ZenFox42's page

Daniel and Evindyll : you get 2 extra Advancements on your build to keep you even with the other PC's.

All - please see Discussion...

Maybe you could check with Verizon and see if there's no cost, a one-time cost, or a monthly fee just to *access* On Demand. If it's one of the first two, that shouldn't be too expensive...

On page 89, under Rerolls, it says that rolling a Critical Failure on any kind of reroll automatically stops the rerolling and is the final result of the original roll. I didn't notice this either, someone on the SW boards pointed it out.

Will create a character (within Paizo) and post with it "soon".

Just curious - what are we waiting for? Has everyone posted their finalized character(s)?

Thanks, but that wasn't my main question. Can I play the same PC in both?

So, you're going to go with two campaigns? I'm always up for more games, but above you said I could play them in either one, and I'm wondering if I can play my Cyber-Knight in both?

<poke> AFAIK, my PC is good-to-go, and I'm still here...

Heh - Storm Dragon, there isn't any balancing in RIFTS! Pick a race based on its perks, then pick a Framework (class) that sounds like it would be cool to run, and do the best you can with it. I don't know about SWADE RIFTS, but in SWD RIFTS the Frameworks were all over the place in terms of their raw power. Hopefully in SWADE RIFTS the Frameworks are more equally matched.

Why couldn't a mercenary-type PC have been captured and enslaved? Like, using power-dampening collars that suppress mental and tech abilities? These are all RIFTS-level PCs, no matter what their current situation is, so how to keep them enslaved has got to be accounted for. It's not like the slave PC is going to be a normal human...

Shouldn't you have arcane background (psionics)?

Yes, it's in the book, I just didn't include it in my PC description. I'll update that, thanks!

EltonJ - I have a RIFTS PC already created, that I've been dying to play, but the last two games I played them in folded pretty quickly. They're human, but if this game gets off the ground I may change the race once I get SWADE:RIFTS:Atlantis.

Let me know you're impressions of the top-of-your-head, thanks!

EltonJ - thanks for all the info! I know a lot of people are on a really tight budget, so would you say that if a player went with SWADE RIFTS races and Frameworks, they wouldn't need SWADE:RIFTS:Atlantis at all? Or does it contain essential setting information in addition to races and Frameworks?

And what content does RIFTS:WB2:Atlantis have that players may find useful or essential?

To be clear, I wasn't asking you to post content from the books verbatim or share the PDFs (I know that's a copyright violation), but if RIFTS:SW:Atlantis has for example a setting description, you could surely put that description completely in your own words and post it here, I doubt that would be a copyright violation.

And I was only asking about the last two books on your list. I have the first two, so no problems there.

What content does RIFTS:SW:Atlantis have that's needed? New races, PC templates, etc.?

How "maybe" is RIFTS:WB2:Atlantis? What content does it have that the players may find useful or essential?

And how do you feel about my posting this recruitment in my other games?

Sorry, I didn't see this until just now. I'm definitely interested, but it looks like I'm the only one so far. There's lots of SW players on this board, I'm not sure why they haven't replied. I can make a post in the Discussion of the six SW games I'm in, if you want.

It may be that the number of books you're requiring us to have is a put-off. I have the first two, but am hesitant to spend $20 to get the last two. Is there any way you could post the relevant information that we would need from them in your own words, to avoid copyright issues?

PWGM - thanks for the clarification on cantrips and smoke. I'll stick with the Illusion power - this may be the only time in my life I'll get to play with illusions, so I'll take what I can get.

P.S. - but if I'm being honest, despite your reasonable arguments I can't help but feeling cheated by the serious nerfing you've given to the Illusion power compared to what I was expecting...

PWGM - regarding Complex Cantrips, I'm confused by your statement "for those w/o the book/pdf if you use an Arcane Background (Mystic Power users need not apply) you get to choose 2 of the following and an additional one whenever you take the Additional Powers edge."

I took that to mean that only PC's who took plain-vanilla AB qualified to take these, and those with the Mystical Powers Edges could not?

Just double-checking...

Also, you present solid arguments for doing Illusions the way you want to, but as we advance in Rank, our opponents will almost certainly have higher Smarts dice, and so my illusions will become less and less useful.

Just curious : how much of a penalty would a smoke cloud provide to hitting the target within it?

