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I switched over to using the Role 4 Initiative dice a while back due to their Arch'd4 dice. I prefer these to the standard d4s as they are easier to pickup, roll and read. Well for me anyway. They are currently having a Kickstarter for some new colors and also to introduce their custom dice ability. And as one can never have too many dice, thought I would share :-)
Player Core, page 91, second last paragraph: Additionally, when you choose your character’s class, they gain an attribute boost to their key attribute modifier, increasing that attribute modifier by 2. It should be increased by 1 not 2. I didn't see it in the official errata and wasn't sure how to report it officially, so a post here will have to do.
I have raised this issue a few times, but never received a definitive answer and the problem persists. I'm hoping that by offering the following information it will help to get the problems resolved, or at least someone can inform me that this was a deliberate change with the Starfinder APs so I can stop trying to get it fixed. The problems started to appear in Starfinder Adventure Path #25. Initially the PDFs were too large, but the images were fine. This continued until #30. Beginning with #31, the size came back down, but all the images in the PDF are multi-part. What I mean by that is, if you try to copy an image so you can use it in a VTT, you will need to manually stitch the image together first as it is comprised of multiple images in the PDF. None of the Pathfinder APs suffer from this issue, nor the latest Alien Archive 4. All Starfinder APs before #25 were also fine. I can live with the large PDF size. Annoying, but at least the images inside are usable. I would really like the multi-part image issue fixed that plagues #31 to #36. Here is a list that summarizes the Starfinder Adventure Path PDF issues with the first three for comparison sake: [NORMAL PDF SIZES WITH GOOD IMAGES - For Comparison]
[LARGE PDF SIZES - Images are good]
[BAD MULTI-PART IMAGES]
Hi, could you cancel all my Pathfinder and Starfinder subscriptions. I'm moving away from physical books and from now on I will just purchase PDFs. Now if only there was a PDF subscription...
The PDF of "#35: Merchants of the Void" is suffering from the same issue as #34 and the revised #31, #32 and #33 SF APS. All the images are multi-part images making them mostly unusable. None of the Pathfinder APs suffer from this issue, nor the latest Alien Archive 4. Could the #31, #32, #33, #34 and #35 Starfinder Adventure Path PDFs be fixed?
Going back a few months I posted The Weave - Pathfinder vs Mundane The way I see it, the Pathfinder rules are all about creatures that have abilities that far surpass creatures on Earth (mundanes). Usually that is fine, but in my campaign setting these Pathfinder creatures will meet Earth creatures and I wanted to explain and highlight the differences. I'm still slowly working on the rules, but I have finally come up with a name I'm happy with, Syn, a shortened version of "Ambient Life Force Synchronicity" which seems to fit better with the concept I'm aiming for. So I have revised the original concept and thought I would share. -------------------------------------------------- Syn Unlike Earth, where most creatures are mundane, the rest of the multiverse thrives on magic. It permeates everywhere and every being. It makes the mundane impossible possible. It is the catalyst of miracles and legends. On mundane Earth, heroes exist, but their heroics are due to courage and tenacity rather than ability, which pales in comparison to magically attuned heroes. Many fantasy stories in movies, anime and novels originating from Earth embellish heroes and creatures with amazing abilities. Most mundanes would just write these off as fiction, pure imagination, and they would be wrong. In the multiverse, many such heroes and creatures exist, and they represent the norm rather than the extraordinary. You are one of them. Either you have always been one, or you have become awakened after leading a mundane life. In combat, you duck and weave, uncannily anticipating attacks using your combat honed senses. In other hazardous situations you instinctively maneuver and carry out split second actions to reduce the damage you receive. When you do become injured, you heal faster than a mundane. This can be associated to your magical attunement to the environment, to your surroundings and to your inner being through what is referred to as Ambient Life Force Synchronicity, more commonly known as Syn. Syn is a mysterious magical life force that exists throughout the multiverse and allows you to subconsciously anticipate and be warned of events before they happen, a sixth sense. It also allows you to perform extraordinary actions. As you gain experience, your Syn increases. This is reflected in various characteristics such as attributes, Armor Class, Hit Points and level. Syn has many names, the Sight, Life Current, Aura, Force, Ki, Weave, or simply luck, amongst others that don't truly describe it, but no matter what it's called, it's the effect it has on your abilities that is important. When you are hit, it is your Syn that subconsciously compels you to instinctively dodge, turning mortal wounds into grazes. When you fall a great height, Syn maneuvers you instinctively turning that bone shattering death into bruising. Hit Points do not just represent an abstraction of your physical wellbeing, they also represent the Syn that is available to you. Therefore, as you increase in level, the Hit Points you gain are mostly due to Syn. It also contributes to other characteristics such as an increase in your attributes, for example, allowing you to become stronger or faster, far surpassing what would normally be expected. While you are out there making the impossible possible, just remember, you are not alone, nearly all the creatures in this enormous multiverse rely on their Syn and in some cases their Syn will be far greater than yours.
