Worldmaker's page

I was digging through my collection of old Pathfinder pdfs and came across the complete "Dragon's Delve" by Monte Cook, originally all part of the "Dungeon-a-Day site that is no longer a thing.

Or at least I thought it was complete. Turns out the pdfs for levels 3 and 4 did not come with maps for some reason.

Does anyone remember this megadungeon? And if so, would you happen to have the pdfs? And if so, would you happen to have the *maps* for the pdfs?

I want to run my group through this amazing adventure, but am lacking maps for those levels. I have the entire thing otherwise.

Any help from anyone would be greatly appreciated.

Here's the PE1 base for the Warforged conversion.

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Warforged

Standard Warforged Racial Traits
• Ability Score Adjustments: +2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma.

• Type: Construct (Living Construct)

• Size: Medium.

• Base Speed: 30 feet.

• Languages: Common. Warforged gain a number of additional languages equal to their Intelligence modifier.

• Armor Plating: All Warforged have armor plating that gives them a +2 natural armor bonus. This armor increases the chance of Arcane Spell Failure by +15% but does not affect the Warforged’s maximum Dexterity bonus or armor check penalties. Armor Plating is considered weightless for the purpose of the Warforged’s encumbrance.

• Artificial Metabolism: Warforged are immune to Necromancy effects, and do not gain benefit from any Healing spells unless those spells specifically effect Constructs or originate from the Warforged himself. A Warforged is always affected by Fast Healing.

• Composite Body: Warforged bodies are composed of stone, metal, and wood, and thus are vulnerable to effects which target creatures composed of these substances, such as Heat Metal, Repel Wood, and a rust monster’s rusting touch. Spells which only affect inanimate objects (such as Stone Shape) have no effect on a Warforged.

• Focused Training: Warforged gain one skill of their choice as a class skill.

• Light Fortification: Whenever a Sneak Attack or critical hit is scored against a Warforged, there is a 25% chance that the extra damage is negated and damage is rolled normally.

• Natural Weapons: Warforged have a Slam attack that deals 1d4 points of damage.

• Tireless: Warforged are immune to Fatigue and Exhaustion and receive Endurance as a bonus feat.

Alternate Racial Traits
• Body Double: You were created to resemble a specific creature of the same size category. You gain a +10 racial bonus on Disguise checks made to impersonate this creature. If you have the Plating racial trait, your plating resembles normal suits of armor, though it cannot be removed. This ability replaces Light Fortification.

• Integrated Weapon: One of your hands has been replaced by a weapon which cannot be disarmed or sundered. You are automatically proficient with this weapon. If you already had proficiency with it due to your class, you instead gain Weapon Focus with it as a bonus feat, but you only gain the benefits of the feat when using your Integrated Weapon. If the Integrated Weapon is a two-handed weapon, you must still use your second hand to help wield it. If it is a throwing weapon, you may detatch and reattach the limb freely, and it can be Sundered while separated from you. If it is a double weapon then both of your hands have been replaced. This ability replaces Natural Weapons.

• Jaws of Death: You gain a bite attack that deals 1d6 points of damage and has a critical threat range of 20/x3. This replaces Natural Weapons.

• Prototype: You do not suffer the racial penalty to Charisma, but you take gain the Armor Plating racial trait either. This alters Ability Score Adjustments and replaces Armor Plating.

• Second Slam: You gain two Slam attacks rather than just one. This replaces Light Fortification and Natural Weapons.

• Scout Model: Your size is reduced to Small. Your Ability Score Adjustments are +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, and -2 Strength. In addition, you gain a +2 size bonus to Acrobatics checks. This alters Ability Score Adjustments and replaces Focused Training.

Racial Feats

Advanced Construction
Construct’s Bane
Hidden Compartment
Mechanical Universe
Returning Weapon
Rust-Proof
Self-Mechanic
Work of Art

The idea is to create a character that 'feels' like the same character, rather than one that has the same details. That will prevent the jarring of feeling like the character changed overnight somehow. The new version of that character can be placed right in to the same story as the old version of that character.

That's likely where the hang-up lies. I'm trying to get the math right more than the spirit.

So, both the characters you've posted so far are actually really easy to convert to PF2 (the first as an Animal Instinct Barbarian, the second as a Thief Rogue).

I realized that, after the fact.

I probably should have started with Tarok Firebeard, the Dwarf rifleman gunslinger, or Bulwark, the Warforged (cnoverted form the Eberron race) Unbreakable Fighter.

Biggest problem I'm seeing with her is her prestige class.

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Anezka
Female Human Cat Burglar Unchained Rogue 11/Gentleman Thief 3
Chaotic Good
Favored Class: Rogue

S 13 (+1) D 18 (+4) C 10 (+0) I 16 (+3) W 12 (+1) C 16 (+3)

Base Attack Bonus: +8/+3
Fortitude: +4 Reflex: +13 Will: +5
Initiative: +4
CMB: +9 CMD: 24
Hit Dice: 11d8 + 0/3d8 +0
Hit Points: 87

Race Features:
• +2 with one ability score.
• Base Speed 30 ft.
• Bonus Feat: Gains an extra feat at 1st level.
• Skilled: Gains an extra skill rank at each level, including 1st.

