog riding goblins to stall the pc's as he kills them from above.
He kills 2, 3 technically but I honestly felt kinda bad, so the third person i gave a break to and said he 'fell' to his death, but like in the movies. Hes found by a fisherman and then by the ratfolk on his way back to sandpoint. I'd rather move things along than take time in session to do that.
Now, here is my question. Why would these guys just sit in thistletop waiting for the pc's to come back? I think its a lot smarter to go on the offensive and attack sandpoint and its surrounding areas with terrorizing tactics; while more goblin tribes are brought into the battle.
Why wouldn't Nualia just put her studies on hold, to establish a more secure perimeter for her to continue her work. I mean whats the point of just having people attack you right when you don't want them to.
I'm sure Nualia can get ad least two more tribes interested in fighting.
What are your thoughts on this. Would a full scale goblin uprising occur? and if it did how would it spread, and how fast? To be honest i kinda want to do this. They need a bit more beef on their bones. Because so far they have been taking a beating. So I'll use this to give them say 2 more levels or so. so 6th by the beginning of chapter 2.
I'm about to start running RotRL, and i was wondering. Does sandpoint, being a villages sponsored by magnimar nobles fall under the same laws as magnimar?
For instance, Korvosa has these laws.
Ten Crimes and Punishment:
Ten Crimes and Punishments
Punishments for violent crimes in Korvosa are harsh, but the general populace considers them fair. Non-violent crimes carry
differing punishments depending on the disposition of the criminal: A member of the thieves’ guild (the only legal guild in the city)
or a registered gang might receive a lighter sentence than does a freelancer, depending on the crime in question. The following
selections of crimes and their punishments (listed in order they are applied) should not be construed as all-inclusive. Korvosa’s legal
code fills multiple thick volumes.
Crime Punishments
Treason Torture, death; no appeal
Murder Torture, death; no appeal
Rape Torture and castration, imprisonment (10–20 years), death; no appeal
Armed Robbery Pay restitution or lose a hand, imprisonment (10–20 years)
Arson Pay restitution or branding, imprisonment (10+ years); plus murder charge if fire kills
Unionizing Branding, imprisonment (5–10 years); no appeal
Accidental Death Pay restitution or torture, imprisonment (5–8 years)
RobberyT Pay restitution or lose a hand, imprisonment (2–10 years), pay restitution
Drug Use Imprisonment (4–6 months pre-trial, plus 2–3 years if guilty)
BurglaryT Pay restitution, imprisonment (1–2 years)
T: A member of the Cerulean Society (thieves’ guild) or a registered gang can expect to receive a lighter sentence of around half the
common punishment for these crimes.
But i can find no mention of this in the magnimar guide. The listed crimes are from the Korvosa Guide. Also last i read the korvosa guide i swore it stated there were things nobles could do do commoners, and were considered legal. But i cant seem to find them, such as smacking a beggar or something.
Does anyone know where such information is listed?
I'm a huge fan of dark heresy, a dnd style game based around the grim and dark future of the war hammer 40k universe. I've always wanted a system for armor and hp that wasn't what dnd normally had. And the Ultimate warrior book has presented just such a system. However i find that while people become incredibly easy to hit in comparison, that ranged combatants slowly become more and more useless as time goes on.
Think about it. A average ranger around 4th level has a composite strength bow for 2 point of strength and either some magical arrows or already has the bow enchanted, adding another plus 1 dmg. So that's 1d8 +3. on average that's 7 point of dmg per shot without any special feats or traits to gain additional dmg from bows. Now a average party make up has 2 armor people, a cleric who wheres medium or light armor and a fighter who wears heavy armor.
The cleric, lets say is wearing a chain shirt. So his armor needs 4 point to get past it. Leaving a lesser 3 points of dmg dealt compared to the original 7. Now you might say, well its a lot easier to hit people , so the average of projectiles fired landing blows increases. And you'd be right about that.
But somehow i still feel that projectile weapons are basically being given the shaft in comparison to melee weapons. The system works fine for magic and melee combat though.
So I was thinking about adding penetration to the game as a game mechanic. My first thought was that since guns are touch attacks in the normal system, they would bypass peoples armor when fired from the first range increment in this alternate system. But i don't see a mention of guns bypassing or penetrating peoples armor in the alternate system presented. guns don't even really do that much dmg, so I'm not sure what the makers of the system are afraid of, the deadliest guns I've ever seen in a medieval dnd game were in Arcanis, where pistols did 3d4 and rifles 4d4 with crits of 19-20 x3 and x4 respectively.
So the help i'm searching for here is how to effectively add penetration into ranged weapons mechanics. Crossbows, historically were feared because a conscript could pick one up and figure out how to use it with very little training compared to archers. And the force behind the bolt was greater than a archer could usually muster, and at closer ranges the bolts would go right through people armor.
So.... any suggestions?
My only idea so far is that when a sneak attack, or crit is made via a ranged weapon you bypass the targets armor up to the weapons crit modifier. So a Bow shot from the first range increment would bypass 3 armor if it was a sneak attack or a crit. Also all called shots that land hits would bypass armor based on the weapons crit modifier. What do you all think?
Note to my players, or rather one player specifically. AJ stop reading posts in the Dm section, especially for THIS AP, which you will be playing in. If I have reasonable proof your reading them, I'm not going to punish you. I'm going to punish your character, over and over and over. Cause I'm a dick like that.
First off, I've yet to finish the entire first chapter of the AP, i have the anniversary addition of the entire thing and I am eager to run it. But i plan on ad least reading half of chapter 2 before I begin the story. I've glanced here and there in later chapters and find myself almost unable to stop reading and go back to the early chapters.
Anyway, in just a few short minutes my entire train of thought was derailed as i read more and more forum posts about this epic adventure. There is a short module in Kaer Maga called Seven Swords of Sin. Now I've glanced over the mod, as they are no where near being able to play it yet as we haven't even started rise of the rune lords, but eventually it will fit right into the story arch. What i want to do is give on of my first level players a story based sword, which depending on the kind of character they are might change the weapon they get. But I'm willing to give them any one sword except the sword of lust.