What festival shindig? Did I miss something PWGM said in Recruitment?
P.S. - will get character icon created soon...

Rhodel - thanks for all your info and ideas. I imagine that my PC grew up in a relatively small, secluded clan, isolated from humans, and that for whatever reason, her being a half-elf wasn't a problem growing up. Perhaps her mother held a well-respected position in the clan?

PWGM - you're right, I'm not that concerned about making my backstory a part of the plot.

Illusion II counterpoints : I still have a problem with "If a wall suddenly springs up between them and the person they are trying to kill, they will get a Smarts check. And if say they are aiming an arrow at someone and they suddenly erupt in smoke or that pesky wall springs up they will get a smarts check." Barrier is an existing Power, so why couldn't that wall have appeared because someone cast it? I would argue that just because something "pops up" out of nowhere is *not* a reason for an automatic Smarts check. If an enemy is approaching, and I create a dozen extra fighters, well, I could be using Summon Ally - again, no reason to automatically get a Smarts roll.

"Paying close attention" isn't a reason to automatically get a Smarts roll. The rules say "a viewer only gets a Smarts roll if they "contact an illusion or doubt it’s real". Since magic can do many different things, it's not unreasonable that things pop up out of thin air whenever a caster is around. I would at the very least say that someone would have to have "reasonable suspicion" (if by only observing what's in front of you, you can state anything that seems to be wrong, any specific reason why what you see couldn't be real) in order to have the doubt needed for a Smarts roll.

Attacking a creature and seeing your sword pass thru it harmlessly creates reasonable suspicion. Or if the wall is a flame barrier, and you're close enough to it to notice that you're not feeling any heat from it. But a stone barrier or cloud of smoke just appearing out of nowhere? Nope, no reason for a Smarts roll until you contact it.

And not to put too fine a point on it, but shooting into a cloud of smoke, you'd expect the arrow to fly right thru it. However, shooting at a stone barrier, seeing the arrow fly thru it constitutes reasonable suspicion.

And, unless they've done some study and know the list of all the available arcane Powers, an ordinary common person isn't going to be able to say "hey, there's no Power that does that".

PWGM - I use my own spreadsheet to create PC's, and did something wrong in it which said that Spellcasting cost 4 points. I've dropped Riding.

I remember reading your post about Complex Cantrips, but when searching these web pages with my browser's Find function, it doesn't show up. Can you tell me the date and time of the post?

I found Twine and marbles in PF 2.0 Player's Guide, and made up values for the bells and flour :

Twine(0.5 lb, 0.01 GP, 50 ft), several small bells (0 lb, 1 GP), marbles(2 lb, 0.1 GP), sack of flour (1 lb, 0.1 GP)

Bringing my totals to 38.1 lbs, 212.62 GP.

Her family lives in Aiudeen, but I'm not familiar enough with the world to name a specific area or clan name.
Her last name is Featherwing (this is not her clan name, she keeps that a secret, she picked a last name for human convention).
She cares about her immediate family deeply, and has visted them since she left to go adventuring a few times, but it's been a while since she went back.
She lives for the future, where all the darkness that's invaded Golarion is gone (and some of it by her hand).
What does it mean for her history to be "part of the game"?

I have no problems with your list of what Illusion can't do, I wouldn't have tried any of them in the first place. But I will be trying some wacky stuff, so feel free to tell me I can't do it.

Can I see thru my own illusions? I would think so...

So, creating illusory furniture (or rocks, boxes, crates, etc.) to hide behind/inside is ok? Then is creating an illusion of the back wall of the room, 3 feet in front of the real wall, that we are all hiding behind ok?

I am somewhat concerned with your comment "Using an illusion to block line of sight in a combat or stressful situation does grant the viewers the normal Smarts roll to see through." It's my understanding that a viewer only gets a Smarts roll if they "contact an illusion or doubt it’s real". So just seeing me conjure a smoke cloud to block line-of-sight doesn't automatically give every viewer an option to disbelive, because they have no reason to assume it's not a REAL smoke cloud. I mentioned earlier a document I wrote about how to handle illusions, mostly about when viewers get a Smarts roll to resist, it's HERE. I'd appreciate it if you'd give it a look-over (the relevant guidelines are less than a page and a half long), and then let's discuss it.