Class Features:
• Proficient with all simple weapons, plus the hand crossbow, rapier, sap, short sword, and shortbow. Proficient with light armor, but not shields.
• Sneak Attack +6d6
• Trapfinding: +7 to find traps and disable them.
• Trap Sense: +3 to avoid traps and +3 bonus to attacks vs. traps.
• Evasion
• Careful Disarm: When Anezka attempts to disarm a trap using Disable Device, she does not spring the trap unless she fails by 10 or more. If she does set it off, she adds double her Trap Sense bonus to avoid the trap.
• Distraction: Whenever Anezka is detected while moving using Stealth she can attempt a Bluff check opposed by the Sense Motive skill of the creature that spotted her. If this roll succeeds, the target assumes the noise was something innocent and disregards it. This only works if the creature cannot see Anezka and can only be used once per Stealth attempt.
• Reputation: As “The Black Rose”. +3 to Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate checks vs. anyone who knows Anezka’s reputation (DC = 17 check to see if any random person is familiar with her reputation).
• Rogue Talents
oo Fast Stealth: Can move full speed during Stealth.
oo Hide in Plain Sight: Can use Stealth in Urban terrain even while being observed.
oo Nimble Climber: When Anezka fails a Climb check by 5 or more, she can immediately make another Climb check at the base DC +10 to stop her fall. She does not take falling damage if she succeeds.
oo Quick Disable: Disable traps in half the time (minimum 1 round).
oo Trap Spotter: Receives an immediate Perception check whenever within 10 feet of a trap.
• Signature Trick:
oo Infiltrator: Can use disable device to pick locks as a swift action, and can do so with improvised tools with no penalty.
• Skill Mastery: Can take 10 on Perception and Stealth checks instead of rolling even when normally not allowed to do so.

Skills: Acrobatics +25, Appraise +19, Bluff +16, Climb +25, Diplomacy +11, Disable Device +31, Disguise +22, Escape Artist +25, Heal +4, Intimidate +12, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) +6, Knowledge (Local) +11, Knowledge (Nobility) +11, Linguistics +8, Perception +18, Sense Motive +20, Sleight of Hand +25, Stealth +27

Languages: Tarnic, Auld Tarnaic, Barindi, Lemanari, Sindar’in, Khazak, Samarkhan, Turshok Heiroglyphics (written only)

Feats:
• Acrobatic: +4 to all Acrobatics and Fly checks.
• Fast Learner: Gain +1 hit point or +1 skill point whenever you gain a level in a favored class.
• Deceitful: +4 to all Bluff and Disguise checks.
• Deft Hands: +4 to all Disable Device and Sleight of Hand checks.
• Skill Focus: +6 to all Stealth checks.
• Skill Focus: +6 to all Disable Device checks.
• Skill Focus: +6 to all Climb checks.
• Stealthy: +4 to all Escape Artist and Stealth checks.

Concept: Youngest daughter of a duke who ran away to become a notorious cat burglar.

I’m still waiting to see who these characters are, so I can have a feel of how impossible a task this is.

I don't want to post a pages-long thing to put all of them up here for your perusal, but here's one of them.

Bloody Teeth (Player: Darren W)
Male Goblin Feral Gnasher Barbarian 13
CN Small Humanoid (Goblin)
Init +6; Senses: Scent, Perception +4

DEFENSE
AC 24 (26 w/rage), Touch 17, Flat-Footed 18
HP 137 (13d12 + 39)
Fort +11, Ref +10, Will +3

Defensive Abilities: Uncanny Dodge, Improved Uncanny Dodge, Beast Totem (+4 AC w/rage), Damage Reduction 2/--, Spell Resistance 4.

OFFENSE
Speed 20 ft.
Melee +1; Bite +13/+8/+3 (1d8+2/x3), 2 Claws w/Rage (1d4+2)
Special Attacks: Greater Rage (31 rounds/day), Rage Powers (Lesser Beast Totem, Beast Totem, Greater Beast Totem); Diseased Bite

TACTICS
Bloody Teeth is basically a one-trick pony in combat, but he is an amazingly effective one trick pony. He dives headlong into combat biting and clawing at his enemies with natural weapons, making best use of his attacks and dodging to get him through it. The player admitted that Bloody Teeth has no concern for his own life at all in combat and goes all out.

STATISTICS:
When not raging:
S 14 (+2) D 22 (+6) C 16 (+3) I 8 (-1) W 8 (-1) C 10 (+0)

When raging:
S 14 (+2) D 22 (+6) C 20 (+5) I 8 (-1) W 8 (-1) C 10 (+0)
Bloody Teeth gains +26 temporary hit points when raging, and his AC increases by +2.

