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What are you doing with the Devils, Angels, and so on?
If you want a sneak peak at psionics, look at the new module The Dragons Demand. Each of the two new creatures introduced have a decidedly psionic flavor to them. One has a special ability called Id Insinuation, the other has a special ability called Psychic Blast. Sound familiar? These are probably really good examples of James Jacobs idea of how psionics should be treated within Pathfinder. Full Psionic rules may not be too far in the future, especially if the AP starting in February does more, if what I think is going to happen is true. Most Pathfinder Psionic content seems to be tied into the Dark Tapistry somehow, and isn't that where the AP is rumored to be going?
I go to Staples and buy whats called a project case made by Storex. Its pretty obscure, not even listed on the Staples website, don't know if I am the only one buying the things but I found it while looking for storage for my AP's waaaaaay back on issue 4 or something. It fits the AP's snugly with a bit of room for putting in extra like an APPG or Map folio, or even both. It's essentially a binder that has the rings taken out and enclosed to keep loose papers held within. Pretty much all my paizo stuff is enclosed in these things, from AP's, modules, soursebooks, maps, cards, dice, any of the softcover books, even the hardcover books fit for added protection (it can even fit the Core Rulebook quite nicely). Like I said tho, hard to find, just wander up and down the aisle in Staples for storage and it should be somewhere in there. I'm thinking the product has been discontinued and Staples is getting rid of its warehouse supply since even the Storex website doesn't have it listed there either. A few years ago I went through my local Staples supply, and figured that would be that, but a couple of weeks later they restocked the supply and I'm again slowly going through this batch as well. If anyone wants pics or anything, let me know, so you know what to look for. *Shameless product plug off (and its not even mine!)*
I've upgraded to the Deluxe edition of the book and need the Anniversary edition cancelled. Thanks.
Pre-ordered. This looks great! Though now I'm having trouble e-mailing customer service about cancelling the anniversary issue. Can someone let them know for me? I keep getting Delivery Status Notification (Failure) on my e-mails.
Wow, just saw this and am really interested in what you are doing with it. Would love to take a gander. fopalup@hotmail.com
If you wanna try something that doesn't require a lot of skill checks, and I feel simplifies the whole thing try this: Does the player have any ranks in Sense Motive? If he/she does, roll initiative as normal, as the character sees the body language change; if no ranks are on the character, have an initiative roll but with a -4 to the check, like a reverse Improved Initiative (Delayed Initiative?). If the character doesn't have any ranks in Sense Motive, they aren't used to looking for those particular cues from people, and odds are low they would spot the hit before it, well, hit, though it is still possible, depending on their reflexes.
OK, thoughts thus far... - if you plan to tie in a specific discipline into a particular Ability score, go over the psionics for 3.0 first. That is where it was originally done in the third edition format. While it had potential and I personally liked the concept a lot, the mechanics were probably lacking. Maybe you only gain a 1st level power from your discipline a number of times per day equal to your Ability modifier. - the chakra points idea is something that intrigues me. While mostly fluff-related in relation to the present iteration of psionics, it does lead to interesting directions that could be a prestige class, or archtype, or even a new class altoghter. Tying it into the monk also is something that should be seriously considered. Their Ki points were something I always considered rather Psionic in nature ever since they first showed up during the PF playtest. - your thoughts on adjusting where they center their psionic focus after a night of rest could be easily used, it just means setting up a system that you think would work. Like, each level gives you a 'rank' (like a skill system) to place into a discipline, or chakra point, or whatever, of your choice, and you rearrange your points however you want during meditating. Each point would be used to determine the damage, power level, save target. Maybe your corresponding Ability modifier could be how many times you can use that discipline during that day. However that leads to it's own problems. Could be fun to try though. Or possibly an Ability check to verify the success of the power, ala 2nd edition. This could have a side effect of getting rid of power points if done correctly. - If you were to throw "vitality" into the mix, you should probably only do it when the player character fails, like through a successful saving throw causing mental backlash or some such. As Voodoomike said, tho, not recommended. All I got right now...
I noticed that there is no Holy or Unholy on your list. That would make it a nice round 20 items on the list. I think this is an interesting take on the magic system, and am interested in seeing more.
