dafelsheim's page

In canon, Golarion's Elves are said to adapt to different environments, both physically and sometimes supernaturally, sometimes within a single generation. Just sayin'.

Dotting. Working on a Paladin or possibly Swashbuckler or Magus (Eldritch Archer), if the latter are allowed.

Fromper wrote:

One is an elf from Kyonin who is snobby about his heritage and looks down on other races. I put him in the Sovereign Court faction for variety, and because it seems to fit his snobby attitude.

There are non-snobby elves from Kyonin?

James Jacobs had stated a few times in his thread that the way Elves have traditionally been depicted - namely, via Second Darkness, which sort of set the basis for their characterization in print - was contrary to what he wanted Elves to be. Part of his attempt to decouple Golarion's Elves from the general lore from D&D was not only removing their fey affinity but also, in his setting/game/mind, denouncing the typical Elven social standards of being.. Well, snobs. I mean, snobbish Elves of course WOULD still exist, but from what he's said, I imagine that the super hardcore/snobbish Elves of Kyonin would be largely constrained to its older citizens and those whose power is deeply entrenched in tradition. (I.E. Winter Council and its noble puppets.)

Despite the "snobbery" of Elves existing in canon, there's examples in publications that readily support the idea of James's Elves becoming more mainstream. Greengold, Telandia herself (and her wishing to take a non-Elven consort), the most likely result of Second Darkness (the Winter Council being severely weakened if not disbanded), and the fact that Telandia's liberal regime is highly popular among the more recent generations of Kyonin.

dafelsheim wrote:

It makes sense now. But I wonder just how such estimated price guidelines would be treated in the actual contest. Hm.

I think price is for most voters a "feel" thing -- if you're grossly underpriced or overpriced, you'll be dinged, but as long as you're in the ballpark, you're fine. I think the idea of looking to compare to other items in the same price range is a good one.

My first Superstar item, the haunting glass, was a fraction of what its value would have been based on the chart, in part because manipulating haunts was significantly different from the core use of the create undead spell.

My [/i]poltergeist knot[/i], on the other hand was priced exactly as it should have been on the chart and was (rightly, I think) criticized as being perhaps a touch too inexpensive. (Again, the item's actual abilities did vary a bit from the base spells.)

I spent a long time looking over Wondrous Items roughly in the original price range of my item and making comparisons. I ended up sort of using as benchmark the Eyes of Charming as the basis for the idea of a Gaze Attack and originally was going to use Heighten Spell to up the DCs, but that made the item way too expensive. The Eyes of Doom (another Gaze item I looked at) just didn't follow pricing guidelines at all. In the end, I wasn't sure if "eyeballing" unique item powers not given a formula on the SRD table was allowed, so I basically tried to use it as exactly as possible and tried to lower the cost as written.

So.. My thanks to clearing this up. :D

dafelsheim wrote:

Is the map thing still "open"? :p I know there's no real time limit..

It's open. :) After all, this is all basically a self-challenge, with open critique from the rest of us. :)

Personally I add the time restriction for 2 reasons: Adding pressure to simulate some of the time restrictions from RPGSS and for a "if you can't come up with something cool in this time frame, you need to rethink it entirely."

Ahh, got ya.

It makes sense now. But I wonder just how such estimated price guidelines would be treated in the actual contest. Hm.

dafelsheim wrote:

I really like your rewrites and agree with most of them. The main reason I was adding charges was to try to lower the price. Question is, how did you manage to get rid of it being charged, up the DC's, and keep the price low?

Covent wrote:

dafelsheim wrote:

Thanks for all the input so far! Here's version 2.

Cleansing Coronal
Aura Moderate evocation and enchantment; CL 9th
Slot Headband; Price 47,500 gp; Weight 2 lbs.
Description
A fine-wrought mithral diadem with a deep purple gem cut in the tristar halo style set at the brow. Each faceted face of the gem waxes and wanes with internal fiery illumination in a perfectly syncopated harmony.

