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The descriptions of self telekinesis and flame jet indicate that the kineticist isn't actually flying but are instead pushing themselves through the air as an action each round.

This leads me to the conclusion that a caster cannot affect them with dispel magic as it's not a continuous effect that can be targeted on the caster's round and it can't be counterspelled since it's a spell-like ability.

So, is an anti-magic field the only spell that can end the self telekinesis/flame jet abiltiy?

I've got 2 babau demons about to attack the party. 1 just cast darkness on its weapon, letting the party see the globe of darkness around it. Combat begins next game session. What are some good babau tactics?

I've done a search on the subject and I can't find an answer. Is there an official answer to the question of whether you can use a touch spell that targets an object and place it on an attended object with a melee touch attack?

Specifically, I'm wondering if a creature can cast darkness and then use a melee touch attack to apply the darkness spell to an opposing PCs weapon or shield or some other object. If there's no official word on this, what would be the general consensus on this idea?

So I am trying to figure out how the intersection traps work in Xin-Grafar, the city on the Isle of Terror in the module The City of Golden Death. If you don't know the module I will explain how the traps are set up.

The avenues of the city, each 40 feet wide, are clear of debris making them the logical route to use to go through the city. There are 8 intersections in the city where 4 avenues meet in a cross formation. The area off of the avenues and intersections is the ruined city itself made up of collapsed buildings and destroyed furniture and the like.

The trap itself consists of a small canal, I'm thinking maybe an inch wide by an inch deep with runes carved into it. The canal runs across each avenue about 5 feet before entering the intersection. Due to that location, the canal also runs 5 feet into the ruins on either side of the avenue so that it can make a 90 degree turn and cross the next avenue that leads into the intersection. Once a party member crosses the canal, a summoning trap is activated with the creature appearing and attacking the person who set off the trap.

Could someone please explain to me why anybody would build a trap like this? Is there any party in existence that, even if they don't know for sure it's a trap, goes around it?
The trap only goes 5 ft into the ruins of the city. It costs the party 15 to 30 feet of extra movement to go around the intersection.

Now, my party is level 9 and I've been adapting the encounters as we've gone through this module. My plan is to make this a Summon Monster VIII spell so the Perception DC is 33. However, I've got one character who's got a +21 Perception check at this point. Even on the off chance that he doesn't make the Perception check to realize that this is a trap, the party would choose the safe option and just go around.

Wouldn't it be easy to cover the canals with an illusion? Maybe even add a Nondetection spell so that the trap is harder to find. This way no one knows the canals are there unless they actively search and succeed on a Perception check.

Sure, after the first intersection the party will go around ALL of the other intersections. That's okay. I may even choose to expand the area of the trap with each successive intersection or add traps around the edges of the trap area. But the way the trap is currently designed makes no sense to me at all.

So I am trying to figure out how the intersection traps work in Xin-Grafar, the city on the Isle of Terror in the module The City of Golden Death . If you don't know the module I will explain how the traps are set up.

The avenues of the city, each 40 feet wide, are clear of debris making them the logical route to use to go through the city. There are 8 intersections in the city where 4 avenues meet in a cross formation. The area off of the avenues and intersections is the ruined city itself made up of collapsed buildings and destroyed furniture and the like.

The trap itself consists of a small canal, I'm thinking maybe an inch wide by an inch deep with runes carved into it. The canal runs across each avenue about 5 feet before entering the intersection. Due to that location, the canal also runs 5 feet into the ruins on either side of the avenue so that it can make a 90 degree turn and cross the next avenue that leads into the intersection. Once a party member crosses the canal, a summoning trap is activated with the creature appearing and attacking the person who set off the trap.

Could someone please explain to me why anybody would build a trap like this? Is there any party in existence that, even if they don't know for sure it's a trap, goes around it?
The trap only goes 5 ft into the ruins of the city. It costs the party 15 to 30 feet of extra movement to go around the intersection.

Now, my party is level 9 and I've been adapting the encounters as we've gone through this module. My plan is to make this a Summon Monster VIII spell so the Perception DC is 33. However, I've got one character who's got a +21 Perception check at this point. Even on the off chance that he doesn't make the Perception check to realize that this is a trap, the party would choose the safe option and just go around.

Wouldn't it be easy to cover the canals with an illusion? Maybe even add a Nondetection spell so that the trap is harder to find. This way no one knows the canals are there unless they actively search and succeed on a Perception check.

Sure, after the first intersection the party will go around ALL of the other intersections. That's okay. I may even choose to expand the area of the trap with each successive intersection or add traps around the edges of the trap area. But the way the trap is currently designed makes no sense to me at all.

I don't know how to search for this, so if it's been asked and answered before, I apologize.