Here's a thought you may want to look into: the origin of magic. Where is your font of power; your power core, so to speak. Does anyone know, even the gods? Does it act like the sun, spreading its energy to all life and matter, energizing and even in some cases animating everything; or does it only search out specific objects and people, based off a pre-determined judgement made before even the beginning? Is there a Magic dimension, like there is a Positive and Negative dimension, or are they a part of it, perhaps even the Positive and Negative (a-la electricity) poles that generate the magical field within the spheres? Maybe it is generated by the planet, like the lifestream idea from Final Fantasy VII. Perhaps no one knows, even the gods, anymore than it is known where Gravity comes from; it just is. Depending on the answers it may determine more on the interaction between the classes. Perhaps the Sorcerers see the Wizards as the usupers, delving into the natural magical field and disrupting it's flow, or even stealing it. Make the Wizards the underdogs in this fight, trying to find secure locations to continue their studies while the Sorcerers try to stop these unnatural experiments. You could go with the 'Mad Scientist' scenario, with the Sorcerers' seeing themselves as magics' guardian needing to stop these upstart Wizards from, one of these days, opening a portal to who knows what, and ending all of existance. Clerics would probably be tolerated, as their power would be given to them from a higher power, or as you put it channeling, and is not a direct disruption of the Magical Order of Things (TM). Druids could be seen as kindred spirits to Sorcerers, while all the other classes could be seen as oddities, especially bards who could have been sorcerers, but were too frivolous (in the sorcerers view at least). Clerics and Paladins would see magical power in the hands of others as an untrustworthy persuit, as it would lead too easily to an abuse of power. Unsurprisingly, this reasoning is probably very close to the reasoning in our real world, and would probably be easiest to simulate. You could have your Divine classes act paranoid towards other classes, even the non-spellcasting type, because they believe in the direction of their god or cause and cannot allow their worldview to widen, for fear of losing their faith. Back to your original idea about the sorcerer being the upstarts/new kids on the block, maybe they are, or at least originally were of an evil origin. I can easily see Devils or Demons starting the trend, and it just grew from there with Dragons and Angels and various other powerful entities joining the trend, but the initial stigma would still exist. Does society as a whole shun those who spontaneously display magic power? Do they revere those whose power is able to help the community now and not some indeterminate time in the future as the person has to study their buttinski off just to dust a room with magic? A lot of this would depend on what kind of setting you are planning on for the characters, and what kind of background the common folk are used to. As far as sponsorship is concerned, what happens if you lose your sponsor? How do you gain another? Will that change your previous granted powers, or do you gain lower level powers of your new sponsor(ie. wings), or perhaps even a Sorcerer(bloodline)/Sorcerer(sponsor) multiclass? Would you start over at first level at gaining a new sponsor, or continue on from your old class level? What happens in-between sponsors to experience gained? I suppose you could do something like a level drain until a new sponsor is contracted with. Anyways, have fun picking this apart.
Thoughts in regards to your take on Magic. Mage Craft - What is the general tech level for the rest of the world? Is civilization advanced enough in science for Mage Craft to be seen as an off-shoot of science, or is Wizardry seen as THE source of knowledge, with advancements in the field being the direction knowledge is heading? Do you see a difference between the two in your world? Wizards could have to take a feat in some Item creation type to gain money for their studies, with the number of feats taken in this regard as a symbol of how far they have taken their 'craft'. "I am Artasius Groeter, Craftmaster of the Third order, mastering Rods, Scrolls, and Arms and Armors." They become the Artisans and Craftmasters of the world, because they are the only ones who know how everything really works. Everything manufactured goes through a Wizards hands at some point. Sorcery - Honestly, I can see why people might see them as evil. When you were a teenager, and you suddenly got a super-power what would you do with it? Make your life more comfortable, of course! Generally without some sort of outside influence, like a mentor, teenagers do what they want, and with a power that cannot be countered by the general populace, that can easily be a corrupting influence. Conversely, one outside influence might be Wizards, depending on a specific timeframe, seeing them as a 'natural resource' to be exploited, creating a kind of slave race. On the mentor idea, if you go with the sponsor idea, perhaps you have a war between sponsor ideologies, with Sorcerers fighting it out a-la Highlander, trying to gain 'converts', or outright killing opponents. The eventual goal for the sponsor is to achieve enough followers to attain godhood, while the Sorcerer would become a herald or something along those lines. Weird thought but hey, just where my mind is going. Bards - Hmmmm. I dunno about them gaining all the feats that fighters get like that. You seem to be forgetting their rogue aspects. Alternate every other level with either sneak attack or Rogue talents? Thinking about just the fighter feats I know that the Bard would still be slightly 'weaker' than the fighter with lower hit points and different saving throws and a focus on Bardic Performances. Would this make him/her a herald? Possibly an interesting alternate class feature... Channeling - Honestly I don't see a significant difference between this and the sponsor thing with Sorcerer. At this point you would probably have to make a concerted effort to explain the difference between arcane and divine magic, if there even is one. Perhaps it's only one of methodology, whereby the means you gain your power is the defining difference, or perhaps there is a physical difference, with the two being incompatible. This may lead to a further gap between arcane and divine spellcasters, with divine spellcasters needing a specific reason or quest to associate with an arcane spellcaster other than "I met him at a bar and we decided to become adventurers." These are my initial thoughts. I put them down not to direct you towards a particular direction, but merely to get the creative juices flowing. If you think they have merit, great. If not, hopefully they helped you decide what direction you wanted to go. The more details you can decide on when you are creating a world, the more real it will seem to your players, and the more fun they'll have. Enjoy!