Cleansing Coronals have 50 charges at creation and cannot be recharged in any way. The wearer of this crown benefits from constant detect demon (DC 12) and protection from evil spell-like effects. Furthermore, he acquires two gaze attacks described below. Both are spell-trigger activated, can be used up to three times per day, and drain 1 charge per use.

Supernal Stare: The wearer's pupils shift to mimic the Coronal's gem in appearance. They shoot forth purple falling stars aimed at the eyes of all Demons within 30 feet. All targets gazing at the wearer must pass a DC 20 Will save or be paralyzed for 9 rounds. Each target may attempt a new saving throw each round as a full-round action to negate the effect.

Amaranthine Glare: All creatures within 30 feet that gaze at the wearer are consumed in ethereal violet flames that spring from the wearer's eyes. Creatures with the demon subtype suffer 9d6 fire damage while all others suffer 4d8 fire damage. This ignores the fire resistance granted by the demon subtype. A DC 20 Reflex save halves damage dealt to all affected targets.

When a Cleansing Coronal reaches 0 charges its gaze attacks can no longer be used.

Construction
Requirements

...

Is the map thing still "open"? :p I know there's no real time limit..

Congrats!

Just wanted to give you guys a minor update. :-) Finished my FIRST draft on my first paid job in the field. Obviously can't talk about what EXACTLY it is. Thank you guys for helping me out, and helping me build the confidence to follow my childhood dream!

Seriously, without your awesome level of support/guidance I may not have acquired the skill or proficiency to try. You folks are awesome!

Back to editing!

I really like your rewrites and agree with most of them. The main reason I was adding charges was to try to lower the price. Question is, how did you manage to get rid of it being charged, up the DC's, and keep the price low?

dafelsheim wrote:

Thanks for all the input so far! Here's version 2.

Cleansing Coronal
Aura Moderate evocation and enchantment; CL 9th
Slot Headband; Price 47,500 gp; Weight 2 lbs.
Description
A fine-wrought mithral diadem with a deep purple gem cut in the tristar halo style set at the brow. Each faceted face of the gem waxes and wanes with internal fiery illumination in a perfectly syncopated harmony.

Cleansing Coronals have 50 charges at creation and cannot be recharged in any way. The wearer of this crown benefits from constant detect demon (DC 12) and protection from evil spell-like effects. Furthermore, he acquires two gaze attacks described below. Both are spell-trigger activated, can be used up to three times per day, and drain 1 charge per use.

Supernal Stare: The wearer's pupils shift to mimic the Coronal's gem in appearance. They shoot forth purple falling stars aimed at the eyes of all Demons within 30 feet. All targets gazing at the wearer must pass a DC 20 Will save or be paralyzed for 9 rounds. Each target may attempt a new saving throw each round as a full-round action to negate the effect.

Amaranthine Glare: All creatures within 30 feet that gaze at the wearer are consumed in ethereal violet flames that spring from the wearer's eyes. Creatures with the demon subtype suffer 9d6 fire damage while all others suffer 4d8 fire damage. This ignores the fire resistance granted by the demon subtype. A DC 20 Reflex save halves damage dealt to all affected targets.

When a Cleansing Coronal reaches 0 charges its gaze attacks can no longer be used.

Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, burn corruption, detect demon, protection from outsiders, hold monster; Cost 23,750 gp

Glad to see you are re-writing! Curaigh is correct, re-writing is hard.

Now on to the critique.

I believe that adding a limited...

Thanks for all the input so far! Here's version 2.

Cleansing Coronal
Aura Moderate evocation and enchantment; CL 9th
Slot Headband; Price 47,500 gp; Weight 2 lbs.
Description
A fine-wrought mithral diadem with a deep purple gem cut in the tristar halo style set at the brow. Each faceted face of the gem waxes and wanes with internal fiery illumination in a perfectly syncopated harmony.

Cleansing Coronals have 50 charges at creation and cannot be recharged in any way. The wearer of this crown benefits from constant detect demon (DC 12) and protection from evil spell-like effects. Furthermore, he acquires two gaze attacks described below. Both are spell-trigger activated, can be used up to three times per day, and drain 1 charge per use.

