I thought it might be an issue for other folks. Thanks for the tips, I'll have a look out for Mountain Pass and probably get Winter Forest. Paizo could do generic terrain tile sets with say 9 snow, 9 desert, then a sequel with 9 fields (a massive bugbear of mine) and 9 moorland. I have a big problem with moors. In the north of England I am surrounded by them. Consequently a quarter of my home brew setting is moors. Bad and interesting things happen on moors. Yet there are no moorland tiles or maps anywhere ever! So I'm going to lobby for a moors set. With heather, an old ruined farmhouse, a tarn (lake), a ruined tower, areas of peat digging, a large gnarled old tree, the bones of a dead stag or giant elk, and so on.
These look really great. What I always find challenging about the map packs though is how to set up these 'feature' terrain tiles into a coherent battle map without generic terrain tiles to go with them to use to place around these feature tiles. In this pack the generic tiles would simply be white snow tiles. Anyone else have this problem?
The pics make a real difference to my buying these because as a DM in the UK I can plan encounters based on the pics well before the product comes out & before I buy. Other websites such as Amazon rarely show the back cover and my FLGS does not stock map packs, so I rely on the Paizo images. Since they stopped posting the pics my purchases of map packs has reduced quite a bit. Good to see them back.
The line of Flip-Mats and Map Packs keeps getting better and better and the Flip-Mat Classics was useful to get out of print releases. Maps I'd like to see in the latter half of 2016 onwards, what are yours? Map Packs Houses. I'm crying out for houses. So many adventures and modules have encounters in houses and there are hardly any available. Castle. Different castle rooms. Gothic style pack or medieval. The Town, or City: Courts, small gaol, town hall, blacksmith, wainwright, brewery, old saw mill and so on Graveyards. Much like the out of print map pack. I've some WOTC ones the necropolis Flip-mat, but crying out for a modular spooky gothic old graveyard. Portals - different scenes with portals - a forest portal to the first world, one in a field, one in a marsh and so on. Then what's on the other side - the Planes or the First World. Wizards Tower, 4-5 floors of circular goodness, four tiles per floor would be a decent sized space. Haunted House - the original was brilliant. Flip-Mats Moorland. Just generic moorland. Maybe with a stream or boggy areas. a few gnarled old trees. On the other side a ruined house or farm. Think Rannock Moore in Scotland. Graveyards - as above. Perhaps one urban one, and one rural one. The urban one is a walled graveyard accessed down an eerie alleyway away from the main gates. The rural one is old and ancient. Fungal Forest. Areas covered in different sizes of large shrooms.One in the Darklands, one above ground. With paths and clearings. Planes - the fields of Elysium, passages in the Abyss, the plains of Abbadon. Could do a planes line with a different Plane every two months. And planar bastions, or the abodes of celestials, or sky castles and motes. Underwater - an underwater scene with a ship wreck on one side and an ancient sunken ruin on the other or leave one side as a generic sea or lake bottom. Somewhere the PCs can swim to and have encounters. Mountain terrain - one side broken rocky terrain with a mountain stream, the other a rocky plateau
I like the interior. I am just creating a thieves guild adventure where the PCs have to infiltrate a thieves guild and have to undertake various assignments to become members, its great for that.
Do DMs rule a creature dead or unconscious if it has minus HPs. I usually rule creatures dead at below 0 HPs but I am thinking of changing this because I am vexed by everything getting killed. I think there is more depth in creatures being unconscious at below 0 HPs up to their minus CON score, and then a PC can then choose to kill it or not based on various circumstances.
Parables of the Unconquered Dawn Author: Esculus Vrellus
Common.
After Possessing: If a follower of Sarenrae studies this book for 30 minutes at dawn (not before or after dawn, but at dawn), once that day as a standard action they can emit a flash of light from their holy symbol. One or more creatures of a combined HD up to that PCs character level are blinded for 1d4 rnds unless they succeed at a Reflex save (to shield their eyes in an instant) v the PCs highest Spell Save DC.
The Prezell Book of Puzzles Vol 2.
Price: 5 sps After Possessing: Once you solve a puzzle, for the next 24 hours you can choose to roll twice on a single Disable Device, Knowledge or Sense Motive check and take the higher result. You must then solve another one to have this bonus again. Once all the ten puzzles are solved, the book is useless, though you can purchase another puzzle book with different puzzles.
Kobold Traps Vol I Author: Val Randerson, illustrated by Jrdak
Common.
Once completed the book gives the reader a +2 Perception and +3 to Disable Device checks for locating and disabling traps in kobold lairs.