I'm pretty sure you meant weapon focus on that but anyways. (oops, ninja'd) While I think you are correct about it not being written directly that feats (or skill points, or HP for that matter) cannot be held over until a later time, the game does state that you take certain steps as you advance in level. Among them (and coincidentally last on the list) is adding new skills and feats (PFRPG 30). As a DM I would unfortunately turn down your request to defer your feat to a later level with the logic that feats are a natural progression of your character's learning and experience, not something you could turn off while you wait for something better to come up.
While certainly doable, I see a couple of problems with the approach of using XP as a bonus generator of ablilities. First is are there any restrictions? If a player can 'buy' feats or skill ranks, why not HP or bonuses to saving throws? How about Class Special abilities or spell slots? It's always a question of where do you stop, especially when you are speculating stepping outside the existing rules to do it. With limiters in place, this can work fine. I would say that some of the ideas presented here by others would work better, because they are using the framework of the rules to work within. All that being said, if you are going to do this, do it full-throttle. Try something like this: Spoiler: Exp buys for skills/feats/abilities
Character creation buys are free. Skills -- initial buy 250 exp/ level buy 100*present level for class skills. Add 50 exp for non-class skills. Each +/- 1 Int modifier subtracts/adds 10 to the cost of the skill. Minimum cost is 10 EX. Amiri, a level 4 barbarian, has 10000 exp and wishes to increase her Perception from 3 to 4, Sense Motive from 1 to 2 and gain Linguistics. This would cost 300(P), 200(SM), and 300(L). This will bring her down to 9200. EX. Amiri, a level 4 barbarian with 14 INT, has 10000 exp and wish to increase her Perception from 3 to 4, Sense Motive from 1 to 2 and gain Linguistics. This would cost 280(P), 180(SM), and 280(L). This will bring her down to 9260. feats -- 500 exp. Note - subtract 100 exp from cost if part of chain (ex. Critical Focus = 500 exp; Tiring Critical = 400 exp; Exhausting Critical = 300 exp). If prerequisites are not met, triple the cost of the feat. class feature -- 100 exp*level allowed (ex. Combat Style for Rangers would cost 400 exp {200 exp*level 2 Ranger class feature}) Cost is triple if you are not of the required level for the class feature. Other class features allowed at triple cost. Yes, this is cumulative. Class features that are part of a chain have to be bought in progression, such as levels of Sneak Attack or Smite Evil. Each class feature can only be bought once. EX. Amiri, a level 4 barbarian, has 10000 exp has yet to gain the 2nd level class feature uncanny dodge which will cost her 200 exp. bringing her down to 9800 exp. EX. Amiri, a level 4 barbarian, has 10000 exp wants to gain the 5th level class feature improved uncanny dodge, which will cost her 1500 exp. This will bring her down to 8500 exp. EX. Amiri, a level 4 barbarian, has 10000 exp wants to gain Sneak attack from the Rogue 1st level. This will cost 900 exp and will bring her down to 9100 exp. *Note -- specific feats or bonus feats as part of class features cost as regular feats but at a reduced cost by 100 exp. EX. A fighters bonus feats cost 400 exp, or even less if part of a chain. Limitation -- players are allowed to spend enough exp to bring them down into the range of the previous level but can never spend enough to drop the amount to two lower levels. While this does not affect regular game play, if at any time the character suffers from energy drain or negative levels while in this experience deficit, the result is as if the character has an extra level of drain For example, a character has recently spent enough exp to drop them below their minimum for their present level. This has no effect on game play. They are attacked by an undead with the Energy Drain power for 1 level, which for them will be effectively 2 levels. This can be countered by gaining enough exp to bring them above their level minimum (still leaving them with 1 level of Energy Drain), or making their saving throw to counter the Energy Drain, whichever comes first. On an aside you could seperate everything into different catagories like: BAB/HP
Have each Catagory to spend experience on and use the appropriate experience to each catagory at something like 200 exp/level. The average of the catagories (rounded down) is the level of the character. So if you had -- Amiri, a level 4 barbarian, has 10000 exp You could have BAB/HP = 4 (400+600+800 exp) = +4/4d12
Or BAB/HP = 6 (400+600+800+1000+1200 exp) = +6/6d12
The advantage of this style is customization. You can create the character however and whenever you wanted. The downsides is making something too lop-sided, and I suppose feats, spending experience on a total blank level. This could be adjusted I suppose but it would throw off the average level.