Theoretical situation.
There is a creature guarding a hallway, it doesn't matter what creature it is.
There is no way around it, the party has to go through it to get into the rest of the dungeon.
There is a door that the party has to go through in order to enter the hallway.
The creature is tasked, magically or by its superiors, to guard this hallway and attack anyone who enters this hallway.
The party, realizing that the creature is just going to attack them as soon as they enter the hallway, do not enter the hallway and instead take ranged attacks from outside the doors until the creature is dead.

In an alternate situation, the creature has ranged attacks and attacks them whenever they open the door but it has limited ranged attacks and the party works together so that one person closes the door after every ranged attack by the PCs.

How do you solve this? Is there some kind of warding spell that prevent the party from attacking the creature unless they are in the hallway? Let's say the creature is a construct; does that make it easier? Is there any difference if the hallway were a bridge instead?

Now, you are saying that the creature could charge and attack the party as soon as they begin attacking the creature. However, how far do you take that? The party keeps moving away through hallways, rooms, tunnels, caves, even outside, continuing to use ranged attacks. The creature never really gets close enough to use it's attacks.

I have read the details on the Isle of Terror in the City of Golden Death module. However, one detail it does not contain is how low the black clouds over the island sit. Are they a mile up? 2 miles? Closer?

Party composition: Level 9, Cleric with Good and Heal domains, Fighter (Shielded archetype), Alchemist/Master Chymist, Aether Kineticist.

The party is going to be crossing through a swamp. The alchemist and kineticist can fly so both of them may be flying as they go through the swamp. They are chasing after a cult and it's leader. My plan is for the party to come upon a battle scene, where there are dead cultists and dead creatures that inhabit the marsh. I could use lizardfolk but this party would just wipe them out and wouldn't be threatened. I'm going to use marsh giants since marsh giants are more likely to really put a scare into them, especially with the curse ability. So, while they are checking out the battle scene, the remaining marsh giants, 2 or 3 in number, are going to attack. I'm having a challenge figuring out how they are going to be able to sneak up on the party though. If the party sees them coming, the aether kineticist and the alchemist can do a lot of damage at range and the giants won't get much of a chance to attack before they are destroyed. I'm not very good at tactics, so I could really use some suggestions.

This is a campaign I'm running in Greyhawk. The party is Level 9 consisting of a cleric (Good and Life domains), a fighter (shielded fighter), an alchemist/Master Chymist, and an aether kineticist. The cleric had gotten to know a Good NPC that adventured solo. However, this NPC found a cursed magic item and, due to an alignment change when putting it on, joined an evil cult. The party is chasing this cult and they are about to come upon this NPC's body. The cult leader murdered the NPC in order to obtain the cursed magic item. I wanted to have a haunt on the NPC's body both to provide a challenge and to show what happened to the NPC. This is what I came up with. Did I do it right and will it be effective?

NPC Betrayed (CR 9)

XP 6,400; NE haunt (the interior of the tower, a circle of 40 foot radius); Caster Level 9th; Notice Perception DC 30 (Once the scenario showing the NPC's betrayal and murder begins, the party is transfixed watching it; hp 18; Trigger touch; Reset 1 hour
Effect
When the body of the NPC is touched, a ghostly scenario begins that shows their murder. When the NPC is murdered in the scenario, the person who triggered the effect takes 90 points of negative energy damage as if affected by the [i]harm[i] spell. The damage is reduced to 45 points of negative energy damage if the target makes a successful DC 19 Will save.
Destruction
The NPC's body must be buried and the bloodstained tiles that make up the floor of the ruined tower in which she was killed must be destroyed.

Okay, this is going to go a bit long. My apologies.

In the City of Greyhawk box set for AD&D 2e, there is a group detailed called the Shapechangers. They kidnap adventurers and newcomers and then polymorph them into other types of creatures, primarily elves, then butcher them. The reason they do this is for money. There is an alchemist at the Wizards Guild willing to pay for the special ingredients needed to make certain potions without asking questions. Remember this is AD&D 2e, where making any magical item usually involved a quest for special ingredients. Potions of giant strength required giant body parts. Potions of longevity required elf blood and body parts.

I really like the idea but I can't figure out how to get it to work under Pathfinder rules.

Potions of longevity aren't in the rules but I can add them in as an ultra rare item. The kidnapped creatures will be unconscious when they are polymorphed which, according to rules, means they are willing. As soon as the polymorph takes place, the kidnapped persons are killed so that the new form can be harvested for parts by the alchemist.

BUT

PoA does not say that the Type of the creature changes. I know it says somewhere that polymorph does NOT change the type of the creature being polymorphed.

Would it break the game in any way to houserule that Polymorph Any Object changes the Type of the creature being polymorphed?

Okay, this is going to go a bit long. My apologies.