Personally i have a brand new player to dnd entirely and I'd like to make him focus heavily on his characters story, And i think giving him, unknowingly a artifact that has lost a considerable amount of its power that will later come into play would go a long way in making him feel more a part of the game.
What I'm looking for here is advice on if this is a good idea or not. Hes likely going to be a human fighter. Also keep in mind that the rise of the rune lords campaign has these sin points you can build up without the dm ever letting you know he was even keeping track, and perhaps if the pc in question gets to many, something about the sword wakes up when it encounters.. say a pool of arcane energy later in the AP?
Alright so my gaming group starting gaming about two months or so ago, maybe just a month. If you read all of this, you get a brownie point.
We originally started out on the Serpents Skull Adventure Path and made characters accordingly via the guide book.
Serpents Skull pc guide. not a spoiler::
Serpent’s Skull PCs
Your band of characters begins the Serpent’s Skull
Adventure Path as passengers on a cargo ship called the
Jenivere, headed south to Sargava. The voyage promises
not only to bring your characters together as you face
adversity, but also to set you on a path into the very heart
of one of Golarion’s most feared regions in search of
wealth, fame, and ancient secrets. PCs in the Serpent’s
Skull Adventure Path are not limited to origins in Sargava
itself. In fact, characters in this campaign may be from
just about anywhere. Countless motivations draw the
daring, curious, and downright foolhardy to Sargava with
the hope of attaining personal fame and fortune, and your
PCs likely boast a variety of backgrounds and decidedly
different reasons for traveling to Sargava’s capital city.
The Serpent’s Skull Player’s Guide is intended to provide
characters with a reason to be on the Jenivere, whether they
are from a distant part of the Inner Sea journeying to a new
land or natives of Sargava returning home. The following
suggestions provide basic information on potential PC
origins, but focus on motivations to bring characters of all
races and classes to Sargava. Use this guide as a starting
point to give your PCs a reason to be aboard the fateful
voyage that launches the Serpent’s Skull Adventure Path.
The following pages outline qualities of typical members
of all seven core races, all 11 core classes, and the six classes
found in the Advanced Player’s Guide. Characters of all
alignments, religions, and homelands can play a vital role
in this campaign, and the following suggestions should
serve to spark a concept or background for your PC. You’ll
also find several new traits specific to the Serpent’s Skull
Adventure Path to better customize your characters and
link them to the campaign’s setting and plot.
I made a Tiefling N Ranger. Hes a native tribesmen of the Bas'O tribe and in the subgroup Zenji ( spelled correctly i think? ), there is more to his back story than this but basically he is not a naturally born Bas'O he was adopted by a Bas'O man who raised him in their tribal ways, claiming him in full as his child. Despite my characters desire to be Bas'O he and his father were forced to live outside the main camps, whenever camp was struck. No woman would have him and the friends he had slowly drifted away.
Over the years many of the younger hunters in the tribe who didn't like Jarvaxius, more like hated him began plotting ways to remove this 'taint' on their tribe. Its a imperfect world, the Bas'O people are no different. There were several 'accidents' over the years. Sometimes when Jar' would kill a elk or other animal that he was hunting and moved in to claim his prize. He was instead met with one or more of his fellow hunters. They would then claim he took one of their kills, stating that they had infact been tracking this animal for some time and marked it. A fight and death of one of more of the people would happen, Not because they or he were evil but because of pride and hatred. They are a tribal culture after all, they have some brutal laws that are considered totally legal i would imagine, as all of this is character fluff and there is no detailed writing on their cultural laws and how things are handled. This happened 3 times over the coarse of my characters life amongst them.
My character eventually decided that his presence was ruining his fathers life. Not to mention the battles with fellow Bas'O, which made me hate myself for being a 'monster'. On one moonlit night I had a dream of another group coming to kill me, this time no pretence or accident, they wanted me gone. And if my father had to die, so be it. Obviously they are the radicals of the tribe, not the norm. So in the middle of the night right after i woke up I gathered my things and left to find his own path. - the dm gave my Teifling a precognition ability that he cannot control ad least not very well. He ended up getting captured and sold into slavery by pirates, luckily the person who boat him was Captain Kovack, and he made him a indentured servant for 3 years.
Which is the end of the back story and the start of the adventure. The changes i made to him are, that being a sailor / smuggler of illegal but not harmful things on a merchant vessel made him more of a sailor now, so less tribal but still different. Likes to drink and smoke and party at the local brothels and taverns just like all sailors.
Ok, now we did some of the AP of Serpents Skull, mainly just the first place, no spoilers, but if you know it you know it.
Spoiler for the AP Serpents Skull::
We did all of the Smugglers Shiv, defeated the witch / hag at the end and the giant flying creature that was sucking blood. We repaired and got the brine demon under way and left the Smugglers shiv, only to find ourselves adrift after a accident. The worm wood found us and press ganged most of the remaining group of survivors into service, though I was able to remain hidden.
Now, before we go to the next part, wanna state a few things. My guy is tribal. Tribal cultures have some strange laws. And he is no different in that he has a set of laws that guide him ( he became LN over the course of the adventure turning back to his tribal heritage and trying to rekindle his former nationality .) The Bekyar are the rival tribe of the Zenji - which the Bas'O are in. The Bekyar are slavers, robbers, raiders, killers, demon worshipers, and pirates. Their tribe and mine do not ever get along. The Bas'O are hunters and nomads, but also a warrior culture. They prefer to not act violently, but will do so over insults, offenses and other various tribal things, they are suspicious of foreigners and don't like people who rob graves and in general bring bad luck by taking cultural treasures.
