Due to the heavy amount of investigation involved in CC, would Lorefinder be a good fit?
My players are about halfway through Haunting and have gotten frustrated with missing or not having the skills needed to get all the information needed. Luckily most of it has led to good roleplay, but I see aggravation on their faces more than enjoyment.
I don't want the players to get so frustrated they end up just hacking their way through the plot, and since I recently picked up Lorefinder I thought it might be helpful.
Any thoughts?
I just finished listening to the podcast. Kudos!!
I got a lot of good material out of it. My group is only 2 nights in, and currently doing research. So I can put most everything in it to use.
I hope you continue on with the rest of the AP, Lord knows I can use the help!!
I laughed when I read option A, because no, no they are not that clever! So I must pick option B sadly.
The one with the son is certainly shows moral apathy, in all the games we play. He is a friend, and not a bad guy. I do appreciate your advice and cautious, I will keep an eye on it.
At times I wish I could kick them all out! But 2 are friends and that would just be bad.
I am going to try standing firm on my decision; it will be in their court how they wish to respond/react. As much as I love gaming in person, life is too short to be this frustrated when I can game with folks over Skype.
Well, as an update. I sent out an email to everyone letting them know the status of their kingdom and the issues. And that we would discuss how (or if) we would move forward in Kingmaker. I let them know it wasn't punishment, simply playing the game without pulling punches. One person has canceled and will not respond to any queries. And another one is being quite shirty in his replies.
So, all in all, I would have to say they are unhappy with me at this time.
I would say, considering all the times I do pull my punches and let them do whatever (which is probably part of the problem) I am aggravated at the response.
Time will tell though!
Thank you everyone again for your input and help. It was a tough decision and I obviously needed some perspective.
Thanks again!!
I like both of your suggestions. I will shift their alignments (which will really only hurt the Paladin.) I will let them know that their people have ousted them, and that if they wish they can work for the new regimen; otherwise we will have to switch to a new AP. And my personality type HATES to leave a path unfinished!!
I cannot take a break from the GM chair though. The only other player who would be willing to GM wants to run a home brew Star Wars, where he has changed the history of the Jedi. The other players have come to me said "no way."
I do accept that part of this is on me, as GM I need to perhaps lower my expectations. However, I think Geraint hit the nail on the head, their maturity as players is lacking, and I think Kingmaker requires more seasoned players. They are all close to 30 (with the exception of one of the player's son, whom I give a lot of latitude since he is a boy.) They just have not really played before in a long running campaign. I am just stymied as to how to bring them along without a baseball bat! :)
Spoilers for those who have never played below:
I decided to run Carnival of Tears in between Book 2 and Book 3 of Kingmaker. We started it a couple weeks ago and picked it up Saturday. Usually I run a Halloween game, not Pathfinder but since we had to cancel our usual Tuesday game due to scheduling, everyone was on board for continuing Carnival of Tears for Halloween, since it is creepy enough.
We picked up Saturday right as all the fey began their carnage.
I warned the players, this will be deadly and can have significant impact on your kingdom. They still stood around arguing (or making fun of the dead) and took hours in game before the Cold Rider (who is working for Nyrissa) finally comes out to challenge them. I had to pull my punches with a couple of the combats because they were so unorganized. When I do the math and add up all the deaths, it is over 700. Most of my key NPC's, which the players use in some of the kingdom building slots, would be killed as well.
I am at a loss for how to continue. I don't want to tank their kingdom, but I did give them fair warning. Also, this is not the only time they have not cared what happened to their "subjects." When the owlbear came through at the end of book 2, they came back into town and laughed and made fun of the towns folk. They show a complete disregard for their people. One of the players uses the excuse that it is his character (a haughty elf who thinks all other races are inferior.)
I am very frustrated with the players at this point. After the owl bear attack and their response I talked to them and expressed my concern for their actions. I do not expect them to play out of character, but I think they use that as an excuse for bad behavior. In fact, I don't think they are playing in character. They are playing as themselves. And while I think they are having fun, I am not certain I am. I am to the point of becoming the GM I never wanted to be, one that is out to beat them, if for no other reason than to teach them a lesson. And that is not a cool GM (in my opinion, no offense to those who are.)
Thanks for all the input guys!
