Wolfshead's page

I also have no problem with the font size. That will probably change in a few years, but by then I'll probably need glasses anyway.

If we must lose something, I'd be willing to lose a few monsters from the bestiary every month. I'm not much of a monster person. I use them, just not to the same extent a lot of other DMs do. Three new monsters in every volume of Pathfinder would be plenty for me.

Randy

I have run a single one-shot adventure using the Serenity rules. Overall I found the rules to be fairly simple, but I didn't really like them. The core mechanics is roll attribute die + skill die vs. a target number, which is easy enough. Maybe it's because of the Plot Points (similar to Action Points in Eberron or Drama Points from Buffy tVS). You're supposed to award the players Plot Points very regularly (one of the designers said they should "fall like rain"), and trying to remember to constantly hand these out took my mind away from the story/plot/whatever else I was trying to do. I haven't completely written the game off; I will probably try it again someday. My players said they had a good time playing it.

I think Alternity would be a fairly easy fit for Firefly/Serenity. Unfortunately, most of my gaming group hates Alternity.

Randy

SirUrza wrote:

Lol... a good way to put it. But it's been teased that someone in the party has the hots for Seoni in the party. So we'll have to wait and find out. :)

My theory? Kyra.

In their backgrounds, Valeros and Meri are described as being somewhat wary/distrustful of Seoni, while it says nothing of the sort for Kyra.

So, my assessment is that, earlier, Valeros was hired by Seoni to aid her on some expedition, where Valeros learned the hard way that somethin' just ain't right with Seoni. Meanwhile, Kyra and Meri meet through some incident that may have ended with Kyra dragging Meri in chains back to the jail, only to have second thoughts and bailing her out, thus gaining the exasperated cleric a longtime companion whose idea of a plan is stabbing someone in the face (and who may have a crush on the scimitar swinging maiden ~_^)

Sometime later, the two pairs end up colliding into each other. Meri's instantly suspicious of Seoni, since most normal people aren't half-naked, covered in strange runes, and weilding a rod/wand/staff that looks suspiciously like a sword. Valeros is instantly wary (and weary) of Meri, since he's not quite sure that she won't light herself on fire during an encounter with enemies. Seoni's happy (in her own strange way) that she has some more meat shields for her mysterious quest. And Kyra is strangely drawn to the scantly clad sorceress for reasons that she can't quite decipher...

... Huh. I should stop now.

I'll be in my bunk....

It's a given that no matter what we won't be going along with some of the flavor changes coming out of WotC. The "tone" of Pathfinder is not going to change no matter what edition we go with.

That said, I'm curious about one thing.

Let's say we decide to go with a different edition than the one you intend to play. If your subscription came with a downloadable "conversion guide" file for your preferred system, with all of the correct stat blocks and rules for the adventure, would that convince you to keep up your subscription?

I'm glad to hear the tone of Pathfinder will not change to match any flavor changes made by WotC. I like Golarion the way it is.

A conversion guide could be a lot of help, but wouldn't that also be a lot of extra work? How would that affect the price of the books? If the price goes up, would you lose subscribers?

I may be on the fence regarding D&D 4e, but I intend to keep my subscription to Pathfinder as long as I can afford it (and being unemployed, it might not be easy). Second Darkness doesn't thrill me, as I'm not an "underdark" fan, but I will at least take a look at it before deciding anything.

Randy

Would a great campaign setting draw you in when you would otherwise ignore 4e?

It might. I can be a sucker for good campaign settings.

Randy

Well it's starting to die off -- any other new lurkers want to take the plunge and post?

No.

Given what you know so far, are you planning to:

A) Convert! I am ready for a new D&D.

B) 3.5 or Bust! I'm sticking with the man what brought me.

C) We'll see. Need more information.

D) Other.

Please pick one. Feel free to elaborate, but please stick to one reply each for this thread. I'm not interested in fights or refutations of incorrect points or baiting or whatever.

