j.l.atreides's page

I'd previously selected "Pick up at GenCon" for this particular order, as I'll be in Indianapolis when it would arrive at my house. I received an email today stating that it would ship this Friday. Just wondering what's up. Thanks.

I had meant to start a Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Ongoing Subscription, but apparently I only purchased Ultimate Magic. Is there any way to cancel this order and/or Upgrade it to the full ongoing subscription?

Thanks for any and all assistance!

-JLA

Our group's Bard is a rather creative type, singing appropriate songs during her Bardic Music. Since we're in Westcrown, a city full of Asmodeous worshipers, the Bard has composed a couple of Tribute songs to fit the occasion.

Enjoy!

--- Asmdeous Loves Me (to the tune of Jesus Loves Me) ---

Asmodeous owns me, this I know.
For the Hellspawn tell me so.
Little imps to him belong.
They are meek, but never wrong.
Yes, Asmodeous owns me.
Yes, Asmodeous owns me.
Yes, Asmodeous owns me.
The Hellspawn tell me so.

Asmodeous owns me, since I've lied.
Hellish gates do open wide.
He will supp' upon my soul.
And throw me in his Hellish hole.
Yes, Asmodeous owns me.
Yes, Asmodeous owns me.
Yes, Asmodeous owns me.
The Hellspawn tell me so.

Asmodeous owns me, owns me still.
Since I'm enslaved to his will.
From his iron throne below.
He knows of each and every lie.
Yes, Asmodeous owns me.
Yes, Asmodeous owns me.
Yes, Asmodeous owns me.
The Hellspawn tell me so.

Asmodeous owns me, I will pay.
No matter how well I obey.
He's prepared a cell for me.
And some day his face I'll see.
Yes, Asmodeous owns me.
Yes, Asmodeous owns me.
Yes, Asmodeous owns me.
The Hellspawn tell me so.

--- Asmodeous (to the tune of Notorious by Duran Duran) ---

As-as-Asmodeous. Asmodeous. Ah. As-as-Asmodeous.

He won't care about you.
Burns the flesh from your form.
He'll do fine without you.
He's one that won't compromise.
Lies come easy from his eyes.
They always slide right on out.
Not gonna worry 'bout it.
Lay on your holy judgments.
Who says we're scared of your God?

[CHORUS]
You may have GP;
You can call the witness.
He'll leave you burn-y.
Don't lemure with his Hellishness.
You pay the clerics to justify Detectin' Evil.
I heard your Smiting, but I don't believe it.

That's why He's done it again. As-as-Asmodeous.

Imps will keep the secrets (uh)
So long as mortals make bargains.
Fools run rings to void contract.
Something they'll never avoid.
Grand Asmodeous slam (bam).
And who really gives a damn for a shiny Paladin?
Don't ask me to bleed for you;
I need His blood to survive.

[CHORUS]

That's why He's done it again. As-as-Asmodeous.

[CHORUS]

[CHORUS]

That's why He's done it again. As. As.
That's why He's done it again. As-as-Asmodeous.
That's why He's done it again. As-as-Asmodeous.
As-as-Asmodeous. Yeah.
That's why He's done it again. As-as-Asmodeous.
As-as-Asmodeous. Yeah.
That's why He's done it again. As-as-Asmodeous.
As-as-Asmodeous.

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-JLA

Hey customer service peoples,

I know the post is sometimes slow in my neck of the woods, but I've yet to recieve Order #989451, which supposedly shipped on August 6th. As it's been a month now, I figure it's time to be concerned.

Thanks for any help and/or direction on this matter,
-JLA

Hello Cosmo and other customer service types.

Unfortunately, due to some extenuating circumstances I'm going to have to cancel my subscriptions to your fine product. Would it be at all possible to (out of this order) cancel everything but the last episode of Curse of the Crimson Throne and the Hardcover campaign guide? After that, I'd like to cancel both of my subscriptions.

Thanks for a lot of good times.

Thanks,
Jeffrey

The great "I don't have my gazetteer" blitz continues. :(

-JLA

So I got the bright idea to compare notes with other DMs on their Character Creation Guidelines for this, the newest of Paizo's Adventure Paths.