Stumbled upon an interesting Token Vault Kickstarter that will allow you to customize tokens for VTT. I'm mainly after the overhead ones, but it looks like they will support other types as well. The idea is that you will log into a website and will be able to endlessly customize any tokens you own indefinitely. After changing colors and sometimes weapons, shields, hair, etc, you can download the token as a transparent PNG. If you back the Kickstarter you currently get early access to try things out. Currently there are 3 tokens you can customize, Female Knight, Hobgoblin and a Male Knight. I had a play and things are easy enough to use and after a while I found the randomize button handy. Downloaded the tokens, which are transparent PNGs and quite large, 600px square for the Hobgoblin, 1200px for the Female Knight and 1120px for the Male Knight. I guess once the final version of the website goes live they will probably allow you to scale the token how you want, but for now it's easy enough to do that in GIMP. Note that the background you select while customizing the token does not get exported, it's just there as an aid to previewing your color choices. I thought it was a nifty idea, especially with the surge of VTTs, so thought I would share.
For months now, many of my subscription items are shipping in separate packages. For example my August's sub of 2 APs shipped as 2 separate packages. I get my parcels delivered directly to a post office, so I prefer to reduce the number of times that I need to make the 30 minute drive. I'm in Australia, so I guessing the Paizo shipping algorithm is calculating that it's cheaper to send them as separate packages. I did a test, added the same APs to my Cart and then proceeded to checkout. And yes, if they are sent separately, it will cost $10.90 using "Standard Postal Delivery" while it will cost $13.44 for "Mail Innovations International". Went to My Account.. My Subscriptions and noticed that the "Shipping Method for Subscriptions" was set to "Cheapest Possible" I have now changed it to "Mail Innovations International" so hopefully from now on, just one package per month. Thought I would share in case others are having the same issue and also to confirm that changing to "Mail Innovations International" will result in one package per month as I would hate to pay extra and still get 2 packages.
I just downloaded the "Starfinder Adventure Path #31" PDF and found it came in at 340 MB. For a PDF of this page length I would had of expected it to be under 50 MB. Analysed the images inside and nothing there seemed too large. The maps have a reasonable resolution and don't seem to be causing the size increase. I did notice that each page had 2 background images that were very similar and large. Maybe it's to do with the format of the images inside the PDF itself? Could you get someone to review the creation of the PDF. The Starfinder ones did seem to go up in size starting with the "The Threefold Conspiracy" adventure path and this latest one is over triple the size of those.
When using Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (Windows 10) and navigating to page 33 in the
The "Handout 2: Prismacora's Song" section is blank, so I expect that's where the problem is. Note that if I use another PDF reader, such as the Edge browser, no error occurs and there is text in the previously blank section. Just played around a little and it seems like an embedded font is causing the issue: "Cannot extract the embedded font 'T3Font_1'. Some characters may not display or print correctly."