I want to know how you, at this moment in time, feel about the idea of converting to a new edition of the game.

I expect that people's answers will change over time. This is not the last time I will ask this question, so we'll have a chance to gauge the issue as we go along.

So, given what you know so far, you plan to: _______________.

C) We'll see. Need more information.

Almost everyone in my current group is of the same mind. One guy is refusing to even consider switching to 4e. The rest of us haven't seen enough to make a decision.

I've heard things about 4e that I like, and I've heard things I don't like. This isn't all that different from how I feel about 3e or 3.5- I like some things, and dislike others.

When the time comes, I will take a look at D&D 4e and make my decision.

Randy

Character: Gylandra, male half-elf rogue 4/fighter 1
Adventure: The Sea Wyvern's Wake
Location: The mouth of the Havekihu River
Catalyst: Enormous Flotsam Ooze

Gylandra ran out of luck after surviving an attempt on his life by Rowyn and her summoned shark. When the flotsam ooze grabbed the Sea Wyvern, Gylandra was first on the scene, and was therefore the first to be slammed. Stuck to the ooze, Gylandra was subject to further attacks, but managed to avoid damage until I (the DM) rolled two natural 20's in a row. The doubled damage from the critical was enough to drop the half-elf below -10 hit points, killing him instantly.

Randy

Thanks for the post, Erik. Some of my players are complaining about 4e already, but I'm not making any decisions until I have more information about the rules.

This part of your post got me particularly excited:

Pathfinder currently plans to support officially sanctioned conversions for Castles & Crusades and True 20, so assuming we DO convert, I suspect it is very likely that we (or some affiliated partner) will provide 3.5 conversion guidelines.

...because I had already been considering running Rise of the Runelords with True20 rather than d20. If there is a conversion available, I will be even more likely to do it. Very cool.

Randy

We have completed The Bullywug Gambit and are doing some side treks before starting Sea Wyvern's Wake.

Randy

Are any tactical maps included in this set, for running combat encounters? Or are they all standard area maps?

Randy

Okay, now that I've seen the full color versions Merisiel and Kyra-

Merisiel has grown on me. She has a truly inhuman look about her.

Kyra is just amazing. Definitely my favorite of the four.

Can't wait to see the next batch.

Randy

I really liked this article as well. I prefer to have fewer magic items available in my campaign than is the norm. These masterwork enhancements plus special materials such as mithril and adamantine should give my players enough "toys" to keep them happy.

Randy

I agree that PCs should have a higher build than elite. My personal preference is a 32 point array, to be honest. Had we thought of it before hand, we might have used a 32 point array for the iconics. We might even go back and do that, to be honest; makes a lot of sense to me.

This is what I use as well. I think the "elite array" is a little less than elite. All my players seem to be happy with the 32 points, though I think one guy would like to see it lower. Most of the time the highest score I see is 16. There has been the occasional 18 (usually Dex), but then the player has always left something at 8 (usually Wis).

After reading all these posts, I was starting to think maybe I was a bit of a power gamer because of it...but then I remembered the last time I played, my character was a human ranger 3/fighter 4 (and this was 3.0), whose Intelligence was as high as his Strength, who fought with a bastard sword and short sword (or sometimes with bastard sword & shield, or sometimes with the bastard sword 2-handed), and whose best feats were Dodge and Expertise.

So yeah, I like higher stats. Maybe it's to make up for all the other crazy choices I make.

Randy

I like these four iconics, but then I have a tendency to create supposed "sub-optimal" characters regularly. I would like to address a few thing brought up by mevers:

Valeros- I played (almost) exactly this character in an online game years ago. I loved it. I believe a fighter that concentrates on two-weapon fighting will outstrip a ranger easily, just because of the number of feat options. I have no interest in playing the dwarf fighter designed by mevers. This is partly because it's a dwarf, and partly because the numbers/mechanics were given higher importance than anything else.