The Mischievous and Marvellous Adventures of Perikin Puckledown Author: Perikin Puckledown (Translated from Gnome by Elias Cropkin) This lavishly illustrated autobiographical tome tells of the travels and adventures of the gnome author (pictured in the inner sleeve) throughout Golarion to put off his bleaching. Part travelogue part treatise on life and love, and full of anecdotes, this 217 page book is a delight to read. In fact once the reader starts reading they cannot put it down! (it contains an unbreakable fascination spell) and must read it at all opportune moments when it can be whipped out from a backpack and read. Langague: Common
During reading, when the reader has read the stated % of the books reading time: 30% of reading time: The reader is affected by a reduce person spell until they read to the next %. They have no way of knowing when or if this effect will end. 60%: The reduce person ends and the reader becomes invisible. There is no way of ending this state until the next %. 85%: The reader is effected by a powerful Fascinate spell which means they spend the next remaining reading time finishing the book, including not sleeping. There is no way to end this effect. 100%/Last page: The spell ‘Heroes Feast’ comes into effect immediately after the last word has been read, wherever the reader happens to be physically. This was Perikin’s thank you for reading his book.
My books sub-system for special books. DMs: Some shops contain boon books. Where indicated in the shop description that there are boon books in the shop, roll on the following table to identify the book category. Book Categories roll d8
Then roll on the category lists you have written up and select the book(s) in the shop available for the PCs to buy. A PC can only read a book in a language they know. After the time reading has elapsed, consult and inform the PC of the 'after reading' boon. Each book has a reading time.The reading time depends on intelligence score which gives a base reading time which reflects not only reading but understanding and memory, which are then modified depending on the book’s size and complexity. Intelligence score/Base Reading Time
For each book, mark the hours needed to read it on the character sheet and when they have spent x hours in downtime reading, count it down. When zero, they have read it and the boon takes effect. Some books are reference manuals and have Reading Time: special. These books can be read as reference books and give small boons. Reveal the boon to the PC after the book has been purchased and the boon takes effect immediately with the assumption that information in the book is to hand for the PC to consult. Boons can be bonuses to skills relating to the type of book, for example a gazetteer on the River Kingdoms gives that PC a +2 bonus on Survival checks to avoid getting lost in the RKs.
Lessons from the Vault: A Journey to Axis
This rare 148 page reference tome tells of the authors journey to Axis in the year 4685 AR to visit the First Vault. Sig, a dwarven accountant and economist of Highelm, was granted the journey by Abadar after 80 years of the dutiful counting of money and gems from mining, and the banking and circulation of that vast wealth to create economic growth. On his trip to Axis he learned new ways to account for money, new ways of circulating it and news ways of generating tax which are set out in as '14 Golden Rules' in chapters 1-14. He spoke to some of Abadars highest priests and had a brief audience with the Master himself.
Any follower of Abadar reading this book for 1 hour every morning gets a choice of either a +2 bonus on Diplomacy checks that day; or a +2 bonus to appraise checks when identifying the cost of found items.
I love this map. The town side is good, fits nicely with pub crawl. But the other side is superb. I'm planning to run Carrion Hill and that rocky cove side can easily do for the wretched part of the town where cultist's live in hovels and there are some cheap dodgy brothels. The little outside restroom is priceless, a great hook/seed for encounters of the incommode kind.
Yes my understanding was that Paizo would look to replace out of prints such as this replacing the pirate ship one (which I had to hunt down on ebay at considerable inflated cost) and the recent tavern flip mat. And that's a good thing. Even better if there was a swamp replacement, hint hint nudge wink.
Has anyone home-brewed a Sanity mechanic like the Call of Cthulhu RPG for Pathfinder? I was thinking of designing a mechanic for when PCs are subjected to extreme mental stresses, experiences and hidden knowledge. Relevant encounters, adventures or non-combat events have a SAN ability check DC and a pre-defined SAN points-loss (fixed or a die roll) if that check is failed. PCs have to roll a mental-based ability check e.g. Will, at a given trigger point (which could be as simple as viewing a horrible cultist frieze depicting torture or self-mutilation like in the excellent Pathfinder Society module 'In Wrath's Shadow'). Fail the check and they lose some points from a Sanity pool of say 100 SAN points. Once a PCs SAN pool is reduced to a certain level (say below 50) they start to exhibit certain behaviours to do with 'losing it'. This could be run by a DM using rolls e.g. every time a PC does x, there is a 1 in 20 chance that y happens due their current SAN position e.g. simple examples could be a barbarian raging in combat when not intended by the PC; a cleric healing the wrong people; a fighter turning against an ally with one attack due to mad visions that they are an enemy. A few home-brewed tables could develop low SAN class-based mechanics along those lines in and out of combat, and some low SAN effects could be applicable to all classes. Or a DM could also just run it on the fly without rolling anything, based on the situation. When a PC's SAN pool gets to a low level, like under 30, a PC gains one of the sanity conditions in the Game-mastery guide. If it gets to zero, they are effectively mad and too far gone to recover, and probably end up in a sanatorium or wandering the byways of Avistan begging and mumbling nonsense in what they think is Yithian. SAN can be recovered by spiritual healing or new types of magic. Given the direction of travel of the mechanic and its effects is mainly downward and 'negative', when SAN is recovered to 'normal, sane' thresholds there are mechanical boons associated with that recovery and regaining ones mental faculties e.g. temporary boons to SAN DC rolls ('seen it done it'), temporary boons to Will or Fortitude saves ('mental resilience') or temp HPs etc. This adds incentives to seek SAN recovery, though for balance purposes all boons would need to be temporary. In addition, for certain campaigns which might test a party's sanity more than others, sanity flavoured material could be designed and built into that campaign e.g. character design and progression options such as campaign traits to bolster Will; magic items which give a bonus to SAN DC checks; magic or other items to heal SAN point loss. Clearly I would need to get the Maths right in the mechanics so that in any adventure or campaign there is a small chance that a PC goes mad, or is on the way to going mad, based on the potential SAN points loss designed in and the potential SAN points recovery available if the PCs find it. I'd want the threat of going mad to be real and visible to the PCs, but a threat which can be overcome. Any thoughts?