Jzero - sorry, the previous version of SW ("SWD") applied both the victim's AND Healer's Wounds to their roll. I knew SWADE had removed one of them, and just remembered wrongly as to which one.

Rhodel - THANK YOU!!!

PWGM - I just read somewhere that the PF Advanced Player's Guide re-defines the effect that being Entangled has :

PF Core Rules : Entangled : can’t move and is Distracted as long as he remains so.

PF/APG : Entangled: The victim can’t move and is Vulnerable as long as he remains Entangled.

Can you confirm this? If it is true, which version will you use?

ALL - about Healing :

The Healing Skill can only be used once by a PC on a specific victim. The Healing Power can be used on the same victim for as many times as the caster has Power Points.

A Healing Skill of d4 is pretty much useless, because the number of Wounds subtracts from the roll, so a d4-1 has a 50% chance of Success, and d4-2 has as 32% chance of Success.

We either need someone to bump their Healing skill up to d8-d10, or get a Cleric (which would be better anyway because of the repeat tries)!

PWGM :

"Bloodline abilities carry over into shapechanged forms just like every other edge."

So does the bloodline still affect the form of the creature? What if I want to sneak into some bad guys' lair as a rat? If I don't look like a regular rat, it'll be a dead giveaway. If it does affect the form, why are Sorcerers penalized for this and not the other classes?

Regarding my Vow : I am intending to use Powers that only disable opponents from acting (more on that later), but I forgot that my Summoned creatures could easily kill opponents. So I'm changing Vow to Code of Honor ("doesn’t abuse or kill prisoners"). Since it specifies prisoners only, killing during combat shouldn't be a problem, yes?

Regarding multi-classing, if Clebsch's intent is to get the Healing Power, couldn't he take the Monk Class Edge, *and* the AB/Miracles Edge at Novice level? Since it's not a Class Edge, he should be able to take both in the same Rank. And it's a form of multi-classing. Unless I've missed a subtlety of the rules...

ALL - if you have a finished PC, and it's a spellcaster, please post if you have the Healing Power. Mine doesn't. It would be a *very* good idea for someone to have it...

...so, how's my PC look?

PWGM - a few unrelated points :

You didn't respond to my list of creatures I can shape-shift into - are they all valid for the Power? In particular, what the elemental forms can do? Also, could you please do a quick search of the Pathfinder Bestiary for "size -" (without the quotes, and note the space between "size" and "-") and tell me how many results show up? That'll tell me how important it might be for me to buy.

What about my gear questions? Even tho we're using SW rules, I assume the setting itself is pure Pathfinder. So do we need to list every little item we might need for an adventure in the world? I'm talking about things like chalk, wire, whistle, marbles, etc. that would probably be less than 1 GP in cost and way less than 1 pound in encumbrance. And maybe a 1 pound bag of flour, with minimal cost.

I think I know the answer to this one, but I just want to be clear : I don't *have* to take higher-ranking Class Edges if I don't want to, right?

I'm confused by the wording of the house rule : "If a sorcerer wishes to appear normal and unremarkable they can forgo the listed benefit for a raise on the spellcasting roll. Being unremarkable may limit their access to bloodline abilities and other edges." The "listed benefit" for a Raise on Shape Change is an extra die level on Strength and Vigor. Or by "listed benefit" are you talking about the bloodline abilities? If the latter, are you saying that we can choose to appear normal on a Raise, but we may lose our bloodline abilities? And why "may"?

I'm really sorry all my questions made Albion drop out. I just have a curious mind, and like to be sure I know what's what about the rules.

The Pathfinder Common Gear is much more detailed than the SWD - do we really need to specify bedrolls and blankets, and all the little things that *might* be useful in an adventure? When playing the "real" PF years ago, I came up with a list of every little thing that might come in handy (about some 20-odd things), I'll include it if you want to be true to PF dungeon crawls.

Would it be a good idea to start out with horses (87 GP)? Or can we buy them in almost any town if we decide we're going to be traveling a long way at some future point?

Any humans should buy an Everburning Torch to be able to see in dungeons and caves. 110 GP, but never burns out, well worth it.

If the *world* is truly PF, then if you can afford to make your primary weapon Cold Iron (2x the price), it's the cheapest protection against some non-animal "monsters" (demons and fey) that we might run into.