Base Attack Bonus: +13/+8/+3
CMB: +13 CMD 19

Feats: Ankle Biter, Catch Off-Guard, Filth Mouth, Terrifying Rage, Throw Anything
Skills: Acrobatics +13, Climb +7, Escape Artist +9, Heal +3, Intimidate +10, Perception +4, Stealth +20, Survival +6, Swim +3

Languages: Smoking Hills Goblin Tongue, Speaks Common *Badly*

SQ Climb Speed 10, Can Make Grab Attacks w/Bite, Can Grapple Large Creatures; Cannot Be Counter-Grappled, Add STR bonus to Intimidate checks in addition to CHA bonus.

Magic Items: Hide Armor +4, Bloody Teeth's Shiny Rock (unique item; a magic gemstone that grants +1 AC and Spell Resistance 4, permanently stuck to Bloody Teeth's Forehead), Potion of Cure Light Wounds (x7), Bloody Teeth's Fish Ring (+3 to all Swim Checks), jar of pissed off fairies. (He's light when it comes to magic for a character of his level, but Darren, Bloody Teeth's player, roleplayed Bloody Teeth as having actively refused most magic items the players have found as "bad ju-ju.")

----

The new feats are as follows:

Filth Mouth
Your teeth are a frightening array of jagged crooks and disease.
Prerequisites: Con 15+, Bite Attack
Benefit: If you inflict damage to a target with your bite, they must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + ½ your Barbarian level + Con modifier) or contract Filth Fever.

Terrifying Rage
Your rage is frightening to behold.
Prerequisites: Rage class ability, Str 13+
Benefit: When enraged, you may add your STR bonus to Intimidate checks made to demoralize opponents.

Races are easy to create in PF2e as long as you accept that they don't NEED all the options that come with base ancestries.

That is to say, making a new ancestry only has to be: core stats, one heritage, four feats (one 1st, one 5th, one 9th, one 11th).

This was one of the first things I figured out. Turn all the "alternate racial features" into ancestry feats. The problem with doing so is some of them do things like "You gain X feat at 1st level without needing to meet the prerequisites"... and the feat isn't a part of the game anymore (or at least not yet) so now we need to convert the feat... and all the feats it has prerequisites... and all the feats they require...

Lots and lots of work.

I emphatically suggest you keep playing your old rules, and try Pathfinder 2 when you're ready to start a new campaign! Good luck!

Heh.

Someone on Facebook suggested that the best way to convert characters from P1E to P2E was to stack all the P1E characters into a single pile, douse them with lighter fluid, set a match to them, and then start over fresh building new characters from scratch.

I'm beginning to see his point.

Thanks for the advice and for listening to me vent.

Just to clarify for those who were agog at the longevity of the campaign, my group and I started playing D&D way back in October of 1976. Donnie was DM, and he stayed in that spot until his passing (from Leukemia) in early 1981. I took over as DM and have been in the big chair ever since.

Out of the eight original players (Donnie, me, and six others) four are still a part of my group. We lost one to the military, we lost two to college, and we lost the last to unfortunate circumstances (Dan was a cop, and he was shot and killed on duty; quite coincidentally, his death happened on September 11, 2001.) The people who stepped into their shoes were either friends or children of original players, including one of my sons. The youngest of the "new kids" has been with the group since the early 2000s.

The game takes place in my own homebrew campaign world (information for which now fills a literal wall of bookshelves and filing cabinets). The players ran the same characters every week, for about six hours each weekend, from 1981 until their characters got too high a level for it to be feasible, and then switched to new characters who were often children or apprentices or friends of the old ones. They've done that three times now.

In that manner, we've continued the continuity of the campaign since 1981, with older characters showing up as NPCs (for example, one of the local kings used to be a PC paladin, while the sage the group regularly visits was the original party wizard).

I'm beginning to find myself wondering if its worth bothering.

By which I mean converting my current ongoing campaign (which has been ongoing since 1981, and which survived the transitions from 1E to 2E to 3.0 and 3.5 to Pathfinder...

Now, its natural that with a campaign of this advanced age and complexity we've accumulated a lot of "extras." House rules, third party material, things adapted from other settings, other rules systems, and so on. In prior conversions all of this stuff was pretty easily done when it came to conversion.

Somehow this time its been a struggle. We've got feats that no longer exist in the game, we've got spells that are gone, we've got entire races and classes that are no longer around.

The players were looking to switch to the new rules, but right now its looking like we're all going to take a pass on it just because of the daunting nature of the conversion.

Don't get me wrong, we think the new rules are an improvement in many ways, but so much of the new rules are utterly incompatible with the old ones -- and cannot seem to ever be reconciled, that I am wondering.

Am I alone in this feeling? I hope not.