Here's mine, you can critique them, post your own, whatever.

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Character Creation Guidelines for The Curse of the Crimson Throne

Background: Your characters are all citizens of (or, at least, people who live within) the city-state Korvosa; a thriving metropolis of nineteen thousand souls. The city is more deeply detailed in Paizo's Guide to Korvosa supplement. Also, every character has been hurt or wronged by the same man; Gaedren Lamm, a despicable low-life who abducts orphans and uses them as a slave-labor thieves' network. More on this is detailed in the Curse of the Crimson Throne Player's Guide.

The Basics: Remember the Rule of Vaskos – Don't be a f***. Neither you, nor your character, should be a f***; this also includes douchebag related behaviors and other team-killy or f***tardish things.

Attributes: 36 point buy. We cool?

Races and Classes: All non-Psionic +0 ECL races and non-Psionic classes from published WotC 3.5 sources. Pathfinder is not very Psionics friendly, and I really don't want to retool the entire world to suit your “I want to be a wizard, but without all the books; however, I also do not want to play a sorcerer” character. Just play a sorcerer and focus on Enchantment and other psychic-ish spells.

The bit about Roles: As we learned in our last group, a poorly balanced group can be shatteringly effective in the right circumstances (as seen by the Striker, Striker, Striker, Leader team from Savage Tide; or the Striker, Striker, Striker, Defender team from our last Pathfinder game.) but can be easily defeated by something outside their typical focus. This leads me to the point I'd hoped to make; Remember, you can play whatever you want, just don't be surprised if a lopsided group isn't as effective and/or fun as it could be.

Starting Hit Points: Max HP based on class + Constitution Score. Yes, you read that right.

Hit Points at each additional level: Max HP based on class + Constitution Modifier.

Starting Gold: Max GP based on class.

Action Points: 5 at first level, +1 at every even level. APs are refreshed at each level; as such, unused AP are effectively wasted. One Action Point allows you to Reroll any d20 roll (keeping the better result) or gain another Standard Action. Two Action Points allow you to stabilize automatically at -9, regardless of the damage you may have taken. Each usage of APs may only be used once per turn.

Destiny Points: 2. Ever. You may use Destiny Points to do things that are seemingly impossible. A Destiny Point allows you to add +30 to any d20 roll, take a full turn's worth of actions at any time, or fully heal yourself of all damage (both HP and Ability Score Damage). Since you only ever get two of these, there is no limit to how many you can spend per turn and you are encouraged to spend them if it looks like your character is going to permanently bite it.

Chaos Dice: In order to generate funds for our group's trip to GenCon Indy 2008, we're using the Chaos Dice rule. Instead of rolling damage for an attack, you may put $1 into the GenCon “Dammit, We're Freaking Going to PF Chang's This Year!” Fund. If you do so, you may roll the Chaos Cube (a d64 from Backgammon). There is no limit to the amount of money you may put into this, but be warned that dropping $20 into the bucket to kill the Big Bad Evil Guy is seen as rather silly. Also, remember that the DM can do this, too.

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-JLA

Has there been any shipping trouble with this particular issue? It says it shipped on the 11th. For the past 3 issues (and my Item Cards), they arrived about two days after the ship date. I wouldn't be too worried, except that I'm in the process of moving and want to know how long I should continue to check the mail at my old address (as periodicals subscriptions aren't forwarded).

-JLA

Just some things I'm changing in the published adventure. Also some notes on how to possibly RP the various characters. These changes are somewhat because my players are untrustworthy and will probably skim the magazine at the store. Also because some of the challenges are a bit too... ridiculously difficult for my party to handle (cv. Hydra).

Feedback encouraged.

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Sea Wyvern's Crew
Captain: Trade Nydal* (Half-Elf Wrk3/Mar3)
First Mate: Amella Venkalie (Human Rog4): Brash, curse happy, and a modestly hot girl.
Navigator: Urol Forol (Gnome Drd1/Exp3): Annoying gnome, loves nature. Inquisitive to a fault.
Helmsman: Skald (Feytouched Rng3): Seems to be a troublemaker, but is a quiet and nice person.
Deckhand: Cora Lowwater* (Shoal Halfling Sco5/ThA1)
Boatswain: Lirith Veldirose (Human Rog1/Ftr2): Tomboy. Likes to drink and fight (ala Starbuck).
Cook: Arundel Adarion (Human Wiz3): Uses cookies as the focus for his Brew Potion.