How's this for an idea - Land of the Linnorm Kings invade Varisia? Actually it's more of an enlarged immigration as the Linnorm people are being forced out by Irrisen who is themselves spreading across the north? The players are forced to face the people of Linnorm in their 'invasion' and may try to force them back to their lands, wipe them out completely, or try to get to the root cause, Irrisen, and stop those invaders so the people of the Linnorm Kings can go back to their homes. This could be very challenging as the players would have to deal with making alliances of the various factions around Varisia but not weakening it enough to allow other invasions to occur, such as from Belzken, or even the Shoanti! This could be Kingmaker part 2!
A major +1! I was one of those poor souls who enjoyed their 3.5 monthly fixes of Dragon magazine subscription (unfortunately couldn't afford Dungeon *sob*) and loved reading them, deciding what to use on players next. I was shocked and dismayed with the announcement of the discontinuation of the product line and of 3.5 altogether. I had been collecting a few books, mostly from the main line and was deeply upset at this turn of events (not as much as some of my friends who had collected even more than me). Paizo had then done a (IMHO) brilliant business decision with allowing subscriptions to run out on their new line, Pathfinder. I decided to let my subscription run out and then I would start checking out the old RPG section at the local used book store for 3.5 books. That was the plan. Hooked, I tells ya, Hooked! Worse than crack! The world of Golarion was opened and couldn't be closed back down, for me. Each new episode made me more excited to see what those fabulous people at Paizo would come up with next. From Sandpoint to Varisia to Avistan & Garund to all points in between and beyond, it filled me with wonder and joy and a bit of malicious glee at what I could throw at my players next. From Adventure Paths and Modules and Chronicles and Companions to an all new Core, each new step in the evolution has made the game I love more and more FUN! In all honestly I can say that I haven't been this involved in, and invested in, gaming since I first picked up a 2nd-ed players back in 1990. Not even when 3rd came out. Thanks, folks!
What would you think of adding it as a combat maneuver only when using fighting defensively or total defense? Hmmm I may have to play a few scenarios about this...
However I will point out that in Golarion, this is now the "Age of Lost Omens". Perhaps this particular chaotic approach to organization in religions is a direct result of that. Central authorities are used to 'pick a direction', as it were, and right now they can't. This lack of focus could be a very recent thing, and could be something of a hook for divine-guided players. I suppose it depends on how you work it as a DM. Frankly the events of Aroden's death caught everyone by surprise, including the gods. Plans that had been set up millenia ago that would be triggered with the arrival of Aroden on the material plane, by each and every god, would be thrown out the proverbial window and new plans "quickly" put into place. Commune is a nice spell to find out what your god has in mind for you, but if all mortals get is a quick "I'll get back to you! Keep doing what you've been doing.", this could quickly degenerate into individual factions probably based on geographical and political landscapes, based out of local temples. As far as the Oracle is concerned, maybe it is part of the response by the gods to the new uncertain situation... All of this is serious conjecture on my part, and I agree with you that an official response would be great.
So maybe we should be asking for a good Religion & Churches book, that kind of goes along with the Gods and Magic book as a Chronicles book. I have always felt that a lot of D&D potential is lost because this area is not fleshed out to any particular degree.
These are awesome! I'll be looking at handing these to my players next game session, hopefully.
Actually, I'm really curious how far you'll take this. Is that a seperate thread I hear calling?