My character, is a dirty dirty fighter. He would use poison if he knew how, he has used traps, he would slit a sleeping persons throat, he has slaughtered a entire village of people because they had been trying to kill him and eat him since he met them, and he is willing to steal and take what is most certainly not his, so long as hes taking it from people who he thinks have it coming or are his enemies.
He has cut the heart out of a particularly strong foe and taken a bite of it to show his dominance over the dead man and absorb some of his power ( all flavor, no in game benefits .)
Being a sailor for many years he doesn't like Chelaxians given their devil worship and pension for slavery. Infact pretty much doesn't care for any kinda slavers at all. Is willing to commit acts of piracy, and that does make him a pirate in all honesty, but for reasons he can justify. Such as sacking a merchant who is a slave trader, sacking a military vessel of a nation he dislikes, sacking another pirate ship, ransoming a captured prisoner, and making sure they are not mistreated while in captivity. Blowing up a shipping yard, with civilians inside if the mission calls for it given the circumstances.
All in all, my guy is a dirty bastard. But.. He is not a Raping and Pillaging and plundering, anything he can get his hands on pirate. And thus is where we run into my problem folks.
The AP has now switched to Skulls and Shackles.
Skulls and Shackles Pc text. Part of the guide, not a spoiler::
The shipping lanes of Golarion’s seas and oceans
are filled with fat merchant vessels laden with
trade goods both mundane and exotic, as well
as the pirates and freebooters who prey on them. Under
the banner of their Hurricane King, these buccaneers
sally forth from that archipelago of lawless pirate ports
and anchorages known as the Shackles, plundering the
shipping of countless countries and trade consortiums,
then vanishing back into the maze of islands and reefs they
call home. The nations of the Inner Sea would like nothing
more than to end the pirate menace once and for all, but
the eternal hurricane known as the Eye of Abendego has
thus far shielded the Free Captains of the Shackles from
the threat of retaliation.
In the Skull & Shackles Adventure Path, the PCs take
on the role of pirates, but they must make a name for
themselves in piracy, plunder, and disrepute to truly
become infamous Free Captains of the Shackles. The
most important thing to keep in mind when creating
your character is that piracy plays a significant role in
this Adventure Path—your character should want to
become a pirate, or at least not be opposed to the idea.
This guide offers some tips about the types of characters
that will be best suited for adventuring in the Shackles,
as well as campaign traits to flesh out those characters’
backgrounds. Finally, it provides rules for ship-to-ship
combat (including sample ships) that will play a major role
in the Skull & Shackles Adventure Path as the PCs captain
their own ship in search of plunder and infamy!
Skull & Shackles Characters
Characters of almost any race or class can be found in the
melting pot of the Shackles, so long as they have a reason
to embrace a life of piracy. In fact, the only class that is
probably not a good fit for the Skull & Shackles Adventure
Path is the paladin, whose alignment restriction and code
of conduct are in direct opposition to the themes of piracy
and plunder in this campaign.
And my character, Jarvaxius is simply not willing to be a pirate in the stereotypical sense, and while i do not know how the adventure will unfold or how my DM will change things I'm being left with the impression that the campaign has drastically changed. We lost a player because of the text in the adventure guide alone.
He was unwilling to make a character that would be a pirate in any way. We gained a new player and while I think the new guy is pretty cool, his character is a stereotypical pirate. He is of a evil alignment ( yes i know not all pirates are evil, stereotype here. ) he has intimidated the npc crew into following him and has the backing of a powerful npc vampire that the crew is even more afraid of. I've been found and tied up and gagged.
The Dm has decided to be nice and rather than just kill me for being a stow away; the vampire is a former npc companion and took pity on me? Declaring to the evil pc that I was to not be harmed (cause he wanted to kill me for being a stowaway), so long as I made a choice to either become a pirate and serve him -vampire, and as a extension of that servitude, obey the evil pc whom he has placed in charge. Or get off the boat at the next opportunity and don't make hostile actions.
My character and the other ranger, ironically we are both tieflings, are very much so opposed to the idea of being a stereotypical pirate's, which has been made OVERLY and CRYSTAL CLEAR in game by things pc's and npc's have said. That that is where the campaign is heading. This other ranger is also hiding right now / lost because of a storm but is returning( missed a few sessions because of personal things .)
The only person my character knows is the human fighter from the survivor group who has embraced piracy and is 100 percent behind his new captain and change in lifestyle. We agreed next session his character and mine would have a talk about why it is ok for me to be a pirate ( thus my character stays in the game ) or just in general him trying to convince me to come to their side in this matter.
A change in lifestyle... That's basically what this is. The Dm is telling me that even though I made a character for another AP, he said that this changeover was going to happen and that my attitude and argument is wrong. I and another player distinctly recall him saying the AP was NOT going to switch and then never bringing it back up until all of this happened.
I'm in this AP now, and the dm says that I have no reason to be 'forcing' my character to have this ideological confrontation. That I am the one with the problem, that I am the one causing the problem. He has even sited an example about why I am wrong in this entire situation.
Stating that as the Player it is my job to curb my characters entire life to meat the adventure path and the fun goes on, and the group keeps playing. And in all honesty i agree, if only i had made a character for Skulls and Shackles, not Serpents Skull. I put a LOT, way more than required, into taking time to make this character and now I'm having arguments / heated debates about how I'm essentially causing a disruption to the group by voicing that my character is not going to be a pirate, ad least not the kinda pirate that seems to be where the AP is pushing. - the player of the evil pc has stated that slavery, vice and everything a pirate is known for is what he is, and what he will push the crew towards, and punish those that do not agree.
I don't have a single problem with the new guy's character or the new guy. He came into the group for Skulls and Shackles. Don't get me wrong, my character and his as of right now probably wont get along well, but they haven't even had a chance to meet because of the various circumstances surrounding the last few games, the continuing argument revolves around the one line in Skulls and Shackles Pc guide that only PALADINS can absolutely possibly have a problem with being a pc in this AP, that no other class combo or alignment could possibly ever have issues in this campaign with being a pirate.