In the City of Greyhawk box set for AD&D 2e, there is a group detailed called the Shape hangers. They kidnap adventurers and newcomers and then polymorph them into other types of creatures, primarily elves, then butcher them. The reason they do this is for money. There is an alchemist at the Wizards Guild willing to pay for the special ingredients needed to make certain potions without asking questions. Remember this is AD&D 2e, where making any magical item usually involved a quest for special ingredients. Potions of giant strength required giant body parts. Potions of longevity required elf blood and body parts.

I really like the idea but I can't figure out how to get it to work under Pathfinder rules.

Potions of longevity aren't in the rules but I can add them in as an ultra rare item. I could also say that Polymorph Any Object can be cast on unwilling targets as well as willing. Or they have a magic item that allows them to cast personal target spells on other targets and they use it for Alter Self.

BUT

I know the rules are only guidelines but I do prefer to stay within the rules if possible. Is there a way to make this work within the rules without resorting to house rules and home brew magic items?

I have been searching everywhere for answers to two questions and can't find them anywhere.

First, in #5-23, Cairn of Shadows, the agents are supposed to recover the shadow obelisk. However, as soon as they take it out of the cairn, it "fades away like smoke."

Then, in #6-02, Nigel uses the shadow obelisk to reshape and remake the Blakros Museum. Where did he get the obelisk if it faded away?

Second question. Are the powers of the obelisk actually detailed anywhere? I know about Nigel's use of it, obviously, and that Hamaria later uses it to send agents to the Shadow Realm but is there actually any detailed write up of what the shadow obelisk can do?

Okay, so this might be a bit of a specialized request and I know that it might not get much traction.

I am looking for an island adventure for around 10th level characters, although if I find the right adventure of a higher level I can always adjust either my campaign or the adventure.

However, I don't want just any island adventure. I need and island adventure that feels like something that an epic ancient group might have used in the ancient past.

Background: My campaign is set in the World of Greyhawk. I'm thinking of introducing and island that appears and disappears irregularly. It was once held by the Wind Dukes of Aaqa. There is an elven NPC that has visited there once about 100 years ago and is waiting for it to reappear so that she can return. My original idea was to use the City of Golden Death adventure and just adapt it for a higher level but that could be a pretty big undertaking.

However, if I can find a higher level island adventure that has an epic feel to it, I would consider doing that instead.

Does anyone have any suggestions, Paizo or 3pp?

Okay, one of my players wants to build a mercenaries guildhall. Using the Ultimate Campaign rules, we have figured out what rooms she wants and how much it will cost. She wants to hire as many construction teams as possible to build this as quickly as possible. I have figured out that she is building 23 rooms, but by combining rooms it would take 15 teams to build the building in the shortest time possible, which is 30 days. She is going to be building near a city of only 59,000.

My question is about cost. Do you think that a city this size would be able to easily provide 15 construction teams to build this building all at once? Do you think there would be any additional costs?

I know that a lot of this is up to me as the GM. However, I would like to know what others think in order to help shape my decision.

Besides The Penumbral Accords, what scenarios have the Onyx Alliance in them?

One of my players wants to build a guildhall for their mercenary company. He's taken the Leadership feat and will soon have a cohort and some followers. They are in a large city that generally has lots of adventurers.

He's calculated the cost of the building at about 8,000 gold using the room costs in UC. It's my understanding that this includes furniture, doors and windows and possibly the cost of the land as well.

This seems really cheap to me for such a big building. Okay, I know it's not going to be the 100,000 gold or so that it would have cost in AD&D 1e. I feel like we're missing something here that should make it more expensive. Is this correct?

If this calculation is correct, maybe I should just skip using the UC building rules and decide on my own how much it would cost. Have you found the UC building rules work really well for your campaign?

I am running a campaign where I am trying to use nothing but Pathfinder Society Scenarios for the adventures. This isn't a PFS campaign, it's just something we wanted to try. However, I am having to adapt the scenarios for higher level parties as we go through the campaign, currently at 8th level. I know, I could have picked something more level appropriate but I like the Blakros scenarios and I'm trying to use them to keep somewhat of a running campaign thread going.

Anyway, I have to adapt the Penumbral Accords to a level 8 party consisting of a Human Aether Kineticist, a Dwarf Fighter focusing on Shield Bashing, a Human Cleric focused on healing, and an Elf Alchemist going for the Master Chymist Prestige Class. We are not adventuring in Golarion but that doesn't change the adventure mechanics at all.

Here's my ideas so far.

Use a Mohrg with the Advanced template for the Skeletal Guardian in area 1

Use and Advanced Shadow Ice Golem for the Cold Storage Sentinel in area 2. Use the rules for Slick Ice from the Paizo Blog

Give Mazzel Gol 2 more levels of alchemist in area 3. Increase the strength of his magical ring and cloak to +2

Increase the number of guards to 4 and make them Slavers (fighter 2/rogue 2) from the GMG in area 4

Leave the shadow hound as is in area 5

Give Uthil Mak 2 assistants, perhaps Bladed Fists. Make Uthil Mak an unchained monk. Increase the strength of his magical bracers and cloak to +2 in area 7

Tactics. One of the guards in area 4 go and release the hound in area 5 when they are attacked. In area 7, the assistants will try to run interference so the Uthil Mak can complete the ritual.