I always thought an awakened shambling mound.Is the Trash Heap a shoggoth or a shambling mound? Quick, anyone know the stats for a fraggle? That just gave me an idea... "Down in Fraggle Rock... Down in Fraggle Rock"
So I ran my first game in a while tonight. I've been really excited about the new adventure path Kingmaker. I've gotten my players really excited about it too. Hopefully we'll be able to play on a weekly basis. However, in my enthusiasm, I made the mistake of wanting to share with the community here at Paizo my impressions of the game session. After finding the right area to post it and giving what I thought was a brief synopsis of what happened during my game, I realised that it had taken me just under 2 hours to write all the things I wanted to, which in my opinion wasn't that much, I don't type too fast. At this point I really need to go to bed so I hit the submit post. Big mistake! The next thing I know I'm on Paizo's main page! Everything I had just done was wiped clean. Thanks guys! Now after a great experience with my players, I get to end my day with a bad taste in my mouth. Two hours of what should have been sleep if not for my enthusiasm, has now turned to ashes and wind. Consider this a statement of intent to NOT place any kind of journal on this web site.
I'm looking for some feedback for this Prestige class that I put together, working with the Dragoon of Final Fantasy fame and adjusting it themeatically, though not too much in my opinion. I am going to be running the Kingmaker AP and a player wanted to try this out. Is it balanced and fun? Any thoughts are appreciated. Dragon Warrior Throughout history, some people have feared dragons, while some have held them in awe, sometimes to the point of worship. Originally an organization created to keep a watch on dragon-kind, especially the chromatic type, Dragon Warriors considered themselves a policing force to keep dragons in check, to balance their influence on civilization. More recently, this goal has fallen by the wayside due to a lack of leadership within the organization. More often, those trained in the ways of the dragon warrior can be found as bodyguards and sell-swords, seen as little better than the various warriors around them. Dragon Warriors know better.
Roll: Dragon warriors are focused force, doing greater damage than other classes in one shot, but paying for it with a harsher recovery time. While they can do a passable job as a fighter, it's when up against a dragon that they truly shine. Alignment: Any neutral, as even now they still are striving for a sort of balance, though a balance of what is left up to the individual. Hit Die: d10 Requirements:
Class Skills
Class Features
Dragon Specialization – At first level, the Dragon Warrior chooses the type of Dragon that is the focus of their studies. This gives a +1 bonus on Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival checks involving dragons of this type, as well as a +2 to Will saves versus this type of dragons fear effect and spells, and a +1 versus other types of dragons. The Dragon Warrior also gets a +1 bonus on weapon attack and damage rolls against their chosen dragon types. Dragon Specialization does stack with the Favored Enemy class feature.
Improved Combat – At 1st level, a dragon warrior may choose any combat feat with the word Improved in its name as a bonus feat regardless of whether they have the prerequisites. Improved Charge – Dragon warriors specialize in the charge action to pierce the thick hide of a dragon, and this is where their main focus of their training is on. When doing a charge (see PFRPG p 198), a dragon warrior deals double damage with a piercing weapon, or triple damage with a lance. Jumping Charge (Ex) – This feature is what has inspired fear of the dragon warrior throughout the known world. At 2nd level, a dragon warrior gains the ability to charge while disregarding any terrain penalties, as a dragon warrior jumps horizontally at the target. A dragon warrior is able to bypass all terrain and hindrances for a number of squares equal to half the dragon warriors ranks in Acrobatics . Vertical distance is determined as per normal by an Acrobatics check. A dragon warrior then gains the Staggered condition for 1 round. Dragon's Gait (Ex) – At 2nd level, and every 3 levels afterward (5th,, and 8th), a dragon warrior's training enables her to move an additional 10 feet. In addition, falling damage is decreased by 10 feet as per the Monk's ability Slow Fall for every 3 levels. Tactical Retreat (Ex) – A 3rd level dragon warrior can, after a successful Jumping Charge, retreat back exactly the way they came, up to what is left of their move. This does provoke an Attack of Opportunity, though this can be avoided with a successful Acrobatics check (see PFRPG p 88) as though moving through a threatened area. Dragonfear (Ex) – Starting at 3rd level a dragon warrior can, as part of a Charge maneuver, seem so intimidating as to exude an aura that frightens all opponents of lesser Hit Dice around them. This causes all creatures within 10 feet per dragon warrior level to become shaken unless they make their Will saving throw (DC=10+1/2 dragon warrior level + Charisma modifier) This is a free action usable once per day. At 6th level the effect it is usable twice per day and all creatures who fail their save become frightened. At 9th level it is usable three times per day and all creatures who fail their save become panicked. Any who are successful in their will save cannot be affected by this ability for 24 hours. Crushing Blow (Su) – At 4th level, a dragon warrior can imbue their weapon with magical energy for a short period. The weapon temporarily takes on the bane magical enhancement. Activating this ability is a standard action and requires the appropriate Knowledge check against the creature (see PFRPG p 99) by the character. This action can be sustained for a number of rounds equal to the character's total levels plus Constitution modifier per day. Heavy Evasion (Ex): At 4th level and higher, a dragon warrior can avoid even magical and unusual attacks with great agility. If she makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, she instead takes no damage. Unlike other types, this Evasion can be used with whatever type of armor a dragon warrior is wearing. A helpless dragon warrior does not gain the benefit of evasion.