Next Saturday, I'm going to be running Skitter Shot and Skitter Crash for the upcoming RPG Day event locally. Thing is, these adventures are set for four player characters (and helpfully four precon characters are provided).

So the *other* thing is, I've got seven people signed up for each of my GMing sessions, none of whom have ever played Starfinder before. I thus need to find three more precons. Even worse, I need them to be three Skittermander characters.

Anyone got any level 1 Skittermanders they don't mind me using as preconstructed characters next week when I introduce these new people to the game?

Any help would be graciously appreciated.

Idea 1: Well, nothing says what Vercite sounds like, so take vercite and say it sounds like that. (abalon unfortunately doesn't have a language canonically)

This sounds like the easiest and least complicated way to do it. Thanks!

I have a player who just brought a question during the construction of her character.

The player wants her character (an android technomancer with the roboticist theme) to be able to understand -- as she put it -- the "bloop-bleep language of robots," further clarifying that it would be like "in the Force Awakens, where BB-8 makes noise, and Rey can understand him clearly."

It fits the character concept, promotes interesting roleplaying, and is within genre convention. If this wasn't Society play, I'd allow it in my home game in a heartbeat. But it *is* Society play, and it *is* technically against the rules since "R2D2 Speak" is not an approved Starfinder language.

Is there a Society legal way for her to do this?

The Starfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Guide v.1.1 revealed the Wayfinder boon race to be Ghibrani (either husk or membrane subspecies), with stats included within.

Note that some scenario chronicles also reward players with new playable races.

All right, thank you very much. I greatly appreciate it.

I'm starting up a new Starfinder Society game here in Kissimmee, and ran into a situation from the get-go. One of my players -- this is actually her second RPG campaign *ever* and she's very enthusiastic -- keyed to the fact that if she gets her character's reputation maxed out with the Wayfinders, can get a boon allowing her to play a nonstandard alien race.

Finding the idea of her *second* character being some cool non-standard people that no one else is playing enticing, she immediately announced her intention of doing just that, as quickly as she can within the rules.

So far, no "non-standard alien race" as been approved for play, even though the Boon is in place and has been since the beginning.

So my questions:

1. Am I just missing something and there are already approved non-standard alien races?
2. If not, what is the estimate on when such info will become publicly available so I know how much time I have to basically string Jasper's roleplaying experience out to where she'll get what she wants without feeling unduly delayed?

Thanks in advance for the help.

My homebrew world has close to 60 gods, but they cover the entire world, are worshiped by almost everyone, and never worshiped en masse by anyone (meaning that if you go to Kingdom A -- where they worship 15 of the 60 gods -- and then to Kingdom B -- where they also worship 15 of the 60 gods -- odds are they only overlap in half the cases.

In addition, the names are not always consistent, but its always the same god.

There are independent religions, but most of them fall into "religious philosophies that don't worship actual deities", are part of the entire "deified demons/devils" problem, are actually "small gods" (local spirits that aren't worshiped outside their immediate areas), or are considered fringe cults.

Anyone recognize this feat, and if so do you have a source for it?

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Learned Metamagic [Metamagic]

Through hard work, study, and dedication, you have learned to combine your arcane knowledge with your innate spell-casting ability, enabling you to prepare certain metamagic spells.

Prerequisites: The ability to cast arcane spells without preparation, Int 13+, Any Other Metamagic Feat.

Benefit: When learning a new spell, you can choose to learn a metamagically altered version of a standard spell instead. The metamagically altered spell counts as a spell of the effective level the applied metamagic feat would impose. Such spells can only be altered using Metamagic Feats the character already knows (not including this one). This choice is permanent; the spell cannot be cast without the metamagic effect unless the character uses a second spell slot to learn an unaltered version of the spell.

Metamagic spells used in this way can be further altered by applying Metamagic feats as normal. Applying the same metamagic feat to a permanently metamagically altered spell has no effect.

For example: a Sorcerer who possesses the Empower Spell feat reaches 10th level, and rather than learn a 5th level spell as normal, he chooses to learn Empowered Fireball. Fireball is normally a 3rd level spell, but with the Empower Spell feat applied counts as a 5th level spell. If the character ever wishes to cast a normal Fireball he must learn an unaltered version of the spell. Lastly, the sorcerer could not apply Empower Spell to the Empowered Fireball.

What's not satisfying?

I wish I knew. It just feels. Off. Not "deal-breaker" off. Just "this could be better" off.

My suggestion would be to drop the familiar as a domain power , make the wild empathy on vermin the level 1 ability and at 6th or so give them immunity to the effects of disease while still being a carrier.

That might work.

I feel like Vermin would be the most appropriate domain here, maybe edited a bit to be more rat-themed.

I think that's the one I started with. I added some things from the Animal Domain. I'm still not completely happy with it, but its at least workable.

Current version:
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Familiar: You gain a giant rat familiar. Your effective Wizard level for this ability is equal to your Cleric level. Your Cleric level stacks with levels from other classes that grant Familiars when determining the powers of your familiar.