Treasure. Other than the gear I have listed, I'm not increasing the treasure. The party, as mercenaries, is being awarded with a manor worth about 15,000 gold for doing this mission.

I wanted to put this out there to see if anyone had any better ideas for how to increase the challenges of this scenario.

The players entered a room with a gibbering mouther hiding behind some boxes on one side of the room and a black pudding on the ceiling on the other side of the room.
The room has a 15 foot ceiling. Theyy dealt with the gibbering mouther just fine. Since the black pudding only has a 10 foot reach, I figured that they would have to be directly underneath it in order for it to reach them from the ceiling. However, no one actually moved directly under it.

That's where we ended the session.

Should I have been rolling Perception checks for the players and a Stealth check for the black pudding? If I did that they would see it easily with its Dex of 1. Does it just naturally hide until it moves to attack? If I can't explain why they couldn't see it, I think my players may be upset.

GMs familiar with the kineticist, I need your help please!!!

I am running a campaign of non-official Pathfinder Society scenarios mixed with my own content and any other material that works. The party, elf alchemist, dwarf fighter, human cleric, human aether kineticist, is Level 6.

I'm trying to figure out if I'm doing something wrong, like not giving out enough magic. The kineticist does (3d6+13)x1.5 damage without spending any burn, so he can do this all day, or more damage by spending some burn (he has 69 hit points to burn). The cleric, with his vicious mace, does 1d8+2d6+2 damage (taking 1d6 damage himself). The alchemist does 3d6+6 per bomb but is limited to 10 a day. The fighter does only 1d8+4 with his +1 longsword but can add +4 to damage with Power Attack.

As you can see, the kineticist does almost as much damage as the rest of the party combined.

As far as I can tell, the party shouldn't typically have +2 weapons yet so I can't see anything I should have been giving out but missed.

The kineticist's player has optimized his character but the alchemist kind of has as well. The cleric is optimized for healing. The fighter is a new player so is not optimized at all.

Is the kineticist just that much more powerful than other classes? Does it balance well only if I was running an Occult campaign? If it doesn't balance well, I may have to ask the player to retire the character, which may cause him to quit.

I am going to be running an adventure next game session where the characters are going to be covering their mouths with scarves in order to avoid breathing in a magical mist. I'm wondering what would happen when it comes to swallowing potions and other liquids though. Do I make them pull the scarves down, exposing themselves to the mist, when they need to do this or do I let them drink potions through the scarf?

Sadly, I will be unable to attend. My ticket is on the table by the ballroom.

Okay, so that was a long-winded subject but this is going to take a bit of explaining anyway.

I have been gaming for a long time. I started with D&D 1e in 1983, DMed more than played lots of 2e and 3.0/3.5 and in 2014 started GMing a Pathfinder home game.

Two and a half years ago, I organized and ran 3 PFS scenarios at the community centre where I lived. Those sessions are reported. Unfortunately, the only people who showed up to play were the players from my home game. That, plus new work commitments, led me to shutting it down.

Jump ahead to now. I have tickets to PaizoCon, which will be my first con of any type ever. I have signed up for multiple PFS scenarios, since I almost never get to just play instead of GM. I have 3 XP from those PFS scenarios I mentioned above. I have the PFS Guide and own a copy of HeroLab. I can build a 1st level character quite easily and I can even level him to 2nd level (due to the 3 XP from GMing, but correct me if I'm wrong). I have a chronicle sheet from each of those PFS sessions as well as the starting character chronicle sheet.

My challenge is with equipment. How do I go about getting him better equipment?

Also, is there anything I should know or bring going into PaizoCon that might be something newbies don't think of?

Thank you all for any assistance you can provide.

My schedule is telling me to bring a character but the write up says pregens are provided. Which one is correct?

I am running "The Automatic Hound" from Dungeon #148 for a group of 4 3rd-level PCs. I found that converting the runehound (the first creature encountered) and the stained glass golem (the second creature encountered) wasn't hard. However, the spirit of the wild, the end encounter, was a challenge, especially since my party will still be 3rd level for that encounter and the original is CR 6. Here is my conversion. I'd sure like some opinions, and suggestions if you have any.