- for snarky remark, see the Sea Dragons sub section in Faiths of Balance under Abadar, LN clerics of the god who will tolerate slavery, WILL NOT work with pirates, they actively hunt them, they are actively planning on a way of destroying the shackles. I sited this example to him as the new character i had considered making until i read that. As i am completely willing to make a new character that better fits with the group. And his response was to say he'd change how Abadar is so i could play one and be a pirate if i wanted to play one. While i appreciate this Dm's willingness to alter the Game world, I'd rather not go that far as it seems wholly unnecessary. And just make a Cleric of Gozreh.
Again i don't know what the DM is planning or where the AP actually goes but at this point I've been given the option to either make a new character and retire this one or have him become a pirate and break his people's moral code relating to slavery and not hurting those he doesn't see as deserving it, but rather those I'm ordered to hurt by a captain who controls via fear and a whip. And while I've considered him breaking his code and just changing his mindset and trying to find a way to justify it based on past events, i really cant figure a way to do it. Mainly because I've already slowly changed him during the first AP, he went through a physical and mental metamorphosis, his time on that island change him in many ways and I've move him forward on a path that has led him to his current moral issues.
So all in all, here is my question. Is there a way for me to justify why my character Jarvaxius should change his lifestyle to become a pirate, keeping in mind the type of pirate he is going to be forced to become if he says yes. Or am i totally wrong and just need to shut up? Or should i just roll up my new cleric of Gozreh, who likes doing anything that's fun and involves destruction of civilization.
A short recap. This issue has been in debate for so long in the group and the situation in game is this. A vampire has taken over the vessel, he has one true ally - the evil pc, he has several ally's of choice, one pc and many npcs, anyone else has been intimidated into service. I am locked up in the hold and although free of my bonds have no reason to try and escape as My character doesn't know of any way to escape. There are no islands or places of even remote safety nearby, that he knows of.
Going down fighting is something he has thought about but he feels more weighed down by the lost and confused feelings. Again i don't know where the campaign pushes the pc's but at this time based on everything my character knows, the ship is 100 percent pirate. And i have been given a ultimatum to either convert and do as i am told or get off at the next port, which will be at the beginning of the next session.
Is your opinion that despite the evidence pointing towards the fact that the ship i would be a sailor on is intent on enslaving and pillaging in every way a pirate can, that my character who has strong objections about slavery will function just fine with a group of people who want all of those things? OR should my character get off at the next port?
I really like this character but i don't know if i can justify him being a member of a crew that is most certainly going to push towards wanton destruction and enslavement at the first opportunity.
Edit: Oh and he has been informed that there is a port nearby, that they are going to, where he can get off.
Alright so my gaming group starting gaming about two months or so ago, maybe just a month. If you read all of this, you get a brownie point.
We originally started out on the Serpents Skull Adventure Path and made characters accordingly via the guide book.
Serpents Skull pc guide. not a spoiler:
Serpent’s Skull PCs
Your band of characters begins the Serpent’s Skull
Adventure Path as passengers on a cargo ship called the
Jenivere, headed south to Sargava. The voyage promises
not only to bring your characters together as you face
adversity, but also to set you on a path into the very heart
of one of Golarion’s most feared regions in search of
wealth, fame, and ancient secrets. PCs in the Serpent’s
Skull Adventure Path are not limited to origins in Sargava
itself. In fact, characters in this campaign may be from
just about anywhere. Countless motivations draw the
daring, curious, and downright foolhardy to Sargava with
the hope of attaining personal fame and fortune, and your
PCs likely boast a variety of backgrounds and decidedly
different reasons for traveling to Sargava’s capital city.
The Serpent’s Skull Player’s Guide is intended to provide
characters with a reason to be on the Jenivere, whether they
are from a distant part of the Inner Sea journeying to a new
land or natives of Sargava returning home. The following
suggestions provide basic information on potential PC
origins, but focus on motivations to bring characters of all
races and classes to Sargava. Use this guide as a starting
point to give your PCs a reason to be aboard the fateful
voyage that launches the Serpent’s Skull Adventure Path.
The following pages outline qualities of typical members
of all seven core races, all 11 core classes, and the six classes
found in the Advanced Player’s Guide. Characters of all
alignments, religions, and homelands can play a vital role
in this campaign, and the following suggestions should
serve to spark a concept or background for your PC. You’ll
also find several new traits specific to the Serpent’s Skull
Adventure Path to better customize your characters and
link them to the campaign’s setting and plot.
I made a Tiefling N Ranger. Hes a native tribesmen of the Bas'O tribe and in the subgroup Zenji ( spelled correctly i think? ), there is more to his back story than this but basically he is not a naturally born Bas'O he was adopted by a Bas'O man who raised him in their tribal ways, claiming him in full as his child. Despite my characters desire to be Bas'O he and his father were forced to live outside the main camps, whenever camp was struck. No woman would have him and the friends he had slowly drifted away.
Over the years many of the younger hunters in the tribe who didn't like Jarvaxius, more like hated him began plotting ways to remove this 'taint' on their tribe. Its a imperfect world, the Bas'O people are no different. There were several 'accidents' over the years. Sometimes when Jar' would kill a elk or other animal that he was hunting and moved in to claim his prize. He was instead met with one or more of his fellow hunters. They would then claim he took one of their kills, stating that they had infact been tracking this animal for some time and marked it. A fight and death of one of more of the people would happen, Not because they or he were evil but because of pride and hatred. They are a tribal culture after all, they have some brutal laws that are considered totally legal i would imagine, as all of this is character fluff and there is no detailed writing on their cultural laws and how things are handled. This happened 3 times over the coarse of my characters life amongst them.