Vermin Friend (Ex): You can use Wild Empathy to influence rats -- including giant rats and dire rats -- as if you were a Druid of your same experience level.

Scent (Ex): At 6th level, you gain the Scent ability.

Domain Spells: 1st - Expeditious Retreat; 2nd - Vomit Swarm (Creates Rats); 3rd - Darkvision; 4th - Insect Plague (Creates Rats); 5th - Swarm Skin (Creates Rats); 6th - Anti-Life Shell; 7th - Creeping Doom (Creates a Swarm of Rats); 8th - Maze; 9th - Shapechange

---

Like I said, I'm not completely satisfied with this, but...

There's already a rat god in pathfinder.

Well, yeah, I know. The problem with this is three-fold.

First, I'm not playing Golarion. This is a homebrew world.

Second, this is not an Asian-flavored rat god, much less *that* Asian-flavored rat god. This is going to be a classic pulp era grungy sewer-dwelling Rat God Cult that you would find acting as villains in a story set in Lankhmar or the Seven Cities of Zinn. You know, the kind that Conan was fond of exterminating.

And thirdly, even if I were talking about Lao Shu Po, there's still no "Rat Domain".

So... do you have any ideas for a Rat Domain?

I like the idea of Maze. Its poetic.

Good call.

Good advice, guys. Thanks.

First attempt

---

Familiar: You gain a giant rat familiar. Your effective Wizard level for this ability is equal to your Cleric level. Your Cleric level stacks with levels from other classes that grant Familiars when determining the powers of your familiar.

Vermin Friend (Ex): You can use Wild Empathy to influence rats -- including giant rats and dire rats -- as if you were a Druid of your same experience level.

Scent (Ex): At 6th level, you gain the Scent ability.

Domain Spells: 1st - Jump; 2nd - Vomit Swarm (Creates Rats); 3rd - Darkvision; 4th - Insect Plague (Creates Rats); 5th - Swarm Skin (Creates Rats); 6th - Anti-Life Shell; 7th - Creeping Doom (Creates a Swarm of Rats); 8th - Summon Nature's Ally VIII (Rats/Dire Rats Only); 9th - Shapechange

----

Some of those spell choices were honestly because I couldn't think of any thing better, so I'm open to suggestion.

Has anyone come up with a rat-slash-furry vermin-themed domain for use by the clergy of a rat god? If so, would you mind sharing?

If not, does anyone have any ideas as to what such a Cleric Domain might contain?

Thanks

Has anyone come up with a race-based domain for Humans, similar to the Elf, Dwarf, Gnome (and so on) domains I've seen around for the other races?

If so, would you mind sharing? If not, does anyone have any ideas as to what such a Cleric Domain might contain?

I've been GMing a Pathfinder conversion of the classic G123 D1234 campaign for a while, and the question has arisen if or not an Alchemist's bombs are magical.

Pathfinder has done away with magic fire damage. It's all elemental now, so normally it would be irrelevant. But the players have been facing down beholders, so the beholder's anti-magic cone comes into play.

So the question is this: seeing how the anti-magic cone from the main eye disrupts all spells and removes all of the magical effects on magical items and disrupts all supernatural abilities (such as a Paladin's lay on hand), how should alchemist bombs be handled? The book says that they are created using the magical aura of the Alchemist, but that they are *not* spells.

I wasn't sure if or not to rule them as magical items or not, in which case they would cease to function.

What do you guys think?

"We Be Goblins" is giving me some ideas for Domain Powers.

What do you think about Domain Spells?

In my Homebrew, I use the racial Domains created by 4 Winds Fantasy Gaming for use with Pathfinder. Those racial Domains only cover the usual races (Dwarf, Elf, Gnome, Halfling, Orc) and I find myself in need of a domain to cover Goblins.

And I'm coming up dead empty as to what sort of spells or granted powers it would contain.

Anyone have any suggestions?

As per Darkon Slayer's request:

Fey’ri

Now that I know there is an elven counterpart to Tieflings (I avoided D&D for most of the 3.5 years and went to Pathfinder in the wake of 4.0), it raises the question of whether there is an elven counterpart to Aasimars.

"Wish" and any other "wish-like" spells simply do not exist. Period. Because I said so, that's why. If you really need a justification, fine. How about "Knowledge of such magic is lost in the current day and age."

0-level spells do not exist. Replacing them are a Charisma-based skill called "Cantrip" that allows the user to create minor magical effects similar to the ones created by the 0-level spells. Only those characters who could otherwise cast 0-level spells get the skill, and they get it as a bonus.

Depending on the starting point of the campaign, equipment choices must be justified. If you cannot figure out a good reason for your peasant-farmer-turned-fighter to own a suit of plate mail at the beginning of the campaign, then he's not going to own plate mail.