SPIRIT OF THE WILD
CR 5
XP 1,600
CN Large outsider (chaotic, extraplanar)
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +7
AC 18 (+1 Dex, +8 natural, -1 size), touch 10, flat-footed 17
hp 45 (6d10+12)
Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +1
Resistance fire 5/acid 5/cold 5/lightning 5
Spd 40 ft.
Melee 2 claws +11 (ld6+5 plus grab) and bite +8 (1d8+5)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks pounce, rake (2 claws +11 (1d6+5), roar
Special Qualities amorphous, manifest
Str 18, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 2, Wis 10, Cha 14
BAB +6; CMB +11 (+15 grapple); CMD 24
Feats Improved Natural Attack (claw), Multiattack
Skills Acrobatics +7, Climb +10, Perception +7, Stealth +7, Survival +6, Swim +10
Amorphous (Ex) A spirit of the wild is not subject to critical hits.
Grab (Ex) If a spirit of the wild hits with a claw, it deals normal damage and attempts to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. The spirit of the wild has the option to conduct the grapple normally, or simply use its claw to hold the opponent. If it chooses to do the latter, it takes a –20 penalty on its CMB check to make and maintain the grapple, but does not gain the grappled condition itself. each successful grapple check it makes during successive rounds automatically deals the damage indicated for the attack that established the hold or it can use its rake attack.
Manifest (Su) Each round as a free action, a spirit of the wild may manifest one of the following traits. Manifesting a new trait replaces the previous one. Possible traits include: shell or chitin (+2 enhancement bonus to its natural armor), tentacles or pseudopods (+4 competence bonus on CMB), extra legs (5-foot bonus to its base land speed), and antennae (+2 competence bonus on Perception checks)
Pounce (Ex) If a spirit of the wild charges a foe, it can make a full attack, including rake attack.
Rake (Ex) A spirit of the wild can use its two claw attacks against a grappled foe but must begin its turn already grappling to use its rake—it can’t begin a grapple and rake in the same turn.
Roar (Ex) Once a day, as a standard action, a spirit of the wild may unleash a scream that resounds on every note of the audible spectrum. All creatures within 60 feet must succeed on a DC 15 Will save or be stunned for ld4 rounds. Creatures that save successfully are immune to this spirit of the wild's roar for 24 hours. This is a sonic mind-affecting effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.

So, my wife took a 2 week vacation recently and she's encouraged me to do some kind of solo vacation as well. Now, this would be in addition to our regular vacation with our twin 6 year olds plus it needs to be on a week I'm off work (I work 2 weeks on 1 week off). One thing I really want to do is go to a convention. I'm 46 years old (been playing D&D and now Pathfinder on and off for 35 years) and I've never been to a convention partly because of where I live. Google Fort St. John and you will see how far I am from a major city. However, for my first convention I'm willing to fly almost anywhere in North America. There are small conventions near me but the only ones I know of are lacking in tabletop gaming. I know this is a matter of opinion but what do you feel would be a good first time convention for a guy like me?

In our game session last night, I realized that a harpy's captivating song power, in the right situation, is basically a TPK power. Let me explain.

The party was trying to retake a treehouse from some harpies that had taken it over. The treehouse was built in rings of rooms around the huge tree. The party, going at night, got to the second set of rings, went inside and were attacked by 6 harpies (2 adults and 4 young harpies). The party of three defeated most of them and the last remaining young harpy used her captivating song, getting two of the characters captivated, and was going to flee to warn her leader. As she flew out the entry, I was going to have her continue to use her song until I realized something. If she just flew a hundred feet or so away in circles, the two captivated characters would basically walk off the edge of the treehouse (I know they would get a second save first) and plummet to their death 180 feet below.

My point is, why wouldn't harpies do this all the time. Harpies tend to live in groups. All they have to do is sing and fly out so the captivated characters have to walk off a cliff or cross a river or lake and, chances are, most of the party is just dead. Not much fun. Used properly, harpies seem like more than just a CR 4 monster.

If the harpies in my game had used their power properly, they would all have used their captivating song, probably getting all the party captivated (its tough to make all 6 saving throws), and flying out off the treehouse so the party walked out to fall to their death. TPK.

What's the general opinion on this?

I own the Core Rulebook but I am considering getting other books that are used in Shattered Star (I'm the GM). Where is the Ultimate Combat or Gamemastery Guide used in Shattered Star?

(Pathfinder) Briefly, I need help designing an intelligent weapon that gets more powerful as the wielder levels up.

In detail, one of my players is a CN cleric of Gozreh. He has made it clear that he seeks power at any cost. Last game session, the party recovered a +1 frost trident and he claimed it. My thought was to make it an intelligent weapon devoted to the demon Dagon that will increase in power as the cleric levels up. Eventually, sooner rather than later, the weapon will start trying to bring the cleric over to worship and service to Dagon in return for promises of great power. However, right now all the cleric knows is that it's a +1 frost trident that allows him to understand Aklo. The weapon's background is going to be relatively unknown to the surface world as it has been primarily in possession of underwater dwellers for the last 10,000 years. It's purpose is to destroy sin (which I think fits in with the Shattered Star Adventure Path that I am DMing) but what the weapon and Dagon won't reveal is that this means destruction of every sentient being on Golarion.