I have a subscription to the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, and just noticed that under the "Will be added to your downloads late May or early June 2020" section there is a "Pathfinder Bestiary 2 PDF" listed at the PDF price. Further down the physical copy of the same book is listed in the "Expected to ship in an unknown time frame." section. This one is at the price of the hardcover. This is unusual so thought I would mention it in case this was an unknown glitch.
I'm creating a campaign setting which entails heroes from the Pathfinder multiverse interacting with us mere magic deprived humans and other creatures of Earth, the mundane. My aim is to keep the Pathfinder rules as they are and add another layer called mortal hits that will allow for a more deadly treatment of damage, especially against mundanes who don't have access to magic. The normal Pathfinder dying rules are still used, but if you survive then that is when a mortal hit kicks in and it could kill you in the next hour or so. This is a work in progress and I will share once I am done. While writing the rules I have contemplated what it means to be a hero in Pathfinder and compared that to our real world expectations. I thought this distinction was important enough that it will form part of my introduction to the campaign setting. Coming up with a name for this was challenging. First thing that came to mind was the Force, but that didn't feel right and brought up visions of Jedi Knights and their glowing swords. So I ended up calling it the Weave, in my mind I imagine magical energy flowing around which is used not only by spellcasters but other classes to perform their heroic actions. I think the Weave fits my concept but I'm open to suggestions. -------------------------------------------------- The Weave Unlike most mundane creatures on Earth, the rest of the multiverse thrives on magic. It permeates everywhere and every being. It makes the mundane impossible possible. It is the catalyst of miracles and legends. On mundane Earth, mundane heroes exist, but their heroics are due to courage and tenacity rather than ability, which pales in comparison to magically attuned heroes. Many of the heroic stories in movies and novels originating from Earth embellish the heroes with amazing abilities. The funny thing is, even though most mundanes would just write these off as make believe, the reality is that out there in the multiverse, many such heroes exist, and represent the norm rather than the extraordinary. Truth be told, it isn't just heroes that rely on magic, but all non-mundane creatures do as well. In combat, non-mundane creatures duck and weave, uncannily anticipating attacks using their combat honed senses. In other hazardous situations they instinctively manoeuvre and carry out split second actions to reduce the damage they receive. This can be associated to their attunement to the environment, to their surroundings and to their inner being through a subliminal magical life force, a sixth sense, we can refer to as the Weave. The Weave has many other names in various cultures such as the Sight, Ki, the Force, Life Current amongst others. The Weave is a mysterious magical field created by life that exists throughout the multiverse and allows creatures to subconsciously anticipate and be warned of events before they happen. It also allows creatures to perform extraordinary actions. As they gain experience, their connection to the Weave increases. This is reflected in various characteristics such as attributes, Armor Class, Hit Points and level. When creatures are hit, it is their connection to the Weave that subconsciously compels them to instinctively dodge, turning that mortal wound into a graze. When they fall a great height, the Weave manoeuvres them instinctively turning that bone shattering death into bruising. Hit Points do not just represent an abstraction of the physical wellbeing of a creature's body, they also represent the Weave that is available to a creature. Therefore, as a creature increases in level, the Hit Points they gain are mostly due to the Weave. The Weave also contributes to other characteristics such as an increase in their attributes, for example, allowing a slender built individual to perform acts of strength far surpassing what would normally be expected. It is the Weave that makes the mundane impossible possible.
I was only getting the Pathfinder playtest rules to have a look at and maybe get some ideas for Starfinder. Well that failed, and soon I found myself subscribed to Pathfinder Second Edition. I prefer the science fantasy setting of Starfinder, but the rules in Pathfinder, with the new 3 action economy and the way criticals work are awesome. Yes, to me, these alone are enough to switch me over from Starfinder back to Pathfinder. Then add on the simplicity of the proficiency system. I just love how these mechanics change the flow of the game. Yes, I'm a crazy rules nut, and the elegance of Pathfinder Second Edition really does rub me the right way. So, it will be Pathfinder Second Edition from now on for me. I will probably still continue to purchase Starfinder as I still enjoy reading about the setting. I do hope that one day Starfinder will get the Second Edition treatment as I would love to see Pathfinder and Starfinder share the same core mechanics. I have a feeling that might take a while, if ever, so I will trade in my starship for a wagon and keep rolling those d20s while dreaming about stars.