Supernal Stare: The wearer's pupils shift to mimic the Coronal's gem in appearance. They shoot forth purple falling stars aimed at the eyes of all Demons within 30 feet. All targets gazing at the wearer must pass a DC 20 Will save or be paralyzed for 9 rounds. Each target may attempt a new saving throw each round as a full-round action to negate the effect.

Amaranthine Glare: All creatures within 30 feet that gaze at the wearer are consumed in ethereal violet flames that spring from the wearer's eyes. Creatures with the demon subtype suffer 9d6 fire damage while all others suffer 4d8 fire damage. This ignores the fire resistance granted by the demon subtype. A DC 20 Reflex save halves damage dealt to all affected targets.

When a Cleansing Coronal reaches 0 charges its gaze attacks can no longer be used.

Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, burn corruption, detect demon, protection from outsiders, hold monster; Cost 23,750 gp

First, I love the use of the word "Coronal" both evocative and a rarely used word outside of medicine.

The aura while not incorrect sticks out to me as most items have only one school. I would recommend picking one that you find most appropriate and using that.

For the linked picture while I enjoy the visual, I am just not sure how it would be received in the contest. I know some people don't even like the hyper-linking of rules.

For the effects I find the DC's extremely low. They are most likely calculated correctly but at the level where a PC could afford this, 14th-15th, they will fail 95% of the time. The only exception is the fire damage and even that will fail 80% and up.

Given the above the power of the item is just not enough to justify the cost of the item.

One thing I would recommend is that whenever you are creating an item compare its price to the WBL guidelines and what big six item it is possibly delaying. Then ask "What character would delay that item for this one?"

Also you are short on use of word count. Brevity can lead to elegance, but here it seems to just be incomplete.
Even with the lower DC's an infinite use no action stun is crazy. Perhaps raise the DC's and put a limit on the stun effect?
I hope this helps, and good luck!

• 1. How would you personally decide which school might be the most appropriate for a magic item whose prereqs include spells of 2+ different schools? Just go with the one with the highest CL, maybe? Here, that'd be Evocation.
  
• 2. I actually spent about half an hour speed-reading-up on gem cuts and settings, then google image searching for one that looked JUST right, and reverse-searching for what it was called. Ha. Since before I made the item I had no idea a “tristar halo cut” even existed, I included the linked image for consideration. Do you think if I was formally submitting an item that used niche terminology in its appearance it would be best not to include an image unless a reviewer asked?
  
• 3. So, I think I figured out a way to both replicate the results of Supernal Stare I wanted, balance it better, and maybe improve the DC vs. cost issue. Soon to come!
  

So, I want purely personal opinions on which of two maps I might do.

• An ancient, secret Desert Elf Oasis-city dedicated to Sarenrae has evil growing right under its feet. Specifically, a subterranean Cult of Flauros has been working to awaken the long dormant magma channels that so long ago culminated in the eruption that literally paved the path for the obsidian-lined river feeding the oasis. See what I've done so far here (if you can actually make out anything, you're lucky! :p )
  
• Imagine a Zaratan (in Pathfinder, basically the Immense Tortoise as a turtle) that perished during Earthfall only to be later reanimated as a Skeletal submarine the size of a small island. This is the center of faith for the Abyssal Lord, Dagon, whose Herald - a Mythic Kraken - does all he can to sink his tentacles into every body of water they can reach. I would actually use anatomically accurate sections from a hollow turtle shell for the map.
  

Hey, Russ Brown! Thanks for the feedback!

I've always had an insane tendency towards overwriting everything. All the time. A LOT. So this was a practice in trying to keep to the bare minimum word count provided the flavor got across and the mechanics were explained as soundly and succinctly as possible. Do you think I fell short?

• 1. Yeah, I was aware of this but decided to just go with the flow for now as general practice. But I did consider alternate base spells available in the PRD. Detect Undead instead of Detect Demon (just basically replacing Undead with Outsiders with the demon subtype.) Protection from Evil would have been a simple substitution for Protection from Outsiders (just using the standard Magic Item Gold Cost formulae for the doubling of saves/AC bonuses) except for the fact that there's no real guideline for how dramatically reducing the scope of a spell affects cost. Last, Flamestrike would have been a sloppy substitution for Burn Corruption not only due to the fact that it is impartial in terms of damage for all potential targets but because its theme is more “burn anything down that opposes your religion” than “remove and cauterize the corruption so that the rest can survive.”
  