Where do you get the errata information from?
It doesn't seem fair to go back and change the weapon, since that information was not out there when he built the character.
Greetings!
I am on the horns of a dilemma.
I have a duelist who has an heirloom weapon (Aldori.) He is making overtures to the wizard to upgrade it. The current request is simple +1 enchantment. However, he says he wants to perhaps add fire or some other feature to the weapon.
I am torn on allowing this. First off, let me say, it is rare I disallow anything the players want to do. I figure I can work it behind the screen without them knowing if it causes an issue. I want them to be invested and love their characters. So I am not a "No" gm.
My problem is more story based, not rules. If you start altering an heirloom, an antique, is it still the same weapon? If I got an antique table from my great, great grandmother and then sanded it down, painted it purple and sawed the legs off, does it still have the same qualities?
On the other hand, there have been stories (I remember one in the Forgotten Realms) where each time a weapon was passed down it gained a new trait. Something unique to the wielder.
So I am unsure how to proceed. It doesn't help the player got in my face about it, even after I simply asked for a couple days to study on it.
KaeYoss:
I believe his intended use is the much feared bomb to lob at people. And I have attempted reason, which was as much a waste as talking to a fencepost. I figure let him find a little bit of it and see if he blows himself or any party members up.
He doesn't know about the alchemist class, and it didn't even dawn on me to mention it to him. So thanks! Maybe that will divert his attention from bombs.
Thanks for the link Ernest, I am downloading as I type!
And mighty Apsu, thank you for taking time out to tell me more of your ways. I will be sure to enlighten one squishy type sorcerer of your divine nature.
Hello!!
A couple guys in my group are wanting more information than I seem to be able to lay my hands on. So, I thought that the incredibly well informed folks here could help me out. We are of course using the Pathfinder rpg rules!
The first is an odd little dwarf who loves to create things more than life itself. His latest invention requires black powder. Are there any rules or do any of the books cover this topic? I have been hesitant to allow it, but you know sullen and pouty dwarves can be!
The other is a sorcerer with a draconic bloodline, who now wishes to bring the worship of Apsu to the people. I know there is a little on Apsu in the AP "Fortress of Stone Giants," because we are playing that right now. However, he is wanting far more detail than I have weaned out of that book. Is there any source with further detail of Apsu? He has mentioned wanting to find clerics or a codex for further study.
In Foxglove Manor I played "Requiem for a Dream" by Clint Mansell.
It helped set the mood and had a tremendous impact on the creepy factor in the house.
I highly recommend it!
• FUSED EIDOLON: A synthesist summons the essence of a powerful outsider to meld with his own being. The synthesist wears the eidolon like translucent, living armor. The eidolon mimics all of the synthesist’s movements, and the synthesist perceives through the eidolon’s senses and speaks through its voice, as the two are now one creature.
While fused with his eidolon, the synthesist uses the eidolon’s physical ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution), but retains his own mental ability scores (Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma). The synthesist gains the eidolon’s hit points as temporary hit points. When these hit points reach 0, the eidolon is killed and sent back to its home plane. The synthesist uses the eidolon’s base attack bonus, and gains the eidolon’s armor and natural armor bonuses and modifiers to ability scores. The synthesist also gains access to the eidolon’s special abilities and the eidolon’s evolutions. The synthesist is still limited to the eidolon’s maximum number of natural attacks. The eidolon has no skills or feats of its own. The eidolon must be at least the same size as the synthesist. The eidolon must have limbs for the synthesist to cast spells with somatic components. The eidolon’s temporary hit points can be restored with the rejuvenate eidolon spell.
While fused, the synthesist loses the benefits of his armor. He counts as both his original type and as an outsider for any effect related to type, whichever is worse for the synthesist. Spells such as banishment or dismissal work normally on the eidolon, but the synthesist is unaffected. Neither the synthesist nor his eidolon can be targeted separately, as they are fused into one creature. The synthesist and eidolon cannot take separate actions. While fused with his eidolon, the synthesist can use all of his own abilities and gear, except for his armor. In all other cases, this ability functions as the summoner’s normal eidolon ability (for example, the synthesist cannot use his summon monster ability while the eidolon is present).
This ability replaces the class’s eidolon ability, bond senses, and life bond.