My character eventually decided that his presence was ruining his fathers life. Not to mention the battles with fellow Bas'O, which made me hate myself for being a 'monster'. On one moonlit night I had a dream of another group coming to kill me, this time no pretence or accident, they wanted me gone. And if my father had to die, so be it. Obviously they are the radicals of the tribe, not the norm. So in the middle of the night right after i woke up I gathered my things and left to find his own path. - the dm gave my Teifling a precognition ability that he cannot control ad least not very well. He ended up getting captured and sold into slavery by pirates, luckily the person who boat him was Captain Kovack, and he made him a indentured servant for 3 years.
Which is the end of the back story and the start of the adventure. The changes i made to him are, that being a sailor / smuggler of illegal but not harmful things on a merchant vessel made him more of a sailor now, so less tribal but still different. Likes to drink and smoke and party at the local brothels and taverns just like all sailors.
Ok, now we did some of the AP of Serpents Skull, mainly just the first place, no spoilers, but if you know it you know it.
Spoiler for the AP Serpents Skull:
We did all of the Smugglers Shiv, defeated the witch / hag at the end and the giant flying creature that was sucking blood. We repaired and got the brine demon under way and left the Smugglers shiv, only to find ourselves adrift after a accident. The worm wood found us and press ganged most of the remaining group of survivors into service, though I was able to remain hidden.
Now, before we go to the next part, wanna state a few things. My guy is tribal. Tribal cultures have some strange laws. And he is no different in that he has a set of laws that guide him ( he became LN over the course of the adventure turning back to his tribal heritage and trying to rekindle his former nationality .) The Bekyar are the rival tribe of the Zenji - which the Bas'O are in. The Bekyar are slavers, robbers, raiders, killers, demon worshipers, and pirates. Their tribe and mine do not ever get along. The Bas'O are hunters and nomads, but also a warrior culture. They prefer to not act violently, but will do so over insults, offenses and other various tribal things, they are suspicious of foreigners and don't like people who rob graves and in general bring bad luck by taking cultural treasures.
My character, is a dirty dirty fighter. He would use poison if he knew how, he has used traps, he would slit a sleeping persons throat, he has slaughtered a entire village of people because they had been trying to kill him and eat him since he met them, and he is willing to steal and take what is most certainly not his, so long as hes taking it from people who he thinks have it coming or are his enemies.
He has cut the heart out of a particularly strong foe and taken a bite of it to show his dominance over the dead man and absorb some of his power ( all flavor, no in game benefits .)
Being a sailor for many years he doesn't like Chelaxians given their devil worship and pension for slavery. Infact pretty much doesn't care for any kinda slavers at all. Is willing to commit acts of piracy, and that does make him a pirate in all honesty, but for reasons he can justify. Such as sacking a merchant who is a slave trader, sacking a military vessel of a nation he dislikes, sacking another pirate ship, ransoming a captured prisoner, and making sure they are not mistreated while in captivity. Blowing up a shipping yard, with civilians inside if the mission calls for it given the circumstances.
All in all, my guy is a dirty bastard. But.. He is not a Raping and Pillaging and plundering, anything he can get his hands on pirate. And thus is where we run into my problem folks.
The AP has now switched to Skulls and Shackles.
Skulls and Shackles Pc text. Part of the guide, not a spoiler:
The shipping lanes of Golarion’s seas and oceans
are filled with fat merchant vessels laden with
trade goods both mundane and exotic, as well
as the pirates and freebooters who prey on them. Under
the banner of their Hurricane King, these buccaneers
sally forth from that archipelago of lawless pirate ports
and anchorages known as the Shackles, plundering the
shipping of countless countries and trade consortiums,
then vanishing back into the maze of islands and reefs they
call home. The nations of the Inner Sea would like nothing
more than to end the pirate menace once and for all, but
the eternal hurricane known as the Eye of Abendego has
thus far shielded the Free Captains of the Shackles from
the threat of retaliation.
In the Skull & Shackles Adventure Path, the PCs take
on the role of pirates, but they must make a name for
themselves in piracy, plunder, and disrepute to truly
become infamous Free Captains of the Shackles. The
most important thing to keep in mind when creating
your character is that piracy plays a significant role in
this Adventure Path—your character should want to
become a pirate, or at least not be opposed to the idea.
This guide offers some tips about the types of characters
that will be best suited for adventuring in the Shackles,
as well as campaign traits to flesh out those characters’
backgrounds. Finally, it provides rules for ship-to-ship
combat (including sample ships) that will play a major role
in the Skull & Shackles Adventure Path as the PCs captain
their own ship in search of plunder and infamy!
Skull & Shackles Characters
Characters of almost any race or class can be found in the
melting pot of the Shackles, so long as they have a reason
to embrace a life of piracy. In fact, the only class that is
probably not a good fit for the Skull & Shackles Adventure
Path is the paladin, whose alignment restriction and code
of conduct are in direct opposition to the themes of piracy
and plunder in this campaign.
And my character, Jarvaxius is simply not willing to be a pirate in the stereotypical sense, and while i do not know how the adventure will unfold or how my DM will change things I'm being left with the impression that the campaign has drastically changed. We lost a player because of the text in the adventure guide alone.
He was unwilling to make a character that would be a pirate in any way. We gained a new player and while I think the new guy is pretty cool, his character is a stereotypical pirate. He is of a evil alignment ( yes i know not all pirates are evil, stereotype here. ) he has intimidated the npc crew into following him and has the backing of a powerful npc vampire that the crew is even more afraid of. I've been found and tied up and gagged.
The Dm has decided to be nice and rather than just kill me for being a stow away; the vampire is a former npc companion and took pity on me? Declaring to the evil pc that I was to not be harmed (cause he wanted to kill me for being a stowaway), so long as I made a choice to either become a pirate and serve him -vampire, and as a extension of that servitude, obey the evil pc whom he has placed in charge. Or get off the boat at the next opportunity and don't make hostile actions.