Regarding shape-shifting : the Power says I can take the form of one of the following creature types: Animal, Elemental, Humanoid, Plant, of size -4 to -1.

I went thru the SWD Core and Pathfinder Core bestiaries, and found the following :

Animals
Dog/Wolf(-1), Giant Spider(-1), Venomous Snake(-3), Bird of Prey(-2), House Cat(-3), Bird(-4), Mouse(-4)

Humanoids
Goblin(-1), Gnome(-1), Halfling(-1)

Elementals
Ignore additional damage from Called Shots, ignore 1 point of Wound penalties, don’t breathe or eat and are immune to disease and poison.
Air : Can maneuver through any non-solid surface, pass through cracks in doors or windows, bubble through water, etc. Can fly at Pace 12″.
Earth : Armor +4: Rocky hide. Burrow (10″): Earth elementals can meld into and out of the ground.
Fire : If a flammable target is hit by fire (GM’s call), roll 1d6. On a 6, the target catches fire and immediately takes 1d6 damage. Fire continues to cause damage at the beginning of the victim’s turns. Roll a d6 immediately after it does so. On a 6, it grows in intensity to whatever maximum the GM feels is appropriate (usually 3d6 for organic beings). On a 1, the fire drops a level, or burns out if reduced below 1d6 damage.

For the elementals, I ignored their damage (since in the Core they're size 1), and only listed their aspects that I thought might be useful.

I can't think of any plants that would be useful, unless there's some "monster" plants in one of the other bestiaries?

Any thoughts?

Here's my PC so far (spells and gear TBD) :

Please review for correctness, thanks!

Ok, I'd like a ruling on the following situation : I'm a Sorcerer, with the Air Elemental Bloodline which allows me to Fly at Pace 6". I shape-change into a non-flying creature - am I still able to fly? All the spell says is that I'm able to "retain my Edges and Hindrances, and my Smarts, Spirit, and their linked skills". Of the new form, it says "a creature's natural abilities are conferred, but innate powers and Arcane Backgrounds aren't." Nothing about retaining (or not) *MY* (super)natural abilities.

What's your call?

Taking or not taking a AB edge does not restrict you from taking a class/prestige edge in any way. The game gives you a free Class, background or professional of your choice (that you qualify for) as part of character creation but there is nothing stopping you from say taking AB magic as your free edge and then taking a Class edge either right away as say your human free edge or at any point later.

There's a terminology problem I've discovered in the system : "Class Edge" can refer to the Edge that gives you a particular class, and also to all the specific, higher-ranking Edges available only to that class.

With that in mind, if I take the plain-vanilla AB Edge, I doubt that qualifies me to take any of the other higher-ranking Class Edges from any magic class I want, right? That's my issue. The higher-ranking Class Edges offer some pretty powerful perks, often more than a regular Edge would provide. Also, some classes like Sorcerer and Cleric offer perks in the form of Deities and Bloodlines. So if I decide to go the classless AB route, I'm losing a lot potential perks.

But this is all academic now, as I've decided to be a Sorcerer (but different enough from Clebsch's that there shouldn't be a problem).

Sorry for the info flood, but reading the Core Rules has set my brain on fire.

I'm looking at :
Half-Elf or Human
Sorcerer (Arcane or Air Elemental bloodline)

I probably won't be going the illusions route, so ignore everything I said above about that.

But, I do take issue with the Favored Powers Class Edge. It doesn't have any of the spells I'm thinking of taking in it. Being able to ignore 2 points of any Spellcasting penalties is a significant benefit, but it's wasted unless I take those specific Powers. Being able to ignore range, lighting, or Wounds would be really nice - any thoughts on that?

P.S. on the Sling info :

PWGM - so, I have some questions about the system, and a couple of ideas I'd like to run by you.

If I just take Arcane Background, does that mean I don't get *any* Class Edges or Prestige Edges? Is there some compensation for that?

Historically, slings are just as powerful as arrows, and I spent some time on the PEG boards hashing out some modifications to slings - I was wondering if you'd take a look and let me know if you'd allow them?