Leoni- I hate magic missile. I really, really hate that spell. It's too good. Everyone wants to take it. (In my Savage Tide game, I convinced my players to not use it by promising I wouldn't use it against them.) That said, I think it's a great choice for Leoni. While the other characters have ranged weapons, they are more likely to be in melee. Leoni gets to be the artillery/support. She can cast magic missile into melee without worrying about attack penalties or cover.

Kyra & Merisiel- On one hand, mevers says Iron Will is a waste because Kyra already has the best Will save. On the other, he says giving Merisiel an 8 Int is a waste because she needs more skill points, even though she gets the most skill points of anyone. Isn't this a bit of a double standard? I do understand where he's coming from- I've never seen a rogue with an Int penalty, and I've never seen anyone take Iron Will with one of their regular feat slots. However, I think if a rogue can always use more skill points, then a cleric can always use a higher Will save. (In my Savage Tide game, I gave everyone a bonus feat at first level. This feat had to be one of the Sasserine feats, or one of the save bonus feats, or one of the skill boosting feats. Several of them took either Great Fortitude or Lightning Reflexes. It didn't help. They can't make saves. Period.)

In the end, to each his or her own. My players are a mixed bag, mostly leaning toward the "sub-optimal build", but with a couple who are usually sure of what's going to work out best mechanically. We all have fun. If mevers and the others who agree with his suggestions are having fun when they play, then that's cool.

Randy

I'm not as big on the art for Merisiel, though I'll leave my final judgment for after I see the color version. I don't mind the ears at all, and I'm not an anime fan. I'm not saying it's a bad picture overall...I'm not sure what I'm saying. Call me undecided.

Definitely like Kyra. Love it, really. I can't wait to learn more about the area she's from.

Randy

Yep. I've been holding on to a purple worm mini with the masher in mind for some time now. Unfortunately, we just completed The Bullywug Gambit, so it will still be awhile before it sees use.

Randy

I wouldn't mind longish ears, though preferably not ridiculously long. While I love the Poison Elves comic book, I've always thought the ears were a bit much. They were big enough to count as their own hit location (if you're into such things).

Randy

The party in my Savage Tide campaign started out as:

Human swashbuckler
Half-elf rogue
Dwarf fighter
Human wizard (necromancer)
Elf cleric

The dwarf was killed in Kraken's Cove, and was replaced by a half-orc barbarian.

The wizard is a specialist in necromancy. One of his prohibited schools is evocation. This has had a big effect on his offensive capabilities, and could become a problem in the future, when the party is facing high-HP opponents. I'm really looking forward to the day he can cast animate dead, just to see the look on the other players' faces. Only one other player is aware of the wizard's specialty, but his PC isn't.

Randy

I thought I would have to cut back on the treasue in Savage Tide, but my players have missed so much of it that I don't have to worry.

They didn't get the treasure in the smugglers' tunnels on Parrot Island. It was about the only room in which they didn't check for secret doors.

They didn't get the taxidermist's treasure. They had it in their hands at one point, then he gave them a good spanking. They got to watch, helpless, as he took it from their hands and walked away with it.

They never faced Kersh Reftun of the Lotus Dragons, so they didn't get his special equipment.

They didn't really eliminate enough of the Lotus Dragons to take them out entirely, so I did cut Lavinia's bonus money in half. And they didn't get the special thanks of the Dawn Council.

They missed the rapier in Kraken's Cove.

The players don't know about most of this, of course.

Randy

Character: Balderk, 3rd level dwarf fighter
Adventure: The Bullywug Gambit
Location: Kraken's Cove
The Killer: Ripclaw, savage deinonychus

Balderk, already wounded and suffering from savage fever, took two critical hits from Ripclaw. The second was enough to put him beyond -10 hit points, killing him instantly.

I had worried that we were going to end up with a TPK in Kraken's Cove, as of the remaining four party members, two were infected with savage fever. The cleric was down to an intelligence of 4 and out of spells. With some luck and some good tactics, they managed to pull themselves together and survive. Well, except for Balderk.

Randy