• 2. Yes, I intended the referenced sentence to explicitly define that Amaranthine Glare can only be used as a standard action once per day. I agonized long and hard about adding more to clarify, but at length I decided to cleave to my mission statement of brevity. I used the syntax from the Amulet of the Blooded (Accursed) from the Advanced Class Guide as a guide. “Three times per day as a standard action, the wearer can fix his gaze on any one creature within 60 feet. The target becomes staggered for 4 rounds unless it succeeds at a Will saving throw (DC 18.)” However I didn't have a target restriction – so as per a standard gaze attack affecting all creatures within range gazing at them.
  
• 3. … Music of the Spheres! I was thinking something like a roaring, angry Angelic choir. No, to be honest, I just couldn't find any other spell whose primary effect was stunning, so I went with sound burst as a base.
  

Cleansing Coronal
Aura Moderate evocation and divination and abjuration; CL 9th
Slot Head; Price 57,000 gp; Weight 2 lbs.
Description
A fine-wrought mithral diadem with a deep purple gem cut in the tristar halo style set at the brow.

The wearer of this crown benefits from constant detect demon (DC 12) and protection from outsiders (demons) spell-like effects. Furthermore, he acquires two gaze attacks described below.

• Supernal Stare (Su): Demons within 60' feet that meet the wearer's gaze must succeed on a DC 14 Will save or be stunned for 1d4 rounds. This is a Sonic effect.

• Amaranthine Glare (Su): 3d6 fire damage or 9d6 fire damage to outsiders with the demon subtype, 30 feet, Reflex 20 halves. This ignores the fire resistance granted by the demon subtype. This can be used once per day as a standard action.
  

Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, burn corruption, detect demon, protection from outsiders, sound burst; Cost 28,500 gp

Thanks!

*Working on map and item.*

Can we still do the wondrous items?

Any specific criteria for the map?

Kim Frandsen wrote:

I'm hoping to make the next submission a map, but I seem to have lost the link to the grid map that was used for the last RPGSS. Would any of you have it available still?

Nevermind, I found by going through all the old blogs in the end.

So next goal is a map. Deadline: Within 2 weeks. Mostly due to work considerations.

Noted on everything! And thanks for taking the time to explain some things to me!

Hey dafelsheim!

Sorry I am not one who usually tries to argue with critiques or feedback, but feel there are some misconceptions in what you posted.

HP - extra 10 hp from the toughness feat.

Snow Trek - says "Snow goons can move through snow and icy terrain without any penalties or hampered movement." So difficult terrain from any other source would still affect them normally. I guess I could specifically call that out, but I don't know if that is necessary.

Fire Vulnerability - they get this automatically from having the cold subtype. This is a universal monster rule. From the vulnerability rule (see below) I would say they take +50% fire damage even from effects that require fort saves.

PRD wrote:

Vulnerabilties (Ex or Su) A creature with vulnerabilities takes half again as much damage (+50%) from a specific energy type, regardless of whether a saving throw is allowed or if the save is a success or failure. Creatures with a vulnerability that is not an energy type instead take a –4 penalty on saves against spells and effects that cause or use the listed vulnerability (such as spells with the light descriptor). Some creatures might suffer additional effects, as noted in their descriptions.

Freeze: This is another universal monster rule (see below). The only reason I listed it in the special abilities section at all is to state what it appears to be when using freeze. See the gargoyle as an example of how freeze is listed. I agree that if a snow goon was moving around and then used freeze it would be obvious that it was a creature. However monsters typically use the freeze ability before characters encounter them and then lie in wait as there is effectively no limit on how long they could remain perfectly still. Especially for a construct.

PRD wrote:

Freeze (Ex) The creature can hold itself so still it appears to be an inanimate object of the appropriate shape (a statue, patch of fungus, and so

...