Greater Combat – At 5th level, as a bonus feat, a dragon warrior may choose a combat feat with the word Greater in it, for which they have the Improved version already. Vigorous Charge (Ex) – At 6th level, a dragon warrior can attempt several extra Jumping Charges in a round, and suffer no penalty during this time. This action can be used against a single creature, or more than one, if the characters move allows. Each attack acts as moving 10 feet, like the minimum movement for a charge, even if against the same target or one 5 feet away. Afterward, a dragon warrior becomes fatigued for a number of rounds equal to the extra attacks she continued the Jumping Charge after the initial attack. If done while fatigued, a dragon warrior becomes exhausted, and can no longer do any charging Death From Above (Su) – At 8th level, a dragon warrior gains the ability to fly, as per the spell, for a number of minutes per day equal to your dragon warriors' level, with a speed of 60 feet and good maneuverability. This duration does not need to be consecutive, but it must be used in 1 minute increments. Dragon Specialist (Ex) – After much studying and trial and error a dragon warrior gains great knowledge on all dragon types. Any time a dragon warrior is dealing with a dragon, an inherent bonus +2 is added to all relevant rolls. This bonus is also added onto any static numbers such as Caster Level, CMD and saving throw DCs. This bonus stacks with Dragon Specialization.
Just saw this thread and thought I'd pop in. Hi everyone! Another mormon here, in this case in Calgary Alberta Canada. Went on my mission in San Bernardino California. Am presently the facilities rep for my building. Anyways it's cool seeing all the responders to this thread. Edit: To Charlie Bell: South Park actually had it right! The Mormons will be the ones in heaven with all their jello-y goodness. (Sorry, couldn't resist the bit of levity.)
Whoo-hoo! A fellow Canadian. Welcome to life on the Paizo boards Jenny. Here's hoping you have a lot of fun in this hobby of ours. If you have questions about any aspect of the game, chances are you will be able to either find the question already asked and answered already posted by someone else, or you can find lots of help from the various people here. Keep in mind that not everyone will have the same opinion on the topic, but that does keep it interesting around here. One of the things I like best is the people at Paizo keep a fairly close watch on these boards and are active participants in answering questions. Anyways, again, welcome and have fun!
I suppose that would depend on the type of adventures you and your players enjoy. I could help a bit more if you give a bit more description on what you and your players generally do. Where is their main base of operations? Are they explorers, hack-n-slashers, guardians, relic-acquirers? Do the players enjoy the role-playing aspect more or is it all about the killing? How far are you planning to take the characters, both geographically and in terms of levels? One quick thought, do you have Pathfinder Module #3, the Hook Mountain Massacre? That book has the most info about Varisia and can give you several ideas for the adventures you are playing. As far as an overarching plot is concerned, Chorak's Tomb upriver from Ravenmoor is a sealed off city by the inhabitants, presumed to be giants of some kind. A nice invasion story could work. The Storval Deep is rumored to contain relics of a lost civilization. Perhaps a water-breathing race has been developing there, and are planning to flood the lowlands, or at least a crazy contingent are. Sanos forest seems to be the center of Gnome activity, with a rumored portal to the First World, the place where fey come from. While gnomes are mostly nice, not all fey are... Something "simpler" may just be a trade consortium out of one of the major cities trying to get a monopoly on the trade routes in the area, bribing various monster tribes into attacking certain caravan's, while leaving others alone. An investigation may be in order. Lycanthropy seems to be spreading throughout the area. Is something going on in Wolf's Ear? If you are looking for something really big, take inspiration from any of the first three adventure paths. Another Rise of a Runelord? I'm just throwing ideas at the wall of your mind to see if anything sticks, but like I said earlier, details would give me a much better idea of what thoughts I should be throwing. :)
Psionics was always the better "magic" system. In that case, I would suggest not looking at the Monk too closely. Dumm de dumm. Move along citizen. Nothing to see here.