Does anyone have suggestions how to make an intelligent weapon that does this?

In the Hanging Manse, area A10 (the parlor with the tupilaq), the description of the room says
"...a number of framed schematic drawings."

For the Treasure section of that room, the text reads
"The schematic drawings range from revelatory illustrations regarding the construction of a dangerous, fire-bellied guardian called a tophet to partial instructions for building an Alkenstar firearm. Each of these schematics is worth 2,000 gp to the right buyer."

I'm trying to figure out how many schematics there should be and, better yet, what they are all schematics of. What did you all do in your campaign?

There is a player in my home game that wants to become evil and worship an evil god. I want to give him the chance to roleplay this but still give him a reason to continue with the Shattered Star Adventure Path that I am GMing.

Here's my premise. Cleric devoted to Gozreh finds a magic item (trident or amulet, I think). The item gradually reveals both its intelligence and its powers to the cleric as he becomes more powerful. The item, named Shala, the Redeeming Wave, is devoted to Dagon, the demon lord of the sea and sea monsters. Over time, the item will explain to the cleric that Dagon wants to rid the world of sin, thus giving the cleric a reason to continue the Adventure Path quest (collect the Shards of Sin, assemble them into a powerful artifact that can be used to any Runelords, who represent sin, that may appear) after making a pact with and then worshipping Dagon. Neither the item nor Dagon reveals that Dagon wants to achieve his goal by scouring the world of all sentient life. Dagon, as a former qlippoth, seeks both an end to all demons and a means to rid himself of the sins he has absorbed that changed him into a demon lord.

I'm trying to decide what powers Shala has. Some type of water breathing and swimming ability seems right. Maybe fire resistance as well. Other than that I'm not sure, partly because there are so many. He will be 7th level when he gets the item. I'm thinking that he will get one power as soon as he possesses the item and that the powers will be revealed to him at levels 8, 12, 16 and 20.

Does this sound okay or overpowered to anyone? Does anyone have a suggestion for powers at those levels that relates to Dagon, the sea, or the destruction of life?

I am running the Shattered Star Adventure Path. The party is currently 6th level, but they are near the end of this chapter and should be 7th level when they complete this part of the quest.

One of my players is a Chaotic Neutral cleric of Gozreh. He has already indicated that he has or will have evil tendencies. Almost every other character is Chaotic Neutral so I don't think an evil character in the group would cause conflict.

At the end of this chapter, I would like to give this player an intelligent magic item. The character uses either a rapier or trident, but it could be any iten. I would like this item to have some Thassilonian history, partly due to the nature of the Adventure Path and partly due to the character's interest in Thassilonian history. While the current chapter focuses on Sorshen, the weapon could be associated with any Runelord. The item will slowly convert him to evil, possibly Neutral Evil. Lastly, I would like it to be something he can carry to the end of the Adventure Path.

One idea I have had is that the item belonged to one of the Runelords, but was taken by Sorshen. It has languished for 10,000 years without being used. Whomever picks up the item won't even know it's intelligent at first because it keeps quiet, determining if it's new holder is worth communicating with. It's goal would be to find out about this new world at first. After realizing that the Runelords are gone, it may change its goals but that will depend on the character and how the campaign proceeds.

I need some help though. Does this sound like a good idea? What item would it be? What powers would it have?

So, here's the situation. I want to give one of my players an intelligent magic item. Most of the party is Chaotic Neutral, including him, but his character, a cleric of Gozreh, has evil tendencies and I think he wants to play an evil character. I'm thinking that an intelligent magic item would be a good plot device to push him towards evil. I would also like it to be a Thassilonian weapon, both because of the nature of the Adventure Path and because his character has an interest in Thassilonian history, especially religious Thassilonian history. I don't have any specific ideas for power level or powers yet so any and all ideas would be welcome. He won't be getting this item for a few weeks so I have a fair amount of time to develop it. I'm hoping to build an item that could potentially be with him all the way to the end of the Adventure Path. Currently, they are finishing Curse of the Lady's Light, probably in 2 or 3 game sessions (we play once a month) and they are 6th level, probably 7th when the adventure ends. Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas?

Let's take the trait Convincing Liar as an example. "You gain a +1 trait bonus on Bluff or Intimidate checks and one of these skills (your choice) is a class skill for you."

Is it RAW somewhere, or just RAI, that the bonus and the class skill choice have to be the same? For example, could a character get a +1 bonus to Intimate and get Bluff as a class skill?

If I was to buy a Pawns box, what would you say would be the best box to buy for PFS use besides the Bestiary Box, which I own?

So, I'm just preparing things for the next game session which will possibly include an encounter with Chanukrah. One thing I can't figure out though is why she has charm person prepared on her spell list. The way her tactics are described, she's not going to have a chance to use that spell. Has anyone swapped that spell out for something else and, if so, what spell did you swap it out for?