The following class abilities function differently for synthesist summoners.
==Fused Link (Su)
Starting at 1st level, the synthesist forms a close bond with his eidolon. Whenever the temporary hit points from his eidolon would be reduced to 0, the summoner can, as a free action, sacrifice any number of his own hit points. Each hit point sacrificed this way prevents 1 point of damage done to the eidolon (thus preventing the loss of the summoner’s temporary hit points), preventing the eidolon from being killed and sent back to its home plane.
This ability replaces life link.
• SHADOW EIDOLON: A shadow caller's eidolon is at once a thing of shadow called from the deep of the Shadow Plane and his own shadow; the two are inseparable. When his eidolon manifests, his shadow lengthens and finally detaches from him as a creature unto itself. For as long as the shadow caller's eidolon is manifested, he and the eidolon do not have distinct shadows, regardless of the presence or absence of light. This lack of a shadow replaces the magical symbol that identifies the summoner and his eidolon.
• SHADOW SUMMONING (Sp): Starting at 1st level, a summoner can cast summon monster I as a spell-like ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + her Charisma modifier. Drawing upon this ability uses up the same power as the summoner uses to call her eidolon. As a result, she can only use this ability when her eidolon is not summoned. She can cast this spell as a standard action and the creatures remain for 1 minute per level (instead of 1 round per level). At 3rd level, and every 2 levels thereafter, the power of this ability increases by one spell level, allowing her to summon more powerful creatures (to a maximum of summon monster IX at 17th level). At 19th level, this ability can be used as gate or summon monster IX. If used as gate, the summoner must pay any required material components. A summoner cannot have more than one summon monster or gate spell active in this way at one time. If this ability is used again, any existing summon monster or gate immediately ends. These summon spells are considered to be part of her spell list for the purposes of spell trigger and spell completion items. In addition, she can expend uses of this ability to fufill the construction requirements of any magic item she creates, so long as she can use this ability to cast the required spell.
When a shadow caller uses her summon monster ability or casts the summon monster spell, she typically summons creatures from the Shadow Plane or creatures closely associated with shadow. When a creature on the summon monster spell list indicates that it is summoned with either the celestial or the fiendish template based on the alignment of the caster, the creature summoned by the shadow caller has the shadow creature template instead. Furthermore, the summon monster lists are modified in the following ways (these changes also apply to using a higher-level summon spell to summon multiple creatures from a lower-level list):
==Summon Monster I: No changes.
==Summon Monster II: A shadow caller cannot summon Small elementals or lemures, but instead can summon zoogs.
==Summon Monster III: A shadow caller cannot summon dretches or lantern archons, but can summon augur kytons.
==Summon Monster IV: A shadow caller cannot summon Medium elementals, hell hounds, hound archons, or mephits, but can summon allips, gloomwings, and shadows.
==Summon Monster V: A shadow caller cannot summon babau, bearded devils, bralani azatas, Large elementals, salamanders, or xills, but can summon shadow mastiffs and shae.
==Summon Monster VI: A shadow caller cannot summon Huge elementals, erinyes, lillend azatas, or succubi, but can summon cloakers.
==Summon Monster VII: A shadow caller cannot summon bebiliths, bone devils, greater elementals, or vrocks, but can summon greater shadows.
==Summon Monster VIII: A shadow caller can only summon derghodaemons and young umbral dragons.
==Summon Monster IX: A shadow caller can only summon interlocutor kytons and nightwings.
Race abilities:
• DARKVISION: Fetchlings can see perfectly in the dark up to 60 feet.
• LOW-LIGHT VISION: In addition to their ability to see perfectly in the dark up to 60 ft, fetchlings have low-light vision, allowing them to see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
• SHADOW BLENDING (Su): Attacks against a fetchling in dim light have a 50% miss chance instead of the normal 20% miss chance. This ability does not grant total concealment; it just increases the miss chance.
• SHADOWY RESISTANCE (Ex): Fetchlings have cold resistance 5 and electricity resistance 5.
• SKILLED: Fetchlings have a +2 racial bonus on Knowledge (planes) and Stealth checks.