I'm also interested in maybe making a magic user that deals mainly with illusions. In addition to the Illusion power, I have some trappings for existing powers that could act like illusions. Once I have a complete list, I'll post it here for your opinion. If you think this might be too hard to adjudicate, I came up with a short document about how to handle illusions (mostly when to allow saving throws to disbelieve them) that I could PM you if you're interested.

Do you know of anyone offering to host files so that they are viewable by multiple people but are not downloadable? The closest I have come across is the way D&D Beyond lets you share PDF's with select other accounts. This only works for files you purchased through D&D Beyond and I think you have to have a paid account in any case. I doubt anyone is doing this because they would be very vulnerable to accusations of piracy But if you know someone who has squared that circle then please clue me in.

SOLUTION : using Google Drive, in the share window make sure access is “anyone with the link", after that, click the gear wheel in the top-right corner of the access window, and un-check “Viewers and commentators can see the option to download, print, and copy".

I have not verified that this works as intended myself, and as you said, it raises potential copyright questions, and altho a reader could screenshot each page to re-build the book, with up to two hundred pages, that's impractical.

If anyone already has a Google Drive account, and is willing to take the risk, go for it!

PWGM - I am buying the core book today, and will spend the next few days reading it and picking a class, so it may be a few days before I get to the Interlude...

I have yet to buy any of the books, so I can't even guess what kind of class I'll take, so...I drew a Queen of Hearts.

Also, for summoning or shape-shifting, what bestiaries are available? SWD Core? My understanding is that the Pathfinder Core Rules have a pretty limited bestiary? Do any of the supplementary books have more?

PWGM - thanks for the info. I have a really bad memory, and had forgotten the broken Summoner was in the Fantasy Companion, not PF.

Quick clarification : you said that the Advanced guide "includes the class edges for; the Alchemist, the Cavalier, the Inquisitor, the Oracle, the aforementioned Summoner, and the Witch". So those classes aren't mentioned at all in the PF Player's Guide? Could you list what classes are described in the Player's Guide, so I can decide whether I want the Advanced Guide? Thanks!

I have heard good things and bad things about SW Pathfinder. The good news (to me) is that the classes do not define everything about you, but rather give you one specific Edge per Rank, and you're free to pick the SWD Core Edges in-between (AFAIK). The bad news is that some things are WAY overpowered (<cough>Summoner<cough>), so you might want to go to the PEG boards and search thru their posts, and maybe consider making some house rules to balance things out.

Any idea how important/essential the Companion and APG are? What added info do they provide?

Regardless, count me interested!

Botting Karma :

Athletics & Wild,-1 speed: 1d8 - 1 ⇒ (6) - 1 = 51d6 - 1 ⇒ (3) - 1 = 2

Spending a Bennie, going for that Raise...

Athletics & Wild,-1 speed: 1d8 - 1 ⇒ (8) - 1 = 71d6 - 1 ⇒ (3) - 1 = 2
Athletics ACE!: 1d8 ⇒ 7 = 14

PWGM said : get a raise and you are riding inside with no problems.
If this is enough for now (1 action = 1 round), I'm going to hope that Karma's player returns before Karma takes any actions in the vehicle. If not, I'll look back thru previous posts to determine what those actions are.

I've known Karma's player for 40(!) years, but I won't claim I know how they would decide what Karma would do. But my guess is that Karma would try to stick to the original plan...

Atlas - please check your PM...

Third try :

I took more Hindrances than needed, but didn't spend the extra points.

I've added Shooting, which I can boost up to d10, and even tho the Persuasion is d4+1, that's better than a plain d8!

For me to be happy with this, I *really* need to exchange the Rifle for another Wilk's Classic (the Classic costs less, so this shouldn't be a problem).

Be aware, this is Savage Worlds RIFTS. Are you familiar with that system?

Atlas - please check Recruitment again...

Second try :

I took more Hindrances than needed, but didn't spend the extra points.

The GM I first created this for allowed me to sell :
Wilk’s 320 “Classic” Laser Pistol : 3d6 AP 2, 15/30/60, weight 2 (Shooting +1) : 11,000
NG-L5 Laser Rifle : 4d6 AP 2, 24/48/96, weight 10 : 16,000

At half price, and replace them with :
Vibro-Longsword : d6+d10, AP 10 (11,000)

Would that be ok with you?

This is an invitational PC, Recruitment is not open.

I have yet to make my rolls for cash, goods, and Hero's Journey