These days I do all my novel 'reading' on Audible. All those years in IT and staring at a computer screen seem to have taken a toll and I like to give my eyes a rest and exercise my ears when I can. I noticed that both "Through the Gate in the Sea" and "Gears of Faith" are both not available on Audible. Sent out a few emails and so far I received an email from Macmillan Audio stating that they do not have the rights for either of these novels :-( They mentioned that maybe "Audible Studios" could help. I believe they produced some of the earlier Pathfinder Tales audio books. Not sure if anything can be done until a new publisher is found for Pathfinder Tales (and hopefully Starfinder Tales), but thought I would mention it just in case.
The Munchkin Starfinder Kickstarter has launched. It's a short 10 day campaign that has already funded. I always wanted to get into Munchkin, but never got around to it. Now that it's coming with some Starfinder flavor, and even has Starfinder specific card backs, I couldn't resist.
Just watched the Taking20 interview and it seems that the AI machine god's name is 'Triune' (not sure about the spelling). Mentioned at 13:51, 16:12 and 16:27.
On page 459, 3rd last paragraph. In the latest PDF:
From the 3rd printing of the book:
As one of my initial posts, and a way of introducing myself, I thought I would explain how and why I am now using Pathfinder for my roleplaying needs. Over the past 25 years I have played and read many a RPG system. My preferred campaign genre has now become urban fantasy and I have been trying out various systems with that in mind. I had settled with GURPS for a few years but found out that I ended up with more of a simulation than the roleplaying game I was after. After a while it had become more of a chore than a game. A sure indicator that it was time for a new system. I bounced around a bit looking at various systems and put in a fair bit of time into a few such as Shadowrun, The Dresden Files and the HERO System. None of them did it for me. The HERO System came close but I just didn’t want to spend the time and effort required to get it to the stage I require. I need a RPG that is consistent and with just the right amount of abstraction. When D&D 4e came out I tried it out and ran a few games. Soon I discovered it just didn't have what I need. To me a RPG system needs to let me tell the story and for that its mechanics need to somewhat approach reality so that they help in the suspension of belief and thus envelop the players in that story. A few months ago I picked up Spycraft 2.0 and Fantasy Craft. I was going to use Spycraft for my core rules and add fantasy elements from Fantasy Craft. I decided I wanted some ideas for the fantasy part and I stumbled upon Pathfinder, mainly focused on Golarion as an alternative planet the players could visit. The amount of campaign material available for Golarion is amazing! As time went on curiosity got the better of me and I browsed through the Pathfinder Core Rules PDF that I picked up when purchasing the campaign setting. That's where my problems started. Spycraft gave me my modern roleplaying aspect I needed but then there was Pathfinder that, to me, gave me a more consistent and solid rule set. Damn, Pathfinder had spoiled Spycraft for me. Even though Spycraft had excited me and made roleplaying fun for me again after many a year, Pathfinder exceeded even that. Yeah, I am one happy GM that has found his holy grail of roleplaying. I realise that Pathfinder isn't much different from D&D 3.5 but I think it is those little things that make it a great rule set plus I have all that d20 material I can utilize. My choice in Pathfinder doesn't come without a price. As I mentioned above my preferred campaign genre is urban fantasy. My primary campaign setting, you could say, is a bit twisted. One part Dresden Files, one part The Lords of the Ring, a shake of Harry Potter and a dash of conspiracy. So initially I am going to run a pure fantasy campaign to learn all the Pathfinder rules. Then after that in my spare time I plan to add my own house rules, borrowed heavily from Spycraft, to allow me to play the urban fantasy game I want. A bit of a chore, but I must be honest, it's something that I am looking forward to. As much as I look forward to many years with Pathfinder. So a big thankyou to all involved with the Pathfinder RPG. You have done a great job! |