• SPELL-LIKE ABILITIES (Sp): A fetchling can use disguise self once per day as a spell-like ability. She can assume the form of any humanoid creature. When a fetchling reaches 9th level in any combination of classes, she gains shadow walk (self only) usable once per day as a spell-like ability. When a fetchling reaches 13th level in any combination of classes, she gains plane shift (self only, to the Shadow Plane or the Material Plane only) usable once per day as a spell-like ability. A fetchling's caster level is equal to her total Hit Dice.
Personality:
Quirks:
1. Selene is a masochist resulting in her high pain threshold (and Endurance) but requires more outlandish methods to experience the pain.
2. Selene is a sadist in that she wants others to feel the exquisite pain that she loves so much. She does not fully understand that others may not experience pain the same way she does.
3. Selene is fascinated by piercings and body modifications, and even has several of her own, several of which being piercings that are also attached to her clothes and armor, effectively tying them directly to her.
Greatest Fear: To no longer be able to feel the ecstasy of pain
Greatest Desire: To share the experience and beauty of pain with the world
Selene is a glutton for new experiences in the various senses. That she reveres pain is only one aspect. If there is an taste, a feeling, anything that she has yet to savor, she would almost salivates should the opportunity arise. In pursuit of such goals, laws and rules that dictate against such an experience are ignored. She seeks enlightenment through these experiences and no law of man will stop that. She is not foolish, however, and knows she needs to be discrete in her pursuits lest she be captured, killed or otherwie prevented from furthering her experiences.
Selene is a bit naive in that she does not understand that people do not experience things in the same way she does. She might poke at someone's open wound to give them more opportunity to experience life, for example, and become confused when they cry out or shed tears. Most Nidalese she has been surrounded by share her interest in experiencing pain.
Even with these idiosyncrasies, Selene is fiercely loyal to those she calls friends, even if they do not share the same zest for life and experience. Learning about these weaker individuals would be an experience in and of itself.
Appearance:
Selene is a woman of statuesque beauty with pale alabaster skin that still seems to exude warmth. Her long jet black hair, large dark eyes and black stained lips give her a dark gothic intensity about her but there is a kind of playful seductiveness in the glint of her eyes and quirk in her mouth that allows her to retain a certain dangerous allure.
At first glance, Selene's fine ebon clothing and armor looks made to enhance her figure, a closer look reveals they are doing much more. Various rings and ties in the armor and clothes actually seem to pierce her skin or attach themselves to other piercings on her body. Her movements seem to cause the jewelry to pull and tug at her flesh.
History:
The Joymaking is looked on by outsiders as pure insanity. To voluntarily have ones limbs amputated and 'unnecessary' (to live) flesh removed, to require feeding and cleaning by others, all just to theoretically experience greater pain and greater pleasure than would be possible otherwise... What else could it be? To the followers of Zon-Kuthon, these 'Joyful Things' are to be revered to the utmost. Only the most prestigious and wealthiest members could attain such a transformation. Selene was born to one of these limbless creations, several months after a night of pain and debauchery offered to her mother. Unseen were the tendrils of shadow that also partook of the experience. They were not to know that the Midnight Lord himself was in attendance.
Regardless of Selene's true parentage, any born of a Joyful Thing one are exalted above other children as it is presumed that they gained a portion of their parent's luck and sensation, effectively acquiring a portion of what all followers envied, right from birth. As such, Selene was raised by members of the Umbral Court. She was taught of the realms outside of Golarion, of the Shadow Plane and even of the Dark Tapestry. She was taught how to move within the shadows, using the darkness to remain out of sight. She was even given the skull of her mother once that Joyful Thing had passed on. Once she came of age, she was taught to give and receive pain, to heal the tortured, to allow them to survive to experience more. At all of these did she excel. A prodigy that was even able to summon forth the Stuff from between worlds and to even fashion a dangerous shell for herself, an eidolon shadow beast.
It wasn't until she left her homeland that she discovered that others experienced pain in a completely unexpected way. They actually found it unpleasant. Now, the dogma touts how this was a weakness of lesser beings, but Selene began to wonder. Perhaps they were just different. Or perhaps they merely had not experienced enough to grow into something greater. Still, she decided that she would keep such thoughts to herself. Merely being in the presence of such people was an experience she relished, even if only to witness their reaction when they experienced pain that neither of them were expecting.