Hey Everyone,

Here is a monster for the holiday monster challenge. I actually just wrote this a few weeks ago for one of my products - but I thought I would share anyway. The snowball spell-like ability is non-PRD so would need to be changed for rpgss.

Snow Goon

This macabre, animated snowman sports wooden branches for arms and two black coal stones for eyes above a gaping maw filled with icicle teeth.

Snow Goon CR 6

XP 2,400
CE Medium construct (augmented outsider, cold)
Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, snow vision; Perception +6
-----Defense-----
AC 20, touch 11, flat-footed 19 (+1 Dex, +9 natural)
hp 72 (8d10+20)
Fort +2, Ref +3, Will +0
Defensive Abilities amorphous; Immune cold, construct traits
Weaknesses vulnerability to fire
-----Offense-----
Speed 30 ft., snow trek
Melee 2 claws +11 (1d6+3), bite +11 (1d8 plus 1d6 cold and critical freeze)
Special Attacks critical freeze
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 5th; concentration +6)
At will—snowball (DC 12)
-----Statistics-----
Str 16, Dex 13, Con —, Int 14, Wis 7, Cha 12
Base Atk +8; CMB +11; CMD 22
Feats Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Toughness, Vital Strike
Skills Climb +11, Perception +6, Stealth +9, Survival +6
Languages common
SQ freeze
-----Ecology-----
Environment any cold
Organization solitary, pair, or gang (3-12)
Treasure standard
-----Special Abilities-----
Critical Freeze (Su) The bite of a snow goon carries a chilling cold. On a critical hit, the victim must succeed at a DC 15 Fortitude save or become fatigued. A creature that is already fatigued becomes exhausted instead. These conditions last until the creature spends 1 hour warming up in a place where the temperature is above freezing. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Freeze (Ex) A...

HP – Assuming the standard monster HP calculation (average HP for HD + Con modifiers + other), I get 42 (from the HD) + 20 = 62.

Snow Trek – What if there is something in their movement trajectory that would hinder movement/act as difficult terrain in ADDITION to snow/icy conditions? Like deep water or a frozen swamp or fallen logs, etc.

Fire Vulnerability – Constructs are immune to effects that require Fort saves unless they affect objects. What if they are targeted by a Fire effect that requires a Fort save?

Critical Freeze – First, if the bite crits, is the Critical Freeze the only effect or does it deal normal critical bite damage as well? Secondly, the rules for being fatigued and fatigued x 2 and exhausted and recovering from the effects, etc., as response to heat or cold, can be a bit confusing. After doing a fair bit of research on my own part, I've noticed that Fatigue and Exhaustion seem to be very rare special abilities for creatures even with the Cold subtype to deliver via physical attacks (or even those with cold auras.) I think this is because these conditions for cold are pretty much defined as resulting from nonlethal damage, which subsequently is a measure of how long it takes to recover from them. Critical Freeze doesn't really play by the established “rules” very well. The examples I've looked at for Cold creatures' special abilities tend to cause paralysis, being slowed, or staggered. I'd suggest looking at one of these conditions instead, or use the Frostbite spell ( http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/f/frostbite ) as a benchmark for how to make Critical Freeze cause fatigue.

Freeze – This is a cool idea but I think needs more precise mechanical detail. Obviously we'll start with looking at the Hide in Plain Sight Rogue Talent. This allows a Stealth check regardless of the environment at all times, for the specific terrain they choose. I'm assuming the Snow Goon's chosen terrain is arctic/snowy. Normally, Stealthing is just an automatic roll made when moving or you can take ~20 minutes to take 20. The SRD says that Ex Abilities that are reactive aren't actions but ones that require activation are generally Standard actions that can't be interrupted/countered/etc. Freeze would then be a Standard Action probably enacted after a Move Action – is this what you intended? Despite having Hide in Plain Sight, however, a.. SNOWMAN just appearing out of nowhere within sight of the PCs.. Would kind of tell them exactly where to hit.

Wow, that was a lot longer than I expected. I hoped it was okay, and not too picky or offensive in any way! It was my first real review.