Unless justified within the game world (and justifications are usually restricted to being nobleborn, being a wizard, or being a cleric), all characters are assumed to be functionally illiterate at the beginning of the game. (Meaning you might be able to write your name and recognize a handful of words, but you're not going to be sitting down and reading any novels any time soon).

Up until a couple of hundred years ago, the world was ruled by a vast human Empire that conquered and tamed many of the other races. After thousands of years of rule, most of those other people have taken on and assumed Imperial customs and attitudes. Only the "barbarians", those people not brought into the Empire, still act and think like you're used to seeing them act and think. Barbarians, remember, are seen as dangerous unpredictable marauders and not trusted at all, whereas Imperials at least are civilized if not always neighborly. The upshot of this is that that orcs and goblins, while not popular, are widely accepted, but elves are seen as bloodthirsty uncultured savages (they live in caves and wear skins, after all, and rumors say they're cannibals) and are mistrusted on sight.

Other than potions and spell scrolls, there are no such thing as "generic" magic items. Every single item is a unique artifact. Also, other than potions and spell scrolls, you will never find a magic item on sale in a shop. Ever. Even if functionally your magic sword is only a +1 longsword, it will have a name, a history, an exacting description, and will thus be utterly unlike any other magic item you ever encounter.

Only solo adventure aren't really reflective of how the game is played, so it actually doesn't make sense.

The question is how do they contribute to the party.

You've got to love overgeneralized statements based on one player's failure to image that other people play the game differently than he does.

If a character suffers an amount of damage greater than three-quarters his hit points in a single attack, he must make a successful Constitution check or die.

You know, the pedanticism present in this thread is astonishing, especially because its a case of molehilling. It need not be as complicated as some of you are insisting it is.

Worldmaker - I would submit that Fidelity could be substituted for Chastity.

I'd include that under Fealty or Integrity, but its a good point. Promises made are promises kept, and one's word, once given, is strong as oak.

There was a comment about Barbarians resembling Samurai. What?!? Samurai follow a code of conduct that makes western knights (of which paladins are the paragons)seem like drunken frat boys. If ever there was a example of Lawful Stupid it would be a group who must commit ritual suicide for failure, instead of just rededicating themselves to making it up.

Given what I know about real world samurai culture, I'd say they'd make a great example of a Lawful Evil paladin.

I support every god having its own divine champions. My first RPG, I was the "paladin" of the goddess of thieves - in other words I was a thief, with all the abilities therein. Another party member was a Paladin of the head of the pantheon, a god of law and justice, etc. His Class was Paladin.

I'll give you one that's just as oddball. One of the most fondly remembered PCs in the history of my gameworld was a paladin of Mourne, God of Legends, Songs, Stories, Epic Poetry, and Tall Tales. Hardly what you'd expect from a martial champion, but it worked.

I remember those books. Some were better than others. My group has been together in one form or another since the late 80s, so while I cannot remember for sure, its entirely possible that may be where we got it.

Having just finished slogging through this morass of contradictory opinion, I foolishly decided to add my own two drachmas to the mix. So here goes. Please don't kill me.

The way paladins work in my campaign is less about pure alignment and more about the edicts the paladins are sworn under. These edicts include all commands, instructions, and traditions the paladin has sworn to obey, and are usually imposed by his patron. These edicts will always be of a general Lawful Good nature (and here we are defining Lawful Good as "that which brings the greatest good to the greatest amount of people", thus allowing for those circumstances where someone might get hurt and removing most of the opportunities for those pesky "law or good" quandries). Rather than his alignment (which still must be Lawful Good), the paladin is expected to follow these edicts to the letter if he wants to keep his paladinhood, and he takes them as seriously as he does any other moral decision.

He doesn't get to pick and choose the edicts he follows; if the patron commands that he do something that he personally doesn't want to do, tough luck. He has sworn to follow any and all edicts issued by this specific source, chosen at the beginning of his adventuring career.

You may have noticed that this means that the patron can add edicts later in the paladin's career. If you have, you have noticed correctly.

Possible sources of edicts include Religion, a Mentor, the paladin's home culture, a knightly order to which the paladin belongs, or even his family.

In addition to the edicts, a paladin must maintain a personal code based on the virtues of Fealty (the sworn obedience to his patron), Courtesy (following the rules of etiquette, carrying himself proudly and cleanly, maintaining self-control, and accepting rude behavior with grace), Honesty (this should be self-explanatory), Valor (also self-explanatory... but remember that "Valor" does not mean "suicidal stupidity"), Honor (which basically boils down to "act with integrity at all times"), Humility (rejecting rewards and adulation, not bragging, putting the actions of others before his own, and so on), Generosity (self-explanatory), Chastity (the old "pure in thought and deed" ideal), and lastly Industry (the paladin never slacks off; even when he's not engaged in some mission, he's exercising, training, repairing his equipment, tending to repairs of his home, helping a neighbor with chores, and so on; he is never lazy).