Shortly after 3rd Edition came out, I tried my hand DMing the new module, Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil. Originally there was a party of 4, which grew into a party of about 10 players as people started bringing friends to try out the new system. Things were a bit chaotic as you might guess.
Most things have been touched on in previous posts, but one thing I am hoping for in great anticipation is an in-depth exploration on the entire solar system that was teased at within the Second Darkness AP. This would be a natural precursor to a 'Spelljammer-esque' line to the other planes and realities. There are so many directions that could be gone into with this line. It could actually be considered big enough to be it's own complete line. Mind you, it would probably also be a good basis for epic rules too; If you're not epic, you're not black-faring! Beasties of truly epic proportion would be waiting within the void between planets. Or even on other planets (Take me to your leader! That indicates someone of high level). You need some ideas for epic? Re-read the article from the second chapter of Second Darkness, if you have it available. Frankly, using the 'Space' setting that is already established, would do wonders for at least play-testing any epic rules that Paizo wants to work with. Edit: Or Psionics for that matter...
Finally finished! It's on it's way... Hope this is what you are looking for...
Well, I'm gonna be making an entry, hopefully by tonight. I'm aiming for a Weal or Woe article.
Perhaps I was not specific enough in my statement. My apologies. I am not talking about damage in general, but powers that are based on Telepathy should not do any physical damage, or if they do, there better be a darn good reason. Enchanters may be able to do spells that do damage, but they have to go outside their school to do it; in that same vein, Telepaths should go to powers outside of Telepathy to do that. As far as shredding someone's mind is concerned, I think placing a fear effect on someone, or confusing the enemy, or doing 1d6 Wis damage to a monk or Cleric, would be effective (and thematic) for Telepathic powers. Other damaging effects could be covered by other power disciplines. Honestly it's not much of a problem as there are not that many telepath powers that do direct damage (ie Mind Thrust) but a bit of revision could not hurt, for theme purposes if nothing else.
Telepath: An at-will telepathy power that can cause damage to enemies or communicate with allies, as long as they retain psionic focus. Will also gain a bonus on using specific powers. I'm with Set on this. Damage as far as telepathic powers go should be restricted to status changes, and also Ability damage, mostly to the mental Abilities. No physical damage; although non-lethal damage is a distinct possibility. As far as a basic power is concerned, you could make it a 'sending/receiving' power, for telepathic talking. Most, if not all other telepathic powers would be based off of that so it would be needed. The initial power could give insight bonuses to AC, saves, initiative, or whatever, but would only be effective against active minds, ie Int > 2.
I am looking forward to this too. Something I saw on EN World was the idea of an active pool as the author stated, and I really liked the idea for adjusting the entire nova issue. If you were to put this in as an alternate, or even the main limiter for psionics (it could easily be removed by those who didn't like it), I would love to see it. At least look at whether it would be something that could be done. Look at it this way. You limit them to half their present pool, so it scales down, meaning lower and lower costs as you use up your PPs, in much the same way spells of higher level run out and the magic-user has to rely on lower level spells. Now this is just a first glance idea, and doesn't take into account the entire auto-scale of magic vs pp usage of psionics, but it could be a viable starting point to work from. Anyways just an idea, that granted someone else came up with first, but it didn't get any recognition, and I felt it did have some merit.
I just plan to buy "Munchkin Pathfinder" when Steve Jackson Games comes out with it. ;) I swear the munchkin books previous were the best way to introduce the game concepts to new players. No, now that I think about it, the original Munchkin book would still work ("Constitution gets used a lot!"). It would be really cool to see a collaberation between Paizo and SJG for this project. Although, Paizo will be releasing a conversion guide as a PDF for your 3.5 library. Don't throw out your 3.5 library yet! Show new players the PFRPG book, then when they are staggering around under the weight, take it away from them, replacing it with the old 3.5 PHB with a printed up conversion guide. They'll be so greatful they'll happily go through the old book. Problem solved!
If heavy armor was a big thing for you, what I would do is take the Holy Warrior alternate class ability from the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign setting, add heavy armor to it, and allow the players to choose this alternate. Would that work with the new rules? I don't have the book yet so I can't check. Anyhoo that would be my solution.