I'll second Jarrett in thanks for the more experienced players helping us learn here!

I just dug out my Fires of Creation books and.. Wow! I knew that intra-stellar travel was an established part of Golarion-system's canon, but not INTER. With this and James's reply, it seems like the Elves truly are space-farers.

... Anyone ever try to convert Spelljammer rules to PF mechanics? Heh.

So, I'm working on adding appropriate map icons for locations on the map of Kyonin. For the Wandering Spheres - the broken remains of a once massive stellar orrery - I want to use the spaceship icon. Why? Here's the top of discussion.

Because apparently, the spheres/celestial bodies of the broken orrery don't seem to depict even the same solar system Golarion's in. This is from a Memory of Darkness.

This actually infers that Castrovel the planet wasn't the home planet of the Elves or that at the very least they had access to other solar systems/Crystal Spheres.

Spelljammer, anyone?

I tried to follow the format for Monster entries presented in the SRD. I didn't think about the fact that for Superstar submissions, the templates are a little different! Oops!

- Regarding the bow, I actually spent waaaay too long trying to come up with the “right” mechanics for what I wanted it to do (based on myth in large part.) Let me explain my rationale behind the item's appropriateness – which my not be right after all, but here goes.

- Obviously with below average HP for its HD, average AC, and almost negligible close combat damage potential, obviously I wanted to give the creature survivability via range in combat

- All special things aside, I double-checked to make sure that with the longbow the creature would have CR-appropriate attack and damage. +10 to hit looks to be the right average high attack, and an average damage of 16 is in the range of damage (15 low/20 high.)

- As for Endless Ammunition, I wanted to make sure that the creature wouldn't be left powerless in combat save for spell-like abilities if ammo ran out. And.. Erotes/Cupids had everful quivers, of course. At the same time I didn't want the creature to just be able to summon out of thin air their own bow and arrow/quiver to allow potential opponents a way to disable the Erote by stealing their bow.

- The Conductive quality I intended its use to let the monster land spells with hits of their arrows but also to restrict this – since it requires 2 'daily uses' of an ability instead of one to use it through a Conductive weapon.

… And only now do I realize that I forgot to take into account the requirement that any ability used with a Conductive weapon had to require an attack roll! Oi! I intended to include a Special Ability that basically allowed Erotes to mimic something like the Eldritch Archer's Ranged Spellstrike when using the Conductive Bow, but with spell-like abilities that don't require attack rolls. Basically, as a full round action, Erotes would be able to expend 2 uses of one of their 3/day spell-like abilities to “attach” it to a free ranged attack with the bow. If that arrow landed the target would still get the normal spell's save and even if the arrow DIDN'T land the 2 uses would be expended.

Does that make sense? Rambling!

This being epitomizes masculine beauty, appearing as a six-foot tall, lithely muscled young male humanoid of swarthy complexion, sunny hair, and sapphire eyes. Strapped to his back is a golden quiver of arrows and gold again is a laurel wreathe in his hair. Auric raptor wings span proudly from his shoulders. He holds a superbly crafted longbow.

EROTES CR 5
1,600 XP
CG Medium Outsider (chaotic, extraplanar, good
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft., detect magic; Perception +9
Aura emotion aura (DC 16)

DEFENSE
AC 18, touch 13, flat-footed 15, (+3 Dex, +5 natural)
hp 33 (6d10)
Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +5
DR 5/evil or magic; Immune enchantments; SR 18

OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft., fly 90 ft. (good)
Melee unarmed strike +6/+1 (1d3 nonlethal) or 2 wings +6 (1d4)
Ranged +1 conductive endless ammunition ironwood longbow +10/+5 (1d8+1/x3)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6th; concentration +9))

• Constant – detect magic
  
• At will – detect evil, negative reaction (DC 14)
  
• 3/day – adoration, calm emotions (DC 15), charm person (DC 14), honeyed tongue, seducer's eyes, unbreakable heart, unnatural lust (DC 15)
  
• 1/day – enticing adulation (DC 17), lover's vengeance, reckless infatuation (DC 16), unadulterated loathing (DC 16)
  