This will probably be a long explanation followed by my question.

One of the players in my game has opted to retire her current character in favor of a new character. The reason why doesn't really matter for purposes of this question. I already have a plan for her current character to leave. However, the party is deep in the dungeon of their current adventure for the Pathfinder Society with no plans to leave so they can't just bring her new character into the group at the Pathfinder Lodge. Two game sessions ago, I introduced 2 new characters who were just exploring the dungeon so that's out. There's no place that it makes sense for her to be a prisoner. There's no other entrance or exit. To make things more difficult, she's got 2 wolf companions. Does anyone have any ideas on how to introduce her new character, which is an aasimar/natural werewolf druid with 2 wolf companions?

I have a player that wishes to play a werewolf. Now, I know that some people feel that a werewolf PC is overpowered. I'm not interested in debating that subject. I would like to know what source has the information on adding a lycanthrope template. I have found information that says the PC gets a +2 bonus to Wisdom, low-light vision and scent in their humanoid form as well as +2 to Strength and Constitution after getting the best ability scores of their humanoid form or wolf form and DR 5/silver in hybrid form. What source does this come from?

Hi everyone. In a few weeks, I'm planning to run my first ever Pathfinder Society scenario. Let me explain my situation.

I'm doing a drop-in game event that I hope to do every month at the local community centre. This month I ran the We Be Goblins module and everyone seemed to have a good time. Next month however, and hopefully every month following that, I'd like to DM a Pathfinder Society scenario.

Now, I have never even played in a Pathfinder Society scenario, but I have lots of experience with role playing in general (30 years), and, as far as Pathfinder is concerned, have run a semi-monthly Pathfinder campaign for two years.

As for players, in my small community I think don't anyone is familiar with the Pathfinder Society, although we have a fair number of Pathfinder players.

So, what do all of you think would be the best scenario to run for both players new to role playing and players with some role playing experience but new to Pathfinder Society?

I tried to do a Google search on this but came up empty. Do you award experience points for encounters that the party sees but deliberately avoids?

So, one of the players in my campaign is playing a sorcerer. This is the first time she's played an RPG. Recently, I noticed that she is way behind some other players in terms of magic items and other gear. I have decided to place one or two magic items just for her in the Adventure Path we are playing. However, I'm not sure what magic item or items to give her. She is about 4,000 to 5,000 gp worth of items behind the rest of the group, currently fourth-level, and only has a Cloak of Resistance and a Charm Person wand. I would really appreciate suggestions on what 1 or 2 magic items to place for her.

I want to make up some index cards for the magic items that the party finds during the course of the Adventure Path we are doing. However it's not always easy to come up with some way to describe the magic item and make it unique. I was wondering if anybody out there knows of a good website or a good product that helps with the descriptive text for magic items.

I am terrible at coming up with good names, whether its during a game session or during preparation. Plus, I would like to be consistent with the other names that Paizo uses for Golarion since we are playing through the Shattered Star Adventure Path. Could anyone recommend either products or apps or websites that they find really useful for generating names?

So, in our current campaign, the city has a large market area. One of the players hit upon the idea of setting up a stall in the market to sell the artifacts, relics and gems and get full value rather than the typical 50%. I'm trying to figure out how much it would cost to do this. I've tried looking at the Downtime rules but they don't seem to cover this. Does anyone have a suggestion?

I have read a couple of posts here that say the Skill Point gained from the scarlet and blue ioun stone (due to the +2 INT bonus) is automatically put into Knowledge (History). I don't see this in the Shards of Sin adventure anywhere. Where does this information come from? Also, if the player that takes the Shard of Pride (and the ioun stone) already has ranks in Knowledge (History), what happens to those skill points?

My players have, so far, been short on note-taking and drawing and mapping.

Has anyone had this issue with their players? What did you do?

One thing I thought of could be that Sheila assigns a scribe to go with the party, someone whom she knows will take notes. The Players Guide has a scribe at the end, Andel Gesseran. Has anyone used him in their campaign? If so, how did it work out?

So, I have a player in my campaign that chose to take a level in druid. He wants to get an animal companion as soon as he can complete the 24-hour ritual. My question is, what terrain is around Magnimar so I can let him know what animals he could possibly get as a companion?

So, I bought AEG's Toolbox many years ago when I was DMing D&D 3.5. Somewhere in the 7 moves since then I have lost the book. Now that I'm back DMing again, I thought I would see about buying another copy but it appears to be out of print. Does anyone know of a book that does the same kind of thing but is still in print?

This is my DM's perspective of my campaign. I am posting this to encourage advice to improve my game. While I have DMed for a long time, I am new to Pathfinder and am always open to suggestions. Please let me know if you read this, as I will stop posting if no one is reading.