Passengers (15):
Morak* (Dwarf Ftr 5/Bbn1)
Marshaan* (Catfolk Rog2/Ftr2)
Eric Warshadow* (Human Clr3[Boccob]/Sor3)
Avner Meravanchi (Human Ari3): Spoiled noble, along with horse Thunderstrike.
Father Feres (Human Exp3): Polite fellow, slight stutter.
Tavey Nesk (Human Exp2): Eager young lad(?), latches on to Marshaan.
Mirumoto Kenzo (Human Sam2): Calm, courteous, and peculiar.
Opal Fen (Human Adp2): Token "Olde Woman" type. Cryptic.
Ramon Swanger (Human Com1): Farmer. Mopey, but hard working. Helps swab decks, etc.
Anna Swanger (Human Com1): Farmer's Wife. Belligerant. Helps Arundel with the cooking.
Vassa Dell (Dwarf Rog2): Convicted fellon, thief, and all around scoundrel. Takes a shine to Morak.
Sepoto (Goliath Bbn3): Big, kind, and dumb. Loves children and fish.
Thrisp Horin (Gnome Beg4): Another typical shady character, but also a gnome. Talks fast.
Marius Kelsh (Tiefling Wmg1): Seeker, loves learning, huge violent streak. Raspy.
K'mee (Ratling FvS2/Mnk1): Double talk-talk. Cowers when someone mentions the word Tomorrow.

Stow Away (1): Rowyn Kellani (Human Rog3/Brd5)

*characters with an asterisk denote PCs.
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B. Hungry Floatsam: Replace Floatsam Ooze with Wyvern (and Half-Green Dragon Pal-Tyr3 Rider).
Treasure on Rider: Periapt of Wisdom +2, Boots of Skating, Quiver of Ehlonna, Greatreach Bracers, Circlet of Persuasion.
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E. River Menace: Replace 7H Hydra with Elasmosaurus.

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Part Four: Tamoachan Ruins

1. Replace Basilisk with 3 Cockatrices.

4. Ancient Tamoachan: Replace Wall of Fire trap with Slow trap (Will DC 15, 5 Round Duration).

7. Tloquatcha's Crypt: Replace Mummy Rot trap with Insanity Mist (DC 15, 1d4 Wis, 2d6 Wis). Replace Prayer Beads with; Skirmisher Boots, Heartseeking Amulet, Cloak of Resistance +2.

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Misc. Notes. (Cora loves horses, I'm not sure, why. I'm going to assume she'll hang out with the horse tending guy and spark some discussion. Blatantly stolen from some other poster whose name I've forgotten.)

Avner's Horse: "You see m'Lady, my Lord, he's a jealous and powerful man, willing to match any insult, don't ya know. Once, he was to be married, to a right beautiful young woman, like yer'self, of some of the finest blood in the city. But one night, a few day's before their wedding, Avner caught her having a daliance with a young adventurer-type. Well, me Lord Avner, he's right furious...and I'm not saying that he isn't right to be so...but what he did...
Well, it seems the adventurer and the Lady were truly in love for they fled the city together. But I know that's not so. You see, I overheard some things betwixt my Lord and a powerful arcanist he hired. I don't know what fell fate came down upon the adventurer, but for the Lady, well, my Lord had her changed, changed into this here horse that you visit everyday.
This way, as my Lord says, he gets to ride her anytime he wants." So, please, take care around my Lord, for your own good...I don't wish to be caring for two mares, My Lady.

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-JLA

It was mentioned earlier in the Adventure Path (Bullywug's Gambit) that Kraken's Cove had a huge reef protecting it, and one needed a chart of the reef to accurately plot a course through it.

My question, as a DM, is where in the adventure can the PCs come across this chart, so that they can get the Sea Wyvern out of the cove without wrecking it on the reef? It isn't mentioned in either room that it would seem to make sense, nor is it mentioned in the brief description of the Sea Wyvern.

So, any help for a confused DM type?