• 1/week – charm monster (DC 17), curse of disgust (DC 18), malicious spite (DC 17)
  

STATISTICS
Str 10, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 16
Base Atk +6; CMB +6; CMD 19
Feats Point-Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot
Skills Acrobatics +4, Bluff +8, Diplomacy +16, Fly +16, Knowledge (arcana) +2, Knowledge (planes) +7, Perception +9, Perform (all) +7, Sense Motive +15, Spellcraft +8, Stealth +7 ; Racial Modifiers +4 Diplomacy, +4 Fly, +6 Sense Motive
Languages Celestial, telepathy 100ft.

ECOLOGY
Environment any
Organization solitary, pair, or band (3-5)
Treasure +1 conductive endless ammunition ironwood longbow

Erotes are Outsiders that represent all forms of desire, particularly visceral attraction. They are the nigh-infinite multiplication of the God Eros (Desire aka Cupid) acting as their progenitor's agents throughout the planes. They seek to bring together mortals (usually mortals, at least) that they deem worthy of and complimentary to each other for the greater good. Additionally, they seek to rout evil by turning its most powerful weapon – hatred – back on its own.

Totally following this thread, and will be posting in the near future!

I'm working on tidying up (in terms of removing unnecessary files) things in my master Elven folder. I will share it on Google Drives with anyone who PMs me. Note, however, that due to the vast scope of this project, other than being "sorted" properly, many of the files are WIP's.

Thank you!

Hey. Can anyone tell me if there's any information about the elf settlement of Elistia in this book that isn't already available on this blog?

http://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Elistia

Thanks!

Admitadly due to shatterd star things in Second darkness like Runelords and crimson throne are in a bit of an odd place in regards to whether they have happend yet or not. (Plus info in other products does seem to indicate time going foreward slightly.)

Yeah. Shattered Star specifically takes place after these three. Regarding Second Darkness, the first book of Shattered Star says to assume that the big secret of the Drow that the Elves had been keeping for so long (specifically, the Winter Council) was recent, big news.

Also.

http://archivesofnethys.com/EquipmentMiscDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Pathfinder%2 0Chronicles%20-%20Volume%2044

dafelsheim wrote:

From what I've gleaned in my reading, I inferred that the Adventure Paths were more or less "canon," since for the most part they seem occur in the "past" of Golarion (since the current year is 4715.) The start of Rise of the Runelords and Second Darkness are both in 4709. The end of Second Darkness is given a specific date in Golarion's timeline (http://pathfinder.wikia.com/wiki/Allevrah - 4709 AR.)

AD publication year + 2000 = AR year

However, that does not mean the events of the AP actually took place. The Wrath of the Righteous AP saw the Worldwound closed... but it is still there so far as every subsequent Golarion product is concerned.

As to Elven politics and the Winter Council... Inner Sea Races has a few mentions.

Well, that definitely clears some things up regarding AP's! Thanks. :)

From what I've gleaned in my reading, I inferred that the Adventure Paths were more or less "canon," since for the most part they seem occur in the "past" of Golarion (since the current year is 4715.) The start of Rise of the Runelords and Second Darkness are both in 4709. The end of Second Darkness is given a specific date in Golarion's timeline (http://pathfinder.wikia.com/wiki/Allevrah - 4709 AR.)

Already done. But thanks. :)

Elves of Golarion talks about this somewhat. More or less, due to their long lifespans combating their intense emotions, Elves sometimes have trouble "reconciling" memories. It's nothing like PTSD or the like. But this is one of the reasons they have a Chaotic alignment despite having a very Lawful society in many ways. They may see someone carrying a rose and the smell will trigger the memory of their first lover's perfume which will trigger the memory of their deep loving connection which will trigger the memory of the intense pain felt when their lover was killed which will, in a span of milliseconds. Which could make the elf start to weep when seeing the rose. They're kind of like people with ADHD (REAL ADHD - not the ability to focus, but the inability to prioritize trying to focus on EVERYTHING at once) in very short doses but with excellent long term memories and the will to concentrate when they want to.