My character and the other ranger, ironically we are both tieflings, are very much so opposed to the idea of being a stereotypical pirate's, which has been made OVERLY and CRYSTAL CLEAR in game by things pc's and npc's have said. That that is where the campaign is heading. This other ranger is also hiding right now / lost because of a storm but is returning( missed a few sessions because of personal things .)
The only person my character knows is the human fighter from the survivor group who has embraced piracy and is 100 percent behind his new captain and change in lifestyle. We agreed next session his character and mine would have a talk about why it is ok for me to be a pirate ( thus my character stays in the game ) or just in general him trying to convince me to come to their side in this matter.
A change in lifestyle... That's basically what this is. The Dm is telling me that even though I made a character for another AP, he said that this changeover was going to happen and that my attitude and argument is wrong. I and another player distinctly recall him saying the AP was NOT going to switch and then never bringing it back up until all of this happened.
I'm in this AP now, and the dm says that I have no reason to be 'forcing' my character to have this ideological confrontation. That I am the one with the problem, that I am the one causing the problem. He has even sited an example about why I am wrong in this entire situation.
Stating that as the Player it is my job to curb my characters entire life to meat the adventure path and the fun goes on, and the group keeps playing. And in all honesty i agree, if only i had made a character for Skulls and Shackles, not Serpents Skull. I put a LOT, way more than required, into taking time to make this character and now I'm having arguments / heated debates about how I'm essentially causing a disruption to the group by voicing that my character is not going to be a pirate, ad least not the kinda pirate that seems to be where the AP is pushing. - the player of the evil pc has stated that slavery, vice and everything a pirate is known for is what he is, and what he will push the crew towards, and punish those that do not agree.
I don't have a single problem with the new guy's character or the new guy. He came into the group for Skulls and Shackles. Don't get me wrong, my character and his as of right now probably wont get along well, but they haven't even had a chance to meet because of the various circumstances surrounding the last few games, the continuing argument revolves around the one line in Skulls and Shackles Pc guide that only PALADINS can absolutly possibly have a problem with being a pc in this AP, that no other class combo or alignment could possibly ever have issues in this campaign with being a pirate.
- for snarky remark, see the Sea Dragons sub section in Faiths of Balance under Abadar, LN clerics of the god who will tolerate slavery, WILL NOT work with pirates, they actively hunt them, they are actively planning on a way of destroying the shackles. I sited this example to him as the new character i had considered making until i read that. As i am completely willing to make a new character that better fits with the group. And his response was to say he'd change how Abadar is so i could play one and be a pirate if i wanted to play one. While i appreciate this Dm's willingness to alter the Game world, I'd rather not go that far as it seems wholly unnecessary. And just make a Cleric of Gozreh.
Again i don't know what the DM is planning or where the AP actually goes but at this point I've been given the option to either make a new character and retire this one or have him become a pirate and break his people's moral code relating to slavery and not hurting those he doesn't see as deserving it, but rather those I'm ordered to hurt by a captain who controls via fear and a whip. And while I've considered him breaking his code and just changing his mindset and trying to find a way to justify it based on past events, i really cant figure a way to do it. Mainly because I've already slowly changed him during the first AP, he went through a physical and mental metamorphosis, his time on that island change him in many ways and I've move him forward on a path that has led him to his current moral issues.
So all in all, here is my question. Is there a way for me to justify why my character Jarvaxius should change his lifestyle to become a pirate, keeping in mind the type of pirate he is going to be forced to become if he says yes. Or am i totally wrong and just need to shut up? Or should i just roll up my new cleric of Gozreh, who likes doing anything that's fun and involves destruction of civilization.
Side note: If you are in my game, if you are the Dm, if you are reading this and who know who i am. Do not infer anything from this article. I am purposely leaving out names and specific events as they are not needed to understand the situation, this is not Jerry Springer and I am NOT interested in starting a debate with any of you on THIS forum, we already have enough of that going on with the Facebook stuff.
Alright, thanks for tuning in folks. Lets get right to it.
I'm making a character for the adventure path Carrion Crown. My dm is allowing full access to pathfinders books so we have all available options.
With that said, I don't seek to directly power game, however i do enjoy making a character that has teeth in one way or another. My first thought was to create a Tiefling Summoner - Synthesis. Now I can tell.. just by looking at the archetype and the blood of fiends book how I can very easily create a strong front line fighter with this combination. I even wrote up a interesting but not entirely fleshed out back story for said character.
Read it if you want.
Semi Fleshed out character concept:
Alright : Cracks knuckles : Lets do this..
Born to a southern Nobel house, as in Ustalav only nobles in the south have any power over how things are run still. I was a handsome boy, my mother and father loved me dearly. Physically weak, my mind, keen tongue and my looks were my gift's. My Family saw potential for me to handle the families monetary interests and increase their wealth and influence.
Everything was going well, I was 15, already had a arranged marriage and a quickly advancing position at a local magisters academy that my family had pull and influence in. My 'wife to be' was even interested in me. Which for a noble is not always the case.
And then.. on the evening of my fifteenth birth day, during the party no less. My blood surged! In a strange and gory spectacle my body erupted, limbs changing, things growing, and what was left was a sight that left many scared for their lives. Passing out from the ordeal my father was convinced it was a curse set upon him by a rival family or angry associate. His wizards and clerics investigated but after augury, and divination's and very expensive spells and incantations to remove curses, it was determined that I was in truth a tiefling. And this was just my time to emerge from the cocoon of my flesh.
How this happened, who was responsible, my father or mother is unclear as I was disowned as a imposter. They claimed that their son must have been kidnapped by the handmaidens, who must have also been disguised. And I was replaced for their stolen son.
The handmaidens who were still in service were questioned and either killed or imprisoned. Cast out at a young age with no where to go and no money, only the clothing i had on at the time.
Many of the rougher types saw me as a opportunity to get revenge on the nobles they hate and the 'monsters' they fear. I became a vagabond savaging food from dumpsters and chasing after rats to cook on the small fires i could make. All the while I had to wounder. Was it true. Was i really a tiefling or was this all just a nightmare i could not awaken from?