Any way, we use this "code" to avoid the problems most people have with paladins, and they work for us. Your mileage may vary.

I don't use psionics, and I don't like playing in campaigns that allow them. To me, psionics takes away from the "medieval fantasy" feel of the game, because (and I admit this is my interpretation and thus my problem) psionics to me is a science fiction element, not a fantasy element.

If you want them, go for it. Have fun. I shall do likewise without them.

Other rules we use:

"Wish" and any other "wish-like" spells simply do not exist. Period. Knowledge of such magic is lost in the current day and age.

0-level spells do not exist. Replacing them are a bonus Charisma-based skill called "Cantrip" that allows the user to create minor magical effects similar to the ones created by the 0-level spells. Only those characters who could otherwise cast 0-level spells get the skill.

In some cases, depending on the starting point of the campaign, equipment choices must be justified. If you cannot figure out a good reason for your peasant-farmer-turned-fighter to own a suit of plate mail at the beginning of the campaign, then he's not going to own plate mail.

Unless justified within the game world (and justifications are usually restricted to being nobleborn, being a wizard, or being a cleric), all characters are assumed to be functionally illiterate at the beginning of the game. (Meaning you might be able to write your name and recognize a handful of words, but you're not going to be sitting down and reading any novels any time soon).

My campaign world's history is based on cycles of civilization based on the rise, dominance, and slow (and sometimes not so slow) fall of the world's dominant species. Other species orbit the civilizations of the dominant, and sometimes are included in them, but for the most part the world is run and owned by whichever race is on top at the time. Starting with the fish-men, then the frog-men, then the lizard men, then the elves, and now finally man.

The current age in the gameworld is roughly 700 years after the fall of the great human empire. There are "young kingdoms" that have sprung up where the empire once ruled, and humans are nearly always the dominant species (there is a kingdom of civilized goblinoids created and run by the descendants of tribes that were conquered and "tamed" by the empire, and a dwarven kingdom founded by the dwarven equivalent of the Zionist movement... returning to a homeland they lost long ago and all that), but humans are on their way out as the dominant species and have not noticed it.

They also have not even begun to notice that there sure are a lot more halflings around these days than they used to be...

I've set campaigns in other time periods, including one far to the future of the current timeline where elves are extinct, humans are rare, and halflings rule the world.

These are all from the house rules packets I handed out to my players before the campaign began.

Ability Scores are determined by rolling 4d6. All 1's are rerolled, and the lowest result is dropped. Repeat six times, and arrange to your taste. The PCs are supposed to be heroic in stature and ability, and by god they're going to be heroic in stature and ability.

The campaign world is on a silver standard. Gold (and platinum) are both incredibly rare and very valuable. Silver, while valuable, is common enough to make money out of.

As this is not D&D 4E, skills, feats, and other abilities that represent situations that are resolved by roleplay have an influence on the situation, but do not determine the outcome. Its called "roleplay" for a reason.

Only one non-human player character per three players. Players may work out who gets the non-human however they wish.

No Summoners, No Monks. Period. Don't bother asking.

I’m striving to make the game dramatic, adventuresome, and fun rather than realistic, so players may feel free to try some truly awe-inspiring (or, perhaps, awfully foolish) stunts for the sake of pulling off something really cool. Now, I'm not talking about wire-fu antics, but I will say that the ''Pirates of the Carribean'' films are a good idea of what I am shooting for. If you, the player, try something absurd yet daring, especially if it gets a reaction from me or the other players, you've earned yourself an experience point bonus, and will likely succeed at whatever you are trying.

Likewise, if you try something absurd and humorous, especially if it gets a laugh out of me or the other players, you've earned yourself an experience point bonus and will likely succeed at whatever you are trying.

65. You've heard of an interesting adventuring opportunity only a few days march from here, but its too big for you to take on alone. So, seeking possible partners in this venture, you enter the likely-looking tavern and sit down. You gaze across the tavern-goers, and while it is obvious that most are just the simple townsfolk there for a meal or to have a flagon of ale, there are a handful of people in the crowd who, like you, were meant for greater things.

One by one, you all gather at the same table. These others, too, have heard of the opportunity for adventure...

(It suddenly occurred to me that the cliche'd "You all meet in a tavern" campaign start wasn't on the list, and I couldn't resist.

66. Movie Rip-Off #1: Just this morning, you were chained to a wall in the king's dungeon. Your crime didn't matter, really, because there was only one punishment: death. You were merely waiting your appointment with the headsman.

But then, something unexpected: several guards came into your cell, unchained you, and dragged you into the king's throne room, along with several others you recognize as fellow prisoners.. The king, it seemed, needed you and your "compatriots" to perfom a secret mission that had every chance of being a suicide mission. Those who survived and made it safe home would be pardoned of their crimes and be rewarded handsomely.