Living in Calgary also, and have not had a missing shipment yet. Long wait, oh yes... but it does eventually come to me at least.
Well with wrath bowing out, I guess that leaves me with making up a good Psionicist. Quick question though. Are you going with a 'Psionics is same as magic' rule, or a 'Psionics is different than magic' rule? How do the psionic skills interact with their magical counterparts (eg. Use psionic device vs. Use magic device, or K(Arcana) vs. K(Psionics)? If you want them totally separate, just let me know.
I would love to play in a new game, especially a PBP since my experience is rather limited. I would definately be interested and don't have any other games to contend with other than my own home-based RotRL's. Looks like yours would be adding flavor to the mix, me like! I wouldn't mind being a psionic class (maybe an egoist) travelling the world looking for inspiration to enhance my "art", or maybe a Ranger would make more sense, moving through the wilderness, keeping the "pest population" down. Hmmm, have to think on that one...
That is correct. Fopalup, unto you I bestow the Artifact Ion Stone of Vecna's other eyeball. I don't think that looks very sanitary. Anyone got a good purifying spell handy?!? (That Vecna has the hardest time hanging onto his parts. Are they for sale on E-bay or something?) ;)
MDT - Interesting take on it. Haden't looked at it that way before. Possibly the way that both entries are worded is what is causing the confusion. So your take on it is the base is 2xCon rounds, doing nothing but float and hold your breath costs 1 round, making a free or move action costs 2 rounds (according to swim skill), and making a standard or full action costs 4 rounds. Yeah, I could see that. DM Blake - I think you've been up to late again, my carapace-shelled friend, your mad-math skills are starting to slip. You'd need an 18 Con minimum to reach 3.5 minutes. A Con of 10 would leave you with 2 minutes max at 2xCon rounds (2 x 10 x 6 seconds = 120 seconds). MDT might have the right of it. If I don't get an official answer, I will probably go with his. It's just the way it's written that is throwing me off. Morgen - Interesting point, however, uhhh, wrong thread mate.
In the last gaming session I had with my players on Saturday, they were starting the assault on Thistletop. One of the things that popped up as we were playing was the drowning rule, or more specifically how long they can hold their breath. Under the swim skill it states that when underwater a player can hold their breath for Con rounds before starting to drown. Meanwhile under underwater hazards, which also has the rules for drowning (kinda redundant if you ask me), holding your breath is listed as 2xCon rounds. Now this wasn't really necessary as my players' (yes, that is plural!) weren't underwater anywhere near that long, but still confused the heck out of us.
Spoiler:
The letter E Couldn't... resist... riddle...
Is this going to be just a Beta site, or are you converting it to the PFRPG in August?
I would actually argue that as long as they stay within the boundaries of the Mana Waste they would not be able to change into their alternate forms, but would still be able to infect people. A good reason to come and STAY within the borders, but if you left then it's back to square one as far as the changes go. At the very least, you might have rabies...
Well it looks like they might just leave it up to us. That would be cool. I vote for the 'tremors' type. Then again maybe they could both be considered the same animal, just different HD amount because of size.
So is there any consensus as to just what Sandkrakens are? I assume at this stage that it is the Golarion version of Sandworms from Dune. I could see a reason for the very large gun in the side of the cliff because of this. Or maybe just the creatures from the movie Tremors, also explains the entire cliff-living agenda...
It looks to me like Geb is trying to become an economic powerhouse and they use items from Alkenstar, either directly or indirectly, as exports. The Ice Wine, the Crystal Mines of Dongun Hold shipped to Vudra are done as it says in the Campaign setting "thanks to lucrative trade agreements with Nex" (Campaign Setting p. 59) (I read that as Nex saying "thanks for the free taxes!"). Frankly Nex has a good thing set up in Alkenstar. They can't send in any of their own workers (ie. undead) because there is no guarantee that they could recover the resources there before all the undead went nuts from the Mana Wastes. It was a very sneaky move to place people there (the undisirables) next to the dwarves and then make it so that they would WANT to work out the resources of the region, and make it so there are no expenditures on Geb's part, yet they gain great benefits from just being their main export partner. Very sneaky indeed.
Well the food thing is answered in the Campaign setting, with Gebs nobles providing most of the food in return for Alkenstar's main export, their ice wine. Gebbites must really love their wine!Edit: Well the living ones anyway. |