The signs were there and after much though i had no way to deny it. But this led to other questions. Who were my real parents, the mother and father I had known all my life or something or someone else?
After a few years of living in the gutters.
I had successfully avoided the local gangs which sought to torment me for being what i was, formerly a noble as well as a 'monster' But one fated night they finally caught me. A vicious beating ensued, leaving me broken and bloody in a heap on the ground of some abandoned warehouse.
When i finally gained enough strength to sit up. The ring leader moved closer a dagger in his hand and a smile on his face. I screamed in outrage at the unfairness of it all and in response to my burning desire to have this burden lifted from me, to have justice given a fire erupted from my flesh! Pouring from my wounds and mouth and I was reborn into a new form. Stronger, taller, with claws that can rend flesh and anger to unleash!
What happened next is a blur... but my foes lay dead their bodies ruined and broken and from them i took what treasures they had, clothing food, money. Anything i wanted. for now it was my turn to show them what it felt like. And it was from that day forward that i pledged to never be beaten down and trampled on again.
Now my second idea at the moment is a Dhampir. but to be honest i just don't find them quite as appealing as a race compared to the Tieflings racial features to literal change everything about them. But this is Carrion Crown and Vampires and other undead are the main horrors that go bump in the night. Well, i suppose Lycanthropes as well but I've not asked my DM if he would be willing to let me be a werewolf, how i would control such a thing I'm unsure of. I could do Dhmapir Summoner - Synthesis. But it doesn't have quite the same ring to it. I could change the vision I have for my Eidolon from a demon type looking form with claws and stuff to a vampire like form, where i embrace the blood drinking, but perhaps only of my enemies
I'm not a huge fan of the inquisitor class. Anyway if any of you have ideas for either of these two races please let me know. I'm simply seeking inspiration now.
Also, the party thus far has a Fighter, Paladin of the paladin god chick, and grave walker witch. We are lacking a rogue obviously and a healer, also lacking a ranged spell caster. Keep that in mind when making suggestions please.
Edit: Also I just had another thought. Half Orc Rogue. Skulking Slayer archetype? Mentioning it because i prefer to play non human characters and the party is lacking a rogue.
I'm reading the Way Finder Entry in the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting and it says..
"Wayfinder
Aura faint evocation; CL 5th
Slot —; Price 500 gp; Weight 1 lb.
Description
A typical wayfinder is made
from silver with gold accents,
and functions as a compass.
A wayfinder grants its user a +2
circumstance bonus on Survival checks
to avoid becoming lost. All wayfinders
include a small indentation designed
to hold a single ioun stone. While
still granting the user their normal
benefits, ioun stones slotted in this
manner frequently reveal entirely
new powers due to the magic of
the wayfinder itself. A wayfinder can
be commanded to emit light (as the
spell) as a standard action.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, light;
Cost 250 gp, 20 XP"
Now i look at the Ioun Stone entry in the Core rule book page 520. And it doesn't say anything about how a ioun stone slotted into a way finder gives you any additional bonuses. Where can i find a list of what Ioun stones provide what additional bonuses?
If i wear to add a Armored Kilt to a Breastplate and its weight changed to Heavy, does that mean i have to have armored proficiency Heavy To wear it and would buying a Mithral version of said armor cost the 9k for heavy of the 4k for medium?
So I'm trying to get back into Pathfinder Society play and i wanted to change my Faction from Quadira to Andoran..... but i cant seem to find a way to change my only characters' Faction. Is it permanent? I cant change it even though I'm only a level 2 character?
Using the Half fiend minotaur in the beastiary page 171. if you were to add class levels to such a creature would it continue to progress up its spell like ability chart as if it had gained Hit dice? or must it strictly be Hit dice?
This thread is in relation to Curse of the Crimson throne and may contain spoilers for anyone currently playing in the game. If your a dm of this adventure or already finished it please feel free to read, otherwise, GET LOST!!!!
This topic concerns overland movement and environmental effects.
Click !:
Alright, my players are leaving Old korvosa via the Arkonian smuggling passage at the cliffs of old korvosa. They are heading for the village of Harse and according to my map of the country side they need to travle ( by boat ) 82.5 miles to reach it. Now according to the overland movement charts for the barge they took it can move a maximum of 5 miles per day and is a shallow draft vessel, which means then need to stay close to shore; so without wind or current they need 26 and a half days to reach Harse? Using table 7-9 on page 174 of the Core rule book if they row a minimum of 10 hours per day and guide the craft another 14 hours they can travle a additional 42 miles per day but the boat is not capable of taking on a powerful current that goes against its coarse.
Now coming out of korvosa heading west along the Jeggard river seems to be going downstream, which i can add the speed of the current to their miles per day. If i go with average of 3 extra mph. And the base speed of the barge is .5 of a mile per hour i get 3.5 miles per hour or 84 miles per day if they rowed for a solid day with no stops.
But i kinda doubt they can do that.
Also the route they need to take via Palins cove ( which I'd like more info on if they wanna stop there but cant find any ) goes north which is most certainly not downstream as the Storval Platue is obviously the high point in the region and water should flow down from it, right?
So I'm curious as to what endurance checks i need to make to see how long they can row and how far they can go per day. The adventure itself doesn't give me any statistics on this. And as a dm I've never really used overland movement before but its going to be a big part of this adventure as they head into the cinderlands.
Here is the text from the overland movement
Rafts, barges, keelboats, and rowboats are most often
used on lakes and rivers. If going downstream, add the
speed of the current (typically 3 miles per hour) to the
speed of the vehicle. In addition to 10 hours of being
rowed, the vehicle can also float an additional 14 hours,
if someone can guide it, adding an additional 42 miles to
the daily distance traveled. These vehicles can’t be rowed
against any significant current, but they can be pulled
upstream by draft animals on the shores.