Speaking from someone who has lived with such issues his whole life. And neurologically speaking, it's pretty much fully explainable by modern medicine, too.

In the setting, in 3.5 at least, this was the reason for Elven Reverie. Since Elves didn't sleep, they more or less had waking/meditative dreams replaying and sorting their memories for 4 hours (I think? In 2E at least. Maybe 8 in 3.5.) But obviously, despite having a high Int, with age comes more memories to manage, from second to second of life, and more in the overall "memory hard drive" for Reverie.

Basically, as they age, the more memories they have, it's kind of like having to Defrag a slightly bigger hard drive every night.

So, I've been working for months now on a massive rehaul/revamping of pretty much everything Elven in Golarion, going back all of the way to the Age of Darkness/Serpents. But at the same time I've literally been combing every Paizo product available (including new ones) for all references to anything Elven or Elf-related. My goal is to essentially keep as true as possible to every bit of canon but simply fill in the spaces. Very large spaces.

Thus far there's been very little said about the actual government or social structure of the Elves of Kyonin. Pretty much, it's been all summaries/paraphrasing from the Second Darkness AP and Elves of Golarion in all products since these two were published. I was hoping for more information in Inner Sea Races, but again, rehashed stuff. (Though I certainly do think overall the book is a good buy if you don't already have all of the racial splatbooks and then some!)

My question is about the Winter Council. Specifically, what became of then after Second Darkness? Have there been any actual CANON references to the group or its members in print - or even anything from Paizo writers on or off the books?

Note that I am not looking necessarily for what everyone has done or would do with them after Second Darkness. I have a lot of partially-developed plans and ideas already in mind - I'd just like to see if there's any lore "thumb tacks" I'v missed that I should pin into my grand design to work with.

Of course, if you WANT to share original ideas, feel free. I'll be happy to discuss. :D

Yes, all of the Paizo releases will be September 30th.

Thanks. I wasn't aware that it had been pushed back! (Since it was originally on the schedule for early September, hence my eagerness.)

Is there a specific release date for Inner Sea Races yet?

You could look at last years entries. One map had a melting glacier.

That's exactly the sort of thing I had in mind. I was hoping that the same sort of thing would be allowed in the current round.

So, another question in the rare case that I actually make it past the Open Call.

If I want to make a map whose initial conditions/environment includes a catalyst that would change the map over time, would it be within scope of the rules to visually depict those changes somehow? I am not sure if this counts as setting up a specific encounter or providing "strategy" of some sort.

Example of what I'm talking about (but not using): The map starts with a dam that is about to burst.

Just to be clear... Regarding things like Traps, Haunts, Hazards, etc. -

We would only represent them on the map with the appropriate graphics and include the icon->label in the map key? But do nothing to otherwise reflect the mechanics/stats of such non-Creature encounters? No trap block stats, etc.?

Also, what about environmental conditions, like cold level or water depth? Would it be completely up to us how we wanted to visually depict such things (along with the label/key?) or could we, for example, use the contour/climate mapping methods and note the various changes numerically on the map itself?

dafelsheim wrote:

So, question regarding the rules for generating maps digitally.

Quote:

Your map may be hand-drawn or computer-generated (maps generated in Photoshop, MS Paint, or similar are acceptable).

Does this include map programs like Campaign Cartographer and Dundjinni?

Yes, both programs are acceptable. That said, I would look at last year's map round and the comments on the entries for some words of caution using them.

I appreciate the advice!

So, question regarding the rules for generating maps digitally.

Your map may be hand-drawn or computer-generated (maps generated in Photoshop, MS Paint, or similar are acceptable).

Does this include map programs like Campaign Cartographer and Dundjinni?

So, I own the existing products about Dragons currently in print by Paizo. I was wondering if there might be any products planned in the future that divulge any more information about Dragons on Golarion? Specifically, their history? There's numerous references to ages of Dragons and Giants in the distant past. We're getting some history about the Giants in the Giantslayer AP.

What about the ancient Dragons?

I was thinking they might be prevalent in the Age of Serpents.