Ok. Starting roll call

Katri - elf paladin of Torag, raised by dwarfs after family killed, from the Five Kings Mts, travelling to Magnimar to deliver important papers to an unofficial Highhelm representative there, played by someone experienced with rpgs but new to Pathfinder
Zertonis - elf ranger from the Mierani Forest, his parents were killed by a dragon, he and his sibling traveled to Kyonin after his parents death and he is now travelling to Magnimar seeking adventure, new to rpgs
Rorian - gnome cleric of Sarenrae, from Taldor, has played some D&D 3.5
Degnar - dwarf monk from Janderhoff, believer in Lissala and her seven virtues of rule, has visited Xin-Shalast after its discovery with his mentor, student of Thassilonian history, travelling to Magnimar to meet someone about a Lissalan idol, has played some D&D 3.5
Maddeva - half-elf sorcerer from Kyonin, adventuring seeking the father that raped her mother, travelling to Magnimar following rumors, new to rpgs
Tanaris - elf ranger from Kyonin, travelling to Magnimar in search of adventure, has played some Pathfinder

We are starting with the Murder’s Mark module for three reasons. First, to let the new players have an adventure that is not too combat-heavy. Second, since there are so many inexperienced players, I think they will need to be a little ahead of the curve for the campaign. Third, I feel that they need some kind of notoriety for Sheila Heidmarch to recruit them out of all the adventurers in Magnimar. Katri and Zertonis are travelling with the same caravan so they already know each other.

They arrive in Ilsurian and stay the night. I have a group of young players here and it shows sometimes, like now when most of them want to “go drinking”. There is nothing wrong with that, but experienced players tend to have gotten beyond that. I suspect I am going to have to stat up a few bar patrons for the inevitable bar fights.

The next day they head out to the carnival that is on the edge of town, for their own reasons. I tried to give them plenty of opportunities to play carnival games but they mostly did not want any of it. They did go to the zoo and, even though they were pretty sure that the “baby dragon” was not really a dragon, none of them have ever seen a dragon to be sure. After that they played a few carnival games, with Katri winning the “Queen of the Carnival” crown, then just waited by the sphinx tent until the sphinx appeared. Katri did detect evil on just about everyone was not really surprised by any evil she found. Later, she also did that with the sphinx with, understandably, no result. They all did take this time to introduce themselves to each other.

While waiting, the “baby dragon” breaks free. Due to some PCs deciding to do nonlethal damage, the lizard is knocked unconscious but not dead. It was very fast too, all finished in one round. The zoo-keeper shows up, his helpers haul the lizard away, and he rewards the PCs. The rest of the day is uneventful except for Degnar visiting the sphinx and asking questions every time she makes an appearance, and Maddeva trying to poke the sphinx and getting thrown out.

Next day, they are summoned to the carnival where Almara asks them to investigate the murder of a local pawnbroker to clear the good name of the carnival. Of course they accept. The module includes a few questions that a party might ask and how Almara would answer but this party doesn't ask anything. They go to talk to the sheriff. She tells them what happened and has a constable lead them to the spot where the body was found. Some good rolls and the party is able to determine that the “sphinx” tracks at the murder scene are fake. They then go to the dead man’s place of business and meet his widow.

The widow tells them that the body has been taken to the church to prepare it for burial. Some players want to check the body but they decide to investigate the shop, which was robbed and a guard killed after the murder of the pawnbroker. After a cursory examination of the main area, noting that some gems and jewelry were stolen, they head down to the vault. Katri is using detect evil on everything in sight and sees a skulk trying to sneak out. Everyone tries to deal nonlethal damage to the creature until Zertonis realizes that, in order to use his bow, he has to deal lethal damage. Unfortunately, he scores a critical hit. Fortunately, he does not kill her, although he comes close and would have done so under D&D 3.5 rules.

Taking the unconscious skulk, the party leaves. While leaing the vault, Degnar spots a trap door in the hall outside the vault, and they ask the widow to disarm it. She does so, and the party starts to proceed out. Degnar rolled a Perception check and heard someone crying. They determine its in the trap and they open it to find another skulk. I could have let them walk by without finding him, but I kinda wanted them to find him so I let them have a Perception check. They rescue him from his prison in the trap, and take both skulks to the sheriff. During the interrogation, they show how new they are to this, and miss asking a lot of questions that might have got them more information. The sheriff had to do some asking for them, just to reveal some important information. Noticing that the creatures are showing signs of addiction, Katri wishes she had the ability to remove disease.

The party returns to the carnival to inform Almara of what they found. Degnar realizes that they did not tell the sheriff about the false tracks. They return and inform the sheriff and she advises that, while this looks good for the carnival, it is not definite proof.

The rest of the day is uneventful, with Degnar visiting the sphinx during her every appearance and asking her questions, seemingly wanting to free her. Maddeva tries to sneak into the sphinx’s tent at one point, but she’s seen and barred from entering. They spend another night in Ilsurian, again “going drinking.”