Now that was my 1st question here is my second. The info in the adventure says the Cinderlands are not a true desert and have a few different environments but all of them are lacking in water and have plenty of wind and heat to go around. Looking at the Weather effects on page 444 of the core rule book referencing Heat dangers.
It says temperatures of and over 90 F require dc saves of 15 plus 1 per hour of continuous checks made and every failed save does 1d4 non-lethal dmg to that character. Also any character who took NL dmg from heat is fatigued by heat stroke.
Now what is the consistant temperature in the cinderlands? It says its hot and hot winds all the time, or for the majority of the time. But would shoanti constantly suffer heat dmg all day or are their certain areas where they migrate to because of the temperature?
I have a player in my curse of the crimson throne game who is making a new character as my pcs are adventuring in the cinderlands. He is a half orc cavalier and is interested in getting a dire boar as his mount. Hes level 9. His class features stats that it needs to be a horse or something he could ride.
Now he can certainly figure out how to ride a boar and i think he could figure out how to ride a dire boar to. But are their any adjustments i need to make to the dire boar for him to have it as a Mount for his class?
Like does it need less bab or more bab or do i just take its base statistics which is 5 hd and cr 4 and just ad the benefits of a 8th level druid to the base creature?
I'm willing to use unusual mounts as i think the cinder wolf would also be interesting, as i had figured it would be easy to add to such a low hit dice creature. Should i charge gold or extra gold for him to acquire this creature?
Or can his nature as a half orc living in the cinderlands give him the appropriate chance to grab one from the orcs of Belkzen or even a wild one that might have wondered into the cinderlands.
My pcs are already pretty powerful and i just don't want to give him something that is going to make him over the top compared to normal mounts.
Pathfinder adventure Path Curse of the Crimson Throne.
Game day is always once, but maybe twice a week. Game day is not set in stone currently.
This is a pathfinder only game. Thus you can use any legal material in the pathfinder books. Also you can still pick two traits during character creation that reflect your characters regional heritage. All of the beta classes are allowed also but you must stay up to date on any changes.
Level is 8.
Point buy is 28 points ( 3 above epic for pathfinder )
Location = Ohio.
For more please contact me at Heratic111@yahoo.com. Subject Line: Pathfinder Game!
I'm running a group through curse of the crimson throne Adventure path and I've never DM'd before. I'm using all pathfinder material, no outside sources. I have the cr to exp award chart in the monster manual so I know I'm giving out correct exp awards for the crs i assign the encounters.
My question is that if the heroes are fighting 4 cr 1 creatures, what is the CR or EL for the encounter? And how do you calculate this?
I calculated this by making it a Cr 2 encounter because the Mob's in that encounter did almost no dmg to the players and were taken down within 3-4 turns of combat.
Some rooms and areas in the adventure have EL ratings I'm guessing this stands for Encounter Level, for the entire area? Does EL have anything to do with the pcs exp awards?
A example would be the encounter with some vampire spawn during the second adventure. There are two possible encounters for their location.
The first one is listed as just one vampire spawn. He is the guard outside the lair while 3 others inside sleep.
Vampire Spawn Cr 4
hp 29 MM 253
The next is listed with similar stats.
Vampire Spawn(4) Cr 4
hp 29 MM 253
In this encounter it specifies that there are 4 vampire spawn possible for this encounter. Since the fight with the guard outside wakes the other 3 inside i can only imagine that if you are fighting the guard you basically start combat with all 4 vampires thus making the second encounter the one to calculate exp award.
now again my question is how do i do this? We have moved past this and for this encounter i awarded them a cr 7 encounter because the base cr for one vampire spawn is 4 so i just added 1 more cr for each additional creature.
They have progressed from the first adventure to almost finished with the 3rd so i can only guess I'm doing my calculation correctly or close enough seeing as their levels seem on par with the challenges thus far aside from some very challenging ones designed to be very dangerous. They are also currently level 8-9 and just started on the last dungeon. the adventure says that 10 is the last level playable in this adventure.
I feel they will be fine with the way I've been doing it so far but I'd really like to know if I'm doing it right!
Starting at 4th level, a rogue can
react to danger before her senses would normally allow
her to do so. She cannot be caught f lat-footed, even if the
attacker is invisible. She still loses her Dexterity bonus to
AC if immobilized. A rogue with this ability can still lose
her Dexterity bonus to AC if an opponent successfully uses
the feint action (see Chapter 8) against her.
1. The pinned condition says a person who is pinned cannot move, but may make a escape artist check or a roll against the attackers cmd to try and break out of being pinned. It does not say that a person pinned is immobilized, and i guess since they can try and get out they arnt. Is this correct?
2. Does shield provide bonuses to you if you are grappled? This is the shield spell I'm referring to specifically.
3. The high ac player in my group has a high ac for everything except Flat footed and i cannot attack his flat footed Ac without resulting to poisoning or other ( if constantly encountered) annoying to the players things.
For instance he was separated from the rest of the party in the dungeon. The "creature" in the encounter with him had a plus 13 to hit and i could not hit him without rolling a 20 because of the critical rules stating that i have to still hit his ac with anything but a roll of a 20, and then to confirm i have to roll a twenty again because his ac is so high. I had to pinn him in a grapple and force him to try and break free every turn while she raked him over and over.
He is gestalt and has levels in duelist now, so his ac just went up, has levels in dragon disciple for more stat bumps and ac bumps.
His ac while walking around is 28, and if he can get it off 34 with shield and mage armor. 10 + 5 dex + 2 armor + 3 wis + 2 int + 3 natural armor + 2 monk ac + 1 deflection +1 dodge, +4 shield, +2 mage armor
My question is do all of these mods to his Ac stack and under what conditions do they not function.
4. One mod i know about is that i thought amulets and other magical sources or natural armor don't stack with natural armor that a creature has as part of its base statistics. I could be wrong about this though.