The tavern door bursts open and three dwarves come in, one with his back to the inside of the tavern and two shuffling sideways, carrying a large piece of rock between them. The rock is 3 foot high and 5 foot wide. They drop it in a corner with a crash, wipe their hands on their beards and head to the bar. They then stop half way, have a heated discussion, and one returns to the table where the rock is to guard it. The rest of the eve they never leave the large rock unaccompanied as they have three rounds of Hammer ale. At last orders they carry it outside and away.
The Riddling Leprechaun. The PCs will be startled by the sudden appearance (out of invisibility) of a green clad Halfling like man sitting on his own stool around their fire, doffing his hat and holding a pipe, which he then lights!! Before any of the PCs can react, he says: ‘Greetings travellers. Bofflewiggle. That’s my name. A wager to sprinkle a little fun on this dreary evening. One shiny coin of gold from you. From Bofflewiggle a potion of.....no....not that.....a scroll......yes!.....here it is (pulling out a small scroll from his inside pocket looking at it and putting it back again).....a scroll of glitterdust.... makes visible people blind, invisible people seen......no, that's not it.....makes invisible people blind, visible people seen....no, that's not it!....can't remember...anyway its useful.' He lights his pipe and puffs. The scent of fine tobacco fills the camp site. ‘Here are three riddles. I like riddling. I riddled constantly with my wife until she left one day and never came back. I don't know why. But Pril the Brownie moved in so that ended well. Or did it, you might ask? Never mind. Riddles! Answer these three riddles. If you do not answer all three correctly, you give Bofflewiggle a shiny coin of gold. If you do answer them correctly, you exchange a shiny coin of gold for this scroll here in my pocket (checks it is there again). Then I leave with a shiny coin of gold to give to my partridge....no, that's not it....the partridge is a plump breast in a pot cooking on my hearth...oh, that's it.....I remember....it needs checking then eating. What you say travellers? He then riddles: I am taken from a mine, and shut up in a wooden case, from which I am never released, and yet I am used by almost everybody.What am I? What is round as a dishpan, deep as a tub, and still the oceans couldn't fill it up? He who has it doesn't tell it. He who takes it doesn't know it. He who knows it doesn't want it. What is it? or any riddles from the following site: http://thinks.com/riddles/a1-riddles.htm
Kellum the Grippli can often be seen in the bay window of the river tavern built on stilts over the Sellen tributary. Once a week he leaves his village and heads for the bright lights of the Inn. He doesn't say much. He is happy the locals and travellers don't mind him being there. He just sits in the bay-window enjoying his pint of Hobgoblin and watching the world go by with his large frog eyes. He has struck up a sort of friendship with Romulus, the rat-folk bargemen, but Romulus is often working on the rivers far west of here.
Liz Courts wrote:
Ok thanks Liz, hope to see full pic sets soon. I sometimes design encounters from having sight of what tiles are due to come out, before they are released, as the sets are a good source of inspiration for encounter design.
I prepared four categories of encounters a) ship ahoy! b) monster encounters c) side quests d) something to see, and threw in one or two of those per day depending on where the party was in the AP. Ships included some of those in the S&S APs which were brilliant when fleshed out, but I also threw in a few merchant ship encounters for my players to trade and buy stuff whilst on the open sea such as a floating bazaar and some Locathah on aquatic mounts trading for ceramics and metal utensils. The Locathah had something they didn't value but the PCs did. I kept monster encounters to a minimum so as not to boost XP too highly and many of the really good sea monsters are too high level Side quests included things like: - sirens on a rock in a shipping lane
Things to see included things like: - a huge swarm of jellyfish with a dead hammerhead and other dead sea life caught by the swarm
My players really liked some of these and got a sense of a living aquatic world around them
A story from a the perspective of a Red Mantis assassin Luma from Blood of the City deserves a second novel something in the Shackles, its such a diverse location, doesn't have to involve the Free Captains. Could be about slavery. Pezzack, great write up in Towns of the Inner Sea a classic Darklands adventure Abbadon Thuvia, the Elixir the idea of a 'classic stories' line exploring the Inner Sea's past is super
that's it for now but more Riddleport side quests to follow tied to flip mats and map-packs. I hope DMs running or planning to run Shadows in the Sky or basing part of a campaign in Riddleport find these useful or helpful. Just to say I'm not trying to win any originality awards here, much of the above is fairly generic been-done-before stuff, but just posting in the spirit of sharing if anyone gets stuck for things to do in Riddleport.
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