Some hoodoo priest said some words over you, telling you that a curse would descend upon you if you tried to run. And the Captain of the King's guard would accompany you, just to make sure...

I've found that listing more than say, one god for each playable alignment (so, 6) gets everyone either:

A: Choosing the first one on the list
B: Everyone worships the god that the religious character worships
C: Getting the response: "I don't worship anyone" If you require people to worship a god, see A or B.

I can honestly say that this problem has never, ever occurred in any of the campaigns I have ever run.

With no more information? Probably a cleric.

i have a variety of odd concepts i want to play, too many to list, and none of them have earned the approval of any of the many "Grognards" in my area. because they deem them too "Anime" and don't want "Anime" in thier "Fantasy". and to them, "Anime" is a broad term that may as well accomodate anything not from thier precious "Medieval European Fantasy" they they refuse to accept that Pathfinder is truly a kitchen sink.

And your response is to get snotty and insult them because of their love of medieval fantasy while simultaneously refusing to be flexible enough to not base a character on your love Japanese cartoons?

Yeah, let us know how that works out for you...

58. The PCs have grown up knowing each other, and are old friends... which isn't hard considering there's only a couple dozen people in their one-horse logging/farming/mining/insert industry here town. None of them want to die being crushed by falling timber/of old age all too early/from the blacklung/insert hard way to die here. And then one day an adventuring company passes through the village, dripping gold coins and tales of adventure everywhere they go. A few weeks after the adventurers have left, one of the PCs gets a great idea: adventuring can't be any harder than logging/farming/mining/insert town's industry here, can it?

59. A black-painted galley from an unknown land, with black sails and oars, bearing strange sigils on its sails and disturbing decoration on its woodwork, and manned by a hundred dead-eyed, strangely dressed slaves, captain by cruel-looking, equally strangely dressed, deathly pale officers, pulls into the city's harbor. The Captain of the vessel and his lieutenant visit each merchant in the city, buying resupply and cargo for their journey to where the gods only know. They pay for everything they purchase with gold coins the side of tea-saucers and rubies the size of a hen's egg. Thieves who attempt to raid the ship while it is tied to the docks are found the next day skinned and hanging from the rooftops of nearby buildings.

And then the galley is gone. But various important personages want the thing tracked back to the land of its origin, for trade or possible conquest. Your party has been hired to undertake this task...

Aw jeez... yeah, I probably should have listed the pantheon in my first post.

Any other suggestions?

All good ideas so far.

The area the campaign is starting in is the "Lost Coast", so-called because once, long ago, it was a prosperous naval trading empire (Idonole, the "Fallen Crown of the Sea") but since the fall of that empire has become a wild, lawless, bandit-and-monster infested place with only isolated spots of "civilization" keeping it from being a true wasteland. At least that's how the "settled" kingdoms view the region.

The players are starting in Kessog, a large coastal city, ruled by Durmain Ironhanded, a ruthless dictator who despite being a tyrant is also a bit popular with the citizens because he's kept the hobgoblins and pirate raiders at bay ever since he forcibly retired the city's last prince.

Its a civilized area, but not necessarily a "genteel" area. Think Africa's Gold Coast during the Pulp Era, but with magic and medieval tech levels and you've got the right place.

The full list of the sixty or so deities, their alignments, their portfolios, and their worshippers is already in the packet. I'm talking about those gods who, because of likely player interest, have more detailed information included. Things like this, about followers of the goddess of law, order, and the sun: "Jorenians are taught that the law is the law. The law keeps order in society, and without it civilization would unravel and chaos would reign. Jorene represents the sure function of law, for just as certainly as the sun will rise in the morning, the law can deal fairly with any dispute and any crime."

I'm beginning a new campaign (first time with these rules) that's set in my homebrew world. I've been working and developing this setting since I first conceived it back around 1988 or so, which means that its detail heavy (remember when you first read all those Forgotten Realms articles in Dragon and wondered how Ed Greenwood could come up with all those tiny details for his world? Longevity, boys and girls... that's the secret).

But because my players are a mix of long-timers who've been gaming with me since we were both teenagers and newbies for whom this is their first game, I decided to put together a "player packet" that contains enough information to get them into the world without drowning them in detail.

One of my long-timers suggested that, rather than bombing everyone with the gameworld's rather large and extensive pantheon (three war gods, four nature gods, four death gods, four gods of magic... it makes sense in context) right from the start, I present some detail only on those gods that are likely to be chosen by a player as a patron for a cleric, oracle, monk, or paladin (not to mention the non-divinely powered classes whose player just wants them to have a religion).

Here's the quandry: from my pantheon, which gods do I choose? I mean, some are obvious (Awin, Goddess of Good Fortune; Miwayne, Goddess of Healing and Mercy; Brend, God of Justice and Patron of Paladins; Cownerild, God of War), but... okay, now that I've included those, who else?

Which "divine archetypes" should I also include? A god of magic? A god of nature?

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance for the advice.